The morning sunlight stread through the glass window, casting reflections upon the curtains.
Louis opened his eyes and instinctively reached out to the side.
His arm soon encountered a familiar softness.
That was Emily’s sleeping hair, carrying a hint of morning warmth and a familiar floral scent.
Her eyebrows now lacked the cold sternness of a young girl, replaced by a soothing maternal presence.
On the other side, a small baby lay nestled against her chest, sleeping peacefully, occasionally waving his small fists as if fighting soone in his dreams.
"Wow, starting cultivation at just a few months old?" Louis whispered with a smile, leaning down to kiss the child’s forehead.
He slowly sat up, draped the cloak by the bed over his shoulders, and stretched in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
The sky outside Red Tide City was not yet fully bright, but from the southern district workshops, the first wisp of white steam was already rising. It seed the steam group was again testing so new invention overnight.
As usual, Louis gently raised his hand and made a simple gesture in the air.
Accompanied by a barely audible "buzz", a semi-transparent light screen silently unfolded before his eyes.
[Daily Intelligence Update Complete]
[1: Hamilton successfully prototyped the "Steam-powered Loom" in the Red Tide Workshop District.]
[2: The Fifth Prince Lampard has recently been seen frequenting the secret base of the Golden Feather Flower Church Court in the Imperial Capital for confidential discussions.]
[3: Deep in the Ancient Abyss Canyon, beneath the Snowfield Altar Palace, a dormant Mother Nest Remnant Core remains in a semi-hibernating state.]
"Oh?" Upon seeing the first intelligence, Louis raised an eyebrow, his eyes lighting up, "They actually made it..."
The steam-powered loom’s significance goes far beyond just speed.
Its arrival ans that fabric production will no longer rely solely on manual weaving.
Once perfected, Red Tide was truly entering an industrial era concerning the textile industry.
Louis could foresee the day when Red Tide City would bulk package its self-produced cotton, linen, and even dyed cloth, shipping them across the Northern Territory, and possibly around the world.
"This kid really created a new industry for , I’ll go check at the workshop by noon today."
Louis nodded happily, then continued to view the next piece of intelligence.
[2: The Fifth Prince Lampard has recently been seen, frequenting the secret base of the Golden Feather Flower Church Court in the Imperial Capital for confidential discussions.]
"As expected, the rumors weren’t groundless." Louis murmured, the hint of a smile in his eyebrows quietly dissipating, replaced by calmness.
Rumors regarding the Fifth Prince Lampard had quietly spread among the Imperial Capital’s nobility two months ago, but no one had proof.
However, this intelligence finally cented everything.
Seeing this intelligence, Louis thought of his third brother, Eduardo Calvin.
This elder brother, sent to further his studies at the church by the Duke in his youth, seed to hold a considerable position within the church.
Louis casually flipped through the intelligence notebook.
Most political intelligence recorded over the few months pointed in the sa direction; the split in Imperial Capital’s political arena was accelerating.
The military departnt, civil servants, church, nobility... each fracture continued to expand.
Louis’s fingers brushed over several core intelligence notes:
The Second Prince, a graduate from the Empire’s Military Academy, moved closely with the military, and his suggested alliance system of noble army corps was supported by so border faction nobles.
The Fourth Prince, backed by the inspectorate and the finance departnt, advocated for civil servant centralization and cabinet system reform, aiming to reconstruct imperial power.
The Eight Great Clans appeared neutral but actually supported different sides.
Shadows of the Golden Feather Flower Church Court and the Jade Federation increasingly frequented the Imperial Nobility’s secret chambers.
This intelligence mostly comprised secrets that were the deepest and, for so, known only to one or two individuals.
All these secrets were laid bare before the Daily Intelligence System.
Louis closed the notebook, softly saying to himself, "So... the fractures in the Imperial Capital have fully torn apart."
In his eyes, the Empire was now akin to a temple still able to hold itself together; its walls untouched, but its foundation very fragile.
Were it to suddenly topple one day, others might be shocked by the upheaval, but he would not be surprised.
Louis glanced down at Emily by the bedside, and the small bundle in her arms, his gaze deepening, "I’m not yet strong enough to decide the Empire’s future. But at the very least... strong enough to protect what I should safeguard."
He sighed softly, and then looked at the third piece of intelligence.
[3: Deep in the Ancient Abyss Canyon, beneath the Snowfield Altar Palace, a dormant Mother Nest Remnant Core remains in a semi-hibernating state.]
Louis’s pupils contracted slightly, "How could it be."
Mother Nest Remnant Core!
That familiar yet nauseating na appeared again!
He looked down and repeatedly confird those words, "Existence of Mother Nest Remnant Core", "Snowfield Altar", "Semi-hibernating state".
Due to the intelligence being so brief, it was like a fang barely exposed under the ice layer.
But Louis knew one thing: "If it truly awakens... then the entire Northern Territory, and perhaps the entire Empire, might never withstand a second insect disaster."
Recalling the terrifying scenes back then, when the Mother Nest ravaged.
An entire Northern Territory turned to scorched earth, over four-fifths of the population perishing, dozens of cities vanishing, even the Dragon Blood Knight Order left in tatters...
Thinking of this, Louis began to feel a headache, raising a hand to pinch his brow, "This thing must be scattered along with its ashes."
He then retrieved the hand-drawn detailed map of the Northern Territory from the bedside drawer.
This was his own version, repeatedly organized and marked with battle lines and trade routes, considered the most comprehensive and detailed map of the Northern Territory now.
The tip of the pen landed on a patch of snowfield not yet marked with a na, which was indeed the Ancient Abyss Canyon.
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