Volume 6 Agate Chapter 612: Panic
In the far west of the continent, the Kingdom of Beelzebub.
The royal city of Solidate.
This is the residence of the Rose Royal Family, and it is also a holy city surrounded by black roses. The rich and sweet floral fragrance can be smelled in every corner.
In the early morning, representatives and leaders from all parties at the top of the kingdom climbed up the circular stairs, bathed in the falling petals, looked at each other in silence, and walked into the Obsidian Palace Hall silently.
Inside, the atmosphere is slightly depressing.
With the Red Apple Church existing in name only and the royal pillar of armed force, the Knights of the Wandering, suffering heavy losses, the kingdom's high-ranking officials are now in a state of panic.
As early as more than half a month ago, a rumor was circulating among the powerful class that the strength of the Kingdom of Beelzebub had been greatly damaged, and the Empire would seize this opportunity and use the Sunset City incident as an excuse to launch an all-out war against the kingdom and completely annex this land.
As the news spread wildly, countless dignitaries were frightened to the point of losing their appetite and sleep. Some even sold their belongings and evacuated overnight... because the high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Beelzebub were well aware of the empire's style, and if the country was destroyed, they would surely die.
But before the panic completely boiled over, Rose King Mansfield curbed the spread of the "rumors" with an iron fist, and publicly executed more than a dozen important figures who took the lead in "spreading rumors" for three consecutive days, which slightly suppressed the atmosphere of fear...
But the feeling of uneasiness still lingers among the upper class in the kingdom like an indelible shadow.
Inside the Obsidian Palace, as the officer shouted orders, many figures wearing tall hats and silk robes quietly took their seats.
At the end of the long conference table, the Rose King Mansfield sat in the main seat.
This is a thin man who is serious and never smiles.
He was wearing a thin black silk shirt today, with a dark red long vest on the outside. There was a red rose pattern embroidered on the collar.
His black hair was combed back, close to his scalp. On his pale, beardless face, a pair of indifferent dark golden eyes scanned the leaders.
"Let's start today's meeting."
The Rose King said calmly.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound of flipping through documents in the hall, but no one was willing to speak.
It was not until the chief steward, a short and fat man, noticed Mansfield's slightly frowning expression and coughed twice.
At the conference table, a middle-aged man with short dark brown hair hesitated for a moment, and finally said in a deep voice:
"Your Majesty, everyone, I think the kingdom should be wary of the Empire's actions next to avoid a sudden war... It is best to tighten the eastern border defenses and send envoys to the Empire for negotiations."
Before he finished speaking, several people on the other side of the conference table frowned.
One of the gray-haired old men said coldly:
"Minister Short, do you also want to be hanged in Garland Square?"
"I am working hard for the kingdom, not spreading fear!"
Short's face looked grim.
"Minister Nicol, what do you think? Why don't you tell me what you think?"
Old man Nickel winked at a young man beside him, who nodded and stood up with a stack of documents.
"This is the latest information about the empire. You may want to take a look at it first."
The officer took the documents from his hand and distributed them to every participant present. Soon, waves of exclamations were heard.
Nicol stood up with his cane.
"The Empire first launched an encirclement and suppression campaign against the 'King of Blue Clothes', but ultimately failed. A total of two demigods and more than twenty saints were lost. The Church of the Seven Gods suffered heavy losses, and the top leaders of the Church of the Sun were almost wiped out. The situation was not much different from that of the Church of the Red Apple..."
The old man looked around, his tone cold and passionate.
"The 'King of Blue Clothes' then retaliated. Large-scale pollution incidents occurred in various regions within the empire. As of the evening of the day before yesterday, hundreds of millions of the empire's residents had died in this disaster..."
“You really overestimate your own abilities!”
"Hahaha!"
“It’s so satisfying!”
"Perhaps we can take this opportunity to befriend His Majesty the 'King of Blue Clothes' and fight against the Empire together!"
At the conference table, participants were discussing the matter.
The old man raised his lips slightly, and then said loudly:
"This is a great opportunity. I suggest that we take advantage of the chaos in the empire to send troops eastward to reoccupy the empire's new state, which is the territory of the former Anlong United Kingdom. We can then use this opportunity to plan for the deserted and insect states in the west of the empire... The Kingdom of Byron and the Capital of Shuoli will never miss such a good opportunity. The possibility of forming an alliance to attack the empire is very high. By then, the solar era that has ruled for more than 4,000 years will be over, and the rose will finally bloom on the corpse of the empire!"
“Second!”
“Second the motion!!”
Many radical ministers of the kingdom echoed loudly.
The atmosphere suddenly became heated.
However, conservatives led by Short are worried.
"Everyone, please calm down. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even though the empire is in great trouble and the country is in chaos, our high-ranking military strength is not as strong as before. If we rashly start a war, we may be annihilated."
Short raised his hands, trying to cool the atmosphere a little.
However, most of the participants had been aroused by Minister Nicol's words and the meeting place was a little noisy for a while, and Short's words were almost drowned out and difficult to hear.
Seeing this, Short couldn't help but turn his gaze to the main seat.
"His Majesty……"
Rose King Mansfield looked thoughtful.
At this time, the radical leader Nicol shouted again:
"The Seven Gods Church has always been disunited. After experiencing several disasters, the relationship between them has reached a freezing point... I propose that we send an envoy to have a secret talk with the Shuoli City today, and try to win over the Star Sect, so that we can work together from inside and outside!"
"His Majesty!"
Short couldn't help it and called out again.
This time, seven or eight conservatives stood up and looked at the Rose King solemnly, waiting for his majesty's reply.
"That's all for today, we'll discuss it tomorrow."
Mansfield said calmly with deep eyes.
Nicol's face froze, and the other radicals suddenly fell silent.
The conservatives led by Short couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, with smiles on their faces.
"Your Majesty, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"
Nicol's expression was sincere and his voice trembled slightly.
The Rose King ignored him, stood up on his own, and left the hall under the protection of the affairs officer and walked outside.
Seeing this, Nicol and the radical group hurriedly chased after them.
The scene was quiet for a while.
Some neutral ministers discussed in low voices.
"What's wrong with old guy Nicol ? This meeting is more exciting than the previous ones. Looking at his expression, I'm afraid even if he were a few decades younger, he would have to carry a gun and go to the battlefield himself..."
"I heard that it was his favorite second son whose identity was exposed in the empire and he was arrested and executed by the authorities for espionage."
"Second son? Galvan? Didn't he say he was doing business on the border?"
"It's all fake. Nicol had already arranged a way out. He had his second son establish a relationship with a duke of the Sun Royal Family and buy up a large amount of sophisticated weapons and equipment from the Imperial Workshop... Later, the duke died inexplicably, and the Sun Royal Family used this as an excuse to launch a war against the United Kingdom of Anlong."
"Hmm... I see. No wonder Nicol is so persistent in fighting."
Conservative ministers such as Short looked at each other in bewilderment.
"The kingdom must not be rashly dragged into the battlefield. The Red Apple Church has collapsed, and the Wandering Knights have been wounded. We should do our best to persuade Your Majesty to rest and recuperate... No matter how turbulent the empire is, for us, waiting and watching is the best option."
Short said in a low voice with a serious look on his face.
Conservative ministers nodded.
…
…
…
That night.
Screams were heard from Minister Short's mansion.
When the patrol team arrived after hearing the noise, they found Short in pajamas, bent over the desk, dead for a long time.
He held a revolver tightly in his hand, with a bullet wound on his temple, and blood was all over the desk and carpet.
On the table, there was a blood-stained suicide note, which recorded Short's own mental journey. He expressed his guilt towards the kingdom and the appreciation of His Majesty Mansfield. He said that he was powerless to stop the impending war and hoped that his death would serve as a warning to everyone.
“This is murder!”
At the palace meeting the next morning, conservative ministers were outraged.
"Minister Short will never commit suicide! He repeatedly told us yesterday not to let the kingdom be dragged into war!"
"Doesn't this confirm the contents of the suicide note he left behind?"
Nikhil said calmly.
"I deeply understand Minister Short's ideals and ambitions, but those who evade the facts are not worthy of sharing your Majesty's worries."
"Nikhil! You actually insulted a dead minister?!"
The Conservative ministers stood up, their faces filled with anger.
The radicals and others were not willing to be outdone and stood up to confront each other.
The two sides had a heated discussion on the death of Minister Short, and even placed suspicion on radicals and others.
"Could this be the work of the Empire?"
At this time, a neutral minister said in a deep voice.
Everyone quieted down.
"If it is true as Minister Short said that the Empire intends to start a war, then in a sense, assassination is an extremely convenient method... Without the leadership, our defense forces will be slower and it will be difficult to resist a sudden invasion."
The minister analyzed.
"Right now, the Red Apple Church has collapsed, and the Wandering Knights have been severely damaged. Ministers like me lack protection. Among the Seven Gods Churches of the Empire, the Council of Generosity is particularly good at assassination..."
"I propose that from today onwards, all the ministers present here should be on high alert and beware of the Empire's tricks!"
Nicole said seriously.
"Nikol! I'm warning you not to spread fear again! You are definitely the ones who did this, and you are trying to put the blame on the Empire in order to create hostility and start a war!"
The conservative ministers pointed at Nicol and scolded him.
"slander!"
The radicals objected.
For a moment, the hall of the Rose Palace was in chaos again.
Boom boom!
Rose King Mansfield slammed the table twice.
"sit down."
Seeing this, everyone kept quiet and sat back in their chairs obediently.
Mansfield deadpanned.
He looked around and spoke indifferently:
"Short's death has been investigated. It was indeed a fake suicide. In fact, it was done by a conspiracy-based extraordinary person... The murderer is quite powerful. Knight Commander Fairclaw personally checked it and said that the other party is at least a high-ranking person."
“?!”
The ministers present felt their scalps tingling and their backs chilled.
"It's really...it's really the Empire that did it!"
"The killer of the Council of Generosity?!"
They began to feel worried and nervous, fearing that they would be the next to be assassinated.
The Rose King frowned as he looked at his ministers sweating profusely.
"Don't jump to conclusions. There are still many mysteries in this matter. It may not be the Empire's action. It may also be someone with ulterior motives trying to sow discord... Don't worry , the Wandering Knights will work at their full capacity and do their best to protect your safety."
Mansfield thought about it.
"Nicoel, we can try to implement your proposal yesterday. You can write the list of envoys yourself and go to the capital of Shuoli as soon as possible..."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The old man showed joy on his face and quickly stood up and saluted the Rose King.
Outside the Rose Palace, the sky was bright.
Through the void, you can seem to see a grassland suspended in the sky.
The gray-robed man was standing under the sacred golden tree, looking up at the black-robed figure who was leaning against the armrest and writing furiously on the white throne.
rustle……
The ivory white fountain pen wrote beautiful cursive characters on the manuscript paper.
As the last period came full circle, just like fate coming full circle, the gentleman slowly put the cap on the pen.
Click.
"Thank you for being willing to be a pawn, Chancellor Azgiero."
The gentleman took off his hat and said to the man in gray robe under the throne.
"Everything is for my king."
Azgiero had a calm expression. After taking a deep breath, he slowly lowered his head towards the other person, touching his chest.
"If you have any orders, please give them to me, Your Majesty, the King of Cang Yi."
Wow——
Chen Lun threw the manuscript paper out and it landed accurately in Azgierro's hands.
"Next stop, the city of Shuoli."
The man in gray robe glanced at the contents of the manuscript and looked slightly stunned.
He nodded silently, then turned into a shadow and disappeared from the spot.
A gentle breeze blew by.
The hair of the gentleman in black was blown.
His gaze was far-reaching, penetrating the void and overlooking the Rose Palace , with a smile on his lips.
"Step 2..."
