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

Ten seconds, thirty seconds, one minute, two minutes... Wei Yanwu's echo finally came, a short but passionate and heroic word:

"it is good!"

Answers to reader questions at the end of the previous chapter

I saw that the reader "Iron Heart Cocoon" raised questions in the previous chapter, feeling that Wayne should interfere.

This is my fault. Iron Heart Cocoon is a long-time reader, but I haven't linked my phone number, so I can't post in the comments. The Regent is asleep and can't post it for me either. So I'll just post a separate chapter to explain.

Wayne had no intention of interfering. As he said, he would only help the winner, and he wouldn't help with anything related to Yan Country. The reason he made this call was only out of respect for Chen, to assure Wei Yanwu, "Go ahead and do it. You don't need to worry about Chen with me."

The latter part is because Wei Yanwu asked the question, wondering if Wayne had changed his mind, which is why Wayne said that. It seems like he supports Wei Yanwu, but it's actually very subtle. He never explicitly said he supported or opposed either side. He just said, "You're stronger than the current Emperor Yan. If you win, then I'll support you. If you don't win, then you won't get my support."

So there's no need to rush. As for the matter of Yan, even if I wanted to write about it, the higher-ups wouldn't allow it. Most of the scenes involving Yan will only appear as background information or details given in conversations. I can't write about the real events, nor would I dare to. Wayne wouldn't be so foolish as to interfere in the internal affairs of another country—except for those thoroughly corrupt capitalists like those in Colombia.

Thank you for your support, Tie Xin Jian. As for other readers, as long as their questions are reasonable and I feel it's necessary to answer them, and they don't involve foreshadowing for future plot developments, then if I see them, I will either ask the Regent to explain, or if the Regent isn't around, I will write a separate chapter to explain.

This book has reached 1.2 million words thanks to everyone, and I would like to express my gratitude once again.

Chapter 184 Hamilton's "Solution" (End of Volume)

Victoria, Little Hillshire.

Colonel Hamilton was hastily rehearsing the soldiers' formation one last time in preparation for the welcoming ceremony for the upcoming special envoy, Lentinium.

"Line up, raise your guns, fire!"

Following Hamilton's orders, the soldiers lined up and performed a series of ceremonial maneuvers with apparent skill. Unfortunately, the firearms they carried were not genuine Lateran weapons, but rather incomplete imitations, lacking both firepower and the sheer force of their firing. Furthermore, the soldiers of Little Hill County were a group of seasoned veterans, long neglected in training and indulging in pleasure, resulting in a lack of uniformity in their firing.

This made Hamilton grit his teeth in anger, wishing he could draw his sword and teach these useless soldiers a lesson in "military discipline."

"The gentlemen of Londinium are arriving in Little Hills this afternoon, and look at the state you are in! Is this what you call the glorious Royal Victorian Army?!"

Hamilton roared. His words were like a needle, enough to pierce the heart of every soldier with any spirit. But unfortunately, the soldiers of Little Hillshire seemed like cotton balls; Hamilton's needle pierced them without causing any pain.

The soldier standing in the middle of the second row even muttered a curse to his friend beside him:

"Is the colonel out of his mind? We're already doing a great job just to be here with him for this drill. Why does he have so many demands?"

His friend glanced at him, a sarcastic smile playing on his lips.

“You don’t understand, do you? Colonel Hamilton has connections. He’s not even from Little Hillshire. If we handle the reception well this time, the envoy from Londinium can be transferred away without any problem. He’s not like us, who can only stay in this small city for the rest of our lives.”

“But actually, I think Little Hill County isn’t bad either. We’re not short of money or women here, we have weapons and power, we can do whatever we want,” the soldier muttered under his breath. His friend, clearly yearning for the big city, glared at him and retorted:

"That's because you haven't seen big cities! You haven't seen Lontinem, you've never even been to Dublin!"

Dublin, the former capital of the King of the North, and once the Empire's second-largest city. The soldier hesitated. He had indeed never been to Londinium or Dublin. Little Hill County was merely a small border town, lacking any aircraft landing zones or passenger routes. The only way to reach Londinium or Dublin was by land, and the exorbitant prices of land travel were far beyond the reach of his local middle-class family.

"No whispering allowed!"

Hamilton barked, interrupting the soldier who was about to ask about the "big city." The colonel gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, his cheeks twitching slightly, and ordered without mercy, "Those two soldiers in the second platoon who were just talking, step forward! Don't force me to drag you out!"

Upon hearing this, the soldier's friend turned around dejectedly, glared at him resentfully, stepped out of the crowd, and the soldier sighed helplessly and followed him out of the crowd.

"Run ten laps around the training field. You're not allowed to eat lunch until you've finished the whole thing."

Hamilton, with his eyes closed, announced the punishment. He quickly said:

"Dismissed. Meet here after lunch, we have one more rehearsal."

After saying that, he ignored the wails of the disbanded soldiers and the mockery of the two soldiers running around the training field, and turned and left the training field.

Hillshire Garrison, Military Affairs Office. Hamilton leaned back in his chair, looking utterly disillusioned.

Everyone else saw the arrival of these two special envoys from Lentinium as an opportunity for Hamilton's promotion, but his father had gotten a hint from an old friend who was now the Lentinium municipal governor: these two envoys weren't there to award Hamilton; they were there to hold him accountable!

Victoria is now thriving, and the entire empire is at peace. Her Majesty the Empress and His Highness the Prince, one in charge of domestic affairs and the other in foreign affairs, seem poised to bring Victoria back to its former glory. Yet, at this moment, only in the small county of Little Hill, where his troops are stationed, has a rebellion of the Tara people broken out. This matter, normally neither major nor minor, is a stain on his reputation in this golden age. It is a denial of his abilities. If he doesn't provide an explanation soon, he won't be promoted; he might even be brought back to Londinium for a military court-martial for his ineffective suppression of the rebellion.

"Tara people, Tara people, why are things always so troublesome with these beasts?"

Colonel Hamilton rubbed his forehead in pain, his brow furrowed, and picked up the cell phone on the table, dialing an internal line.

"Colonel, what's the matter?" A familiar voice came through the phone, and Hamilton felt relieved. He replied:

"Lieutenant, how's the investigation going regarding the Tara Society and that so-called ghost army?"

The adjutant, named Hill, was silent for a moment. The sound of papers turning over came from the other end of the phone. He quickly replied:

"Reporting to the Colonel, the matter concerning the Tara society has been proven true. Moreover, according to our investigation, there is more than one Tara society; there are over ten in the entire Hillshire. However, we have not yet determined which society is the core. As for the Ghost Force, there is currently no evidence to suggest that such a force truly exists. Forgive my bluntness, Colonel, but I believe this is nothing more than a baseless rumor spread by the Tara. Those lowly insects are hoping to use such fabricated rumors to confuse the public and make the great Victorian soldiers hesitant to act."

Hamilton smiled faintly; clearly, his adjutant Hill's analysis pleased him. But he still cautioned, "The great Victorian soldiers will not fear so-called ghost troops, and whether they truly exist or not, we will not hesitate to act."

Adjutant Hill immediately echoed, "Yes, the soldiers of the Empire are forever brave!"

Hamilton nodded, paused, and then suddenly changed the subject, saying, "Hill, the mission this afternoon is temporarily suspended. Come back here."

"Hmm? But Colonel, the issue of the secret society is still..."

Hamilton said confidently, "As long as I'm here, the Tara people won't be able to cause any trouble. You're my subordinate, and I plan to take you to meet the special envoy from Lentinium this afternoon. Do your best."

“Thank you so much, Colonel!” Hill exclaimed, but Hamilton ignored his subsequent flattery, put down the receiver, and took a deep breath.

The problem of the Tara secret society was certainly important, but Hamilton had already devised a solution—to investigate step by step and then behead their leader. However, doing so was far too cumbersome. The crisis brought about by this Tara uprising had served as a wake-up call; these inferior minorities were not worth his constant tolerance. Even if he beheaded one leader, others would soon emerge. Only by striking hard and wiping them all out could he truly resolve the Tara problem, give Lentinium a satisfactory answer, and prevent future troubles!

With that thought in mind, he picked up the phone again and dialed a second number.

"Colonel, this is the artillery battalion of the Little Hill County garrison. What are your orders?"

"How's the Originium Bomb making going?"

"The process has slowed down recently because of Envoy Lentinium, and the screening of goods and people entering and leaving the city has been very strict recently."

"Being vigilant is good. I'll give you a week's grace. Once the special envoy leaves, we must take action immediately. Understand?"

"understand!"

PS: I revised the previous chapter according to the suggestion from Yinghuizhe, and now it should be clear.

The next chapter begins the new volume—Victoria II: The Lion and the Red Dragon. Some people think I can write a lot more. This book, *Sparrow's Food*, if I were to write it, I might never finish it in a lifetime. After all, there are so many unwritten parts in *Ark*. With my ability to create original stories, writing another five million words wouldn't be a problem. Even without original content, even if I were to plagiarize the new event *Long Night Ascends*, I could still write a several-hundred-thousand-word volume on *Casimir*, enough to hang the entire Business Federation from the streetlights. This is a story that can never be finished.

However, the outline of this book was finalized during my pre-release remarks. Starting with Victoria, then Columbia, Ursus Lungmen, and ending back in Victoria, I didn't include anything else in the outline. Neither the wildly popular "Turbid Heart Titi" from the second anniversary nor the now-famous "Long Night's Radiant Knights," which marks the beginning of the Arknights storyline at 2.5 years old, were added to the outline. This is why we have such a complete, logically coherent, and smoothly unfolding story, without any gaps, disjointed plots, or abrupt transitions. I will always maintain this principle; I will not and cannot change the outline, for the sake of all readers' reading experience.

Chapter 12 December 25, 1092, Wayne's first Christmas

December 25, 1092 in the Terra calendar, Lateran Christmas Day.

Originating from the birth of "God" recorded in the ancient books and Bibles of Lateran, the festival gradually grew from a local event into a global celebration as Lateran religion expanded across the land.

But the Christmas Day at the end of 1092 was not as peaceful as in previous years.

In Longmen, Wei Yanwu, the rightful heir to the throne of the Great Yan Dynasty, officially issued a proclamation declaring, "The nation has treacherous officials; we raise an army to punish the rebels and quell the rebellion, in accordance with Heaven's will." The three northwestern provinces of the Great Yan responded by surrendering, and a small-scale uprising also broke out in the southeast. It is said that the Lateran Catholic Church was very active during this period, and rumors suggest that their involvement was subtly present behind these events. However, the specific reasons why Wei Yanwu dared to rebel against the Great Yan Dynasty, which had enjoyed three hundred years of stability and prosperity, remain unknown.

With the Colombian civil war drawing to a close, the Colombian Workers' Union (CPU), which had gradually absorbed homeless workers and soldiers during the war and grown increasingly powerful, finally made the already desperate Colombian federal government and military realize the gravity of the situation. Both sides, having suffered heavy losses, were no longer able to fight the CPU on their own. Under the CPU's relentless pressure, they finally understood that continuing their internal conflict would either lead to a psychological change of heart or physical death. They could only hold an alliance ceremony in Lexington, the state with special significance to Colombia as its first state, to formally declare the formation of the Colombian National Union to oppose the CPU.

The Ursus Empire officially began its first round of nationalization reforms. With the Victorian example to learn from and the relatively well-developed but vacant territory of the Duke of Koschei serving as a pilot region, Fyodor finally overcame all obstacles and embarked on his massive act of imitation. Given the precedent of Koschei's treason—his head still hanging to dry on the tower of the St. Arthur's Cathedral—the nobles, unusually, remained silent and offered no objection to Fyodor's actions.

As the current beacon of Terran civilization, the thriving Victoria has undoubtedly become an object of envy and emulation for countless nations. However, as the de facto ruler and head of Victoria, Wayne still harbors a lingering shadow in his heart. Hillshire is located in the north of Victoria, and the north was once the territory of his adoptive father, the King of the North. After the King of the North waged the Wars of the Roses to seize the throne and shifted the center of power to Londinium, the rulers of Dublin changed hands time and again, but in reality, the real control behind the scenes remained with the former King of the North's party.

The Northern Kings party—this familiar term hadn't appeared in Wayne's field of vision for a very long time. Since Vina dissolved Parliament under the pretext of a new king's coronation and a reorganization of the cabinet, the Northern Kings party had essentially vanished. Wayne's own brother's party, led by Marshal Ernest and Winston the Bell Ringer, held the reins of power in the new Parliament, while Vina, as a symbol of Victoria, appeared at various international diplomatic events and delivered occasional televised speeches, becoming Victoria's face and spokesperson.

So who controls Dublin now?

Wayne had overlooked this issue, but the inexplicable riots in Little Hillshire served as a wake-up call. Victoria was not a monolithic entity; within this vast empire lay a powerful force—the Deeppool of Drak! If things went as expected, the de facto ruler of Dublin was likely the last member of the Royalist Party of the North—Reed, the King of the North's adopted daughter. Or rather, her sister, who bore an almost identical resemblance to Reed, was the Celt, leader of the Drak restoration movement and the Deeppool.

The former rulers of Victoria never relinquished their claim to the empire. The compromises made under the sacred covenant had given them too many unnecessary expectations, and the repeal of the law had reached a historical juncture where it was imperative. Wayne meticulously planned and gathered all sorts of evidence, striving to make the matter respectable, watertight, and unquestionable. Now, everything was ready; only the final push was needed!

Wayne looked at the calendar, reached out, and took this year's calendar off.

The countdown to 1092 had begun; in just six days, Terra's history would enter the new year of 1093. Wayne finally set his sights on January 1st, 1093. At the start of the new year, with everything renewed, he would entrust Vina with the task of formally declaring, in a New Year's address to the entire Empire and indeed all of Terra, that he, as Queen Victoria, together with "The Last Drak" Talulah, would announcing the abrogation of the treaty and Drak's renunciation of his right to the throne!

This will be a farewell to the old era. The land bids farewell to the turbulent and suffering year of 1092. Victoria bids farewell to the unstable era of the red dragon and the lion. Wayne bids farewell to the limits of all the plots he knows as a time traveler and officially walks the land of Terra as an ordinary person.

"This will be a brand new beginning."

Looking at the dragon and phoenix patterns on the new calendar, Wayne happily hung it on the wall of the palace entertainment hall.

"What are you still looking at?" Vina asked, her voice slightly muffled as she walked, a lollipop in her mouth. "A calendar? What's so interesting about it?"

Wayne reached out and ruffled Vina's hair. Vina was very particular about her long hair, which she maintained to be fluffy and smooth. "You're going to be on TV in five days. Don't you look good?"

Vina wanted to stop her brother, who was running wild on her head, but after thinking about it, she only raised her hand as a strategic deterrent and never pressed it down.

She glanced at Wayne and muttered with some dissatisfaction:

"You didn't think it looked good when I was at home, but you think it looks good now that I'm on TV?"

Wayne naturally heard Vina's little complaint, and could only laugh it off, wisely remaining silent. There was no way around it; Vina was either at work or on her way to work at home most of the time. The royal family consisted of just the two of them, and if one was always traveling and enjoying themselves, the other would inevitably be diligently managing the empire. If they both slacked off, who would govern the vast Victorian Empire? However, even so, it seemed Vina harbored considerable resentment towards Wayne for his constant slacking off.

At this time, you should play dumb.jpg

Seeing Wayne's smug smile, Vina pouted and sighed with relief.

"Alright, let's not talk about work today, let's eat, bro. We have turkey today."

Wayne nodded: "Okay."

He glanced at Theresa, who was helping to set the table, Chen, who was sitting in a chair constantly refreshing the latest news from Lungmen, and Swire, who was opening a bottle of champagne with Lin Yuxia. He felt a little more at ease.

Judging by the timeline, tomorrow will be the third day since the special envoy arrived in Little Hills. The first investigation report should arrive at the Queen's desk in her office tomorrow morning without any surprises.

Tonight, enjoy your first Christmas in Terra!

Chapter Two: The Envoy of Lontinim

时间到回到三天前。1092年12月22日。15：26 p.m。

The Greenwood government's special envoy, Sir Wernart, and the military's special envoy, Colonel Kant, formed the Little Hills Incident Investigation Team and officially arrived at the garrison outside Little Hills.

Sir Wernard was a prominent new nobleman in Londinham. His family had originally been an old aristocratic clan that relied on land and servants for survival. However, in his generation, facing the tide of Victorian industrialization, he did not sit idly by or go against the tide like other landed nobles. Instead, he resolutely sold two-thirds of his family's land and servants and invested all his money in the construction of factories in his hometown. He ultimately became a model of the first generation of people in that era to perfectly transform from an old landed nobleman to a new capitalist nobleman.

The reason why Mayor Arthur chose him was simple: he had the status of a new nobleman and the foundation of an old nobleman. He was also brave, resourceful, decisive and calm, which met the criteria of "an excellent representative" required by Prince Wayne.

His partner, Colonel Kant, was a highly talented individual whom Ernest had discovered within the military during this period. Kant Valente graduated from the Royal Military Academy of Victoria. As Wayne had once said, graduates of the Royal Military Academy were Victoria's rising stars; if they joined the military, they could even skip the rank of soldier and start directly as sergeants. Even among that group of elites, Colonel Kant was the most dazzling star. He graduated flawlessly with A grades from his academy studies to his final combat graduation thesis. Upon entering the military, he didn't make the mistake of being an ivory tower apathetic and out of touch with reality; he excelled in every aspect.

Ernest once remarked that if it were wartime, he might become the youngest general in Victorian history.

Unfortunately, Victoria is now at peace. The shadow of war seems to have faded from the hearts of the Victorian people, and without military merit, soldiers can only rise in rank by accumulating seniority. Ernest didn't want this talented individual to be lost in the long passage of time, which is why he entrusted him with this mission as an envoy, hoping he could perform well and catch the attention of His Highness Wayne and Her Majesty the Queen, who are paying close attention to this matter.

The welcoming ceremony hosted by Colonel Hamilton could only be described as rudimentary and boring. The way the soldiers could barely hold a replica ceremonial gun made Colonel Kant frown deeply. He glanced at Sir Wenat beside him, only to find Sir Wenat looking on with obvious interest, which deepened his frown.