I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 466 (Patreon)

Chapter 466: You Are Undermining the Foundation of the Kingdom!

In the Dead Zone?!

Alves' mind went blank for a moment, almost losing his balance and crashing into the altar behind him.

"Pope, sir?!" The Archbishop exclaimed in horror.

Pope Alves stopped the Archbishop from supporting him and then spoke with a trembling voice, "Immediately cast a spell to contact Taisis, tell him to leave the Dead Zone, immediately!"

"But... but Lord Taisis entered an hour ago... it's feared that by now he has already..." The Archbishop stuttered.

In fact, upon receiving this news, they had immediately used the communication spell, but received no response.

Ninety-nine percent likely, they had been completely annihilated under the onslaught of the Apocalypse spell!

Alves clearly understood this as well, his face turning extremely grim.

"Monroe..." Alves growled, then suddenly realized, the church spy personally appointed by him, chosen by Gustav, must have already betrayed them! All that talk about a grain war, volcanic eruptions, was all nonsense!

It was clearly a conspiracy plotted by the wizards!

He had foolishly believed it!

Even believed it twice!

A strong sense of humiliation surged into Alves' mind.

Previously, Monroe was just a minor officer in the Divine Punishment Legion, his ability to take on this responsibility proved Alves' trust and appreciation. Not only did the other party betray this trust, but he also dared to make a fool of him time and again!

Alves' chest heaved with barely controlled rage, his eyes full of anger and murderous intent.

If it weren't for the fact that the other party was now in the City of Fire Oil, under the protection of the wizards, Alves would have wished to flay him, pull out his soul, and cast it into the endless purgatory!

"It might not be Monroe, perhaps he has been captured by the wizards..." Saint Randall suddenly proposed a guess.

According to Gustav's recommendation, Monroe was a warrior of firm faith, a devout believer, who shouldn't have been turned so quickly within just two months.

It might also be possible that their spies sent there were captured by those wizards, and the images seen before could have been faked.

The shape-shifting wizards' disguise abilities were not weak; using shape-shifting magic to take on Monroe's appearance and deceive their perception from hundreds of miles away was not impossible.

However, Alves sneered, he had sent numerous spies into the City of Fire Oil, who reported back to him about the internal situation every week.

Monroe had been staying at the wizard's academy just fine for the past two months, his movements were very regular, not at all like someone who was coerced or captured.

It could only be said that he had misjudged the situation!

Fortunately, he had anticipated the possibility of traitors within their ranks, so he had divided the spies sent to the kingdom into several independent systems. Even if there was a problem on one side, it wouldn't lead to the loss of everyone.

But to think that twenty thousand of the empire's elite troops had been sent to heaven because of his credulity...

Thinking of this, Alves felt a deep pain and remorse! What's most important was that the wizards' use of the Apocalypse spell again overturned all their previous conjectures, hanging like a sharp sword over everyone's heads.

Just as Alves was deep in thought about countermeasures, he suddenly sensed something, his expression immediately turning serious.

Randall was no exception.

It was a divine oracle from the Lord!

...

The impact of the hydrogen explosion lasted for three full days and didn't settle completely, just as Lynn had predicted. Due to the previous grain war, the kingdom's opposition instantly quieted down as if silenced, even the security within various towns improved significantly.

No one dared to provoke the council at this time...

On the afternoon of the third day, the Wizard Council once again announced a major piece of news: a grand examination would be held across the cities of the kingdom!

Anyone who recognized two hundred common words and could read was eligible to participate. The council would select administrators for each city from among the participants.

Lynn had to thank the church for its centuries-long rule over the continent for this. Although the dialects varied across regions, the script had been essentially unified, saving them a lot of trouble.

Such groundbreaking news naturally caused a huge stir within the kingdom. The idea of selecting local officials through an examination was unheard of in the empire's centuries of history.

Moreover, the council did not restrict the background of the candidates. The only requirements were literacy and the ability to speak the common language.

This meant that even the offspring of the poor could have the opportunity to rise to the position of a local lord through the examination, but in the realm of wizards, they were referred to with a different title—mayor!

Despite not being hereditary and having terms of office, doing poorly meant dismissal

, but it still attracted countless people!

After all, having the administrative rights over an entire city was akin to being the noble lords of old.

Susan, looking at the large notice posted on the wall, couldn't help but fantasize.

Both of her children were in the commoner's academy, reportedly doing quite well.

Susan had only hoped that her children could enter the workshops of the wizards for research assistance after graduating from the commoner's academy, which would be much easier than her and her husband's work in the glass and firearms workshops. Now, however, she saw a new path.

The idea of becoming a mayor was beyond Susan's wildest dreams, but becoming a village or town head seemed slightly possible!

"You are undermining the foundation of the kingdom!"

A count of the kingdom, reading the white and black words on the notice board, nearly ran out of breath and shouted in despair.

He understood that from now on, the blood-tied noble lords had become a thing of the past!

There were not a few kingdom nobles who felt threatened like him, but those dim-witted nobles had mostly been cleared out during the recent grain war. Most of those remaining were new nobles who quickly chose sides and adapted extremely well!

It's just an examination, their knowledge and management experience far surpassed that of ordinary peasants. If they couldn't win this, they might as well go back to blowing glass in the workshops!

Even many viewed it as a shortcut to family revival and reaching the pinnacle of power!

The announcement had been out for only half a day, and the registrants were endless, quickly breaking through the tens of thousands. Even many wizards were somewhat tempted. Compared to the tedious study of magic, they were more willing to enjoy the intoxicating power of authority.

Monroe, who had been in despair for several days, also saw a glimmer of hope. If he could pass this so-called assessment and become the administrator of a certain kingdom territory, maybe he could make amends from within!

Or maybe he shouldn't bother?  

Ivina hesitated, sometimes not understanding the colleague's thoughts, even more unclear about which side he really was on...

But at Monroe's insistence, the two of them still registered. Although Ivina held no hope, she also developed some interest.

The examination was set for September 1st, just when the nuclear fusion reactor was to be completed. Lynn wanted to divert everyone's attention with the examination, especially since the reactor's startup was the most dangerous time, a moment of inattention could send the whole city to heaven!

Of course, the importance of this selection examination went without saying, involving the transition between old and new orders, not to be taken lightly. Lynn had to take some time to select some appropriate public exam questions from the intelligence database as the examination content.

Days quickly passed, and a study fever erupted within the kingdom. All printed enlightenment books were sold out, even roadside peddlers would flip through a few pages in their spare time.

However, even last-minute efforts couldn't change the reality of widespread illiteracy among the kingdom's citizens.

Just the requirement of writing two hundred common words, reading an official document without a single mistake, eliminated ninety-nine percent of the people. In the end, only about two thousand people in the City of Fire Oil qualified for the examination.

Monroe was naturally among them. Before joining the Divine Punishment Army, he was a baron of the empire, so this entry-level challenge was naturally not difficult for him.

After officially receiving the exam paper, Monroe glanced over it nervously, then relaxed.

It seemed not so difficult after all...

The exam paper was divided into two sections, the front mostly tested basic arithmetic and understanding of official documents, while the back contained practical problems...

For example, this question.

[Da Chun is a devout pseudo-god believer, refusing to cooperate with thought reform, showing strong resistance. If you were the local official in charge of this territory, how would you properly handle this situation?]

What else could be done but to arrest him!

Monroe sneered, understanding that this was definitely the wizards testing his obedience to the council. For these devout believers loyal to the Lord, he must show as much disdain as possible!

After pondering for a moment, Monroe decided to use the methods he had employed in the northern territories of the empire to capture wizards and heretics, setting them as examples and publicly punishing them with severe laws to curb this trend!

Not only that, but he also planned to encourage mutual denunciation locally, offering high rewards to catch every person who disobeyed the council's orders!

After writing his answer, Monroe nodded in satisfaction, then sighed at the wizards' brutal rule, having to schemingly offer advice on their behalf.

Ivina was also looking at the question in front of her, but it was another problem about food and poverty.

[Peter is a poor farmer who has been tilling the land for generations, unwilling to try anything new. Now that the price of wheat continues to drop

, how can he be persuaded to rent out his land, enter the workshop, or buy new farming machinery to switch to more economical crops, thus escaping poverty?]

Ivina pondered for a long time and quickly began to answer the question on the exam paper. Given the stubborn nature of the person, persuasion alone was definitely not going to work; it might be better to start with his neighbors!

If these people entered the workshop and their living standards visibly improved, then had them build new houses, with the contrast and disparity created, she wouldn't even need to say much; the perennially poor farmer would change on his own.

If that still didn't work, then starting with his family would be the next step, gradually changing his mindset. Ivina believed that as long as the poor farmer could see tangible benefits, change was inevitable.

Similar situations had already occurred countless times in the kingdom. Ivina, in her spare time, had chatted with many workers and naturally knew some of the council's common strategies.

The rest of the questions were also very interesting, dealing with resolving neighborhood disputes, improving the living standards of citizens, and promoting social stability.

The back side had a total of twelve questions, none repeated, with the last question surprising Ivina the most. It was about a conflict between wizards and peasants, where, as an official, she had to choose between strictly punishing the wizard according to the law or letting the peasants swallow their grievances to dissolve the conflict.

Ivina carefully pondered each answer, gradually understanding the significance of the examination for selecting local officials. Those who could come up with these questions and provide satisfactory answers would also be adept at handling government affairs.

The examination lasted a total of three hours, every minute and second precious. These tricky questions were difficult even for some experienced nobles with extensive management experience to answer perfectly...

The most important thing was that they had to guess what basis the council had for setting the questions and what kind of answers they wanted.

"Time's up, collect the papers!" Alade, acting as a temporary examiner, glanced at the magic hourglass and spoke indifferently.

As his voice fell, the domain quietly activated, and all the exam papers in everyone's hands flew towards him.

The examination hall immediately filled with wails; three hours were simply too short. The basic questions at the beginning were manageable, requiring only literacy and arithmetic, which didn't take long to complete. However, the practical questions at the back were not so easy.

Many spent half an hour just thinking about one question, and writing the conclusion on the exam paper also took several minutes.

Seeing the examination hall filled with wails, Monroe felt even more confident, grateful that his writing speed was relatively fast, having finished everything in the last minute!

"Quiet down, everyone. There's one last test to be conducted!" After Alade collected all the papers, his gaze paused on Ivina and others, then he spoke again.

"All official wizards, come with me! The rest of you stay here, someone will be responsible for giving you your questions!"

Upon hearing this, the dozen or so wizards present all stood up, showing a sense of self-satisfaction, not surprised at all. With their status as wizards, how could they take the same exam as these peasants and minor nobles? Some special treatment was only natural...

The remaining peasants had long been accustomed to this inequality, and although a few nobles had complaints, they dared not express them openly, as the kingdom was now under the rule of wizards!

"Lord Alade, what is our examination? Assessing wizard levels?" A wizard asked after they left the room, ingratiatingly.

He speculated that the council might assign positions based on their wizard levels. He had also inquired in advance that there were no grand wizards participating in this examination in the City of Fire Oil, meaning, as a third-circle wizard, he had a good chance of being appointed as a lord.

Alade glanced at him and didn't respond, leading a few into a room before taking out five exquisitely designed rings from his pocket.

"These are your exam papers, put them on. You five, come first!" Alade casually pointed out a few, including Monroe and Ivina!

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