Luke smiled and drank the wine in the glass. At this point, he was sure that although Augustine wanted to kill him, facing the big pie he painted for him, he had to endure it no matter how uncomfortable he felt.

At this time, there was a noisy voice outside the door, and someone shouted, "Your Highness, the Princess, His Majesty has ordered that no one is allowed to disturb his dinner with Lord Meteorite."

"I have something important to report to my father, please get out of the way!"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, you can't go in..."

The door was forced open, and Agatha rushed in despite the guards' obstruction. She was relieved to see that Luke was safe and sound, and then saluted to Emperor Augustine: "Father, I'm sorry to disturb your meal!"

The guard also bowed and apologized.

Augustine looked at Luke and Agatha, then said to the guards, "I forbid anyone to disturb us, not even my daughter. Go out and don't let anyone in again."

The guards retreated immediately and closed the door as if they had been pardoned.

Emperor Augustine said to Agatha, "You haven't had dinner yet... Sit down and listen to Meteorite's views on the empire's governance."

The atmosphere at the table was so harmonious that it was beyond Agatha's expectation. She came to rescue Luke because she got the bad news, but she didn't expect him to eat so happily.

In front of me is a plate full of food!

The puppet waiter brought a chair for Agatha, set a set of tableware, and poured wine into the glass.

Emperor Augustine asked Agatha, "You said you had something important to report to me. What is it that has you so anxious?"

Agatha, who hadn't figured out what was going on, glanced at Luke first, and saw a relaxed smile. Agatha, who was even more puzzled, said to Augustine, "The Imperial Secret Service has just received intelligence that a delegation from the Tedega Hills has arrived in the west. The annual harvest festival will be held in the Halmutu Basin soon. During the festival, the western ethnic minorities and lords will bring caravans to the Halmutu Basin for trade.

The Celtic Duke's envoys will meet with the leaders of all parties at that time.

In order to prevent changes on the western front, I think the empire should also send envoys to the west to participate in the harvest festival and appease those lords and ethnic minorities."

Emperor Augustine originally thought that Agatha was looking for an excuse to save the meteorite, but he didn't expect the excuse to be so hardcore.

The western part of the empire is vast and the land is barren. Large areas of grassland and desert make it difficult for the empire to effectively manage this territory. Therefore, the entire west is scattered with small noble territories, the number of which even Augustine could not determine, and nomadic minorities.

Barbarians, orcs, goblins, elves, halflings, dwarves... Sometimes they do business with the empire in an honest manner, and sometimes they turn into bandits and plunder villages and towns in the western border of the empire.

A group of scattered people cannot threaten the core area of ​​the empire, and with Alex in charge of the western border as a prince, there is no need to worry about the threat from the west.

But the Duke of Celtic sent people to visit the western border of the empire during the Harvest Festival, which must be an attempt to stir up trouble.

The Empire must respond!

Emperor Augustine thought about it for a moment and said to Agatha, "The Blade Brotherhood still has a great influence in the West, and some nobles are even more conservative than the Celts. It's only because they are too weak that they have been forbearing.

The envoys sent not only had to face a group of old stubborn people, but also had to face uncivilized barbarians, and their lives were threatened at any time.

Any mistake would affect the awe of the western tribes and lords towards the empire, allowing the Celts to seize the opportunity to seek a breakthrough in the western part of the empire.

Do you have a suitable candidate for the visit? "

The direction of the war will not conform to the wishes of either side. While the empire generally remains optimistic about the war on the southern front, the Celtic Duke of Tedega Hill is also actively playing his own chess.

For a time, the not-so-important western border of the empire became a place that both sides wanted to fight for.

Although the Second Prince Alex was supervising the war on the Western Front, it would be too much of an honor for him to visit the various clans with his status. Moreover, as a strong contender for the crown prince, he should not take such a great risk.

Agatha, who had been prepared for this, answered Augustine's question, "It would be more appropriate for the royal family to go and deal with the nobles in the western region.

The emperor's grandson Xin Kelai should be the most suitable candidate, but the eldest prince Fania is unwilling to let him go to the southern frontier, and certainly will not be willing to let him go to the more dangerous western border.

The second most suitable person... is me."

Emperor Augustine approved Agatha's proposal.

The nobles in the Western Territory are all stubborn. They guard the land left by their ancestors and live a life that has remained unchanged for thousands of years. If they send an important official like Gabriel to visit, they will not care how high the empire's prime minister is. They will definitely ask first, "What is your title? Which ancestor has done any legendary deeds?"

If they heard that the person coming was a lord, and that he was bought with money, they would only feel insulted.

Therefore, the best way to deal with those extremely conservative nobles is to talk to each other family by family.

The Augustine family sent a prince because they thought too highly of them. They sent a royal princess, and moreover, an eldest princess who had been canonized... The weight of her status was enough, and the deterrent power was enough.

“Since you are already prepared to go to the Western Territory, select the members of the delegation and set off as soon as possible to represent the Augustine family in the Halmutu Harvest Festival.

Let the barbarians and lords in the western border feel the grace and power of the empire, so that they will not have any illusions about resisting the empire. "

Agatha replied, "As you command, Father! I will set out for the West as soon as possible."

Emperor Augustine nodded and asked Luke, "How long will it take to prepare for the decisive battle against Leo at sea?"

Luke replied: "The Raging City Fleet and the Cape District Anti-Smuggling Fleet have received the first batch of Unit-01-class full-metal battleships, and all battleships have two sets of crew members training alternately.

Three months later, the second batch of Unit-01-class all-metal warships were launched, and various war materials were also in place. By then, the Raging Waves City Integrated Fleet could mobilize 200 ships of various types to attack the Rio Navy.

Baron Jeff of Brilliant Island can also gather a mercenary fleet to impose a naval blockade on the Rio Republic."

Agatha added: "The Imperial Secret Service has stepped up its intelligence gathering on the Rio Republic. Rio has already sensed the threat at sea and is seizing the opportunity to reorganize its navy.

However, Rio's all-metal warship technology is not yet perfect, and it can only upgrade the existing warships for protection and strengthen the coastal defense system of important coastal cities. And because of the Restoration War initiated by the Watcher, Rio has very limited funds for the navy and coastal defense.

Three months later, the combined strength of the Raging City Fleet was superior to the Leo Fleet. If the other fleets of the Empire were to allocate warships to participate in this war, the Empire could destroy all of Leo's maritime achievements over the years in one fell swoop, and would not have the strength to challenge the Imperial Navy for a long time. "

Augustine the Great had read Luke's document. Gaining the right to speak on the sea was the basis for monopolizing trade. Whether the Golden Shield Empire could become a giant empire that had never appeared in world history depended on whether this battle could cleanly and neatly defeat Rio, its maritime competitor.

Even to deal with the imminent crisis, it is necessary to defeat the Leo Navy so that the eastern part of the empire can free up hands to support other battlefields.

Emperor Augustine said to Luke: "During the time you were in the imperial capital, the City of Raging Waves was still able to operate well, which shows that the Council of Raging Waves and the Government Affairs Office are an efficient and responsible team.

This visit to the tribes in the western border will take about a month. Look at your work plan. If there is no conflict with important events, you can follow Agatha as the deputy envoy to participate in the Harmutu Harvest Festival!"

Augustine's sudden assignment caught Luke and Agatha by surprise.

Agatha immediately said, "Halmutu is a long way away and the traffic is not smooth. Many things in Nutao City require Meteorite to make decisions in a timely manner. It is not suitable for him to accompany me to visit the Western Territory."

Augustine the Great asked Luke, “What is on your mind?”

Luke analyzed Augustine's intentions in his mind.

One month is neither too long nor too short. It allows Emperor Augustine to see whether the timely decision of Raging Wave City without the meteorite will affect the operation of the entire system, and avoid major problems that affect the overall situation.

If the City of Rage can still function without the meteorite, then Emperor Augustine can kick out the initiator of the plan and do it himself by following the plan.

If Raging Waves City had trouble functioning due to lack of the Meteorite, then he would have no choice but to continue to endure the unhappiness in his heart and let the Meteorite carry out the plan.

After thinking it through, Luke also wanted to see how the people in Fury City would stand at a critical moment. The Reform Society expanded too fast, and sometimes it was necessary to clean up the ungrateful people hiding in it.

"Your Majesty asked me to accompany Her Royal Highness the Princess on a diplomatic mission to the Western Territory. I will certainly obey Your Majesty's order."

Agatha looked at Luke, unable to understand why he would agree to this. Just as the atmosphere at the entire table became weird after she came in.

The dinner left Agatha with a lot of questions in her mind.

After the dinner, Agatha and Luke left together, and Emperor Augustine sat in his seat for a long time without moving.

Milscom gave a signal for the hidden assassins to evacuate, and then whispered to Emperor Augustine: "I need to conduct a mental examination on you to determine if you have been affected by any mental spells."

Emperor Augustine said after a while: “I am not under a spell, I am just shocked by the great plan that the meteorite showed me.

It is hard to imagine what the empire will look like once his plan is implemented. It will surely be an unprecedented flourishing age, and greatness will no longer be a blessing. "

"Is there no need to kill him anymore?"

"It's such a pity to kill him, such a pity! I hope he can return to the position he should be in..." Emperor Augustine said with emotion: "While Meteor and Agatha were in the West for a month, I asked Gabriel to divide the city expansion for Raging Waves City as quickly as possible, and asked the Government Affairs Office of Raging Waves City to send me work reports every day."

Milscombe replied: "Yes, I will immediately send someone to convey your will to Prime Minister Gabriel."

"And, most importantly..." Emperor Augustine said excitedly, "I must buy myself time for the entire plan. This empire must be created in my hands.

Have you arranged what I asked you to do?"

Milscom replied: "While the palace was floating, the entire Shadow Parasite Research Team was moved underground."

"Well, some research can't be done outside. My son, daughter, and ministers don't want me to live well.

Starting tomorrow, all the imperial meetings will be cancelled. I need to recuperate and fight for the final experiment. From now on, all issues that require my decision-making will be sent to my room. "

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

At this time, Agatha and Luke were strolling in the open corridor, and the sounds of insects could be heard from the gardens on both sides from time to time.

A patrolling team of royal knights saluted Agatha and then marched past in formation.

"I heard that my father had placed assassins in the restaurant, so I went to save you. But I was obviously the one who got embarrassed. What did you say to him that made him change his attitude so decisively?"

Luke stopped and took a deep breath, looking at the empty dark night sky on one side: “Our Emperor has a paranoid obsession with power, so I will let him see what greater power is?

This is his greatest strength, but also his most fatal weakness. Faced with a temptation he could not refuse, he chose to endure me. "

"Greater power? What power could be greater than the one he has been holding in his hands!"

Facing Agatha's curiosity, Luke did not answer. He left the corridor and walked towards the border, standing on the suspended terrace facing the starry night.

"Agatha, do you know how ancient wars took place?"

Agatha did not show any strange emotion because Luke called her name directly. She came to Luke's side, stood with him looking at the dark night, trying to understand his current mood.

"The strength of the ancient Shuojin civilization gave the Shuojin people blind confidence. They launched an attack on the other four ancient civilizations, but the war ended up causing the civilization to decline.

To this day, the five ancient civilizations have not yet emerged from the shadow of that war."

Luke looked ahead: "Now the mainstream thinking is to reflect on that war, but has anyone ever thought about... what would the world be like if the Shining Gold Civilization succeeded?"

Agatha thought for a while and said, "I don't know. After all, it has never happened. All speculations are just speculations."

“Yeah, all speculation is just speculation.

In my opinion, that ancient war was actually a struggle for the right to define civilization. The Shining Gold People launched that war just to fulfill the responsibility given to them by that civilization era. They integrated the knowledge and artifacts of the five ancient civilizations and pushed the world into the next era.

It’s just that the Shuojin civilization failed!

Now a new era is gradually reaching its peak in our hands. The problems faced by the Shining Gold people in the past will also be the problems that we will eventually face in this era.

And because the knowledge system we create is more complex, the direction of the new era has more uncertainty.

But one thing is certain: the unlimited demand for production resources brought about by industrial production will inevitably lead to disorderly expansion. The only result of being eliminated in this competition is enslavement and exploitation.

Give up reflecting on the collapse of ancient civilizations... prepare to fight a new civilization war!"