If something happened to the people below, the people above would naturally know. Otherwise, everything would be in chaos.
Rorschach didn't think that the Mage Country was clueless about such a huge incident. On the contrary, considering the mage apprentices here, as well as the spies and intelligence personnel of this mega empire … Rorschach felt that they should know much more than he did.
He even guessed why they were looking for him. However, after thinking about it, there were only two possibilities.
"Increase investment or decrease investment?"
"Increase investment. You can say that we're investing everything."
Considering the Mage Country's loose political system with almost no restrictions, it was impossible to keep this a secret.
However, the person who told Rorschach all this was Archbishop Wendill of the Eagle Crown Church. He was an old acquaintance of Rorschach's.
He used to be the manager of the Eagle Crown in Vila Nova Dônia. He was also the leader of the board of directors. However, recently, he was transferred back to the headquarters to report on his work. Rorschach hadn't seen him since then.
However, now that he was summoned by the Mage Country for a meeting, he met this old acquaintance on the way. Not long ago, Wendill had personally delivered the work letter to him. It felt rather strange.
"… I thought that you would hate me."
Wendill paused for a moment. His gentle smile froze. He silently shook his head, and his smile turned into a bitter one.
"We're all just trying to make ends meet. Who can blame who? There were too many coincidences in our development today. We're confident that we didn't make the wrong choice. Nothing will change even if we start all over again. Who else can we blame for our failure to reach this point … we were just unlucky. "
Was there really no resentment? Rorschach could tell that Wendill wasn't telling the truth, but he didn't pursue the matter.
The rise of the Game Church was due to many coincidences. It could be said that it was the product of personal effort and luck.
But from a competitor's point of view, the growth of a new God was basically accompanied by the fall and losses of the old churches. Judging from the results, the Four Main Gods had all suffered quite a lot. It could be said that many of their plans and investments had all become gifts for others. It would be strange if they didn't have any complaints.
Roxia and Wendill could be considered old acquaintances. Back then, Wendill and the Eagle Crown were one of the two giants of this city. Although Wendill had always been known for his friendliness and lack of arrogance, he would never take the initiative to greet a young man on the street with a fawning expression like he was doing now.
"… Curry favor? I understand. "
Rorschach looked at his watch. There were still forty minutes before the scheduled inquiry. Perhaps, it was indeed time for a good chat.
"Going for a cup of coffee?"
"Oh, okay, it's my treat. I know a good old restaurant on the street near the Parliament."
The old priest's overjoyed expression made Rorschach understand what was going on.
Originally, Rorschach didn't have much confidence. It might not be a good thing for his boss to suddenly invite him out.
But now, this "old acquaintance" just happened to meet him and even took the initiative to chat with him. This explained many things.
"Eagle Crest, you don't intend to leave?"
Rorschach's words were always so direct that others didn't know how to respond.
The location of their "chat" was a family restaurant not far from the Truth Parliament's administrative building. Outside the window was the Parliament's main door. There was no need to worry about missing the inquiry.
The seemingly young priest could only nod silently at Rorschach's question.
Yes, the Eagle Crest had decided not to leave. That was why they sent Wendill, an old acquaintance of Rorschach's, here.
"Yep, we're not leaving. Or rather, we can't leave. We've lost our backbone and core combat strength. Even if we return to our old base, we'll be eaten alive. It's better for us to fight for survival here. "
Giving out the trump card directly obviously wasn't a normal business or political negotiation. But Wendill knew that this was the way to communicate with Rorschach.
Rorschach smiled and nodded. It wasn't just because of Wendill's honesty. If the Eagle Crest really didn't leave, it should be a good thing for the Game Church.
The waiter who served their food came over. The two stopped to talk. Rorschach tasted his coffee and ate his sandwich. He talked about the weather today, but he had many thoughts in his mind.
"Maybe we really need to have a good talk. Even if we miss the inquiry, it's worth it."
The Eagle Crest's situation wasn't a secret. Wendill's attitude was very honest … but it was meaningless if he wasn't honest. The man in front of him was a human lie detector. Wendill couldn't hide the situation on his side if he wanted to.
Roxia was correct. It was impossible for them not to have any resentment. After all, in the past two weeks, they had received more than 30 resignation letters from mid-level managers. Not only that, these managers' new employers were none other than the Church of Game. Even though they had investigated and verified that the Church of Game hadn't actively tried to poach these managers, and that these managers had only resigned by personal choice, the higher-ups who viewed the Church of Game as their home still felt quite uncomfortable about this.
It was no wonder that all the officers and backbone jumped ship. The Eagle Crest's current situation couldn't even be described as "bad."
The Eagle Crest's base was an old city called the Land of Pride. It was considered the first stronghold of the Aishi People. There were a few Gods above level seven.
The God System had been established a long time ago, but there was no position for the Eagle Crest. Of course, this had to do with the Gods' vision and ambition.
If one didn't join the God System, or if one joined the God System as a follower, there would always be a gap. The feeling of being in the middle of a bustling city but having nothing to do with one's surroundings wasn't good.
This was also why the Eagle Crest had invested so much in the development of Vila Nova Dônia.
"Our Eagle's Crown is different from the other three. We really treat that city as our new home and operate it as our new home. Our hard investment is definitely the best in the city. "
Rorschach nodded silently. He had experienced some things himself, so he knew what was going on.
The original railway network in the Harlet Wasteland was funded and built by the Eagle Crest. From the design and production of the railway carriages to the recruitment and training of the railway workers, everything was done by the Eagle Crest.
The construction of infrastructure was long-term and difficult. It was impossible to recoup the cost in a short period of time. The fact that the Eagle Crest had started such a huge project proved their sincerity.
Back then, Rorschach had followed them to the frontline base in the no man's land. They had formed an alliance, and he had even met Titan there.
Without the Eagle Crest's initial investment, it would have been very difficult for others to follow up. Even if the railway network was eventually built, it might not have started until now.
It was only with the Eagle Crest's initial railway network that the other Churches started to invest in. This was a credit that had to be remembered.
From another perspective, investing in a large project was like boarding a pirate ship. It would be difficult to get off the ship.
The various investments had emptied the Eagle Crest's assets. Although the returns were good, compared to the various hardware expenditures, they were still in a state of loss.
Although the losses could be made up with the businesses in good condition as time passed, it was obvious that the Dimensional War had ruined everything.
"First, we would like to thank you for saving our lives half a month ago …"
Rorschach smiled and did not say anything.
He knew what the Eagle Crest was referring to. It was probably the forceful rescue operation that had broken who knew how many laws.
Considering the situation at the time and the Eagle Crest's current situation, it was not an exaggeration to say that they had saved their lives.
The Eagle Crest had invested so much in this area that their headquarters had become an empty shell. In order to recoup their capital, they had invested the most in the stock market. They had also suffered the most from the disaster. They had almost declared bankruptcy.
"Are you sure you don't want to go back?"
Although it was a question, Rorschach's tone was firm.
"Yes, it's impossible to go back. The wolves over there are already kicking us when we're down. They won't give our Lord a chance to rise again. It's better to take a gamble here."
Every successful leader was accompanied by countless failed competitors. The Eagle Crown had offended too many people in the process of successfully ascending to the top.
The losses in terms of finances and investments were still acceptable. However, their main army had been completely destroyed, leaving them severely lacking in combat strength. Naturally, their original enemies had joined forces to attack them.
Now, the Eagle Crest in the land of Pride would encounter countless troubles every day. There were reports of their businesses being attacked, news of a high-ranking or middle-ranking member being poached for a high salary, large numbers of believers changing their faith, and even a basic church changing its name to someone else's. There was even a comical piece of news about gangsters looking for trouble.
The Eagle Crest had considered being a coward, giving up everything and returning to their headquarters to survive the Dimensional War before rising again. However, reality told them that they would not survive another ten years in the Dimensional War if they continued like this.
The pain of falling from a high position and the destruction of their main army was too great a blow … The actual impact was not enough to be fatal, but the fact that their internal members had lost confidence and direction in the future, as well as the crazy loss of assets and members, was enough to cause fatal damage.
Rorschach and Lori had also discussed the Eagle Crest's future. They had two choices.
The first was to give up everything and follow the higher-ups through the Dimensional War. It was inevitable that they would fall by two levels. It was even possible that they would fall to level 4.
The second choice was the current situation.
"So, you're sure to stay. Then, don't blame me for being rude. Can you be our subordinate? "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
