Chapter 139: It's Ajef Again [Two-in-One]

Chapter 139: It's Ajef Again [Two-in-One]

After selling his goods, Tony ultimately withdrew his money.

It wasn’t that he distrusted the Interconnected Bank, but most of the merchant caravan’s earnings had to be handed over to his family.

How could he possibly transfer the funds directly to them?

In Greg Duchy, the internet remained, at its core, something that couldn’t be openly acknowledged.

The nobility all used the internet in secret, and Tony was certain the Wisdom Goddess's Faith was aware of it.

But to maintain stability in their rule, everyone tacitly turned a blind eye.

However, if anyone dared to openly embrace the internet, the implications would be entirely different.

"My God!"

"What is that?"

While eating breakfast, Tony suddenly heard panicked shouts erupting outside the inn.

Instinctively, he left his seat and walked to the window to look outside.

There, five airships, like mystical dragons, loomed over Vias, casting vast shadows across the city!

Bathed in that shadow, Tony felt a shiver crawl up his spine, from his tailbone straight to his skull!

He had seen airships in [Conquest], but that was always through the detached lens of a magic puppet.

Though awe-inspiring, it had always felt unreal.

Now, with the airships hovering directly overhead, the sheer oppressive weight of their presence was enough to make one’s soul tremble in terror!

"What’s going on?"

"Aren’t those the airships from [Conquest]?"

"Exactly! Why would the Internet God send airships here? Does he mean to attack Vias?"

"Deserves to die! I still have money in the bank—quick, hurry, go withdraw it!"

The merchants in the inn erupted into chaos.

Many were so frightened that they instinctively rushed to withdraw their money, ready to flee.

Even Tony found himself swept up in the panic.

Just then, a booming broadcast suddenly echoed from the trade distribution center.

[All unauthorized personnel on the landing pad must clear the area immediately! Do not obstruct our loading and unloading operations. Any resulting losses will be your own responsibility!]

"Loading and unloading?"

Tony and the other merchants froze.

"What’s happening?"

"This isn’t an invasion?"

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances. Seeing no beams of light descending from the airships to deploy troops, their panic gradually eased, shifting instead to wary observation.

The quick-witted among them even opened the internet to search for information.

"They’re from the Keville merchant fleet—they’re here to transport goods!"

One merchant gasped in shock.

"What? Transport goods?"

"They’re using such divine artifacts just to move cargo?"

"Is this fake news?"

"This is unbelievable!"

"I remember in [Conquest], the cheapest airship costs at least thirty thousand gold coins. Buying one just for shipping goods is actually possible!"

"Ah, can we purchase them too?"

The merchants buzzed with excitement, chattering nonstop.

Some even called their friends, deciding to go witness the spectacle firsthand.

Driven by curiosity, Tony followed along.

By the time they arrived, the five airships were slowly descending.

When they reached the scene, the airships were just about to land.

The trading center was already packed, swarming with onlookers. Standing among the crowd, Tony stared up at the sky-obscuring airships, his awe growing even deeper.

To Tony, these airships were vastly different from those in [Conquest].

In the [Conquest] system, the airships were even more massive and rugged, with an overall oval shape that made them resemble deep-sea behemoths, exuding an overwhelming sense of aggression.

The airships before them now were much smaller, with rounded main bodies and metal cabins suspended beneath. The mechanical structures on the cabins were clearly visible, giving them a more pronounced artificial feel.

As the airships descended, shouts rose from the crowd of onlookers—merchants from the Keville Empire were organizing workers to load and unload supplies.

The crowd grew livelier by the minute.

Some wanted to get closer to inspect the airships;

Others were more interested in the goods being transported.

But in Tony’s mind, a terrifying scene suddenly emerged.

—If these airships were to appear over the cities of Greg Duchy, what could they possibly use to resist them?

A handful of advanced mages?

Or the Wisdom Goddess's Faith?

Tony didn’t know. As he imagined the Internet God’s retaliation against Kazad-dûm, a sense of awe welled up from the depths of his heart.

After all, when the Five Great Righteous Gods launched their attack, Keville didn’t even have these weapons, yet its military might had already shaken the world.

Now, it was likely even more formidable!

For a moment, Tony couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy for the Keville Empire.

This empire, bathed in the radiance of the Internet God, was practically a fertile land of hope in the mortal world!

Even the lowliest commoners, as long as they were literate, could openly discuss or even learn magic on the internet.

And even those who couldn’t read could still use voice calls, openly play music, and fall into a deep slumber to the soothing strains of divine music.

If only the Internet God could replace the Wisdom Goddess's Faith and become the state religion of Greg—or even Kaman… The thought suddenly crossed Tony’s mind.

The idea was utterly heretical, yet he felt not a shred of fear.

……

……

Tony envied the people of Keville, whose futures brimmed with hope thanks to the arrival of the Internet God.

But how could Xi Ze, a citizen of Keville, not feel the same gratitude?

After assisting Mananxi in successfully passing the apprentice mage exam, Mananxi’s words of encouragement—though casually spoken—struck a chord in Xi Ze’s heart.

The more he thought about it afterward, the more tempted he became.

He still remembered his first encounter with the internet—hadn’t it been out of a simple "why not try it?" mindset?

There was nothing to lose, so why not give it a shot?

As for the scornful looks from others?

To be honest, Xi Ze cared the least about that. He had endured too many disdainful gazes in his life to be bothered anymore.

In the end, at Xi Ze’s insistence, his father took him to the Magic Tower to enroll in a magic academy.

Unsurprisingly, he faced countless sneers.

Many looked at him in his wheelchair as if he were a fool.

But when the Soul Power test results came out, everyone was struck dumb with shock!

Xi Ze vividly remembered the expression of the quasi-magic apprentice standing beside him—someone who had just taken the test and had been smugly proud of his own results.

Astonishment, bewilderment, wide-eyed disbelief!

That look was like drinking ice-cold water on a scorching summer day—refreshing from head to toe!

In the end… he was accepted.

And not just anywhere—he was admitted to the finest magic academy, the Felix Magic Academy, located in Willis, the capital of the Keville Empire!!!

After leaving the Magic Tower, his father immediately called his mother, and the two chatted excitedly the entire way home.

The elderly couple was both overjoyed that Xi Ze had made something of himself and would become a mage lord in the future, yet deeply worried about his student life.

After all, Xi Ze wasn’t a normal person. If he were merely slightly disabled, it might have been manageable—but being completely paralyzed made things exceedingly difficult.

In the end, the Xi family decided: the whole family would accompany him to school.

Hadn’t they heard that Willis was full of factories? Surely there’d be work to be found there.

If all else failed, they could sell their ancestral home and land—whatever it took to support Xi Ze’s education.

Having a mage lord in the family was a blessing accumulated over generations—they couldn’t let this opportunity slip through their fingers!

That night, Xi Ze’s father borrowed round tables from one neighbor and chairs from another, setting up twenty banquet tables to celebrate with the entire village.

“Old Xi’s family has really made it! Next time we see him, we’ll have to call him ‘lord’!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Uncle Xi, now that you’ve risen in the world, don’t forget about us!”

“They say pearls come from the ugliest oysters—I’ve finally seen it with my own eyes!”

The flattery and praise from Dakan Village made Xi Ze’s parents blush with pride, their hearts swelling with joy!

Just as the banquet was in full swing, the sudden entrance of a Red-Robed Archmage brought the lively feast to an abrupt silence—though the excitement in people’s hearts only grew fiercer.

Parker, the local archmage, had actually come in person to congratulate Xi Ze!

“Congratulations. From now on, you’ll walk a completely different path!” Archmage Parker said with a smile as he approached Xi Ze’s crooked chair. “I’ve prepared a gift for you—I hope it helps!”

With that, he pressed a hand toward the ground, and the earth beneath his feet swelled. A magic earth puppet struggled free from the soil and climbed out.

The villagers of Dakan watched in awe and fear.

“I don’t know much about the human body, so I can’t cure your condition. But this earth puppet can help you live like a normal person. As a quasi-magic apprentice, you must learn to face all difficulties independently—that’s one of the mages’ principles.”

Parker smiled as he handed over a parchment scroll.

It was a contract—its subject being the magic earth puppet he had just summoned from the earth.

Xi Ze was stunned.

As a high-level player in the Conquest of Subdomains, he recognized at a glance that this was a high-level earth puppet.

From a distance, it could charge into battle.

Up close, it could dissolve into fine sand, clinging to the body to form armor.

In Conquest, this was undoubtedly a top-tier puppet—one that couldn’t be exchanged without a massive amount of merit points or gold coins!

And as a seasoned player, Xi Ze instantly understood the method behind Parker’s words about “living like a normal person.”

“Th-this is too valuable! I… I can’t accept it.” Xi Ze was tempted, but he gritted his teeth and refused.

“Then let me lend it to you. How about that?” Parker said with a grin.

“This… Alright!”

Xi Ze’s resolve wavered, and in the end, he clenched his jaw and nodded, taking the parchment scroll from Parker’s hands.

“Then I won’t disturb you any longer. I look forward to our next meeting!” Parker smiled faintly and turned to leave.

“Wait!”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you for admitting me. I won’t let you down!” Xi Ze said solemnly.

“Don’t thank me. If you want to thank anyone, thank Lord Ajef!” Parker turned back and spoke frankly.

This was the real reason he had taken the initiative to visit Xi Ze—even going so far as to gift him a high-level magic puppet.

"To be personally named by Lord Ajef, one must surely possess some extraordinary qualities."

"Extending goodwill now, even if Xi Ze might guess the underlying reason, this favor can never be erased."

"Lord Ajef?" Xi Ze froze.

……

……

"Welcome home!"

Kexian, the eleventh monarch of the Keville Empire, stood before the Teleportation Mana Well of the Ringed Magic Tower in Willis, offering a gentlemanly bow to welcome his sister, Clairement, home.

Stepping out of the portal, Clairement smiled faintly.

"You’ve changed so much!"

After months apart, his sister was almost unrecognizable.

Her once-elaborate hairstyle was now tied up in a simple bun, much like the bank clerks of Willis.

Her attire, too, had shed its opulence—replaced by practical, streamlined casual wear.

"Experience always leaves its mark, doesn’t it, brother?" Clairement said with a soft smile.

Kexian stared at her, momentarily dazed.

The transformation in his sister shook him deeply.

He still remembered how, months ago, she had secretly bribed Hadi, Dandell’s assistant, to secure a spot in the Bank Clerk Training.

Back then, he had vehemently opposed it.

Yet she stubbornly went ahead.

After the training, she truly became a "bartender" of the bank, exposing herself to public scrutiny in unfamiliar cities—even attracting the attention of those damnable, lowborn noble youths.

Honestly, Kexian had nearly lost his mind with fury.

For the first time, he had roared at his sister.

He had even resolved to bring her back, even if it meant damaging the royal family’s dignity or paying Lord Ajef a breach penalty.

But then, a cascade of events unfolded—events that not only dazzled him but left him utterly stunned.

Free savings, daily interest accrual, cross-city transfers… The conveniences showcased by the Interconnected Bank upended the Empire’s traditional payment methods almost overnight.

More and more people began depositing their money in the bank.

Including nobles.

Even the royal family moved part of its assets into the bank.

Then, with the establishment of the Dragon Factory, the explosive sales of bicycles, the auctioning of production lines, and the sight of major nobles hauling carts of gold coins into the bank, the Interconnected Bank’s importance soared.

Now, anyone could see the bank’s significance.

In fact, the Interconnected Bank had been expanding relentlessly!

Its staff grew rapidly.

But no one ever received personal training from Lord Ajef again.

Of the first batch of bank clerks trained by Lord Ajef, aside from a few dismissed for misconduct, most became the backbone of the institution.

No longer confined to public-facing counters, their roles shifted behind the scenes.

Especially after the Interconnected Bank introduced loan services—their status skyrocketed!

Why?

Because securing low-interest, high-value loans now hinged entirely on their say.

In the past, most noble families were financially secure; loans were practically unthinkable.

If they occurred, it signaled a family’s decline.

But after Lord Ajef demonstrated how to "borrow to generate profit" by securing loans from the Interconnected Bank to create the Dragon Factory out of thin air, he set an example for all major nobles!

The bank’s loan terminology—"borrowing to generate profit"—became deeply ingrained in their minds.

The Keville Empire is now a land of opportunities everywhere.

Minor nobles are taking over the traditional industries abandoned by major nobles,

while the major nobles are shifting en masse to the industrial manufacturing sector.

The Internet God has also declared war on Kazad-dûm, launching a wealth-plundering campaign.

To get a slice of the pie, one must at least invest in a few airships.

Good heavens, which of these changes doesn’t require money?

Aside from the major nobles who can afford it, most nobles with poor financial management simply lack the capital to back such ventures.

Watching the major nobles rake in gold in Vias

and plunder wealth in Kazad-dûm—

who wouldn’t be envious?

Who wouldn’t want a share?

Yet, many are either short on funds or have too much tied up in fixed assets.

What to do?

This is where the importance of the Interconnected Bank’s loan services becomes evident.

Naturally, the bank’s employees rise in status along with its influence!

Clairement, through her personal efforts and extensive connections, has become the chief of the Interconnected Bank—her status now immeasurably high!

“How long do you plan to stay this time?” Kexian changed the subject.

By now, the siblings had exited the Magic Tower and boarded a royal carriage, escorted by court mages and knights at both ends.

“I heard that Lord Ajef will be giving a speech at the Felix Magic Academy’s opening ceremony. I plan to stay until after his address,” Clairement replied with a smile.

Ajef again… At the mention of that name, Kexian no longer felt hatred but a deep-seated fear and overwhelming pressure.

“Fair enough. It’ll be good to rest at home for a couple more days,” Kexian nodded silently.

“No time for rest. Lord Ajef has ordered that bank branches must expand abroad. I’m back this time to report on my duties!” Clairement shook her head, shifting her gaze from the scenery outside the window to her brother. “Brother, our family must have some hidden assets overseas, right? Can you lend them to me?”

Kexian’s pupils dilated. “You want to deplete the family’s reserves to aid the Internet God?”

Clairement chuckled. “This isn’t aid—it’s a pledge of allegiance! The Interconnected Bank will be the Church of the Internet God. When bank branches spread to every city across the Azarea Continent, that will be the day the Internet God unifies the land.”

Kexian shuddered violently at her words!

He noticed the blazing ambition flickering in his sister’s clear, beautiful eyes.

If the Internet God were to unify the continent, wouldn’t Clairement, as the head of the Interconnected Bank, become the Pope—acting as the divine shepherd of the world?

“Huff… huff…”

Kexian’s breathing grew uncontrollably ragged.

Before he could gather his thoughts, his sister, seemingly aware of the gravity of the matter, casually changed the subject to give him time to process.

“Captain, take a detour to the Dragon Factory!”

“Are you going to see Ajef now?”

“No, I’m going to try that offal noodles dish even Lord Ajef praised.”

Kexian was stunned.