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

The ministers and high-ranking officials of the Dragon Kingdom, seated on either side of the long banquet table, strictly followed the hierarchical system. The lower their rank and the less power they wielded, the further back they were positioned. However, even those who were only fit to sit at the entrance of the Dragon Palace wore expressions of great honor, without the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.

Everyone's clothes and appearances are different, but the one thing they all have in common is that they all sing praises of the prosperity and strength of the Dragon Kingdom and talk about its bright future.

Above the main hall, the woman sitting on the highest dragon throne, the empress from ancient times to the present, Jiu You, seemed rather listless as to the singing and dancing below, a gathering of people.

She always seemed to be in that pose, one hand supporting her chin. Her long, fiery red hair was even more disheveled than before, hanging freely on the back of the dragon throne. Her two pairs of dragon horns were still as imposing and majestic as ever.

However, as if to change her mood, Jiu You was no longer wearing the all-black cheongsam tonight, but instead wore a red skirt that matched her hair color and had a military feel to it, with long red boots that reached her knees.

Although the red military uniform skirt covered more areas compared to the previous cheongsam, the unique tightness of the military uniform only accentuated Jiu You's proud figure, which was unique to her as a "subhuman".

The upper part of the front of the garment features a semi-enclosed, high-necked design that accentuates the white and slender neck. The tightly fitted shoulder peaks on both sides perfectly highlight Jiu You's broad shoulders at right angles. The military uniform suits the empress very well, and her simple yet handsome temperament is a perfect match.

However, moving down from the shoulders, when the gaze falls on the full, firm breasts that even the military uniform couldn't contain, almost bursting the buttons, the sense of handsomeness vanishes completely, replaced by a powerful attraction called "the opposite sex."

Especially when the waist, which is flat and even appears slender under the constraints of the military uniform, is below the breasts, the contrast between the two is even more striking, giving people a great visual impact.

The red skirt wasn't very long, only reaching slightly below the upper thigh, but it was quickly replaced by a pair of knee-high boots.

The heels of the boots clung tightly to the white, smooth thighs, creating a taut and resilient look. There wasn't an ounce of excess fat on her body, exuding a powerful beauty that perhaps only a "demi-human" could achieve.

If I had to point out a regret...

That was perhaps the scene of unparalleled beauty and grace, the empress of unparalleled elegance, yet no one in the Dragon Palace dared to glance at her, let alone admire her.

Even the most notorious and dissolute minister, Xia Luo, only dared to steal a glance at the Empress when speaking to her, before immediately looking away and respectfully lowering his head.

"Your Majesty, last night our vanguard suffered heavy losses. Not only did we lose a messenger of the relics, but the precious 'relics' were also captured by the enemy. I believe this is a serious provocation from the Holy Kingdom and we should immediately retaliate, sending reinforcements to reclaim the relics!"

"Need not."

After Jiu You spoke, before Xia Luo, who was standing there awkwardly, could say anything more, she continued to give orders:

"Long Yi, order all Lungmen troops at the front lines to halt and remain in place."

This

Despite having an advance force wiped out and losing a relic envoy, the Emperor, known for his temperament, did not fly into a rage. Instead, he adopted a more conservative strategy.

How is this going?

While Long Yi, as a general, was certainly puzzled, he was actually quite pleased to see a ceasefire.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Taking this opportunity, Long Yi immediately offered his advice again: "Your Majesty, now that the war has been stopped, may I be allowed to allocate some troops to suppress the rebels who are taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble throughout the country?"

"I also propose that, given the shortage of troops and in order to motivate the army, I hope that the slave constitution can be amended to allow some of the slave subhumans who are serving in the army to gain promotion opportunities and get rid of their slave status through military merits and outstanding performance. Once this system is implemented, I believe it will definitely greatly increase the strength of the Lungmen Army, and those rebels will collapse on their own!"

No sooner had Long Yi finished speaking than Xia Luo's rebuttal rang out from the side.

"Nonsense! How can we change our strategy at such a critical moment? It involves the constitution of the nation. What if we fail? Can you bear that responsibility? I will never agree to this."

“Minister Charlotte’s concerns are indeed valid. In that case, we can start by implementing a pilot program.”

"Pilot program? Where would you like to implement it?"

"The Capital of Seals".

Upon hearing this name, Xia Luo's expression darkened considerably. The reason was simple: the Sealed Capital was one of the top cities in the entire Dragon Kingdom, and due to its unique nature, it was an excellent place to amass wealth.

Half of Charlotte's private treasury came from the officials he supported in the sealed capital, who "paid tribute" to him. For this, he even sent his family's direct descendants there to keep an eye on things.

Now that Long Yi is going to touch his source of wealth, Xia Luo is naturally not happy.

But Long Yi seemed determined to win, and he came prepared.

He gave his subordinate a wink, and immediately murmurs of dissent arose from the entrance of the Dragon Palace, as several demi-humans followed the Dragon Gate Army into the palace.

"Your Majesty, they have all followed me in battle for many years, accumulating numerous merits and proving themselves valiant and trustworthy. However, due to their status as slaves, they have been unable to fully utilize their talents for the Dragon Kingdom. I believe that Your Majesty can relinquish the amnesty today, starting from the sealed capital at the border between North and South, and gradually lift the restrictions on the subhuman race, treating them as citizens rather than slaves. I believe that from this point on, the Dragon Kingdom will be completely transformed and become a truly powerful nation!"

As he spoke, the demi-humans that Long Yi brought also knelt on one knee in the Dragon Palace. Then they began to take out their weapons and start fighting each other, showing off their martial arts skills in front of the Empress. This was all arranged by Long Yi.

In this scene, Charlotte's eyes grew increasingly dark.

With "their" help, the Empress indeed rarely appeared after the successful revision of the classics three hundred years ago. She remained in seclusion, oblivious to worldly affairs, which allowed him to gradually take control of the Dragon Kingdom as agreed.

Now that the Empress has unexpectedly emerged from seclusion again, if Long Yi seizes the opportunity and slanders her, causing her to change her mind, then all the situation he has painstakingly built up over the past hundred years will be ruined!

When the time comes, the first ones to come knocking won't be Long Yi, nor the Empress, but "them"!

No!

Charlotte must not let this happen.

Originally, we planned to save that trump card for later, but now it seems we have no choice but to use it.

Charlotte's cold gaze drifted to the few demi-human soldiers who had been brought before the Empress by Long Yi, who were trying to win her back and show themselves.

One of them, a lizard-like demi-human, was one of the few remaining dragon-like demi-humans in the world after the compilation of the scriptures three hundred years ago, except for the Empress. Only the term "lizard race" remained. This lizard-like demi-human trembled slightly upon meeting Charlotte's gaze; he understood the meaning of that look.

The lizard race demi-humans, who were originally exchanging blows, suddenly turned their swords and, before their comrades could react, launched a sudden attack. The new sword was aimed at the Empress in the Dragon Palace.

"what!"

This scene truly shocked everyone; in fact, even Charlotte was stunned.

That lizard-like demi-human was a hidden pawn he had planted by Long Yi for many years through special means, just in case of an emergency like today.

Charlotte's original plan was to have the lizard race demi-humans suddenly attack and injure people in the main hall, killing several ministers and officials in front of the Empress. In this way, not only would Long Yi's remonstrance become a laughing stock, but he could also continue to fulfill his promise to "them," ensuring that the demi-human race would never have a chance to rise again.

Possible

What's going on?!

Who the hell sent you to assassinate the Empress?!

In an instant, Xia Luo felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave. He knew that something was wrong.

On the other side, the first to react was Long Yi. Although the general's face was filled with disbelief at being betrayed by his confidant, his actions were not slow. In a flash, before the lizardman could rush to the dragon throne, Long Yi's burly body blocked his way and then delivered a punch.

boom!

The lizard-like demi-human couldn't even touch the hem of the empress's skirt before being sent flying backward.

"Dare to assassinate the Emperor? Die!"

Blinded by rage, Long Yi made a clenched fist in the air, and a black sword appeared out of thin air. Only a "relic" could do such a thing. He roared and was about to stab the rebellious demi-human to death with the sword. At this moment, Xia Luo, who was behind him, also stood on Long Yi's side for the first time. He shouted frantically in his heart, "Kill him! Kill this demi-human quickly!"

Unfortunately

An immense pressure emanated from the dragon throne, and Long Yi—no, everyone in the hall—found that their bodies were completely immobilized under this pressure.

Only two of them were still able to move within the Dragon Palace.

One is the empress who descended step by step from the dragon throne.

Secondly

The lizard-like demi-human who wanted to assassinate the Empress.

Deep down, the lizard race knew this was impossible. He was just angry, swayed by a momentary emotion. He hated the empress, just like all the other demi-humans, who turned a blind eye to the state of the Dragon Kingdom and even sided with humans to harm her own people!

"Long Yi, give me your sword."

In fact, as Jiu You was saying this, she had already beckoned and taken Long Yi's sword. After that, everyone thought that this tyrannical empress was going to personally kill the assassin, but the next scene surprised them greatly.

Then, Jiuyou threw Longyi's powerful "relic" to the lizard-like demi-human on the opposite side of the ground.

And then.

Jiuyou also took out a sword, an ordinary iron sword taken from the Longmen Army.

"Show me your determination."

After a few simple words, Jiu You, dressed in a red military uniform and skirt, took the lead in assuming a serious fighting stance. She did not use any powerful authority, nor did she unleash any of her enhanced skills. Even her aura was erased by the lizard race demi-human.

Roar!

Under this influence, the lizard-man forgot his fear of the Empress and regarded the dragon girl opposite him as his enemy. He struggled to grasp the sword that was Long Yi's "relic" and then rushed towards the dragon girl holding the sword.

boom!

As expected, even with an iron sword in hand and without using any of the power of the Chaos, Jiu You, relying solely on her swordsmanship, sent the lizard race demi-human flying, sword and all, without even needing five moves.

This is not the end.

It should be said that it was the beginning.

"Get up and fight." These were the only four words Jiuyou uttered to the fallen demi-human.

These four

The four words that left the deepest impression on her memory.

Roar!

The lizard-like demi-human charged forward once again, wielding the "relic," but this time it was even more miserable than before. He was sent flying in less than three moves, and this time, Jiu You's sword left a deep sword wound on his body, leaving him covered in blood.

"Arise, fight!"

boom!

"Arise, fight!"

boom!

In the eyes of those civil officials and outsiders, it was as if the Empress was humiliating and abusing the clearly exhausted lizardman by making him fight time and time again.

However, the real military officer, Long Yi, remained silent and utterly silent in the face of this scene.

Because he knew that the Empress had no intention of humiliating him in the slightest. Facing every attack from the lizardman demi-human, even when the opponent was swaying and could no longer hold his sword steadily, the Empress remained consistent, maintaining the most standard fighting posture and taking every duel extremely seriously.

That's why Long Yi couldn't understand why the Empress would do this.

indeed.

Perhaps only Jiu You knows the reason.

After all, in her eyes at this moment, the weak demi-human opposite her was no longer a lizard, but herself, the her from before.

Since it's a similar scene.

The person who once held her position, the person who constantly uttered those cold and stern words, "Arise, fight!" to her, was...

"Rise, fight." The person, who was completely shrouded in an ember cloak, threw his sword to the dragon girl demi-human below the lair, who wore a slave collar and was covered in wounds.

Despite the exhaustion and pain coursing through her body, Jiu You gripped the sword hilt once more, resuming her mission as her master, who had bought her from the "slave arena."