Lord of the Mysteries: The New Black Emperor

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During this period, candles had become a very scarce commodity in Backlund, selling for as much as 2 soli apiece on the black market!

But it still couldn't meet the lighting needs of the public.

Today was Sunday, and after dark, most areas of Backlund were still pitch black.

The people could no longer tolerate such darkness and t2ook to the streets to participate in protests.

And in the darkness, cases of theft and robbery occurred frequently, and gradually some people took advantage of the chaos to pry open the doors of shops, and for a time the situation was somewhat out of control.

In the Prime Minister's residence in the Empress Borough, the sounds of chaos in the distance could occasionally be heard.

Inside the dining room of the Prime Minister's residence, the atmosphere was very serious at this time. Obviously, Hobert was not satisfied with Duke Negan's implicit compromise.

However, if they wanted to end the chaos outside, Hobert's wishes were very important.

Aguesid broke the silence with a smile, "No matter what, we must do our best to ensure Backlund's lighting. After all, you are an Earl of the Kingdom of Loen."

This was a warning to Hobert that the government could completely define the current actions of 'Earl's Light' as treason, and then have the government take over 'Earl's Light'.

"Please forgive my bluntness." Hobert smiled as if he hadn't heard the Prime Minister's threat. "The government's response speed on this matter is very disappointing.

"When the Gas Association cannot meet the public's lighting needs, the government should purchase a batch of candles as soon as possible, even if they sell for a little more than usual. But if there are stalls selling candles on the streets, the public's dissatisfaction will not be as strong as it is now."

Everyone showed a strange expression, and Christian and Earl Hallberg exchanged glances.

In their impression, although Hobert sometimes did unexpected things, he was not an arrogant person.

And although Hobert's words were spoken in the tone of a suggestion, he was correcting the government's behavior, which was equivalent to criticizing the Prime Minister and instructing him on how to solve such problems.

The mayor, who was also attending the banquet, visibly trembled a few times while holding his wine glass before quickly saying, "This, this is the fault of the City Hall. We didn't consider it carefully enough."

This was not only to help the Prime Minister out of the predicament, but also to state the facts.

Not to mention the City Government, even all the nobles and officials in Backlund had not expected that the struggle between gas lamps and electric lights would cause such great chaos.

The key was that Hobert's reaction was beyond everyone's expectations.

According to normal thinking, since the Gas Association framed 'Earl's Light', shouldn't they investigate the case thoroughly and then go to court with the Gas Association?

But what was unexpected was that Hobert would blow up the gas storage depot.

Although so far, no one has evidence to prove that Hobert caused the explosion at the gas storage depot, they all knew that it must have been Hobert, or someone he sent, who did it.

Then, the second unexpected thing happened. Theoretically, at this time, the Gas Association suffered a great loss, shouldn't 'Earl's Light' take the opportunity to seize the market?

But Hobert didn't do this, and actually suspended all sales operations.

These two unexpected things are the catalysts for the current chaos.

Otherwise, according to the behavior habits of the nobles and wealthy people of Backlund, at most it would be 'Earl's Light' and the Gas Association fighting in newspapers and courts, and it would not spread to the entire Backlund.

Aguesid put down his wine glass and said, "There are indeed reasons for government negligence in this incident, but we are here today to solve the problem. We will investigate the responsibility after the problem is solved."

"Yes." Hobert nodded, "We do need to solve the problem first. By tomorrow, I will investigate the responsibility of the 'Earl's Light' decision-makers.

"How could they make the decision to completely abandon Backlund? We still need to maintain our current business!

"But please give us time to make adjustments. Starting tomorrow, we only need a three-day power outage, and we will definitely be able to restore power after three days."

The mayor thought he had heard wrong, "You, you want a power outage? What about the electric lights that have already been installed?"

"We have no choice, but this city obviously doesn't welcome us, and there are many cities that are very friendly to us." Hobert smiled, "We plan to move our business to those friendly cities and give the Backlund market to the Gas Association."

Hobert's toughness once again exceeded everyone's expectations.

The Prime Minister winked at the mayor, and the mayor took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, Earl, I regret to inform you that if there is really a power outage, the City Government will take over 'Earl's Light'. We must maintain the current lighting area."

"Feel free to take over." Hobert smiled, "But I suggest that the people who come to take over bring a guide, so they don't get lost again.

"If three days have passed by then, and they still haven't found the gate of 'Earl's Light', it will be a laughing stock."

Hobert's power, and the power of his forces, gave him enough confidence to face the threat from the City Government.

Seeing that the situation was not right, Aguesid quickly reprimanded the mayor, "It is the dereliction of duty of the City Hall that 'Earl's Light' has been framed. How can we take over 'Earl's Light'!"

The mayor quickly said, "Yes, yes, yes, it is the dereliction of duty of the City Hall."

The Prime Minister smiled again and said to Hobert, "Tonight, we will investigate the previous electric shock accident overnight, and we will definitely investigate the case clearly and complete the trial of the people involved before noon tomorrow."

Hobert also smiled and said, "Prime Minister, you still understand the grievances that our 'Earl's Light' has suffered. I think it should be no problem for them to work overtime for the next three days to maintain the current power supply."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Hobert finally showed signs of compromise.

The Prime Minister immediately understood Hobert's demands. Obviously, if he wanted Hobert to cooperate, he had to immediately investigate the responsibility of the Gas Association.

So Aguesid added, "The Gas Association must compensate for the losses caused to 'Earl's Light' within three days.

"I suggest you negotiate the specific amount of compensation tomorrow."

"There is finally hope for a solution to the problem." Hobert showed a meaningful smile, "I thought that the gentlemen of Backlund were all shrouded in the fog of this city, obscuring their vision.

"Originally, the biggest contradiction between the electric lamp and gas lamp industries was competition. I don't know who was so self-righteous that they wanted to win the competition by despicable means.

"And 'Earl's Light', as the victim, as the party solving the problem, has suffered even greater pressure than the Gas Association. This is really a ridiculous thing."

The nobles' eyes were somewhat evasive. Of course, they knew that Hobert was right, but the power of the conservatives was very strong. It was not like Hobert could get the compensation he deserved just because he was the victim.

This compensation had to be demanded by Hobert himself, and he did it.

Finally, Hobert said seriously, "The Gas Association must not only compensate for the losses of 'Earl's Light', but also compensate for all the losses caused in this incident.

"Including the houses that collapsed in the explosion, including all the losses caused by the marches and demonstrations!"

Duke Negan suddenly said, "Your request is unreasonable!"

"Is it?" Hobert smiled, "Duke, was the previous electric shock accident planned by the Gas Association?"

"Maybe." The young Duke Negan said ambiguously.

"Then, is the electric shock accident the cause of everything?" Hobert asked again.

Duke Negan sat up straight, "But the Gas Association has also suffered huge losses…"

"If they hadn't used those despicable means, would they have suffered such losses?" Hobert stared into Duke Negan's eyes, "We are all adults, and we must be responsible for what we do.

"Since the Gas Association intends to use despicable means, it must be prepared to be liquidated!

"Duke, this is Backlund, the largest and most prosperous city in the world! It's not your fief or manor, where you can do whatever you want."

Duke Negan leaned back in his chair, unable to find a direction to argue with Hobert for a moment.

The Prime Minister Aguesid, sitting in the main seat, sighed secretly in his heart, lamenting that his nephew was too naive.

As long as someone is slightly rational, they will not argue with a "lawyer."

Even if you want to argue with reason, you must pay attention to strategy. You should seize Hobert's arrogance and disregard for rules, which are some of the performances that nobles hate very much, and you will definitely get support, instead of arguing with him about the issue of responsibility.

However, as the mediator of this matter, the Prime Minister was not suitable to say anything that favored Duke Negan, so he could only remain silent for the time being.

At this time, Baron Syndras, who came with Duke Negan, suddenly said, "Earl, then, do you admit that the losses suffered by the Gas Association were caused by you?"

"Are you deaf?" Hobert said unceremoniously, "Just now, only Duke Negan admitted that the four incidents were planned by the Gas Association. What have I admitted?"

Syndras thought he had misheard. Among the nobles in Backlund, Hobert's first question just now was a very rude scolding.

He reminded, "You are an Earl."

Hobert asked, "Do you have any prejudice against Earls? Do Earls have to admit all your accusations?"

"I…" Syndras didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Hobert spread his hands, "If no one objects, then when will the Gas Association's compensation arrive, and when will 'Earl's Light' resume sales?

"I will pretend that nothing happened, and everyone is still good friends."

Everyone looked towards Duke Negan and Baron Syndras. Hobert had already stated his conditions, and it remained to be seen whether Duke Negan would agree.

After a long silence of nearly half a minute, Duke Negan, as everyone expected, agreed to Hobert's conditions.

This was because the Gas Association had suffered a crushing defeat in this struggle. Hobert had obtained evidence of their plotting the electrocution incident, but the Gas Association had been unable to find any evidence of Hobert bombing their gas storage points.

This was actually due to differing perspectives. If Duke Negan were to have a Beyonder individual bomb the gas storage points, even a Sequence 5 would feel it beneath their dignity and would delegate the task to subordinates.

But Hobert didn't think that way at all. Bombing it himself was both secretive and convenient, as he could detonate it from five kilometers away. What clues could Duke Negan's subordinates find around the scene?

Furthermore, the electric lights in Backlund remained bright, while the gaslights could not resume operation without Hobert's approval.

Duke Negan and his people had failed to enter 'Earl's Light' or the power plant to obtain anything that Hobert would care about.

In these two encounters, Duke Negan had been utterly defeated, so his ultimate compromise in this negotiation was inevitable.

At this moment, at the Prime Minister's signal, the first course of the dinner was served.

Everyone ate while continuing to discuss some details.

Under the Prime Minister's mediation, 'Earl's Light' would resume sales tomorrow, and the government would send people to closely monitor the negotiation matters. All payments from the Gas Association would be received before the end of next week.

In addition, the Prime Minister requested the Gas Association to purchase a large number of candles and distribute them to the people of Backlund for free, so that everyone could use candles for lighting in the meantime.

The dinner ended around eight o'clock. After drinking a cup of tea, everyone got up to say goodbye, because they were still very busy tonight.

For Hobert and Duke Negan, although they had reached a settlement agreement, the details were still very complicated and could not be resolved in a day or two.

For example, what standard should be used to calculate the losses of 'Earl's Light'? For example, what channels should be used to compensate for the buildings affected by the explosion?

Leaving the Prime Minister's residence, Hobert and Christian rode together in a carriage back to the Duke's mansion.

In the carriage, now that the problem was basically solved, Christian said, "I have been considering the issue of your curse recently, and I finally had some ideas a few days ago."

He paused and asked, "I heard that you have a good relationship with the Church of the Evernight Goddess?"

"Yes," Hobert said frankly, "I have several friends in the church."

"Then can you get a concealed space?" Christian said, "Also, although your fate can no longer be changed, you can create a body to separate your bloodline from your main body."

"And as far as I know, you also have a very good relationship with the Church of the Earth Mother."

"Now the only question is, how to temporarily transfer the bloodline to another body?"

Hobert immediately understood Christian's meaning: "That's a good idea."

Although bloodlines are very abstract, they can also be 'distorted' or 'tampered with'. Moreover, it's only a temporary tampering, so a Sequence 2 should be able to do it.

Christian's idea was to have the Church of the Earth Mother help refine a body exactly like Hobert's, and temporarily place the bloodline on that body.

At this time, Hobert would hide in a secret space to advance. After successfully advancing, as long as Trunsoest detects that he has advanced to Sequence 2, he will immediately appear on that body with the Trunsoest family bloodline.

Then, by eliminating Trunsoest, the family curse would be lifted.

Hobert thought to himself: As expected, having an elder at home is like having a treasure.

This method is equivalent to a combination of his previous method and Klein's method, and it is also the plan with the highest controllability and the greatest probability of success.

Returning to the study of the Earl's Mansion from Duke Christian's residence, Hobert thought for a while and soon had a relatively complete plan. As soon as the Backlund matter was over, he would start preparing.

It was past ten o'clock in the evening when he arrived at 'Earl's Light' and convened all the senior executives for a meeting to discuss the compensation issue for tomorrow.

Of course, the senior executives also included Audrey. This was her first time participating in such an action. Although she seemed very composed on the surface, she was actually a little excited inside.

They discussed until the second half of the night. Everyone rested in their respective conference rooms for a while, then had breakfast together, tidied themselves up, and welcomed the negotiating representatives of the Gas Association.

The first day of talks lasted for most of the day. Although Hobert didn't have to negotiate in person, he had to be consulted for his opinions on some decisions at any time.

Today, Hobert had to ask Mr. Fool for leave again, as he was unable to attend this Tarot Gathering.

Originally, Audrey was also going to ask for leave, but Hobert gave her two hours off, saying it was to let her go back and rest, but in fact it was to prevent Fors from overthinking if both he and Audrey didn't attend this Tarot Gathering.

The first day of negotiations lasted until four o'clock in the afternoon, and several members of the Gas Association fainted at the scene.

It wasn't that they were physically or mentally exhausted, but that the amount of compensation was too high. After completing this compensation, two of Backlund's six gas companies would go bankrupt!

But they had to compensate. The Prime Minister's secretary participated in the entire negotiation and, from the beginning, demanded that all compensation be paid before Sunday.

The reason for such high compensation was that 'Earl's Light', in addition to demanding compensation for its own losses, also required the Gas Association to make a large amount of public compensation.

There were three main aspects: first, the houses destroyed in the explosion; second, the shops and individuals robbed during the chaos last night; and third, compensation to each gaslight user for a certain amount of loss.

In addition to the losses of 'Earl's Light' in the past few days, Hobert asked for 600,000 pounds, even gas companies that were not at risk of bankruptcy would have to sell assets to complete this payment.

Until the members of the Gas Association... several of them were carried away. Only after they left did cheers and laughter erupt in the conference room.

This time, in the competition for the lighting market, 'Earl's Light' won a complete victory. The Gas Association was completely unable to compete with them anymore. In the future, a large number of people would definitely install electric lights again.

In the evening, after dinner, everyone discussed the negotiation matters for tomorrow in the conference room again.

At this time, the summary report of the first day of 'Earl's Light' resuming sales was sent. Today, all stores and counters were packed, and 36,000 orders were received in just one day.

It's not to say that only 30,000 people wanted to change light bulbs today, but that this was the maximum number of orders that could be received in a day.

Each order is not as simple as just buying a light bulb, but also includes a series of installation and other services afterwards.

At this time, receipts, installation agreements, customer information, and so on, required a lot of handwriting, which allowed 'Earl's Light' to receive at most this many orders.

The next day, Tuesday, the newspaper published a report on 'Earl's Light' fighting for the interests of the vast number of gaslight users and those who suffered losses in the previous explosion.

For a time, everyone's enthusiasm for changing to electric lights was even higher.

Because the tone of the negotiation had already been set, Hobert left the subsequent negotiations to Todd and Audrey.

He still had many other things to do now, such as trying to open the first teleportation array.

Currently, in Tussock Harbor, the first batch of stolen goods from the pirates have successively entered the port.

Faced with the massive amount of goods, the 'Traveler's Gate' is completely insufficient, and a teleportation array must be built as soon as possible to temporarily transport these goods to the Northern or Southern Continent.

However, the first experimental teleportation array was from Tussock Harbor to Longtail Harbor.

Although these two places are on the same island, the traffic between the two places is actually very inconvenient due to the obstruction of the mountains in the middle.

If traveling by sea, cargo ships take more than a day to get from Tussock Harbor to Longtail Harbor, provided that the weather is good and the wind direction is right. For two or three months of the year, there is no suitable wind direction, and ships that do not use steam engines may take four or five days to reach the other port.

Although the distance is short by land, it is slower because of the many mountain roads, taking at least two and a half days to reach the opposite port.

If there is a teleportation array, it will be convenient, and people and goods will arrive in an instant.

On Tuesday morning, Hobert used a large number of gems and crystals to complete the placement of the teleportation arrays in Longtail Harbor and Tussock Harbor respectively.

Considering that it often rains, the teleportation arrays were built indoors, in a huge warehouse on the wharves of the two ports respectively.

Hobert only allowed Fors to help. After the gems and crystals were placed, Fors guarded the teleportation array on the Tussock Harbor side, while Hobert returned to the teleportation array on the Longtail Harbor side to set up the altar.

This huge teleportation array is actually very similar to a reusable talisman, with gems and crystals being the materials for making this 'talisman'.

Now, a high-level power is needed to give the magic circle the ability to teleport.

As for who to pray to for power, the first choice is of course 'The Fool'!

Hobert estimated that the teleportation array he had seen on another planet before should have prayed for power from Mr. 'Door'.

So many years have passed, as long as the positions of the gems and crystals are correct, the power bestowed by Mr. Door that year will still be effective.

It's just that Mr. 'Door' is not only corrupted now, but also sealed, so praying to Him for power is very dangerous.

Theoretically speaking, after becoming a demigod, 'The Fool', who can mobilize more power from the Sefirah Castle and make advanced talismans, can completely give the magic circle the ability to teleport. After all, he and Mr. 'Door' are adjacent pathways.

However, before praying to "The Fool" for power, Hobert decided to try praying to "The Creator" first.

In theory, as long as the power level is high enough, it should be able to make the magic circle work.

It's just that the teleportation array is quite special, and Hobert isn't sure if there are any specific requirements for the power bestowed?

After setting up a simple altar, Hobert first prayed to himself, then entered the "Nation of Disorder", found his own star, and poured the surging "Power of Order" into the magic circle.

The originally crystal-clear crystal immediately turned black, and there seemed to be a strand of black silk inside the gem.

Hobert's spirituality realized that this magic circle did indeed possess the ability to teleport, but he didn't know where it would teleport to.

After thinking for a moment, Hobert roughly understood that the "Nation of Disorder" did not have the relevant authority of the spirit world, so it could not use the power of the spirit world to locate the two ends of the teleportation array, nor could it link the other side of the teleportation array.

However, his experiment could prove that "The Fool," who had the relevant authority of the spirit world, could completely accomplish such an operation.

Hobert was about to leave the "Nation of Disorder" to pray to The Fool.

Suddenly, he had a new inspiration. With a wave of his hand, a Beyonder characteristic of a "Secrets Sorcerer" flew over.

Hobert held the Beyonder characteristic in one hand and injected power into the magic circle again. This time, an entrance to the spirit world suddenly opened in front of him, and he easily located the teleportation array on the Tussock Port side.

After establishing the corresponding connection, Hobert withdrew his power.

Looking at the teleportation array again, it was now flashing with colorful light, and the symbol representing "Door" in the middle was awakened, turning into a illusory gate!

Success!

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