Victor von Heinrich didn’t pay attention to Morin, but continued to maintain that somewhat arrogant posture, leaning on his bone staff and turning to walk deep into the corridor on his own.
In his view, explaining an exquisite magical concept like “underlying logic” to a Saxon soldier like Morin was tantamount to casting pearls before swine.
However, after noticing the traces of spells on Morin, he still stopped and looked back at Morin.
“Your Excellency the Lieutenant Colonel is also a spellcaster?”
“That’s right.” Morin didn’t hide it… mainly because he couldn’t hide it either.
“Self-awakened or modified acquired?” Heinrich continued to ask.
“Should be considered ‘self-awakened’, right?”
“What do you mean ‘should be considered’… But this is truly rare…”
Heinrich shook his head, said no more, and continued walking forward.
Morin looked at his back, curled his lips, and didn’t press further.
He knew that when communicating with this kind of highly self-regarded and seemingly “otaku” mage, one couldn’t rush it; one had to take it slow.
Although Heinrich swore that those out-of-control “Sentinels” outside wouldn’t attack here, Morin didn’t dare to entrust everyone’s lives to the moral character of a “traitor” in other people’s mouths.
So he had Kahn arrange soldiers to establish firing points in this long and narrow corridor, just in case.
Soon, Morin followed Heinrich into the room at the deepest part of the corridor—the Monitoring and Command Center.
And the large group of several dozen instruction unit soldiers who had gone in ahead already occupied more than half the space inside.
Upon entering here, Morin found that this place was much larger and more complex than he imagined.
He sized up his surroundings while comparing with the system map in his mind to confirm the location.
Then Morin found that the location of this Monitoring Center was very clever. It was like a projection embedded in the outer wall of the “Practical Combat Testing Area,” possessing an excellent field of view for observation.
The entire Monitoring Center was like a huge circular lecture hall. The front was a device similar to a one-way observation window made of a single massive piece of crystal.
From here, it seemed one could overlook a certain area of the entire second underground level.
It’s just that right now, because the magitech core had stopped, it was pitch black outside, and nothing could be seen.
Around the room and on the stepped tiers were filled with various instruments and equipment that looked very retro to Morin.
Oscilloscopes flashing with faint light, magitech meters covered with complex scales and pointers, and some bizarre machines he couldn’t even name.
Obviously, when the research institute was operating normally, those researchers observed the performance of the experimental subjects in the “Practical Combat Testing Area” below from here.
And right now, this “viewing box” that should have belonged to the researchers only had Heinrich left.
And it was completely packed by a group of uninvited guests a minute ago.
Under Kahn’s command, the instruction unit soldiers quickly occupied various corners of the room.
They formed groups of three, the weapons in their hands aiming in different directions, their eyes vigilantly scanning everything around, including that old mage who brought them in.
Heinrich stood in the center of the room, looking at this group of Saxon soldiers who had already begun inspecting those instruments, the muscles on his face uncontrollably twitching a few times.
He suddenly regretted letting them in a bit…
But the problem was, if he hadn’t let them in just now and truly let them blow open the main door, there was no guarantee the underlying logic of those “Sentinels” outside wouldn’t fail.
And the soldiers under this spellcaster Lieutenant Colonel, judging from their movements, were well-trained elites, essentially different from those wooden grunts.
In a high-pressure environment like an underground research institute, they showed no panic whatsoever. Everyone knew what they should do and where they should stand.
This discipline and tactical literacy, which seemed carved into their bones, made Heinrich, a mage who stayed in a laboratory all year round, feel very surprised.
Especially this young Lieutenant Colonel taking the lead, who was currently strolling around the room with his hands behind his back, touching the left and looking at the right, occasionally reaching out to tap those precise instruments, making “tsk tsk” sounds from his mouth.
Looking at Morin touching the left and looking at the right, this Necromancy School mage’s face grew darker and darker, because he suddenly realized that the development of things might have completely exceeded his control.
He originally wanted to use these people to escape his predicament, but now, he himself instead seemed to have become that bird in the cage.
Just as Morin and the others entered the Monitoring Center and closed the main door, the battle over in Area E also gradually came to an end.
The sudden stoppage of the magitech core plunged the entire second underground level into pitch-black darkness where one couldn’t see their own fingers.
This sudden change had a huge impact on both sides engaged in a fierce battle—it’s just that one was negative and one was positive.
For those Britannian soldiers, this was simply the descent of doomsday.
They were already retreating steadily in the face of those invulnerable monsters, barely maintaining a circular defense line entirely relying on the spells released by several Highland Mages and the lives of the task force company soldiers.
Now, as soon as the light source disappeared, they instantly became blind.
“Fire! Fire! Don’t stop!”
“Lighting! Who still has lighting spells!”
“Help! Ah!”
Panic spread rapidly in the darkness. The soldiers could only shoot blindly in the direction of the enemies in their memory.
However, the brief muzzle flashes spewed by the rifles not only failed to illuminate the surrounding environment, but instead caused them to fall into brief blindness due to the drastic changes in light and dark.
And for those out-of-control “Sentinels,” darkness was their best ally.
After briefly adapting for two or three seconds, the [Darkvision] spell made permanent in their bodies automatically activated.
In their field of vision, those panicked Britannians in the darkness were so clear… so helpless.
This battle, which already had asymmetrical strength, quickly evolved into a cruel game of cat and mouse.
The “Sentinels” no longer used rifles and spells. They put away their weapons, relying entirely on that terrifying physical quality, moving through the darkness like ghosts.
A Britannian soldier backed against a pile of crates, nervously pulling the bolt to press bullets into the magazine.
He could hear the screams of his comrades coming from around him, and that scalp-numbing sound of sharp blades cutting through flesh, but he could see nothing.
Only the sudden flashes of muzzle fire allowed him to see the images of those terrifying enemies attacking his comrades not far away.
Fear, like a cold hand, tightly gripped his heart.
Just the instant he pushed the new magazine into the rifle, a dark shadow appeared silently behind him.
Before he could even let out an exclamation, he felt a chill on his neck, and his whole world spun.
Muzzle flashes constantly flickered in the darkness, but every flicker was accompanied by a shrill scream.
The Britannian soldiers simply couldn’t capture the enemies’ positions. The darkness before their eyes was the enemies’ best cover.
Whenever the muzzle flashes disappeared, only an expanse of pure darkness remained before their eyes, and then death would descend from an unexpected direction.
However, not everyone sat and waited for death.
Amidst the chaos, the two surviving Highland Mages knew that staying here any longer would only lead to a dead end.
So the instant darkness fell, they made a prompt decision. Taking advantage of the “Sentinels” enjoying this one-sided slaughter, they took the only remaining few soldiers beside them who were still relatively agile, and relying on memory and familiarity with the terrain, quietly disengaged from the combat area and fled toward the other end of the corridor.
They should also be thankful their movements were fast enough, because not long after they left, this bloody “game” ended.
Except for those few who luckily escaped, the Coldstream Task Force Company and Highland Mages who entered the underground research institute were almost completely annihilated.
Major James Hamilton half-knelt on the ground, panting heavily.
A gash deep to the bone was hacked open on his left arm, blood dyeing half his body red.
The Webley revolver in his hand only had the last bullet left.
Around him, the corpses of the Coldstream Task Force Company soldiers lay everywhere, severed limbs visible everywhere.
The air was filled with a nauseating smell of blood.
A golden mask slowly approached in front of him.
Major Hamilton raised his head, looking at those emotionless eyes under the mask by the extremely faint light, smiled bleakly, raised the revolver in his hand, and aimed at his own temple.
“Bang!”
The gunshot echoed in the empty corridor, but the “Sentinels” didn’t give him this quick release.
The moment before he pulled the trigger, a strong large hand grabbed his wrist, forcefully twisting the muzzle aside.
The bullet hit the ceiling, splashing a string of sparks.
Major Hamilton and several other survivors who were similarly injured but not killed on the spot, including a Highland Mage whose legs were broken, were dragged by these “Sentinels” like dead dogs toward the “Practical Combat Testing Area” in Area F.
After finishing dealing with these “prey,” the out-of-control “Sentinels” did not forget Morin and the others who fled, as well as those few Highland Mages.
A portion of the “Sentinels” followed the traces and chased after those fleeing Highland Mages.
And another portion arrived before that tightly closed heavy iron door of the Monitoring and Command Center.
They stopped in front of the door, tilting their heads, seemingly thinking about something.
These “Sentinels” wearing golden masks could feel that there was a massive aura of life behind the door, but some kind of command deeply rooted in their minds was preventing them from launching an attack.
After hesitating in place for nearly a minute, this group of “Sentinels” ultimately gave up.
They turned around, followed another scent, and disappeared deep into the dark corridor.
The second underground level returned to deathly silence once again.
And behind that heavy iron door, inside the Monitoring and Command Center, everyone held their breath, nervously listening to the movements outside.
“As long as you don’t actively go out to attack, they can’t come in.”
Heinrich looked at the expressions of the people around him and said slowly:
“Although the brains of these ‘failed products’ are broken, the underlying logic is still there… In their cognition, the Monitoring Center is the area where the ‘Observers’ are located, belonging to a non-combat zone.”
It wasn’t until waiting for a long time without enemies breaking the door that everyone breathed a sigh of relief in unison.
Confirming the threat outside was temporarily lifted, the atmosphere in the Monitoring Center finally eased somewhat.
But the instruction unit soldiers did not relax their vigilance because of this, still performing their respective duties, vigilantly guarding every corner.
Morin also let out a long breath. Just now, when the system map showed that group of “Sentinels” wandering at the door outside, his heart almost jumped into his throat.
He had even prepared for the worst, ready to have the flamethrower teams aim at the door, and the moment the door broke, give them a “fierce fire roasting.”
Fortunately, that Heinrich who let them in wasn’t bragging; the “underlying logic” he spoke of really worked.
However, the crisis being temporarily lifted didn’t mean the problem was solved.
Just then, Master Haber, who had been forcefully suppressing his anger all along, could no longer control his emotions.
He charged in front of Heinrich in two strides, pointing at his nose, his voice trembling slightly with anger.
“Victor von Heinrich! You shameless traitor! You still have the face to stand here!”
“The Empire treated you well! His Majesty the Emperor even saw you as a mentor! Is this how you repay the trust of the Empire and His Majesty?”
Master Haber’s chest heaved violently; he felt his blood burning.
As a member of the Imperial Royal Academy of Magitech Research, as a Saxon mage who took pride in the Empire, he couldn’t tolerate that this former idol before his eyes had now become an enemy of the Empire.
“Do you know how many excellent soldiers of the Empire died tragically on the front lines because of your ‘Sentinel Project’! Do you know what a monstrous crime you have committed!”
Facing Master Haber’s furious scolding, Heinrich appeared exceptionally calm, not even batting an eyelid.
He merely used those cloudy eyes to indifferently glance at Haber, a faint, almost imperceptible smile even curving at the corner of his mouth.
“Fritz Haber… improver of the synthetic ammonia process, the youngest ‘Master’ in the Saxon Empire?”
Heinrich’s voice was hoarse and slow, as if recalling some distant past event.
“If the curriculum of the Imperial Magic Academy hasn’t changed much, the textbook you used in the ‘General Magic’ course should still be compiled by me… Putting it this way, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration for you to call me teacher.”
These words sounded like an elder praising a junior, but that understated tone and that condescending posture made Master Haber feel greatly insulted.
“Shut up!” Master Haber roared, “You are not worthy to be called my teacher! You butcher with your hands covered in the blood of compatriots!”
“Traitor? Butcher?”
Hearing this address again, a sneer finally appeared on Heinrich’s face.
He raised his head, a terrifying cold light flashing in those cloudy eyes.
“Haber… do you really think it was me who betrayed the Empire back then?”
Morin stood aside, watching this sudden “mage infighting” with great interest.
He didn’t step forward to stop it, but instead signaled the surrounding soldiers not to move recklessly either, just letting them argue.
He knew clearly in his heart that people are most prone to speaking the truth during such emotional excitement.
Moreover, as the two conversed, new entries indeed began to frantically refresh in the [Intelligence] and [Information] tabs on his system interface.
“Quick, talk more, let me farm more intelligence.” Morin silently cheered on the two mages who both had “attainments” in their respective fields.
On the other side, Master Haber was obviously angered to laughter by Heinrich’s rhetorical question.
“You abandoned the Empire, defected to our mortal enemy the Gauls, and developed this inhumane weapon for them! If this isn’t treason, what is?”
“Look at those things outside! Turning living people into beasts that only know how to kill, using necromancy to play with souls and flesh…”
“The reason the Magical Research Association stopped your research and blacklisted you back then was because you were conducting such utterly unconscionable human experiments!”
“This kind of large-scale Necromancy School experiment is a bottom line that no civilized world can tolerate!”
The several Section III intelligence personnel also nodded in agreement, their faces showing expressions of righteous indignation.
“Hahaha…”
Heinrich suddenly burst into loud laughter. The laughter was hoarse and ear-piercing, echoing in the empty Monitoring Center.
“Naive! Do you really think the Imperial Magical Research Association stopped my research back then just because of so-called ‘trampling on the bottom line of civilization’?”
“Is it not?” Master Haber retorted righteously.
“The official statement is always so high-sounding, and so boring.”
Heinrich shook his head, the smile on his face full of mockery:
“And you, Fritz Haber, still believe it without a doubt.”
Speaking of this, Heinrich’s gaze suddenly turned to Morin, who had been watching the show nearby.
“Young Lieutenant Colonel, what about you? Do you also believe this rhetoric?”
Suddenly being called out, Morin was also stunned, thinking: How does this involve me too?
He scratched his head and showed a simple and honest smile: “This… I probably wasn’t even born back then…”
Looking at Morin’s act of playing dumb, Heinrich snorted coldly and didn’t press further.
He glanced around at all the fully armed Saxon soldiers in the room, his gaze ultimately falling back on Master Haber.
“Fritz Haber… and everyone else, listen closely.”
Heinrich’s voice suddenly turned cold, enunciating each word clearly:
“The reason the Magical Research Association wanted to stop me and blacklist me back then wasn’t because of some bullshit human experiments at all!”
“Ultimately, it was because of that research report I submitted back then—’Feasibility Study on Popularizing Magical Affinity in Natural Persons through Alchemical Potions and Magitech Circuit Implantation’!”
Master Haber widened his eyes, as if hearing something unbelievable.
The Section III intelligence personnel had expressions of even greater surprise; clearly, secrets of this level had already exceeded the scope of their cognition.
Only Morin, the instant he heard this sentence, his whole body jolted.
Wait… popularizing magical affinity?
Allowing ordinary people to also possess spellcasting abilities?
Isn’t this exactly the technology he had been looking for?
“Impossible…”
Master Haber muttered to himself, like his worldview had received a massive impact: “Wasn’t that research… proven to be a dead end long ago?”
“Dead end? Hmph, that’s because they wanted it to become a dead end!”
Looking at their shocked, confused, and even somewhat fearful faces, the sneer on Heinrich’s face grew thicker, carrying a vindictive pleasure.
“Look, this is you.”
This Necromancy School master spread his hands, his posture full of theatrical mockery:
“A flock of lambs kept in captivity in lies, not even daring to touch the truth of your own world.”
His gaze fell back on Master Haber, that look, like looking at a pathetic worm.
“Fritz, where do you think the transcendent status of mages comes from? Is it really because we are smarter and more diligent than ordinary people?”
“No!”
He answered his own question, his voice resolute and decisive.
“It is merely because we have mastered power that ordinary people cannot reach! It is because of ‘rarity’! It is because we have monopolized the path to mighty power!”
“If everyone in the Empire possessed magical affinity, then what would be left of this group called mages?”
“If every single person in the Empire could easily obtain magical affinity and possess the potential to cast spells, then on what basis would we so-called ‘mages’ maintain that lofty transcendent status?!”
The voice of this Necromancy School master grew increasingly agitated, the hand holding the bone staff trembling slightly.
“It is for this reason! They were afraid! They were terrified! That is why they united and used the most despicable means to stop my research, expunge me from all academic activities, and completely isolate me!”
“In the end, they even laid murderous hands on me at the border!”
“They wanted me, along with my research, to disappear from this world forever!”
These words from Heinrich exploded like a thunderclap in the Monitoring Center.
Everyone was stunned by this earth-shattering secret.
Whether it was Morin, Master Haber, those few Section III intelligence personnel, or the other instruction unit soldiers… None of them expected the truth of the matter to be like this.
Morin, whose brain worked relatively fast, instantly thought of the secrecy issue of this sensitive incident—it seemed the 1st Company, 1st Battalion of the Imperial Guard Assault Instruction Unit really needed to “have no secrets.”
“Impossible… This is impossible!”
Master Haber’s face instantly turned deathly pale. He staggered backward two steps, as if all the strength in his body had been drained.
Heinrich’s words smashed his worldview like a heavy hammer.
Causing the beliefs this Saxon Empire mage had built over a long time to begin showing cracks.
He always thought that mages were the guardians of the Empire, the embodiment of knowledge and rationality;… the Magical Research Association was even the holy land in the hearts of all mages, representing authority and justice.
But now Heinrich told him that this organization he had always revered took such actions to maintain its own privileges and status.
How could he accept this?
“You are sophistry! You must be sophistry!”
Master Haber shook his head, his eyes full of struggle and disbelief:
“The mages of the Empire couldn’t possibly do such a thing! This does not conform to the honor of a mage!”
Heinrich laughed again, as if hearing some huge joke: “Honor? I’m afraid only ‘nerds’ addicted to research like Planck and Einstein would have these things in their heads…”
“For other mages, when a group of people accustomed to standing in the clouds finds someone wanting to build a ladder leading to the clouds on the ground, what do you think they will do?”
“Will they applaud and welcome it… or will they kick the ladder over and incidentally throw the person building the ladder down with it?”
Heinrich’s rhetorical question left Master Haber speechless.
He wasn’t stupid; he just didn’t want to believe that his long-held beliefs were wrong.
But Heinrich’s words were like a sharp knife, ruthlessly cutting open the cruel reality that had always been covered by a gorgeous coat.
On the other side, those few Section III intelligence personnel also looked at each other in dismay, the shock on their faces no less than Master Haber’s.
The Captain leading the team had trembling lips, and it took a long time to squeeze out a sentence: “Master Heinrich… what you said… the assassination at the border… we have never heard of any record of such an operation.”
“Hmph, would you small fry know about this kind of dirty work that can’t see the light of day?”
Heinrich’s tone was full of disdain:
“Every detail of the operation was carefully planned. They deliberately sent me to a remote border outpost to conduct a so-called ‘magical environment survey,’ and my specific operation route and dates were top secret.”
“If it wasn’t our own people who betrayed me, could it be that Britannian spies had vast magical powers to predict my itinerary in advance and set up an ambush so coincidentally on the inevitable path?”
These words, logical and watertight, left those intelligence personnel with no way to refute.
Although they didn’t want to believe it, reason told them that what Heinrich said was indeed likely to be true.
Looking at them speechless, the mockery at the corner of Heinrich’s mouth grew even stronger.
“How could dirty work like this that can’t see the light of day leave files for lackeys like you to look up? Do you really think you know everything?”
“If I hadn’t kept a trick up my sleeve back then, sensed something was wrong in advance, found a way to deviate from the planned route, and crossed the border…”
“If I hadn’t happened to run into people from the ‘Eye of the Loire’ Mage Order who were also conducting alert missions in the border area at the time, I’m afraid I would have long become a pile of dry bones unknown to anyone!”
Heinrich’s voice was full of lingering fear and rejoicing, which also made his rhetoric seem even more real and credible.
The entire Monitoring Center fell into a deathly silence.
There was only the low humming of instruments and the heavy breathing of everyone.
Everyone was frightened out of their wits by the dark inside story implicated behind this.
Just then, a relatively calm voice broke the silence.
“So,”
Morin looked at Heinrich and interjected at the right moment:
“Because the Gauls saved you, you willingly served them and conducted research for the ‘Sentinel Project’?”
“Saved me?”
Heinrich sneered, as if recalling another past event.
“After confirming my identity, the first thing they did was to control me… If I had refused to serve them back then, Your Excellency the Lieutenant Colonel, what kind of end do you think I would have met?”
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