Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 123

Seeing Ronan's assertive attitude and his apparent lack of eagerness to leave, Number Seven sighed and relented, "I can tell you how to implant the crystal skull skeleton."

“Add a little more, and add the manufacturing method,” Ronan added.

Number Seven sneered and retorted, "Do you think we can manufacture that?"

A hint of disappointment flashed across Ronan's face. In fact, he never thought these androids could create the crystal skull skeleton. Otherwise, they could have brought more people to this place. But he still asked, just to give it a try.

“Then let’s change it to the kind of witchcraft you use.” Ronan changed the condition. The witchcraft used by these numbered androids was far more powerful than the witchcraft used by the native witches of the New World. Dinia had no way to resist it. If she was hit, she could only abandon the part of her body that was hit.

Number Seven shook his head. "Without the Crystal Skull Skeleton, it's impossible to reach our level. This power was originally developed by us by combining the Crystal Skull Skeleton with reference to the original power system of this world."

“Never mind all that, what you know is definitely more advanced than the witchcraft used by those wizards outside,” Ronan asserted.

The magical abilities of the native sorcerers of the New World had a very limited ceiling.

“That’s impossible. The basic theories we taught them were complete. Civilization is constantly evolving, and they will always improve it to better suit themselves and push it forward. Even if they don’t reach our level, they won’t be too bad.” Number Seven didn’t quite agree with Ronan’s words.

“If they were so capable, why weren’t they the ones who arrived here after a thousand years?” Ronan retorted.

In fact, the indigenous shamans of the New World not only failed to improve and advance their magic, but actually regressed.

Without waiting for a reply, Ronan maintained his dominance and continued, "Alright, there's no point in discussing this. Hand over your methods of witchcraft practice."

Number Seven didn't say anything more, "Come with us."

The four led the way, with Ronan and Dinia following behind, and they walked all the way to the location of the palace ruins. Number Seven went to the room where Ronan and Dinia had met Number Two at the beginning, and dug out a intact stone slab from the sand with a texture similar to magic stone.

The magic stone slab unfolded naturally, revealing a box. Number Seven handed the box to Ronan and Dinia. "The box contains the method for implanting the crystal skull, as well as that fragment. Take this to a place later, and the way out will naturally appear." As he spoke, he pulled out a piece of white paper that looked like parchment and covered it with his hand for a long time. "Our witchcraft is recorded on this. Find someone who knows witchcraft, and they can make the writing appear on it."

"As for how to leave the tower, it's very simple for you..." Finally, Number Seven told the two how to leave the tower.

As for how they would get back in after leaving, that was something they would never tell them. They never wanted to see Ronan, that cunning man, or Dinya, that woman who was second only to that killer star from last time.

After the negotiations were completed, Number Eleven was responsible for taking Ronan and Dinia to the exit.

Suddenly, a road appeared ahead.

Number Eleven watched the two leave, still feeling unwilling. Now they only had one choice: to venture into the second level of the Divine Realm to seek to prolong their lives. However, the top monsters of the first level and the monsters that had fallen from the third level were all on the second level.

Ronan and Dinia stepped onto the path before them, and in an instant, something strange happened. The two were completely separated from the endless white sand-covered land and found themselves walking on a path where everything around them was nothingness.

As they progressed, Ronan and Dinia began to age rapidly. Soon, they became middle-aged, then white-haired old people, and in the blink of an eye, they had almost no hair left, their faces were covered with age spots, all their teeth had fallen out, they were hunched over, and it was difficult for them to take a single step.

But the two still took slow steps.

At this moment, Ronan truly understood why it was said that only immortals could leave this place. Without the power of near-immortality, one would become completely dead after taking only two steps on this path. Even with the power of the original species, it only prevented the two of them from completely dying of old age.

It was as if this road, seeing that aging couldn't kill Ronan and Dinya, began to regress, causing Ronan and Dinya to rapidly grow younger and then rapidly shrink until they became infants, only able to crawl laboriously on the ground.

Chapter 278 Dirty, Jumping, Let Him Go

At the top of the tower, Elena and Agustina stopped their attack and stood protectively behind Ronan and Dinia's empty shells.

After a long battle, the old butler Duden, who was forced to defend Henry and was on the defensive, had been severely injured. If they attacked again, the old man would fight them to the death. Elena and Agustina, who seemed reckless but were actually tactically dirty, naturally chose not to fight at this point. If the other side wanted to fight, they would defend and protect Ronan and Dinia. If the other side didn't fight, that would be even better, since the old butler would only become weaker and weaker due to his injuries over time.

Henry glared at Elena and Agustina with resentment. Those two women were truly despicable, resorting to sneak attacks, deception, and pincer attacks, never engaging in direct combat.

He also resented himself. If he hadn't spent most of his time indulging in pleasure, resulting in a lack of combat experience and a failure to properly cultivate his summoning space, if his spatial transfer intervals were shorter, his transfer speed faster, and his range larger, he would never have been a burden. Instead, he could have easily broken through the magic of these two people.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs," and he can only watch the situation deteriorate little by little.

Just then, Lichfield suddenly appeared alone at the top of the tower. He glanced around and saw that his dear uncle was not there. Ronan and Dinia were lying there unconscious. The two women who had been with Ronan and Dinia were unharmed, but they had exhausted themselves. Henry was slightly injured, and his old butler was seriously injured.

Judging from the situation, Lichfield had a general idea of ​​what had happened before he arrived.

Flagg, who faked his death and then disguised himself as Lex to ambush him, was the first to reach the top of the tower and activate the mechanism to the Asgard. Ronan and Dinia arrived shortly after, and all three entered the Asgard. Elena and Agustina then arrived; his uncle's physical body had been destroyed, but Ronan and Dinia's bodies remained intact. Henry and Duden arrived afterward, and a battle ensued.

In terms of quantifiable combat strength, Henry and Duden combined are stronger than Elena and Agustina, but Henry is clearly the weak point, which gives Elena and Agustina the advantage.

Having grasped the situation, Lichfield knew that what he needed to do was quite simple.

First, cripple Elena and Agustina. Ignore Henry and his butler Duden. Then, reactivate the mechanism to the Divine Realm. Everyone will share the magic power, while he, who has mastered the art of separating the soul from the body, will enter the Divine Realm alone.

"What do we do?" Elena asked Agustina in a low voice. Lichfield's serious injuries seemed to have almost healed, and his strength was now far superior to theirs. In addition, Henry and Duden had not completely lost their fighting ability. If they fought, they wouldn't last more than half a minute.

“Jump down,” Agustina replied.

“Okay.” Elena agreed, then picked up Ronan and jumped off the top of the tower.

Without hesitation, Agustina picked up Dinia and leaped off the top of the tower.

Lichfield was stunned for a moment. He had never expected the two women to be so decisive. Then, he stopped caring about it. With Henry and his butler there, there should be enough magic to activate the tower. At most, he himself would have a little more drained.

In mid-air, Elena held Ronan with one arm, while Agustina held Dinia with the other, and they plummeted together.

The wind howled against them, blinding them. The two plummeted nearly a thousand meters. Elena drew her longsword and forcefully pierced the outer wall of the tower. Only her sword, made of magic stone, could penetrate a tower also constructed of magic stone.

Agustina grabbed Elena's ankle at the same time, and with the weight of four people on her back, her longsword, sparking wildly, carved a deep sword mark more than two hundred meters long into the wall before finally stopping.

The two stopped falling, and Elena's hand holding the sword was already torn and bleeding, but she still gripped the sword tightly.

The last resort is to fall directly and then use a spell to slow down at the last moment, because there is also a force outside the tower that weakens magic, only slightly weaker, and the magic has no recoil. They can only cast the spell when they are very close to the ground. Combining Agustina's Flame Blast with Elena's Moon Tide to bombard the ground, they use the method of blowing themselves upwards to achieve the purpose of slowing down.

We're still a few hundred meters away, which reduces the risk.

But it would be best if Ronan and Dinah could wake up now.

"Thank goodness he didn't chase after us," Elena said thankfully.

Agustina breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Elena still had the strength to speak. She analyzed, "He probably won't jump down to chase us. After all, the elevator isn't triggered infinitely. Once it falls, it will take a lot of time to go back up. If the captain and Ronan wake up by then, he'll be in trouble."

Half a minute later, Elena gritted her teeth and said, "I can't hold on anymore, get ready." With that, Elena let go, and the two fell again.

As they approached the ground, the two of them unleashed a spell despite the negative effects of magic, blasting themselves away and slowing themselves down.

Finally scattered on the small island supporting the tower, the energy from that explosion, combined with the previous energy expenditure, had almost drained its magic power. The remaining magic power had to be divided to protect Ronan and Dinia, and it was unable to form a sufficient magical defense layer. The explosion had torn its clothes and shoes to shreds, and even its magically created pantyhose was torn and ripped, with many bloody wounds on its body.

The two lay on the ground, gasping for breath, unable to move.

Fortunately, Ronan and Dinah were both alright.

“I tried my best.”

"Nothing wrong."

The two looked at the night sky and smiled at the same time.

After a long while, Ronan and Dinia's bodies shone brightly with white light, so bright that Elena and Agustina could only close their eyes. After the white light dissipated, Ronan and Dinia had already stood up again.

Ronan and Dinia were still wearing their school uniforms from the previous fragment space. Dinia wasn't wearing shoes yet; her thick black stockings, which were only partially transparent at the toes, heels, and knees, were covered with shimmering fine sand particles, making them look like she was wearing a pair of silver-jeweled black stockings.

"Are you two alright?" Ronan asked.

The two nodded and gently acknowledged that they were alright.

Seeing that the two were only temporarily depleted of magic, Dinia said to Ronan, "Let's go up."

Ronan instantly summoned a levitation shield. Seeing the worried expressions on Elena and Agustina's faces, he said, "Don't worry, we're at full mana right now. With Didi constantly supplying mana, we can just fly up and cripple that piece of trash."

Dinia's situation is unclear, but Ronan feels that his magic power limit has increased significantly. Perhaps he can reach the critical point of the fifth tier by using Dinia to increase his magic power.

After saying that, Ronan and Dinia boarded the floating shield, rapidly ascended to the top of the tower, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At the same time, Lichfield also activated the tower's mechanism again, preparing to enter the divine realm. Like Flag, he was unaware that his direct entry would result in his soul being shattered into pieces, and he might not have Flag's luck in being able to fuse with several monsters before his soul collapsed.

In the air, after realizing that the tower had been activated, Ronan stopped flying. He didn't want to go to that place again with Dinia later.

Chapter 279 Yes, No, Busy

The white light at the top of the tower disappeared, and Ronan and Dinia rushed up to the top. Like Litchfield, their bodies had already turned to salt.

Unlike Ronan and Dinia before them, Henry and Duden remained on the circular platform at the top of the tower. Clearly, since they did not possess the ability to separate their souls from their bodies, nor did they have the crystal skull skeleton to lock their souls, they would not be taken into the realm of the gods.

The two lay on the ground, looking weak and powerless. Henry watched Ronan approach step by step, and no longer wanted to beg for mercy, so he quietly closed his eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't kill you," Ronan said with a smile.

Henry was stunned for a moment, as was the old butler Duden.

“Killing you would make things complicated,” Ronan explained. “After you get out, you’ll have to sign a confession and a document. The confession will say that the Weyland man, Lichfield, intended to kill the governor of the French colony in revenge, and that his niece and secretary was an accomplice. Lex, the administrative assistant of the Weyland governor’s office, acted out of a sense of justice and warned him after noticing his intentions, but was brutally murdered by him. Finally, our side killed Lichfield and his accomplice Rita in self-defense. You, Earl, were unaware of the whole thing; you were half a victim.”

"As for the document, you have deeply reflected on the various mistakes you have made in the past, as well as the major blunder you have made this time, and are determined to renounce your title and lands, and donate four-fifths of your property to support the construction of the colony."

"After that, you were free."

"Really?" Henry was somewhat incredulous that Ronan would let him go.

However, the moment he uttered his question, Ronan swung his sword and pierced the old butler Duden's chest. Before the old man could even struggle, Dignani casually used his magic to snap his neck.

Henry clenched his teeth. His old butler, who had watched him grow up and served him faithfully, had died right before his eyes.

"Don't be nervous," Ronan reassured him. "You've been deceived. Who could deceive you? Of course, it's your seemingly loyal but actually treacherous old steward."

Henry tilted his head back and sniffed hard, wiping away his tears. He smiled bitterly and said, "Now I finally understand why my brother and I lost so badly. Compared to you, we really weren't ruthless enough."

"Whatever makes you happy," Ronan said.

The logic of "whoever is more ruthless wins" is the fighting logic of petty thugs. As an official, he must ensure that everything is legitimate on the surface and that there is a balance of interests on the inside. He must have both face and substance. If this were a question of who is more ruthless, then Henry and Louis would have been lying in hexagonal coffins long ago.

“Let’s go,” Dinia said, rolling Henry up with her mushroom-shaped hand.

Ronan's floating shield reappeared, and Dinah dragged Henry from a distance, placing one hand on Ronan's shoulder and stepping onto the floating shield.

Soon, the three arrived at the sandy island at the bottom of the tower. Then, following the method used by the numbered androids, Ronan and Dinia summoned a black door that was exactly the same as the one they had used to enter the tower's inner space before.

Upon entering the black gate, there was no longer the long path generated by their mental imagery as before. They stepped through the black gate, and when their vision cleared, they were back in the large villa they had seen before.

The villa's curse is no longer present; opening the window no longer reveals endless darkness, but a normal view outside.

The remaining bloodstains inside the house were not completely dry, indicating that time was not synchronized inside and outside. Several days had passed inside, while only a few hours had passed in the normal world.

The only problem is that it's snowing heavily outside, and the mules and horses either didn't die or ran away, so now we have to walk back.

After eating dry rations and a hot meal, Elena used her true magic to perform a healing treatment on Agustina and herself through Ronan.

“I almost forgot you’re a priest,” Agustina teased.

“Even a proper priest might not have my abilities,” Elena said with an expression that said, “I’m not proud at all.”

After another night's rest, Agustina's injuries had mostly healed, but Elena's hand was not yet fully recovered, and her healing magic was still considerably weaker than the original power.

Ronan and Dinia were completely fine, and Henry was also alright; he only had minor injuries and was depleted of his magic.

The group left the villa and set off back to the Governor's Mansion.

After leaving the snow-covered no-man's-land, the group borrowed some horses from a manor, ate something, and continued their journey.

Five days later, the group returned to the Governor's Mansion.

In front of the governor's officials, Henry recounted the events of the past few days, vehemently denouncing Lichfield and his old butler Duden, a traitor. He spoke with such venom that he was moved to tears.

Some officials who were initially skeptical believed it after witnessing this scene.

Henry then stated that the matter was not Wyland's fault, given that Wyland's administrative assistant, Lex, had been killed; it was all Lichfield's and his old butler's fault.

The officials nodded repeatedly. It was not Weyland's fault, but the fault of a Weylander. That was good. This way, it would not cause a dispute between the two countries.

Then, gritting his teeth, Henry excitedly thanked Ronan and Dinia for saving him from being silenced.

The officials were a little puzzled. Did this count only have one expression? Why did his accusations and expressions of gratitude both involve clenched teeth and tears?

Finally, Henry acknowledged his responsibility and signed his name on the recorder's written testimony.

Of course, that wasn't the end of it. Next, he signed a document that would be made public later, which was to relinquish his title, give up his fiefdom, and donate most of his property.

Some officials looked nervous. If they couldn't sense something was wrong at this point, they wouldn't be officials at all.

However, when Dinia immediately added that the property Henry donated would be used as public funds, with part of it going as subsidies for officials and part as funding for certain projects, they immediately felt that this was the right thing to do and there was no problem at all.

Ronan then added that the colonial officials worked too hard, with so much work and so little pay; they were truly exemplary incorruptible and honest, and that a commendation ceremony should be held in a few days.

These words delighted the officials, not because Ronan had praised them or wanted to hold a commendation ceremony—a pointless event—but because Ronan's public statement and the ceremony meant he couldn't arrest corrupt officials; otherwise, wouldn't he be contradicting himself?

However, to their surprise, just two days later, all the key officials of the Governor's Palace were arrested on charges of participating in the rebellion launched by Louis. They were all executed for treason, and all their property was confiscated.

As a result, a number of plantation owners, ranchers, and factory owners were also sentenced and their property was confiscated.

A week later, Henry died in an accidental shipwreck. The governor's palace held a funeral to mourn the former earl.

At this point, the entire colony was brought under the control of the Governor General's office, which then fell into the hands of Dinia and Ronan.

Killing is exhilarating, but it will soon be a busy affair. The vacant positions in the various departments of the governor's mansion need to be rearranged, the two large fiefdoms have lost their lords and need to be dealt with properly, the indigenous tribes are still fighting each other and coordination is necessary, and the manors, ranches and factories in the jurisdiction all need to resume production.

For Ronan, it can be summed up in one word: busy.

Chapter 280 Caste, Feud, and the Pain of Loss

In other places, administrative inefficiency is due to too many civil servants, a large portion of whom are incompetent. In the colonies, administrative efficiency is even lower because there are too few civil servants.