Chapter 208: The Winner and The New Era

Three days later, the Royal Capital square was so packed that not even a pigeon could find a place to land.

For this “War of Currents” that would determine the kingdom’s future, the Royal Guard had to set up three cordons.

The high platform in the center of the square was divided into two. The left side was crammed full by Isabelle’s team.

Twelve sets of man-sized magic battery matrices were lined up like a city wall, and hundreds of copper cables as thick as an arm were intertwined.

To prevent the high current from overheating, Isabelle even hired a whole team of ice-element mages to stand by the cables, ready to cool them down at any moment.

This setup looked like it was burning money just sitting there.

In contrast, the right side was so shabby it made one want to cry.

A single table, the small AC generator Lia had shown before, and an inconspicuous iron box sitting on the ground—Lia called it a “transformer.”

The wire connecting the two ends was pitifully thin; anyone who didn’t know better would think it was a housewife’s forgotten clothesline.

Isabelle stood in front of her mountain of copper, her custom-made, snow-white mage robe spotless. She looked at the crude equipment opposite her and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Professor Lia,” she shouted across the dividing line, her voice filled with superiority,

“do you plan to transmit power using that thin wire? According to Joule’s Law, it will burn to ashes in a second. For your safety, I suggest you admit defeat now. After all, theorists don’t understand the perils of engineering.”

Lia, with her head down checking the transformer’s terminals, didn’t even look up.

“No need to trouble yourself. Rather than worrying about my wire, you should care more about the insulation layer of your copper cables.”

King Augustus, sitting in the prime seat of the viewing stand, was a bit restless.

Beside him, President Samuel was so nervous he tugged out two of his beard hairs. This demonstration wasn’t just about a technical route; it was about the face of the Royal Academy of Sciences.

“Quiet.”

Klein’s voice was not loud, but it suppressed the noise of the entire square. Today, he wasn’t wearing his elaborate Eighth-Circle robes, but a simple shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing his pale, strong forearms.

He didn’t even bother to glance at Isabelle, merely raising a finger to point at the observatory five kilometers away, hidden in the night.

“The rules are simple. Whoever can light up the searchlight at the top of the tower used to guide airships holds the truth.”

That searchlight usually required a Sixth-Circle light mage to exhaust their magical power just to maintain its brightness for ten minutes.

Isabelle stepped forward confidently and waved her hand, ordering, “Activate!”

The twelve sets of magic batteries simultaneously let out a dull hum.

Massive currents surged into the copper cables, and the ice mages responsible for cooling immediately raised their staves, frantically spraying white frosty air onto the heating wires.

Even so, the smell of burning rubber from the heated insulation began to fill the air.

The receiver crystal screen at the base of the observatory lit up. A beam of light began to climb: one hundred meters, two hundred meters…

However, as the distance increased, the speed at which the light beam rose visibly slowed down. The massive resistance was like a greedy beast, frantically devouring the electrical energy along the transmission path.

When the distance reached four kilometers, the light beam came to a complete halt and then began to fall back.

Five kilometers away at the top of the tower, the searchlight only flickered twice like a firefly with a bad connection, and then completely returned to darkness.

“Increase the voltage! Connect the backup battery pack!” Isabelle commanded with a scream, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

“It’s no use,” Lia said calmly, looking at the smoking cables. “Without enough voltage, no matter how large the current is, it’s just heating the air. If you keep this up, you’ll be arrested for arson.”

With a final crack, an overheated copper cable burned through its insulation, emitting black smoke. Isabelle slumped to the ground, her face whiter than her mage robe.

“Is that it?” Klein raised an eyebrow, his tone filled with disappointment. “And here I thought I’d get to watch the show for a couple more minutes.”

He turned and walked to the small generator and snapped his fingers.

The rotor began to spin, the faint hum even quieter than a mosquito’s buzz.

Lia placed her hand on the iron box, her fingertips moving slightly.

“Step up.”

There was no earth-shattering fanfare, no smoking cables, not even a hint of the thin wire heating up.

Only the high-level mages present could sense that a terrifying high-voltage electric field had instantly formed within that iron box. It surged along that “clothesline” towards the destination five kilometers away at the speed of light.

One second.

Just one second.

BOOM!

The night sky five kilometers away was instantly torn apart. The searchlight at the top of the observatory erupted with a light more blinding than the midday sun.

A thick pillar of light pierced straight into the clouds, illuminating half the Royal Capital as bright as day.

The people in the square instinctively raised their hands to shield their eyes, and then a tidal wave of gasps and cheers erupted.

The light was stable, scorching, and dominant, with no sign of flickering.

Isabelle stared blankly at the light, her lips trembling. “This is impossible… How could that thin wire withstand…”

“Because of voltage.” Lia walked over to her and kindly explained, “As long as the voltage is high enough, the current can be very small. This is math, this is physics, it is everything but magic.”

Klein snapped his fingers again, cutting the power. The blinding light vanished instantly, and the world returned to darkness, but the afterimage of that light still lingered on everyone’s retinas.

He looked at King Augustus, who had already stood up.

“Your Majesty, I don’t think we need to vote anymore.”

King Augustus was so excited his face was flushed red. He pushed aside the attendants who tried to support him and rushed to the front of the stage.

“I declare! The construction of the power grid in the Kingdom of Heinrich will exclusively use the alternating current system proposed by Professor Lia and Master Klein! Effective immediately!”

The cheers almost overturned the paving stones. President Samuel let out a long sigh of relief, slumping into his chair and wiping his sweat.

Klein ignored the fervent gazes. He walked straight to Lia’s side, shielding her from the surging crowd with his body, and casually tidied up her bangs that had been blown messy by the wind.

“Let’s go.”

“Aren’t we staying for interviews? That reporter looks like he’s going crazy,” Lia pointed to the stage below.

“Not interested,” Klein took her hand and directly activated a short-distance teleportation spell. “I’m hungry. Let’s go home and cook.”

At the moment the two figures disappeared, in a corner of the square, an alchemy master named Hoffman frantically tore up a thick stack of blueprints in his hands.

“Wrong! It’s all wrong!” His eyes were bloodshot but frighteningly bright as he roared at the team behind him.

“Burn all those damn DC motor designs! We’re using AC! Now! Immediately! Find me Professor Lia’s paper, even if we have to dismantle that iron box, we have to understand the principle!”

“But boss, our funds…”

“Sell the house! Sell the land! Even if we have to borrow from loan sharks!” Hoffman pointed in the direction of the observatory, his voice hoarse.

“Didn’t you see that light? That is the future! Whoever fails to grasp it will be crushed by this era!”

That very night, the coachmen of the Royal Capital had yet to realize that their careers had already entered the countdown.

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