I Pioneered Scientific Magic - Chapter 473 (Patreon)

Chapter 473: The Mysteries of Faith and the Chaos in the North

"How can a person possibly be as fast as light or electricity?"

Hearing Lynn's thoughts, Victorio couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and disbelief. A speed of 300,000 kilometers per second exceeded the limits of his imagination. Could such speed really be achievable by humans?

"Why not?" Lynn retorted.

Due to air resistance within the atmosphere of a planet, coupled with biological constraints, achieving speeds over 100 kilometers per hour using a flesh and blood body is challenging.

However, the bodies of legendary wizards are not made of fragile flesh. In an energy state, the effects of wind resistance and planetary gravity are negligible, theoretically allowing for terrifying speeds.

Lynn suspected that the initial acceleration might not be sufficient. Victorio's flight relied on force field magic for lift, thus escaping the planet's gravitational pull, naturally limiting his speed.

Or perhaps something else was hindering their ability to reach maximum velocity, such as their soul, magic power, or even an internal fear?

Lynn, not yet a legendary wizard, couldn't be sure and pondered aloud, "Let's set a smaller goal first, like doubling the speed of sound!"

Harof and others were familiar with the concept of sonic speed, having already discovered this limit.

When an object's speed exceeds 300 meters per second, it generates a powerful sonic boom, and air resistance becomes significantly greater, especially evident during electromagnetic cannon experiments.

Translated, this speed is approximately 1,200 kilometers per hour!

This means they could travel from the kingdom's easternmost to the westernmost border in less than an hour!

Victorio couldn't even begin to imagine flying that fast.

As they were contemplating, a slowly descending airship interrupted their discussion.

Lynn and the others knew well that no one would dare disturb them at this time without urgent cause.

The airship soon landed before them, carrying Raphael, who was on duty for the Council's affairs this week.

"Is there some urgent matter, Master Raphael?" Harof inquired.

"Gentlemen of the Council, we have just received an urgent report transmitted via electromagnetic waves!" Raphael wasted no words, handing over a decrypted message to Harof.

Harof took it, scanning briefly before frowning deeply.

"What's wrong, Harof?" Aurora asked, puzzled. "Is there some movement from the Empire?"

"It's about the northern border of the kingdom. See for yourselves!" Harof passed the message to the others.

Written by Raydell himself, the dispatch reported that chaos in the name of a dark god had erupted in the recently reclaimed northern border, leaving an entire city slaughtered, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties.

With their limited manpower in the northern border, they were utterly incapable of stopping this disaster from spreading.

"The Lord of Famine and Plague..." Aurora murmured the dark god's name before suddenly saying, "Could it have been those fleeing nobles?"

The famine and plague reminded her of the food wars incited by the kingdom's nobles.

Although the Council's policies prevented these wars from affecting their controlled eastern, central, and southern regions, famines did spread under the nobility's rule in the western and northern borders.

Could it be possible that the soaring grain prices were just a front, with the real goal being to revive this dark god through the great famine?

"It's likely not just that!" Lynn said gravely. "I suspect this has something to do with Gustav, the Holy Church's Inquisitor General who infiltrated the kingdom."

When dealing with King Hatar, Lynn had uncovered the noble conspiracy's backer from the king's memories: Gustav, one of the Church's high-ranking members and a legendary cleric!

Since then, Gustav had vanished, leaving no trace for a long while. With the kingdom's vast territory and the Council's limited manpower, a comprehensive search was impossible.

They had no choice but to wait for Gustav to make a move.

"It seems the Church is keen on creating chaos everywhere." Victorio suddenly recalled a report the Council had received some time ago about several dark god calamities erupting within the Empire, each quickly suppressed by the Church, leading him to wonder if all these dark gods were deliberately unleashed by the Church!

It wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. The dark god statues used by the necromancer Merkh in the Wizards' Land had been brought over by a saint, indicating the Church had indeed sealed away some defeated dark gods from the Wars of Faith for future use.

"But why would they do this?" Aurora asked, puzzled.

She could understand the northern border chaos and the dark god calamity in the Wizards' Land as using dark gods as a special weapon to create disasters within the enemy's territory.

But the Church's leniency towards the dark gods causing havoc within the Empire was strange.

"Perhaps the Church aims to deepen faith?" Lynn speculated.

Faith has been a constant throughout human history, its mechanics thoroughly analyzed by psychologists

.

Generally, the more chaotic and impoverished a place, the easier it is to strengthen a sect.

After all, the impoverished lower classes, owning nothing, often subjected to oppression and injustice, sometimes coupled with physical ailments, can only place all their hopes in God!

And the quickest way to catalyze faith is to create a major disaster. When everyone is in despair, quelling the calamity in the name of God, especially if accompanied by miracles, naturally garners a large number of devout followers.

Hence, the doctrine of apocalypse is a common tactic used in religious propaganda.

Because there is an apocalypse, there is a greater need for devout faith in God to avoid disaster!

However, now is not the time to ponder why the Church would unleash numerous dark gods; the chaos in the northern border must be addressed as soon as possible!

The sooner, the better!

Each renowned dark god possesses legendary-level strength. If allowed to conduct mass sacrifices to fully regain their former power, they would become exceedingly difficult to deal with.

"Let me go!" Victorio volunteered eagerly.

Since breaking through to the legendary realm, Victorio had been itching for a chance to fully demonstrate his abilities. Fighting with Lynn and others, he had been holding back, frustrated by not being able to go all out. Now, he finally saw an opportunity to test his strength without reservations!

Not to mention, with the Church and Empire eyeing them covetously, the chaos in the north might well be a strategy to divide their forces.

The best solution was for him to head to the northern border alone, working with Raydell and others to swiftly resolve the unrest!

"With my speed, it would take only an hour and a half from the City of Fire Oil to the northern border. If all goes well, the issue could be resolved in a day, and I could be back by tomorrow evening!" Victorio said nonchalantly.

"Don't be too careless; this could be a trap designed to lure us there!" Harof warned seriously.

Heading to the northern border meant facing not just the dark god calamity but also the lurking Gustav, potentially facing two legendary-level opponents.

"No matter, it's just an incompletely revived dark god and a pseudo-legend at best." Victorio scoffed.

The souls of ten thousand people were insufficient to restore a dark god to its peak condition, and an enemy with a confused consciousness shouldn't be too challenging.

As for the Church's legendary clerics, though they too possessed energy bodies, Victorio's recent in-depth study of the Judge revealed a strange state, with all power derived from the false god [Ela].

From their experience, Gustav could likely only exhibit legendary-level power when invoking the kingdom of God and using holy words.

To some extent, he was merely a pseudo-legend!

Facing such opponents, even with a revived dark god, Victorio remained fully confident in his ability to defeat them!

Although Lynn and others felt Victorio might be overconfident, they also understood it was indeed the best plan.

This way, the City of Fire Oil could conserve most of its strength for deterring the Empire and the Church. Most importantly, Victorio's solo mission would be highly secretive, swift, and possibly resolved before the Church even realized, allowing them to react.

"Just be careful, so we don't have to come and rescue you later..." Aurora teased.

"Ha ha ha, how could that happen?" Victorio laughed heartily, then, without further delay, his energy-formed body transformed into a streak of light and soared into the sky.

Lynn shook his head, remembering that Victorio was always cautious. After breaking through to legendary, it seemed he had become somewhat impulsive.

Could it be the influence of human hormones?

Without an aging body, had his mindset also reverted to youthfulness?

Lynn thought thus but wasn't overly worried. They now had electromagnetic communication technology, allowing for quick contact even across hundreds of kilometers, preventing any major mishaps.

With Victorio heading to support the northern border, Harof and Aurora felt somewhat relieved, turning to Lynn to inquire.

"Is the ritual formation for ascending to legendary status repaired? How long before it can be activated again?"

After sparring with Victorio for a few days, both had felt the power of the legendary realm more acutely, their desire to ascend growing stronger.

"It's almost fully repaired. Chairman Victorio also made some improvements to the formation. Now, we just need the fuel for fusion." Lynn hesitated before explaining.

Nuclear fusion, touted as an endless clean energy source, ultimately consumes fuel.

This fuel is abundant enough to be extracted from seawater, which could sustain humanity for hundreds of millions of years on Earth, not considering future interstellar travel's energy consumption.

However, the amount of deuterium and tritium in seawater is limited. Hundreds of thunder magic-specialized wizards have nearly drained an entire lake's water and still haven't extracted a second batch of nuclear fuel for ascension.

They are now considering

 building a deuterium and tritium extraction station at sea to meet future wizards' ascension needs.

"We'll have to wait a bit longer, then!" Harof said regretfully, understanding the thunder wizards had already done their best and couldn't be rushed further.

After ending their sparring session, Lynn and the others chatted on their way back to the City of Fire Oil. The bustling and vibrant scene in the city gradually diluted their worries about the northern affairs.

Raphael, witnessing the orderly rows of new concrete houses, grand and beautiful train platforms, and the wide, smooth roads filled with smiling people, couldn't help but smile.

Just a few months ago, under the Church's control, this area was a slum described only as dirty, chaotic, and bad. The impoverished residents struggled for food and clothing, but now it had become the city's most eye-catching region.

With the Council's full support, the City of Fire Oil's development was beyond explosive. It was rumored that many bordering Empire citizens had secretly crossed the border, fleeing from various forests into the kingdom's territory to seek a living here.

Raphael, having witnessed the transformation firsthand, felt immense pride in his heart. This was the power of magic!

Lynn, with his exceptionally keen hearing, listened to the town's residents gossip and discuss in their leisure time, with the recent civil service exam being a hot topic.

Two thousand people participated in the city, aiming to select over two hundred entry-level managers. The odds of one in ten were not low, meaning even those who didn't perform exceptionally in the exams had a chance to be selected.

Lynn was somewhat surprised to find many people discussing the dark god calamity that erupted in the northern border!

Had news from the northern border reached the City of Fire Oil so quickly?

Lynn frowned, wondering. This information was transmitted directly through electromagnetic communication, and they should have been the first to receive the news!

Had the communication wizards leaked the information?

Or was someone deliberately spreading it...

"Order increased vigilance for the next few days!" Lynn murmured after pondering, issuing the command.

...

Night fell over the City of Fire Oil.

A lavishly decorated alchemical car slowly pulled up in front of the Wizard Academy, drawing gazes of surprise and envy.

"After you, Miss Cynthia!" Ryan, ever the gentleman, opened the car door, inviting her with an extended hand.

For tonight's 'private meeting', Ryan had specially changed out of the academy-issued standard robes, purchasing a new outfit—a cloak, an undershirt, trousers, and a pair of high boots. This was the latest fashion among kingdom wizards!

Of course, if the alchemical car in front of him was bought rather than rented, it would have been perfect!

However, Cynthia seemed less pleased with his eager behavior, softly saying, "I believe I mentioned that this visit to Master Farel did not require such extravagance."

"It's nothing, I usually go out like this." Ryan laughed heartily, though inwardly he was bleeding.

Renting this latest model alchemical car cost him a whopping sixty magic gold coins for three days to practice driving skills, leaving him nearly bankrupt.

But he believed it was all worth it!

-----------------

Table of content - Next Chapter >>> 

• You can access publicly available chapters of "I Pioneered Scientific Magic" right HERE.
• Your invaluable feedback and ratings mean the world to me. Please take a moment to rate this novel at Novelupdate.
• You can also check out the other Novels I'm currently translating by clicking HERE.
• If you come across any mistakes within this chapter, kindly notify me in the comments below, so that I can make the necessary corrections.