Chapter 196: The Fuse Leading to Destruction
Mizaistom Nana's connection of these murders to the Succession Contest immediately agitated the Kakin Royal Army officers present.
"Hey! We can't pretend we didn't hear that!"
"Are you implying the murderer is among the princes? That's utter nonsense!"
"The princes can't even leave the first-class cabins, for heaven's sake!"
...
Amid the emotional officers, there were naturally one or two rational individuals who directly questioned Mizaistom's speculation.
"Besides, shouldn't the Succession Contest only involve conflicts between the princes? Why would they need to massacre ordinary passengers who have nothing to do with them?"
Mizaistom looked calmly at the agitated crowd and said, "Please hear me out patiently. The princes are perfectly capable of committing these crimes—they just need to arrange for the actual perpetrators to carry them out."
At this possibility raised by Mizaistom, everyone in the room fell silent, because they knew in their hearts that this could indeed happen.
Observing their reactions, Mizaistom continued: "This ship is heading to the New World, serving as an arena where the next ruler of the New World—the next King of Kakin—will be decided at sea. This means the Succession Contest is the most important event aboard this vessel. Any action can be pardoned until only one prince remains standing, except for directly taking another prince's life."
"Every participant in the Succession Contest wields both the sharp spear of 'royal privilege and immunity during the contest,' and the sturdy shield of 'capital punishment for killing royalty.' This naturally gives rise to two rampant patterns: hired killings and speculative killings!"
Mizaistom continued his analysis: "The current case clearly falls under speculative killing. This brings us back to the earlier question—why massacre ordinary passengers on such a large scale?"
After giving everyone time to digest this, Mizaistom answered his own question: "The answer lies in the curse characteristics inherent in the ritual!"
Thus, the logical loop was completed.
"From the perspective of rulers who have relied on this ritual since the nation's founding to maintain Kakin's long-term prosperity, gaining extraordinary power through sacrifice is perfectly natural according to examples throughout history."
"It's not difficult to speculate that by anticipating this mindset of the princes—both to help them achieve their goals and to gain extraordinary power for themselves—the perpetrator has developed such a thirst for blood and continues to commit murders."
The atmosphere in the conference room began to turn eerie.
The mid-to-low ranking Kakin officers all wore grave expressions, deep in thought. Clearly, while Mizaistom Nana's theory might seem far-fetched to them, it could indeed explain the current situation.
Seeing everyone gradually accepting his viewpoint, Mizaistom said solemnly: "From now on, I'll get to the real crucial point. The perpetrator will continue... even intensify their confidence!"
Then Mizaistom revealed what worried him most.
"Once the death toll exceeds a certain critical point, this ship will sink!"
Sinking into the dark seabed amid riots triggered by the panic and suspicion of 200,000 people!
This seemingly alarmist statement would have drawn immediate rebuttals from these officers had it been made earlier.
Yet now, their faces showed not only shock but also terror.
Mizaistom continued analyzing the current situation: "The total number of royal guards and security personnel aboard the ship is approximately 2,000. By simple calculation, each guard would need to handle nearly 100 civilians."
"But the reality is that the first tier alone consumes 40% of the force with 800 personnel, while the second tier occupies 600. This means nearly seventy percent of the security force is dedicated to protecting the wealthy class. Consequently, maintaining order in the fourth and fifth tiers has been left to underworld organizations. Effectively, each guard in the lower tiers must contend with over 300 civilians. Should a riot occur, these soldiers would be utterly powerless."
"The situation is critical. We must prevent further serial killings and quickly alleviate the passengers' anxiety."
The officers were all too aware of the situation Mizaistom described. It wouldn't take 200,000 people—even 100,000 rioters would tear through the lower three tiers' security like paper.
Everyone recognized the problem, but the question was how to solve it.
"But... specifically, what should we do?" one officer finally asked.
"The most effective approach would be to suspend or even terminate the succession war, though given the current circumstances, that's impossible. Alternatively, we could reorganize the royal guard and propose increasing the total number of soldiers below the third tier to 800," Mizaistom presented his solution.
The officers immediately responded without hesitation: "That's impossible."
Mizaistom continued: "On the other side of the scale lies the survival of the Kakin Kingdom. I have no intention of frightening any of you."
He then proposed a relatively feasible concrete plan to the assembled officers.
"If you advise the First Prince, who controls Kakin's defense apparatus, I believe he would gladly consent. We currently possess sufficient documentation and justification to support the reorganization, and the expected outcomes are quite promising."
"If this proposal, already recorded in official minutes, isn't submitted to the First Prince, the only ones who will suffer headaches hereafter will be those present here today."
Mizaistom's words backed everyone into a corner, leaving them no choice but to follow his instructions.
After leaving the conference room, Mizaistom immediately contacted Uncle Botobai.
"Somehow, this feels like selling our souls to the devil," Mizaistom said with a troubled expression.
Grant remained calm as he responded: "We have no choice. Without being able to explain Nen Ability, this is our best available option. For ordinary people, this kind of unknown threat is the perfect detonator for panic. The information about superpowered serial killer groups has already far exceeded what ordinary people can comprehend."
Grant glanced at Mizaistom and continued, "You've already extended the fuse as much as possible. Now we need to evacuate as many people as possible from the danger zone and try to disarm the detonation device. Next, we must quickly gather the Association members responsible for the area outside the princes' residence and issue a gag order regarding this incident. Association members are forbidden from discussing this matter with Kakin's upper echelons."
Though these words were spoken, both men faintly sensed a foreboding.
That the fuse leading to destruction might be shorter than they had imagined.