Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

[Time: Present]

[Location: Agrippa Grand Hall, Van Republic]

Captain Fritz pulled himself out of his thoughts. Whatever happened in Guidao City has already settled.

He looked at Richard Mayerhaus walking toward the podium—what mattered was not the past, but the future.

...

It takes thirteen steps to walk from the floor to the speaking platform, and Richard Mayerhaus took those thirteen steps with steady composure.

The murmurs beneath the grand arch disappeared in an instant, and in the semi-circular grand hall, all eyes focused on the figure in the purple robe at the center of the venue.

Richard Mayerhaus stood behind the lectern, slightly raised his head, and squinted at the representatives and envoys in the venue.

The representatives and envoys from Various Republics and foreign lands curiously scrutinized him, eager to see what kind of performance this new player on the stage of power would present.

This nominal new leader of the United Provinces Republic carried too many mysteries: Was he a moderate or a radical? Was he a puppet of the United Provinces military or a state head with real power? What was his perspective on the tense situation within the Alliance?

The people awaited Mr. Richard Mayerhaus's stance.

Yet Richard Mayerhaus said nothing.

He stood silently at the podium, coldly scanning the seated audience, as if looking at lifeless puppets and clay statues.

The hall fell into an unsettling silence.

Silence.

Silence.

If silence was an opening, the new Speaker of the United Provinces opening was too prolonged.

After a brief moment of bewilderment, the representatives and envoys in the hall seemed a bit at a loss. People began whispering, trying to find answers to the unexpected situation before them.

...

The first level of the grand hall, the sector belonging to the United Provinces representatives.

A United Provinces officer in uniform tilted his head, lowered his voice, and asked another officer beside him, "Did he get stage fright?"

The one being asked watched the new Speaker, whom they had ushered to the throne of power, his brows subtly furrowed, and he gestured, "Don't rush."

...

The second level of the grand hall, the seating area for foreign envoys.

Prince Richard, puzzled, looked at Count Varez beside him, and asked with interest, "Was this pre-arranged?"

Count Varez—the Empire's ambassador to Van—looked embarrassed, bowed slightly, and explained to the prince, "Your Highness, I don't know what kind of trickery the United Provincials are up to either..."

...

At the podium, Richard Mayerhaus met the gaze of the crowd, savoring their emotions—this was a moment he had awaited for too long.

In the silent, wordless arena, he felt the unrest and confusion among the people.

"Too many people babble." He thought, "Yet no one knows the power of silence."

The time was a quarter past ten, sunlight streamed through the skylight above the arch, shining directly on the central podium, illuminating Richard Mayerhaus.

He extended his hand, lightly flipped over the speech prepared by the "Interim Supreme Council," and then directly overturned the thick stack onto the lectern.

Seeing the man in the purple robe suddenly make a move, the crowd in the hall realized he was about to speak, and once more, the dome fell back into silence.

Richard Mayerhaus took a deep breath, letting his voice burst forth in the silence.

"I know what you're thinking."

The voice of the new Speaker of the United Provinces was hoarse and deep, and the Agrippa Grand Hall's exquisite acoustic design allowed his words to be clearly heard without magic amplification:

"You are connecting my face with every notorious traitor, Oath Breaker, and conspirator in history, trying to find even the slightest trait in me similar to theirs!"

The initial self-deprecating statement by Richard Mayerhaus caught everyone under the dome off guard.

In the United Provinces seating area, the officer who had just said "don't rush" furrowed his brows more deeply; on the second-floor observation platform, Prince Richard's interest deepened.

On the sidelines of the venue, Captain Fritz glanced with slight suspicion at Mrs. Mayerhaus, but he did not see panic or anxiety in her face, only a confident smile.

However, Richard Mayerhaus had not finished his shocking statements, he paused briefly and scanned the venue:

"I also know why you think this way—because, however you try to decorate it with words, the power transition that occurred in Guidao City four days ago, is undoubtedly a coup d'état, a rebellion, an act of treason with irrefutable evidence!"

"Buzz!"

This declaration caused an uproar in the audience.

No one expected that the newly ascended highest Speaker of the United Provinces would choose to openly deny the legitimacy of his power in his first speech.

He exposed the truth that the United Provinces military did not want to mention and that Various Republics were reluctant to speak of, laying it bare in front of all the Alliance representatives.

Richard Mayerhaus patiently waited until the room calmed down, until the representatives closed their mouths, wanting to hear what else he had to say, before he spoke again:

"But, also please remember, on a sinking ship, as long as the fate of sinking can be averted, any means used is justified!"

He stared fearlessly at the representatives from Various Republics, repeating word by word, "As long as it prevents the destruction of the Alliance! Any means is justified!"

The hall once more erupted in uproar, but this time, Richard Mayerhaus did not allow the representatives time to quiet down again. He struck the lectern forcefully, letting his questioning voice overpower all the noise: