Chapter 81: The Villainess’s EQ Has Come Online
The Empress of Eternal Night’s `Daily Image` is an `Onee-san`, while Mentor Tianming is a gentle senpai.
But in terms of age, young student Ao could call Shady an old woman without exaggeration. After all, Mentor Tianming is the sister of Veronica’s previous emperor, who was of the same generation as the Empress of Eternal Night’s father. As everyone knows, an older sister is always older than her younger brother.
However, the strong individuals in this `World` always have methods to maintain their appearance, and Shady is deeply favored by the God of Knowledge, so it’s perfectly fine for her to look forever like a `Young girl`.
`Players` don’t fuss over such things; their values follow their attractions.
Yet, at this moment, the Empress of Eternal Night finds Shady particularly displeasing. Even more so than little Joey that night!
One is a celestial arrival, the other a suspected childhood sweetheart.
The key point is that this brat seems to not want me to see Mentor Tianming… Hmph, perhaps he’s guilty conscience!
Hearing Roger’s address to Shady and recalling his attitude when thinking of her, the Empress of Eternal Night felt as if he had known Shady for a very, very long time. Could it be that that woman knew Roger before I did?
The Empress of Eternal Night had indeed investigated Roger’s past; he had never visited the Yamant Empire before. But Roger’s recent thoughts also mentioned that he needed to find a way to explain information that “Roger Charles” shouldn’t know.
In other words, this brat could meet Shady under another identity! It’s entirely possible that Roger, having played “Dio Brando,” secretly got close to Shady under a different guise!
The Empress of Eternal Night narrowed her eyes, finding this conflicted young man increasingly interesting.
The situation in Asiford City couldn’t possibly get worse, and the `Orc` `Tribe` doesn’t seem capable of causing any major trouble. Instead, this little brat in front of me has accidentally revealed a slip-up regarding an old flame, hasn’t he?
I cannot tolerate this! I must understand my enemy and myself, investigate this guy’s secrets, gain an intelligence advantage, and then I can be an invincible `Villianess`!
With this thought, the Empress of Eternal Night naturally dispersed the teleportation gate, deciding to have a thorough exchange with Roger.
This operation of abruptly interrupting a teleport midway left the assembled officers and strategists stunned and filled with curiosity and inquiry.
Rommel: Your Majesty values Roger Charles more than I imagined. They are likely to discuss something very important and top-secret! I’m rubbing my hands together in anticipation. What will they talk about?
Just as Rommel pricked up his ears, ready to gain some insight, he suddenly saw the Empress of Eternal Night wave her hand at him and say lazily, “You may all withdraw for now. I have some matters to discuss with Lord Roger.”
Rommel almost cried. Your Majesty, no! Your Majesty, you really can’t do this to me! You’re about to get to the important part, making me incredibly curious, and then you suddenly kick me out? Isn’t this toying with me?
But Rommel ultimately didn’t have the courage to openly defy the royal decree. Though his heart burned with curiosity, he could only obediently walk out of the central military tent…
Theoretically, this should be my tent, right? Despair!
Worse still, his `Adjutant` came over to probe, “Marshal Rommel, what do you think His Majesty and Lord Roger will talk about?”
“Do not ask. It is not for you to know!” Rommel reprimanded sternly. Ask your sister! If I knew, would I be standing out here?
…
…
Central Military Tent.
Roger was still unaware that his thoughts had exposed some of his in-game experiences and past to his current identity, causing a strange dislocation and arousing the Empress of Eternal Night’s suspicion. After all, the plot Roger knew was treated as prophecy by the Empress of Eternal Night. And prophecies are vague; they might involve specific people, but one cannot become friends or even develop feelings with someone solely through prophecy, nor gain a sense of familiarity and trust.
The Empress of Eternal Night immediately saw that Roger and Mentor Tianming had a past connection! And thinking deeper, it becomes very interesting. After the `Azurevine Empire` defeated the Yamant Empire, Shady would never become friends with someone from an enemy empire. But theoretically, they met three years ago? Yet Roger was only thirteen or fourteen then! An old cow eating young grass? Are you driving a large vehicle in A City?
She attempted to obtain more information through methods like prophecy and time reversal, but everything came back blank. After all, these were things she imagined and had not happened. She was getting a headache trying to figure it out, finding being a `Villianess` too difficult! Perhaps she should just go for it directly?
Meanwhile, Roger also felt his situation was difficult. He had to analyze the intentions of the `Orc` `Tribe` and the Tianming Army amidst chaotic and limited information to prevent the Azurevine Empire from being schemed against. At the same time, he had to reveal as little information as possible to prevent the Empress of Eternal Night from discovering he was a transmigrator.
Fortunately, his thought-broadcasting ability meant that when his thoughts became too chaotic, the Empress of Eternal Night couldn’t receive it all. It was like an old 2G network; phone calls and text messages were fine, but if you wanted to watch video streams? Sorry, that’s impossible.
So, when Roger was thinking hard, the Empress of Eternal Night couldn’t get anything useful from those fragmented pieces of information. This was also to preserve his last bit of privacy. The Empress of Eternal Night guessed it was because his `Mental Power` was not yet strong enough. If not for the scarcity of heavenly treasures in this `World` that directly increase `Mental Power`, she would have secretly given Roger a power-up.
Fortunately, Roger didn’t ponder for too long and thought of his words: “Reporting to Your Majesty, your humble servant has no additional intelligence sources; this judgment is based on enemy strength. The orcs have 200,000 elites but are not directly protecting their royal city, allowing Your Majesty to seat the chieftains on the death carousel. This can only mean they have a grander scheme. Whether it’s cooperating with the Tianming Army to lure the enemy into a trap, or our side planning to annihilate them, I believe Your Majesty’s best course of action is to not step into the enemy’s trap.”
She snorted and asked, “Does my dear minister fear that the trap will harm me, or fear that I will break the trap and harm someone in the Tianming Army?”
Roger replied righteously, “Neither. I fear that without Your Majesty here, the orc elites will harm me.”
The Empress of Eternal Night chuckled lightly, finding this fellow quite honest. Imperial men generally wouldn’t speak such cowardly but truthful words. Roger momentarily drifted off. His Majesty didn’t used to laugh so unrestrainedly… Uh, this swaying effect is good!”
The Empress of Eternal Night’s expression turned serious and she asked, “Then, how about my minister accompanies me to Asiford City? It’s safe, and you can witness me crushing the Tianming Army.”
Roger couldn’t help but frown, “Your Majesty is naturally peerlessly brave, but at this moment, the Tianming Army is more beneficial than detrimental to the empire.”
The Empress of Eternal Night’s face stiffened, about to get angry. How dare you, Roger! You’re afraid your old flame will get hurt, and to cover for her, you dare say a group of rebels is beneficial to the empire? Will it still be beneficial to the empire and bring everlasting glory and contemporary advantage even if she burns down my Maple Spirit Moon Shadow Palace?
But she was, after all, no longer the little princess she once was. She hadn’t read “Anecdotes of Tyberia” in vain and immediately grasped the possibility Roger was hinting at. That part of her `Villianess` EQ came online, and her eyes lit up: “You mean you want me to keep the enemy alive to strengthen my own position? With the Tianming Army as a formidable enemy outside, the empire’s nobles will automatically increase their loyalty to me? The greater the damage caused by the Tianming Army, the more the nobles will flock to me?”
“Precisely! Your Majesty is wise!” Roger’s eyes lit up, and he gave the Empress of Eternal Night a thumbs-up.
[My goodness, Your Majesty, you’ve learned to jump to conclusions!]
[I was originally going to reveal a little about the next phase of the tutor’s plan, which would have allowed the empire to take advantage of the situation, but you’ve already analyzed the greater strategic advantage yourself.]
[That’s great! You are finally a mature Empress who can think for herself!]
Empress of Eternal Night: o(一︿一+)o
Damn it, so I blabbed too much and blocked the truth I might have heard? Unimaginable! This brat actually knows Old Woman Shady’s next plan. Their relationship must be deeper than I thought! But… he knows Old Woman Shady’s plan, yet he uses this information to help me strategize? Doesn’t that mean his heart is on my side? So I haven’t done anything, and I’ve already cuckolded Shady? Hooray, I really am charming!
What Roger said aloud, as well as his thoughts echoing in his mind, were genuinely in support of the empire. This allowed the Empress of Eternal Night’s tense mood to relax. Regardless of the past, at least now, he was thinking for me and contributing his wisdom to the empire! Perhaps a naive young girl cares about a man’s past, wishing to rewind time on his conversations with all females, even a street sweeper. But a confident `Villianess` never cares about these things; after all, I will be the ultimate victor! Who doesn’t have secrets? A confident `Villianess` should not pry but give him enough space, tenderness, and consideration. As time passes, he will realize that she understands him best and cares for him the most. One day, when he figures it out, he will reveal everything about his past.
—Excerpt from “Anecdotes of Tyberia”. Tyberia rose from being the weakest of the `Seven Gods` to its current mid-tier strength, proving that her methods were indeed effective. The Empress of Eternal Night decided to try them out.
She lowered her head, then looked up again, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she gazed at Roger. She silently recited in her heart, *You are my great hero, you are my great hero*, and said softly, “Lord Roger should not underestimate himself. Without your reminder, I would definitely not have thought of this point, so this credit still belongs to you. I… accidentally almost made a huge mistake!”
Tyberia said that at this moment, the brighter the eyes, the more like a dog the man will become afterward!
“Uh, I believe that no matter how the situation changes, it will still be under Your Majesty’s control…” Roger took a step back, startled by the Empress of Eternal Night’s expression.
[Is this trashy Empress’s eye got sand in it? Why does she keep blinking?]
[Besides, you’re so reckless, haven’t you made huge mistakes often enough? It’s not worth being proud of being saved once…]
That backward step completely discouraged the Empress of Eternal Night. Am I… that scary? Damn it, Tyberia is indeed cunning, leaving behind tales that are all lies, completely ineffective! It’s your eye that has sand, you’re the one who always makes huge mistakes… She felt it was difficult again. This path of a `Villianess` is long and arduous! I’ve clearly executed eight parts of the essence, only to be rejected? No, I’ll try a different style next time!
In fact, Tyberia’s actions were not wrong; it was just that the Empress of Eternal Night rigidly copied the assignment without considering the gap in strength between herself and Roger. Before becoming powerful, Tyberia presented herself as a weak `Goddess` in need of protection. Her `Believers`, roaring with the desire to protect their goddess, would find their sacrifices meaningful with just one encouraging glance. But the Empress of Eternal Night had previously lived life and death indifferently, ready to fight anyone. Roger hoped she would protect him and carry him to victory, not expecting that she too might need protection… So, this round, the Empress of Eternal Night copied the wrong answer; it’s not that Tyberia wasn’t manipulative enough.
The atmosphere had been somewhat awkward, so the Empress of Eternal Night coughed and asked, “Then, Lord Roger, why don’t you tell me what I should do now?”
Roger was taken aback. Why was Her Majesty suddenly so overly cautious? But since she asked, he had to answer seriously: “Currently, you should cooperate with General Rommel and annihilate the elite orc forces returning to defend here.”
[Since the royal tent has already been captured, let’s just treat the orcs as the first gold mine for magical industrialization.]
The industrial revolution is not a glorious and beautiful process, but a gradual evolution filled with side effects like child labor and pollution. Just as China’s massive layoffs sacrificed a large number of people and shattered the livelihoods of tens of millions of families, the industrial revolution, however great, cannot escape the word “revolution.” There will always be those eliminated and exploited, and there will always be bloodshed. Bloodshed of empire citizens, Roger felt a pang of guilt. But shedding the blood and sweat of orcs, he felt no psychological pressure. He even felt a sense of greatness, as if he were liberating them from the gods!
The Empress of Eternal Night also received these images from his mind and found this fellow’s hypocrisy… she liked it very much! That’s right, I am the savior of the orcs! I’ve given them stable jobs and opportunities to contribute to the empire’s development. Attack, we must attack! I’m attacking the elites!
…
…
Two kilometers away from Rommel’s legion.
Princess Tassika on the dragon’s back furrowed her brow. The news from Asiford City must have reached them by now. Why is the Empress of Eternal Night still here? She was so angry just now, why hasn’t she used her signature spatial teleportation to dismantle Shady’s undead legion?
But even if the Empress of Eternal Night didn’t leave, she couldn’t slow down her retreating forces. Skrena City was attacked, and they finally found the enemy’s location. This elite orc force felt utterly toyed with by the “Fox of the Empire,” and the anger in their hearts was about to explode. At this moment, they only wanted to engage the Azurevine Empire head-on. If Tassika were to set up any further obstacles, it would be too deliberate. The orcs, despite their straightforward nature, are not all fools, and they might realize she harbors ulterior motives of pitting two tigers against each other. Thus, morale is extremely high; under fanatical fighting spirit, the troops can surpass their commander’s control.
“Fortunately, Shady also gave me a backup plan!” Princess Tassika took out a small brocade pouch from her spatial bracelet. Although Shady’s terms were harsh, she was still a conscientious merchant. Adhering to her responsibility to her client (or rather, her consistent pessimism), she additionally gifted Tassika a “Open if you find the Empress of Eternal Night hasn’t left” brocade pouch. Now, this brocade pouch has indeed come in handy. Tassika untied the rope binding the pouch.
ps1. If nothing unexpected happens, future updates will be scheduled for 7 PM.
ps2. Bounty progress (30/48)
