Chapter 234: Uncertain Future
Chapter 234: Uncertain Future
When faced with Lyon's two choices, Prince Freckles, for once, showed some backbone.
He neither chose to directly hand over the intelligence nor accept Lyon's slap. Instead, he bravely forged a third path...
He endured a beating first, and then, crying, he handed over the intelligence about the future.
What were you thinking?
Looking at Joshua, whose tears and snot were a mess, but who was still covering his swollen cheek, glaring at him with indignation, Lyon couldn't help but sigh, feeling a little guilty this time.
Even though Prince Freckles had started causing trouble under the guise of his royal title, he was actually younger than Lyon's sister, Anna, and hadn't even grown a beard yet. He was, without a doubt, still a half-grown child. Lyon had not only beaten him up but had also taken his "possession," which was indeed a bit unethical.
However, the future of the kingdom and possibly the safety of the Watchtower Palace were at stake, so this crucial intelligence couldn't be ignored... Next time Joshua has an episode, Lyon can hold back and give him one less beating, considering this as an advance payment!
As Prince Freckles sobbed and began to write silently, Jerry had already returned to the Bureau, and Lyon, having made his "advance payment" decision, asked Prince Freckles a few questions to confirm the authenticity of the intelligence. Then, he directly took out the Plague Blood Brace and wrapped it around the prince's face to reduce the swelling before quickly leaving the palace and heading towards the Purification Bureau in a horse-drawn carriage.
...
So that's what happened...
On the carriage, Lyon unfolded Joshua's written intelligence about the future and quickly skimmed through it. Finally, he understood why the future kingdom had refused to cooperate with the Corrock Kingdom and rejected their request for joint development of "mineral resources." Instead, they chose to resist, leading to the Corrock Kingdom's invasion.
The so-called "energy resources" discovered by the Corrock Kingdom's scouts in the kingdom were not minerals at all but dozens of underground lava rivers stretching for hundreds of kilometers, as well as eleven dormant volcanoes in two counties of the kingdom!
Both Lyon's home county of Lein and Merino County, famous for its wool production, were located above a special "hotspot" in the Earth's crust, with nearly infinite heat energy beneath them. If these volcanoes were mined, they could satisfy more than eighty percent of the Corrock Kingdom's energy needs.
However, the Corrock Kingdom's proposed mining method was unimaginably brutal. Not only did it require reopening the eleven dormant volcanoes, but it also involved multiple deliberate explosions!
If the kingdom had agreed to cooperate with the Corrock Kingdom, not only would the residents of the two counties need to be relocated on a large scale, but the volcanic ash and smoke from the erupting volcanoes would also be carried westward by the monsoon, spreading across half the kingdom.
Consequently, not only would Lein and Merino counties become unsuitable for human habitation, but the kingdom's numerous farms and pastures would also be affected by the volcanoes, leading to terrifying reductions in production and even complete crop failures, causing large-scale famines that lasted for years.
Furthermore, the explosions would cause changes in the Earth's crust and subsequent mining activities, leading to intermittent earthquakes and widespread ground collapses. Faced with such consequences, the kingdom could not possibly agree to the Corrock Kingdom's demands, no matter how much they offered.
Therefore... with one side determined to acquire these underground energy resources at all costs and the other unable to accept the consequences of mining, their core interests clashed, leaving no choice but to resort to force and communicate through violence.
Although the Corrock Kingdom had a small population, their military might was far superior to the kingdom's. Once the two sides began to "communicate," the situation would inevitably be one-sided. The kingdom had almost no chance on the battlefield, and after the staunchly resistant princess was killed, it was on the brink of collapse, nearly facing extinction.
After reading the news about the Corrock Kingdom's invasion, Lyon's doubts about the future were somewhat alleviated.
No wonder Joshua, in his middle age, didn't run away at that time but chose to face the pressure and negotiate with Lyon, hoping to convince him to attack Sentinel Tower and kill the Corrock Kingdom's scouts. This was probably the most viable option he could think of to avoid this future.
Now it seems that Lyon does need to visit Sentinel Tower. Even if it's not as Joshua described, directly killing the Corrock Kingdom's scouts, he still needs to bring along Phoebe and her sisters, who can modify memories, to prevent the intelligence about "The Mine" from reaching the Corrock Kingdom, thus averting the subsequent invasion war.
Furthermore...
As Lyon read the future recorded by Freckles Prince, a future filled with billowing smoke, ash covering the land, the kingdom's population reduced by more than half, and nearly sixty percent of the people suffering from lung diseases, Lyon's eyebrows furrowed deeply.
Since this future had indeed occurred, it meant that the Purification Bureau did not intervene, adhering strictly to the agreements with the various kingdoms to handle only anomaly-related situations and never interfering in matters unrelated to anomalies.
Given what Lyon witnessed today, with the various divisions of the Purification Bureau acting independently and the lack of large-scale operations, it was highly likely that such a result could occur.
Not to mention the Deputy Directors who were deeply immersed in anomalies, seeming to transcend the boundaries of humanity, even the Directors present showed a cold attitude towards the Water Bottle Director's private actions that caused numerous casualties.
The only one who might intervene was the Taurus Director, who was about to ascend to the Star Palace next year. So, when the Corrock Kingdom invades, the only ones likely to pay attention to this matter would be the Virgo Division and the Gemini Division.
However, based on the Water Bottle Director's brain transplant, the Gemini Division seemed to have a "very close" relationship with the Corrock Kingdom, making it unlikely for them to step in and stop the invasion.
What about the Director? What was the Director doing?
After pondering over the Director's style, Lyon's eyebrows furrowed. The Director was eccentric, loved to tease people when sober, and would act impulsively when drunk, but he was fundamentally a kind person. Even if he couldn't directly intervene, he wouldn't just do nothing.
But in Joshua's written future, there was almost no trace of the Virgo Division. Even the Water Bottle Director, who failed to replace the Taurus Director in ascending to the Star Palace, had appeared a few times. Yet, the Director seemed to have vanished without a trace, as if he had never existed, and the entire Virgo Division was nowhere to be found.
According to Lyon's understanding of the Director, this situation was impossible. So, in the future where Lyon didn't exist, did the kingdom encounter some extremely serious large-scale event, leading to heavy casualties within the Virgo Division, or even their complete annihilation?
"Woof! Woof woof!"
Just as Lyon was pondering over the intelligence written by Freckles Prince and wondering what had happened, he heard a rather urgent dog bark in his ear.
Lyon turned his head in surprise and saw that it was Lisa, the partner of Jerry's dog... this adult Golden Retriever, sticking her head out of the carriage window and handing him a hastily written note.
'Hurry back, something happened at the Bureau!'
!!!
(End of Chapter)
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