On the second day of Mid-Autumn, Roland received a secret letter from the royal capital.
Letters delivered by flying messengers were most likely written to him by the guard, Tass.
Unfolding the note wrapped around the bird's claws, Roland walked to the window and examined it closely in the bright sunlight.
"Your Highness, your plan has achieved amazing success."
"Since the palace was quickly sealed off and no one was allowed in or out, I couldn't investigate the effects of the bàozhà. However, by evening, almost all residents knew about the attack on the palace. Whether in taverns, inns, or squares, wherever people gathered, the only topic of discussion was this. Even the death of the late king had never caused such a sensation. Coupled with the warning you issued earlier, many people now even believe that Timothy has died in this attack, and you will soon ascend to the royal capital and become the new ruler of Graycastle."
This passage completely reassured Roland—the bombing mission was successfully completed, and the witches returned safely. There was no better news than this.
Pouring himself a cup of tea, he returned to the mahogany table and continued reading.
"However, according to the intelligence gathered so far, the major noble territories outside the royal capital have shown no movement, and the palace's response has been very swift. Therefore, I speculate that Timothy Wimbledon is likely still alive."
"In addition, some people are confidently saying that the attack came from the sky. Some residents witnessed light white objects falling from the sky and crashing into the palace at an extremely high speed. Therefore, I have a preliminary plan for the task you assigned me—if we can portray this as a divine punishment you inflicted on the pseudo-king's bàoxing, I think many people will believe it."
"My recruited subordinates are full of enthusiasm for this. They have been collecting a lot of information about Timothy's tyrannical behavior, and now, mixed together, it should be even more effective. I believe that within a month, this news will be spread to every citizen by the Black Street rats."
"In addition, I will continue to closely monitor the movements of the Eastern Suburb Barracks. However, judging from the current situation, Timothy should be too busy figuring out how to deal with the attack to pay attention to anything else."
The letter had no signature at the end. After reading it, Roland folded the secret letter and put it in the drawer, letting out a long sigh.
It would be great if Dongfeng-1 could really deter Timothy from sending troops.
After all, wasting a large number of people on kèyào operations was too wasteful. The later the opponent starts a war of attrition, the more opportunities he would have to win over the population.
Roland picked up his cup and took a sip of the fragrant black tea. All that remained was to wait patiently for the witches to return.
He hadn't seen Anna for several days, and no one was stealing the dried fish from the drawer. He was even feeling a little unaccustomed to it.
Just then, Carter pushed open the door to the office.
"Your Highness, two fleets have arrived at the dock."
"Is the Margie Merchant Guild here? Considering the time spent on the road, she missed a good show... wait," Roland paused slightly, "There's another fleet?"
"Yes," Carter smiled, "The envoy group you sent to the Southern Territory to recruit manpower has returned with a batch of people. The refugees they brought have almost filled the dock. The City Hall is implementing the plan you formulated together with Lucia xiaojie..."
"Quarantine work."
"Yes, yes, eliminating possible epidemics and the like..." The Chief Knight coughed twice, "This batch numbers about four or five hundred people."
"Is that so?" Roland couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth. He had just been thinking about this, and now it was bearing fruit. It seemed that Lian's temporary shelters would need to be expanded with another batch. "Let's go take a look."
*******************
Kaimo Streel put down the thin, tattered volume and kept repeating, "So that's how it is."
"Mentor?" Charmis asked with some concern.
Ever since he got this book, *Intermediate Chemistry*, Kaimo had been without sleep for two days, almost non-stop flipping through the entire ancient book.
He had also glanced at it a few times, but the content was too profound and difficult to understand.
"I'm fine," the Chief Alchemist's voice was completely devoid of fatigue, but instead full of energy. Although there was eye discharge at the corners of his eyes, his eyes were bright and piercing, not at all like someone who hadn't slept all night.
It was a rule that a disciple should abide by not to easily interrupt when the mentor was studying alchemy. Only at this point did Charmis dare to ask for guidance, "This... the disciple doesn't understand. What is an atom, and what is an electron?"
"You are already a qualified alchemist, so don't call yourself a disciple anymore. According to His Highness, we are now colleagues," Kaimo paused, "As for your question, I don't know how to answer it... In fact, when Roland delivered *Intermediate Chemistry* to me, he also included this."
Charmis looked at the other book placed on the table, with the words *The Theoretical Foundation of Natural Science* written on the cover.
"Streel... Sir," he was not used to the title, "It seems to have nothing to do with alchemy... no, chemistry."
"I originally thought so too," Kaimo said with a sigh, stroking his beard, "But after casually flipping through a few pages, I realized that I actually knew nothing about this world."
"What?" Charmis was stunned. Knew nothing? Alchemists studied the composition of objects, the essence of elements. If even they knew nothing, what was the difference between others and monkeys?
"I'm referring to concepts," the Chief Alchemist's voice was full of excitement... and satisfaction, "We thought alchemy was just alchemy, the study of matter. The sun rising and setting, flowers blooming and withering, had nothing to do with us."
"Isn't that the way it is... Observing the sun and stars is what astrologers are good at, as for plants," Charmis said with slight disdain, "Only peasants and herbalists would study them."
"That's why I say we know nothing," Kaimo shook his head, "This book, from the very beginning, has tried to connect everything, whether it's stones, flowers, thunder, or fire, they are all composed of the same things and operate under the same rules. Not only does chemistry react completely according to rules, but the sun rising and falling, and flowers blooming and withering are also the same. This rule is so precise that as long as the initial conditions are the same, the result will be exactly the same. Chemistry is just a small part of it."
"...This, how is that possible?"
"I also find it hard to imagine," he spread out the periodic table of elements, "In *Intermediate Chemistry*, it sets the shape of elements—a large sphere surrounded by many small spheres. The large sphere determines what kind of element it is, and the number of layers and the number of small spheres in the outer ring determine the properties of the element. This list is arranged according to this rule. They are as orderly as soldiers in a line. I also fully understand His Highness's meaning: why even if you have never seen or touched this element, you can deduce its properties and reaction mechanism. Because even the basis of the reaction is the gain or loss of small spheres, and does not involve changes in the large spheres. This is also why elements do not disappear in the reaction, but only transfer."
Charmis pondered for a moment, "Do you... believe it?"
These theories were too ethereal and could not be verified with the eyes. So, how did the person who wrote the book know?
"I don't know, so I can't answer the question you asked before," Kaimo smiled, "But whether you believe it or not is not important. The key is the perspective it provides, which I have never imagined... It showed me another door, and what is engraved on the door is not just chemistry." At this point, his tone paused slightly, "Unfortunately, His Highness failed to record it all. He may not understand what he has missed."
Charmis did not quite understand these words. Just like when he first became an apprentice, facing the alchemist's terminology was like another language. Now, he had that feeling again.
But he wasn't worried. As long as he stayed by his mentor's side, he would definitely be able to learn these so-called "inner connections of all things." Compared to the Chief Alchemist, he had the most time.
After a moment of silence, Charmis asked, "However, why are the names of these books issued by His Highness in different colors?"
The Chief Alchemist said "Huh," "This... I overlooked that. Could it be a whim?" But he quickly shook his head, "No, it would be fine if it was black and red, but these colors are particularly difficult to match, so it's unlikely to be unintentional. In other words, His Highness deliberately made it like this?"
*Elementary Chemistry* was blue, *The Theoretical Foundation of Natural Science* was blue, *Elementary Mathematics* was green, and the name of *Intermediate Chemistry* (Fragment) was written in purple paint. It was not prominent when viewed alone, but when placed together, it was particularly noticeable.
"Maybe it's for aesthetics?" Charmis guessed. (。)