An Zhu’s army was currently raiding the southwestern border of Cape, having long planned to launch an attack in conjunction with the Demon Clan. An Zhu had been propagating the narrative of a coup in Cape, claiming that Her Majesty the Queen had already stepped down and a new Queen had been born, urging Cape’s southwestern troops to give up their resistance.
This tactic worked well because the news from Cape was lagging, and An Zhu’s intelligence system had always been far ahead of that of the Cape Royal Capital. The generals in the southwestern border believed it to be true, and once the situation turned slightly adverse, they immediately surrendered, which allowed An Zhu to break through easily and directly invade Cape’s southwestern border.
At this moment, a contingent of An Zhu’s army was on its way to the next city.
“Hey, I have to say, the equipment from Cape’s northern border is quite useful!”
One An Zhu soldier was joking with his officer.
He was also twirling the ray gun in his hand with dazzling skill, far from someone who was handling firearms for the first time.
The reason this soldier dared to speak to his officer so casually and jokingly was not only because An Zhu’s army had continuously won victories recently and captured a large cache of Cape’s military equipment, but also because this soldier had achieved several feats in previous battles, skillfully maneuvering the ray gun and even discovering many hidden functions of the weapon, able to adjust its parameters.
Promotion was definitely a certainty.
The officer also looked relaxed and replied, “Yeah, I heard the supply situation in the rear has improved thanks to those supplies from Cape’s northern border. However, we owe the abundance of intact northern border weaponry to that princess from Cape. Look at these ray guns; their charge is nearly full, as if they were hardly used. I wonder if that princess from Cape is still in the position… fixing the chaos, I guess.”
“Who cares? This land is ours now.”
The two exchanged glances and laughed heartily, which was a microcosm of An Zhu’s military situation. Thanks to this opportunity and the acquisition of a large amount of northern border weaponry, An Zhu’s army was brimming with confidence. After all, even when this batch of weapons was in the hands of Cape’s border troops, they couldn’t stand up to them, let alone now that they had taken possession of these troops.
“Since the southwestern border troops of Cape are like this, I think the northern border troops won’t be any different, all relying on their equipment. Once we really engage with them, I believe we won’t necessarily lose.”
“Isn’t that right? There have already been a large number of equipment sent back to Her Majesty; I heard she is studying how to replicate it. I estimate it won’t be long before we can use our own manufactured equipment. At that time, we will storm into Cape, capture the former queen alive, and present her to Her Majesty.”
“I don’t know why Her Majesty is so fixated on the former queen of Cape. I saw the portraits sent by those merchants, and she isn’t that attractive.”
“Maybe the big shots just have a taste for that. Look at Cape’s royal family, aren’t they also very fond of that queen? But if you ask me, when looking for a wife, it’s better to find someone who can bear children well.”
The two exchanged a smile. An Zhu’s military discipline was still quite strict, so they could only indulge their banter to that extent. However, at that moment, this An Zhu army felt the ground tremble slightly, with a roaring sound they had never heard coming from afar.
A tank division was flattening the dirt road and charging straight towards An Zhu’s army.
Staring at the terrifying iron monstrosity, the soldier gaped and said, “That’s a big rear, definitely good for bearing children.”
……
The information from Cape quickly made its way to An Zhu’s palace through Cassius’s bards.
“Hmph, as expected.”
Alberto casually threw the intel onto the table. From the very beginning, he felt that Claire Augustus’s coup was unlikely to succeed, and even if successful, it wouldn’t last long.
When he first received Claire’s letter, Alberto had already guessed that the outcome of this coup would not be good. Claire Augustus had already gone mad, throwing away too many chips to claim the throne. Even if the coup was successful, the best outcome would be merely controlling the range of a royal city, being a queen in name only.
However, when faced with Claire’s invitation, Alberto did not refuse. Regardless, it ultimately harmed Cape’s interests, and all Alberto needed to do during this period was to swallow up Cape’s southwestern border territory.
Things progressed smoothly. Although the weaponry of the northern border was strong, no matter how strong the weapon user, they were still human. Under Alberto’s continuous propaganda that the Cape Royal Capital had fallen and the new queen had handed over the southwestern border, most of the southwestern border soldiers were not inclined to resist resolutely, abandoning their cities and fleeing at the slightest hint of adversity.
However, Alberto’s mood was not good because Claire’s coup ended in a way that he found most unacceptable.
Not only did it fail, but due to the greed of the Demon Clan, the Northern Border Governor could lawfully enter and take over the royal capital.
The Demon Clan was indeed unreliable. For a small piece of territory, they handed over the great righteousness to others while they were left fleeing like scared rats.
In the latest intel, the Demon Clan had already been crushed by the latest iron monstrosities of the northern border, retreating back to the eastern border, while the new king, Cliff, had completely become a mascot. The entire royal capital, or rather the entire kingdom, was now entirely controlled by that Northern Border Governor.
For this reason, the speed at which An Zhu received information from Cape had slowed significantly. Cassius’s companion had gradually begun to take over the intelligence network in the royal capital, making it impossible for reports to reach Alberto’s desk immediately after the Cape Round Table meeting as before.
The strength of the northern border had far surpassed Alberto’s initial expectations.
Fortunately, Alberto had not done nothing. At least the production equipment from the northern border was already functional for An Zhu. Thanks to this production equipment and Alberto’s protection policies, many wealthy merchants and great nobles supporting Alberto appeared within An Zhu in a short period. These merchants and nobles could provide Alberto with continuous financial support to crack and obtain more northern border production equipment.
With the help of these people, the reverse-engineering of northern border equipment was progressing smoothly. There was even a device similar to an obelisk, though the finished product was still quite immature. But Alberto believed that as long as he was given enough time, he could catch up with Cape’s northern border.
But before that, Alberto had to find a way to acquire more leverage to keep the Northern Border Governor at bay.
“Cassius, how is the excavation of the relics from the Old Empire research institute going?”
“Your Majesty, smoothly. You truly are the destined one; even the secret places of the Old Empire have opened up for you. I believe An Zhu will soon witness the glory of the Old Empire at that time!”
“However, Your Majesty, apart from the research related to the Old Empire, the study of Supremacy Magic has drawn warnings from the Tower.”
Upon hearing this, Alberto’s mood, which had improved slightly, darkened again. He said, “Explain to the Tower that we are aware of it, but we should delay as much as we can. There’s no need to rush to send away the guests from across the continent. Although we may not use Supremacy Magic, we must learn this technique and exercise caution in our interactions with those guests from across the continent.”
