Darkstone Code

"...We will make history!"

Under the frenzied flashes of cameras, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the representatives of the Nagariel delegation exchanged credentials in front of numerous journalists and media outlets.

Establishing diplomatic relations, simple yet not simple, the push of the era fills this moment with a certain weighty sense of history and a profound sense of mission.

When this news was announced, the Foreign Minister also stated that an inspection team would be dispatched to investigate some of the social structures and environments of the Nagariel United Kingdom, to help them break away from their current backward production capabilities and catch up with the world's developed countries as soon as possible.

To this end, the Foreign Minister also specifically announced that there would be a large number of job opportunities available for Federation citizens in the Nagariel United Kingdom, from the most ordinary low-level workers to skilled technicians, providing suitable job roles for everyone.

The Foreign Minister specifically pointed out that this was a result of Mr. President's efforts.

Thanks to the announcements made at this press conference, within less than ten minutes, the Bail Federal industry index experienced the biggest surge this year, and various blue-chip stocks also saw varying degrees of growth.

The entire Federation seemed revitalized by this simple diplomatic act, and the people parading in the streets vanished, instead gathering to discuss the opportunities ahead.

Even the movies being released en masse by Fox Film Corporation became beloved by the people.

People eagerly wish to learn more about what kind of country Nagariel is and what its customs and traditions are through this movie.

However, they will certainly be disappointed because the movie was shot entirely within the Federation.

Not just the movie, anything related to Nagariel began to quietly become popular, including "Lynch's Adventure," which was originally already among the bestsellers.

On the night of the press conference, many calls were received by the publisher, leading to a decision for a second printing, and the numbers were astonishing...

In the evening, Mr. Truman, along with some diplomatic personnel involved in the negotiations and the President's personal staff officer, appeared on the most-watched political talk show.

The host thoughtfully brought up some of the issues people were very concerned about in society, such as questions about the possibility of work in Nagariel, and the group provided very positive and enthusiastic answers, which completely ignited the emotions of the grassroots public.

"Go to Nagariel" quickly became a catchphrase, an attitude, an action!

The largest ferry company in the Federation urgently added more than ten cruise lines to Nagariel, arranging to transport those seeking opportunities.

In just one day, something long-missing was showcased throughout the Federation—a rising fighting spirit was slowly budding.

On the same day, a significant event occurred on the other side of the strait!

By a little past eleven at night, the sky was completely dark.

The Governor of Amelie Province still couldn't sleep, as he was exhausted over the past week.

To prevent resistance organizations from giving people the wrong idea—such as "even if we make mistakes, we won't face severe punishment" or "as long as we can hide, we can escape accountability"—the Governor abandoned his previous amiable demeanor and became known as a brutal dictator among the populace.

People no longer talked about how approachable he was or how he treated the residents of the region kindly, like his own children, because no one would load their children into trucks and slaughter them, then burn them.

The entire city reeked of a strong stench every day, the blood that spilled onto the roads, seeped into the cracks in the bricks, and soaked into the soil began to smell foul, the ground was continually dirty with no way to clean it, and the air was rancid, leaving the people numb.

Initially, people would still be sensitive, shocked, and terrified by the sudden outbreak of gunfire, but now they had become numb.

The unprecedented high-pressure situation made everyone afraid to defy the Governor's orders, except for the resistance organizations.

Yet even so, the Governor remained worried.

Since the copper mine attack, these resistance organizations had shown a completely different change, beginning to arm themselves.

Yes, arm themselves with modern advanced weaponry.

Prior to this, he was aware of the existence of many resistance organizations, but these groups had no weapons, no money, and no supplies, posing no threat to the rule of Gafura. Calling them resistance organizations was an insult to the term.

But now it's different. More and more resistance organizations are able to produce guns, and they've even orchestrated two bombings, destroying a patrol car and a post, which is a very dangerous signal.

Someone is funding these resistance organizations, and even the Governor knows who those people are—it's just those foreigners lingering in the Amelia Region.

In the Ruler's Hall, Emperor Gafura shared the same thoughts with his ministers; it couldn't be the aid of a defeated country. Rather than turmoil, they preferred peaceful development, so it must be those foreigners.

The Governor wanted to order the expulsion of these foreigners, but he couldn't do it. There were too many foreigners here; a careless move could cause a terrible diplomatic conflict, so he could only watch them pretend not to know, continuing to stir things up here.

For the past week, he suffered from insomnia almost every night and had to wait until after two o'clock in the morning, drink some strong alcohol to fall asleep, and even then, he slept fitfully, easily jerking awake.

At this moment, he sat in the pitch-black study, resting his chin on one hand, tilting his head as he gazed at the moonlit window. The tranquil night no longer seemed so beautiful but rather carried a hint of eeriness, a hint of gloom.

Suddenly, at a moment of slight daze, a massive flame wave rose in the distance, immediately followed by the resounding explosion in his ears, and the glass window abruptly shattered into fragments before his eyes.

The next second, the telephone rang. He picked up the phone, his expression as gloomy as the night itself, pitch-black and bleak.

"Governor, the power plant just suffered a bomb attack, the main power generation unit has entirely stopped working..."

Reporting was a Major responsible for the night patrol. The Governor remained silent for three to five seconds, "The phone line is still operational!"

This wasn't his nonsense—phones during this era were still powered locally, meaning the phone functioned by using electrical wires.

If the power was out, the phone would immediately lose its function, but the Governor's point was that their phone connection could continue, indicating the power wasn't completely out.

"We've now activated the backup units, the power generation is very limited, it can only prioritize supplying some important facilities; the Governor's Mansion is on the list of guaranteed power supply," the Major explained that it was the largest power unit bombed, while there were two smaller, temporary backup units available.

The Governor asked, "When can it be repaired?"

There was sudden silence on the phone, no sound except breathing.

About seven or eight seconds later, the Major's voice came through the receiver, "I'm sorry, Governor..."

No need to speak further; they couldn't repair it. The explosion at the provincial capital's power plant was an extremely adverse impact on Gafura's authority. The Governor's voice turned icy, chillingly cold, "Were any people caught?"

There was still silence; the Governor directly hung up the phone—a bunch of useless fools.

But the phone rang again. He looked at the phone, some anger in his eyes. After several rings, he picked it up, "It's me."

"Governor, the Number Eleven mine suffered an attack..."

With a bang, the telephone receiver was slammed hard onto the ground.

That night, the sudden explosion and the following sirens echoed throughout the area. All the soldiers were deployed, conducting house-to-house searches— the Governor's aim was simple: find those who weren't home in the middle of the night, as they must be from the resistance organizations.

Regardless of whether this idea was effective, whether they could capture some resistance members, just the bombing of the power plant and another copper mine being attacked was already casting a shadow over Gafura's authority in the Amelia Region.

What was assumed to be a stable year had passed; the turnover of power was being accepted by the public, who could have expected the situation to suddenly turn this dire.

Early the next morning, Emperor Gafura was shocked by the news. In the Ruler's Hall, he raged like a middle-aged man in the throes of questioning his own abilities during men. It was said that his rage could be heard throughout the Imperial Capital!

This also facilitated another matter: the "Princess of Victory" and six frigates departed Gafura's military port, prepared to traverse the Eperlier Strait, directly approaching the Amelia Region, to intimidate the region and the nearby countries and forces.

At the same time, Gafura Empire's military headquarters transmitted orders to the fleet en route to the Nagariel offshore to expedite their pace and intercept the Federation Navy as soon as possible.

Once they defeated the Federation Navy, they would then head south directly to rendezvous with "Princess of Victory," preparing for a long-term deployment in the crescent-shaped Bay of Amelia Region.

Receiving military headquarters' orders, Gafura's Navy accelerated the pace and re-planned the route. The naval battle commander even detached a strategic ship and three destroyers from the fleet to head to the Amelia Region ahead of them.

According to military headquarters' internal views, the unrest in the Amelia Region is highly likely to escalate due to these two retaliatory attacks by resistance organizations, so it's essential to implement a show of force in this region swiftly.

In this era, nothing serves as a more effective show of force than mighty cannons—they didn't even believe this approach was dangerous.

After all, what they had to face were just the showpiece naval forces of the Federation. Their navy, apart from catching smugglers near the coastline, had never executed any regional military strike actions of any nature.

A bunch of weaklings!