I'm in Terra

Fortunately, the soldiers did not disappoint his expectations. After this battle, the name of the Sixth Army will once again appear at the center of imperial power, and he will face greater challenges.

Suppress the civil strife, eliminate dissidents, step by step reach the dream position, and then lead this broken empire to greatness again.

"Ursus has fallen behind, and we don't have much time to rejoice over this small achievement." After calmly drinking the steaming hot milk tea, Victoria put on his coat and woke up Mudstone who was dozing on the sofa.

"Let's go out of the city and meet our warriors."

Luxembourg is destined to be sleepless tonight.

The next morning, a war report was delivered to the gate of Saint Jun Castle through the army's special line. Congress was discussing the recent revenge of Yan Country.

The shadow of war failure was gradually gathering, and the atmosphere in Congress was becoming increasingly serious.

"In recent days, approximately four small and medium-sized towns in the southern part of the empire have been attacked by Yan Nation troops. Countless residents have been killed or wounded, and the garrisons have been completely wiped out. One lord committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and the other three are already on their way to Saint Jun Castle."

Cherwen adjusted his glasses for show, chuckling inwardly, "They were completely defeated? What about the enemy's losses?"

The signalman glanced at the battle report in his hand, his face somewhat grim: "Far lower than the defenders..."

The moment these words were spoken, the parliament instantly gasped. Their group attacks on the Yanguo border were already making a good impression, while those border nobles, defending their cities, couldn't even offer a decent resistance...

What a shame!

"Then why send him here? Just execute him on the spot."

"These useless people are really insulting the reputation of the nobility."

After a brief silence, insults and ridicules erupted in the parliament. Members of different factions attacked these good-for-nothings without mercy, mocking the generals of their own faction.

The person being attacked has no chance to refute except to grit his teeth and clench his fists.

In Ursus, only those who have won the battle have the right to speak, and those who have lost... have no reason to exist.

"Ahem, ahem, quiet down." Seeing the situation getting a bit out of control, Minister of Defense Chervin coughed twice, pretending to calm the agitated emotions on both sides. Although he was eager for the two factions to fight on the spot, he couldn't do it now, at least...

"The battle report isn't finished yet. It won't be too late to discuss how to deal with these people after the battle report is completed."

As soon as the words were spoken, the noise on the field subsided for a moment. No matter what position everyone held, they still had to show enough respect to Chervin, who had the highest military rank present.

Seeing everyone's attention focused on him again, the signalman nervously cleared his throat and turned to the second page of the battle report: "In addition to the aforementioned casualties, the northern Ursus garrison also discovered traces of an Eastern Kingdom force. After approximately a week of tug-of-war, Luxembourg Lord Victoria successfully annihilated the invading Eastern Kingdom force. One general was captured, along with dozens of remaining soldiers and several damaged small landships."

PS: A friend asked me where I swam...

On a certain P, the ID is "Too late to pretend to be dead Hokusai-chan".

Wine Pool and Meat Forest: 159 Empire Collapse

Eye-catching.

When Victoria sent out the war report, he had already anticipated what the scene would be like in Parliament.

Amidst the reports of defeat and requests for assistance, his victory would surely attract the attention of Parliament.

"As expected of Akaski's son, he has inherited his father's skills." After a brief silence, Sayid clapped his hands softly and took the initiative to stand up for Victoria.

Both publicly and privately, Ursus desperately needs some good news to calm the people. Especially in this upcoming reshuffle, a decent victory can go a long way in calming the restless people.

And public opinion, to a certain extent, also represents the support of citizens.

Although Ursus is still a militaristic empire, the support of the people can indeed come in handy in many areas.

"The recent battle reports have been completed. I think we can begin today's meeting."

Cherwen clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention to himself. "First the rewards, then the punishments. How do you all think we should reward Earl Victoria for successfully annihilating the Eastern Kingdom's assault force and capturing a batch of new land-based ships?"

"A new type of land-based ship originating from the East Country? How many were captured? What's the damage rate?" A young congressman raised his hand to ask a question. He was the director of the armed research and development department and was quite interested in the new type of land-based ship that Chervin mentioned.

Cherwen replied fluently, "Most were completely destroyed, leaving only three or four relatively intact ships. Considering the damage during transportation, Earl Victoria stated in a letter that he has arranged for engineers to carry out emergency repairs, and they will be delivered to Saint Fort soon."

In fact, the number of ships that were roughly intact was far more than three or four, but since Victor had agreed to let his engineers study and analyze the situation together, Cherven didn't mind helping his younger brother get some benefits.

"I have no doubts." The congressman nodded, accepting the statement.

Victor's willingness to ship part of the spoils to Saint Jun Castle showed that his moral standards surpassed those of most noble warlords. As the director of the R&D department, it was undeniable that he could get a share of the spoils.

Having said that, it was natural to decide on the reward for Victoria, but the specific reward would ultimately be decided by the parliament.

Many members of parliament looked at Witte, who was sitting in the center, ready to listen to his opinions.

Witte nodded, pushing his glasses up calmly. "Of course meritorious service deserves a reward, but the Empire's resources are stretched thin these days, making it difficult to offer substantial rewards. My suggestion is to award the Medal of Honor and to publicize Count Victory's heroic achievements nationwide. At the same time, I'd like to relax the wartime contribution regulations and allow Luxembourg to absorb the fruits of its labor on its own. What do you all think?"

"I agree!"

A councilman who had a bad relationship with Chervin immediately raised his hand in approval. Speaker Witte's reward seemed generous, but in reality, it offered nothing substantial besides symbolic publicity. A medal of honor was of little use to the Count, and the idea of him taking the spoils of war on his own was a joke.

Who wouldn't hoard spoils of war? Taking three for one, or even five for one, was common on the battlefield. There were even some nobles who took ten for one and then turned around and petitioned Parliament for strategic supplies. Furthermore, those raiding forces weren't very profitable to begin with; if anything, they were just a few half-destroyed land craft.

The councillors and generals present were all shrewd people, and naturally they understood the tricks involved. When Witte proposed this proposal, the vast majority of councillors voted in favor.

After all, this matter has no direct interest to them, and everyone is willing to give Speaker Witte face.

As for the interests of Earl Victoria? He was just a remote and conservative nobleman, so who would care about him?

"Since no one has any objections, then let's just leave it as it is."

However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Chervin, the one who proposed the award, offered no objection. Instead, he smiled and concluded the matter, as if he didn't care whether Victoria could succeed with this strategy. This slightly unusual behavior made people wonder if Chervin was secretly bribing the distant border lord.

Speaker Witte looked deeply at Cherven and pushed his glasses up imperceptibly. The thick lenses hid the embarrassment and confusion in his eyes, but he didn't say anything else.

In truth, he had a good impression of Victor. The reason he had offered such a modest, even stingy, reward was because the empire's finances were truly stretched thin. He had originally thought that if Chervin would help Victor, he would grit his teeth and give a portion of the reward in the name of the Emperor. But now that the words were final, there was no point in discussing them further.

The topic of rewards was quickly skipped over, and the next question was how to punish those nobles who performed ineffectively. Normally, this kind of reward and punishment relationship was based on factional struggles, but the overall atmosphere today was a little off.

Regardless of which noble was on trial, the majority voted for a harsher punishment. The usual quarrels between old and new nobles, or between different factions, were absent; instead, a strange tacit understanding took over.

Something is not right in the atmosphere of the empire.

Speaker Witte pushed his glasses again and looked at Fyodor in the distance inconspicuously, and the other party responded to him with the same look.

As the helmsmen of the empire, they had thought that the failure of the war of aggression would cause domestic unrest and depression, but now it seems that something is wrong.

There is turbulence, but it is sluggish...

To be frank, Witte could only see wolf-like greed and cruelty on the faces of those generals.

This means that factional struggles will be carried out in the most realistic way, away from parliament and the negotiating table.

The discussion about rewards and punishments regarding the recent war situation quickly came to an end, and Witt had to suspend his speculation about the behavior of these factions and focus on another matter.

Yes, compared to the victory or defeat of the Empire's border defense, another matter is the main topic of today's parliament.

That is...

"The parliament will make a final ruling today on whether the Fourth Army and its general, Nekalov, committed war crimes."

Compared to those insignificant small fish and shrimps, this is the feast they have been looking forward to for a long time.

--------

A day later, the Imperial Diet announced the verdict on the Fourth Army. Nekalov was sentenced to death for violating the Diet's order, and the Fourth Army's control was divided among other factions.

The next day, Nekalov announced that he would not obey the ruling of the Imperial Diet and declared independence in the name of purging the imperial court.

At this point, the internal divisions of the Ursus Empire could no longer be bridged.

Wine Pond and Meat Forest: 160 splits

Division is the outcome that every emperor least wants to see.

But if you ask Fyodor what is more terrifying than division, there is only one answer - the overthrow of imperial power.

And now, Witt and Fyodor have to choose between these two terrible endings.

The verdict of the Fourth Army came as no surprise, as the Imperial Diet voted overwhelmingly in favor of Nekalov's sentence.

death penalty.

Witt took off his glasses tremblingly and wiped them gently, but his eyes couldn't help but look across.

Their Majesty said nothing, his face pale and deathly still.

They had anticipated all this, but they were powerless to prevent it. Someone had to be held accountable for the war's failure. The First Army had been annihilated, and the Combined Army had been put on trial one after another during this period. But these small pieces of meat couldn't satisfy the jackals' appetite; they desired a larger prey.

The Fourth Army, despite repeatedly defying military orders and acting on its own, achieved fruitful results, but its end was no different from that of the other armies.

Fiasco.

The legion suffered heavy casualties, but the resources under his control were growing day by day. Such a piece of fat meat would naturally make others jealous.

The outcome is decided.

If Nekalov were to remain unpunished, there would be only one outcome. The emperor and the parliament's credibility would plummet. Ursus's political power was built around the military. With the First Army destroyed, the emperor's authority could not be compromised, or he would face an even more dire outcome. Nekalov might not appreciate it, and disobeying military orders would be tolerated.

Then let's sentence him to death. At this point, we can only trust in Nekalov's patriotism.

Witt pushed his glasses, his eyes were indescribably complicated.

He only hoped that Nekalov could understand His Majesty's difficulties and not let things develop in the worst direction.

"The result is out? It's the death penalty." A graceful and plump figure appeared in Nekalov's office. The long-missing Nova smiled and sat in front of the iron-blooded general.

"Unfortunately, your past achievements are meaningless. For the sake of temporary stability, the Emperor and the Parliament have decided to abandon you completely."

Looking at the beautiful girl in front of him, Nekalov, who always showed a ruthless and serious attitude, couldn't help but sigh deeply.

He had long anticipated being abandoned by the emperor, but when the day finally came, Nikalov still felt regretful.

"The era of the late emperor is gone forever."

Nova sat on the table, gently swinging her feet. "Perhaps the decline of Ursus was inevitable from the moment of the defeat at the Battle of Blood Peak."

Nekalov snorted softly, his gaze slashing across Nova's cheek like a knife. "What about you? When did you decide to abandon Fyodor?"

Fyodor...

Nova narrowed her glasses and pursed her lips in a half-smile. Nekalov had always been a man of the highest order, a man of his own. But now he was addressing Fyodor by his first name...

It seems that the extra task Victoria gave her was completed better than expected.

"I never abandoned you. Have you forgotten that I am the true master of Ursus? Whoever can help me take care of the garden will be the one I support. This applies to you and others as well. But unfortunately, Fyodor is not the right person."

In response to Nekalov's question, Nova gave an answer generously.

As a shadow lurking within the empire, the Black Snake's existence was unknown to many. Most nobles knew only of the Duke, the 'Undead Black Snake' Koschei, but were unaware of the terrifying existence hidden beneath that veneer.

But Nikalov was different. He was one of the very few who knew the truth. The reason was simple: his family had fought for Ursus for generations, and the first thing every family head had to do after inheriting the family was to be led by the previous family head to the Black Snake's mortal incarnation and swear allegiance to him.

Yes, Nekalov was loyal to Ursus. But not to Fyodor's Ursus, but to Ursus itself.

The black snake is the embodiment of Ursus's will.

"What do you want me to do?" Nekarov asked calmly after a moment's silence. He didn't care what plots or plans Black Snake had hatched; he knew he was just an insignificant pawn. When the Empire completely abandoned him, Nekarov felt relieved.

Fyodor has already embarked on a path that is contrary to the will of the Black Snake. He does not need to worry about what his final outcome will be.

"Be independent." Nova chuckled and gave a very rebellious answer: "Publicly declare that you do not accept the ruling of the Imperial Parliament, and then rely on the Ural Mountains to defend the city. Those wild dogs will only dare to bark after you fall. If you let them attack you..."

"You're overestimating your own abilities," Nekalov snorted, dismissively saying, "But holding out can only hold out for a while. Over time, the morale of my people will completely collapse."

"It doesn't matter. It's enough to hold on for a while." Nova smiled charmingly, with endless mockery in her smile.

"It won't be long before those wild dogs start killing each other, and Ursus's order structure will soon collapse. What we have to do is rebuild Ursus after it collapses."

"Destroy and then rebuild? What a bold move." Nekalov nodded. "May I ask who you have chosen as the new emperor?"

Nova smiled: "You will know. If it is him, he will definitely lead Ursus to prosperity again."

"Same as during the time of the previous emperor?"

"It is even more glorious than the previous emperor's time."

"I understand."

After the parliament's verdict came out, General Nekalov of the Fourth Army announced his opposition to the parliament's ruling and unilaterally blocked all areas north of the Ural Mountains. At the same time, he quickly deployed troops and resolutely defended the territory's borders.

Driven by a shared destiny, the nobles of the Fourth Army were more united than ever. They knew that surrender was meaningless. The jackals were targeting their property. Soldiers, money, and weapons—all resources were quickly deployed to the appropriate locations, with one goal in mind: to defend their property.

News of Nikalov's disobedience caused an immediate uproar within the country. Nikalov's loyalty to the Empire was well known, but now that he openly opposed the Empire's orders, did this also signal the complete collapse of the Congress's influence?

For a time, rumors spread rapidly, and the impact they brought far exceeded the Fourth Army's disobedience itself.

The authority of the Imperial Parliament and the Emperor was once again put on the fire.

"What should I do? Should I activate the sharp blade?"