The Empire begins with the Fourth Scourge.

Chapter 2744 Palpatine's Revenge

2744. Palpatine's Revenge
Tang Xiao turned his head slightly, and without any hesitation, stretched out two fingers to pinch the dagger and slowly pushed it away.

The "daughter" didn't use force, but said coldly, "You've been too deeply influenced by the 'son.' I told you, either you become the 'son' yourself, or I'll kill you."

Tang Xiao revealed a ferocious smile and slowly said, "Kill me? Hehehe... If you really kill me now, the Force will truly be out of balance. Only by killing Darth Sidious can the balance be truly restored."

“The moment you killed Darth Sidious, you were swept away by the tides of darkness, and then you felt an even deeper darkness. At that moment, you went completely mad, becoming a slave to the darkness. I believe you have already experienced this feeling—the moment you killed Darth Pregus. Only then, you and Darth Sidious shared the tides of darkness…” “Daughter” said coldly, “and this time, you will bear the darkness of the entire galaxy.”

"Ah...that's really great." Tang Xiao's lips curled up slightly.

For a moment, the "daughter" didn't know what to say, and the two fell silent. After a long while, she finally said, "Perhaps, the chosen one can help you."

"Kill him?" Tang Xiao asked rhetorically.

“Perhaps, let him kill you.” The “daughter” stared at Tang Xiao, a glint of something unfathomable flashing in her eyes.

"If he has the ability, then let him try." Tang Xiao stood up, spread his arms, and laughed maniacally. "Hehehehehe... I know who the Chosen One is. Don't worry, he won't have the chance. Before he has a chance to kill me, I'll kill him!"

"So, with your power, have you found him?" the "daughter" countered.

Tang Xiao's face darkened, and he said coldly, "Of course I can find him, but my target is still Darth Sidious."

“If you use the power of your ‘son’ again, the dark side of the Force within you will completely spiral out of control. But if you don’t use the power of your ‘son’, you are no match for Darth Sidious. So now, have you thought it through?” the “daughter” countered.

“Hehehehe...who do you think I am?” Tang Xiao said, “I am Darth Masaiel! I control the power of death! No one can escape the arrival of death...including Darth Sidious.”

He stood up and walked toward the elevator at the back of the throne room.

"Where are you going?" the daughter asked.

"Go and prepare for this decisive battle of destiny," Tang Xiao said slowly.

……

With the fall of Palancy, the Dawn Kingdom's fleet is infiltrating the heart of the Milky Way's core in three columns. The First Star System Army has been forced to divide its forces for defense.

Demetrius Zarin's fleet suddenly appeared on the planet Omar, plundering the industrial world, sweeping away three massive industrial space stations on the planet's periphery, and destroying the Galactic Empire's largest TIE fighter production line.

Led by Skako, hundreds of planets successively ignited the flames of rebellion, declared independence, and hailed Demeteris-Zarin as their leader, proclaiming themselves the legitimate rulers of the Galactic Empire. Their reasoning was simple: the Imperial Council had passed a resolution to depose Palpatine, thus Palpatine was no longer the Emperor. Therefore, Zarin, who overthrew Palpatine, was naturally the new Emperor.

Of course, this utterly absurd claim did nothing but add fuel to the Galactic Empire's fire.

The Rebel Alliance has also become active, launching numerous attacks that have caused enormous damage to the Galactic Empire's industrial production and logistical supplies.

In just a few days, the Galactic Empire went from barely stabilizing its front lines to being in a leaky situation on all sides, with garrison troops in various regions frequently reporting emergencies and alarms sounding one after another in major star systems.

On September 5th, 9 BBY, Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire personally ordered the dissolution of the Imperial Council. Furthermore, all the council members who participated in the resolution to depose the emperor were arrested, regardless of their claims that they were forced into it.

If it weren't for the fear of triggering a larger rebellion, these politicians would already be dead. But they are still imprisoned in dark dungeons, never seeing the light of day.

Several key figures involved in the rebellion, including Cassius Alcott and Hermann Strucker, were all publicly executed. Their bodies were hung in the center of the Imperial Square and preserved so that everyone passing by could see them.

Furthermore, their families were also purged; all their immediate family members were arrested and imprisoned in dungeons; all family properties were confiscated; and family members were removed from all administrative positions.

Moreover, these families are no longer allowed to live in the core area; they will all be exiled to the outer ring star sector to cultivate the land.

To boost morale, Palpatine announced that Thrawn, who had made great contributions in the suppression of the rebellion, would be promoted to admiral of the Imperial Navy. At the same time, he would award Thrawn the prototype of the Eclipse-class Star Destroyer that had been captured from Demetrius Zarin as his flagship.

Of course, the prototype ship is not yet combat-ready and will be sent to the planet Quarter for modification at the Quarter Power Shipyard. The main modification will be to abandon the design of the small Death Star main cannon and replace it with a more mature weapon system, which will ensure that it can be put into use as quickly as possible. The modification is expected to take six months.

Palpatine then assigned a fleet to Admiral Thrawn, instructing him to continue hunting down the remnants of Demetrius-Zarin's forces and to ensure their complete annihilation.

In order to deal with Arden-Lin, the Imperial Inquisition was brought in to join the manhunt.

At the same time, Palpatine also dispatched the remnants of the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court was much larger than the Tribunal before, and although several high-ranking judges were dead, there were still some powerful senior judges left, and they still had the strength to fight.

Leading the group was High Inquisitor Antinis Tremayne. Due to severe injuries sustained in his early years, his body was transformed into a cyborg, which also made his dark side of the Force even more powerful and ruthless. He was also an Inquisitor whom Palpatine trusted greatly.

When Tang Xiao and Palpatine went to Dathomir to fight the Night Queen Geszerion, one of Palpatine's helpers was Antilis Termaine.

Palpatine then reorganized the capital region defense fleet, placing it under the command of Rufon-Digorinus and rejecting the First Star System's request to return to defend the region.

He has made it clear that he no longer trusts the First Star System Army.