Whether it was the Autanston Republic, the Saintisman Empire, the empires of the southern continent, or the inhabitants of the islands across the sea.

The eyes of many once again converged on Ogrande—the Steam City on the Northern Border of the Continent, adjacent to the mist, which had once experienced the Rat Plague and the Evil Spirit Calamity!

For the latter half of August, Ogrande City was far from peaceful.

This was when the advantages of possessing formidable Extraordinary Power became apparent.

On at least three or four occasions, various robbers and thieves, and even other nobles, tried to threaten Zorn’s potion factory.

Zorn simply had Alvin take care of them.

That man was a ruthless Mafia Boss.

His men had all been involved in deadly business before.

Although they had now been ’baptized’ by Zorn.

But when it came to those who threatened him, Zorn was never merciful.

After the Mafia Boss Alvin taught those blind fools a lesson, no one dared to provoke Zorn’s Steam Potion Factory so easily anymore.

For Zorn, the unrest in Ogrande City during late August brought many benefits.

Following the opening of the new Witch Steam Potion Factory,

Large groups of skilled Potion Apprentices began to enter the Steam Factory one after another.

These Potion Apprentices were all core members from the previous, smaller Steam Potion Factory.

They were enough to keep the new Steam Potion Factory operational.

During this time, Zorn visited Miss Craftsman a few times and obtained a very high-quality "Spiritual Statue."

Several more were still in production by Miss Craftsman.

At the same time, the orders Zorn had referred to Miss Craftsman had also brought her substantial gains.

Her Sequence Level was even on the verge of advancing.

For the [Artisan] Sequence, continuously creating various Extraordinary Artifacts and Extraordinary Equipment allowed one to constantly acquire Artisan Essence and level up quickly.

At the end of August, after the first batch of over a hundred Witches entered the Ogrande City Steam Potion Factory,

Zorn clearly felt a surge in his Fighting Essence.

The time needed to level up his Sequence, which would have originally taken a while, was drastically reduced.

...

「Early September!」

The weather was still hot, but no longer as scorching as it had been in July and August.

Meanwhile, the Holy Fierce Sun Church’s hunt for the Sun Church seemed to have come to an end.

A few days ago, members of the Church Knight Order could be seen coming and going frequently on Geluo Long Street, but in the last two days, they had become a rare sight.

As the Witches continued to pour into the factory to work,

Bishop Teresa also brought some good news.

They had found an excellent [Magical Castle] that was currently being transported by a merchant caravan and was expected to arrive in Ogrande City within the next two days.

The returns Zorn received from his investment in the High Mountain Witches were nothing short of bountiful.

And this... was only the beginning.

「Midday.」 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Zorn was reviewing the situation in the mist-shrouded area north of Ogrande City while contemplating the trajectory of future events and their possible outcomes.

’Based on the current surge of the steam tide...’

’Originally, sometime in September or October, or by winter at the latest,’

’the [Crying Blood Sun] was supposed to bloom in the [Autanston Republic].’

’A portion of the [Holy Fierce Sun]’s Authority would be seized.’

’At the same time, this terrifying ritual of the [Crying Blood Sun] would ignite all the devout Believers, preachers, and wielders of divine power of the Holy Fierce Sun in the three regions of the hills, river valleys, and coastal plains below the high mountains!’

’Then, a major secret would be exposed.’

’Namely, that the [Holy Fierce Sun Church] was being influenced by the Saintisman Empire.’

’And as a result, it was continuously suppressing and curbing the development of Extraordinary Power in the [Autanston Republic].’

’The Church would become the hidden hand in the conflict between nations.’

’This would cause the nobles of the Autanston Republic, who were already dissatisfied with the Holy Fierce Sun, to erupt in fury.’

’The [Sun Church], having reclaimed its Authority, would then be able to rise rapidly within the Autanston Republic and its neighboring sister-nation, the [Saint Grelle Empire].’

’It would become the officially recognized orthodox Church.’

’Afterward, the [Holy Fierce Sun Church] would declare the [Sun Church] to be heretics who worshipped an Evil God.’

’In turn, the [Sun Church] would claim that the Holy Fierce Sun worshipped by the [Holy Fierce Sun Church] had already fallen and was about to face the twilight of a Divine Spirit!’

’The war between the Churches would reignite on the northern part of the continent.’

This was the original trajectory.

However, Zorn’s "whistleblowing" had altered the course of the tides of the era.

The rising of the [Crying Blood Sun] would inevitably be delayed, and the intensity of its power would be significantly weakened.

After all, since neither the number one kindling, Zorn Corick, nor the number two kindling, the [Evil Spirit Divine Mage], had sacrificed themselves, the effect of the number three kindling sought by the [Sun Church] would be far inferior.

’In terms of the overall situation, things will be relatively stable for a while.’

’And this... is the perfect environment for me to orchestrate another [Evil Spirit Calamity].’

As he rapidly digested the "Fighting Essence" he had obtained from the Witches, Zorn already had a few good targets in mind.

Before that, Zorn needed the [Evil Spirit Divine Mage] to recover a certain amount of its strength as quickly as possible.

"Young Master Zorn!"

Vanessa’s voice came from outside the door.

"What is it?"

"Just now, I sensed someone else spying on our manor again."

Vanessa explained in a hushed voice as she pushed the door open and entered.

"When I got close, they seemed to notice me and left on their own."

"Hm."

Zorn nodded.

"Be careful. Generally speaking, they won’t dare to come inside."

As he thought, Zorn looked out at the street and the dense woods beyond.

He didn’t need to think twice to know they were Duke Mu Huo’s men.

From what Zorn knew, progress in Split Mist Town was rapid, which naturally made Duke Mu Huo antsy.

’That Duke Mu Huo certainly has a few tricks up his sleeve. I reckon he’ll make a move against me soon!’

’Whether it’s investigating my Sequence identity and other classified information, or... a direct assassination attempt!’

’I need to take some precautions.’

Having already devoured two portions of Egunus’s flesh and blood remains, Zorn’s overall strength was already extremely formidable.

He was not the least bit afraid of a direct confrontation with the [Evil Spirit Fire Mage], Duke Mu Huo.

But he still had to guard against dirty tricks.

The [Evil Spirit Fire Mage], Duke Mu Huo, possessed an extremely deep foundation and immense power.

It was basically impossible to kill him outright.

Because...

the [Evil Spirit Fire Mage] also had a Resurrection ability.

Although it was a one-time Resurrection, it was a very special ritualistic one.

He would use a special flame to complete a sacrificial ritual in Death.

Upon resurrecting, he would be even stronger than before.

Therefore!

The first step of Zorn’s current strategy was to drive him out of the official factions of Ogrande City.

And force him into the [Holy Fierce Sun Church].

The moment he started basking in the light of the Holy Fierce Sun,

his death countdown would begin.

He just had to wait for the [Crying Blood Sun] to rise.

The light of the Holy Fierce Sun that had once nourished him would become the fuse for his demise.

Zorn only needed to wait for the right moment to perfectly harvest the remains of the [Evil Spirit Fire Mage], Duke Mu Huo.

He had plotted for a long time, personally setting numerous plans in motion.

Now that his strength was gradually increasing,

Zorn could not only firmly grasp the trajectory of his own destiny,

but could also push the tides of the era to surge fiercely in a way that aligned with his own path!

This... was what it meant to be a master of the tides of the era!

Unlike the previous [Zorn Corick], who had merely drifted with the current, only to be smashed to death by the raging tide!