Doctor, I'm really strong!

Soon, some of the land-based ships caught fire, followed by huge explosions. It was the Ukrainian army, seeing that they could not hold out, that detonated the ammunition depots on the land-based ships, which also marked the fall of one of the land-based ships.

Destroying or being captured, the outcome is the same in this environment: failure.

Just then, Liu Jiuli's voice rang out on the Ursus army's communication links and broadcasts.

"Ursus soldiers of the Fourth Legion, your General Vasily has been captured. Only three landships remain capable of resistance. Lay down your weapons and surrender. We, the Red Guards, guarantee to treat prisoners of war well. I repeat, Ursus soldiers of the Fourth Legion..."

In reality, half of the land-based ships are still resisting, but due to the obstruction caused by the moving city blocks, each land-based ship can only see the situation of three nearby land-based ships. At least two of them have already been suppressed or self-destructed. Furthermore, the commander has been captured, and the morale of the entire army has begun to plummet.

Of course, even so, some people still put up a stubborn resistance. However, the core city of Chernobog had already moved nearby and began to take charge of the landships that were still resisting.

There's no need to completely destroy it; if even one heavy shell lands nearby or on a landship, the soldiers will quickly cease resistance.

The enemy first used our communication channels to broadcast a message, followed by heavy artillery bombardment, indicating that they had already secured victory and there was no hope of continuing the fight; it was time to surrender.

The Ukrainian army, which fought fiercely, surrendered just as quickly. After all, they lacked the determination and courage to fight to the death. Even for elite troops, soldiers were just a job to make a living for most Ussus people; they were not the Soviet Red Army.

As the gunfire gradually subsided, the Red Guard soldiers cheered with shouts of "Hurrah!" in celebration of their glorious victory.

It was indeed a glorious, even unimaginable, victory. Normally, the Red Guards would be the ones being chased and beaten like stray dogs, but now they had completely annihilated the Fourth Army Corps. If this is a dream, I hope this dream will never end.

"This is an unexpected yet reasonable victory."

The political commissar who spoke was actually one of the Black Serpent's clones, but he had now become a warrior with unwavering faith. He felt no guilt about raising the banner of rebellion against the Ursus Empire and even felt that it was the right thing to do.

"It seems you agree with that, Knight Constantine."

Talulah, the black snake, came to the side of the black snake clone. She was even more excited about the victory than Liu Jiuli himself.

Constantine the Black Serpent glanced at Talulah the Black Serpent and said calmly, "First, please call me Lord Comrade. Second, I am no longer a knight. Finally, I am now Constantine, the political commissar of the First Division of the First Army of the Red Guards."

“Okay, Commissar Constantine, it seems we have no disagreement on this issue.”

Constantine shook his head: "No, what you pursue and what I believe in are completely different. We are the Black Serpent, but we are not the Black Serpent. We are one, but we are completely different."

Talulah the Black Serpent laughed and said, "It's alright, as long as we share the same goal, I don't care about these things."

The Red Guards won the victory, but anyone with a basic understanding of politics knows that the biggest test is yet to come: the political maneuvering following the war will determine the future direction of the Red Guards.

Section 83: The Black Serpent's Strategy

"Oh dear, this is really, really... troublesome."

Black Snake Koschie paced back and forth in his study, head bowed.

He received news of the Fourth Legion's defeat immediately. For him, any failure or success was acceptable, as it was an important part of Ursus's training. However, he couldn't only consider the issue of success or failure, because there were still follow-ups to deal with.

One can imagine that the one in St. Martial Castle will be feigning fury while secretly laughing at himself for handing over such a huge handle to him. He will definitely seize the opportunity to weaken the power of the vassal states. If he can't even grasp such an obvious opportunity, then he is not a qualified emperor of Ursus.

If he knew how to operate more skillfully, and used this opportunity to weaken all the nobles of Ursus in the Far East while ensuring they wouldn't dare to rebel, then he would be a great Tsar who could get full marks in politics.

Unfortunately, the current Tsar does not possess such ability and resolve. At most, he can only take action against those involved. Given his indecisive nature, can we guarantee that he will not take drastic measures and then simply let things go?

"Hopefully, our Seventh Prince can step up his game a little."

Black Serpent Kosicher returned to his seat; he would be a little busy dealing with matters concerning the Fourth Legion.

Meanwhile, in the distant St. Glory Castle, the Black Serpent Gregory is teaching Nicholas Caesar Ursus, the seventh prince of the current Ursus Emperor. Gregory's main job is to tutor this prince, helping this talented young man grow into a new Tsar who fits the aesthetic standards of the Black Serpent Emperor's school.

Nikolai is of mixed race. His mother was from the Victorian royal family, and his father was the emperor of the Ursus Empire. From the perspective of bloodline, he was undoubtedly a symbol of nobility. Unfortunately, he was not very lucky. His mother died when he was three years old. After that, his father married a princess from the Letania royal family. Although he was the seventh prince, his right to succession was very high.

The reason is simple: the eldest prince was born prematurely, the second prince died shortly after birth, the third prince died, the fourth prince died, the fifth prince died, and the sixth prince died. His mother gave birth to a total of seven children, and he was the only normal one. If nothing unexpected happens, the throne will definitely be his. Even if something unexpected happens, given his eldest brother's health condition, it will probably be his in a few years.

As a member of an imperial family, Nicholas was incredibly lucky (he was a jinx). His father, having lost five sons in succession, including a cripple as his eldest, doted on his youngest son. He taught him to ride horses and hunt when he was three, and to tear tigers and leopards apart when he was five. By the age of seven, Nicholas dared to personally execute more than a dozen death row inmates with a dagger without batting an eye. By the age of ten, he dared to torture and kill servants who defied his will.

Wait, wait, you call this spoiling? What kind of ridiculous rumor is this?!

Yes, that's how the Ursus people spoil their children, especially the Tsar's sons. They must be brave, strong, and ruthless. The Tsar would rather his son kill him and take the throne than have a weak heir.

Under his father's tireless guidance, Nikolai's character can be described as exceptional.

Which Xin level are you asking about?

Of course, it's Auschwitz-level.

To ordinary people, this personality is absolutely terrible; even the King of Hell would say, "I'm not as good as you, the living King of Hell."

However, in Black Serpent's view, such a successor is absolutely perfect. I wouldn't watch this year's "Touching Ursus" without him. More importantly, the Ursus Emperor himself thinks so, and even the Ursus people in the palace think so. And they think so not because the Ursus Emperor requires them to think so, but voluntarily.

What Stockholm Syndrome? This is insane!

No, no, no, this is the Ursus mindset. They can accept a brutal, bloodthirsty, war-mongering Tsar ruling the world, but people like Zhao Gou are absolutely unacceptable. Even if they ascend the throne, they will be killed by their own people. The Tsar can be killed, but he must never be weak, whether internally or externally. Once you become the emperor of Ursus, even if you die, you must die standing.

Some old men who can't control their sphincter muscles can't get by in Ursus at all. The person was on stage yesterday, and the body was cremated last night. Everyone was laughing happily, but the guests at the funeral all cast contemptuous glances at the ashes.

He's just an eighty-year-old kid, do you have to be so cruel?

Nikolai did not disappoint them, especially after he met his teacher Gregory. It was as if a circuit of awakening had been suddenly opened, and he began to speed along the path to becoming the perfect Tsar. Now he could no longer see the cruelty of his childhood, but beneath that friendly smile, there was always the possibility of a raging storm. This ability to manage his expressions gave him another characteristic of the Tsar—cunning cruelty.

Cruel and cunning, cunning and cruel, I get it, Ursus all believe in Mao! (Outrageous statement)

Today, as usual, Nikolai was receiving earnest instruction from his teacher Gregory when suddenly a pigeon flew in and landed on Gregory's shoulder.

Gregory patted the pigeon, and it flew away. Nothing seemed amiss, but with that simple action, Gregory had already read the information the black snake had attached to the pigeon—a special intelligence carrier that only black snakes could communicate with each other.

These beings, resembling ancient Terran deities, can easily manipulate Originium and weave Originium Arts into forms incomprehensible to others. Just as humans cannot look directly at the Old Gods, they use this method to make it impossible for others to understand what they are doing, making them incredibly mysterious.

Nicholas was unaware of these things, and naturally, he didn't know what his teacher was doing. But at that moment, Gregory spoke up and asked, "Your Highness, what do you think should be done with the traitors of the Empire?"

Nicholas, who was flipping through the book "The Divinity of the Monarchy," looked up and said very casually, "Traitors must be executed. The dignity of the Empire will not tolerate any provocation."

Gregory nodded: "Your Highness is right. So do you think a group of infected and rebels could threaten the Empire on the icy plains of the Far East?"

Nikolai laughed out loud: "Teacher, is this a lame joke you use to relax?"

Gregory smiled, but still asked, "If that were to happen, what would you do?"

Nicholas fell into deep thought, and after a moment he said, "The fact that their leader can threaten the Empire's rule in such a place shows that he is very talented. If I were the Tsar, I would allow him to atone for the Empire's sins with the loyalty of the rest of his life. But before that, I would make him realize with despair that the Empire's dignity cannot be trampled on by the lowly."

Gregory nodded; the seventh prince's answer was exactly what he had been hoping for.

But at that moment, Nikolai suddenly changed the subject: "Speaking of which, the teacher mentioned the infected earlier, right? Regarding the infected, how do you think they should contribute to the Empire?"

Section 84: Both Gay and Corrupt

Faced with the seventh prince's question, Gregory answered without hesitation: "Your Highness, the country is a machine, and to run a machine, you need fuel."

The Seventh Prince nodded: "Our teacher believes that the infected are fuel and can contribute to the empire through self-sacrifice."

Gregory smiled and nodded: "That's right. Did they have any other choice?"

Seventh Prince: "If we disregard the nature of the issue, resistance is also an option."

Gregory shook his head and said, "Such a choice is meaningless; it's just destruction and venting."

Seventh Prince: "Yes, but this kind of venting is also one of their choices. People also have self-destructive tendencies. It is difficult to accomplish something, but it is easy to ruin something."

Gregory bowed slightly: "That depends on Your Highness's methods. I think such an opportunity will come soon."

The seventh prince smiled and continued to focus his attention on the book in his hands.

In the courtyard, birds sang melodiously; everything was wonderful.

Chernobog, the Red Guards are cleaning up the battlefield.

The joy of victory filled every corner of the land, except for the Red Guards, who faced an even more severe situation.

In some ways, winning is more troublesome than losing.

Talulah the Black Serpent stated bluntly, "The Empire will not let this go."

"So we had no choice but to let them sue for peace on their own."

Liu Jiuli unfolded the map and immediately focused his attention on the nearest mobile city, which was also the largest agricultural city in the southern part of the Ursus Empire—Kiev.

This is a gay and decadent city full of Aruba.

Just kidding, but this city is indeed very important. It is located in the south and produces the most scarce grain in the Ursus Empire. If we take it, the Ursus Empire will be furious.

Talulah the Black Serpent cautioned, "Although Kyiv is an agricultural city, I do not recommend that you attack it."

Man is made of iron, food is made of steel; you'll get hungry if you skip a meal. Kiev is the lifeblood of Ursus, and an important agricultural city near St. Arthur's Castle. The nobles there eat grain and meat produced in Kiev. If anything happens to Kiev, the Ursus Empire will definitely come to fight them.

Liu Jiuli smiled slightly: "I have a way to make them afraid to fight desperately. In the name of the Red Guards, I will issue a notice to the entire Ursus region that the Red Guards will launch a full-scale attack on Kiev in 24 hours. Kiev is urged to recognize the situation and evacuate civilians. This notice is not a joke, and all parties should take it seriously."

Talulah, the Black Serpent, was stunned: "Continuing a full-scale attack for 24 hours straight? You've lost your mind... Wait, you're not going to do it yourself, are you?!"

Within 24 hours, Liu Jiuli is the only member of the Red Guards capable of launching a full-scale attack on Kiev.

One person destroying a mobile city—that's a powerful deterrent.

Is there a problem?

Now is the perfect time for Liu Jiuli to make his move. The Red Guards have demonstrated their strength through concrete actions, and Liu Jiuli has then overturned the table and slammed his trump card onto the table, possessing both conventional military power and strategic deterrence. The Ursus Empire, in its anger and frustration, must reconsider the risks of taking action against the Red Guards.

This is the effect of nuclear deterrence.

It would be extremely difficult for Liu Jiuli to single-handedly destroy the entire Ursus Empire, but if such destruction were to become a Damocles' sword that might fall, then he could obtain what he wanted at the negotiating table.

The most threatening nuclear weapon is always the one placed on a missile launcher.

The announcement was issued quickly and spread rapidly, with Kyiv being the first city to receive the intelligence.

"Red Guards? What are these Red Guards?"

"I don't know, but wasn't Chernobog controlled by a group of terrorists? It's probably that group."

"Is today April Fool's Day? To actually make a joke like this, it's really something."

"Maybe today will become the new April Fool's Day."

"Hahahaha, that's hilarious."

Nobody believed it. From the governor to the citizens of Kyiv, not a single person believed it. Counting the time, 24 hours, very good, very good. We've got the joke for tonight's dinner.

At this time, Saint-Germain also received news that the Fourth Army had been completely annihilated, which enraged the Tsar.

"More than 20,000 people, that's a full 20,000 people! Even if it were 20,000 pigs, those lowly commoners could hold them for half a month. Yet the Fourth Legion sent them all away in a single day. What a disgrace! This is an immense disgrace! A disgrace to the entire Ursus Empire!"

The ministers, who were urgently summoned to the palace, looked at each other in disbelief. Their first reaction was, "How is this possible?" But the Red Guards had already read out the list of captured personnel on the radio. If the Fourth Army hadn't lost, where did they get the list from? As long as the Fourth Army issued a statement, this clownish performance would fall apart on its own.

The problem is that we can't contact the Fourth Army. Could it be that...?

No, impossible! The Fourth Legion is invincible. It's impossible for them to be defeated by a bunch of lowly people. Absolutely impossible!