From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 728: Regent's Operation
“At this point in time.”

Agnes frowned slightly when she heard this. The situation she least wanted to see happened. It was obvious that Norton II did not appear with his fleet to present a gift for her coronation ceremony.

"How far is it from Saint-Saunière? How big is the fleet?" Agnes asked.

Natalia: "Based on the current location of the reconnaissance ship, it is about 0.3 standard jump distance. As for the size of the fleet..."

The commander of the Princess Guard quickly glanced at the encrypted information sent back by the reconnaissance ship, and then continued to answer: "The current reconnaissance ship is estimated to be the size of two standard fleets at the maximum distance. However, from the intelligence we have recently obtained, part of Duke Duke's fleet and the Sorrow Fortress withdrew from the border area in the name of rest and recuperation. There has been no news since then. It is very likely that the two sides will join forces and attack you tomorrow."

Agnes raised her hand and put her knuckles on her chin, her eyes showing a thoughtful look. "That means we can reach Saint-Saunière in a few hours at the latest."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The room fell into silence. Agnes raised her hand and summoned a huge star map with Saint Saunière at its center in the center of the room. Natalia immediately understood what she meant and updated the intelligence about the Regent's fleet.

Soon, the situation star map was also updated. The main force of the Princess Party, that is, the fleets of the Duke of Hastings and the Duke of Artesia, were currently guarding the vicinity of Saint-Saunière with a celestial fortress and less than three fleets.

As for the garrison fleet and orbital defense platform, Agnes did not have too much hope.

One reason is that although he has sent people to contact the other party many times, the other party's commander is still in an erratic state and is suspected of being a fence-sitter. The other party may not swear allegiance until the moment he successfully succeeds to the throne.

As for the other reason, it is that the enemy's combat capability is really limited. Agnes knows very well what the imperial capital's garrison fleet and garrison troops are like. To put it bluntly, they are just ceremonial troops.

On the other hand, the sixth celestial fortress, which theoretically would be commanded by Agnes herself, had just completed the final outfitting work not long ago. Although at the coronation ceremony, this celestial fortress would jump to the sky above Saint-Saunière as planned, it would also be the climax of the entire coronation ceremony.

However, since all personnel are not in place, this celestial fortress has not actually formed full combat effectiveness. If it rushes into battle rashly, it may cause unnecessary losses.

The power of the Regent was marked at a position 0.3 standard jump distances away from Saint-Saunière. It was estimated that the force was a celestial fortress plus four standard fleets, and it was very likely that there were more than four fleets.

Because according to reliable intelligence, after Duke William died for his country, the remaining fleet under his command was soon controlled by the Regent.

The last group of forces is the "royalists" headed by Duke Solon. However, in Agnes's opinion, these people should be said to be her father's diehards. Although a large group of veteran nobles, including Duke Solon, have agreed to attend tomorrow's coronation ceremony, under the current environment, these people are still more like enemies than friends.

After all, if they were friendly forces, Duke Soran would not have brought the Glorious Fortress and the fleet to the vicinity of the Imperial Capital. The location of this huge fleet was even closer than that of the Regent's side.

Agnes naturally knew that she was indeed the weakest among the three forces, especially when she ascended the throne and accepted everyone's oath of allegiance, it would be the most dangerous moment.

If the regent chooses to make trouble at this stage, she must find a way to turn the situation around beautifully, otherwise it will be difficult for her to obtain the oath of allegiance of those imperial nobles, and then the empire will be in big trouble.
As for the Atlas Group, Agnes naturally regarded it as her ally at this juncture. After all, if even Mr. Amber did not intend to support her, then the coronation ceremony would not be necessary and could be directly changed to a burial ceremony.

"What about the situation in Saint-Saunière? Are the Guards and the Legion of Martyrs taking any action?"

"We have no control over the imperial guards in the capital, or in other words, before you officially take the throne, it will be difficult for them to directly obey your orders."

Natalia paused, and recalled the ruthless words she had heard from the commander of the Imperial Guards when she had negotiated with him, as well as the secret intelligence that the Regent Party had already sent people to contact the Imperial Guards.

All these made Natalia realize that the Princess Party had already failed in its attempt to win over the Imperial Guard.

"In addition to the imperial guards in the capital, some of the imperial guards and garrison troops in other directions have shown signs of gathering since yesterday. We have asked them the reason, and the answers from these units are very consistent. They claim that they entered a state of combat readiness in advance in order to prevent any emergencies tomorrow.

The Martyrs' Corps stationed behind the State Church Cathedral has also shown signs of gathering for battle. Our reconnaissance in this direction has been disrupted since this day, and we are now unable to determine the Martyrs' Corps' gathering situation."

"Does that mean our power on the ground is also at a disadvantage?"

Natalia nodded with a heavy face: "Indeed, Your Highness, after all, the Duke of Hastings and his men have no suitable reason to send their troops to the ground of Saint Saunière."

"Yes, on the surface, Norton II has not sent his own armed forces to the surface. If Hastings and his men send ground troops down, it will be criticized."

Agnes looked at the situation which was extremely unfavorable to her. Even though she was always calm, she couldn't help but smile bitterly.

It was hard to imagine that the closer he was to the throne and the final victory, the more dangerous his situation became, as if what awaited him tomorrow was not the throne but the gallows.
"Lady Natalia, I have to say that the situation we are facing now is really full of dangers~" Agnes looked at the star map in front of her and suddenly smiled with relief. "Your Highness, no matter what happens tomorrow, the Princess Guards will swear to protect you to the death!"

Natalia fell to one knee, without any hesitation in her words.

"Get up, Lady Natalia, you don't have to be like this." Agnes leaned over and helped Natalia up. "There's no need to be so pessimistic. The sun hasn't risen yet tomorrow, and it's still unknown who will win~"
-
"Norton II, this old fox, is really quite something."

In the princess's villa, Amber looked at the overall situation map in front of her and couldn't help but swear. The densely packed light spots on the situation map represented the various forces around Saint Saunière that were at loggerheads at the moment, while the blue light spots representing Agnes's side were obviously weak.

Amber had to admit that the Regent Norton II was definitely an expert in operations. This veteran politician, who had lost power on the surface, secretly used the network of relationships he had painstakingly cultivated over the years to quietly win over many nobles and the armed forces of the imperial capital, making him qualified to seize power by force.

Especially some of the Imperial Guards units around Saint-Saunière. Their mobile assembly at this critical juncture clearly showed that there was something wrong.

Under normal circumstances, which imperial guards guarding the imperial capital would prepare to go to war when the crown prince ascends the throne?

Thinking of this, Amber's thoughts drifted back to the accidental time travel not long ago.

During that thrilling leap, he witnessed with his own eyes the fierce battle that might take place at tomorrow's coronation ceremony.

At that time, he only saw the ground forces of the Atlas Group fighting side by side with the Princess Guards. Although the Imperial Guards did not appear directly, they were obviously not on Agnes' side.

"That is to say, tomorrow we will most likely have to face the Regent Fleet, the Marines, the Imperial Guards he recruited, and the Martyrs' Legion at the same time?"

Amber felt an unprecedented pressure, but he also felt deeply confused.

Because he still didn't understand the relationship between the Martyrs' Legion and the Imperial Guards that were successfully persuaded by the Regent. Even though Lilith had been doing her best to collect intelligence, it was still to little avail.

Are they allies or enemies?

It was hard for Amber to believe that the regent, who had fought with the old Emperor Frederico and the entire imperial family for most of his life, would suddenly and illogically surrender to the old emperor at the last moment?
This is obviously illogical, and even more inconsistent with Norton II's "personality".

Amber rubbed her brows, forced herself to calm down, and then asked Lilith to notify several key figures of the 'Golden Dragon Battle Group' to enter the virtual space for discussions.

To be on the safe side, only Amber herself, a group of elite Roma Marines, and a set of campaign-level quantum communication terminals went to the ground this time - this thing could break through the communication blockade of Saint-Saunière and directly contact the outside world.

Even Isabel and others were forced by him to stay on the "Dawn". After all, there was a high probability that an armed conflict would occur tomorrow, and the fewer non-combatants in the war zone at this time, the better.

The self-defense force in the princess' villa, centered around Amber, a sixth-level psychic, and assisted by marines equipped with heavy power armor, is by no means an entity that can be easily taken down.

With the ability to freely use her psychic powers and fire at full speed, Amber has absolute confidence that she can hold on until reinforcements arrive.

Soon, Isabel on the Dawn, Van Fleet and Hogg who were lurking in deep space, and Ramos who was temporarily in charge of the fleet's command, entered the encrypted conference room in the virtual space.

Amber didn't waste any words and directly ordered the 'Golden Dragon Battle Group' to enter combat readiness. The fleet in deep space was ready to jump to Saint-Saunière at any time. The 'Dawn' and a small number of accompanying warships needed to open up a safe escape jump area for the arriving fleet.

This order was originally included in the battle plan, so Van Fleet and others were not surprised. After receiving the order, they directly put the fleet and the First Army into a state of combat readiness, waiting for Amber's final order to be issued before attacking Saint-Saunière.

After the call ended, Amber slowly stood up and walked to the window. He looked out the window at the imperial capital shrouded in the night, and a complex look flashed in his eyes. Saint-Saunière seemed calm tonight, but in fact, undercurrents were surging.

All forces are gearing up for tomorrow's arrival, and tomorrow's coronation ceremony is destined to be no peace.
Amber took a deep breath and tried to calm his emotions. He knew he had to stay calm and not lose his composure.

"Tomorrow is destined to be a tough battle." He muttered to himself.

If the Atlas Group can successfully help Agnes ascend to the throne during this crisis, the influence of the Atlas Group in the Star Dragon Empire will reach an unprecedented height.

And he himself will also receive huge rewards.

(End of this chapter)