"Yes."
Thinking carefully, Lei Chenghu said slowly, "Even if the whole thing can be made public, is it possible for Dongfang Renxin to cut ties with his brother and ask Dongfang Wang, the prime minister of the Imperium, to stay out of it and pretend that he knows nothing?"
"Impossible."
Li Linghai shook his head affirmatively. "Dongfang Renxin is more than a hundred years older than Dongfang Wang. A hundred years ago, the two brothers were just ordinary people in the Dongfang family. There was no sign that they were in power at all.
"There is every reason to believe that it was exactly with Dongfang Renxin's' medical skills' that helped him win over a bunch of big shots of the Dongfang family. Eventually, the circle pushed Dongfang Wang to represent their interests and become the prime minister of the Imperium.
"The whole circle is bound to each other. As long as Dongfang Renxin collapses, nobody will be spared, including Dongfang Wang."
Lei Chenghu said solemnly, "Got it. Dongfang Renxin is the key. We have to capture him quickly and destroy his secret institute to get solid evidence, right?"
"Yes. That's the most difficult part of the whole thing. We have to capture Dongfang Renxin alive and get the critical evidence."
Li Linghai narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "Dongfang Renxin is a respected elder of the Imperium after all. As long as he is not arrested on the spot for such a serious crime, he has ten thousand ways to get away and bite us back.
"We have only one chance. Right now, Dongfang Renxin does not know that we have set our eyes on him yet. If we fail to hit him and alert him, he will certainly destroy all the traces of the secret institute and flee back to the territory of the Dongfang family immediately. Then, there will be nothing we can do.
"In other words, the arrest operation will be the key to the war. If we succeed, Dongfang Wang's cabinet will definitely collapse and trigger an avalanche chain reaction. Nobody can stop the destruction of the Dongfang family. If we fail, the Yun family and the Song family that are observing and the Li family that seems to be behind us will all turn on us and annihilate us without any hesitation!"
Everybody thought quickly and had to admit that, if it was true, it would indeed be a great opportunity for the reformists, but it would also be a risky move.
Lei Chenghu looked at Dongfang Sheng. "What should we do exactly? Mobilize a fleet to launch a surprise attack?"
Li Linghai shook his head. "We absolutely can't move the fleet. We have reached a tacit understanding with the other three families that we absolutely won't move the fleet. The other three families will help us keep an eye on the Dongfang family's fleet.
"If our fleet assaults the Empyreal Terminus Sector, not to mention the odds of success, the Dongfang family's fleet will certainly intervene, too. If we fight in the capital, it will be a total civil war. I don't think anybody wants to see that."
"That's right."
After much consideration, Lei Chenghu nodded slowly. "Nobody wants the Imperium to really fall into chaos. That will only benefit the Alliance of the Holy Covenant."
"Therefore, Yue Wushuang's Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils will be in charge of the arrest operation. Theoretically speaking, as long as Dongfang Renxin is suspected to be corrupted by extraterrestrial devils, they will have the legal right to arrest and trial him."
Li Linghai said, "General Lei and General Dongfang, your fleets will continue to stand by and keep the supervision and suppression on the Li family's fleet. Force them to stall the Dongfang family's fleet so that nobody else's fleet can act recklessly.
"Chairman Jin, your mission is to continue wandering among the business interest groups of the other three Kurfürst families and to express the goodwill and sincerity of the reformists. For example, you can absolutely share more of the Dongfang family's interests with them. All in all, you have to express the opinion that the fall of the Dongfang family will definitely bring great benefits to the three families, and the business groups at the peripheral worlds of the Imperium are all ignorant bumpkins who will be satisfied with the slightest benefits.
"Of course, since everybody's fleets are not moving on the surface, the dark battlefield in the capital will be very busy in the coming days. Please mobilize all the funds you can to support the capital. There are a lot of intelligence and informants to be purchased, a lot of killers and assassins to be hired, and a lot of wavering guys to be smashed down with the crystal coins of the Imperium.
"That's basically the mission. Is there anything else you don't understand?"
This time, there were no more questions.
"Then, please continue to fight valiantly on your respective battlefields, fellow Cultivators!"
Li Linghai waved his hands and declared resolutely, "If we win the battle, the 'new Imperium' will succeed!"
Everybody rose abruptly, raised their right arms, and clenched their fists. They shouted at the same time, "Long live the Imperium! Long live the Immortal Cultivators! Long live the civilization of mankind!"
The secret meeting came to an end. Everybody walked out one after another, except for Li Yao, who was hinted by Li Linghai to stay.
In the enormous relic repair center, the queen of the Imperium and Vulture Li Yao were the only two people left.
The 3D light beam behind Li Linghai fluctuated and condensed into a brand-new perspective, which was filled with dense pathways and holes like a translucent ant's nest. Those with trypophobia would certainly feel that their blood was freezing when they saw it.
"There's one thing that I would like to ask for your opinion as a magical equipment specialist."
Li Linghai pointed at the perspective of the ant's nest behind him and said, "This is the detailed structural map of the block two thousand meters below the twenty-seventh district of the capital. According to our intelligence, it is Dongfang Renxin's secret research institute.
"All the studies that he conducted in the Heavenly Star Hospital were, of course, legal and aboveboard. The real clandestine secrets, such as the facilities for 'cannibal training', and the 'raw materials', have all been arranged here.
"What is troubling is that Dongfang Renxin also knows that it is of great importance and that there is no room for error. Therefore, not only is the entire twenty-seventh district heavily guarded, but his accomplices are also everywhere. Also, a cluster of crystal bombs in a very precise structure has been installed around the secret research institute. They are so powerful that one detonation is enough to destroy the secret research institute together with everything inside.
"Look. This is part of the distribution points and the structural map of the crystal bombs that our spies have gone through all the trouble to obtain. What do you think? Can you dismantle the crystal bombs before we break in?"
Li Linghai zoomed in on the picture. In the translucent diagram that was as complicated as an ant's nest and a maze, some glittering red spots soon appeared. As the red spots were further enlarged, they were the most precise crystal bombs.
"This is —"
Li Yao's pupils constricted violently, and his fingers trembled beyond his control. He mumbled, "Not just the secret research institute. The entire twenty-seventh district is essentially sitting on the top of an active volcano. Once the crystal bombs are detonated, I'm afraid that the entire underground town will be blown to the sky. No, it will be buried deep below the ground after the collapse of the mountain!
"Also, if my guess is correct, there should only be thirty percent of the crystal bombs in this place. The hideous appearance of the array of crystal bombs has not been fully revealed yet, right?"
Li Linghai's eyes glittered. He nodded and said, "Exactly. You are indeed an expert with keen eyes. It can't be helped. This secret research institute is the lifeblood of Dongfang Renxin and Dongfang Wang. It is already our best to detect thirty percent of the self-destruction devices. How about it? Are you confident that you can make it malfunction without alarming anyone?"
Li Yao frowned, but the brilliance of eagerness was beaming out of his eyes.
It had been a long time since he had encountered such an interesting challenge.
He closed his eyes, but his eyeballs were rolling quickly below his eyelids. His fingers were humming, too, but they were bouncing at a super high frequency that was unrecognizable to the naked eye. After deducing and calculating repeatedly, he nodded first and then shook his head. "If the other seventy percent of the self-destruction devices are crystal bombs of the same type, I will be eighty percent confident. However, the guy who set up the self-destruction devices is definitely an expert among experts. So, I'm very suspicious that he might've set up more sordid traps in the other seventy percent of the structures. If so, we will have to see how it goes on the spot."
"I knew that you wouldn't disappoint me."
Li Linghai pushed a badge over. "The arrest operation this time is to remove the scourge for the people. It should be in line with your belief as a Cultivator. I don't need to charge you for it, do I?"
"I have to charge you to remove the scourge for the people. If I don't have money or resources, I can't build myself up. How can I remove the scourge for the people better next time? The best I can do is to give you a discount, Your Grace. "
Li Yao played with the badge and observed it carefully. In the background of crossed blades was a scale. On the left side of the scale was a bloody heart, and on the right side was the head of a hideous devil. The devil's eyes were still wide open, as if it had not died in peace. "This is … the emblem of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils?"
"Yes. The operation of 'Honor the Majesty and Settle the Rebellions' is not a rebellion, much less a civil war. Now that everybody's fleets are not moving, the battle will be fought in a legal way. At the very least, it must be legal in name."
Li Linghai smiled. "Right now, you are my personal guard. You do not have the right of law enforcement outside of the royal palace. It is impossible for you to arrest an elder of the Imperium easily. Therefore, I temporarily grant you the identity of 'special consultant of the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils' so that you can participate in the operation."
"Right. There's something that I've been meaning to ask you, Your Grace."
Holding the emblem in his hand, Li Yao thought for a moment and said, "The Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils claims that it is qualified to investigate all the cases that involve extraterrestrial devils in the entire Imperium and to capture, interrogate, and punish all the Demonic Cultivators who have been corrupted by extraterrestrial devils. The problem is, who can tell if a person is a Demonic Cultivator and if the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils is qualified to punish them?"
Li Linghai said casually, "The Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils, of course."
Li Yao blinked and said, "So, the Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils can totally accuse any passerby of being a Demonic Cultivator on the street and capture them for interrogation in their dungeons?"
Li Linghai said, "Yes."
Li Yao said, "What if it is found that the poor guy is not a Demonic Cultivator after the interrogation?"
Li Linghai said, "Rest assured. That won't happen. The Tribunal of Extraterrestrial Devils has ten thousand ways to make a suspect admit that he is a Demonic Cultivator."
Li Yao said, "Well, what if he does not have tenebrum energy?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
