MTL - Iron Powder and Spellcasters-Chapter 411 Monsoon (4)

   Chapter 411 Monsoon (4)

  [time: now]

   [Location: Agrippa Auditorium, Republic of Vine]

   Captain Fritz pulled his thoughts out of his memory. Whatever happened to Guitucheng, the dust has now settled.

   He looked at Richard Milehouse walking towards the podium - what matters is not the past, but the future.

  …

   It takes thirteen steps to go from the stage to the speaking seat. During these thirteen steps, Richard Milehouse walked very calmly.

   The noise lingering under the magnificent vault disappeared in an instant, and in the semi-circular auditorium, everyone's eyes were focused on the purple-robed man in the center of the venue.

  Richard Milehouse stood still behind the podium, raised his head slightly, half-squinted his eyes, and looked at the representatives and envoys in the venue.

   Representatives and envoys from republics and foreign countries also looked at him curiously, wanting to see how the new characters who had just stepped onto the stage of power would perform.

   There are too many mysteries about the titular new leader of the Federal Republic: Is he a moderate or a radical? Is he a marionette of the federal military or a head of state holding real power? How does he feel about the tensions within the league?

  People are waiting for His Excellency Richard Milehouse to speak out.

   Yet Richard Milehouse said nothing.

   He stood in the speech box without saying a word, and glanced at the people in the seat indifferently, as if he was looking at a pile of lifeless puppets and clay sculptures.

  The venue fell into a disturbing silence.

   Dead silence.

   Dead silence.

  If silence is the opening remark, then the opening remarks of the new speaker of the federal province is too long.

   After a brief period of surprise, the representatives and envoys in the auditorium became a little overwhelmed. People began to whisper and whisper, trying to find answers to the emergencies in front of them.

  …

  The first floor of the auditorium belongs to the sector of the representatives of the federal provinces.

   A federal soldier in the uniform of the school officer turned his head and asked another school officer next to him in a low voice: "He has stage fright?"

   The person being questioned looked at the new Speaker who was pushed to the throne of power by them, frowned imperceptibly, and waved his hand: "Don't worry."

  …

  The second floor of the auditorium belongs to the seats of foreign envoys.

  Prince Richard looked at Count Valles beside him in confusion, and asked with interest: "Is this pre-arranged?"

  Count Varez - the imperial ambassador to Vine - looked embarrassed, bowed slightly and explained to the prince: "His Royal Highness, I don't know what tricks the Union Province people are doing..."

  …

   At the speaking table, Richard Milehouse greeted everyone's eyes and tasted everyone's emotions - this moment he had been waiting for too long.

   In the silent silence, he felt the unease and confusion of people.

   "Too many chatterers," he thought, "but no one knows the power of silence."

  The time was a quarter past ten, and the sun shone through the skylight of the vault and hit the speaker in the center of the venue, hitting Richard Milehouse.

   He stretched out his hand, slightly turned over the speech script prepared for him by the "Temporary Supreme Council", and then folded the thick stack of speech scripts upside down on the podium.

   Seeing that the purple-robed man in the speech box suddenly moved, everyone in the venue realized that he was about to speak, and the room in the dome returned to dead silence again.

  Richard Milehouse took a deep breath, letting the voice erupt in the silence.

   "I know what you're thinking."

  The voice of the newly elected Speaker of the Union Province is hoarse and deep. The ingenious sound-focusing design of Agrippa Auditorium enables his words to be clearly transmitted to the ears of every audience without magic amplification:

   "You are associating my face with every famous traitor, oathbreaker, and conspirator in history, trying to find even the tiniest feature in me!"

  Richard Milehouse's opening self-deprecation caught everyone under the dome by surprise.

   In the inter-provincial seating area, the school officer who just said "don't worry" frowned even more tightly; on the second floor viewing platform, Prince Richard's eyes were more interested.

   On the edge of the venue, Captain Fritz glanced at Mrs. Milehouse with a little doubt, but he did not see panic and nervousness from the latter's face, only a confident smile.

   However, before Richard Milehouse's amazing words were finished, he paused and glanced at the venue:

“I also know why you think so—because, whatever the rhetoric, the regime change that took place in Guitou four days ago was without question a coup, a rebellion, a well-documented treason !"

   "Om!"

   As soon as this statement came out, the audience was in an uproar.

   No one would have imagined that the Supreme Speaker of the Federal Province, who had just gained power, chose to publicly deny the legitimacy of his power in his first speech on the stage.

   The truth that the military of the United Provinces is unwilling to mention, and the republics are inconvenient to tell the truth, is bloodily displayed in front of the representatives of the whole alliance.

  Richard Milehouse waited patiently, waited until the venue returned to silence, waited until the delegates closed their mouths to hear what he had to say, and then spoke again:

   "However, please also remember that on a ship that is about to sink, as long as the ship is saved from the fate of sinking, it is reasonable to use any means!"

   He stared at the representatives from the republics without fear, and then repeated word by word: "As long as the alliance can be saved from the fate of destruction! It is reasonable to use any means!"

   There was an uproar in the venue again, but this time, Richard Milehouse did not give the delegates any time to be quiet again. He knocked on the podium heavily, suppressing all the noise with his question:

   "Twenty-nine years have passed since the founding fathers signed the Union Charter.

   For twenty-nine years, we have built one monument after another! Created one after another record column! Streets and squares are named after liberty and alliance! Countless celebratory parades were held!

  We are fascinated by the achievements of our founding fathers! Constantly deify their exploits! Push everything up to their untouchable position! So that anyone who tries to face up to the legacy of the founding father will be branded a traitor and a rebel! "

   "Marshal Ned Smith defeated the Empire—a great feat of course, but what's his legacy for us?" Richard Milehouse's voice grew louder and more intense: "A nation?"

"No!" Richard Milehouse almost roared and said the answer: "It's a loose alliance! It's a torn alliance! It's an infighting! An alliance that exists in name only! "

   Every time he said a word, he would slam his fist on the podium. His voice became more deafening one sentence after another, and the sound of his fist hitting the podium became heavier each time, as if a hammer had struck the hearts of the audience.

  The venue fell silent again.

  Because Richard Milehouse told the truth that every Alliance representative avoided talking about but knew it.

   After scanning the venue again, Richard Milehouse spoke again. It's just that his voice was no longer as impassioned as before, but returned to the hoarse and rough voice at the beginning.

"This country, this alliance, was established because of the defeat of the Empire." Richard Milehouse said: "It is also because of the existence of the Empire that you, me, and our republics barely maintain the so-called Great Covenant. "

  The venue was still silent.

Richard Milehouse looked at the delegates and continued: "But when we're so addicted to fighting and squabbling with each other, can anyone look up and look at the outside world? There are stretches of shaded mountains, See the world on the other side of the mountains?

   If anyone has seen - even just a glance, he will understand - the Alliance is on the verge of extinction! Our liberties, our republic, and the legacy of our founding fathers are at stake! "

  Richard Milehouse stretched out his arm and pointed to the invisible north: "On the other side of the mountains, the once rotten and weak Muluo Empire has entered an unprecedented golden age under the rule of the Oathbreaker!

   In Castile, the Oathbreakers have subdued the beasts of the forest! On the eastern frontier, the oath-breakers keep the Saracens from taking a further step! In the far north, the Oathbreakers have conquered the last Norman kingdom, extending their territory to the Narrow Sea!

   Flocks of great ships set out from the Far West colonies, carrying immeasurable wealth back to the Eternal City. Those riches turned into gunpowder and steel! Become the flesh and blood of beasts fed to the oathbreakers! "

   Question after question pounded the hearts of the league representatives:

   "But what about us? What are we doing?"

   "What are we doing when our northern enemy is expanding?

   "What are we doing when our merchants are being squeezed from trade port after port?"

   "What are we doing when the swords hanging over our heads are getting sharper and sharper?"

  Richard Milehouse replied sadly and angrily: "We're fighting each other! We're fighting each other! We've exhausted everything in twenty-nine years of internal friction!"

"If anyone thinks I'm alarmist, look up and look at the son of the false emperor sitting above your heads! Look at that envoy with a fake smile on his face!" Richard Milehouse raised his head Hand, pointing directly at Prince William sitting on the viewing platform:

"While the oathbreaker sent his son as a symbol of peace, the spy kept by the oathbreaker set fire to Steel Castle! Intent to start a large-scale rebellion in Monta! How hypocritical! How ugly! How despicable! The Oath—never gave up the ambition to destroy us!"

"And what about us? We are like five bony wild dogs, biting each other for a few bones until blood drips, but we don't know that on the other side of the mountains, a real beast is grinding its teeth and sucking blood! I'm thinking about tearing us apart completely!"

  …

  The viewing platform on the second floor of the auditorium.

  Empire Ambassador Count Varez jumped up from his seat and shouted angrily at the center of the venue: "Pride! Slander!"

   After roaring, the pale-faced Count Varez kept wiping the sweat from his forehead, and bent deeply towards the prince, almost begging: "Your Highness, please leave with me!"

  Prince Richard waved his hand.

Count Varese's face became even more ugly, and he kept saying cursed: "This matter will not end like this! This is a public slander and slander! You wait! You wait! I must let this go. A bunch of ignorant scumbags look good..."

  Richard said indifferently: "Count Valles."

   Count Valez was taken aback: "Yes."

   "Sit down." The prince said softly, "You made me unable to hear what was being said on stage."

  …

   Speaker's seat.

  Richard Milehouse returns to his gloomy mood.

"Gentlemen, citizens of the Union, look up!" he said: "The last king of the Normans south of the Narrow Sea, Karl Eleven, has been crowned, and his kingdom has been incorporated into the Muro Empire. 's layout.

  The Oathbreaker has swept away all those who do not want to bow down to him, only us! When the armies of the Oathbreakers have recovered from their conquest of the North, it will be our turn! "

  The venue was silent.

  Richard Milehouse calmed his breath, paused for a moment, and made his final remarks for his first public address.

   "A divided house cannot stand, and a divided alliance will never survive under the Empire's forces." His tone was cold and firm:

"The alliance cannot remain in name forever. I don't want to see the great alliance break down, I don't want to see the house collapse, but I will never allow the alliance to perish in my hands! I will never allow the legacy of the founding fathers to be taken away. Go! I will never - surrender to the Oathbreaker!"

"On a ship that is about to sink, as long as it can save the big ship from sinking, it is reasonable to use any means! The alliance and the empire will eventually have a war! This war is inevitable! As long as the alliance can win the final victory, the alliance The Provincial Republic will use any means necessary and is not afraid of taking any charges for it!"

   He uttered the conclusion: "Gentlemen, freedom is not free, freedom has a price, and so is peace!"

   "If war is destined to come! Then the sooner he comes! The better!

   "Long live the Alliance! Glory lasts forever!"

   Having said that, Richard Milehouse scanned the audience for the last time, neither staying in the speech box to accept the greetings nor paying attention to the different expressions of the people in the auditorium, and strode out of the center of the venue.

   The representatives from the republics originally thought that the newly appointed Federal Speaker would not make any big moves. At most, he would show his attitude towards the situation in Palato, and it was more likely that he would just deal with the situation casually.

  No one would have expected to hear such a speech called "declaring war on the empire".

   After a moment of silence, sporadic applause broke out.

   One, two, three...and then a tidal wave. On the first floor of the venue, all the representatives of the United Province seating area stood up and applauded loudly.

   Representatives from other republics also got a standing ovation, and even a representative from Veneta politely followed.

  Captain Fritz glanced at Mrs. Milehouse, who clapped reservedly with a proud smile on her face.

  …

  The second floor viewing platform.

  Prince Richard smiled and stood up, clapping his hands lightly.

   Count Varez stood beside the prince in embarrassment, not knowing whether to applaud with the prince or to leave the stage.

  …

  The Veneta Republic seating area on the first floor.

   Consul de Bella looked at Richard Milehouse's back and commented: "It seems that the new speaker is not a puppet of the army, but an ambitious guy who wants to be his own."

   "Isn't this a good thing? Your Excellency." The entourage asked inexplicably: "How could the Union Provincial Army allow him to be his own faction? Let them bite the dog. The harder they fight, the better it will be for us."

  De Bella sighed: "I'm just worried, we may usher in a more difficult opponent than Lionel."

  …

   Just as thunderous applause and cheers passed through the vaults of the Agrippa Auditorium to the clouds.

   The three travelers had just left the city of Plains and were riding west along the main road.

   A tall man with blond hair with a sword, a skinny guy with a strange hat, and… a nun.

   [It's not over yet! ]

   [United Province, as the background board force for a long time, finally appeared! Sprinkle flowers! ]

   [Currently there are a lot of characters and forces. When this volume is over, we will take a week to sort out the timeline, and then draw a "power map"]

   [This time, the Easter egg chapter is a full-length portrait of Moritz]

   [This full-length portrait of Moritz is actually the second completed work, which is somewhat different from that of Winters]

   [I have conveyed everyone's opinions (for example, the character is too weak) to the artist sister (maybe her sister)]

   [Actually, the artist's painting style and artistry are very good. It should be a problem of communication (not a Chinese), and it will gradually work together, and it will cooperate better in the future]

   [The four completed paintings have been released, the next one is Andre's full body + half body, but it will not start until June (the artist's schedule is full in April and May)]

   [The next one is Mason-senpai, and then the next one... There should be no more next one, or it should be considered (how much money is in the wallet). Because of time and money issues, it may not be possible to keep drawing…]

   [All in all, drafting is an “internal entertainment activity for book lovers”. The author is requesting a manuscript as a reader, not an "official".

   If everyone likes it, I will be very satisfied; if everyone doesn’t like it, it’s good to be a fan. I will also try to find other ways to compensate for the interruption caused by force majeure some time ago, such as... Fanwai? ? ]

   [Thank you for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation ticket, monthly ticket, reward and comment, thank you all]

   (end of this chapter)