Chapter 451: Killing and Destroying the Heart
Sakaar.
The single-person airship piloted by Yang Ming landed towards the surface city of Sakaar.
The military's ability to act has always been amazing, and this time is no exception.
While Yang Ming was still on his way back to Saka, a rapid response fleet directly under the military, with a total of more than 120 main battleships, appeared in the star field near Saka.
The two orders were simultaneously conveyed to the Governor's Office on Saka.
First, the Empire will soon hold periodic military exercises around Sakaar to enhance the sense of security of Sakaar residents.
Second, in a standard galactic year in the future, the Imperial Military will relocate a deep air base and station it near the commercial shipping lanes near Sakaar.
These two commands may seem insignificant at first glance;
But when the Imperial fleet appeared on the outskirts of Sakaar's planetary defense system, which had not yet been fully developed, and showed a posture ready to attack at any time, the Governor's Office and the Lord's Office of Sakaar immediately felt tremendous pressure.
Rumors are spreading on Sakaar.
In the local regional network, new and old Saka people reached a consensus during the discussion - their lord was deeply suspected by the imperial high-ranking officials because of his great contributions and influence, and the imperial high-ranking officials wanted to suppress the White Ghost.
When the Empire's fleet pointed its guns at the planets within the Empire, Sakaar became even more panic-stricken.
Many young people full of vigor and vitality, especially officers and soldiers at all levels in the Sakaar Star Guard Fleet who had experienced the life and death trials of the Zerg Tide, have begun to get ready;
They kept sending requests to the Lord's Palace to take off and meet the enemy.
Even though they knew that there was a high probability that a civil war would not actually break out, they still launched all the ships of Saka's escort fleet into the air and conducted a military exercise of the same level in front of the fleet sent by the Imperial Army.
Only when their gun barrels are facing each other can they prove their determination to fight at all costs!
However, although the young men of Saka were indignant, the decisions made by the Lord's Mansion and the Governor's Mansion were still steady and calm.
[The Saka Star Guard and the rest of the lord's private armed forces remain silent.]
[No local government or military personnel or their families may make any statement against the imperial government.]
This was the environment on Sakaar when Yang Ming arrived there.
He didn't say much to Godoy and the others, and drove a small boat back to Saka alone.
He turned off the stealth function of the boat and actively spread positioning noise on all channels. This was equivalent to telling everyone that he had returned to Sakaar.
If the Empire wanted to see if it could take him down, this was the best time.
The Dongfeng hid behind the planet Sakaar (relative to the location of the Imperial fleet) and maintained the farthest particle transmission distance from Yang Ming.
There was no more noise and bustle in Lu's thinking space, and each clone was executing various instructions in an orderly manner.
The dreadnoughts sent by the Empire to Sakaar are still on the way;
The Terminator assassination robots that Yang Ming asked Lu to deploy are already on standby at the border of the empire.
With the information they currently have about the Sherman family elite in power in the Empire, they are confident that they can eliminate 40% of their members within one galactic day, paralyze the Empire's political departments, and wipe out more than 60% of the Empire's military generals.
This is a war from which there will be no retreat if it breaks out, and their preparations are not fully adequate.
Lu can definitely feel the change in his boss's mentality.
The boss had been trying to test the empire, and while pushing forward their many plans step by step, he also left room for "quit while ahead" and "try again next time if it doesn't work this time".
But when the boss heard that the Imperial Army had dispatched a dreadnought to the vicinity of Sakaar...
Lu felt Yang Ming's long-lost anger.
Yang Ming did have the right to be angry.
Even if they cannot defeat the complete empire head-on, they can still bite off half of the empire's life;
What's more, Li has been silent now, and he does not approve of the current imperial royal family.
On the projection screen in front of Lu, Boss Yang's expression was quite grim.
But when the boat was about to land, Yang Ming twisted his face and became very easy-going.
The airship landed directly towards the lord's mansion.
Princess Daphne, Governor Godoy Saka, the two sisters Hanyin and Hanxiang, and several core officers of the Ghost Private Army represented by Peterson, who had received the news in advance, stood together outside the lord's mansion waiting.
Daphne crossed her arms, looking a little tired.
She had just rushed over from a distant star region and was upset by the chaotic public opinion on the Internet.
However, when Yang Ming's airship appeared in her sight, her slightly wrinkled brows slowly relaxed, and the corners of her slightly pursed mouth gradually softened.
As long as he can come back, everything can be solved.
——Daphne thought so.
…
A moment later, a closed-door meeting took place in the lord's mansion.
Yang Ming leaned back in his chair, enjoying the fragrant massage service with a somewhat 'peaceful' smile on his face.
Daphne sat on her own exquisite sofa, sipping the fragrant tea in her hand, wondering what she could do now.
Governor Godoy and Hanyin paced back and forth like ants on a hot pan.
"Hanton!" Governor Godoy sighed, "My lord, my ghost brother! How can you still be so calm now? Suddenly, a lot of topics that are slandering you appeared on the imperial network. The authorities did not suppress it, but instead fanned the flames and even moved the fleet over to shove the muzzles of our heads! What the hell is going on!"
Han Yin also said anxiously: "I got some information from the tentacles. His Majesty the Great Emperor acquiesced to the pressure from some nobles on you... There were also rumors from the military that were unfavorable to you... Almost overnight, they seemed to have ganged up to target you."
“Stay calm.”
Yang Ming opened his right eye a little and looked at Daphne who was drinking tea beside him.
"Things are more complicated than you think. If you don't believe me, ask the dear princess. She has her own sources of information, and now she can see things more clearly."
"A bystander sees more clearly? That's an interesting statement."
Daphne smiled gracefully:
"It's actually nothing serious. It's just that when your lord led his troops to Domingos Star, he did not follow the will of the military to rob the Domingos people as slaves, and insisted on his own reputation, so some old guys in the military felt offended.
“After the insect tide, your lord’s reputation reached its peak, and the people even developed various beliefs about the White Ghost, deifying and sainting it.
“When White Ghost refused to do what the Empire wanted and joined forces with the Empire’s ruling clique, it naturally caused great panic among those in power. Therefore, all the contradictions broke out through the White Ghost massacre of terrorists.
"The main contradiction now is the conflict between the power in the hands of the empire's rulers and the excessive influence of the White Ghost on the grassroots. That's it."
Godoy thought carefully and whispered, "Then you are right to do so, Hanton... Hui. It is the right choice for you not to become one of the nobles. Even if this will make the nobles of the empire angry and embarrassed, it is an act that must be encouraged."
Yang Ming raised an eyebrow at Godoy, and his bad mood improved a lot.
Han Yin said helplessly: "But this is the Empire. When the nobles unite, the power they bring is very terrifying. Now, not only the nobles have united, but also the old generals of the Empire's military have united."
Hanxiang added in a low voice: "If these people really get ruthless, there is a risk of causing a Domingos tragedy in the country."
Godoy also said: "I know them, I know it intuitively. As long as something does not conform to their own interests, they will destroy it at all costs."
Yang Ming spread his hands: "So, what advice do you have for me?"
"The easiest way is to take the initiative to request to become the commander of the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet again," Daphne said quickly, "to plunder the Domingos, dirty your hands, and promote the Empire's sense of honor without limit, and please those self-satisfied nobles."
"I can't do it," Yang Ming shook his head. "That's just my temper. If you want me to do something against my will, you might as well just kill me."
Godoy asked: "How about asking Prince Kinov to say a few words? And Count Reville, his influence in the aristocratic circle is crucial."
Yang Ming smiled and said, "I have never taken these ragtag nobles seriously. Of course, Revil is not one of them. He is a young man that I am more optimistic about. The Imperial Council of Elders and the noble forces under them are not even qualified to be my opponents. The ones who want to deal with me now are the Sherman family leaders of Daphne's great-grandfather and grandfather."
"Uncle Ino is against them doing this," Daphne said softly.
Yang Ming blinked at her.
Daphne took the tea and looked aside.
Han Yin asked: "What should we do then? Oh, yes! Go and ask His Majesty for help!"
"I've thought about this," Yang Ming said with a smile, "It's a great idea to take advantage of His Majesty's dissatisfaction with some members of the Sherman family, but this is what I will do later. Now, I have to be on Sakaar."
"Why?" Governor Godoy was puzzled.
"The Empire will be sending a dreadnought soon."
Yang Ming shrugged:
"I have not experienced how nervous it would be to face the main gun of a dreadnought directly. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I want to see if the Empire will really order the extermination of an Imperial hero who has not violated Imperial laws or the bottom line of Imperial morality, as well as the tens of millions of Imperial people here.
“If it really comes to that, Daphne, you can help me tell Director Ino.
"If we really take this step, the Sherman family will have to bear full responsibility. I will avenge my people on Sakaar at all costs."
Daphne frowned tightly. "Being so forceful at this time won't solve any problems, Hamton. We must find a way to communicate."
"Daphne," Yang Ming sighed, "If I take this step back, what will happen next? You are smarter than me. You should be able to imagine that if they ask me to conquer Domingos today, they will ask me to conquer other countries tomorrow. I will become a tool for the empire to slaughter the weak, and the nobles of the empire will be complacent and say privately - oh, what kind of empire hero is this? He is just a dog raised by the Sherman family. Daphne, I am now qualified to be a human being, not a dog."
"I understand you, but..."
"No one can touch my principles, otherwise I will be doomed to fail."
"Don't you think about your hometown?"
"If I give up and retreat this time, my hometown will be truly hopeless," Yang Ming said calmly, "It is meaningless to talk about morality with a venomous snake."
Daphne pursed her lips in thought.
Daphne said, "I'm sorry, I can't say this for you. It's against my interests. I hope you can calm down and we can have a dialogue to find another solution."
"It's okay," Yang Ming picked up his watch and glanced at it. "In a few minutes, I will release the second video to the entire network."
"What do you want to do?" Daphne frowned and asked, "We should let public opinion cool down now instead of adding fuel to the fire."
"It doesn't matter. I just want to see how far this fire can burn."
Yang Ming curled his lips slightly, tapped his watch twice, and a projection popped up.
Yang Ming said: "You can check out the content in advance, but the video has already been released when you saw the first frame, so don't think about stopping me."
Daphne: ...
Godoy and Hanyin and Hanxiang have come over and are looking carefully at the images on the projection screen.
On the projection screen was a bust of Yang Ming, wearing his signature gray-white exoskeleton armor, standing in front of a starry sky with his hands behind his back, his eyes slightly moist.
"Feel sorry."
The white ghost whispered:
"I can't kill the traitors of the Empire, nor can I hurt my former lover.
“Catherine… Catherine is an idealist and a super-transformed warrior of the Empire who is always thinking about contributing to the Empire and dedicating her life to the Empire.
"Her life was destined to end when she was born, because this super-transformed warrior is a human being cultivated from an embryo in order to break through the constraints of human genes and surpass the limits of human beings themselves, so that the Empire's dimensional laboratory can conduct individual dimensional experiments.
“These are all topics that are very far from everyone’s mind, but what I want to say is that individual dimensional ascension has always been the pursuit of the highest levels of the empire. Entering a higher-dimensional world, gaining eternal life and endless energy, and transcending the current dimension to enjoy a higher level of life is the pursuit of generations of imperial families.
"Catherine is the victim of this goal. She and her companions are marked. When they reach the peak of their powers in their thirties or forties, they will be bombarded by energy and then become cosmic dust.
“So, I can understand their betrayal of the empire. Under such high-intensity pressure, it is easy for them to become psychologically distorted.
“Here, I want to plead with the Empire, plead with the Empire to be more tolerant of Catherine and her companions, and not really regard them as traitors to the Empire… I admit that what I said is a bit naive, and I’m sorry that I shouldn’t say this as a White Ghost. The mission of the White Ghost is to protect this ancient empire and repel all invading enemies.
“But I really can’t do anything to my former lover.
"I've noticed that many people are attacking me for killing terrorists. I must explain that under the circumstances at the time, in order not to let a terrorist go and to prevent a bigger revenge action from brewing in the future and causing harm to the people of the empire, I could only use all my mental strength.
“At that moment, I actually established communication with their minds. I felt it. I felt that many people who should have been happy and kind were forced to take the path of hatred because of some historical issues.
“For notorious terrorist organizations like Chauvin Freedom, killing them a hundred times or ten thousand times is not enough, but for those potential criminals who may be forced to become terrorists, we actually have many opportunities to save them. Saving them means reducing the deaths and injuries of innocent people.
"Now I am a little confused, I am not sure whether my previous persistence was right or wrong.
“But I firmly believe that the empire I love will not let me down. The empire carries my ideals, and my ideals are to allow everyone to have an equal and prosperous life, human rights that can be respected, jobs that can bring happiness to their families, and a safe and stable interstellar living space.
“May the empire built with the blood of countless soldiers and people live forever.
"I am willing to bear all the consequences of letting Catherine go and accept a fair trial from the Empire. I will wait on Sakaar for the Empire's troops to arrest me. I will not harm any Imperial soldier who is friendly to me."
