I Created Scientific Magic-Chapter 706 - 585: Premiere of the Magic Movie

Chapter 706 -585: Premiere of the Magic Movie

The news of the impending resurrection of the Moon God, combined with obtaining the design plans for firearms, provided a glimmer of hope to the scores of nobles and priests who had been in a state of confusion since the collapse of the Church and the fall of the Empire.

“What we need to do next is continue to expand the ‘Moon Watchers,’ selecting believers from those administrators, merchants, and even commoners who still worship the great Moon God… Only increased, more devout prayers can show the Lord our sincere repentance!” Bishop Saidak solemnly declared.

This was by no means an easy task. For over five years, those cunning Wizards had been trying to erode the empire’s subjects’ faith with money, materials, lands, and other forms of bribery.

Fortunately, the millennial rule of the Empire and the Church was still deeply ingrained in people’s hearts. Despite having plenty of material goods, many commoners felt a profound emptiness in their spirits and yearned for the great Lord’s salvation!

The Wizards had only conquered these people’s bodies; they had not truly won over their hearts. Everyone longed for the days when the nobles and the Church ruled the entire continent together!

Therefore, within the Empire, many subjects still secretly worshipped the Moon God, only they dared not pray openly due to the Wizards’ cruel persecution.

Viscount Tirar and other nobles also echoed Saidak’s words, discussing how to establish a large firearm factory and incite the subjects to oppose the Wizard’s rule.

Listening to the serious discussion about how to counterattack the Magic Kingdom, a young Viscount of the Empire in the corner nearly let out a laugh at the peculiarity of their plans.

Pim was a Viscount of the Empire, but he was also a member of the Hidden Guard, tasked with eliminating all threats within the kingdom.

Of course, his noble identity was not false; otherwise, he would not have so easily infiltrated the ‘Moon Watchers’ organization. However, Pim had long realized that the fall of the Empire and the Church was inevitable, so he switched sides early and decisively.

As a result, his hereditary title and lands were all taken away, but the family’s wealth was preserved. More importantly, the council did not restrict anyone from becoming a Wizard and studying magic!

With a far greater knowledge reserve than the average citizen and the power of the magic network, Pim easily became a full-fledged Wizard.

The powerful magic and all sorts of novel alchemical creations were completely new experiences that he could never have enjoyed before.

Whether traveling or living, everything was a hundred times more comfortable than when he was a noble!

But human greed is endless, and naturally, Pim hoped to advance further and become a Grand Wizard!

This represented even more considerable power and longer life, as well as the possibility of entering the core of the council!

However, Pim was very aware that his knowledge was far from remarkable. His only hope was to achieve high enough merit, which was why he abandoned his dignified yet comfortable life to become a member of the Hidden Guard.

‘Moon Watchers’ was his target; Pim infiltrated them to find out what astonishing plots these remnants of the Empire were hatching together.

But the result was profoundly disappointing. Is that it… just this?!

Pim was certain that if these people had seen how the council conquered the Holy City, they would never have entertained the ridiculous idea of using outdated firearms to organize a civilian counterattack against the Magic Kingdom.

Because of the need to train soldiers and the lack of opponents, they used conventional weapons—firearms and cannons—to attack the Empire’s major cities!

Even so, bereft of the Church’s support, the so-called elite of the Empire stood no chance against firearms.

The so-called Imperial capital withstood only three days before it fell, and that was only because they restrained from bombarding it fully, fearing harm to the civilians.

It seems such conservatism gave rise to some unrealistic thoughts among certain individuals, believing that relying on antique firearms technology could threaten the kingdom. It’s just delusional!

Realizing that the organization was filled with fools still indulging in past delusions, Pim was utterly disappointed. It seemed his anticipated great achievements were likely to slip away.

However, regarding the ‘Awakening’ of the Moon God and the clergy’s reacquisition of Divine Arts, these matters did need to be reported as soon as possible.

The cluster of nobles and priests, loudly discussing, was completely unaware that there was a traitor among them.

A tall and thin young noble seemed to suddenly remember something, urgently interjecting, “Bishop, I’ve heard that those Wizards have recently created something called a ‘recording stone.’ It’s being shown all around the kingdom, desecrating the great Lord and promoting the rule of the council and the Wizards!”

“A recording stone?! What in the world is that?” Saidak frowned deeply, very wary of the Wizards’ latest inventions.

“It seems to be similar to an opera, and tonight there will be a showing in the town,” said the young noble hesitantly.

Hearing it was similar to an opera, a hint of disdain crossed Saidak’s face.

He was of course familiar with opera, those stories sung by wandering bards about dragon-slaying heroes and downtrodden nobles rising to the pinnacle of life with the patronage of great figures.

Some impoverished citizens, merchants, and minor nobility were very enthusiastic about this, but to Saidak, it was nothing more than a script concocted by traveling bards, used to satisfy the fantasies of the lower classes and unworthy of being taken seriously!

However, considering the wizards’ conspicuous preparations, Saidak still looked towards his people and instructed them to check out what the council was up to tonight if they had the time.

…

In the evening, after the meeting had ended, the old nobles left the farmhouse one by one through its various secret passages. Such a large-scale gathering, if discovered, could easily raise suspicion.

It was well known that the council had offered very high bounties for capturing these remnants of the empire and the church.

Many lowly citizens, who had completely abandoned their faith in God, were very eager to inform, reporting any suspicious individuals to the local officials. Thus, even though the farmhouse was leased for dozens of miles around, they still had to act cautiously and separately.

Tirar was one of the last to leave the estate. As he stepped out the door, he still felt reluctant; here he was the Empire’s great Earl, the future King of Hadlarat, but once he stepped through the threshold, he would return to being an ordinary worker.

All Tirar hoped for was the early Awakening of the great Moon God, to restore the Empire’s glory.

Returning secretly to the small town, Tirar, ever vigilant, immediately noticed something unusual—a huge poster was plastered at the town’s gate, instantly drawing his gaze.

On the poster, a white-robed, fierce-faced priest held up a staff opposite a witch Yaoyao, who was surrounded by flames, storms, and frost. Behind them, under the protection of a shield made of elements, two steadfast poor men and women in tattered clothes could be vaguely seen.

Tirar recognized at a glance that it depicted a life-and-death struggle between a church bishop and a wizard… and it seemed to involve those lower-class citizens, leading one’s imagination to run wild.

The poster was also extremely detailed; whether it was the powerful Divine Arts, dazzling magic, or even the wrinkles and expressions on the subjects’ faces, everything was clearly visible as if the duel was taking place right before one’s eyes.

Tirar knew this to be what the wizards called “optical photography magic,” capable of recording the occurrences.

The same kind of magic was used on the cover of the Magic Daily, to the extent that some ignorant commoners believed that the wizards had frozen time inside the photograph.

Of course, Tirar wouldn’t believe such preposterous claims, especially since all major cities sold an alchemical creation called a camera, which could produce a lifelike photo simply by pressing a switch.

Yet to purchase a camera required a full 50 Gold Coins, which was not something ordinary citizens could afford!

And this poster was like a massively enlarged photo, even Tirar, who previously had little interest in cinema, couldn’t help but feel somewhat curious. After hesitating for a moment, he walked towards the direction indicated by the poster.

The movie projection site was chosen to be the most spacious and prominent square, and the ticket price was not expensive at all, costing only one silver coin—equivalent to the few days’ wages of the Kingdom’s citizens, making it feasible for a family to watch together, suggesting an unimaginably large number of viewers.

Almost the entire township of citizens had arrived, with thousands gathered in the small square. The five thousand chairs prepared in advance were not sufficient, nor was there enough space to place more chairs, so the rest of the audience had to stand.

Citizens in the periphery, whose view was blocked, desperately pushed their way inwards. Yet, there were some clever folks who brought cushions and stood on them, each higher than the last, and about a hundred children even climbed onto the rooftops, securing the best viewing spots!

Tirar managed to squeeze to the front thanks to his excellent physical fitness, amidst a chorus of curses. Although he had no seat, he could clearly see the scene in front of him.

In the center of the square was a large intentionally cleared space. No opera singers were in sight, not even a stage—the only thing visible was nine floating projection stones.

As the time approached, Sean, tasked with the screening, had ticket sales halted and then cleared his throat, casting a sound-amplifying spell, and called out loudly.

“Silence!”

The bell-like voice instantly overpowered the discussion of the thousands present, gradually quieting the bustling square.

Although the current Kingdom didn’t have a very strict social hierarchy, it still existed informally, particularly with the wizards holding significant sway.

Once the square fell utterly silent, Sean announced the start of today’s movie screening. With a flick of his fingers, the nine floating projection stones scattered instantly, flying to each corner of the square.

Subsequently, a blindingly bright light burst forth, enveloping the square. Tirar instinctively squinted, and when he reopened his eyes, he was shocked and unable to hide his astonishment as the surrounding citizens erupted in continuous exclamations.

In that brief moment, they had seemingly traveled from the bustling square to a farm. Underfoot was lush green grass, and in front of them, a golden field of wheat.

Tirar couldn’t help bending down to pluck a blade of grass to verify its authenticity, but his hand passed right through it.

It was clear that this wasn’t real, but rather a projection of magic power and light, creating a visual illusion so lifelike it was hard to distinguish from reality!