Miss Wang Weina, even your cousin won't do!

Once the Ten Commandments are broken...

"It is not up to the Ursus guards to criticize the actions of our imperial concubine."

Suddenly, an impossible voice rang in Theresa's ears, and the ten rings, which had been preparing to overload and emitting a faint white light, went out. She looked up at the distance.

Several blurry figures emerged from the pitch-black blizzard. They were all white, with a single horn on their heads. Although their faces were deeply lined and they looked old and frail, the black snow on every piece of land they stepped on quickly retreated and dissipated as if they had encountered a natural enemy.

"Hiss—whoosh—a unicorn?"

The guard murmured in confusion.

“This is Ursus territory. You have no right to stop us. We can kill you without consequence.”

"Oh? You can try." A contemptuous smile appeared on Winston's face. With a flick of his wrist, a dazzling lightsaber shot out from his sleeve, pointing at the guards. "This is Ursus territory? I didn't know that?"

"What did the Ursus guards say when they dared to set foot on the territory of my Earl Victoria Vincent?"

Winster feigned a look of recollection, but in less than three seconds, he nodded as if suddenly realizing something, and arrogantly declared:

"The territory I stand on is the land of Victoria!"

"Do you know what 'the sun never sets' means? All the land the sun shines on is the territory of the Victorian Empire!"

Chapter 146 I wanted to see that expression on your face!

For the first time, Winster felt so pleased with his speed. He had sped all the way from St. Arthur's Castle in Ursus to this snowy plain in the far east, and had managed to catch the princess just in time to be in danger.

Luckily, I made it in time.

Last time, at Lungmen, Wayne had shown his rare anger because of the unicorn's poor protection. If the unicorn arrives a step later this time, Winster doesn't know how he will explain it to Prince Wayne.

He keeps claiming to be the guardian of Victoria, but he's just like the Colombian National Guard, always arriving late to collect the bodies after everything's over? Winster might as well quit; he wouldn't even need Wayne's orders, Winster would just find a noodle and hang himself on Big Ben.

The leader of the unicorns, one of the oldest in Terra, stared directly at the guard before him. His arrogant and presumptuous words conveyed a simple meaning: Theresa, I have protected her. And those whom Theresa wanted to protect, I have also protected. If you are not satisfied, let's have a fight and see who can beat whom.

Last time in the northern borders of Victoria, Winster, intimidated by the demon's terrifying corruption and eerie nature, hesitated to act rashly against the demonized guard in order to protect Wayne and Ernest behind him. This resulted in the unnecessary loss of a group of steam-armored soldiers. Ultimately, Wayne was forced to personally intervene, using the Mandate of Heaven to forcibly suppress the demon. He had utterly lost face. He had harbored resentment over this enormous defeat and long wanted to avenge himself, but had neither the opportunity nor the justification to travel to Ursus. This time, however, he had legitimately received the royal decree from Victoria and obtained the permission of the Ursus Emperor, representing the emperors of both empires openly and legitimately. How could he let such a golden opportunity slip by?

Winster kept the orders from Saint-Germain Castle to himself for the time being, but instead made a provocative statement to raise his morale and regain the upper hand.

When had the Imperial Guards ever encountered anything like this? For every Imperial Guard, the power of the Ursus Empire was etched into their hearts. Domineering was their modus operandi: obey, and you'd be slaughtered; disobey, and you'd be annihilated. Even with Victoria, they only showed her a token amount of respect—after all, during the Ursus Empire's heyday, Victoria's steam-armored troops had indeed achieved victories. Giving them some face was acceptable, but taking advantage of their kindness was absolutely unacceptable.

Seeing that Winster had already said this much, the guard didn't say anything more. He silently drew his military knife from his waist, pointed it at the unicorn, and a red light flashed in his eyes. The next second, the drifting black snow seemed to be summoned and gathered in Winster's direction, dyeing the land around him completely black, so black that even light could not be contained.

"The two of you keep an eye on the target's movements. The rest of you, join me in killing the unicorn."

The inner guards didn't hide anything and directly gave the order. As black snow fell all over the ground, the inner guards' [Kingdom] was fully deployed. In an instant, everyone, including Theresa, felt a weight on their bodies, as if an invisible force was pressing down on them, making it difficult to even move their feet.

Theresa's eyes narrowed, and she was about to swing her sword to escape the [Kingdom]'s territory. Winster snorted coldly:

"This isn't the first time I've witnessed your methods. But no matter how many times I see them again, I still feel that such filthy things are simply unfit for public display."

With a flick of his wrist, a lightsaber flashed from his sleeve and plunged into the snow. Standing in the snow, Winston looked up at the sky and proclaimed, "May the Force be with you!" The snow immediately emitted a strange, piercing hissing sound, as if touched by a red-hot anvil. Under the astonished gaze of the guards, the once-dark snowfield began to dissipate. The black snow and mist vanished as if encountering a natural enemy, revealing the long-absent frozen earth buried beneath the thick snow.

"What!?"

The guard let out a scream that was completely out of character for his cold demeanor, as if he had seen something unbelievable. However, he was not the only one who was surprised. Even Theresa, who was not far from the unicorn, looked at the kingdom beneath her that was gradually melting away under the unicorn's lightsaber. Her expression changed repeatedly, and finally she looked at the exceptionally bright lightsaber stuck in the ground with a complicated expression.

"This is......"

She gazed at the lightsaber, a sense of familiarity washing over her, and a feeling of peace settled in her heart. She clutched her chest and whispered:

"Thank you for your help again, Mr. Bruce."

"Surprised?" Winster, watching smugly as the pitch-black kingdom vanished, was no less astonished than Bitrecia and the Inner Guard, but he maintained the composure and wisdom of an elder, explaining slowly, "This is an anti-Inner Guard artifact bestowed upon me by His Highness the Prince of Wales. Incredible? How could His Highness the Prince of Wales be so familiar with the abilities of the Ursus Inner Guard, and how could he develop a weapon specifically targeting your abilities?"

Winster paused, and after whetting the appetites of the inner guards and even Theresa, his expression changed, and he said:

"Military secret, no comment!"

I don't know either, how am I supposed to tell you?

When Prince Wayne handed me the sword, he only told me, "Don't use your thermos anymore, use this. Remember to wear the hood of your trench coat. If any disobedient guards attack you, plant this in the ground and shout, 'May the Force be with you!' Then you'll witness a miracle." As for its actual function, Wayne simply explained, "It allows you to say to the guards, 'I am your father!'"

Winster was not clear about the function of the lightsaber, but he trusted Prince Wayne's character. When he saw the guards about to launch an attack, he immediately did as they said, and the effect was unexpectedly good!

Seeing the guard's expression of wanting to curse but unable to, even the aged Winston couldn't help but smile, feeling incredibly pleased.

This directly destroyed the nation that the Inner Guard was most proud of. Isn't this the "father" of the Inner Guard?

Having been belittled and tricked by Winston once, the guard's patience had reached its limit; the blood pressure inside his filter was probably about to match the atmospheric pressure. He let out a long breath, but instead of calming down, his breathing became rapid, and even his manner of speaking changed from emotionless narration to angry growls:

"Hiss—whoosh—so what if we have no kingdom? With our strength, killing you is as easy as turning our hands!"

Winston casually crossed his arms, appearing completely unguarded, and said indifferently:

"But you dare not attack us."

"Ha, ha ha ha—" The guard seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "On Ursus soil, a foreigner dares to speak such words? You, prepare to die—"

The guard's voice abruptly stopped. Winston calmly took a golden scroll bearing the Ursus double-headed eagle emblem from his robes, waved it in front of the guard, and then slowly unfurled it, saying:

"Your Majesty Emperor Feodor I of Ursus, Imperial Decree No. 552:"

The guard paused in his thrusting motion, the gleaming tip of his sword stopping less than half a meter in front of Winster, but still unable to stop Winster from reading the contents of the scroll.

Upon hearing the name of the Ursus Emperor, the crimson eyes within the inner guard's armor suddenly blazed. However, after carefully examining and confirming the golden double-headed eagle emblem and the emperor's crest on the golden scroll, he still had to take a deep breath. Reluctantly but unwillingly, he sheathed his drawn sword, his dark body kneeling heavily on one knee, bowing his head to Winster, Theresa, and the others with the respect due to a subject.

"To the Emperor's blade, the Empire's hound: cease all activities and cooperate with the special envoy from the Victorian allies to capture the traitorous Duke Kosiché within three days and report back in person at St. Arthur's Castle. There must be no error!"

Winster closed the scroll, feeling indescribably relieved, and looked down at the guard who raised his hands to receive the scroll.

I love that look on your face when you're practically begging to kill me, yet you still have to do the task that His Highness Wayne has given you!

One thing leads to another, using overwhelming force to make people feel suffocated.

Hearing the guard's much heavier breathing, Theresa was genuinely worried that he might suddenly vomit blood out of anger.

Chapter 147 The Thucydides Trap and the Limitations of History

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

Ursus Empire, Saint-Germain Castle, side hall of the Imperial Palace.

Wayne sat in the executive chair in front of the desk, looking around at the magnificent guest room. Even though he was used to the decorations of the Victoria Iron Palace, he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement, deeply admiring the wealth and power of the Ursus Empire.

Compared to Victoria's emphasis on elegance, subtly showcasing style and taste in its decor, Ursus has taken the path of "luxury" to its absolute extreme. Can you imagine an ordinary guest room with a ceiling height of nearly eight to ten meters and a floor area of ​​almost fifty square meters, requiring three large, tiered crystal lamps for adequate lighting? Most importantly, the people of Ursus have managed to perfectly arrange every inch of space in this nearly fifty-square-meter bedroom, making it neither empty nor cramped due to excessive furnishings, giving guests just the right amount of "fullness."

"That's outrageous."

Wayne shook his head again, feeling that the three chandeliers hanging from the ceiling looked like miniature suns, their light somewhat dazzling. If such a lamp were hung in his own bedroom in the Iron Palace, he might have to hold it to his nose and be unable to sleep—Wayne's bedroom ceiling wasn't high enough to be called a "ceiling."

Wayne lowered his head, looking at Kal'tsit sitting on the bed, holding a white, floor-length aristocratic gown that resembled a wedding dress, and asked calmly:

"Kal'tsit, what do you think?"

Kal'tsit stared into Wayne's eyes for a long time before speaking, "I think Your Highness is getting more and more perverted lately."

"why?"

"This is my bedroom. What is it if not a pervert to barge into a woman's bedroom?"

Without batting an eye, Wayne explained with remarkable thick skin, "Isn't it because we're close? We're all buddies, we're practically family."

If anyone else had said that, Wayne would probably have already read the room, apologized, and left, but for Kal'tsit to say it like that just seemed so fake. Why would an old woman care about something like that?

As expected, Kal'tsit's face darkened slightly. She turned away, tossed the skirt aside, and said:

"In that case, I'll wear a suit to the ball tonight."

Wayne was taken aback: "What ball?"

“His Majesty Fyodor sent us an invitation to the ball. As your attendant on this trip, I received this message and am preparing to pass it on to you,” Kal'tsit said calmly. Seeing Vayne’s mouth gradually opening and the regretful expression appearing on his face, the anger she felt from Vayne’s earlier offense subsided considerably, and a barely perceptible smile, about one pixel wide, appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Then what you just did...?"

Wayne immediately understood why the old lynx had suddenly started choosing her clothes – she was preparing for tonight's ball!

What have I done?! I actually missed the chance to dress up the big green cat in a wedding gown?! I, the mighty Wayne, actually missed a chance to collect a UR-level CG! Theresa will blame me for the rest of my life! This will surely be the biggest regret of my life!

No, we need to fix this!

Wayne beamed with a smile as radiant as spring flowers, and asked with utmost sincerity:

"Um, Kal'tsit, do you think I still have a chance?"

Kal'tsit smoothly straightened her dress and hung it on a special hanger to the side, perfectly concealing her smile so that Wayne wouldn't notice that she had calmed down. She placed her hands on her lap and said seriously, "Let's get down to business."

Wayne's face darkened, his regret no less than that of someone who had completed Undertale but immediately played the Carnage route.

Kelch glanced at Wayne's expression, then looked away and said:

"Although the Ursus Empire displays extravagance even in a small guest room, it is already on its last legs, a fact that was evident when we set foot on Ursus's soil. The contrast between the prosperity of their cities and the rural areas, which are now only populated by the elderly and infirm, is simply too stark. This disparity will eventually destroy Ursus. Although the current emperor, Fyodor, is willing to reform, as we have seen, he is merely a lone wolf with limited power and desperately needs a strong ally to support him."

Wien rallied his spirits and sought Kal'tsit's opinion: "Could this ally be me?"

"It can be, but it can also not be, but it's best if it is."

"I don't want to play riddles, let me put it bluntly."

“I advise you not to do this,” Kal'tsit said. “The decline of the Ursus Empire may not necessarily be a bad thing for us, but its rise will inevitably pose a great threat. As the builders and controllers of the current world order, we should not do anything that helps our enemy…”

Wayne listened quietly to Kal'tsit's words, including the examples and arguments she gave after her general overview, from Laterano and Kazdel, from the Flames to the Eastern Kingdoms. Only after Kal'tsit finished speaking did Wayne speak. He leaned forward slightly and asked Kal'tsit with unprecedented seriousness:

"Kal'tsit, how long do you think the colonial system built by Victoria can last in today's world? What do you think Ursus means in Victoria's world system?"

"A long time. Challenger."

Kal'tsit answered without hesitation, as if she had already considered this question.

In fact, she could analyze a lot of things. For example, as long as Terra's current situation remains unchanged, relying on Originium as energy and mobile cities as the main settlements, with extremely limited overall resources, and as long as Wayne can transform into an immortal with the help of two artifacts and his thoughts do not deteriorate or become corrupted, then Victoria's world system will probably continue until the day Wayne "does not want to" continue it.

The British Empire may never set, which is one of the reasons why Kal'tsit chose to place her bets on Vayne and Victoria.

As for Ursus, as the fastest-growing and most powerful empire in the last century, the sleeping giant bear of the north plays almost no role in Victoria's world system—it is a challenger, a formidable one. It has even waged war against Victoria and once defeated it. As long as it exists, it undermines Victoria's world system, which is why Kal'tsit decisively advised Vayne "not to lend a hand."

Ursus is now an old man on his deathbed. His fierce and combative nature in his "youth" brought him countless honors, but when the glory fades and the moment of "old age" arrives, all the hidden injuries all over his body will be exposed. At that time, this challenger will not only not have the crazy blood transfusions from various enclaves like Victoria, but will also be unable to buy a doctor or any medicine because of Victoria.

Kal'tsit believed the best course of action against Ursus was to "watch it and do nothing." To allow the challenger to crumble, and then let Victoria's authority rise even higher.

But when faced with Kal'tsit's unequivocal "correct answer," Wayne simply gave Kal'tsit a deep look, pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his soft chair.

For some reason, Kal'tsit saw a feeling of loneliness in those eyes, which made her feel a little guilty.

Did I say something wrong? I don't think so...