Chapter 175: The Sky Changes

Since waking up, Miss Shaliman has felt as though she had entered paradise.

"Today, the weather is truly nice; perhaps my luck has finally turned."

She was woken at three or four o'clock and should have been in a terrible mood, but after an emergency meeting, she obtained exactly what she wanted most.

"Viscountess Shaliman, you have done well enough; maintain silence for the time being. Matters of the underworld will be handled through negotiations among the major organizations."

Summoned for a hearing, she, still groggy, managed to complete all the interrogations with remarkable excellence, earning the highest praise.

And the final response she received was verbal commendation from the high command, along with the extended leave she had always desired!

"Yay, yay, yay! We no longer need to worry about the underground ruins."

For a mid-level executive who longs to slack off, coast, and just draw a paycheck, the most tragic situation is having a superior with new ideas every day, while you are her most trusted person.

"Shaliman, contact those international organizations; mind your attitude and do not let them look down on the Kingdom." She must order them to work, maintain relationships, and uphold the so-called "dignity of the fallen royal house."

Shaliman could understand this task, but executing it was extremely difficult.

"Shaliman, go speak with those conservative and radical nobles; the Royal House needs their support, but their demands must not be too high."

As the spokesperson for the great nobles and the Royal House, in the absence of Her Highness the Princess personally, negotiations and private talks with the great nobles were basically handled single-handedly by Shaliman.

"Shaliman, what is the situation with Knight Li En?" Even down to some execution-level operational duties, Shaliman had to force herself to step up.

Every day, Princess Dai Niya had new goals and new tasks.

Every day, Shaliman wondered when she could retire and slack off.

Thanks to Shaliman's soul abilities and reputation, many tasks were not problems, but some were simply beyond her capability, yet they remained pressed upon her.

The most straightforward issue concerned the recent Kingdom-level "Underground Suppression" matters.

"I have emphasized this many times: we are here for underground exploration, not for seizing power and profit. This is a genuine threat to our city, not a means to strike at political opponents."

Previously, no matter what the Royal House said, the nobles and factions of Radiant City believed this was a political project, an attempt by the soon-to-be-adult Princess to start exercising power; and in some aspects, this was indeed reality.

Even though the high-ranking nobles and leaders of various organizations knew the truth and had given the green light, the ones actually doing the work were always the mid-to-lower levels.

When mid-level personnel from other factions and organizations felt you were sticking your hand into their pockets, while the upper echelons seemed to have already compromised, they would not openly resist you, but delaying tactics and outward compliance with inward resistance were certain, making whatever you tried to do extremely inefficient.

This was not something that could be solved merely by reading minds and saying nice words.

Factions had already formed within each organization; the true mid-level cadres each had their own vested interests. Persuading a single individual was meaningless, and even if a certain individual forcibly pushed through a plan, they would encounter immense surrounding resistance.

But from today onward, everything was different; Shaliman no longer had to forcibly urge and push things forward.

"We will reorganize a committee specifically responsible for advancing this work, expected to number around two hundred people. Each organization will send representatives, and the Royal House will assign dedicated personnel for tracking and liaison."

This was the normal way for the Kingdom to handle major undertakings: upper echelons make decisions, mid-levels form liaison mechanisms or even dedicated organizations, and specific personnel are responsible for advancing various tasks.

Now, Shaliman was completely liberated, no longer needing to communicate one by one about those tedious tasks.

"How many times have I said it? Our goal is the underground ruins, yet they simply do not believe me."

Such a thorough shift was possible only because the attitude of the upper echelons had completely changed.

Even those high-ranking officials who had received intelligence from the Princess and believed the news that the "Deer" was about to awaken still harbored doubts.

After all, too many interests were involved; making a decision meant not only taking responsibility but also bearing losses and the pressure brought by potential errors.

It was like predicting an earthquake two years from now, requiring the relocation of citizens and disaster preparedness in advance; they would make preparations and contingency plans, but how proactive they would be was hard to say.

After all, disaster preparedness was inherently an ineffective investment with no visible returns, and it also required countering complaints and outward compliance with inward resistance from subordinates.

"We are already hard enough at our daily work; why prepare for something that might happen at some unknown time?"

"Working overtime until we drop dead just because we're bored with food to spare... let destruction come if it must." Complaints were always present, especially when one could see the increase in workload and resource investment but saw no overtime pay.

"Boom!" The tremors of the underground communities changed everything.

Previously, was there suspicion of an earthquake? But if a small earthquake happened first, all resistance vanished instantly.

Now, high and mid-levels from all sides instantly reached consensus and began working with full force.

This did not mean they weren't working before, but rather how they worked. For example, if I have twelve warriors here, some guard the headquarters, some hunt cultists, and others handle routine investigations; their abilities and levels are clearly different.

You want me to transfer people to join your suppression team? Naturally, I will dispatch the bottom three ranked individuals to make up the numbers.

After all, if your work is done poorly, it has little to do with me; but if I mess up matters concerning my own immediate interests, I must bear the responsibility.

With total resources limited, priority naturally goes to oneself, not to preventive projects for the future.

Now that the crisis is right in their faces, everything has changed; warehouses are opened, logistics are maxed out. The top ten warriors are all transferred over, leaving only a few old, weak, sick, or disabled to maintain daily operations.

Early in the morning, Shaliman saw mercenaries and knights running back and forth outside the mansion (in the noble district), strategic supplies began to be mobilized, and even the guard presence in the noble quarter was noticeably strengthened.

Now that everyone was focusing on the matter of the underground ruins, Shaliman no longer had to suffer from being squeezed from both sides; she was effectively on leave.

Some would be responsible for bounties on targets and distributing rewards, others would organize the exploration, with mid-level cadres from various organizations participating; her role as a liaison could now be converted into a leisurely inspector position.

"Heh, the relationship between Her Highness and Li En has also improved; she even entrusted me to deliver these rewards to him."

As a "mid-level" and "intelligence personnel," being squeezed from both sides was practically daily routine; previously, caught between the quarreling Princess and Li En, she had felt very uncomfortable.

Now, the story of the "Knight Who Lifted Her High" had spread; although the Princess appeared quite angry, Shaliman could see that Her Highness's mood was not bad.

Now the two were bound even tighter, and their relationship had inevitably improved; thanks to Shaliman's report, the Princess had even granted an extra "commendation."

"Ssssss (Idiot)."

The snake head sighed; this fellow was truly beyond saving.

But what made Shaliman happiest, as if she had already seen the dawn and the New Year, was still...

"My aunt has left! This is truly wonderful!" Although easily misunderstood, it referred to the departure of the Purple Rose.

She had known this for many days already, yet whenever she thought of it, Shaliman still smiled foolishly with joy, even dancing and waving her arms several times.

"Ssss (Idiot)."

However, someone else seemed to have quite an objection.

"Why hasn't he come to visit me yet? He should come; should I go check on him? Would that seem unladylike?"

"Ssssss (Love-struck fool! Dummy!)"

"How can you curse people?" In a vague way, Shaliman also began to gradually perceive the "essence" and the "truth."

——

Li En was still busy in the dock district; with the sudden incident, the original plan was naturally delayed.

He did not yet know that, for certain reasons, the city's entire war-preparation progress had advanced significantly.

That seemingly trivial earth-dragon turning over gave the local transcendent beings a severe shock (in the physical sense).

"With this energy level, if it erupted on the surface, the city would already be gone."

Various reconnaissance devices issued warnings, but for the ordinary people in the dock district, this truly mattered little.

As long as the earthquake did not affect their daily lives, they would live as they always did.

Since he had come to the dock district, Li En naturally would not leave in such a hurry.

As usual, he practiced swordplay with Dimon and checked his progress, but this session ended far shorter than on ordinary days.

Even with the gloves removed, Li En's comprehensive attributes in actual combat far exceeded what the panel displayed.

Once he activated dragon-pulse abilities like the Dragon Claw, his strength and stamina would increase even further, especially when used for attacking.

Perhaps Dimon's progress to becoming a third-tier Paladin was extremely outrageous, but compared to Li En's qualitative transformation in the Underworld, it still fell far short. Paladin sparring focused on hard versus hard; without triggering the Sever ability (too wasteful of weapons), the third-tier Oath Knight Dimon could only endure pressure before Li En.

Li En also surprisingly discovered that Dimon's Soul ability had entered the Silver Tier. According to Dimon himself, if his physical hardware had kept up, he should have been able to progress further.

"Even with the blessing of a Heroic Soul, this growth rate is a bit outrageous." The alchemists watching in the sidelines were also amazed by Dimon's bravery and skill in battle.

With such skills and such a growth rate, why come to the dock district to loaf around instead of joining a knightly order to become part of the nobility?

"Perhaps it's because I exclusively inherited a Heroic Soul." Dimon patted his belly as usual, showing no arrogance whatsoever.

As for those advising him to seek better development, he merely smiled and pretended not to hear. Perhaps it was precisely this obsession, this "foolishness," that earned him the recognition of the Heroic Soul and enabled his continuous rapid progress.

Li En, however, fell into thought. Having awakened his psychic ability and Serpent-type innate arts, he could see Dimon's obsession, which was nearly materialized.

"Perhaps, for Soul abilities to grow and evolve, the more extreme and radical the emotions, the better?" Li En recalled the "Rage" noted beneath the subheading of Sul's Holy Sword Ultimate Art.

Soul ability growth requires the elevation of the soul and the nourishment of emotions; in this regard, Dimon was likely far more dominant than Li En.

Watching Dimon, who was carrying two large blades and personally training apprentices and Weaver Knights, Li En seemed to witness the rise of a future powerhouse.

Dimon would soon rise to fame and substantially influence the future, perhaps even the course of history.

"Perhaps it will be soon, very soon."

(End of this chapter)