I will be crowned king

Outer city, Jiuqiang Street.

Karin Jacques, who was wearing an old windbreaker and a wide-brimmed hat, avoided the noisy streets, kept vigilantly looking at the narrow alley behind him, and gradually quickened his pace.

Something is wrong.

From the very beginning, crowds of people pushing, quarreling, and even making noises could be heard on the street from time to time. Even though the numbers were clearly not superior to the naked eye, and even the firepower was far inferior to that of the militiamen who had experienced the mutiny, they were still trying to resist stubbornly. Enter the community and demand that the people on the opposite side disarm.

According to a certain "fixed script", the situation will soon escalate from the two sides to exchange insults, to physical conflict, and finally to a fight. The outnumbered Whitehall Street policemen were completely wiped out. The angry citizens quickly attracted the Privy Council to retaliate. When it escalates to a riot or a vicious security incident, the situation heats up rapidly, and everything moves rapidly towards complete control...

Well, very reasonable.

And judging from the movements he has observed, the situation may be accelerating. Of course, the trainee priest has long been accustomed to this kind of thing, mainly because he follows a certain novelist who is keen on causing trouble, which leads to certain emergencies and The tolerance threshold for mass riots will be much higher.

The problem is that I seem to have fallen into someone's trap.

Karin Jacques stopped and turned to look behind him with some helplessness; as the surrounding space distorted, the deserted alley was suddenly swallowed up by a bottomless shadow; in the darkness that came like a tide, The low roars of ferocious beasts and the shrill screams of women were heard.

"Yes... when the situation is so chaotic, how can there be such an alley with no one at all?"

Karin Jacques said helplessly, his face full of the unlucky feeling of being forced into unnecessary trouble; especially when this bad luck was related to the most annoying black magic caster, it was double the pain.

Darkness swept over, the air became extremely cold, and his body seemed to be unable to move due to instinctive fear... The trainee priest who forced himself to remain calm stretched his hand to the handle of the gun on his back - he did not know the magic at hand. Can the props be used against the black mage in front of me?

I can only give it a try!

Cold sweat streaked across the trainee priest's forehead, and then he suddenly pulled out an old-fashioned flintlock gun and pointed it at the incoming darkness.

"boom--!!!!"

The dazzling firelight illuminated the alley twisted by shadows, but it was not Karin Jacques who fired the shot; the trainee priest stared at the figure in front of him with wide eyes and disbelief.

A black turtleneck trench coat, a three-cornered hat that covers most of the face, and the iconic flint-hair ax...

"Among all the trainee priests in the church, you are the one who can still maintain your title despite violating the church's rules so many times, your Excellency Karin Jacques!"

As Cole Dorian said with a smile, the smoking flintlock ax had been loaded again, and the hot and smoking muzzle was pointed forward again: "If I have a chance, I really want to ask you how. You can get a stipend and do private work in the church, but still avoid being expelled!"

"Uh, about this..."

"boom--!!!!"

The hot lead bullets carried the fire and spread into the darkness. Someone's incompetent and furious roar came from the shadow corner, and the distorted space instantly returned to its original state.

"Run!" the Chief Inquisitor shouted without looking back: "This is not the only troublesome bastard. We will find a way to hold him back while you go and do what you are supposed to do!"

Me, us? !

An incredible exclamation mark and question mark flashed through the mind of the trainee priest. Even if he heard the other party say this with his own ears, he still couldn't believe that Luther Franz really turned the Inquisition into his ally.

However, the stunned and staggered Karin Jacques decisively put away his flintlock gun and turned around and ran away without hesitation.

There were continuous loud explosions behind him, as well as all kinds of screams and roars that were so weird that it made people's scalp itchy, and they wanted to pierce the Tianling Gai, but they didn't stop him from rushing out of the alley and running towards the street.

At this moment, the real picture finally came into view: surrounding the intersection of Old Wall Street, the Whitehall Street police had been heavily surrounded by carnival militiamen: they could only barely parry with the help of heavy carriages and bunkers such as street walls. , try to resist the angry bullets of the militiamen.

There is no need for any reason at all. The citizens simply want to vent their dissatisfaction since last year's food crisis and try to maintain order. In other words, to prevent community representatives from uniting to protest and appeal to the Privy Council and establish a citizens' assembly, the Whitehall Street police have become a target. , was used as a substitute for the Privy Council and accepted the sanctions of the militia.

But it was the third force that really set off the situation... Stalking in the streets and alleys, they looked like factory guards and gangsters. The heavily armed people were hiding among the militia, or hiding in some corners that were not easily discovered, waiting for opportunities. Shoot cold shots at both sides at the same time.

Karin Jacques, who was running desperately, looked up at the sky. Most of the city of Clovis was already filled with smoke.

……………………

"Based on the current known situation, conflicts have broken out between at least 120 communities and the Whitehall Street police who are in the midst of a confrontation. The number of people involved in the firefight on both sides is about 20,000."

In the Prime Minister's Office, the expressionless Colonel Roman put his hands behind his back and stated word for word: "There are already more than 300 injured police officers who urgently need to be resettled as soon as possible, and more than 1,000 police officers are still trapped in the siege of militia armed forces. We have completely lost contact with the outside world.”

"We have informed Colonel Fabian, the deputy commander of the Storm Legion, and he has agreed to send troops to help relieve the siege. In addition, at the Osteria Palace, the Queen Mother has also expressed her willingness to send 300 royal guards to participate in the mediation work as the king's representative. …But I’m afraid it will take time for both sides, and since the riots have spread throughout the city, it will be difficult to end them as soon as possible.”

It was difficult to end it quickly... Ludwig's face was livid.

He was silent for a while, then turned to look at Roman: "Do you think this was a deliberate move by Anson Bach to further undermine the authority of the Privy Council?"

"I'm afraid not." Colonel Roman shook his head and said with a frosty face: "Although it is in line with my imagination of his bottomless style, he should have nothing to do with the situation; chaos is indeed what he wants to happen, but it is out of control. Chaos does not even benefit him."

Indeed... Ludwig felt a little calmer.

For Anson Bach, who had just won a great victory, the most important thing now should be to turn the victory into real fruits as soon as possible, that is, to organize the first Citizens' Assembly and launch an attack on the Privy Council as the founder. Facts have proved that this system is feasible and can indeed bring more efficient governance to Clovis City, that is, prosperity, stability and peace.

It would obviously not be of any benefit to him to have a civil riot at this time and use force to fight against this scandal.

And if we talk about who would benefit from the riots, it would be... hmm? !

"You don't think...no, it's impossible!"

As soon as the sudden idea flashed in his mind, Ludwig himself denied it: "I have sent people to completely blockade the embassy, ​​and even the Northern Chamber of Commerce is under the strictest surveillance. Even if it is really they who did it, No chance to do that!”

"Normally speaking, this is indeed the case." Roman said expressionlessly:

"But even Anson Bach could not have expected that he would be assassinated in broad daylight in the inner city of Clovis. Dozens of assassins would openly ambush in a cafe on the Civic Commercial Street. To ambush a Storm Legion officer."

"If they can even do this kind of thing, then it shouldn't be difficult for them to create a riot that affects most of Clovis City."

Ludwig's expression was extremely ugly.

Ever since the assassination of Anson, he had made some guesses about the real murderer. In addition, the Inquisitor actually came forward openly, so he somewhat expected that the matter was probably related to the Holy See and the Empire; but he was able to accomplish this quietly under his own eyes. As for the layout, if the conservative wealthy nobles were not involved and the Queen Mother had no knowledge of it, then he would never believe it.

"I thought they would stop temporarily after last time, but I underestimated their courage." Ludwig said coldly, looking at Roman:

"You...do you already know something?"

The loyal adjutant did not speak, but his eyes said everything.

Snap—pop—pop—

The knuckles of his right hand rapped hard on the table. The pensive Lord in charge had an expressionless face, and his impatience and out-of-control emotions were replaced by extreme rationality.

"Now...how many police officers can be mobilized outside the Privy Council?"

"Five hundred." Roman understood: "They are all the ones closest to the Franz family. If they are bribed with a lot of money, they should be willing to do anything for you."

"Inform them and ask them to immediately surround the Privy Council. All members are not allowed to leave the parliament hall."

Ludwig's eyes became cold and decisive: "Send someone to report to the Queen Mother... No, it should be His Majesty Nicholas I. Just say that there are rebels among the Privy Council members who are secretly colluding with the empire. In order to ensure the safety of Your Majesty and the stability of the kingdom, we should immediately secretly Carry out the execution to avoid the situation from escalating and causing a negative impact on His Majesty’s reputation.”

"Understood." Roman understood: "I will go to see you immediately, tell the truth to Your Majesty, and explain the reasons why you have to do this in power."

"As for the list of the rebels to be executed...well, should you give it to me now, or will you convey it to His Majesty later?"

"...afterwards."

Ludwig hesitated for a moment and looked towards the parliament hall not far from the door, as if he could hear the noisy quarrel:

"I have a hunch that the length of this list...may be beyond imagination."

……………………

Outer city, Crown Tavern.

Looking sideways at the chaotic scene outside the window, Ian Clemens's expression was slightly heavy, and his surprised eyes seemed to show that things had changed far beyond his initial expectations.

Derek and Carno, who were sitting opposite him, had different expressions. They were holding their own wine glasses. Although they were not as obvious as the former grand leader of the Faithless Knights, they still had absent-minded and thoughtful expressions.

At this time, there were only three guests at their table in the tavern... To be more precise, apart from the three of them, there was no one in the empty tavern; the bar was in disarray, the broken tables and chairs, and the blood and wine on the ground. stains, silently narrating the story that just happened.

"It has already begun..." Ian said worriedly: "The Holy See is moving faster than we thought at the beginning. We originally thought there would still be time to get in touch with His Excellency Anson Bach, but now it seems that it has been That's too late."

"Then what should we do now, go find Anson Bach, or quickly find a way out of this hellish place?"

Derek couldn't help but said: "Isn't Karno already protected by the inquisitors of Clovis City? Then wouldn't it be enough to find the inquisitors?"

"No." Karno objected: "We don't know the attitude of Judge Clovis. It's hard to say whether Anson Bach is being protected by them or under house arrest... He acted rashly without being sure whether he was an enemy or a friend. It failed. The cost is simply unbearable.”

"Don't forget that this is the city of Clovis. Apart from people from the Holy See and the Empire, if we want to be enemies with the inquisitors who are familiar with the local area... we really have no place to stand."

"Then what should we do?!" Derek looked very irritated:

"Now the Holy See is looking for us everywhere. If we can't even stay in Clovis City, do we really have to go back to the colony and be ordered around by that woman from the Luen family?!"

"Of course not."

Seeing that the two of them were still quarreling, Ian could only interrupt helplessly: "Don't worry, there is no need to risk meeting the judges. We have a better way - do you remember the Truth Society? ?”

"The organization that caused the Crecy family to be exterminated and survive on the legacy of Saint Isaac?" Carno took over: "Aren't they almost finished?"

"On the contrary, I only recently learned that the scale and background of this organization may be beyond what we originally understood." Ian shook his head:

"Except for the Cressy family, this organization is so intricate that they can be found in almost the entire world of order. They are everywhere!"

"And now...the Society of Truth seems to intend to support Anson Bach, rely on his power to destroy Clovis's existing balance, re-establish a new system that can break the order of the Holy See, and then rebuild the world of order!"

"I see. No wonder you said Clovis City should be safe for us." Sir Carno nodded slightly:

"In other words, we can get in touch with Anson Bach through the Truth Society and regain cooperation?"

"Yes, in fact, I met a senior member of the Truth Society on the train when I came here. He called himself Draco Vertes; we met last night and told me that he would be waiting in this tavern today. , then we will need to help one of his friends with some small favors. According to my estimation, it may be..."

"boom--!!!!"