Chapter 2127: Chapter 2127

There was no ritual, so preparing symbolic items would have been pointless. But the voice didn't return, and the elf lady couldn't be sure if it had been real or just a trick of her hearing. After all, she was the only one who had heard it.

"It was probably real," Jenkins said. "Listen closely; you might hear it again. The boundaries of this Mysterious Realm are very stable, so the information probably isn't being transmitted all at once. But who could it be... I have no idea."

The summer event, "Royal Legitimacy," was a standard political incident. Someone with the same royal bloodline as the male and female monarchs had appeared in the kingdom, claiming their succession was illegitimate. Jenkins resolved the situation with a single "Personal Might" card. Although it was sure to have repercussions over the next three years, it at least increased the kingdom's stability, making it a worthwhile play.

The most dangerous event was in the autumn: "Fallen Meteorite." A shooting star streaked across the night sky, followed by a meteorite crashing into the kingdom's territory. The danger lay not only in the infectious curse contained within the meteorite but also in the unknown foreign cults it attracted.

The existing hidden threats came into play again, dramatically increasing the danger.

In total, Jenkins and the elf lady spent fifteen cards to resolve this event. The most crucial among them was Jenkins's "Plague Management" card, which had been formed from his experience helping Nolan through its successive plague outbreaks.

But while they successfully thwarted the event, it left behind a new hidden threat: "Plague Susceptibility." Content orıginally comes from NoveI~Fire.net

This meant that if a new plague were to break out in the kingdom, it would spread with terrifying speed. No matter how he looked at it, this new threat seemed tailor-made to synergize with the "Human Blight" hidden threat.

The event wasn't without its upsides, however. With its conclusion, they successfully recovered the metallic meteorite, which in turn increased the probability of a red card side event, "Starstone Forging," appearing at the end of the turn.

The weapon to be offered had to be a real one, not a weapon from within the game's narrative.

"Once the weapon becomes a card, it's highly likely we won't be able to change it back when we need it."

The elf lady saw the trap, and Jenkins nodded in agreement.

"Then my sword and cane, and your bow, are all off-limits. We'll use this."

He pointed to the sword he had brought out from the last Mysterious Realm.

And so, after the side event in the third season of that year, they acquired a brand-new platinum card: "Star-Forged Magic Sword."

It was not a "Star-Forged Holy Sword" because "Human Blight" had influenced the event. Even with the elven forging methods provided by the "Noble Bloodline" card, they couldn't overcome the power of the Beast of Calamity. Fortunately, the card's description made no mention of any curses for using it.

This card was equivalent to ten "Personal Might" cards, meaning it could be used ten times. When played with certain other cards, it produced even more fantastic effects, making it a huge help.

The year's red side events, aside from the forging, included two "Steam" events and one "Nature's Wrath." The two "Steam" cards didn't manifest as kingdom influence; instead, they merged directly with the "Steam Kingdom" card, which was said to increase its power.

"Nature's Wrath," on the other hand, was another negative side event. Essentially, excessive mining and deforestation had caused nature to retaliate against the kingdom.

Neither Jenkins nor the elf had a way to counter this event. As a consequence, they were each forced to discard five cards from their hands to appease nature's fury.

This plunged their situation into precarity. As they were about to enter the seventh year, their combined hands held fewer than a hundred cards, a large portion of which were "Steam"-related cards they wouldn't use. And they still had twelve turns left to play.

If even one event required more than ten cards to resolve, they would certainly be left with no cards by the tenth year.

Of course, in the final season of the sixth year, Jenkins didn't forget to play the "Loss of Control" card. The consequences of that play would only become clear in the first season of the next year.

Thus, the summary for the end of the sixth year read:

"Commencing end-of-year summary for year six—No influence gained. New hidden threat acquired: 'Plague Susceptibility.'"

"Evaluation: Despite frequent disasters, you remain competent rulers."

"Through marriage, the male king has acquired knowledge under the tutelage of a neighboring princess. The female king has used the cursed starstone to forge a magic sword, gaining terrible knowledge in the process. Due to the continued influence of the Steam Kingdom, the kingdom has gained new strength."

The "Tide of Hallucinogens" didn't grant another "Loss of Control" card this year, but that didn't mean the hidden threat card would no longer have an effect.

After the end-of-year summary, Jenkins received his usual two "Maintain Stability" cards. The elf lady drew one "Steam Forging Technology" and one "Cursed Knowledge." Their shared card was "Steam Engine Miniaturization Technology," which Jenkins still had no intention of using.

At the start of the seventh year, "Loss of Control" immediately took effect. The first season's event was forcibly changed to a domestic political incident: "The Great Strike."

At the same time, the influence of "Steam Kingdom" also activated. Under their combined effect, even after the strike was quelled, the hidden threat of "Civil Unrest" inevitably emerged in the aftermath.

The second season of the seventh year brought a natural disaster event, "Burning Summer," a prolonged heatwave across most of the country. With "Civil Unrest" in play, if they couldn't solve this problem, a riot was guaranteed to occur in the next turn.

This wasn't something a simple "Maintain Stability" card could fix; they needed a practical solution for the relentless heat. But neither Jenkins nor the elf could force rain. Left with no choice, Jenkins was forced to use his Steam series cards to prompt the invention of a steam-powered machine that could lower indoor temperatures, naming it "Air Conditioning."

If he didn't, the kingdom would collapse into turmoil in the fourth season of this year. So even knowing it was a trap, he had to walk into it.

The next two events of the year were both supernatural: "Vampire's Trail" and "Demon's Shadow." They involved the appearance of vampires and demons within the kingdom, and both became linked to the "Doomsday Theory" card.