บท 539: Chapter 539: Audrey, the One Supporting the Tarot Club's Finances
Chapter 539: Audrey, the One Supporting the Tarot Club's Finances
January 10, Fenerport Kingdom, the southernmost county of Seros.
The highest military commander of Seros County, General Barton, had just received a telegram from the coastal patrol fleet.
The entire telegram contained only one word: *War!*
He could imagine the urgency of the situation at the time, so much so that the telegrapher only had time to hastily send out this keyword.
"What is the intelligence department doing? Are they still lost in the drunken revelry of the New Year? Or are they lying limp on some woman's belly? How could it be that we only receive news of war when the enemy's navy has already reached our coastal waters!"
General Barton was furious, his dark and grim face wishing he could throw those responsible for intelligence into the sea to feed the fish.
At least that way, they would serve some purpose.
"Quick! Connect me to the capital. I must inform the King of the situation here immediately!"
"But General, we still don't know which country this war refers to, whether it's a large-scale attack or a small-scale probe, or which port they are attacking first. We currently have no information about the enemy."
"Fools! Are all my subordinates brainless idiots?" General Barton slammed the table, scattering the documents on it. He shouted, "The enemy must be coming from the southern continent! They plan to use our kingdom as a breakthrough point to launch a massive attack on the northern continent!"
"General, how can you be so sure? I think we should wait until the investigation is clear before informing the King. If those pleasure-seeking nobles accuse you of false military reports, it would be bad."
"Nonsense!" General Barton kicked the subordinate who spoke out of turn. "What do you know? War is like fire; there is no time to delay. We must inform the King in advance so he can prepare defenses."
"If we wait until everything is clear, it will be too late!" General Barton ignored his extremely foolish subordinates, walked to the telegraph machine, and instructed the telegrapher to send a message to the King according to his will.
At that moment, General Barton felt a chilling sensation in his chest. He looked down in astonishment to see a sharp blade had pierced his heart, the tip protruding from his flesh.
"You traitor!"
General Barton's body began to form a suit of dawn armor, but before it could fully materialize, several black, skeletal hands emerged from beneath his feet, pulling him down. Another blade slashed his throat, extinguishing his last bit of strength.
"It's not just me; it's all of us."
The subordinates whom General Barton had despised now had eyes gleaming with excitement and cruelty.
"The tides of the era are starting to surge, and someone has to make sacrifices."
After a few more screams, the terrified telegrapher, under the threat of death, began sending a message to the capital, but the content was different.
"All is well, calm and peaceful."
The calm in Seros County ended three days later, on a bright afternoon of January 13.
Fishermen in the nearby waters were disturbed and rammed by a fleet of warships from the southern continent.
Some died, others jumped into the sea.
The navy stationed at the port reacted sluggishly, only to be met with relentless cannon fire.
The news of General Barton's death did not spread.
A new telegram was urgently sent to the capital, stating: "General Barton bravely fought the enemy and has kept them at bay outside our borders!"
...
January 15, Monday.
It had been ten days since Hastur and Audrey's engagement ceremony. During this time, Hastur spent half his time with Sharon and Audrey and the other half preparing to return to Southwell County at any moment.
At 3 PM, Audrey, under Susie's cover, stayed alone in her room, responding to Mr. Fool's summons to attend this week's Tarot Club meeting above the gray fog.
After Mr. Fool finished reading two pages of Roselle's diary, Alger couldn't help but speak in a heavy tone: "Warships from the southern continent have been spotted at sea. Based on their direction, their target this time is the Fenerport Kingdom."
War had begun... Audrey and Fors's hearts tightened. It was only January 15, and given the distance from the southern continent to the Fenerport Kingdom, the fleet must have set sail over a month ago.
Yet no one had detected the southern continent's attack route in advance, not even their Tarot Club, which only received the news this week.
Compared to the southern continent attacking the Fenerport Kingdom, this large-scale, secretive military operation was even more terrifying.
It was actually the Fenerport Kingdom... Cattleya instinctively glanced at Miss Justice and Miss Magician. According to her guess, the southern continent should have chosen the Ruen Kingdom as the breakthrough point, which would have been the best route.
After all, the Ruen Kingdom had not yet fully occupied the Feysac Empire and was militarily stretched thin.
The Fenerport Kingdom had not been involved in any wars in recent years and had abundant strategic resources, making it a typical country that was easy to defend but hard to attack.
War had come, fulfilling what Huang Guangwenitan had said that day—it came quickly indeed.
Sitting at the head of the table, Klein was also digesting this news. Recently, he had been busy absorbing the potion within him, making the final efforts to advance to Sequence 4 Trickmaster.
He had planned to attempt the promotion at the end of the month, but now it seemed he needed to speed up so he could survive the upcoming chaotic situation.
"Is the news reliable?" Audrey regained her composure and asked calmly.
"Based on the timing, the southern continent's fleet should have already started attacking Seros County, but the news doesn't seem to have spread yet."
Alger was also puzzled by this.
He had obtained this information from other pirates and had confirmed that a fleet from the southern continent had indeed passed through recently.
But the Storm Church had not heard any news, which was clearly abnormal.
The most likely explanation was that someone or some organization had suppressed the news, buying the southern continent time to launch their attack on the Fenerport Kingdom.
"The tides of the era, the Twilight Hermit Order," Mr. Fool said slowly, answering the questions in the minds of the Tarot Club members.
"What do they want to do?" Fors's voice trembled.
"War."
Mr. Fool spoke the heavy word with a near-laughing tone.
Fortunately, the Tarot Club members were all focused on the war and did not continue to question why the Twilight Hermit Order wanted to start a war.
Klein also had no answer to this question. He guessed it might be related to the ultimate goal of the Twilight Hermit Order.
It might also be related to the stars.
Many of the things Huang Guangwenitan had said that day were about the stars, indicating that the stars would play a very important role in the future.
Perhaps this war was also tacitly approved by the stars.
As for the real reason, he wouldn't foolishly divine it. For now, his primary goal was to advance to Sequence 4 Trickmaster.
"Miss Justice, I have a commission that only you can complete." Alger looked at Audrey. After receiving her approval, he continued, "I want to know the attitude of the Ruen Kingdom's high-level officials towards this war."
"I will find out. As for the reward, it's unnecessary. This is also something I'm interested in." Audrey generously waived the Hanged Man's fee.
She was no longer interested in earning a few gold pounds. Since her engagement to Mr. Hastur, Earl Hall had transferred Mr. Hastur's dowry and part of the family assets to her name.
The total value was about 1 million gold pounds. Just by earning interest from the bank, she could make several thousand gold pounds a year.
Not to mention, she now had Mr. Hastur by her side.
Audrey then offered a bounty of 2,000 gold pounds for the latest information on the war.
Miss Justice's financial situation seemed to have improved significantly...
This was the first thought that came to Klein, Alger, and Fors.
Previously, Miss Justice was wealthy, but her actual spending money was not this terrifying.
Now, it seemed that Miss Justice's finances alone could support the entire Tarot Club.
During the trading session, Klein and the others once again experienced Miss Justice's formidable financial power. She bought two extraordinary items from Miss Hermit and ordered another extraordinary item from Mr. Hanged Man.
The total value exceeded 7,000 gold pounds.
Audrey vaguely sensed the envy and astonishment in the eyes of the Tarot Club members.
In fact, she just thought that since war had come, she might as well spend more money to indirectly enhance the strength of other Tarot Club members. This way, it would be easier for her to obtain new information and help in the future.
It was an investment that would surely pay off.
Compared to investing in tangible assets like banks, mines, and land, she was investing in the promising future of the Tarot Club members.
She believed this was definitely a valuable investment.
She didn't notice that Fors was looking at her with a mix of suspicion and certainty.
Miss Justice was Audrey.
She had suspected it before, but now she was certain of Miss Justice's identity.
She had heard Xio say that in the customs of the Ruen Kingdom's nobility, young ladies could only truly control their wealth when they got married.
Recently, the only noble wedding in Backlund was Audrey's engagement to Mr. Hastur.
She had also heard other noble ladies talking enviously about the huge fortune Audrey might receive from this engagement.
Combining all this, Audrey was definitely Miss Justice.
Noticing Fors's long gaze, Audrey smiled kindly at her.
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