Chapter 128: Our Target is to Apprehend DIO
The port area of Mystical City.
It has been forty-three days since Prince Shaq, the mermaid prince, left the sea. He misses it, misses it, misses it.
He truly felt he had lost his mind, his leg, and his arm for thinking of taking advantage of Tian Ming Gou Sheng.
In the end, he was indeed intellectually crushed and got himself trapped in the preparations to capture Roger.
Although the port area is close to the Rose River, it’s well known that sea fish cannot be kept in rivers.
Shaq, unfortunately, is a marine mermaid. Entering freshwater wouldn’t kill him directly due to osmotic pressure, but it wouldn’t be more comfortable than being on land.
Therefore, he felt helpless, so much so that he didn’t even have the energy to urge Shady to act sooner.
He suspected this woman was waiting for Roger Charles to die so she could write a tomb-raiding novel.
Bored, Shaq could only experience life in Mystical City, frequenting small taverns to listen to true or false news, and playing Tequn cards with sailors, a game popularized by mages.
Surprisingly, it was quite good and allowed him to forget the sea temporarily.
Over the past month, the Azurevine Empire had experienced a series of spectacular events, more drastic than the changes in the Sea Kingdom over several hundred years.
First, the nobles collectively boycotted the Empress of Eternal Night, only to have their resistance met with a direct slap in the face from the Empress’s “Dark Night Guard,” scattering them like birds and beasts.
This was immediately followed by the “Imperial Charter,” which abolished the noble class.
A wonder-level structure, the Stellar Palace, was also newly built outside the city.
The magical power and mobilization capability of this vast empire, and the creativity unleashed by governing the entire human race, far exceeded the mermaid’s imagination.
Interspersed were minor events like the beastman princess’s jailbreak, the exiled Duke’s unfortunate capture, the lightning-fast fall of Fergus Castle, and the publication of “Arcane Musings,” each offering countless topics for discussion.
This also helped pass a significant amount of Shaq’s time.
Although the feeling of waiting was frustrating, the life of a mermaid prince from the Sea Kingdom wouldn’t have been much more exciting on land, so he endured.
Shaq even felt a bit envious of the Empress of Eternal Night.
After this round of reforms, despite the interference of an Imperial Council, her control over the empire’s 400 million subjects had significantly increased.
In contrast, his Sea Kingdom, though vaster than the land, was essentially still a feudal state.
The various races within the sea only paid nominal allegiance to the mermaid royal family.
If his father truly wanted to launch a major war, like a war between land and sea, he would have to beg and borrow, and coordinate the interests of each faction.
Moreover, the Sea Kingdom faced the newly emerged powerful enemy, the Naga Empire, which was constantly competing with them for territory, warm volcanic zones, and currents, as well as subjugated races.
To be honest, mermaids, the traditional rulers of the ocean, had been at a disadvantage against the more magically powerful Naga Empire for nearly a century, barely maintaining the dignity of an old power.
In comparison, the rise of the Azurevine Empire and the Empress of Eternal Night’s absolute power naturally made Shaq intensely envious.
Of course, whether weakening the nobles and elevating the commoners would impact the empire’s combat effectiveness and lead to a talent shortage remained to be seen.
It would take a major war to validate the changes in the Azurevine Empire before anyone might follow suit.
While Shaq observed the events in the Azurevine Empire with the detached amusement of a spectator, Shady found herself increasingly troubled.
Intelligence reports flooded in, and the empire’s situation changed day by day.
That Roger was also exceptionally active, his strength constantly evolving, and the combat power of his Dark Night Guard was soaring.
It seemed… he was becoming harder to deal with?
Simultaneously, Dio Brando, whom she had previously theorized to be Roger’s false identity, was also becoming active again on Mystical City’s political stage.
He attended cabinet meetings, oversaw the construction of the Stellar Palace, and even precious scenes of Dio and Roger appearing together emerged.
This made Shady even more perplexed.
Analyzing the details, Roger and Dio’s habits, behavioral tics, and even their knowledge and ideals, along with their tacit cooperation during the construction of the Dark Night Guard headquarters, all led her to believe they were the same person.
Yet, their appearance at the same time and place simultaneously provided the strongest evidence suggesting they were two different people.
“Contradictory conclusions mean one of them must be wrong,” Shady analyzed the intelligence before her, feeling as if she had grasped a fleeting inspiration amidst the dense fog.
Roger and Dio are the same person; this was her deduction based on countless pieces of intelligence and details.
Roger and Dio are not the same person; this was a fact presented in Mystical City, visible to everyone.
After over a month of deliberation, based on all the information she possessed, Shady finally reached a bold conclusion:
“The latter is a performance staged by the Empress of Eternal Night and Roger for the world to see, and the two are actually the same person. The Empress of Eternal Night, using her inconceivable magical means, helped someone with only the strength of a junior mage to complete this incredible performance. I was misled by their act!”
Shady rubbed her temples wearily, but her eyes shone brighter, possessing a sharpness like she had “caught you.”
After confirming that Roger and Dio were the same person, the problem before her was which was the real Roger and which was the Empress of Eternal Night’s magical creation.
On this matter, Shady was quite confident, her fingernail tracing a crucial piece of intelligence:
On the day Princess Tasika of Agave escaped from prison, the scene showed too much evidence of staging, suggesting involvement from the imperial military.
At the same time, Roger displayed extraordinary defensive capabilities, withstanding three legendary powerhouses without defeat, which was entirely beyond normal human strength.
Meanwhile, Dio appeared at the Yin Bing Manor.
Based on this, it could be inferred that the apparent Roger was not Roger but an anthropomorphic puppet created by the Empress of Eternal Night, thus possessing supernatural defense and staging such a play.
Dio, therefore, was the true Roger, her real target to capture!
“If I hadn’t been cautious enough, I would have been fooled!”
A hunter’s smile played on Shady’s lips.
This feeling of breaking through layers of fog, ignoring the illusions created by the enemy, discarding misleading information, and grasping the truth was amazing!
This was the most rewarding moment for a believer in the God of Knowledge, relying on her own reason for analysis and deduction!
She rang the bell to summon Shaq and the action team leader of the Tian Ming Army, and soon a series of arrangements were made.
Shaq’s expression grew stranger as he listened, and he finally couldn’t help but ask, “Dio is the real Roger? Your Highness, are you sure?”
He had heard many stories on the streets about this commoner cabinet member. His identity was too far removed from the Duke’s brother and the young master of the Charles family!
These two were actually the same person?
This was the first time he had heard such a theory; it was utterly preposterous!
How many cups of wine would a bard have to drink to dare make something like this up?
Mentor, you are truly daring to think and speak!
Hearing someone finally ask, Shady couldn’t help but show a look of relief.
The Tian Ming Army’s blind obedience to her felt good, but they had never given her an opportunity to present her meticulous deductions.
Now, with Shaq’s doubt, she could finally showcase her high-level operations!
Shady laid out her logical reasoning step by step, finally concluding, “Although not all impossibilities have been ruled out, based on the current information, there is still a 98% probability of accuracy!”
Shaq felt like he was listening to heavenly scriptures. Though he didn’t understand, he was impressed!
So, the Empress of Eternal Night specially created a fake identity for Roger to act externally while her true self was hidden and protected by the fake identity.
It was well-reasoned, logical, and cogent. Brilliant!
Was this what they called the fight of gods?
“Damn it, humans are so scheming. Fortunately, we didn’t go after Roger from the start…”
He couldn’t help but sigh, realizing the days of waiting had been worthwhile!
Shady gave a proud smile, as if to say, “You finally understand.”
And so, a hunt targeting Dio began!
…
…
At the same time, the Stellar Palace.
During the “Oath of Glory” magic ritual on the altar, Roger was not among the nobles.
He was in the Stellar Palace’s central control room, monitoring data with Frankenstein, occasionally exchanging a few words.
Outside the core control room where they were located, hundreds of mages from the Secret Arts Society and the Dark Night Guard were specifically operating the entire magic array.
The Oath of Glory was a restriction for the nobles, and also a boon.
Despite numerous optimizations, the final casting difficulty reached the quasi-legendary level.
The energy consumption and material costs were quite high. At the empire’s current prices, it was roughly equivalent to 3,000 gold coins per person.
This meant that with thousands of nobles performing the ritual simultaneously today, several million gold coins vanished instantly.
Of course, the money was worth it. In the future, if they worked diligently in their positions and each committed slightly less corruption, they would earn back this expenditure.
Simultaneously, the Oath of Glory included many beneficial constant effects. A magic ritual performed by a wonder-level structure was certainly more cost-effective than a temporary arrangement.
Of course, such a large-scale magic ritual was also the empire’s first application. To ensure its success, Frankenstein personally oversaw the entire process to show its importance.
The empire did not demand all nobles swear the Oath of Glory at this time.
As long as the Empress of Eternal Night agreed, they could skip this step and retain their titles.
Roger, Angelina, Margaret, those cabinet ministers, and many nobles holding important positions in the administrative system and military could voluntarily choose whether to perform the Oath of Glory.
This was also a form of recognition for those who had been loyal to the Empress; their past performance had not gone unnoticed by the Empress.
This collective oath primarily targeted the major nobles who originally held vast lands.
Whether they would genuinely abandon their lands and support imperial power was yet unknown, hence the need for magical assurance.
There would be no such grand spectacle in the future. Perhaps only newly ennobled commoners who made great contributions, or noble descendants inheriting their fathers’ honor, would enter the Stellar Palace.
“But it can be foreseen that this dome will shine with stars in the future.” Although Roger was not affected by the magical effects, he could imagine the magnificent sight those nobles would behold in the dome he designed.
Frankenstein said with some regret, “It’s a pity Her Majesty does not agree to include a purification mechanism in the Oath of Glory, otherwise, you might even see a meteor shower here!”
Because the Oath of Glory included the setting for reviving by storing soul fragments, it had many characteristics of a soul contract, and a control rule could easily be added:
If someone’s greed exceeded the contract’s constraints, the Stellar Palace could handle it by directly purifying their soul.
In that case, they would be undead but idiotic.
This was a basic function of a soul contract. Frankenstein believed the human heart was uncontrollable; even with psychological suggestions from contracts, some people could break through the suggestions (Willpower Check).
However, the Empress of Eternal Night unhesitatingly refused her suggestion.
The Empress believed everyone hesitated at times. Mechanized judgment executed by a program would turn the Oath of Glory entirely into a shackle for the nobles, and it would also limit the energy of the ultimate variable, which was humankind.
Mechanized execution could not handle decisions requiring flexible adaptation or great risk-taking.
Specific situations were always more complex than predicted.
Because her suggestion was rejected, Frankenstein remained resentful to this day.
Roger listened to the mechanical girl’s complaints, but on this matter, he sided with the Empress of Eternal Night, retorting, “If Her Majesty put shackles on all of you, ensuring absolute purity of thought before entrusting you with important tasks, would you still follow her so devotedly?”
“Yes, in this world, there is no one more generous than Her Majesty,” Frankenstein replied firmly.
Many of her wild ideas in alchemy would have been impossible to realize in a small country without the absolute support of the Azurevine Empire and the Empress of Eternal Night.
Or it would have taken many years of delay and accumulation to achieve them.
Roger was suddenly speechless. So, this was the idea of a master alchemist?
The magical ritual of the Oath of Glory was completed smoothly. Occasional unexpected fluctuations were resolved by the mages of the Secret Arts Society, and the final effect was perfect.
Frankenstein suddenly wore a playful smile, “Lord Roger, don’t you feel happy thinking you’ll have over a thousand older sisters from now on?”
“This situation probably won’t happen often, right?”
“Souls are too mysterious, and magic is unstable. What if there are anomalies?”
Frankenstein was telling a joke that only she understood.
The prototype for the psychological suggestion used in the Oath of Glory ritual was extracted from Angelina’s thoughts.
She was a rare noble who truly placed the empire’s interests above her own and her family’s.
The Empress of Eternal Night was quite moved when confirming Angelina’s intentions.
She felt she herself couldn’t be as pure as Angelina.
The Empress was willing to do many things for this empire because it was her country. If she succeeded, she could brag about it.
But Angelina was truly selfless.
As long as the empire needed it, she would step forward.
This sentiment was noble and relatively gentle, not giving rise to fanatical, extreme militarism.
As a psychological suggestion prototype, it could reduce the recipient’s resistance and significantly improve loyalty to the empire, achieving a nearly perfect balance.
There was only one small regret: Angelina’s imperial interests were placed higher than the Empress’s interests in her heart.
These two were consistent most of the time, but the Empress was also human and would inevitably have moments where her personal will clashed with the empire’s.
If a conflict arose using Angelina’s mindset to restrain the nobles, the resulting scene might be very interesting.
But the Empress of Eternal Night still chose Angelina’s mindset as the prototype to develop the Oath of Glory.
This was a challenge, and the Empress of Eternal Night never feared challenges.
She also did not want to be surrounded by timid sycophants.
As Lord Roger often did, having someone point out one’s mistakes was good for the empire.
Thus, the Oath of Glory was finalized.
Although it was just the purest, most primitive psychological suggestion, if, as Frankenstein said, some anomaly occurred, and one day all these nobles of various shapes and sizes became his older sisters, demanding compensation for the “missing” sibling affection.
“How terrifying!” Roger shuddered at the thought of these nobles chasing him for hugs.
