I Created Scientific Magic

Fire Oil City, the faction's residence.

Monroe once again carefully checked the room to ensure that the Wizards hadn't secretly set up any eavesdropping magic before he placed the Crystal Ball on the desk.

The red light became increasingly intense, and a strange magical power fluctuation quickly spread in all directions.

Monroe, however, wasn't worried that the energy fluctuation would alert the Wizards.

Although the entire Fire Oil City was covered with magic for detecting Divine Arts, the Crystal Ball he held was essentially a wizard's tool, and it was for this reason that it passed the previous inspection.

Wizards carried a variety of alchemical tools on their person, and the council couldn't possibly check each one carefully, nor would they do something so likely to cause discontent.

And a Wizard using magic in his room, causing some magic power fluctuations, was perfectly normal with nothing warranting suspicion.

After all, Wizards causing experiments to go awry in their rooms were far too common...

Yet Monroe's face showed a hint of disgust and frustration, for he, a proud deputy commander of the God's Punishment Army, had been reduced to relying on such a wicked wizard's tool!

It was a complete disgrace!

As he pondered, the red light gradually faded, and a blurry image appeared before him, but he could faintly discern that this was the current ruler of the church, the envoy of God on Earth—Pope Alvis!

"Your Holiness!" Monroe knelt on one knee, speaking with both excitement and respect.

As just an ordinary deputy commander in the God's Punishment Army, he only had the chance to meet the Pope during grand ceremonies.

"These past few days, you haven't drawn the attention of those Wizards, have you?" Pope Alvis asked indifferently, looking at Monroe kneeling before him.

"I don't think so, Your Eminence," Monroe hesitated slightly. Although he had sparked some debates and made a few rebuttals while teaching at the College, it was all still within the realm of normalcy.

In fact, because some of the professors' statements were so outlandish, there were always voices of inquiry and skepticism in almost every class.

One more of him didn't make a difference, one less of him wasn't noticeable.

Monroe figured he was probably still under the Wizards' radar, at least he hadn't noticed anyone following or watching him when he went out.

"Then how much have you completed the task I gave you?" Alvis asked once more.

Monroe responded, "I have yet to find out where Sir Joshua is being held. Those Wizards are extremely wary, and I suspect that only a very few councillors, or even the Speaker themselves might be privy to that information."

"As for the 'Star of Magic', his whereabouts are unclear. He should have stayed in Fire Oil City recently. I've only gathered some information about him..."

At this, Monroe felt incredibly ashamed.

It was only because the Pope had such great trust in him that he was tasked with such a formidable mission.

Yet after a whole week, he had no significant breakthroughs to report...

After successfully entering Fire Oil City, those Wizards seemed very generous, not restricting anyone's freedom, but in reality, they had corralled them within the Wizard College, merely for easier supervision.

Let alone the vast amount of time wasted listening to those professors' nonsense.

Alvis was naturally aware of the risks involved with infiltrating enemy territory, so he didn't blame Monroe, instead inquiring about the current situation in Fire Oil City before adding with a sigh,

"How many of the Lord's children remain there under the rule of those Wizards?"

As much as he hated to admit it, in a way, they had indeed been forced to abandon the Believers of Fire Oil City and even the entire kingdom, leaving them to the cruel control of the wicked Wizards.

The place was probably now a scene of bodies strewn everywhere, with severed heads rolling...

The Wizards would never spare those who devoutly believed in the Lord!

But it seems like they are... doing fairly well?

Monroe hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back. Over these days, he also conducted open and covert investigations, aiming to expose the apparent prosperity of Fire Oil City, and the results were quite surprising to him.

The Wizards were not only willing to pay a 'high salary' for the labor of the poor but also ensured they had three meals a day. Even casual laborers recruited on the spot in the slums got to eat tasty white bread, and sometimes even enjoyed a fish fillet for lunch.

With the addition of a salary of five silver coins, this had reached the standard treatment of the empire's elite soldiers!

Monroe shared all his observations and concluded, "I think these Wizards are trying to erode the Believers' devotion to the Lord with money!"

"That is indeed a matter of concern," Alvis said with a gravely serious expression.

If the Wizards continued a cruel rule, they might actually be easier to deal with. This display of pretense and no-expense-spared flattery was digging at the very foundation of the Church's existence!

Monroe added, "Plus, they are updating their weapons rapidly, with a large number of new weapons being produced every day."

"I've also heard that these Wizards are building something called a train, which can transport nearly a thousand tons of goods and a thousand-man army from any corner of the kingdom to Fire Oil City within a few hours!"