Chapter 1 An Unprecedented Change

The afternoon sun of autumn and the golden leaves flew past the window. The slightly opened car window filled the compartment with a faint woody fragrance, like the scent of pine and cypress.

"I believe that the Crete Empire is undergoing an unprecedented transformation. Since the rise of the National Revival faction, many aspects have undergone earth-shattering changes."

The old man, Lan Qi, looking serious and profound, tapped the table.

"First of all, in the cultural field, the royal family strongly promotes nationalism and heroism, rekindling the pride of the Crete people. Writers and thinkers such as Julius Wolff and Felix Roth have received unprecedented praise, and their ideas have become an important part of the national ideology. At the same time, modernist, expressionist and other 'degenerate' art schools have been purged and suppressed, which is actually not a good phenomenon."

"In terms of social life, Saint Baldo Hoffman, the Temple Emperor, has implemented a series of policies aimed at shaping the image of the Crete people, such as advocating healthy physiques, tall statures, and advocating that women should return to traditional roles and have more children. And some commoners, whose ancestors migrated from many northern kingdoms, such as the Esters and Roma, have been increasingly excluded in the central city-states, further dividing the contradictions between nobles and commoners."

"At present, the vigorous development of the military industry and the improvement of employment conditions have strengthened the Crete Empire in the Southern Continent. Although we are in an era of turmoil, under the banner of the empire's revival, the internal problems of the Crete nation have gradually spread outward. In the short term, it should indeed show a vigorous posture, but do you think this is really good..."

The magic-powered rail train was still speeding across the horizon.

Lan Qi, disguised as an old publisher, chatted with the young man in the same compartment about the empire's culture, fashion, and recent situation and trade.

He leaned back on the soft chair cushion, sometimes chatting, sometimes looking out at the vast mountains outside the window, confirming where they were roughly.

They were towering and majestic, making people feel small involuntarily.

This magnificent scenery always soothed people's hearts, gradually calming down anxious and irritable emotions.

From the looks of it, they would arrive in Brilda, the capital of Crete, in less than an hour.

"That's right, Mr. Lovia. The hidden dangers of the empire actually exist. The drawbacks of this war are just selectively ignored by many people. I think we should not only study in this direction, but also study it seriously."

Landry, a black-haired, blue-eyed youth, agreed.

The two had been chatting all the way.

As they chatted, Lan Qi also noticed that although this brilliant and talented imperial citizen, Landry, held an opposing attitude towards the war, he could hardly conceal his far-right ideas.

He believed that internal troubles should be eliminated through non-war means, vigorously developing the empire's magical engineering, defeating the countries of the Southern Continent Alliance in trade wars, and gradually winning over and disintegrating the alliance, with the Crete Empire as the leader, that is, restoring hegemony through peaceful means.

But upon careful thought, being a young teacher directly hired by the Saint Crete Abbey, whether in terms of his skills or knowledge in his professional field, he was not comparable to ordinary people, but rather showed an erudition that was different from what he should have at his age.

Just as Lan Qi was preparing to continue chatting about the empire's development strategy, a familiar female voice sounded in Lan Qi's heart.

"Lan Qi, don't act too enthusiastically. I know you're a top-notch imposter, but sometimes you're too pure, and people can't tell whether you're an imposter or a true, iron-blooded imperial citizen."

Talia knew that Lan Qi was very good at quickly integrating into the environment.

Correspondingly, after he came to the empire, he was indeed too much like an imperial citizen.

It was as if he had already regarded himself as an imperial citizen, and even his thinking was based on the perspective of an imperial citizen.

She wondered if this guy was like this when he was in the Protos Empire.

"Don't worry, when it's time for a glorious return, my identity will be clear at a glance. I'm obviously a pure-blooded citizen of the kingdom."

Lan Qi promised in his heart.

This was just an ordinary case of when in Rome, do as the Romans do.

"That's good."

Talia was afraid that if she followed Lan Qi in the Crete Empire, she would also become a traitor.

She was now an old Ikrithi, with a very firm stance.

She was counting on retiring in the Hutton Kingdom in this lifetime.

Just as Lan Qi's thoughts were about to drift away, he clearly felt the speed of the train slowing down.

It gradually stopped.

Lan Qi and the youth in unison looked up and met each other's eyes, with a hint of doubt in their eyes.

"Does the magic-powered rail train still stop?"

Lan Qi asked in confusion.

This was the first time he had encountered this situation.

"This situation is rare."

Landry, the black-haired, blue-eyed youth, also agreed.

They felt that the passengers in other compartments were also becoming noisy, seemingly puzzled by what had happened.

Just then, accompanied by a buzzing sound and the sound of a microphone being raised, a magnetic male voice came from the train's broadcast, attracting their attention.

"Dear passengers, we apologize for the interruption. We have received information that there are extremely dangerous elements mixed in on this train. Currently, our police officers are investigating suspicious persons. Please remain calm, do not panic, and do not move around at will. We have requested assistance from the Brilda city-state, and imperial military reinforcements are rushing to the scene. Thank you for your cooperation."

The voice in the broadcast was a bit distorted, but still sounded relatively calm to ensure the stability of the passengers.

As soon as the voice fell, the originally calm train suddenly became agitated.

Before long, faint footsteps and whispers could be heard in the corridor. The passengers were obviously panicked by the sudden news.

Talia's voice suddenly sounded again in Lan Qi's heart.

"Lan Qi, why don't we escape? Your identity may have been exposed. Going to Brilda will be very dangerous."

Talia didn't know what was going on, and was ready to help Lan Qi fight at any time.

The information in the broadcast just now most likely referred to Lan Qi, the traitor.

At this distance, they should be able to escape. At least the God of War would not be dispatched so easily, leaving the capital Brilda to capture a prisoner in the remote mountains.

"Extremely dangerous elements, that obviously doesn't refer to me. I'm not extreme at all, and not dangerous at all."

Lan Qi argued with reason and was very confident.

"..."

Talia didn't know how to continue talking to Lan Qi.

She felt that Lao Sang shouldn't object to Lan Qi's words.

But she also felt that Lan Qi's actions along the way had been very cautious, and there was no reason for him to be exposed.

Lan Qi's only contact was Nigel, and he hadn't even contacted other Borson intelligence personnel since coming to the empire.

"I'll just continue to act like an imperial citizen and do what I should do."

Lan Qi signaled Talia to rest assured, comforting her.

Before the dust settled, always maintaining his identity and acting skills, and betting to the end if it was a psychological war, never letting himself be thrown into confusion first, was Lan Qi's principle.

Once he took the initiative to show flaws, he would be truly exposed.

"I'll listen to you."

Talia responded.

Lan Qi's consciousness also returned from his mind to reality.

He saw the black-haired, blue-eyed youth sitting opposite him frowning, with a trace of solemnity in his eyes.

Landry subconsciously put his hand into the inside of his coat, as if he was ready to deal with possible dangers at any time.

"Are there many extremely dangerous elements around the capital Brilda?"

Lan Qi asked in a low voice.

He felt that the youth opposite him seemed to have a deeper understanding of the internal situation of Brilda, and might even have some clues.

"Recently, we just started a war with the outside world. The entire empire is indeed on the cusp of the storm. The empire's screening is very strict, and it will never tolerate internal problems."

Landry shook his head, his tone cautious.

Lan Qi nodded, expressing his agreement.

The contradictions between the nobles and the people within the empire had a long history. Although the two sides maintained a delicate balance on the surface, they had never stopped competing in secret, and even triggered large-scale internal strife many years ago, leaving behind many historical problems.

If the Crete Empire launched a war against the outside world, it was a good opportunity for internal rebels to take advantage of the situation.

He just didn't expect that their tentacles had actually reached into civilian trains.

Just then, a commotion suddenly came from outside the compartment.

Orders, warnings, fighting sounds, a chaotic mess, seemed to be mixed with the roar of explosions, getting closer and closer to Car Four.

Immediately afterward, a shrill scream suddenly pierced the sky, as if someone had suffered inhuman abuse, but it soon disappeared, seemingly already dead.

Lan Qi and the black-haired, blue-eyed youth looked at each other again, their eyes filled with shock and unease.

"Mr. Lovia, I need to go out and see what's going on. At this juncture, we can't let those internal tumors who want to harm the empire run amok."

The black-haired, blue-eyed youth bit his lip, his tone resolute.

He seemed to have long hated these people who stirred up internal strife.

"I'll go out and see what's going on. You stay here and don't move. Be careful."

After saying that, he used magic cards to transform a firearm-like staff and strode out of the compartment.

"Be careful, Teacher Landry!"

Lan Qi watched him leave the compartment, with a faint worry in his heart.

With the sixth-level strength of the black-haired, blue-eyed youth teacher, he should be able to withstand most of the storms.

If it was not absolutely necessary, Lan Qi would never take action, because the old Mr. Lovia he was playing had a low level and little fighting ability.

Sure enough.

Not long after the black-haired, blue-eyed youth left, the entire train suddenly shook violently. The train, which had already stopped, seemed to have hit something.

At the same time, a deafening explosion roared, and a part of the car was instantly swallowed by flames!

The violent vibration almost knocked Lan Qi to the ground. His ears were buzzing, and his vision was obscured by the dazzling flames and billowing smoke.

At least a sixth-level fight had occurred.

"Meow meow meow! Lan Qi, you vehicle killer!"

Boss Cat hid in the shadows, shivering.

It had had enough!

Sitting on a boat with Lan Qi, it encountered a shipwreck.

Sitting on an airship with Lan Qi, it encountered an air crash.

Sitting on a rail train with Lan Qi, it still had to encounter an accident?

Lan Qi really hated vehicles, right!

Wait, it seemed that it was also there every time there was an accident.

Could it be that it was also a vehicle killer?

Meow.

Boss Cat fell into thought.

Thick smoke billowed outside compartment 404, seeping into the compartment along the door seams.

Lan Qi rolled and crawled to the door, opened the compartment door with force, but was forced back by the oncoming heat wave.

Only by relying on Boss Cat's telekinetic magic, did he quickly open the compartment.

When the smoke cleared slightly, he could see the tragic state of the car.

The once elegant and tidy aisle was now a mess. Broken furniture was scattered everywhere. There were scorched marks and winding cracks everywhere. The air was filled with a pungent burnt smell, choking him so that he covered his mouth.

Some of the bright ceiling lights had been shattered, while others flickered, occasionally bursting out with a few sparks, illuminating the entire car intermittently, like ghosts, and several security guards' bodies lay scattered on the ground.

The imperial guards on the car were almost killed with one blow. Scarlet blood gurgled out of their wounds, forming a frightening pool of blood on the ground.

However.

What surprised Lan Qi the most was that next to the pile of corpses, there was also a familiar dark blue coat figure lying there.

His head had been chopped off, and more than a dozen semi-transparent magic cards flashing purple and pink light emerged from his body.

The huge movement of the fight with the enemy just now was obviously transmitted by Landry's spells.

But so quickly, he was already dead?

How strong was the enemy?

Before Lan Qi could think much, he had already come to the answer.

At the other end of Car Four, a figure appeared in the smoke at some point.

To be precise, it was a woman, standing next to Landry's body.

She was tall, and a black dress outlined her graceful curves. Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, making her white porcelain mask even more eerie and terrifying.

The masked woman's eyes were cold, and her expression could not be seen. The blade of the short knife in her hand was dripping with dark red blood.

The female assassin looked towards Lan Qi who ran out.

Or rather, the 404 compartment he was in.

"Boss Cat, use black gas."

Lan Qi commanded Boss Cat immediately.

Since he tied the primordial stone slab to the seal, the small sun originally used to shield his vision would be forced to bring the obsidian effect of divine light due to the seal attribute, so he also supplemented Boss Cat with some cheap, lower-level replacement cards.

The thick smoke in the entire car was suddenly covered by black mist, shielding the line of sight.

If he, Lan Qi, had to take action, he could not let other passengers in the car see him take action.

The sudden appearance of a female assassin on this train, her identity and motives were all a mystery.

Lan Qi was temporarily unable to deduce the reason.

After all, there were inherent conflicts and contradictions within the Crete Empire, and due to the turmoil many years ago, some civilians and nobles were quite hostile to each other, which led to some extremist factions.

But now the only thing Lan Qi could be sure of was that the so-called dangerous element should be this female assassin. And his disguise was always perfect.

No matter which camp he was in, he could not stand idly by while innocent people died. There were still old people and children on the car. They were unarmed civilians.

The best strategy at present should be to continue to play the role of an imperial citizen, solve this turmoil, and then safely go to the capital Brilda.

"Teacher Landry should be a sixth-level magic-type profession. Although he is inclined to be a researcher, being killed so quickly by this female assassin shows that her strength is quite strong and she is a well-trained veteran."

Talia said in Lan Qi's mind.

"Very good, that's not much different. In theory, Landry has a chance to win."

Lan Qi had already determined the strategy.

He wanted to create a scene where Landry and this female assassin died together - although she successfully killed the young teacher Landry, she also died of exhaustion due to the serious injuries Landry had left her.

At that time, Lan Qi would be able to hide his merits and fame and continue to sneak into the Crete Empire's imperial capital Brilda.

In his thoughts, seeing the female assassin already raised the short knife in her hand, a biting killing intent struck her face. She obviously did not intend to let go of the imperial old man in the same compartment as Landry.

Without any words.

The female assassin launched the attack first.

The short knife drew a sharp cold light in the air, flashing straight to Lan Qi's face.

Lan Qi, possessed by Talia, barely dodged sideways, perfectly avoiding the female assassin's fatal blow.

"Lan Qi, be careful."

Talia reminded.

This female assassin was probably close to the seventh level. No wonder Landry's head was separated from his body so quickly.

When she was fighting black boxing at the Saint Silver Vine Arena before, she had not seen such a strong sixth-level opponent except for Inoan.

Or rather, there had to be this kind of professional assassin to dare to commit murder on the way to the Crete capital Brilda to ensure everything was safe.

The female assassin also seemed quite surprised.

This old man, who did not seem to have any martial artist aura, was able to avoid her attack.

Lan Qi had no time to sigh anything, because the female assassin's pursuit had already followed.

Her next knife had already dragged a cold light, heading straight for Lan Qi's vitals.

Seeing that it was not a solution to fight hard, Lan Qi jumped back to open the distance, and a small whirlwind formed in front of him. He saw it whistling towards the female assassin, stirring up dust and debris along the way, briefly repelling her.

Boss Cat's wind magic was obviously not enough to shake this fierce opponent by two levels.

But this was just to confuse the other party.

In the next second, dozens of mental magic power followed, turning into an impenetrable net, and capturing the female assassin.

The female assassin also seemed to feel this strange magic power and had to face it squarely.

This time, she obviously misjudged the old man's strength.

She began to lose control of her body, as if the nerves in her limbs were locked, making a painful roar, constantly erupting with strength to struggle.

The entire car was shaking violently, as if it would be torn apart by her brute force at any time.

Countless wreckage and fragments were flying in the air, but she finally gradually calmed down. When the smoke cleared, everything fell into a strange silence.

The female assassin lay in a pile of rubble.

This was the smallest movement magic that Talia could use.

If she used seventh- or eighth-level magic to fight, not to mention whether other passengers could escape, it would probably be impossible to explain who had taken action afterward.

The female assassin lying on the ground stubbornly struggled for a while, finally confirming that this old man was at least at the seventh level and she was definitely not his opponent, so she gave up struggling.

Lan Qi approached her.

Before the smoke cleared, he also had to investigate the cause and effect from the female assassin.

Landry could not die so unclearly.

He felt very sorry for Landry's death, but there was no way. When a master like Landry was present, he, Lan Qi, could not take action actively, otherwise he would be seen through and his identity would be exposed.

After all, Landry would become a hero who protected the passengers, which was the only thing Lan Qi could help him do.

Lan Qi was also curious as to why this turmoil was taking place.

But before he could ask, the female assassin had already spoken to him.

"Who exactly are you..."

The female assassin asked unwillingly.

She could not figure out who this old man was.

And why a seventh-level existence would appear.

"Imperial power is unparalleled, the empire's faith."

Lan Qi imitated Landry's voice and said coldly,

"Those who offend my Crete Empire, no matter how far away they are, will be executed."

Perhaps there were other passengers in the compartment who were listening tremblingly at this moment.

But he wanted these passengers to hear it so that they could be witnesses.

Prove that this was a battle between the female assassin and Landry.

"So you are..."

The female assassin seemed to understand.

The Crete Empire's magic guide special forces, also the most troublesome hawks and dogs in the Crete Empire. A man with this kind of ability was probably one of the top three in the magic guide special forces.

"..."

Talia could not help but admire Lan Qi's self-cultivation as an actor.

You can really match the words?

Sometimes he could really deceive himself first, and then confuse everyone, and others would not be able to guess that he was actually a kingdom citizen.

Lan Qi slowly squatted down in front of the female assassin and activated the soundproof barrier.

"Heh."

The female assassin just smiled indifferently, seeming to tell the other party with her eyes that no matter how they interrogated her after capturing her, she would not reveal a single word.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I won't interrogate you."

Lan Qi said softly, as if a kindergarten teacher was coaxing a child to take a nap.

"?"

The female assassin's eyes behind the white porcelain mask froze.

"Let me see your memories."

Lan Qi said softly, while asking Talia in his heart to use the smallest range of Overflowing Gentle Township.

"No!! Don't!!!"

The female assassin immediately seemed to realize something. Her cold eyes, which would not waver even when facing torture, wavered, as if she had encountered something she was truly afraid of.

The other party was a master of mental magic, able to capture her like this. And the other party might also have more profound mental detection magic. Falling into the other party's hands, she could not even commit suicide!

"I want to kill you, kill you!!!"

She said angrily, hoarsely.

The eyes under the white porcelain seemed to want to swallow Lan Qi alive.

However, she could not resist the sleepiness that made her brain almost blank. Gradually, tears overflowed from the corners of her eyes, and she fell asleep.

"Lan Qi, I always feel that you were really like a high-ranking imperial officer just now, and the most dangerous kind."

Talia could not help but say in Lan Qi's heart.

"How is that possible? How many days have I been to the empire, and I just happened to be maintaining law and order, not that I intended to help the empire."

Lan Qi declared.

He closed his eyes, gradually immersed in a brand new world. The surrounding space seemed to ripple with unstable waves.

Like Fallen Gentle Township, Overflowing Gentle Township can also interfere with other people's dreams.

At this moment, Lan Qi felt as if he had broken away from the constraints of the flesh and was directly communicating with the space of the soul.

When he opened his eyes again, it was already a scene completely different from the dilapidated train car.

Under the clear sky, one could look up and see a blue and clear color.

The spring sun made people's skin feel warm, and the sound of water by the river was clear and melodious.

This was a beautiful town.

In this season, wearing casual clothes would feel the temperature was moderate, everything was just right.

Lan Qi and Talia shared their thoughts and descended into the female assassin's dream together, their bodies were semi-transparent like spirits, watching from afar.

The female assassin in the dream stood on the bustling town street in a trance. The only thing echoing in her ears was the laughter of children chasing and playing in the empty square, and the clanging sound of the hand-cranked bell.

She was beautiful, and subconsciously stroked her face and arms in the reflection on the glass of the street shop. There were no scars on her body.

A girl, whose appearance and hair color were somewhat similar to the female assassin, seemed to be her younger sister. She was healthy and was shopping on the street with her.

"Sister Unity..."

The girl tugged at her clothes, as if she did not understand why she had stopped and looked lost.

"..."

Unity gradually came back to her senses, staring blankly at the healthy girl.

She suddenly hugged the girl and cried.

She kept muttering vague words such as "You must be safe and sound" and "Sister will never leave you again."

Then, she was relieved to be led by her sister to play in this town.

There was no cruel battlefield, and her dead comrades would meet her on the street by chance and greet her.

And this landmark...

It could be vaguely identified through the words as the Canberra Kingdom in the Western Hub District.

Lan Qi and Talia looked at each other in her dream.

"Why would she dream of the Canberra Kingdom?"

The semi-transparent figure Talia asked.

"Obviously, it shows that she is a kingdom citizen."

Lan Qi answered as a matter of course.

The two instantly understood.

This female assassin was one of their own!

It turned out that the dangerous elements mentioned in the broadcast were indeed allied spies.

Lan Qi was still wondering how he could have been exposed.

In this train, besides him, there was actually another kingdom citizen!

The empire wanted to capture this allied assassin named Unity.

Lan Qi and Talia quickly ran out of Unity's dream like two children who felt they had caused trouble, returned their consciousness to reality, and began to awaken her with augmentation-type mental magic.

Without the interference of the caster, Unity quickly woke up.

Her hazy eyes looked at the old man in front of her who had not harmed her with some confusion.

However, she was still firmly pressed to the ground by mental control.

"You damn imperial hawk dog!!"

Unity recalled the dream just now and instantly realized the other party's mental interference ability.

Using this kind of dream to peep into her brain undoubtedly violated her bottom line as a kingdom warrior!

There was such a master hiding on the train. It seemed that she had been tricked.

She did not understand why she would fall into the trap and who had betrayed her.

But the mysterious man in front of her was definitely the culprit who had set the trap to hunt her!

She could not imagine how much intelligence she would be forcibly stolen from her if this man continued to dig into her consciousness!

The more she thought about it, the more she felt ashamed and desperate, but it eventually turned into resentment towards the imperial officer in front of her.

"..."

Lan Qi looked dazed and innocent, pointing at himself, speechless.

His thinking was not a problem. He did not intend to help the empire.

"She is not lying. She really thinks you are an imperial citizen."

Talia added a reminder to Lan Qi using her lie detection talent.

Maybe she really misunderstood Lan Qi at first.

Other spies need to rely on great determination to painstakingly and perfectly disguise themselves as imperial citizens, and you, my friend, you are the chosen imperial citizen.