"Rest assured, Fellow Cultivator Lei. I never intended to fight a protracted civil war but to settle the problem quickly and decisively."
Li Linghai's long fingers danced agilely, opening a glittering light beam between the two of them. It was a map of the Imperium that was filled with stars.
Under Li Linghai's fingers, the map of the Imperium was enlarged, enlarged, and enlarged. In the end, the only thing left was a glittering, glamorous planet at the center.
Li Linghai smiled. "My Deep Sea Fleet, Fellow Cultivator Lei's Thunder Fleet, and the Godly Might Fleet that I've obtained, will the three forces be gathered into the torrents that will renew the Imperium. Is it possible that they will suddenly break into this place and turn the world upside down?"
"This place, the capital?"
Lei Chenghu bulged his eyes and looked at Li Linghai as if he were a lunatic. "It's impossible. It's absolutely impossible!
"First of all, without the guidance of an enormous space gate, it is impossible for us to jump to the sky of the capital in an organized way. It must be noted that the 'Empyreal Terminus Sector', where the capital is located, is brimming with automatic defense magical equipment. Uncontrollable flying swords and space torpedoes that are automatically activated have almost filled all the sailing routes!
"Once our warships jump to the vicinity of the 'Empyreal Terminus Sector', we will be blown into smithereens even before the elite fleets of the four Kurfürst families show up. It will be barely possible for us to gather.
"Secondly, the 'Empyreal Terminus Sector' is itself an enormous space fortress. Since the collapse of the Black Wind Sector a hundred years ago, the Imperium has considered the possibility that the Holy League might march all the way to the capital and strengthened the 'Empyreal Terminus Sector' nonstop.
"After a hundred years of construction, the capital today has been armed to every street and alley. There are also as many permanent shelters and warehouses of crystals and magical equipment below the ground! Any battle to attack the capital will turn into a war of attrition. Due to the lack of supplies, we can only support a quick battle. It is impossible for us to conquer the capital at all!
"Thirdly, and most importantly of all, ever since the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance, the panicked elders of the Imperium have mobilized tremendous troops to the capital under the pretext of 'protecting the emperor', but they are in fact protecting themselves.
"The fleets that are gathered in the capital today are three times more than usual. How can we break in? Choosing the Imperial Capital as their target was simply walking into a trap and seeking their own deaths. They had caused the soldiers under their command to lose their lives for nothing and also cut off the last hope of the Empire.
"Therefore, if this is Fellow Cultivator Li's plan of 'Honor the Majesty and Settle the Rebellions', forgive me for not agreeing to it!"
"Please don't be hasty, Fellow Cultivator Lei. Your intelligence is slightly wrong. The elites of the four Kurfürst families that have been gathered in the capital are not three times as many as usual but at least five times. Also, once they hear that 'Queen Li Linghai' and 'God of War Lei Chenghu' have joined hands and are about to march into the capital for an 'armed remonstrance', when they are scared out of their wits, the troops that they have gathered will be more than five times but possibly ten times, won't they?"
Li Linghai said with a smile, "But even ten times more soldiers cannot stop us from marching to the capital for an 'armed remonstrance' with our lives and blood, exposing the ugly faces of the warlords and the nobles, and waking up all the insensitive people, right?"
Lei Chenghu sniffed. "What's the point of that? That's pure nonsense!"
"It is indeed pointless. Marching to the capital recklessly for an 'armed remonstrance' will not be worthwhile even if we can luckily kill a few elders. Instead, the Thunder Fleet, the Deep Sea Fleet, and the Godly Might Fleet will be completely destroyed, and the capital will be smashed into a mess. The reign of the four Kurfürst families will be shaken. It will be a lose-lose situation."
Li Linghai suddenly changed the topic and said with glittering eyes, "We know that we will never do such a stupid thing, but the enemy doesn't know that, right? Both Fellow Cultivator Lei and I are like desperate gamblers right now. It will not be strange at all if we do something insane when we are determined to make a gamble.
"Therefore, after learning that we are marching to the capital for an 'armed remonstrance', the elites of the four Kurfürst families will certainly go to the capital crazily and lock themselves there!"
Lei Chenghu was slightly dazed. The fire in his eyes burned up the entire chamber as he mumbled, "Yes. The news that the Godly Might Prison has been taken cannot be kept a secret for long. In one day at most, the four Kurfürst families will learn that I have escaped and that the enormous forces of the 'reformists' exist!
"Marching to the capital for an 'armed remonstrance', on the other hand, seems to be our only choice in desperation!
"If that's the case …"
"It's exactly what you think. Please take a look, Fellow Cultivator Lei."
Li Linghai reduced the map of the Imperium again and pointed at a crimson space at the edge. "Right now, two thirds of the elites of the four Kurfürst families are concentrated in the newly-recovered space zone of the Imperium, partly in case of the counterattack of the Holy League, but more importantly, they are keeping an eye on the fleets of the new warlords and the smaller nobles. They are even restraining each other to ensure that they can occupy advantageous positions when they are 'divided'.
"Those fleets will not move even if they are killed.
"Then, in order to strengthen the defense of the capital, they will have to summon the remaining one third of the elites in their own nests.
"Once they learn that we are marching to the capital for an 'armed remonstrance', those elites will certainly rush to the capital as fast as they can. Then, won't the nests of the four Kurfürst families be undefended?
"With the Thunder Fleet, the Deep Sea Fleet, and the Godly Might Fleet combined, even if we can't conquer the capital, can't we conquer the nests of the four Kurfürst families?"
Lei Chenghu thought hard and enlarged the map of the Imperium now and then while he studied the territory of the four Kurfürst families carefully. After a while, he raised his head and looked at Li Linghai. "Even the nests of the four Kurfürst families will not be much easier to conquer than the capital. We will suffer heavy casualties, and it will be impossible for us to resist four enormous interest groups with a thousand years of heritage at the same time."
"Who says that we are going to deal with four of them? One of them will be enough. "
Li Linghai smoothed his white hair that was waving crazily and said casually, "We don't even need one of them. Just like what happened in the Godly Might Prison today, there will be no bloodshed."
The flames that were spurting out of Lei Chenghu's eyes were almost condensing into magma. He said sincerely, "Why didn't I notice such an extraordinary person as Fellow Cultivator Li before? If you were not in the royal palace but in the frontline, you would've made great contributions and become a pillar of the Imperium a long time ago! "
"It doesn't matter."
Li Linghai smiled. "Just like Fellow Cultivator Lei said just now, I can still accomplish great things even if I am in the royal palace, can't I?"
Lei Chenghu smiled, too. Back to the topic at hand, he said, "Then, where is the destination of the operation? I believe that the Imperium, which is terminally ill and faced with the threat of foreign enemies today, is not suitable for a major surgery to be reborn. By eliminating part of the enemies in the Council of Elders with precise surgical strikes, the remaining elders will change their minds, and the establishment of the 'base of the expedition army' will be preserved and strengthened." "That's right.
The four Kurfürst families are deeply rooted after all. It is impossible for us to wage a war on them at the same time. Therefore, even if we raise the banner of 'Honor the Majesty and Settle the Rebellions', it is still inappropriate to strike them all as' rebels'. "
Li Linghai said, "Our purpose is very simple. There are three things.
"Firstly, the resignation of Dongfang Wang, the current prime minister of the Imperium, and the complete collapse of 'Dongfang Wang's Cabinet'.
"Secondly, Fellow Cultivator Lei, you will be appointed as the 'commander of the expedition army' with the title of marshal. You will be an elder of the Imperium, and the expedition army will be reorganized according to your will.
"Thirdly, His Majesty will be allowed to return to the royal palace and be given the dignity and glory that he deserves!
"As for the rest, we can talk about it when we have the advantage in the Council of Elders."
Lei Chenghu's eyes penetrated through the glittering map of the Imperium. Refracted by the thousands of stars, they were immeasurable.
"As you command, Your Grace. I am willing to pledge my loyalty to the queen and sacrifice my life for the great plan of 'Honor the Majesty and Settle the Rebellions'!"
Lei Chenghu rose abruptly and saluted Li Linghai with a textbook "unity salute". It was exactly because he was missing an arm that the salute was particularly brutal and aggressive. "Give me another half a day. I will be able to clean up everything in the Godly Might Prison and take away all the important people. Then, I will return to the Third Battle Area in the frontline and gather my fleet.
"Right now, I am still the commander of the Third Battle Area and the highest commander of the Thunder Fleet. Even if the Council of Elders wants to dismiss me, it will take some time. That will be enough!"
"Thank you for your hard work, General Lei — no … Marshal Lei."
Li Linghai changed his title, too. "The Imperium will not forget your contributions. You will be the greatest soldier of the Imperium of True Human Beings in the past thousand years. The safety of His Majesty and I, as well as the future of millions of people, will depend on your protection!
"Right now, the Third Battle Area is full of unpredictable changes. The fleets of the four Kurfürst families are all monitoring you nearby. Should they learn that the Godly Might Prison has fallen, chances are that they will do something drastic. Do you need my fleet to escort you back?"
"That will be unnecessary. The Godly Might Fleet is enough."
Lei Chenghu grinned. "As long as I make one precise jump, I will be able to return to the Third Battle Area. It will be my turf. Nobody can do anything to me!"
"Alright. Then, I will input the full set of battle information into the crystal processor. Then, we will contact each other through the super remote secret communication channel."
Li Linghai said as if it were not a big deal, "To ensure the smooth communication between us, please bring another liaison officer with you, Marshal Lei. Since you are already familiar with Vulture Li Yao and have a good conversation with him, why don't you bring him with you so that your safety can be guaranteed in case of an accident? Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?"
Lei Chenghu frowned hard and stared at Li Yao for a long time.
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