Chapter 687
The First Meeting of the Two Messengers
Chapter 687 The First Meeting of the Two Messengers
Inside Lu Ze's house in the North District.
"Your letter."
The ship spirit Antia appeared from the void and tossed two envelopes into his arms. "One is from your first mate, and the other is from that guy Roselle's daughter."
After finishing her task, she skillfully sat down on the sofa next to Luze, reached out, and scooped the sleeping Luna out of the shadows. The whole movement was fluid and effortless; before Luna could even react, she was already stroking her across her lap.
That guy's daughter... oh, I mean Bernadette.
Lu Ze picked up the envelope and only realized what it meant when he saw the delicate handwriting of "Mysterious Queen" on it.
It seems that Antia still harbors resentment towards Roselle.
"Um?"
Lu Ze picked up the two letters and examined them. Both envelopes were thick and bulging, seemingly stuffed full of papers.
Do they have so much to say to me...? Just kidding, they probably have something else in common with them.
As Lu Ze thought this, he casually opened Bernadette's envelope.
"Splash!"
Something fell out of the envelope—a folded sheet of paper, densely printed with Intis script... Yes, it was a newspaper. On a prominent page, a section of text was circled in red, next to which was Bernadette's handwriting: "The newspaper has agreed to serialize the novel, and the payment has already been deposited into the designated account."
That's right, this newspaper published the legends about the Blood Monk and the King of Blood, written by Miss Magician.
Because Fors's masterpiece could not be published in Ruen, Luzer asked the "Mysterious Queen," who had connections in Intis, for help. It's safe to say that Intis, a place known for its daily mockery of Ruen and the abolition of the imperial system, easily passed censorship and was published openly.
"And what about Anderson..."
Lu Ze opened the envelope sent by his first mate, lost in thought.
Tucked inside was a newspaper, along with Anderson's regular letters. The letters mainly reported on several things, including recent missionary work, the fleet's income and expenses, and daily hunting activities.
The newspaper Anderson provided was printed in much worse quality than Intis's, but the only good news was that it was by Runewen.
That's right, Luzer also assigned Anderson to do this.
In the Sunia Sea, far from the mainland, the authorities had no way to enforce a press ban. The colonists were happy to see heroes humiliating the royal family, and newspaper sales were excellent. However, due to piracy and rampant publishing, forget about getting any royalties.
"Good that it was published successfully. It seems that in order to keep the serialization going, we need to give 'The Magician' a little push..."
Thinking of this, Lu Ze couldn't help but smile.
"What's wrong? You seem so happy?"
Seeing this, Antia couldn't help but ask.
"Good thing."
Lu Ze waved the newspaper in his hand. "Our novel has been published."
He saw Antia's eyes flicker with interest, but her body didn't react much. She continued stroking the black cat, saying with feigned modesty, "Oh? Is that so?"
"Pretending not to care... but your eyes have been glancing this way the whole time." Lu Ze smiled. "Want to take a look together?"
"I might as well take a look. If it's not well-written, I'll go after her."
After Luze took the initiative to invite her, Antia finally moved. She moved closer to Luze and eagerly looked at that page.
Their eyes simultaneously fell on the first page of the serialized article:
Years later, when King George III sees the collapsed "Clock of Order," he will remember that midnight when the palace was bombarded by naval gunfire.
"hiss..."
Lu Ze gasped.
Okay, Russell, you must have copied this classic line... But since the main publisher is Intis, this line certainly grabs the readers' attention immediately.
He continued reading.
The first chapter of the serialized story is about the Blood Cultivators bombarding the palace from their ship. Because it's intended for a general audience and can't involve mystical elements, Fors made many changes to this part.
For example, in this story, Alexander Gascoigne is a chivalrous outlaw from the East End who enjoys upholding justice. He survives the Great Smog incident and learns the truth from an official secret agent: the Great Smog was not a natural disaster, but rather a toxic gas deliberately released by Emperor George III to eliminate the useless population.
Upon learning this cruel truth, an enraged Gascoigne resolved to take revenge. He infiltrated the ironclad warship "Prydz" alone, subdued the ship's officers, and then lectured the soldiers on the pros and cons.
Most of the soldiers on board came from impoverished backgrounds and suffered constant oppression from their superiors. Many of them had relatives in the Eastern District who died because of this. The Blood Cultivator successfully stirred up their anger, turned the ship around, and sailed up the Tasok River towards the palace.
The story ends abruptly after the soldiers, under Gascoigne's command, fired the first shot.
All I can say is that Fors truly lives up to his reputation as a professional writer; his writing is quite excellent... although it's mostly fiction. This particular excerpt, in particular, is exquisitely crafted. One can imagine the readers' agonizing anticipation after finishing it, eagerly awaiting the next development.
"snort!"
However, Antia, standing to the side, spoke coldly. When Luze looked over, she said discontentedly, "My name isn't mentioned here at all! That woman clearly promised me..."
"This is just the beginning."
Lu Ze reassured him, "You'll naturally appear when the story reaches the sea..."
Before he could finish speaking, a ripple suddenly appeared in the empty space of the living room.
Immediately following, a tall figure pushed through the air and emerged. It was the ethereal female figure dressed in an elaborate black gown, holding four bright and beautiful heads in her hands.
Klein's messenger.
"I have..." "Your..." "Letter..."
The messenger spoke haltingly, his gaze shifting until it finally settled on Antia, who was standing next to Luze.
She immediately fell silent, all four heads and eight eyes fixed on the ship spirit and Luna, the black cat lying on her lap.
"Um?"
Antia, who had been talking to Lu Ze, suddenly turned cold, narrowed her eyes, and stared back at him without any politeness. She sized up his body, a slight smile playing on her lips, but said nothing.
The atmosphere in the room instantly became eerie.
"You have my letter, right? And you want a gold coin, right?"
Lu Ze immediately broke the deadlock, standing between the two and taking out a gold pound from his pocket.
The gleam of the gold coin caught the messenger's attention. She placed the letter in Luze's hand, picked up the coin, and silently left.