From cannon fodder to sweeping across thousands of stars.

Chapter 729 I Refuse to Believe in You

On the morning of March 592, 3 in the new calendar, the Star Dragon Empire welcomed the most important day in this period. Princess Agnes of the Empire will hold a coronation ceremony at the Grand Palace of Saint-Saunière in the imperial capital, and officially take over the crown from her father to become emperor.

When Saint Saunière had not yet fully woken up from his sleep, Agnes, who had gotten up early or had not slept much, received a piece of news - Norton II had arrived.

The regent who had disappeared for a long time had already landed at the airport outside the imperial capital on a space plane and was currently heading towards the Grand Palace.

Agnes and Natalia were already very clear at this time. They did not receive the news until the space plane carrying the Regent entered the atmosphere. This was enough to explain the position of the commander of the garrison fleet and the orbital defense platform in orbit around Saint-Saunière.

Natalia looked at the message on the terminal and said seriously, "Your Highness, I didn't expect Norton II to arrive on the surface of the planet. Does he want to go deep into the tiger's den alone?"

"No," Agnes shook her head. "Perhaps in his eyes, he is returning to his own 'tiger's den' and we are the ones who should be driven out from here."

"This"

"Prepare for war, Lady Natalia. I am sure that our Lord Regent did not come with peace and goodwill." Agnes calmly sat down in front of the dressing table, closed her eyes, and let the maids around her continue to dress her.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will pass the order down immediately. But there is one more thing."

"explain."

Natalia hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Do we need to notify Mr. Amber at the same time?"

"Of course, from this moment on, our intelligence will be shared with Mr. Amber. After all, if we reach a point where there is no way out, we will need to rely on the power of Atlas to intervene."

"Your will be obeyed."
-
When Amber received the encrypted message from Natalia and immediately asked the Marines deployed in the Princess Villa to prepare for battle, at the same time, the sound of military bugles broke the tranquility of the early morning in several Imperial Guard camps outside the Grand Palace.

This was followed by a burst of brisk drum beats, the signature drum beat of the Imperial Guards Band.

Amid the sound of drums that symbolized the honor and mission of the Imperial Guards, teams of fully armed Imperial Guards, led by a group of young noble officers, walked out of the camp. The morning light shone on their power armor, and from a distance it looked like several golden streams of light flowing out of the camp.

As these imperial guardsmen boarded their respective infantry fighting vehicles, the HCPs and multi-legged chariots in the camp's hangars also started up one after another. These most elite army units of the empire quickly completed their assembly.

The armored units and heavy infantry formed a town attack formation and drove towards the direction of the Grand Palace, while the long-range fire strike team quickly arrived at the preset positions they had trained countless times - only this time the muzzle of the self-propelled electromagnetic gun was pointed in the direction of the Grand Palace.

Inside the camp of the Imperial Guards who had set out without receiving orders, the former commanders who were under house arrest in the confinement rooms looked through the iron windows at the troops being taken away from the camp, their eyes filled with disbelief and fear.

They had never imagined that the imperial guards stationed in the imperial capital all year round would be so thoroughly infiltrated by the regent. Those young middle-level officers who usually concentrated on leading troops and training and never showed any abnormalities were completely brainwashed by Norton II at some point.

The news of the Regent's arrival at the Imperial Capital Airport was like a slogan for the start of the action, causing the infiltrated Imperial Guards to take action one after another.
In the bedroom where Agnes was, Natalia, who was also fully armed, reported the latest situation to the imperial princess.

"Your Highness, apart from the Imperial Guards who have been guarding the Grand Palace for a long time, more than 60% of the other Imperial Guards have already left the barracks. According to the aerial observations of the 'Angel of Surveillance', these Imperial Guards are marching towards the Grand Palace. The 'Angel of Surveillance' has just been illuminated by the ground fire control radar and can only temporarily leave the airspace above the Grand Palace to evade."

"Can you tell me where they are going?" Agnes asked as she closed her eyes and waited for the maids to finish dressing.

"Most of the Imperial Guards that acted on their own should be heading for the main gate of the Grand Palace, which is also the main outdoor venue for the coronation ceremony. Another Imperial Guard unit is heading in the direction of the Princess Villa."

"Princess Villa? Do they still want to control Amber?"

Natalia shook her head. "It is still unclear what the intentions of this imperial guard are, but I have shared the information with Mr. Amber."

"Do we need to send another troop to the Princess Villa?"

"I also made this suggestion, Your Highness." Natalia's expression suddenly became a little strange, "But Mr. Amber said."

"what did he say?"

“Let’s take care of ourselves first.”

"Haha, this is really his way of speaking~"

"Your Highness, everything is ready." The chief maid said softly, breaking the silence in the room.

Agnes nodded slightly and opened her eyes. Her entire temperament changed at this moment. She slowly stood up, taking each step steadily and powerfully, as if every step was stepping on the fate of the empire.

"Let's go, Lady Natalia. Let's go meet the regent who came to 'present' me a gift." She sneered, with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

The atmosphere at the main gate of the Grand Palace was solemn.

The soldiers of the Princess's Guards were already on full alert, like silent statues. The fortifications hidden underground also slowly rose up, allowing the defenders to instantly gain access to a large number of composite armored bunkers and fixed firepower turrets.

However, the imperial nobles who had arrived in advance around the main gate square to watch the ceremony were now bewildered.

"How is this going?"

"Is there an extra military parade?" "Military parade? That doesn't seem likely. A military parade won't activate the fortifications, right?"

The nobles were whispering, and a feeling of uneasiness was spreading among the crowd, but a burst of orderly footsteps came from afar, breaking the momentary noise.

Those were the heavy and powerful footsteps of the Imperial Guards who came from various camps, and every step seemed to step on the hearts of the nobles who were watching.

They were dressed in the pure black power armor of the Imperial Guards, and like several black torrents, they kept approaching from several main roads and finally merged at the main entrance square of the Grand Palace.

The heavy multi-legged chariots advanced slowly on both sides, with their gun muzzles pointing directly towards the main gate, while the imperial guards who had already gotten off the vehicles used their infantry fighting vehicles as cover and slowly advanced behind them.

Both armies belonged to the Imperial Guard, but on the day when the crown prince ascended the throne, they met in the center of power of the empire.

This absurd scene made everyone present feel a little nervous. Many imperial nobles who were originally preparing to watch the ceremony began to leave quietly, but more imperial nobles chose to stay.

Because no matter who wins the conflict, they want to be loyal to the winner at the first opportunity.
Soon, the fully armed Norton II, surrounded by a group of guards, slowly walked to the front of the battle.

His power armor was painted purple, representing the "regency". The tactical visor with gorgeous decorations rose as he walked to the front of the formation. His eyes under the visor were as sharp as an eagle, scanning everything in front of him, and then slowly looked towards the main entrance.

On top of the city wall, Princess Agnes, dressed in a gorgeous dress, slowly appeared, surrounded by the Princess Guards.

She looked down at Norton II condescendingly, without any fear in her eyes.

"Regent, you don't look like you're here to swear allegiance to me." Agnes' voice was cold and arrogant, and there was no fear in her tone.

"Allegiance? To you?"

Norton II sneered, his tone full of contempt and disdain, and under the influence of the loudspeaker, it echoed throughout the square.

"You are just a little girl, do you think you are qualified to inherit this empire?"

Agnes frowned immediately after hearing this, and Amber, who was watching all this through the on-site surveillance footage provided by Natalia, immediately realized that something was wrong.

Because such straightforward and arrogant words are definitely not what Norton II would say.
"I don't have the ability?" Agnes raised her eyebrows and retorted, "Time will tell. But your current actions, Regent, are a complete betrayal of the oath you made when you took over the power of regent. You are shamelessly trying to usurp the throne."

"Usurpation?"

Norton II's face darkened. This word seemed to have triggered something in him. His expression changed continuously in a short period of time, and his voice became louder as if he couldn't control it.

"I am doing this for the future of the empire! You don't know how to govern a country, you will only lead the empire to destruction! And I am the one who can save the empire!"

His voice was full of enthusiasm and confidence, as if he was really the savior of the empire. Following his words, the faces of the young officers in the Imperial Guards were full of enthusiasm, and they began to lead the troops in shouting the slogan "Long live the Regent!"

Until this moment, these young noble officers still firmly believed that only Norton II could lead the empire out of its predicament and achieve true revival.

"Save the empire? Relying on these soldiers who have been bewitched by you?" Agnes looked at the imperial guards coldly, "They are nothing but pawns in your hands, tools for you to satisfy your ambitions!"

Her voice was full of anger and disappointment, and Natalia, who was standing beside her, also raised her saber high, and the soldiers of the Princess' Guards immediately burst into shouts.

"Long live Her Highness Agnes!"

"Long live the Regent!"

The shouts of the soldiers on both sides were deafening, and the smell of gunpowder in the air began to become stronger and stronger. The tense atmosphere was on the verge of breaking out, and it seemed that this duel that would determine the fate of the Star Dragon Empire was inevitable.

"Give up, Agnes, and hand over your right to the throne. I can guarantee your safety, otherwise there will be a river of blood here." Norton II spoke again, with a hint of threat in his tone.

Agnes did not answer, but just looked coldly at Norton II and the huge Royal Guards below. Natalia beside her was already ready for the Princess Guards to open fire.

"Your Highness, have you really thought it through?"

The voice of Finance Minister Jacques Kohl suddenly sounded. Agnes and Natalia tilted their heads slightly and saw that the Finance Minister had climbed up the city wall with the Imperial Chancellor, the Interior Minister and others at some point.

Although Agnes felt a little strange that they would appear in this position at this time, she also understood at this moment that Jacques Cole and other ministers had also made their choice.

She said softly: "My Lords, I believe that history will forgive my cruelty, but it will never forgive my weakness."

"Mercy is the right of the strong." The Imperial Chancellor was still making his last effort at this moment, trying to prevent the situation from sliding into a completely irreversible point.

"That's right, but I need to prove my identity as a strong man first, don't I?"

(End of this chapter)