landbeastnovel Chapter 432 Cleaning Up the Situation, Hugh's Ambition
Chapter 432 Cleaning Up the Situation, Hugh's Ambition
Chapter 432 Cleaning Up the Situation, Hugh's Ambition
In order to cover up all the secrets, Maxim not only has to help Alice silence her, but also has to answer two questions.
That explains why he would take such a big risk to sneak into Backlund after Burk Einhorn was trapped in the Kingdom of Loen, and who wrote the letter of denunciation that exposed his identity.
If these two questions cannot be explained clearly, then the Horn family may be put on the list of suspects, and the cooperation between the Aurora Club and Akhmatova Einhorn may also be exposed.
The first problem is easier to solve: the diplomatic dispute between the Fusak Empire and the Kingdom of Rune that occurred not long ago and has not yet subsided, but has instead intensified.
MI9 has been frantically searching for Princess Alice, who is lurking in Backlund, because her activities in Backlund have caused the authorities of the Kingdom of Rune too much trouble.
Every day, leaflets from the Kingdom of Yuyurun are flying around the streets.
This has led to continuous protests in Backlund, with people demanding that the government reach a friendly agreement with the Fussac Empire to end the hostile relationship between the two countries, accept Fussac Empire's help, and provide relief to those suffering from the pandemic.
What's even more frightening is that the participants in the march are no longer just some so-called social activists. Among them are nobles who are unaware of the truth but still have a conscience, middle-class people who have suffered heavy losses in this pandemic, and ordinary workers who are almost illiterate.
This is a remarkable alliance of social classes, with only the government of the Kingdom of Rune being seen as the bad guy, which seriously affects the rule of the great nobles and the bourgeoisie.
Therefore, in addition to doing their utmost to smear the Fusak Empire and appease all levels of society, the Augustus family and other high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Rune have also given MI9 a death order to capture the legendary Fusak Empire princess before the New Year.
What Maxim is doing now is taking this huge title upon himself and telling everyone in the Kingdom of Rune that the real mastermind behind such a big commotion is actually a Sequence 4 demigod who is secretly lurking in Backlund, and that the princess is just an assistant.
This explanation was more acceptable to the Augustus family and MI9 than the so-called princess of the Fussac Empire.
After all that fuss, it turns out that a demigod was behind it all. No wonder that princess was so powerful that the entire MI9 was helpless and couldn't find a single clue!
It turns out that it wasn't that we were too incompetent, but that our opponents were too cunning. No wonder so many people put in so much effort, only to end up with nothing. It turns out that we had always misjudged our opponents.
This provides a reasonable explanation for why Maxim went to Backlund.
Once this impression becomes ingrained in everyone's minds, they will naturally start to wonder who could discover Maxim's identity and have the motive to expose his existence.
First of all, it couldn't be someone from the Kingdom of Rune, because before the report was filed, the official authorities of the Kingdom of Rune had no idea of Maxim's existence.
At this point, the clues Maxim gradually left behind about Viscount Witte will come in handy.
As MI9 continues its investigation, Viscount Witte's true colors will become increasingly clear. He will gradually be nailed to the label of a spy for the Fussac Empire and a traitor to the Kingdom of Rune by Maxim, with no chance of redemption.
When Maxim met Alice, he had already found out who the unfortunate nobleman whose entire family he had wiped out was and what he had done.
To Maxim's relief, Viscount Witte was a political enemy of the Horn family. Based on his understanding of the two Horn brothers, he knew they wouldn't let go of this excellent opportunity to smear their political enemy.
So even if Maxim couldn't create an impeccable chain of evidence in the rush, he believed that as long as he had this pretext, the Horn brothers would help him make these things happen.
Moreover, Evan Horn happens to be the deputy director of MI9, making it incredibly easy for him to do this kind of thing.
Once Viscount Witte's identity as a spy is confirmed, the various departments of the Kingdom of Rune, which also have internal conflicts between land and sea, will naturally form such a logical chain in their minds.
As a member of the Eternal Night Legion, Maxim was dispatched by Ahomatova Einhorn to carry out extensive activities in Backlund, hoping to throw the Kingdom of Rune off course and pave the way for his upcoming military operations.
The Fussac Empire's navy, of course, could not stand idly by and secretly sent people to cause trouble, even going so far as to activate a deeply embedded spy—Viscount Witte.
While Viscount Witte was targeting the new army in parliament, he was actually cutting naval spending, weakening the mobile forces that the Kingdom of Rune could mobilize in the future.
On the other hand, they communicated information within the Fussac Empire and secretly investigated to confirm Maxim's identity.
Then, after Maxim discovered that his identity had been exposed, he killed Viscount Witte in a fit of rage, which also destroyed the Fussac Empire's naval and new army deployments.
After it was confirmed that Viscount Witte's entire family had been wiped out, the Fussac Empire's naval agents in Backlund took the opportunity to openly report Maxim, thus bringing down both of the Fussac Empire's intelligence networks.
The whole thing was a major internal struggle within the Fussac Empire, only the stage was moved to Backlund, and in fact, the Kingdom of Rune ultimately benefited from it.
If this is proven true, then the fact that Aurora wrote a whistleblower letter to MI9 can be covered up.
Maxim mentally reviewed the script he had created. This script was very much in line with his image as a "demigod-level schemer." It could be said that it covered every aspect and was comprehensive.
Whenever he thought about the Aurora Club, Maxim felt a burning hatred in his heart, and he even thought more than once about how to rewrite the script and get revenge on the Aurora Club.
But just thinking about how Lord Akhmatova Einhorn treated his subordinates who messed things up sent a chill down Maxim’s spine, and he decided it was best not to cause any more trouble.
Just as Maxim arrived at a safe house provided by "Alice," and set up some clues to rest, he suddenly sensed something was wrong.
Then, from the perspective of a thug who had just taken his money and become his subordinate, it was discovered that at some point, members of MI9's action team had sneaked in again, setting up defenses around the area and requesting backup.
"They must have some kind of sealed artifact that allows for accurate tracking; otherwise, how could they have such a keen sense of smell, like dogs? Every time I arrive, they find me so quickly!"
Maxim cursed inwardly, but there was nothing he could do but continue running.
He worried that the extraordinary team outside might have other sealed objects besides the ones they could pursue, which could hold him back. They didn't need to capture him, they just needed to keep him occupied so that the demigods could come to his aid.
Therefore, Maxim never intended to eliminate this extraordinary team.
Maxim was fully aware of his situation and knew he was facing certain death, so he was not afraid of dying at all.
However, he still had his own mission. In order to complete the mission, he had to leave behind relevant clues. Therefore, he also needed to live as long as possible and not waste his precious time on small fry.
"MI9 has produced a sealing artifact that can pinpoint my location; I don't have much time left."
Maxim knew that as his whereabouts were tracked more and more, the demigods of the various official powers would be able to tighten their encirclement around him.
Maxim felt he couldn't just sit and wait to die; he didn't want to die quietly. If he was going to die, he wanted to die spectacularly.
Thinking of this, Maxim grabbed the table next to him, turned it into a bomb, and threw it against the wall with a wave of his hand, causing a violent explosion.
The Iron Knight has the ability to turn ordinary objects into deadly weapons.
The shockwave from the explosion damaged the gas pipeline, which triggered an even larger explosion. The middle section of the office building was severely damaged, and the upper floors of the building suddenly lost their support, causing it to tilt sharply and then crash into another office building to the side. Ultimately, both office buildings were reduced to rubble in an instant.
Fortunately, it was nighttime, not daytime, otherwise the collapse of these two office buildings could have cost countless lives!
Maxim also disappeared from the spot at the moment of the explosion, taking advantage of the flames from the massive gas explosion caused by the blast.
Hugh Deercha rushed over, his face ashen as he looked at the two collapsed office buildings. He growled through gritted teeth, "What are you all standing there for? Get to the rescue!"
"Oh? Yes! We'll go right away!"
Her extraordinary subordinates were clearly puzzled by Hugh's orders, but dared not disobey them and quickly joined the rescue effort.
Only Hugh's second-in-command hesitated for a moment, unable to resist reminding him, "Captain, our orders are to stop Maxim at all costs. What you're doing isn't appropriate!"
Hugh didn't blame her deputy for being too cold-blooded. After all, the members of MI9 were all military officers, and the idea that military orders were paramount was instilled in them from the day they joined. So she said in a gentler tone, "It's no use. You can tell from Maxim's reckless behavior that he has already guessed that we have something that can pinpoint his location. So in order to survive, he won't care about the lives of the people of Backlund, and he won't hesitate to show his destructive power."
However, there are too many places in Backlund that need your protection, so if we pursue them too closely, they will cause chaos everywhere without regard for anything else. If things get out of hand, we may end up being held responsible!
So we shouldn't push too hard now; in fact, we should relax a bit!
Once Maxim's logic of action changes, he becomes a walking time bomb, and the destructive power of a demigod will be fully unleashed.
However, there are too many places in Backlund that cannot be separated from the demigods, such as the major cathedrals of the three major churches, and Queens, etc.
If the archbishops left the church and Maxim, who was already going mad, found an opportunity to blow them up, even if it was just blowing up a small roof, it would be a huge damage to the church's prestige.
Hugh believes this is also why Maxim orchestrated the explosion in front of them.
That's right, Backlund is sealed by a Level 0 artifact, so Maxim can't escape. But if you push him too far, he will become the biggest freak of the Fifth Age, making Backlund's life miserable.
After listening to Hugh's analysis, the deputy felt it made a lot of sense. People who could reach this position all had some political acumen. It was just that he had the opportunity to make great contributions but couldn't seize it, which made him restless. He said somewhat unwillingly, "Are we really powerless against him? Are we just supposed to watch him run rampant in Backlund?"
"How is that possible? Look, he's flying towards the north of the city. This means that Archbishop Horamik of the Church of Steam and Machinery is now free to do something."
Go and inform Archbishop Horamik and Director Wood of what's happening here. Tell them I'm here to rescue people, to ease the pursuit of Maxim, and to lull him into a false sense of security.
"Once Archbishop Horamik and Director Wood arrive, we'll go find him together. With two esteemed officials present, we won't have to worry about him continuing his sabotage!"
Upon hearing this, the deputy's spirits lifted again. He bowed to Hugh Deercha and hurriedly left to inform the relevant people.
After his deputy left, Hugh sighed and, feeling somewhat guilty, joined the effort to rescue the wounded.
She hadn't revealed that she possessed the magical item that could track Maxim, intending to have one of her small teams corner Maxim in this small area, then notify the demigods to capture him, thus gaining immense merit.
However, she did not expect that Maxim would be so ruthless. After realizing that she might be able to accurately find his whereabouts, he decisively used the surrounding buildings and people as cover, making her hesitant to act rashly and forced to temporarily give up the pursuit of him.
"He should understand the situation he's facing. What's the point of this desperate struggle? Or does he still have things he absolutely must do?"
Hugh felt she couldn't understand Maxim's thoughts, and of course, she didn't need to. All she wanted to do now was add a layer of soil to Maxim's grave!
Looking at the bodies that his team members dug out of the rubble, Hugh felt an overwhelming sense of self-reproach and anger.
If she had confessed to MI9 earlier that she could find Maxim, this situation wouldn't have happened.
At the same time, Xiu felt a renewed desire for promotion.
In the past, her desire for promotion was more about avenging her father and restoring his reputation.
This time, she wanted to possess even greater power, to eliminate destabilizing factors like Maxim in advance, and to prevent a massive disaster.
If I were a demigod, this wouldn't have happened at all, or at least the damage would have been minimized!
Xiu bit her lip lightly, ignoring the filth and mess, and began to dig through the ruins in front of her.