Taking a deep breath, Li Yao stepped forward and held his hands on the desk. Looking at Lei Chenghu on the other side of the cold metal desk, he said, one word after another, "I do not want to see the victims at the center of the cosmos, nor do I want to face a broken civilization of mankind that is on the verge of collapse. I cannot tolerate the puppets of flesh and blood from the Alliance of the Holy Covenant, who do not have feelings and free will, to sweep across the entire universe so that my compatriots and offspring will have to kneel and kowtow to the Pangu or any other gods in the universe!
"If the queen can stop everything from happening, I will stand on her side unwaveringly and support her with everything that I can.
"If the queen cannot stop everything and even brings a great disaster to the center of the cosmos, I will stand on the side of whoever can stop her and end all the chaos.
"Getting to the bottom of it, I am not loyal to the queen or the Imperium but to the civilization of mankind itself!
"General Lei, are you satisfied with the answer?"
Lei Chenghu stared at Li Yao's eyes that were vaguely flashing gold for a while before he nodded and said, "I understand it now. It seems that you are indeed different from the queen, which makes me very curious. What is your background exactly? How did the queen raise such an eccentric, unique, and unique person like you?"
Li Yao smiled but did not give a reply. Instead, he changed the topic and said, "General Lei, how likely do you think it is that the queen has' gambled too much '? However ambitious she is, and however much she craves the supreme power, it is impossible for her to go against the entire universe, right? Leaving aside whether or not she can swallow the four Kurfürst families on her own, the main fleet of the Holy League is still coveting in the darkness. Can she be so stupid and crazy that she cannot see that?
"If she usurps the supreme power of the Imperium after all the trouble, only to be taken advantage of by the Holy League in the end, wouldn't it be the greatest joke?"
"I don't know where Her Majesty's confidence comes from. Perhaps she has even more trump cards that no one knows, similar to … an existence like you."
Lei Chenghu said casually, "I only know that, for a gambler, the odds of 'going too far' are one hundred percent. 'Quit while you're ahead' does not exist in the dictionary of a gambler. Whether they win or lose at the beginning, the gambler will only bet more and more chips again and again until they lose everything, including their own flesh, blood, and soul.
"I myself am such an irresistible gambler. Her Highness has bet even more than me. Now that she has tasted the sweetness of betting everything on one throw, will she really stop in time? I … am very doubtful."
Li Yao and Lei Chenghu fell silent at the same time, revealing a thoughtful expression.
However, the thoughts churning in their minds were clearly different.
Although the sea of stars was vast, the ambitions of human beings were even more exuberant. No matter how many stars and worlds there were, it was destined that they would not be able to bear it and would have to overflow.
Right then, the battlefield communicator on the metal desk sent out signals from Dragon Abyss, the flagship of the Deep Sea Fleet.
The image of the white-haired witch appeared between the two of them without a sound like a ghost.
"Bodyguard Li, thank you for your hard work. Your performance has been very remarkable. It is truly beyond my expectations. It seems that I will have to reevaluate your role in the entire tide of reform and your position in the new Imperium."
Li Linghai, Queen of the Imperium, smiled at Li Yao thoughtfully. Then, she turned to Lei Chenghu and said delightedly, "General Lei, I have fulfilled my promise and won the full support of the Li family on behalf of the reformists. The blood and sacrifices of you and all the warriors have not been in vain, have they?"
"Your Highness, your plan is flawless. Naturally, everything is under your control."
Lei Chenghu said calmly, "However, what I'm more curious about is how exactly you persuaded 'Silver Fox' Li Jiande. If my guess is correct, Li Jiande is still in charge of the Li family right now, isn't he?"
"It's very simple."
Li Linghai said casually, "I told Li Jiande that the whole reformists, as well as you and the Thunder Fleet, had been taken advantage of by me. The Li family could've stabbed the reformists, General Lei, and the Thunder Fleet at the Dongfang family as knives so that the reformists and the Dongfang family would both suffer heavy losses. Then, the Li family would have been able to take advantage of the situation and rise.
"Li Jiande, the old fox, has lingered for a hundred years without dying. Why is he still alive? Does he not want to see the day when the Dongfang family declines? How can he not be tempted?
"Besides, we are such a huge thorn among the trusted subordinates of the Li family. We can cut open the Li family's stomach if we disagree. It is obvious that we are going to die together with him. Is there any need to say what he will choose in the end?"
"It sounds very reasonable."
Lei Chenghu said, "Then, how do we know that it is just your fancy words and not your real thoughts, and that you are deceiving Li Jiande on behalf of the reformists instead of taking advantage of the reformists on behalf of the Li family?"
"Of course, I am taking advantage of you. Isn't General Lei taking advantage of me, too? We have common interests, and we can achieve the same purpose by taking advantage of each other. Isn't it the most stable and reliable relationship that is more reliable than any blood relationship?"
Li Linghai said matter-of-factly. With a smile, he said again, "Rest assured, General Lei and Guard Li. I sincerely believe in the idea of 'renewing the Imperium', and I swear that I will eliminate all the decayed forces and systems.
"I have no attachment or interest in the Li family at all. The reason is very simple. Today, when the technology is so advanced, the civilization is so advanced, and the number of low-level Immortal Cultivators is increasing, the four Kurfürst families' way of ruling the world, which is similar to feudal royalty, is too underdeveloped, shabby, and vulnerable.
"Even in the age of the ancient Cultivators, such a way of ruling the world by one person and one family was often not enough to govern a single planet. It is needless to say that every family has to govern dozens of Sectors and suppress more than ninety-nine percent of the heroes and villains with the blood of the family that only accounts for 0.1% of the total population. How can such a reign last long and be stable?
"From that point of view, even the current system of the Imperium is much more advanced than the system within the four Kurfürst families. After all, the Imperium has the Council of Elders, and the interests of all parties have to be balanced in the Council of Elders. The decline of the royal power also leads to the rise of the miscellaneous families. Many people can more or less make their voices heard. There is a narrow, rugged, but bright path to the sky.
"In the territory of the four Kurfürst families, as long as one's surname is not Li, Yun, or Dongfang, they will never be able to rise. As for the internal conflicts, conflicts, and unspeakable rules within the family, there are even more than the hairs on a cow.
"Such a system that has been like a rotten corpse for ten thousand years seriously limits the combat ability and creativity of everybody in the territory. How can they lead the Imperium to the future? They are just abnormal freaks and retrogressions of history. Even if they rise to prominence for a while, they will be crushed and eradicated mercilessly in the end.
"My ambitions are so great that the entire Imperium and the entire universe may not be able to contain them. How can I tie my fate to such a family that is bound to decline and perish?"
Lei Chenghu and Li Yao looked at each other. Pondering for a moment, they said, "Alright. Of course, I'm willing to trust and support Your Grace and cooperate with the Li family for now.
"Now that we have the full support of the Li family, what should we do next? It's not like we are going to launch a war against the elites of the Dongfang family by mobilizing the lineal descendants of the Li family, right?"
"Of course not. Li Jiande will never agree to such a simple and violent approach. This is a reform, not a civil war."
Li Linghai said confidently, "Please rest assured, General Lei. I know what I'm doing in this matter. Our goal is very clear. We will try our best to take down Prime Minister Dongfang Wang and collapse Dongfang Wang's cabinet first!"
Lei Chenghu shook his head and said, "Dongfang Wang has been the prime minister of the Imperium for twenty years. His students and old friends are all over the world. He has a lot of connections in both the capital and the many powerful heavy industrial worlds. Also, with the prestige of the Imperium's victory in the counterattack, he is known as the 'prime minister of iron and blood'. How is it possible to ask Dongfang Wang to step down and even collapse his entire cabinet?"
Li Linghai said, "If the other three families object to the Dongfang family together, it is possible."
Lei Chenghu said coldly, "Leaving the Li family aside, the other two Kurfürsten are also cunning and cunning people. How can they be willing to go against the Dongfang family on bad terms?"
Li Linghai said with a smile, "If we have a way to ruin Dongfang Wang's reputation, the Dongfang family will be condemned by everybody, and even the powerful figures within the Dongfang family will rise against Dongfang Wang, I'm afraid that those cunning, cunning guys will tear apart their masks of hypocrisy and reveal their true colors as' brutal, ruthless, and greedy '. They will hit Dongfang Wang when he is down and claim some of the benefits from him."
Lei Chenghu's eyes flashed. "How can we ruin Dongfang Wang's reputation?"
"The incident of the Blood Oath Alliance."
Li Linghai said, "Everything started because of it. Naturally, we have to conclude that it was Dongfang Wang who made the scheme. If we can completely unveil his crimes and let everybody know that it was Dongfang Wang who planned the assassination of an elder of the Dongfang family, he will be doomed forever both inside and outside the family!"
Lei Chenghu was amused. "Even if the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance was really planned by Dongfang Wang, with his wisdom and schemes, would he have left any loopholes that we can use against him?"
"Even if he doesn't have any loopholes, he can still create them himself. After all, the incident is definitely related to him, and he will not be wronged."
Li Linghai said, "Of course, this is a fatal move that cannot be performed easily without a 100% success rate. Before the truth of the incident of the Blood Oath Alliance was exposed, I prepared a lot of 'cannonballs' for the Dongfang family. Right now, with the support of the Li family, the media and the network in the entire Imperium are no longer an obstacle. Those cannonballs can be launched one after another, blowing up the Dongfang family so dizzy that they will have no time to care about anything else.
"General Lei, Guard Li, get ready. We can return to the capital openly for the final battle."
Li Yao and Lei Chenghu were both slightly dazed. "So soon?"
"Is it quick? I'm burning with impatience. I'm anxious to return."
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