The Queen Villainess Eavesdrops on My Heart and Won’t Let Me Slack Off – Chapter 230

Chapter 229: Divine Scourges Are Also a Kind of Material

Azurevine Empire, the Capital of Mysteries.

The Empress of Eternal Night did not return to her palace but came to the Chapter of Imbalance, intending to finalize the fleet expansion order with Frankenstein.

Thinking of the true war of god-slaughter that awaited her, a battlefield where the people of the empire could truly unleash their fury, young Master Ao’s mind became extremely excited. It was the kind of excitement that kept him from sleeping.

However, upon arriving at the Chapter of Imbalance, he received a clear refusal from Frankenstein: “The order backlog is full. For the next two years, all our shipyards will be producing the escort fleet for the Eternal Night.”

“What about the increased capacity we expanded this year?”

“The nationwide major infrastructure projects, communication, energy, and transportation departments have already claimed the expanded capacity. Your Majesty, I am truly powerless.”

“This…”

“Oh, right. Shall I ask Lidia to compare with Her Majesty?”

Frankenstein was genuinely at a loss. If she truly had no spare capacity, would she push Her Majesty towards her old rival?

The Empress of Eternal Night also understood. Hearing Frankenstein say this, she knew Frankenstein was genuinely powerless.

Since being suppressed last time, Frankenstein no longer dared to make any minor moves.

Moreover, as various industries within the empire became more standardized, with the Qingfeng currency bringing increased economic vitality, and advancements in computing resources and the information industry, a brand new Material Coordination Committee was established, led by the Right Prime Minister Angelina and supported by all cabinet members.

This committee dynamically mobilized and allocated imperial resources and manpower. Frankenstein could no longer replicate her past tricks; it was impossible.

Although Angelina did not possess Frankenstein’s project management capabilities and did not need to deeply understand the principles of alchemy, she could accurately predict the progress of projects at the Chapter of Imbalance based on her past development projects’ time and resource consumption.

This was the power of big data.

Therefore, Frankenstein was also quite helpless. With the backing of this new coordination committee, it saved her a lot of time writing resource applications, allowing her to focus on her work. However, it also severely restricted her freedom, making her feel like a robot within the entire system.

The coordination committee did not wield much direct power. They could not issue direct commands to any department’s work arrangements or production. However, they publicly shared intelligence for discussion and review, and possessed the right to have the Dark Night Guard conduct in-depth investigations.

Once a matter entered this stage, even if no definitive wrongdoing was found, it could become very troublesome. Furthermore, their recommendations were highly valuable and became increasingly insightful over time, leading everyone to willingly follow the numerical references provided by the coordination committee.

The big data modules and fuzzy computation models used by the coordination committee had now been adopted by the military, used to deduce and predict many of the empire’s strategies and battles at a macro level.

Combined with divination spells, the empire, while appearing to have a free market at the macro level, had internally moved towards a planned economy.

Especially for national-level super-projects that required the allocation of all societal resources, or those involving the allocation of resources for basic livelihood needs, capitalist intervention was completely rejected, with the state maintaining control for the stability of the entire society.

The benefits of such adjustments were a rapid decrease in production costs across various sectors, more precise utilization of resources, and an effective control of the widening wealth gap that typically arises with economic development.

Due to the efficiency and precision of domestic resource allocation, the possibility of waste, hoarding, and price gouging was eliminated. At least in domestic trade, if someone wanted to monopolize a certain product and profit effortlessly, it was impossible.

If the coordination committee discovered a decline in the progress of a certain field, they would recommend the establishment of corresponding low-interest loans to attract relevant experts to start businesses, ensuring that everyone was moving forward and that there were enough followers behind them.

Even though the Chapter of Imbalance possessed a significant first-mover advantage, the pursuers behind were becoming increasingly formidable.

The coordination committee would proactively create competitors for Frankenstein through various favorable policies, employing the tactic of “many ants biting an elephant to death.” This placed considerable pressure on the Chapter of Imbalance.

If they lost their leading position in the industry, their future funding would be reduced. The alchemists, who had grown accustomed to a comfortable life, certainly wouldn’t want to return to the past days of tight budgets.

Alright, they had never lacked funding in the past, but their current lives were too comfortable. They could freely navigate the ocean of imagination and truly didn’t want to bid farewell to that feeling.

The Empress of Eternal Night emerged from the Chapter of Imbalance and, with no other choice, headed to the Ritual of Life.

Lidia had also submitted a bid during the design tender for the Eternal Night, but it was rejected by her because the appearance was too sanity-eroding.

However, with the production plan for expanding the fleet now stalled, she had no better options and had to come here.

“You actually came to me?” Lidia greeted the Empress of Eternal Night with much more enthusiasm. “We do indeed have the materials to build a prototype here.”

“You knew I was coming in advance?”

“Uh… Your Majesty misheard.”

“Tell me, who tipped you off beforehand?”

“It was the Commander. She said you would come to me to inquire about the new fleet core, and that I should be prepared.”

Seeing the situation was unfavorable, Lidia immediately chose to betray her teammate.

“Hmph, you’re honest enough. I’ll settle the score with him when I get back.” The Empress of Eternal Night narrowed her eyes, feeling as though her movements had been completely orchestrated by Roger.

Roger was a member of the coordination committee. Perhaps Frankenstein’s assertion of production capacity constraints was Roger’s subtle maneuver to force her to invest resources here with Lidia.

Dilia had no desire to be involved in their infighting and immediately began introducing her designed Titan-class floating fortress, the Divine Scourge.

As the name suggested, the core of this fortress was a divine scourge, combined with His Highness Da’er, who had evolved to a considerable extent. The modification could be completed within half a year.

Then, the battleship could continuously evolve and even produce its own escort vessels. The skilled production design team could then participate in the assembly of new fortresses.

The inter-plane expeditionary forces currently verified by the empire required each core to have a strategic-class floating fortress, accompanied by various levels of warships for escort according to demand, to withstand any complex situation and still possess combat capability.

Their enemies were not only forces from other planes but also the Seven Gods faction. Once a divine kingdom opened, without sufficient fleets to transport troops and relying on fortresses to establish defensive lines, the teleportation of a limited number of powerful individuals would be futile.

Now that the Eternal Night was completed, while the Chapter of Imbalance was assembling the next floating fortress of the same caliber, other teams were fully focused on producing the escort fleet for the Eternal Night.

Roger and the Empress of Eternal Night had agreed that the prerequisite for engaging the War Goddess was for the empire to establish two more fleets of the same caliber.

Their strategy was to attract Tibella’s attention to the Eternal Night World while simultaneously distracting her, making her discover that the planes she controlled were also under attack.

At that time, the Seven Gods faction would have planes that *had* to be attacked. With Tibella fighting on multiple fronts and her strength dispersed, it would create an opportunity for the Empress of Eternal Night to directly launch a sneak attack into her divine kingdom.

To maintain offensive pressure, the fleets harassing Tibella’s rear could have a combat capability one level below the Eternal Night, but they could not be without a strategic core, otherwise, they would not cause Tibella sufficient tension.

The design presented by Lidia was perfectly capable of meeting these requirements. Most importantly, within the empire, she was currently the only one who could complete the relevant manufacturing tasks before the campaign began.

“As long as the materials are sufficient, the Divine Scourge’s strength, while slightly inferior to the Eternal Night’s, is by far superior to those magic crystal machines in terms of cost and manufacturing time.”

Lidia confidently guaranteed that in terms of speed, her modified biological creations were always on par with others.

The Empress of Eternal Night said with a conflicted expression, “Everything else is fine, but your fortress, can it be a little more aesthetically pleasing, a little more imposing? If not, you can dig someone from the Chapter of Imbalance for talent.”

“Isn’t this natural beauty good enough?”

Lidia protested loudly, completely rejecting such criticism.

The necessary organs and tissues were directly spliced together, with no superfluous decorations. It was pure utilitarianism. How could such simple aesthetic sense go unappreciated?

But this “since there’s no need to consider aerodynamics, it’s okay to expose internal organs to the air directly” design style felt even more unbearable than the Orcs’ trash splicing.

This was a fortress several kilometers long, entirely composed of biological tissues, and soldiers needed to be stationed inside.

If they sailed for a long time, without even needing an enemy attack, their own elites would go mad.

The Empress of Eternal Night, with a mandatory command, finally made Lidia accept that to build the Divine Scourge, relevant aesthetic design was necessary.

Your fortress can be creepy, but it shouldn’t look like a direct gateway to the underworld.

Thus, this manufacturing plan was directly finalized, and the divine scourge was already available—

Thanks to the Seven Gods for opening the path to godhood. As long as someone faltered in their development, they should no longer lack materials for building battleships in the future.

She suddenly understood why Roger knew she would definitely come to Lidia. It turned out these were all calculated strategies…

“That kid really puts a lot of effort into the empire.”

The Empress of Eternal Night sighed softly.

The grand plan had unfolded for too long. Everyone in the empire felt an indescribable sense of urgency, racing against time in their own endeavors. Even the closest friends were separated, busy with their own work.

Their feelings wouldn’t fade, but the pressure brought by the gods was too immense. Everyone had endless preparations to make to bridge the gap in strength.

The only hope was that they were gradually gaining the upper hand. With technological advancements and the increasing number of allies they cultivated, the Seven Gods were also feeling the pressure from mortals.

Hopefully, after enduring this long night, everyone in the empire could breathe a little easier!

Returning to the imperial palace, the Empress of Eternal Night rested her chin on her hand and pondered for a while. She realized that in terms of production and internal affairs, she could at most play a supporting role. Everyone was becoming more professional, and she truly couldn’t help.

What she could do was, once again, through the Son of Destiny, intervene in the front-line battlefield resisting the Seven Gods, to help everyone gather more materials.

…

…

Elf Empire, Leaf of As, Roger’s Mansion.

He had only just teleported over when the Elf Empress came to visit.

Yes, after her daughter had been manipulated once, the Elf Empress, upon hearing that Roger dared to return, couldn’t resist coming to settle the score.

This time, no matter how unwilling she was, in the end, according to the terms of Windsor’s proposal, she had prepared to expel divine authority from the Elf Empire.

In the Executive Council meeting, the Elf Empress changed her stance and supported Windsor’s proposal. This also signaled that the current Empress would gradually cede power, preparing for Windsor to inherit the throne.

Although Windsor was more than 95% likely to be the next Empress, the current Empress had not intended to cede power before. It would still be over a hundred years before her enthronement.

This advanced succession was a very significant signal for the Elf Empire, causing many fence-sitters to start taking sides.

Another crucial point was that the expulsion of the Church of Nature would create a huge power vacuum. The distribution of this power would fall into Windsor’s hands, giving her considerable political leverage to build her own loyal faction.

Ultimately, the Elf Empress’s concession this time was not voluntary but a result of Windsor’s sudden attack and machinations.

Glarthis was not only considering the interests of the elves but also her daughter’s image.

Exposing the conflict between mother and daughter in the open was extremely detrimental to Windsor’s succession.

At the last moment, she was awakened to her maternal identity. She did not allow herself, who would eventually step down, to become an obstacle to Windsor’s rule of the empire.

Furthermore, she was willing to attract hatred upon herself and accomplish the great task of expelling the Church of Nature, leaving a purer Elf Empire to her daughter.

After the Executive Council meeting, mother and daughter had a private conversation. The Elf Empress, forced to make a choice, was furious. However, facing her daughter’s softened attitude, she couldn’t vent her anger and was only left with a sense of grievance.

Therefore, upon hearing that Roger dared to return to the Leaf of As, she immediately went to his residence, intending to ask the Duke of the Azurevine Empire what he meant by causing trouble for her family!

“Your Majesty, visiting so late at night is truly unexpected,” Roger said as he ushered the Elf Empress into the reception hall, his demeanor completely natural, showing no trace of surprise on his expression.

“Lord Charles is incredibly cunning. All elves are playing in the palm of your hand. What could possibly surprise you?”

“Of course there are. For example, your deep mother-daughter affection, Your Majesty and the Princess, truly moves me…”

“You!”

The Elf Empress slammed the table and stood up, glaring at Roger.

This guy was openly provoking her!

Relying on the Azurevine Empire’s backing, he was no longer showing any respect to her as Empress?

Roger said calmly, “Is there anything I said that is incorrect? Your Majesty, for the sake of your daughter’s physical and mental health, you voluntarily made concessions at the Executive Council meeting and shouldered the risk of offending the Church of Nature. This is truly moving maternal love. And Princess Windsor, diligently working and growing under Your Majesty’s tutelage, has now undergone a true transformation. Isn’t this a beautiful conclusion?”

The Elf Empress: “Don’t romanticize your actions that destroyed our mother-daughter relationship!”

“No, I believe my timely intervention led to a better outcome for you and your daughter.”

Roger produced an information crystal containing some of his conversations with Windsor.

The Elf Empress only browsed through the beginning before her face turned ashen, “That girl, does she really think that?”