Chapter Eighty-Eight: Madness of the Mind and Hidden Schemes, Part Two

After reviewing the files, the senior official had also organized his thoughts.

“According to the intelligence analysis, the most likely explanation is that the current leadership of Great Britain believes King Arthur was an ancient Celt. But the kingdoms founded by the Celts were destroyed long ago by the Saxons, so if they are going to trace lineage, they themselves would count as descendants of the Saxons…”

“Just for that?” Even the chief could not help sounding startled.

Altria was, after all, the strongest known being apart from the leaders of those two major powers. And over a mere conjecture, these Britons wanted, without even making contact, to drive her to the opposite side and expel her from Britain?

Even if they truly meant to do that, had no one reminded them of the matter of strength?

What the other side possessed was a terrifying degree of individual power, the sort of force that was a grave nuisance to any nation. Once it slipped into a city, it was practically invincible.

The army might not win even if mobilized, and all manner of large-scale weapons were constrained. Add to that the opponent’s superior mobility and speed, and strategies such as strategic redeployment were utterly useless.

To resolve King Arthur in a city, unless those fools dared to drop nuclear bombs on their own soil…

Leaving aside how utterly deranged that would be, even if they truly lost their minds, it was still hard to say whose heads the bombs would land on.

“The main reason is that one. The secondary reason is that someone is fanning the flames from behind.”

“We have already discovered a lobbying group from the Eagle Nation. They are using every means to push this expulsion plan forward.”

The reporting official continued, saying that intelligence personnel had detected some Eagle Nation warships approaching British waters, yet the British side seemed to have received some kind of order and made no attempt to stop them at all. In some places, a fleet had even appeared overnight.

What? How did they appear?

They changed the flags and played a trick of self-deception; they were very skilled at that sort of thing. They had done the same when faced with the viral plague—bury their heads under the blankets and pretend: a virus? What virus? It does not exist.

At most, when things became irreparable, they would come out and admit fault, saying that by then it was already too late to do anything, and that they could only rely on the people to hold the line on their own.

“Also, according to the analysis, the Eagle Nation may have two aims on this trip. First is a test. They want to test exactly how strong the combat power of the mystical side is, and to do this under the name of the British, which is ideal for them. If they win, they can display their strength to the entire world and to the mystical side; if they lose, Britain bears the consequences.”

“Second, they are also probing the mystical side’s attitude toward regime change, after all, they themselves founded their nation by slaughtering the Indians.”

“If King Arthur truly raises the banner of the Celts, then they will need to prepare early as well. And now, online in the Eagle Nation, they have already begun steering public opinion and altering certain records from that period. On the official side, Indian ancestry is rising sharply in status.”

“Furthermore, according to the information, the Eagle Nation is probing from all directions to see whether there are Indian forces within the mystical side.”

“Those who commit much evil will bring destruction upon themselves,” the leader sighed, then suddenly looked up. “Our people were not involved in this matter, were they?”

“No. Any action or decision currently linked to the mystical side or the cultivation world must be reported. I have received no such report.”

The leader nodded in agreement. It was best not to get involved. Although intelligence suggested that this King Arthur had a very good temper, anyone who could stand as a king, especially a king of that era, could not possibly be without some fire.

If the Britons truly angered her, who knew what she might do? Even if she wiped out the entire British leadership under the banner of Celt revenge, he would not find it surprising.

“How are the British people reacting?”

“At present, their attitude toward King Arthur is still welcoming, and they consider it an honor. However, information has already begun appearing online that stirs panic and antagonism among the public. It is not yet clear whether this is the work of the Eagle Nation or of the British side.”

“No matter which side is making these little moves for now, keep our people restrained. We will not take part in this matter.”

“Understood.”

“Also, there is another matter that needs attention.” The reporting official continued.

“The Eagle Nation has already cut back its financial support to the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. Last year’s aid funds only began being transferred into their account three months ago, and now, after two-thirds has been sent, they have stopped again.”

“It even feels as if they want to withdraw the funds they already provided, but Director Nick Fury of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division is not cooperating at all. At the last meeting, Fury also protested against this kind of behavior.”

“That sounds very much like the Eagle Nation’s style, but the matter of financial support really ought to be reconsidered carefully.” The leader tapped the table with his fingers. The annual funds that the five great powers gave to the agency were no small sum.

“But this year our money has already been transferred. Only the remaining one-third, which was to be given through other channels, has not yet been sent.” The other official looked a little embarrassed.

“No need to worry. Trust must still be upheld. But we can slow the rest of the aid down a bit; we are not exactly wealthy ourselves.” The chief said indifferently.

By this point, the discussion was nearly complete. Beyond these matters, the rest were only pieces of lower importance.

For example, the old men of the island nation somehow founded a department at an unbelievable speed. Though the details were vague, it was obvious that they intended to recruit some of the island nation’s mystical practitioners.

The salaries announced by the department were shockingly high, and they did not care at all about public opposition to such ambiguous arrangements.

Or for example, the southern peninsula was rewriting history and advancing the claim that the source of East Asian civilization was there, that they had followed the Lord of Heaven for a full five thousand years, and that they had also created a new surname: the surname Ki, the Ki of Kiran.

They had even found a group of people and, for reasons unknown, produced a genealogy, regarding themselves as descendants of ancient Celts. Supposedly, they were orthodox Celtic nobles who had fled into the southern peninsula more than two thousand years ago.

Then there was the white elephant nation, where dozens of new religions had sprung up like blossoms in full bloom. Among the deities worshiped was one figure: King Arthur, whom they called the Martial King, claiming that anything related to the military fell under Arthur’s jurisdiction.

Not only had new religions appeared, but the old sects had also become more prosperous. It was said that they were about to build the world’s largest temple.

And that was not even the strangest part. Even more absurd was that the already severe poison left behind by racial hierarchy had undergone a second revival, one even more exaggerated than decades before.

In just over ten days, this hierarchy had already caused multiple conflicts, with bloodshed occurring frequently.

It could be said that the regions surrounding China were in an uproar, and there were hardly any normal people among them.