"Kerridwen? Empress? God Slayer? Hahaha!" Inside the Empire's palace, after hearing the report from his subordinate, Minister Honest muttered the name while laughing loudly.
However, except for Minister Honest himself, no one dared to make a sound, and a very small number of people were already drenched in sweat.
Most people didn't understand what was going on, only feeling that the atmosphere was a bit ominous, because they were all newcomers, and Minister Honest had already purged more than half of the people in the palace.
And the few who happened to be the survivors felt incredibly nervous because they all understood... this was the prelude to a storm!
"I didn't expect that person to actually choose to depose the emperor and set herself up; it's hilarious, hahaha!"
Minister Honest had, of course, already read Numa Seika's edict of abdication; it was written in high-sounding language, but the other party had shown no mercy in her actions.
"Minister, would you do the same?" The little Emperor's voice came from behind Minister Honest, immediately relaxing the atmosphere on the scene slightly and giving the nervous crowd a moment to breathe.
Although the Empire's little Emperor was also a puppet, Minister Honest would not easily give up on him, and as for the root cause, probably only Minister Honest himself knew.
"How could I, Your Majesty." Ever since the little Emperor's voice sounded, Minister Honest's angry expression stalled, and then he picked up a chicken leg and began to gnaw on it, just like usual.
"Unlike those foreign tribes in the north, we are a very 'civilized' nation. My loyalty to Your Majesty is as clear as the sun and moon; how could I usurp the throne like those petty scoundrels?"
"Hmm, the Minister has always been my most loyal partner; it is absolutely impossible for him to betray me!"
After receiving an affirmative reply, the little Emperor's face immediately broke into a brilliant smile, thinking that Minister Honest was truly as loyal as he claimed, yet the truth was...
supreme imperial arms! As the Minister of the Empire, Minister Honest was very clear about what his greatest trump card was: it was the Empire's supreme imperial arms!
That was the ultimate weapon, surpassing all imperial arms; once activated, it could unleash world-destroying power.
No one could defeat it, no one could block it! But such a powerful imperial arm was not something anyone could use; only descendants possessing the bloodline of the First Emperor could utilize this supreme imperial arms.
Nowadays, the bloodline of the First Emperor had basically been wiped out by Minister Honest, leaving only the sole key capable of activating the supreme imperial arms: the current little Emperor!
As long as he had this trump card in hand, Minister Honest would not fear any enemy!
"Your Majesty, although our Empire has always been strong and prosperous, we now face a powerful external threat."
Seeming to have organized his words, the Minister immediately turned around, staring seriously at the little Emperor on the throne.
"The resistance is fighting guerrilla warfare everywhere, constantly harassing our vital forces. The northern nation just happened to take this opportunity to complete its unification, and coupled with the threats from the west and south, we are now surrounded by enemies on all sides!"
"Facing so many enemies at once, even we will not be able to handle it, so I suggest sending envoys to the two countries in the west and south to sow discord between them."
"Within the Empire, my son will continue to search for the main force of the resistance, and as for the final Northern Territory Empire... I want to leave them to General Budo."
As his voice fell, Minister Honest immediately turned his head to look at General Budo, who had been standing in the palace the whole time without saying a single word.
Normally, it would be absolutely impossible for the Minister to ask Budo to help handle matters; although the other party never involved himself in politics, his formidable strength had always been a thorn in the Minister's side.
But due to the fact that no one with strength comparable to Budo had ever appeared in the Empire, Minister Honest did not intend to take action against him for the time being.
But now, the Empire's situation was truly quite dangerous; although Minister Honest had many subordinates with decent strength, they were still far from enough to target the entire Northern Territory Empire.
"According to the traditions of military officers, I have never interfered in politics, and it is likewise impossible for me to easily leave the Empire."
Although Budo was a bit stubborn, his assessment of the current situation was no lower than Minister Honest's.
The reason the Empire had encountered multiple attacks and remained unscathed was because the Empire possessed a stabilizing force, known as General Budo.
As long as Budo was still in the royal capital, those rats would not dare to attack it directly, but if Budo left... no one knew if those resistance members would directly bypass the Minister's son, Syura, and head straight for the Empire's capital!
"Please do not worry about this matter; Your Majesty is a descendant of the First Emperor and has the ability to manipulate that imperial arm, so he will certainly not be taken out by those rats."
"Conversely, looking at the entire north, they have already achieved unification, and next they should be recruiting soldiers and horses, preparing for a southward expedition... The north is our greatest threat!"
"Except for you, General, no one can take on this task of conquering the north!"
Minister Honest had been earnestly persuading him, because he knew the other party would not agree easily.
"Your Majesty, you should come and persuade him too!"
But with the addition of a certain variable, Budo finally agreed to this matter, and that was the Emperor speaking personally.
"General, if the situation is truly as the Minister said, then we are in danger. I also want to entrust this matter to you..."
Under the combined pressure brought by the Emperor and the Minister, Budo sighed helplessly: "Since this is Your Majesty's wish, then this old subject will act as the General of the Northern Expedition for once!"
"I will certainly make those foreign tribes recall the terror of our Empire!"
The affairs of the Empire had been settled, and they were about to send their only remaining General on a northern expedition.
And this news was naturally ferreted out by the resistance's internal contacts and transmitted directly back to headquarters.
"So that's how it is; is that why we need to go to the Northern Country again?"
As the leader of the Assassins within the resistance, Barbara was naturally called to the resistance's base to discuss the upcoming cooperation.
"Of course!" "According to what you said before, Kerridwen has the idea of cooperating with us, which is why we mobilized in large numbers to attract the Empire's attention."
"And now, since the north has completed its unification, it is time for Kerridwen to pay the reward!"
Several of Barbara's disciples had originally been left by Kerridwen's side as hostages.
To be Honest, Barbara had not expected her disciples to return safely, after all, the other party really did not look like a merciful person, especially regarding the point of asking her to assassinate the Northern Country's emperor.
But what happened later? The three disciples not only returned to the resistance alive, but also brought back full loads of gold, directly filling the resistance's expenditures for recent years and allowing them to organize and carry out large-scale disruptive operations.
All of this was just like it had been arranged!
That was why the upper echelons of the resistance found Barbara, asking her to take her three disciples to the Northern Country once again... No, this time it was the Northern Territory Empire!
Although the first meeting was not pleasant, everyone was an old acquaintance, so they shouldn't make things too difficult, right?
"I understand... I will take Meela and the others there."
"I believe that this time, we will definitely be able to secure an unprecedentedly powerful ally for the resistance!"
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