Volume 2: Empire Chapter 99 The Return Train
Saint-Lun City, the Imperial Palace, and the Emperor's bedroom.
Queen Christina pushed the door open and walked in. She turned around and took the tray full of memorials and documents from the eunuch and said, "His Majesty is now resting. You stay here and don't let anyone disturb His Majesty."
"As you command, Your Majesty!"
The eunuch saluted Christina and closed the door from the outside.
Christina chanted a spell to lock the door, then turned and walked towards a bookshelf opposite the door. The emperor's bedroom was empty, and there was no one there, and Augustine the Great was not resting on the spacious and gorgeous bed.
When Christina walked to the front of the bookshelf, a parrot came out from the gap between two books. It tilted its head and stared at Christina, its eyes glowing red , as if examining the identity of the person in front of it.
"Your Majesty..." The parrot spoke in human language and said logically, "His Majesty is replenishing his body nutrients. He has instructed that if there is nothing too urgent, you can handle it on his behalf."
Christina said, "Please report to your majesty... The Western Territory has sent a message, which includes a letter of allegiance signed by all the nobles in the Western Territory. They also agree that the Empire will build a railway into the Western Territory."
"Okay, I'll report back to your majesty immediately. Please wait a moment."
The parrot turned and crawled into the gap between the books.
Christina stood motionless in front of the bookshelf holding the tray, not overstepping her boundaries because no one was watching her.
After a while, the bookshelf opened to reveal a metal door. The metal door opened again, and behind it was an elevator.
Under the gaze of countless surveillance eyes, Christina walked into the elevator without looking around, then turned around and waited for the elevator to close.
There is a central energy source in the underground of the palace that not only allows the palace to be hidden in the subspace for a long time, but also allows the entire palace to float. Such an important place is the top priority of the palace's defense system. People who work here are not allowed to leave for the rest of their lives unless they get special permission from the emperor.
The elevator stopped and the door opened. In the middle of a narrow corridor, a one-eyed attendant saluted Christina: "Your Majesty, please follow me!"
The attendant turned around, revealing a snake's tail from under his clothes, and walked forward along the corridor.
Queen Christina followed and asked, "How is your Majesty's health?"
The attendant did not stop and replied, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, your Majesty is in very good health under our care . It's just that he needs to continue to replenish nutrients before the operation.
You know, extraordinary transformation consumes a lot of body energy."
"Your Majesty is the most intelligent and majestic emperor in the history of the Empire. Under his rule, the Golden Shield Empire has never been stronger. Now the Empire is on the road to a new peak, and we need Your Majesty to continue to lead us.
Protecting His Majesty's safety is your most important priority, and there must not be any mistakes in the extraordinary transformation."
The officer paused for a moment and continued walking forward: "We will do our best to ensure that the extraordinary transformation is 100% successful."
Christina didn't say anything else, and only her footsteps echoed in the empty corridor.
Passing through the maze-like corridor, Christina followed the attendant into a room.
There were some alchemical equipment with light beams running on the four walls of the room, and several tubes were connected to a crystal nutrient cabinet in the middle. Emperor Augustine was lying in the light green nutrient solution, with a respirator on his mouth and nose, and his eyes closed as if he was asleep.
The attendant took Christina to the side of the crystal nutrition cabinet and brought her a chair: "Your Majesty, please take a seat. The staff here have already left. You can talk to His Majesty without worry.
I withdraw. "
The attendant left the room after he finished speaking. After the door was closed, only Christina who was sitting and Augustine the Great who was lying in the crystal nutrition cabinet were left in the room.
Augustine's voice rang out from all directions: "You said that the Western Territory sent me news that those nobles who did not take the emperor seriously wrote me a letter of allegiance and agreed to allow the railway to be built in the Western Territory.
Are there too much sand in the heads of these old stubborn people? Could it be that... Alex led his troops into the West and forced them to write letters of allegiance with knives?"
Augustine in the crystal nutrition cabinet did not move and still looked like he was sleeping.
But his voice showed that he was in a very good mood.
The Western Territory has always been a big problem that has troubled emperors of all dynasties. Although these Western Territory nobles are fighting among themselves, their attitude towards the imperial family is surprisingly consistent.
The Empire wants to fight them... firstly, there is no excuse, and secondly, the cost outweighs the gain.
If you don't beat them... you will have to put up with them causing trouble from time to time.
Today, the nobles of the Western Territory actually sent their letters of allegiance together. The first thing that Emperor Augustine thought of was that Alex led his troops to raid the Western Territory, and take advantage of the gathering of the nobles of the Western Territory during the Harvest Festival to capture them all in one battle.
To be able to fight such a beautiful raid in the western region where transportation is inconvenient and full of yellow sand, not only does a commander need to have enough courage, but also needs to have excellent insight and command ability.
It wasn't long since Alex arrived in Crescent City to take over the reorganization of the Western Territory Legion. He was able to win a decisive battle so quickly that made Emperor Augustine feel that he had underestimated his son before.
Fania, on the other hand, stayed in the imperial capital, waiting for the crown to fall on his head.
But just when Emperor Augustine had begun to think about how to train Alex to be the crown prince, Queen Christina said, "Your Majesty, according to the intelligence from the Western Territory and the memorials submitted by the nobles of the Western Territory... the credit for pacifying the Western Territory this time seems to have nothing to do with Alex."
"No problem? How is that possible! I know exactly what kind of people those Western Territory nobles are. Unless I put a knife to their necks, they will never surrender to me."
Christina said : "But Alex and his Western Territory Legion did not launch any military operations against the Western Territory.
The nobles of the Western Territory said in unison: they were moved by the sincerity of Governor Falling Star and decided to withdraw from the Brotherhood of the Blade and be loyal to the Empire wholeheartedly in the future.
In order to express their loyalty to the empire, they also killed Er Guya, the special envoy sent by Celtic, and Sylvia, the sixth apostle of the Abyss Temple..."
Before Christina could finish her words, Augustine in the crystal nutrition cabinet suddenly opened his eyes.
Then the nutrient solution in the cabinet was quickly pumped out.
The cabinet door opened automatically, and Augustine sat up from inside. He took off his respirator and asked with a trembling body, "What on earth happened in the West Territory!"
Christina placed the tray on the small table next to the crystal cabinet and picked up a document from the top: "Your Majesty, this is the intelligence on the Western Territory that I compiled..."
Augustine stretched out his hand and found that his arm was covered with nutrient solution, so he released magic to dry his hand.
When Christina handed the document to Augustine, she said, “In the grasslands of the ancestors in the Halmutu Basin, the world tree that was destroyed in the ancient war has revived. The new world tree is called the Moonlight Tree King, and together with the Moonlight Queen, the Moonlight King’s Court was established.
Now the Moonlight Royal Court has a strong cohesive force and appeal to the barbarians in the Western Territory. And the Moonlight Queen is... Miss Clear Sky, the Elf!"
Augustine hadn't even turned to the first page yet, but when he heard Qingkong's name, his expression became even gloomier.
He flipped open the file, which contained a detailed account of the Western Territory intelligence compiled by Christina .
Augustine looked at it very carefully, and his body shook even more violently.
After a long while, Augustine squeezed out a name from between his teeth: "Meteor!"
Christina said, “Your Majesty… we need to further gather intelligence on what Meteorite did in the Western Territory.
Agatha gave her opinion on how the Empire should treat the Moonlight Court.
The Empire recognized the independence of the Moonlight Court and assigned the Prairie of the Ancients to the Moonlight Court. The Western Territory still belonged to the Empire, but it would continue to maintain its autonomy.
Agatha also said... that when the World Tree revives this time, it will hold the five ancient civilizations accountable, and it is best for the Empire not to get involved in this dispute now."
Emperor Augustine took deep breaths and used magic to stabilize himself.
The changes in the Western Territory were so great that they were completely beyond his imagination.
"What do you think of how to treat the Moonlight Court?"
Queen Christina replied: "Your Majesty, this incident is too serious and beyond my ability to handle."
"Tell me what you think. My mind is a little confused after being suddenly awakened from a deep sleep."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Christina said, "I think Agatha's proposal is in line with the interests of the empire. The World Tree is an extraordinary creature that has existed since ancient times, and we should be cautious in treating it. Especially now that the Shining Gold Civilization has a great psychological burden for having launched ancient wars, the Moonlight Royal Court's demand for accountability is likely to receive a positive response from the Shining Gold Civilization.
The Empire would not lose anything by recognizing the Moonlight Court's rule over the Ancient Grasslands, but would instead be able to establish friendly relations with the World Tree. If the Moonlight Court could really get compensation from the five ancient civilizations, the Empire would definitely be the biggest beneficiary."
Emperor Augustine listened to Christina's analysis, nodded slowly and said: "The current situation of the empire does not allow us to establish an enemy whose strength is unknown. We can first recognize the Moonlight Royal Court and its control over the First People's Grassland, and then we can talk about how to deal with the Western Territory slowly.
What I am worried about is that the Moonlight Queen who controls the Moonlight Royal Court is actually the elf Qingkong, and Yunxing was appointed as the Queen's Chief Regent. They are both senators of the City of Raging Waves. In addition, Yunxing is the Governor of the City of Raging Waves appointed by me, and Qingkong is the successor of Wilred.
The new railway will connect Raging Waves City with Moonlight Court. They control the east and west of the empire, which will inevitably threaten the rule of the empire."
Christina said: "That is why the Empire needs you even more, Your Majesty."
Emperor Augustine nodded in approval and said, "Yes, the empire needs me. As long as I am alive, the power of the empire will be united. No matter how rich Raging Tide City is, it is just an isolated city. The West Territory... is even more barren and desolate.
I must survive the extraordinary transformation surgery!"
When Christina saw that Augustine's body began to shake again, she immediately advised: "Your Majesty, you need to rest."
Augustine also realized that his body had reached its limit, and the nutrition and energy supplemented for the extraordinary transformation surgery was also a huge burden on his current body.
Therefore, he had to soak in the nutrient solution for a long time and sleep to reduce his body functions to the minimum.
Augustine lay down again and the light green nutrient solution was slowly injected.
"I must make the best preparations for the extraordinary transformation surgery. During this period of time, all government affairs will be handed over to you. Do it boldly according to your ideas. When I sit back on the throne, everything will return to its rightful place."
Augustine put on the respirator and closed his eyes. The nutrient solution submerged his entire body and the lid of the crystal cabinet closed.
Christina stood up and saluted Augustine: "As you command, Your Majesty, the empire awaits your return."
"Go ahead!"
Augustine's voice echoed in the room.
Christina picked up the tray and turned to walk behind the door. The door was pushed open and the sergeant saluted: "Your Highness, please follow me. I will take you away."
"Take good care of your majesty."
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty."
…
In the West Territory of New Moon City, the imperial delegation's special train slowly left the platform with its whistle blowing. The delegation had just finished its nearly one-month visit to the West Territory and was heading along the tracks towards Saint Lun City, carrying a lot of harvest.
The convenient transportation made a large amount of accumulated intelligence pile up in front of Agatha all at once, forcing her to call her assistants to process the intelligence information directly in the carriage.
Luke leisurely flipped through a few newspapers from the intelligence and read them, completely ignoring the fact that Agatha was overwhelmed by the intelligence.
Agatha couldn't help but complain: "Do you know how much intelligence the Empire can generate every day, and how much intelligence can be accumulated in a month? As a senior official of the Secret Service, don't you have the consciousness to help your superiors share the work?"
Luke kept his eyes on the newspaper and said lazily, "Although I am a senior official of the Imperial Secret Service, you should know that I have not received any training in intelligence analysis and processing.
It gives me a headache just looking at those scattered pieces of intelligence from you, let alone piecing them together into a complete intelligence narrative.
If I had that much time, I could think of a business opportunity to make money. Wouldn't that be a greater contribution to the empire than reading the note?"
"As a senior official of the Imperial Secret Service, analyzing intelligence is the most basic skill. You didn't know how to do it before, that was my negligence, now I will personally teach you how to piece together the intelligence fragments..." Agatha didn't intend to let Luke slack off, but when she was about to pull Luke to work, a message handed over by the assistant caught her attention.
Luke noticed that Agatha's expression was not right, so he put down the newspaper and asked, "What happened? Did Art County United call?"
Agatha placed the note in front of Luke: “It’s not intelligence from the North, it’s from the court.
My father has not made a public appearance for a week. After he held his last imperial meeting and announced that the Queen would handle government affairs on his behalf, he has been recuperating. Now that he will not see anyone except the Queen, many rumors have spread in the palace.
One of the rumors is that... His Majesty has passed away, but the Queen has kept it a secret!"
