Magic Industrial Age

Oakland City,

The City Hall, the office of the Governor.

Loy strode in with a relaxed expression. He was a frequent visitor here. The affairs of the Northern Railway Company were numerous, requiring him to come here every few days to discuss and resolve various trivial matters.

This time, when Miller summoned him, Loy didn't overthink it.

But seeing Miller's solemn expression, the smile on his face slowly faded.

"Is there a problem with the railway construction?"

"No!"

"Has the Empire's policy changed again, affecting us?"

"That's not it either!"

"Is there not enough money? That's impossible. I just saw the financial report yesterday. The supply of raw materials is sufficient, and the workers are overstaffed. We've even trained a group of key personnel. There shouldn't be any problems."

Loy tilted his head and thought for a long time, but couldn't figure out where the problem might be. Miller's solemn expression was starting to falter.

So, he simply handed the document in his hand over, saying, "Read it yourself!"

Loy stared at Miller for a moment, then took the document and opened it. He only glanced at it before his pupils suddenly contracted and his expression froze.

His reaction was almost identical to Miller's when he first saw it. He looked up and said, "Miller, are you joking with me?"

"Do you think I would joke with you about something like this?"

"But look what it says: The Raymond family was attacked by a mysterious force.

The family's castle was destroyed by a meteorite, causing countless casualties.

Family members have been assassinated one after another, including Earl Raymond. All direct bloodlines are dead, their souls annihilated, impossible to trace!"

"This kind of thing, this kind of thing..."

Loy's voice stopped abruptly. He seemed to have thought of something, his pupils rapidly dilating. After a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and uttered four words: "The! Pity! Witch!"

"You thought of it too?"

Baron Miller spoke in a timely manner: "I felt that the previous assassinations didn't seem to be the work of those ten great noble families. Our struggles haven't really reached that point.

So, could this Pity Witch have been sent by that mysterious force?"

"The reason they assassinated you is because, although you are a bastard, you are a direct bloodline of Earl Raymond!"

At this moment, Loy thought of even more.

Because the use of the Abyss Dream Demon's 'Dream Weaver' talent also requires a medium.

Loy had checked himself. He hadn't lost any personal belongings. Given his routine, he hadn't seen any old woman approaching him. Skin tissue or the like shouldn't have been lost either.

At the time, he was wondering how the Pity Witch had locked onto him.

Now it seems that it was probably through bloodline!

Starting with Earl Raymond as the source, going down the line, all direct bloodlines, whether family-acknowledged嫡子 or unacknowledged bastards, were all exterminated.

As this thought emerged in his mind, Loy's expression became even more unsightly.

Even he was somewhat unwilling to face such a scene. He asked with some reluctance: "Miller, is it possible that your information is inaccurate?"

Miller smiled wryly: "This came from the Empire's Military Intelligence Department, it's almost impossible to be false."

"The reason they gave me a copy is probably because they know our relationship and your identity."

"Besides, a thousand-year-old Earl, one of the few great nobles in the Duchy of Norman, having their lineage cut off like that is definitely a huge matter.

So, the news definitely can't be concealed. Anyone who inquires slightly will know the truth."

This sentence completely shattered Loy's last hope. He found a chair and sat down heavily, his expression changing constantly.

Speaking of which, this bastard son of his didn't have much deep affection for the Raymond family.

Even Earl Karl Raymond himself had only met a handful of times, so, if you were to say that Loy is very sad now, that's not really the case.

However, Loy clearly knew that, despite his current success, with assets, power, and being a decisive figure in Oakland City,

all of this was based on the Raymond family's recognition.

The Raymond family was like a great mountain behind him, always standing there, silent, but everyone who came into contact with Loy was shrouded by that mountain.

Then, even if they had any extra thoughts, they would carefully restrain themselves after weighing the consequences.

Loy had never said that his achievements were not protected by the Raymond family.

It's just that this mountain has already collapsed!

Even Loy, at this moment, felt a little at a loss. He sat there blankly, feeling a bit lost.

Fortunately, Miller walked to Loy's side.

He put a hand on Loy's shoulder, and when Loy looked up, their eyes met. He said very seriously: "Loy, you must remember, this is the Habsburg Empire, not the Duchy of Norman!"

"Here, you still have the friendship of the Petrovic family, and I am your best friend."

"So, trust me, no one can threaten you!"

Loy felt a warm current flowing through his heart. Regardless of how their cooperation started, you can't deny that they are now really good friends.

"I'll have to rely on you to protect me in the future!"

……

Oakland City, outside the city,

Provence Manor.

At this moment, it also welcomed a batch of guests.

Hundreds of fully armed knights, riding horses with the blood of magical beasts, silent, wordless, but a sense of killing permeated the air.

Wherever they passed, the sound of horses was like thunder, able to deter everyone.

In the center of the knights' escort, a luxurious carriage, protected by the wind, lightly crossed the bumpy road.

The coachman driving this magic carriage had to pull the reins tightly to avoid speeding.

Looking at the horses pulling the carriage, they were all pure white, without any blemishes, and their foreheads had unicorn horns, showing their magical beast bloodline.

As the old continent where knights prevailed, mounts have always had an indispensable position.

Those powerful knights, even if they can't subdue magical beasts to use as mounts, the best choice is these horses with magical beast bloodlines.

Its price has definitely reached an exaggerated level.

But here, there are dozens of mixed-blood warhorses, and these pure-blood magical beast warhorses are even exclusive to the top nobles.

Only these top nobles have the resources, financial power, and inheritance to tame and breed these magical beast warhorses.

Of course, the most glorious is the fluttering banner.

When Hoover Butler greeted them, he looked at the blue, white, and yellow stripes, which, although without any frills, made him tremble all over.

He opened the manor door without any hesitation.

Then, the knights escorted the carriage in and quickly took over the protection of the entire manor.

Only then was the carriage door opened, and a delicately dressed maid jumped out of the carriage first, then brought a stool and helped a woman down.

This woman looked to be in her forties, with beautiful black hair, dignified appearance, and elegant demeanor, with a natural nobility.

However, the obvious crow's feet at the corners of her eyes showed that she was not young.

Although her expression was still gentle, her eyes were unusually sharp, and the majesty in her eyes could not be ignored.

Even those powerful knights immediately lowered their heads when facing her, not daring to look her in the eye.

However, this woman seemed to have something on her mind and didn't dwell on it too much. She went directly into the manor's study.

Here, a look of nostalgia flashed in her eyes as she paced around.

Her slender, rounded fingers stroked every piece of furniture and every decoration, her eyes full of reluctant longing.

But in the end, her expression showed some ferocity and terror, as if she wanted to devour people.

Knock knock!

A slight knock on the door came, and she immediately returned to normal. After a slight adjustment, she said, "Come in."

Creak...

The door was pushed open, and Hoover Butler walked in respectfully, maintaining absolute elegance, but also very cautiously, "Greetings, Madam."

"Since you know me, you should know why I'm here?"

Hoover hesitated slightly: "Madam, Young Master Loy doesn't know anything. Are you really determined to drag him into the vortex?"

The woman said: "The Raymond family is gone, the direct bloodline is all dead.

Now, Loy is the only heir. Tell me, who should inherit the huge family fortune and the thousand-year inheritance?"

"What's more, he is my son!"

"This, this, this..."

Hoover Butler's face changed greatly, with an expression of disbelief, stammering:

"Alright, you're just a butler, just do your job."

As the noblewoman said this, she took out a letter from her bosom and handed it to the maid beside her.

The maid then passed the letter to Hoover Butler.

"Give this to him, let him read it, and then come to see me."

Hoover Butler tremblingly took the letter, glanced at the woman again, and finally didn't say anything, turning to leave.

Even he, when he left the room and went down the stairs, sprained his foot and almost rolled down.

Steadying himself, he stood on the stairs, his expression blank, staying still for a long time, then clenched the letter, stood up, and limped out.

In any case, this letter had to be delivered to Loy as soon as possible.

In any case, the arrival of this one had already broken their peaceful life.

Hoover stepped forward, as if he saw, saw a bloody storm.

Fate, the favorite is always to give you a heavy blow when you are least prepared!

I'll try to stabilize the update at around 5 PM for two chapters!