On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

after all

"Charlotte! This is a matter that will affect the Dragon Kingdom and even cause chaos throughout the entire continent. Are you still going to embezzle and engage in your despicable money-making schemes?!"

"You're still asking each city to allocate funds for military pay? Don't you know that the local areas are already out of money?! Don't you know that most of the people in these cities are already destitute and starving!"

Even in front of the Empress, Long Yi couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up abruptly, and the general glared at him, turning to berate the fat minister beside him.

Seeing that Xia Luo ignored him completely, Long Yi turned around and knelt down heavily before the Empress again, this time not half-kneeling, but kneeling completely.

"Your Majesty, you must not expand the army any further. No matter how many soldiers and generals you have, they are just boats, while the people are the water. Even if you build the boats to be the largest, without water, even the most powerful warships are just decorations!"

"Your Majesty, the Dragon Kingdom is now riddled with problems. The people are suffering, famine is rampant, and disasters of all sizes are endless, yet the relief and aid we deserve are nowhere to be found. It is precisely because of those incompetent officials that the people of all lands have begun to resent Your Majesty. Some arrogant and scheming individuals have even seized the opportunity to incite the people, using the guise of righteousness to form private armies, attempting to overthrow Your Majesty and destroy the Dragon Kingdom."

"Your Majesty! What our Dragon Kingdom lacks now is not external aggression and war. We should first secure our internal stability before we have the resources to resist external threats. Taking advantage of this rare opportunity for you to attend the Dragon Palace, I implore you to abolish slavery, establish an oversight agency, and thoroughly eliminate all those who are corrupt and lawless, those parasites that are eroding the Dragon Kingdom. At the same time, I will personally lead the Dragon Gate Army to wipe out the rebels, and exterminate those who spread heresies and commit treason, restoring a true era of peace and prosperity to the Dragon Kingdom!"

After these heartfelt words, Long Yi could clearly sense that there were gazes filled with hatred and killing intent fixed on his back within the Dragon Palace. These were from the so-called important officials and ministers behind him.

Because he had exposed the false prosperity they had painted for the Empress, and threatened their interests, Long Yi was fearless. This was the confidence of the strongest "Relic Envoy".

In this dragon kingdom where "strength reigns supreme," any conspiracy or trickery is futile in the face of absolute power. So no matter how dissatisfied those officials and ministers were with him, how much they gritted their teeth and wanted to get rid of him, they all failed.

However, it is precisely because of the absolute "survival of the fittest" that slavery was born, that the weak lost their most basic protection, and that the Dragon Kingdom is now on the verge of collapse. So when Long Yi learned that the Empress had once again personally issued a decree to launch a war against the Holy Kingdom, he was initially shocked and puzzled. But he soon realized that this was an opportunity for him to advise the Empress and prevent her from being blinded by villains. It was a chance to save the Dragon Kingdom!

"Outrageous! How dare you! Your Majesty, I request that the Imperial Guards be immediately drag General Long Yi out of the Dragon Palace and behead him as a warning to the public!"

"How can someone so blind be worthy of such a high position? General Long, can't you see the magnificent prosperity of the capital? Are the happy smiles on the faces of those pedestrians on the street fake? Are the thriving shops and stores also fake? Could it be…?"

Charlotte was about to retort fiercely, but he quickly stopped, shutting his mouth and not daring to say another word, because the Empress stopped tapping her fingers on the armrest of the throne.

Everyone held their breath. These ministers and officials who controlled the Dragon Kingdom knew very well that every word the Empress spoke next would determine the future course of events, and even their lives.

at last.

The woman on the dragon throne spoke.

"I will not withdraw my declaration of war against the Holy Kingdom."

Upon hearing this, Charlotte and many ministers and officials in the rear breathed a sigh of relief and were secretly delighted. War—that was exactly what they wanted.

But before they could even begin to fantasize about what would happen next, the Empress's next words sent a chill down their spines, as if they had been doused with ice water.

"As for the reason, Long Yi, if I told you that I had something extremely important, but it seems that the Holy Kingdom has taken it away first, what would you do?"

"Your subject will personally lead the army to raze the Holy Kingdom to the ground, retrieve the Emperor's possessions intact, and return them to the Emperor!" Long Yi replied without hesitation.

"very good."

"As a reward, if you can really do it, then I will fulfill all the reform policies you mentioned before that you hoped would benefit the Dragon Kingdom. No one can stop you. Is that alright?"

Long Yi's eyes sparkled with excitement. Even though he was a middle-aged veteran, he still felt his blood boiling at this moment.

Because of the Empress's promise, this is the hope of the Dragon Kingdom. As long as he can win this war and reclaim what the Empress has lost, it will be equivalent to saving the Dragon Kingdom and preventing it from collapsing!

In his heart, Long Yi silently apologized to the Holy Kingdom and to the people of both countries who, foreseeably, would suffer countless loss of family and homelessness in the war.

He previously rejected war because he saw no hope and believed it would be the last straw that broke the camel's back. But now, the nature of the war has changed. In Long Yi's eyes, the war has become the last straw for a drowning man!

"Your subject will certainly not fail in his mission!"

"We will surely sweep across the Holy Kingdom within a month!"

Chapter 69 The Empress (Part 2)

The capital city, Xia Mansion.

This could be described as the Minister of the Interior, second only to the emperor, at Charlotte's residence.

After the Dragon Palace's audience ended, no one dared to linger and all took their leave, pondering how to protect themselves amidst the ensuing upheaval and how to seize opportunities to reap the biggest rewards of this era.

"Father, do you think what the Empress said is true? What exactly did the Empress leave behind in the Holy Kingdom? How could it be so sudden? We haven't heard a thing!"

Once back home, Xia Tian couldn't contain himself any longer. He lacked both the status and the courage he had in the Dragon Palace, so now, filled with curiosity, he hurriedly asked his minister father a question.

As for the man opposite him, covered in a thick layer of grease, even the loosest clothes made him look fat and bulky, and his buttons were hard to fasten. Charlotte shook his head. Although his figure and appearance were not good, he narrowed his eyes and said thoughtfully:

"The Empress has no reason to lie to us. Even with Long Yi's stubborn nature, he's not someone the Empress would fabricate a reason to coax. So it's highly likely to be true. As for what the Empress lost..."

This was what truly baffled Charlotte, because even though he knew the Empress well, it was the first time he had ever heard her use the word "important" to describe something, and even add the adjective "extremely" before it.

This is...this is really weird!

It should be noted that as early as three hundred years ago, the Empress seemed to have lost interest in everything in the world. She also completely neglected the Dragon Kingdom under her rule, handing over all internal affairs to them. From then on, she began to stay in seclusion in the Imperial Palace for decades at a time. When she occasionally came out, she would just stare blankly at the sky before returning to the palace.

"I'm afraid it's an extremely powerful 'relic'?"

After thinking it over, this was the only possibility Charlotte could come up with.

After all, the Empress was once the personal guard of that "Great Emperor," and the only things that could interest and concern the Empress were the relics of that "Great Emperor."

Upon hearing his father's words, Xia Tian's small eyes immediately lit up. Although he was young, his figure had already become out of shape due to excessive drinking and eating, and it was clear that he would soon follow in his father's footsteps.

"Just how powerful must this relic be to be coveted by the Empress! Father, if we could secretly hide this 'relic' and find it in the Holy Kingdom, we could use it for ourselves."

Summer has begun to bring delusions.

After all, the reason why the Dragon Kingdom was so powerful was actually based on "relics". In the first one or two hundred years after its founding, the Empress ordered people to frantically search for the Emperor's relics, taking possession of those relics scattered all over the world and bringing them into the Dragon Kingdom.

Later, because there were many "relics" in the Dragon Kingdom, even though most people did not have the ability to use "relics", there were always one or two people with special talents who could still control relics. These people were given the method of using "relics" by the Empress and were called Relic Users.

Without exception, they were all incredibly powerful, and depending on the type of "relic," they were endowed with various supernatural abilities.

That's why Xia Tian is now fantasizing that he can obtain this powerful relic and become a relic user that even "Long Yi" can surpass.

Unfortunately, before he could finish his dream, he was slapped across the face.

Snapped!

"Father?" Xia Tian, ​​who had been slapped to the ground and was covering half of his face, looked at his father, who was like a mountain of flesh, with a wronged and confused expression.

"In the summer, you can mess with anyone in the Dragon Kingdom, but there's one person you can't mess with. Do I need to tell you who she is?"

"No, no need, Father. I dare not do it again. I will never dare to be disrespectful to Her Majesty the Empress again."

Seeing his son weeping and kowtowing in apology, Xia Luo waved his hand impatiently.

"Alright, go and organize people to continue levying more taxes, and then call for donations. As before, 70% of the nobles' money will be returned, and 30% of the commoners' money will be handed over. Forget it, let's make it 40%."

“In the Dragon Palace, Long Yi was right about one thing: our Dragon Kingdom’s great ship is indeed a bit short of water. I was worried about this before. But now it’s all right. As long as we annex the Holy Kingdom and take in its people, we won’t have to worry about the population problem for at least the next three hundred years.”

Summer listened intently, his eyes darting around. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes gleaming with greed and lust.

"Father, I've heard that the Holy Kingdom has many nuns. That's something new that our Dragon Kingdom doesn't have. We can capture a few to keep as slaves, tsk tsk."

"Yes, that's true. Even the orc slaves are getting boring, and the cat people and dog people are almost all dead. It's time to change things up and find some alternatives."

Charlotte stroked his beard. Sometimes, beastmen don't necessarily have to look different. Even if they wear human skin, their hearts may not be as good as those beastmen.

"Alright, you go ahead, I need to get ready here too."

"What does Father want?"

"Didn't you listen to the Empress's words in the Dragon Palace? If that guy Long Yi really gets the 'relic' the Empress wants in the Holy Kingdom, he'll definitely come after me first!"

"Therefore, we do need to use Long Yi to help us invade the Holy Kingdom and plunder its resources and population, but we can't let him succeed too easily. Ideally, we should ensure that he never finds it and can't bring that lost 'relic' to the Empress."

"Yes, yes, yes, as expected of Father!" Xia Tian nodded repeatedly, still feeling lingering fear as she recalled Long Yi's speech about "big cleaning".

The problem is that the Holy Kingdom's national strength is utterly insignificant compared to their Dragon Kingdom. Even though the Holy Kingdom is one of them, founded by a supreme being who was once by the Emperor's side, if that goddess dares to make a move, the Empress will certainly not sit idly by and will also take action.

Now, it is universally acknowledged that among the five supreme beings, their Empress is undoubtedly the strongest in terms of combat power, and that goddess is no match for their Empress.

From this perspective, the Holy Kingdom has absolutely no chance of winning. Even if they wanted to act as traitors and help the Holy Kingdom delay Long Yi, it would be very difficult.

In this regard.

Charlotte gave a cold laugh.

"Do you think I deliberately left those troublesome rebels around? What are they after? They've been allowed to roam around for so long; it's time they did something for us."

The center of the mainland.

Magic City.

The world's largest neutral city, regarded as a paradise by criminals and a holy land by exiles, where people can indulge any desire and satisfy all their fantasies and needs.

In the heart of Shanghai stands a magnificent spire.

Demon King Tower.

At the very top of the tower resides the master of this city of freedom and chaos, the ruler of the Demon City, Lena.

As the center of the continent, this place is a gathering place for people of all races and forces from the other four countries. Naturally, over time, it has become the largest intelligence center. The Magic City has the most powerful and extensive intelligence network that spans the entire world.

Of course.

At the top of the Demon King Tower, in the Upper Council that manages the Demon City, all the council members are present for an emergency meeting.

"The Dragon Kingdom is simply making a fool of itself! Has that Empress gone mad?!"

"Exactly, does she even know what she's doing? Declaring war? Does she intend to destroy the Holy Kingdom?"

"I told you long ago, that empress is cruel and tyrannical, autocratic and willful. Everyone in the Dragon Kingdom wishes they could overthrow her rule!" A councilor, clearly from the orc race, had bloodshot eyes that flashed with resentment.

"No! We, the Demon City, must intervene! We absolutely cannot stand idly by, otherwise this war will surely drag us into it as well. Moreover, we must not start this annexation, otherwise, if the Dragon Kingdom gets a taste of success this time, what if they continue to be greedy and make our Demon City their next target for war!"

"Reconsider!"

"Reconsider!"

In a rare instance, many members of parliament reached a consensus in the vote. However, a more serious new problem arises: how should they stop it?

Da

Da da

The crisp sound of high heels echoed from the inner corridor of the parliament, causing all the members of parliament who had been chattering and arguing about the intervention plan to stop talking. Everyone looked towards the parliament corridor with tension, anticipation, and even admiration.

That corridor that belongs exclusively to the city lord.

A graceful and slender figure, small wings flapping gently behind her back, and beautiful horns standing upright from her short pink hair. These are completely different from dragon horns; they lack that majesty and aggressiveness. The horns are curved, forming an alluring arc, just like her master.

Beneath her long, fluffy eyelashes were a pair of bright, sparkling eyes, and her rosy lips were delicate yet not thin, just right, enough to ignite an unbearable fire within anyone who saw them.

Not to mention the cute and slender flesh-colored little tail that swayed behind them, sometimes visible and sometimes hidden, with a heart-shaped hook at the end. This hook wasn't hooked in the air, but rather hooked into the hearts of all the councilors.