bookbashuk Chapter 4171 is about the Supreme Sorcerer (1)
Chapter 4171 is about the Supreme Sorcerer (1)
Chapter 4171 is, The Supreme Mage (XI)
"This morning's meeting didn't have a specific topic. I gathered everyone here mainly to inquire about the progress of the work handover and whether you're adapting well to the new department. Feel free to ask me any questions, and I'll do my best to help you."
Strange sat at the front of the conference room, looking at the people below, and said, "I know you are not completely inexperienced in political work, but the work in the new department will still be a challenge for you. You may be wondering why I would transfer you, who have no experience in this area, to a new department. But please believe me, I have my reasons for doing this, and it is certainly not to cause trouble or trip up the three great empires as you think."
The expressions on the faces of those below froze instantly. In fact, after the list was announced last night, these people had been cursing all night.
Given their experience and resumes, it wouldn't be surprising if they became ministers, but unfortunately, they were assigned to departments completely unsuitable for their roles. Strange seemed to be drunk, deciding ministers by rolling dice.
Of course, this is impossible, so many people speculate that Strange is simply here to cause trouble. He dislikes the three great empires and the interstellar councils controlled by them, so he deliberately assigns people who are not good at a certain job to these positions, hoping to disrupt the interstellar council.
Although everyone felt this way, no one dared to say it openly. After all, Strange was not only the Chancellor but also the Sorcerer Supreme, capable of slapping them to the next universe. Most people only dared to whisper about it in private.
Unexpectedly, Strange was so frank. At this moment, some of the bolder ones spoke up: "Sorcerer Supreme, we have no intention of questioning your motives, but to be honest, perhaps I am incompetent. I have never studied any interstellar relations and do not know how to deal with so many civilizations. Can I really be a good foreign minister?"
Everyone turned to look at the person who had spoken. Saying such things meant he no longer wanted the position and was simply trying to anger Strange so he would be fired. Given the Sorcerer Supreme's temperament, he certainly had reason to be angry.
Strange wanted to say, "Take it or leave it," but remembering Schiller's instructions before the meeting, he sighed and said, "I told you, I know you're all struggling to adapt to your new jobs. I'm no exception. But I can assure you that the Star Council's working methods and direction under my leadership will be completely different from before. After all, you know I'm human, from Earth. The nine great nations that Earth belongs to just fought a war with the three great empires. We've never gotten along, and I won't follow their old ways. So your previous work experience is useless. It's precisely because I need you to abandon past practices that I'm not letting you take positions in departments you're familiar with. This is for your own good."
“After all…” Strange drawled, then said, “As a human, I can’t stand the way the three great empires act. If any of you adopt the style of the three great empires, it will be a huge eyesore.”
He deliberately glanced around, and the people below immediately sat up straight. Just as they were about to adjust their collars, they realized they were wearing imperial uniforms. Then, as if they had thorns under their butts, they felt awkward, unsure whether to sit or stand.
"Since I am human, I must act like a human. You can let it go today since you didn't give me any notice, but starting tomorrow, everyone must wear a suit to work. Don't let me see anyone wearing these flashy imperial uniforms again. Do you understand?"
The group exchanged bewildered glances. They weren't happy about it; they didn't even know what a suit was. It sounded like some kind of distinctive human garment. Surely they weren't expected to wear tight-fitting clothes to work?
However, under the Supreme Master's tyrannical power, they dared not disobey. To defy the three great empires might mean death next week; to defy the Supreme Master meant certain death right now.
Before Strange became Speaker, his carefree image of picking up bags all over the universe was still fresh in everyone's mind, so I believe he won't mind searching a few more boxes.
“Yes, Your Holiness,” they said, forcing themselves to speak.
“Alright, you don’t need to be so tense.” Strange softened his tone and said, “You have to understand my feelings. A while ago, the Kree Empire and the Skrull Empire amassed a massive army and launched a full-scale invasion of the Nine Realms. Humans and Asgard fought desperately, and the battle was incredibly fierce, with heavy casualties on both sides. And now you’re wearing those robot uniforms, parading around in front of me. I’m already being quite lenient by tolerating you this much. If my teacher were here…”
Strange left his words unfinished, giving everyone ample room for their imaginations. In the universe, beings with lifespans as short as humans are actually few; most races conservatively live for two or three hundred years. Therefore, everyone present has experienced the era of the Ancient One.
To put it simply, at least Strange could chat with them for a bit, but the Ancient One, who had dominated the universe for many years, had hardly been heard by anyone. This was partly because she didn't speak at all and just attacked; and partly because the demons screamed so pitifully that the onlookers couldn't hear what the Ancient One was saying.
To say that Strange is too domineering is certainly true to some extent, but compared to the Ancient One, he's at least somewhat human. If the Ancient One had seen someone wearing the uniforms of the three great empires after a battle, she would have treated them all as enemies and killed them without a second glance. Strange, on the other hand, actually explained things to them—how reasonable!
Anyway, these people recovered on their own and returned to their previous state. Some of them even secretly took out their phones under the table to search for what human suits look like. Even if it was a tight-fitting suit, they would choose one with a nice color.
“Alright,” Strange tapped the table again and said, “There’s another reason why I didn’t let you go to the departments you’re good at. That is, we’re not going to have you work alone anymore. Departments will have to cooperate with each other. The reason I picked you is because you have more experience in cooperation. Some people have similar resumes to yours, but they’ve basically never cooperated with others, so I don’t want them.”
Everyone likes to hear compliments, especially when they come from the Sorcerer Supreme. Everyone's attention was immediately drawn, and Strange seized the opportunity.
"The summary of the first task has been sent to your personal terminals, and I'm sure some of you have already seen it. The Ministry of Environmental Protection is a newly established department, and the minister, like you, has little experience. However, environmental protection work cannot be neglected and will be a major task for a long time to come. I hope you can cooperate sincerely, work together, and do a good job in environmental protection."
These people had clearly already read the summary; they were all experienced veterans who roughly understood what was going on, but some still raised questions. The Minister of Commerce raised his hand and said, "Are we soliciting opinions on the environmental review process? Is it an internal solicitation or a broad one?"
"What do you think?" Strange threw the question back at him.
The Minister of Commerce looked around and then said, "Internal surveys are more accurate, while broad surveys have a larger sample size. Each has its advantages. The main thing is to see what the purpose of environmental protection work is."
This essentially throws the question back at Strange, subtly and overtly asking why he's involved in environmental work. Strange himself doesn't know, but that doesn't stop him from always coming out on top; he can always concoct a reason.
“From different perspectives, one can naturally see different scenery,” Strange said calmly. “The three great empires do indeed hold a high position in interstellar society. Under their rule, the economy and society did indeed enjoy a period of stability and prosperity. However, any development comes at a price.”
Everyone present was shrewd. Although the second half of his speech contained a lot of information, the most important thing was actually the first sentence that Strange had just said.
Most of the people in the three great empires are robots, so Strange is naturally different from them. Does his statement indicate that he has indeed seen something different, or that he has some sources of information unknown to the three great empires?
“Supreme Sorcerer, we know that you are the strongest being in the universe, the first sorcerer. Forgive my limited knowledge and my background in a mechanical civilization, but I know nothing about magic or sorcerers. I wonder what kind of beautiful scenery you can see from the top of the mountain. Would you mind telling us in detail?” said the Minister of Resources.
“Before the election, I visited the Temple of Eternity,” Strange said, tapping the table lightly with his pen. “Considering that most of you are unaware of the existence of cosmic entities, I can briefly explain it to you. The universe has a very complex structure, but in general, it is supported by several pillars, and the personified entities of these pillars are abstract entities. The five most important and powerful of these are known as the Five Great Gods, and Eternity is the head of the Five Great Gods. His temple is located in the vast depths of the universe, invisible and inaccessible to those who do not touch upon the rules of the universe…”
When discussing his profession, Strange was no longer as straightforward as he had been when dealing with political affairs. His language was very professional, even somewhat philosophical, and some of his words were so complex that even certain translators of some races couldn't translate them well, which made his words seem even more mysterious and enigmatic.
The vast majority of civilizations, including even the three great empires, cannot access the level of the laws governing the universe. They can build faster-than-light engines and massive starships, but this is merely utilizing the laws of the universe. To touch the laws of reality is an impossible task.
Many of their civilizations were fascinated by this deeper world, but unfortunately, without a guide, they could not make any further progress until the day their civilization was destroyed.
A very few civilizations have been able to access that profound and mysterious world, but they have always kept it a closely guarded secret, unwilling to reveal even a single word. Therefore, any knowledge related to the rules of the universe is extremely valuable, and can even become a civilization's heirloom, written in their Bible and passed down from generation to generation.
No one expected that the Supreme Master would utter such a profound truth about the universe so casually. They immediately opened their terminals and began to record it, afraid of missing a single word.
Some people who don't have their own translation software, or whose translation software is inaccurate, have to desperately ask those around them what certain words mean, and they wish they could slap themselves for not studying English properly.
Even those who use translators or have built-in translation systems still feel some regret. After all, no matter how good the translation software is, it can't compare to learning English yourself. Perhaps these words have a deeper meaning in the Supreme Master's language?
“Alright,” Strange said impatiently, “you all should learn more about the universe. I always have to talk about these commonalities, otherwise I’d have to give you a lecture before I assign any tasks. Let’s continue talking about eternity.”