Four-Armed Divine Emperor

Chapter 264

Etiquette", this is one of the few marks left by his past.

Aisha handed her father intelligence from the south.

The power of psychic energy is now so strong that if the world of El is a subspace, then this light called "El" can definitely carve out a large territory in it. In fact, El does not need to "read" at all.

He could even learn all the contents of this information through "precognition" or psychic reading before it was quickly delivered to Karvik through various channels.

But he still felt that he was still a human being and should act like one. Throwing silver parties for fun was one thing; in many aspects, Al still deliberately maintained his past habits as a mortal.

For example, you need to turn the pages of a book one by one, eat every day to satisfy your appetite, and take a nap occasionally to replenish your energy...

He took out the letter, which was not long, and read it in two glances. Then he crumpled it up and threw it away.

"Well, since you're not dead, let's start Plan B."

This letter actually only has one thing to say:

The assassination attempt failed, and the target was injured but not killed.

As for the target of assassination, it is the current emperor of the southern fire-worshipping Alan Empire, the king of kings, Shafasha, the most holy and supreme one...Artasis IX.

The fierce war between the northern provinces and the center of the empire has stopped for some time. Due to the military defeat, the Iskhan Palace had to conduct private negotiations with the north. The north (Rome) announced that it would invite Prince Ahmed out and support him to ascend the throne of the king of kings, and directly launch a claimant war against the throne of Artasis.

This touched the bottom line of the throne and was bound to plunge the empire into chaos.

If the rebellion cannot be suppressed in the short term, people's hearts will become unstable, and ambitious and powerful people will question and covet the authority of the central government. At that time, there will undoubtedly be chaos in the world. As someone who is determined to be a "hero who governs the world", Artasis absolutely cannot accept such a situation.

However, the military failure caused the throne to lose the confidence and perseverance to resolve this sudden rebellion through direct military means in a short period of time. So after communication, a basic peace treaty was reached.

The north changed its flag again and "obeyed" the center, and could no longer use the banner of Artasis IX's parricide to seize the throne. It was not allowed to advance into other imperial territories in the current controlled area; and the Iskhanfa would not "pursue" the "treason" of the northern provinces and recognized the other party's special autonomy.

The emperor who compromised with the rebels was furious, but he could do nothing about it. He did not like that his reign began with the loss of authority due to the failure of foreign wars and the failure to suppress rebellions. In the turmoil of the divided empire, even though he knew that making peace with the rebels was drinking poison to quench thirst, the emperor who was determined to reform the government step by step through his own efforts still felt that the problems in the north were not particularly serious and could be suppressed for the time being.

Chapter 127: Ardabil (52)

129: The Order of Chaos

As long as his efforts in Iskhanda are successful and effective.

Political struggles, civil service, military system...all kinds of things.

At that time, he would appoint capable generals to lead the elite troops north, and he would coordinate and dispatch them in Iskhanfa, and the rebellion would be put down successfully.

The reformed empire will be full of powerful vitality, expelling the filth and disease in its body, and will only be able to deal with the mere rebellion.

But the premise of all this is that Artasis IX has enough time and energy to implement his grand reform plan.

The Zoroastrian Alan Empire was a huge but bloated empire, a "clay-footed giant".

Those Westerners who have seen this place have said with both sarcasm and envy:

After the Great's Eastern Expedition, the empire established by the Zoroastrians had already died. What remained to this day was only the remains of the First Empire (referring to the end of the Age of the Witch Kings to the early days of the Zoroastrians). However, it was too huge, just like the legendary sky beast "Leviathan", which, even after death, still moved by inertia. No mortal could stop it except the might of nature.

It is both a satire on the weakness of the Zoroastrians and an envy of their rich heritage.

What Artasis IX pursued was to make good use of this "legacy", not to mention carrying it forward, but at least to prevent it from being wasted. His time can be long or short, but the Zoroastrians, with their tradition of fire sacrifice and human sacrifice and cruel internal consumption, were not a civilization that was taboo about life and death.

Everyone will die one day, and accidents can happen at any time.

Shafasha, who possesses the highest authority in the mortal realm of this world and has enjoyed a luxury that countless people would not even be able to witness in their lifetime, pursues to have his name and career engraved in history, and to be passed down and inherited from generation to generation in the vein of civilization.

In that way, even if he died young like Emperor Ashtar, he would have achieved "eternal life" in an alternative way by relying on hundreds of millions of Zoroastrians.

After ascending the throne, Artasis was already prepared for death at any time. There was nothing to be afraid of. If there was anything to fear, the thing he feared most was to sit on the throne like his brother and father, indulge in enjoyment - and then die in a daze. He might even be drinking and singing happily the moment before, surrounded by dignitaries, ministers, and eunuchs, holding the power of the empire.

The next moment he was "drunk to death" and fell into an eternal sleep. Apart from the way of death and the absurdity of it, there was nothing to be praised. Soon, only a string of titles in the royal family genealogy remained.

Chapter 265

The genealogy indicates that it is a trivial thing; it becomes a few pages in the pens of writers and the protagonist of some urban rumors.

Even when he was about to die, he was killed by concubines and slaves; he was put in a bag and beaten to death by the imperial guards on the pretext that "the emperor cannot bleed"...

They must leave this world only after they have achieved great achievements, become the master of innovation, and become a wise king praised by the world and all nations!

Even if he were to endure the most cruel torture in the world, Artasis would be able to think in the midst of pain:

The achievements I have made are enough to be remembered by future generations.

And he went to die with a sense of honor.

The rebellion in the northern province was not a very important matter in Shafasha's eyes.

What is more important is the very terrifying "conspiracy force" that is still hidden behind the rebellion.

From Shafasha's perspective, the struggle between the imperial center and the rebellious north was nothing more than a game between Iskhanfar and the conspiracy group, but the latter was already a little ahead because they did not clearly expose themselves and the north was their "agent".

The military failure only strengthened Shafasha's determination to "reform the empire's corrupt politics", but it was not yet the time when the empire was about to collapse and the fire spread across the prairie.

He was willing to negotiate with the rebels, firstly because there was no possibility of quickly resolving the rebellion in the short term due to military disrespect. Not to mention that the north was mountainous and easy to defend but difficult to attack, and there was also the "Cerso Roman State" that they had already controlled. As a poor demon land, Cerso gave the rebels great support in strategic depth, so it was impossible to win quickly.

Once the rebels really brought out the captured Prince Ahmed, stripped him of his clothes and anointed him with oil, held a coronation ceremony for him through the Road of Ashes, and supported the prince to "ascend the throne", formally challenging the throne of Iskhanfa, the first thing would be the great damage to the empire's authority and a sharp drop in stability.

This also meant that the struggle between the north and the south was doomed to be a life-and-death struggle. Either the northern rebels would succeed in taking over the Iskhanids, or Artasis would suppress the rebellion with swift force and blood, and kill them ruthlessly.

The emperor is unwilling to pay the price for that, at least for now. Although he still has a greater chance of winning, there will be no benefits, and it will greatly delay his plan and destabilize the country. What good will it do even if he wins?

So he was willing to negotiate with the invaders temporarily, and believed that he had made great concessions. At the same time, there was another key point:

Artasis firmly believed that a vast conspiracy group was lurking behind the rebellion in the north. He had not yet caught the exact identity of the conspiracy, but he could only conclude that they must have deep connections with the exiled nobles who participated in the rebellion, and he was therefore following this clue to arrest and investigate them.

The North is just a puppet they pushed forward. Even if he wipes it out, this conspiracy group will only lose a force that they have been planning for a long time. They can still plan other conspiracies and make other plans for the throne.

And Shafasa intended to catch these conspirators by the tail. The best choice was naturally to give them a seemingly stable territory. The North was autonomous in name but separatist in reality. Shafasa did not believe that the rebels could keep their connection with the North secret. As long as he investigated long enough and hard enough, he would catch these people sooner or later.

At that time, it would not be too late to uproot them and destroy them all with the force of thunder.

So in Shafasa's view, his concession not only showed his "sincerity" in wanting to cease fire, but also allowed him to slowly investigate and find out who was behind the rebellion.

But unfortunately...

Artasis IX had a good idea, and it was indeed correct from a normal logical analysis.

But unfortunately, this matter itself was "abnormal" from the very beginning.

Al doesn't care what the King of Kings of the Alan Empire thinks. He just wants chaos in the south.

As for the emperor who is quite skillful, the key is not whether he has skill or not.

Whether Artasis was a wise ruler or a foolish one, his survival was beneficial to Ai'er, and Ai'er hoped that he could live. It would be even more useful if he died and was assassinated in public...

Naturally, the Four-Armed Ones will work hard for this.

During this period of time, which was not even a chance for mortals to "rest and recuperate", Ai'er's descendants had already begun a large-scale infiltration work in all social classes of the Alan Empire.

Assassinate Artasis IX, it doesn't matter whether he dies or not.

It's just a signal.

The King of Kings, Shafasha, the Gift of Light and Fire...was stabbed and seriously injured in public, and the news would spread throughout the Alan Empire and its surrounding areas at an extremely fast speed.

Those warlords who commanded their own armies, those governors who ruled over one side, those Pashas, ​​Sultans, and Viziers who were of noble birth and held great power...

What will happen?

Please take a day.

rt

One more day, make up tomorrow

rt

130: The Rebirth of the Empire

Over time, Ai'er's descendants have gained considerable influence in all aspects of the Alan Empire with their superhuman talents and abilities.

Those who climbed the highest even became trusted servants of the Grand Vizier who could enter and leave the palace, and some even successfully obtained positions and military power under the governors and warlords who ruled a certain area.

Their slight joint effort seemed on the surface to be just a small move by local powerful groups to test the central authority, but it "happened" to be done at the same time, or perhaps they all felt that this was a good time.

As long as Yi

Chapter 266

If the Shahanfa Center makes a slight mistake in its response, this will be a major event involving hundreds of millions of people. Even the top decision-makers, the ruler of the Throne of Light, Shafasha of the Alan Empire, Artasis IX, will have to face hundreds of choices. Not only can he not reload the game and start over, he cannot even make a "wrong step."

Otherwise, there may be a chain reaction that leads to chaos.

The world is in chaos.

It’s not like it hasn’t happened before.

Everyone knows what to do.

It's nothing more than a struggle for power, building high walls and storing up food to slowly claim the throne, warlords vying for supremacy, whoever first enters the Iskandarian law becomes the king (not necessarily), and so on and so forth...

After all, the Zoroastrian civilization has been passed down for thousands of years. With the existence of extraordinary people, even before the establishment of the White Tower order, things like peasant uprisings and barbarian invasions were unlikely to happen, and there was very little bottom-up unrest.

But also because of the existence of supernatural powers, the resources available, and the powerful people who employ spellcasters, it is easier for the ruling class to "change" the country "from top to bottom" and "from the inside out."

Perhaps a local noble had the good fortune to meet and then recruit a magician who was a guardian of the country, or even a spellcaster who was stronger than the other party. Then, even if his territory was poor and his power was not outstanding in the past, he would immediately have the possibility of vying for the throne or seeking great power.

Not all mages are seekers of knowledge; they also have worldly desires and needs. However, the extraordinary people who are willing to serve the mortal dignitaries in exchange for treatment are not bloodthirsty war hounds who can be summoned and dismissed at will.

simply put:

They will not fight to the death in a battle with little hope.

Moreover, the more chaotic the situation in a place is, the more important the status of the mage will be, but he himself is still slightly vulnerable compared to the cold war machine and the endless tricks and schemes. Even a seventh-ring mage who has officially entered the extraordinary realm is not immune to the possibility of being assassinated by mortals.

Therefore, spellcasters tend to avoid areas where fighting is ongoing or where there are signs of impending chaos.

They accept offerings and employment from mortals for enjoyment or academic study, or both. They don't really want to fight like beasts in mortal war games, and the White Tower doesn't encourage this. Their purpose in training mages, at least on the surface, seems to be to restrain magic from being abused, and to systematically train up-and-coming mages, not to let them get overly involved in worldly disputes.

Once the center of the Iskhanfa Empire represented by Artasis IX was unable to control the situation, the situation became volatile, the ambitious people, warlords, and princes came and went, and the Zoroastrian Empire began to split. Then the prosperous and glorious palace of the King of Kings was no longer regarded as a suitable "place" by the extraordinary people.

Chapter 127: Ardabil (53)

When the edifice is about to collapse, it is conceivable that those in power, whether the emperor or the grand vizier, as long as they are the biggest vested interests of the old order, will definitely try every means to maintain and continue it.

Eliminating opponents through physical means is undoubtedly the best way.

From top to bottom, no matter it is the King of Kings trying to keep the throne, or the ambitious challengers, warlords, and governors, they will try to recruit and control more mages to join their own ranks and stand in their own camp. They may not have more than others, but they definitely cannot have less than others. Not stronger, but at least not weak. Otherwise, the first to be eliminated will be those forces with insufficient "magic content".

And the mage is neither a mortal nor a fool.

They are guests of honor in the Alan Empire, so does that mean they are not honored if they go to the prosperous realm?

It has a golden signboard wherever it goes, and the treatment is only measured by whether it is enough, not whether it is good or not.

Extraordinary people do not travel far like ordinary people. If the lower class is born in a small town or village, they may never leave the area within a hundred miles of their birthplace throughout their entire life.

Even if mages are traveling alone, natural disasters and wild beasts may be more troublesome than bandits.

Failed expeditions, local rebellions, the assassination of the emperor... the central authority is no longer there. For ambitious people, it is the cusp of realizing their ambitions, but for mages, to put it more humblely - just like mice and ants, who are sensitive to some natural phenomena, such as earthquakes and rainstorms, and will prepare in advance.

They should be moistened.

The Alan Empire is the only empire on the Tartarus continent and theoretically has the longest uninterrupted inheritance. Its size is so huge that even if it is broken into pieces, a single country would not be considered small if placed in other places.

Perhaps after being tied up, its strength would be even stronger than before. If it were not for its long heritage, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage to be proud of, many remnants left over from ancient times, such as slavery and brutal internal strife, have been plaguing this ancient empire. In addition, the Ashtar Empire was short-lived, and after two wars, the center of civilization gradually shifted to the belly of Tartarus. If Alan had gradually fallen behind and become a lame empire, it might have launched a large-scale westward expedition and spread fear to Westerners, just like the countless times in history when the Zoroastrians carried the sun flag and attacked everywhere.

If such a large empire fell into civil strife and division.

There is no telling how many "conflicts" will occur among tens of thousands of people. One person will take the stage and the other will come on stage. If the killing is really urgent, those ant-like mortal soldiers may not be able to care about the noble Saint Wizard in front of them and must not be harmed and must be "respectfully invited".

Rebels

Chapter 267

The emperor was struck in the back by a blade, and the king of kings fell on his throne of light. Such things happened frequently in the Zoroastrian civilization. Moreover, if one really wanted to talk about status and position, there would be no "ordinary person" who was as noble as the emperor unless he had truly extraordinary status and position.

For the mages, it was undoubtedly a matter of seconds for the peaceful main city to turn into a medium-risk war zone.

Most mages would definitely choose to protect themselves and run away when faced with such a situation, because once a war breaks out, even if they are extraordinary beings who are determined to stay out of it, they may be swept into the storm at any time. After all, there have been cases of "great mages" who have reached the seventh environment realm falling in legendary battles. Even these arcane masters with extraordinary physical bodies cannot avoid being involved in wars, let alone the 99.9% of mages who cannot reach this level?

But there will still be some people who want to get involved in the war between mortals for various purposes.