Chapter 4: Who Possesses Such Great Talent?
“Ding! The Slacker System has detected that the host’s words and actions yesterday did not meet the reward conditions. Please arrange your work and life reasonably.”
Upon hearing this, Roger gritted his teeth, stomped his feet, and beat his chest, wishing he could trade his life with the Empress of Eternal Night: “It’s gone, it’s really gone! My system rewards were ruined by that blood-sucking b*tch!”
“I spent three whole days on various tasks, searching for a way to keep you alive. Although I failed, now you’re doing this to me? Truly, good deeds go unrewarded!”
Roger lay expressionless on the bed, feeling weak, pitiful, and helpless. He had already resigned himself to lazing around, but the Empress of Eternal Night was aggressively attacking him, teleporting in to ambush him, his useless little brother. He couldn’t take it!
“Forget it, it’s happened. Let’s look on the bright side. The empire is vast, and the Empress of Eternal Night is incredibly busy. This time, she came to visit the son of an old subordinate. Once she’s seen him… she definitely won’t be back, right? As long as he stays put and doesn’t cause trouble, it’s just a matter of missing out on a treasure chest for one day. Yes, just one day’s worth of treasure chests!”
As Roger’s mood gradually calmed, Angelina saw that his room light was still on and pushed the door open. The blue-haired young girl, seeing her brother lying in his usual slack position with a look of lost dreams, couldn’t help but show a hint of a helpless smile. “This brat, he’s already a marquis, but he’s still so lazy.”
She sat on the edge of the bed, ruffled his hair, and said softly, “Get some rest early. We’ll be holding your ennoblement ceremony tomorrow, so you’ll have to be busy first thing in the morning!”
When Roger heard this, his already stabilized mood exploded again. “What ceremony? A ceremony to celebrate me losing my treasure chest? Sister, why do you have to twist the knife?” And for this darn ceremony, he had to wake up early? He exuded an aura of disdain and declared, “A mere ceremony, it’s better not to have it!”
Angelina mused, “Not holding it is an option, but what if someone says you’re disrespecting Your Majesty? If she hears about it, she might inquire…”
Upon hearing the words “Your Majesty,” Roger felt a chill run down his spine. He rolled over, quickly grabbed his sister’s hand, and forced a smile that was uglier than a cry: “Hold it, we’ll hold it! Ceremonies are lively, and I love them the most!” He knew there was no avoiding this.
…
…
At the same time, in the imperial palace.
The Empress of Eternal Night summoned Left Chancellor Margaret, the Dean of the Magic Academy, the Empire’s Marshal, and the Foreign Affairs Advisor, along with other ministers of military affairs, to discuss how to deal with the churches of the Seven Gods.
This world had seven main gods, each with a church established in the mortal realm. The gods formed alliances and waged war against each other incessantly. During its conquest of seventeen countries, the Azurevine Empire expelled the churches of the Seven Gods. Now, three years after the unification war, the churches of the Seven Gods had been sequentially approaching the Empress of Eternal Night, making various promises and threats, all for the sake of proselytizing within the empire.
From her heart, the Empress of Eternal Night disliked the gods. However, the churches of the Seven Gods were also powerful. Offending them all at once would be a significant headache even for the mighty empire. This matter had been discussed many times. Tonight, Left Chancellor Margaret confidently stepped forward: “I have a plan!”
She was a petite woman with silver hair like a waterfall, a mixed-race demoness with drooping red horns and red eyes, making her appear beautiful, wicked, and dangerous. Margaret always favored tight black dresses that showcased her ample figure without pretense. Her gaze was boldly proud, and the faint smile on her lips held an inexplicable allure.
She began to speak: “Your Majesty, I have devised a foolproof plan. We will exploit the hatred between the gods, win over some, and reject others. That is to say, the empire will only allow three deities to proselytize!”
“This way, we can accept the benefits, pit the tigers against each other, and let the seven churches fight amongst themselves first. Then, we can send the victorious three religious orders to resist foreign invasions, while the empire focuses on eliminating the remnants of seventeen countries!”
“This is also a delaying tactic. Once the empire consolidates the territories of the seventeen countries and doubles its strength, whether to submit or expel the churches of the Seven Gods will be entirely at Your Majesty’s discretion!”
After she finished speaking, the ministers were all filled with admiration and conviction: What a brilliant stratagem of pitting rivals against each other! What a masterful delaying tactic! It was incredibly ingenious and vicious! This was a variation of ‘two peaches killing three scholars’! With only three slots, they could make the seven churches engage in infighting, and the empire would reap the benefits! Margaret truly lived up to her title as ‘The Empire’s Foremost Poison’! An orphan, with half demonic blood, she had ascended to the position of Left Chancellor solely through her sharp intellect!
However, the Empress of Eternal Night remained silent for a long time. The ministers grew confused. Left Chancellor’s plan was already perfect; was His Majesty still not satisfied? Margaret was also puzzled, wagging her tail and looking at His Majesty expectantly, hoping for her praise.
After a long pause, the Empress of Eternal Night finally sighed: “Margaret, your plan is excellent. However, there are some things that I have only recently discovered.”
“Your Majesty, do you have new intelligence to disclose?” the Dean of the Magic Academy asked in surprise.
The Empress of Eternal Night nodded, her tone heavy: “I have just obtained some clues, accidentally connecting the ancient scrolls we found in the early ruins of the Veronica Dynasty a few times ago. They piece together a creation myth that is completely different from the current doctrines of the Seven Gods.”
“The current Seven Gods all claim to have created the world. However, in the oldest version, the Seven Gods were all created by the God King Amiras from the same source of darkness.”
“And the God King… was an outsider from another plane, not a native deity born in our world.”
“The Secret Society has found the plane where the God King was born. It is a dead world that has been devoured into ruins. We have obtained some remains, and these remains react with the holy emblems of the Seven Gods.”
“This is sufficient proof that the gods indeed share a common origin. Their conflicts are merely a play, intended to turn our world into a similar ruin!”
The Dean of the Magic Academy immediately realized: “So, the battles between the gods are just a performance to facilitate the harvest of faith?”
Margaret was equally shocked: “Damn it, the gods deliberately made us play the game of pitting rivals against each other, and they were calculating ten steps ahead of me… Damn it, damn it, damn it!” The Empire’s Marshal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and others were also horrified. If these gods were in cahoots, treating the races of the world as sheep for their faith, draining them dry until the world became a dead ruin, what would become of the empire?
Everyone looked at the Empress of Eternal Night. For such a great matter, only the Empress could make the decision. The Empress of Eternal Night’s gaze was incredibly resolute: “Now, the empire has only one path to take, and that is to confront the churches of the Seven Gods to the end. We will not allow any single faction to proselytize, so that we can avoid providing our enemies with nourishment!”
Her eyes sparkled, burning with fierce battle intent. Even gods would have to ask her permission before they could do as they pleased in her kingdom! The ministers all said in unison: “Your Majesty is wise, we are willing to follow Your Majesty and fight to the death!”
Dean Hoare sighed: “Fortunately, Your Majesty’s foresight was superior. Otherwise, we would have fallen into the gods’ trap.”
Unexpectedly, the Empress of Eternal Night shook her head: “This time, it wasn’t entirely my insight…” Although she was strict, she rewarded and punished impartially and would not claim the credit of her subordinates. She said it was her doing. The ministers immediately became curious: “May I ask Your Majesty, who possesses such great talent? He should be recruited as an advisor!”
Seeing their curiosity, the Empress of Eternal Night couldn’t help but smile. She instinctively wanted to show off her unique talent for discovering people: “I went to Charles’s mansion this afternoon…”
Margaret immediately cried out in shock: “Impossible! That blue-haired saintess can’t even use magic, how could she possibly see through the true relationship of the gods?” A thousand alarms went off in her mind.
Right Chancellor Angelina handled internal affairs, finance, and provisions, while Left Chancellor Margaret handled military affairs and intelligence. The two normally stayed out of each other’s way. However, their tacit cooperation was only superficial; they often competed in secret. Margaret was convinced that Angelina was secretly researching the relationship between the gods, which was clearly an attempt to encroach on her domain! She immediately became like a small tiger whose territory had been invaded, roaring in her heart: “You b*stard Angelina, I thought you were a saintess before. Now I realize you’re not only a saintess, but also a b*tch! I discussed the matter of the gods with you earlier, didn’t I? You knew their relationship, but you didn’t remind me. Oh, you just wanted to see me make a fool of myself in front of His Majesty, right? Heh, outward appearances can be deceiving! Angelina, Angelina, you always put on a gentle and kind facade, but inside you’re a venomous woman? Furious! Extremely furious! Hate! Especially hate! I actually lost to the blue-haired saintess! One day, I will personally expose your hypocritical facade!”
