Chapter 613: People are panic
In the far west of the continent, there is the Kingdom of Beelzebub.
The royal city of Solidate.
This is the residence of the Rose Royal Family, and it is also a holy city surrounded by black roses. The rich sweet floral fragrance can be smelled from every corner.
In the early morning, the representatives and leaders of all parties at the top of the kingdom ascended the circular stairs one after another, bathed in the falling petals, looked at each other in silence, and silently walked into the obsidian palace hall.
Inside, the atmosphere is slightly depressing.
With the Red Apple Church existing in name only, and the royal family's backbone, the Wandering Knights, being severely damaged by force, the kingdom's senior officials are now in a state of panic.
As early as half a month ago, there was a saying among the elites that the strength of the Beelzebub Kingdom was greatly damaged, and the empire would seize this opportunity and use the Sunset City incident as a pretext to launch a full-scale war against the kingdom and completely annex this kingdom. piece of land.
As the news spread wantonly, countless dignitaries were so frightened that they could not even think about food or food, could not sleep at night, and even worse, they sold their belongings and evacuated overnight... Because the senior officials of the Beelzebub Kingdom knew the style of the empire quite well. Once the country fell, they would These people must die.
But before the panic boiled over, Rose King Mansfield used iron and blood to curb the spread of "rumors", and for three consecutive days, he publicly executed more than a dozen important figures who took the lead in "spreading rumors", which finally suppressed the fear a little. Atmosphere...
But the uneasy mood still lingers like an indelible shadow among the middle and upper classes of the kingdom.
In the main hall of the Obsidian Palace, as the steward shouted orders, many figures wearing high hats and satin robes sat down silently.
At the end of the long conference table, Rose King Mansfield sat on the main seat.
This is a thin, unsmiling man.
Today He was wearing a thin black silk shirt and a long dark red vest, with a red rose pattern embroidered on the collar.
His black hair was combed back and stuck tightly to his scalp. On his pale, beardless face, a pair of indifferent dark golden eyes scanned the leaders.
"Let's start today's meeting."
Rose King said calmly.
Suddenly, there was the sound of people flipping through documents in the hall, but no one was willing to speak.
Until the steward, a short and fat man noticed Mansfield's slightly frowning expression and coughed twice quickly.
At the conference table, a middle-aged man with short dark brown hair hesitated for a moment, and finally said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, everyone, I think the kingdom should be wary of the empire's actions to avoid a sudden war... It is best to tighten the eastern border defenses and send envoys to the empire for negotiations."
Before he finished speaking, several people on the other side of the conference table frowned.
One of the gray-haired old men said coldly:
"Minister Short, do you also want to be hanged in Garland Square?"
"I am working hard for the Kingdom, not spreading fear!"
Short's face turned ugly.
"What opinions does Minister Nickel have? You might as well speak up and listen!"
The old man Nickel winked at a young man next to him, who nodded and immediately stood up with a stack of documents.
"This is the latest information about the empire, you may wish to take a look first."
The clerk took the document in his hand and distributed it to every participant present. Soon, there were waves of exclamations.
Nikhil stood up with his cane.
"The empire first launched an siege and hunt for the 'King of Blue Clothes', but in the end they failed. They lost a total of two demigods and more than twenty saints. The Church of the Seven Gods suffered heavy losses, and almost all the senior leaders of the Church of the Sun were united. The situation is almost the same as that of the Red Apple Church..."
The old man looked around, his tone cold and passionate.
"The 'King of Blue Clothes' subsequently retaliated. Large-scale pollution incidents occurred in various areas of the empire. As of the evening of the day before yesterday, hundreds of millions of empire residents had died in this disaster..."
“It’s really overestimating one’s abilities!”
"Hahaha!"
“Great pleasure!”
"Perhaps we can take the opportunity to befriend the 'King of Blue Clothes' and deal with the empire together!"
On the conference table, the participants were talking a lot.
The old man raised the corner of his mouth slightly, and then said loudly:
"This is an excellent opportunity. I suggest that we take advantage of the chaos in the empire to send troops eastward to reoccupy the new empire state, which is the territory of the former Anlong United Kingdom, and then use this to plan the wasteland and insect states in the west of the empire... The Kingdom of Byron and the Capital of Shuoli will never let go of such a good opportunity, and the possibility of forming an alliance to attack the Empire is extremely high. By then, after the solar era that has ruled for more than 4,000 years, roses will finally bloom on the corpse of the Empire!"
"Second!"
"Second!!"
Many of the kingdom's radical ministers echoed loudly.
The atmosphere suddenly became heated.
However, conservatives led by Short are worried.
"Everyone, please calm down. A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Even though the empire is in catastrophe and the territory is in chaos, our high-ranking military force is not as good as before. If we start a war rashly, we may be in catastrophe."< br>
Short raised his hands, trying to cool down the atmosphere a little.
However, most of the participants had been aroused by Minister Nickel's words. The venue was a bit noisy for a while, and Short's words were almost drowned out, making it difficult to hear clearly.
Seeing this, Short couldn't help but turn his attention to the main seat.
"Your Majesty..."
Rose King Mansfield looked thoughtful.
At this time, radical leader Nickel shouted again:
"There has always been disunity within the Church of the Seven Gods. After experiencing several catastrophes, the relationship between them has reached a freezing point... I propose that we send an envoy to have secret talks with Shuoli Capital today to try to win over the Star Sect. , the inside should be coordinated with the outside! ”
"Your Majesty!"
Short couldn't bear it anymore and called again.
This time, seven or eight conservatives stood up one after another and looked at the Rose King solemnly together, waiting for His Majesty's reply.
"That's it for today, we'll discuss it tomorrow."
Mansfield said calmly with deep eyes.
Nickel's old face froze, and the other radicals and others immediately fell silent.
The conservatives headed by Short couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief, with smiles on their faces.
"Your Majesty, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Nikhil's expression was sincere and his voice was slightly trembling.
The Rose King ignored it, stood up on his own, and with the protection of the affairs officer, left the hall and walked outside.
Upon seeing this, Nicol led the radicals and quickly chased after him.
The scene was quiet for a while.
Some neutral ministers discussed in low voices.
"What's going on with that old guy Nickel? This meeting is even more exciting than before. Looking at him like this, I'm afraid if he were decades younger he would be carrying a gun on the battlefield..."
"I heard that it was his favored second son whose identity was exposed in the empire and was arrested and executed by the authorities for espionage."
"Second son? Galwan? Didn't you say you were doing business on the border?"
"It's all fake. At the beginning, Nikhil had already arranged a way out for his second son to establish a relationship with a duke of the Sun Royal Family, and he purchased sophisticated weapons and equipment from the empire's workshops... Later, the duke died inexplicably. The Sun Royal Family also used this as an excuse to launch a war against the United Kingdom of Anlong."
"Hiss...I see, it's no wonder that Nikhil insists on taking the main battle."
Short and other conservative ministers looked at each other.
"The kingdom must not be rashly involved in the battlefield. The Red Apple Church collapsed and the Wandering Knights were injured. We should try our best to advise His Majesty to rest and recuperate... No matter how turbulent the empire is, for us, it is best to wait and see what happens. Select.”
Short looked solemn and said in a low voice.
Conservative ministers nodded.
*
*
*
It's night.
Screams came from Chancellor Short's residence.
When the patrol team heard the noise and arrived, they only found Short in pajamas, lying dead at the table for a long time.
He clutched a revolver tightly in his hand, with an eye-catching tattoo on his temple, and blood splattered all over the desk and carpet.
On the table, a blood-stained suicide note recorded Short's own mental journey, and expressed that he was ashamed of the kingdom and His Majesty Mansfield's regard, and that he was unable to prevent the coming war. He hoped that his death would serve as a warning to everyone. .
"This is murder!"
At the palace meeting early the next morning, conservative ministers were filled with indignation.
"Minister Short will never commit suicide! He repeatedly asked yesterday not to let the kingdom be involved in the war!"
"Doesn't this corroborate the content of his suicide note?"
Nikhil said calmly.
"I deeply understand the ideals and ambitions of Minister Short, but those who evade the facts are not worthy of sharing His Majesty's worries."
"Nichol! You actually insulted a dead minister?!"
The conservative ministers stood up with angry faces.
The radicals and others were not to be outdone and stood up to confront each other.
The two sides started a heated discussion over the death of Minister Short, and even placed suspicion on the radicals and others.
"Could this be done by the empire?"
At this time, a neutral minister said in a deep voice.
Everyone fell silent.
"If, as Minister Short said, the empire intends to launch a war, then in a sense, assassination is an extremely convenient way...Without the leadership, our defense forces will slow down and it will be difficult to resist. Sudden invasion ”
The minister analyzed.
"Now that the Red Apple Church has collapsed and the Wandering Knights have been severely damaged, these ministers like us lack protection, and among the Seven Churches of the Empire, the Generous Council is particularly good at assassinations..."
"I propose that from today on, all the ministers present here should be more vigilant and beware of the empire's petty tricks!"
Nikhil said seriously.
"Nichol! I'm warning you not to spread fear again! This is definitely what you did, and then threw the blame on the empire to create opposition and start a war!"
The conservative ministers pointed at Nikhil and yelled.
"Slander!"
The radicals objected.
For a moment, the hall of Rose Palace became noisy again.
Boom!
Rose King Mansfield tapped the table twice.
"Sit down."
When everyone saw this, they quickly kept quiet and sat back in their chairs obediently.
Mansfield deadpanned.
He looked around and spoke indifferently:
"Short's death has been found out. It was indeed a disguised suicide. It was actually the work of an extraordinary person in the conspiracy path... The murderer's strength is not low. Knight Commander Fairclaw has personally inspected it. He said that the other party is at least a high-ranking person."
"?!"
All the ministers present felt their scalps numb and their spines chilly.
"It's... it's really the empire that did it!"
"The killer of the Generous Council?!"
They began to feel worried and nervous, fearing that they would be the next to be assassinated.
King Rose couldn't help frowning as she saw the ministers sweating profusely.
"Don't jump to conclusions without permission. There are still many doubts about this matter. It may not necessarily be the empire's actions, but it may also be someone with ulterior motives sowing discord... Don't worry, the Wandering Knights will operate at full strength and do their best to protect everyone's safety."
< br>
Mansfield thought for a moment.
"Nichol, we can try to implement your proposal yesterday. You will write the list of envoys yourself and go to the capital of Shuoli as soon as possible..."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The old man looked delighted and stood up quickly to salute the Rose King.
Outside the Rose Palace, the sky was bright.
Through the void, it seems as if one can see a piece of grassland suspended in the sky.
The man in gray robe was standing under the golden sacred tree, looking up at the figure in black clothes who was leaning on the armrest and writing furiously on the white throne.
Shasha...
The ivory white fountain pen left beautiful cursive characters on the manuscript paper.
As the last full stop formed a circle, like a circle of fate, the gentleman slowly capped his pen.
Click.
"Thank you for your willingness to be a pawn, Speaker Azgierro."
The gentleman took off his hat and said to the man in gray robe under the throne.
"Everything is for my king."
Azgierro's expression was calm, and after taking a deep breath, he slowly lowered his head towards the other party, caressing his chest.
"If you need anything, please give me your orders, Your Majesty the King of Blue Clothes."
Wow——
Chen Lun threw out the manuscript paper and landed it accurately in Azgierro's hands.
"Next stop, the capital of Shuoli."
The man in gray robe scanned the contents of the manuscript and looked slightly startled.
He nodded silently, and immediately turned into a shadow and disappeared.
A gentle breeze blew.
Blowing the hair of the gentleman in black.
His eyes were far-reaching, looking down at the Rose Palace through the void, with a smile on his lips.
‘The second step…’ Chapter 2 later
(End of chapter)