Chapter 170: A Little Bit of Imperial Humor
Whether it is for the ordinary people or for those with strong abilities, the surrender of the Emperor's magic teacher to the Hidden Leader is highly impactful.
This feels like being in a hot sauna for hours, while carrying several warmers.
The person fainted.
This was Loria's first thought.
"What is this thing?"
She repeatedly read the words written in the newspaper, doubting if she was having a hallucination. However, no matter how she looked, the words in the newspaper didn't change.
In fact, the expressions of the other people near the newsstand were similar to hers.
Everyone had thought that the Emperor's teacher, who boasted and was fierce, would defeat the Hidden Leader easily, but they never expected the ending to turn out like this.
Now, even the emperor's teacher saw that things were not going well and ran away. How could others have the mood to resist the Hidden Leader's attack with all their might?
This news was like a massive storm on Jupiter, instantly crushing the morale of the troops fighting on the front lines.
At noon that day, Loria received news that a military unit had surrendered to the Hidden Leader as a whole.
It is said that the unit was surrounded in a fortress, relying on the dangerous terrain and the strength of powerful knights. They had persisted for more than twenty days, during which they repelled over fifty attacks from the Hidden Leader.
It can be foreseen that, if this had not happened, they would have been able to hold on for another month without any problems.
Loria looked directly shocked.
"No way, no way! If things continue like this, the Oder Empire will set a new disgraceful record for being conquered and surrendered by the Ozel continent in less than two months!"
It's not just her who thinks so, but also the other people in the tavern.
Emotionally excited individuals, after having a few drinks, began to curse loudly with flushed faces and thick necks.
"They spent thirty years building a group of magic fortresses at the border, a whole thirty years. They claimed that even the most terrifying wave of monsters couldn't break through the newly built fortresses. Yet, just over a month after the war began, the governor of the fortress area surrendered, letting all the monsters from outside in. Did I spend so much money just to raise a bunch of trash?"
"Damn it! A few days ago, my uncle sent me a letter saying that succubus creatures from the border were causing mischief near his home. And, in the end, my 20-year-old cousin was brutally killed by three succubus creatures. Sob, sob, sob~"
"My dad went to the capital city for business, and I'm really worried about him."
"If things continue like this, the entire empire will fall, and I don't believe those rebel armies relying on monsters will treat us kindly."
"It's over, all over!"
The cries and curses in the tavern grew louder and louder.
Loria looked at the guildmaster and Vita sitting beside her with a worried expression.
"What do we do?"
Normally, when faced with difficulties, Loria would choose to confront them directly, but now the situation didn't allow her any room to do so.
The guildmaster furrowed his brow, remaining silent.
Vita lifted her glass and gently clinked it with hers.
"Let's split up and scatter, this way we can better avoid being chased by the Hidden Leader."
Loria rolled her eyes.
It's important to run, but we can't just aimlessly wander towards our destination.
The Hidden Leader is working with monsters, so Loria's previous idea of seeking refuge with the Dark Elf Queen or the Dream Demon Empress won't work anymore.
Maybe in the recent past, she could watch her body enjoy a happy life every day. But soon enough, the Hidden Leader would come knocking on her door, and then she would have to sing "My home's door is always open," and be punished without a moment's peace.
She's not the kind of main character from a yellow game who welcomes anyone without discrimination. Being a good person means not only feeling happy physically, but also feeling happy in her heart.
Loria turned her head and looked at Doris, who was still nibbling on the "Magic Crystal Mine cake," and couldn't help but feel a bit envious.
Sometimes, being a bit foolish makes people quite happy.
The most unfortunate thing is being stuck in the middle, not being smart nor foolish.
Loria shook her head secretly and began to ask Vita about her concerns.
"The Emperor's magic teacher is so powerful, I can't believe they would surrender directly to the Hidden Leader. Could it be because they are being controlled?"
Vita shook her head and said, "The Weaver can manipulate ordinary people, but it comes at a price. As far as I know, no one within the Hidden Leader can withstand the price required to control a high-level A rank adventurer."
"So..."
Loria furrowed her brow.
She couldn't understand. Just like she said before, with the Emperor's magic teacher's power, even if he didn't have confidence in repelling the Hidden Leader's attack, he didn't need to surrender. Couldn't he just run away?
It was too strange.
Loria pondered for a long time and felt that she needed to investigate in the simulation. If she didn't figure out the reason, she would be restless.
Thinking about how she hadn't started her second simulation today, she immediately opened the simulator.
In the simulation, Loria knew there were tigers in the mountains, but she still went towards the tiger mountain.
She didn't run away, but bravely rushed towards the center of the event.
The capital!
The situation was bad, the atmosphere in the capital at this time was not much different from the end of World War II in Berlin.
Although the imperial propaganda department had been shouting and claiming that the counterattack would come soon, and with the reinforcements from the northern army, the rebels would soon be trapped and eventually defeated, but the reality was that no one believed these nonsense.
You said where is your mom, if you are so confident, then don't arrange for your family and friends to escape to the north by train.
When Loria arrived in the capital, the capital was everywhere building defense fortifications, and the topics discussed by the people were not only about what to eat today, but also about who was lucky enough to hitchhike and escape, as well as finding ways to mock the people in the propaganda department.
"Ten years ago, they said that under the leadership of the emperor, the capital would become a surprise for everyone, and we will soon see this scene, because the emperor is about to be driven out of the palace."
In the past, no one dared to say such things, but times have changed.
The guards on the street are completely focused on building defense structures.
Most of the patrols responsible for maintaining public order and catching criminals have disbanded, and now only new recruits are working, who are having a tough time.
The royal knights, who are in a superior position, have no energy to interact with ordinary people anymore. They have all been deployed, with some ensuring the emperor's safety and others chasing the emperor's magic teacher.
The pillars that support the emperor's authority have collapsed, and the entire imperial capital has become chaotic.
Loria, who arrived in the imperial capital in a tired and dusty state, stood out from the rest.
Therefore, as soon as she arrived in the imperial capital, she was targeted by someone.
A royal knight interrogated her rigorously, but fortunately, Miss Golden Knight, who had previously met her in Count Lidilia's territory, happened to pass by and she was released.
[You asked Miss Golden Knight what exactly happened in the imperial capital, but she shook her head indicating that she also didn't know the truth. However, she still has a lot of useful information.]
[She told you that before he defected, everything seemed normal with Wizard Vistula. Even his closest nanny didn't know why he made that decision.]
[She also told you that the Royal Knights and the Golden Knights have conducted thorough investigations into the whereabouts of Wizard Vistula, but they didn't find any signs of a divine presence.]
"Just like Vita said, he was not controlled by anyone. His defection was based on his own will."
Loria shook her nails.
[Did you mention to Miss Golden Knight the possibility that Wizard Vistula might have always harbored hatred towards the Empire, and when the opportunity arose, he immediately sought revenge?]
[Miss Golden Knight shook her head, indicating that it was impossible. The investigation results showed that Wizard Vistula was born noble, unlike the centaurs. He was a typical high-class person, and there were no unresolved conflicts known about him from childhood to adulthood.]
[If it was only out of hatred, he had no reason to defect.]
Hammer, what should we do then?
In the simulation, Loria can only investigate on her own.
Amidst the investigation, she didn't forget to regularly communicate with Miss Golden Knight in hopes of obtaining some undisclosed information.
Overall, her luck was really good.
Although she didn't gather any useful information during the direct investigation, she still succeeded when the Hidden Leader started sending people to cause havoc in the imperial capital.
At that time, she was having coffee with Miss Golden Knight, and during her visit to the restroom, she came back to find someone trying to approach Miss Golden Knight.
Afterwards, she learned that the person was trying to recruit Miss Golden Knight.
That person didn't promise wealth, power, or make any threats, but rather tempted Miss Golden Knight from a unique perspective.
"Want to know the true face of god? Want to understand the truth of the world? Want to truly... live?"
Ah, this.
Loria was completely confused.
What are you doing, playing an infinite horror game?
Miss Golden Knight obviously wasn't interested in these things, so she refused.
She didn't connect this to Wizard Vistula's betrayal, but Loria did.
She remembered her experience in Claren City.
Because of their obsession with magic, many wizards boarded the thief ship of the Church of Goddess of Madness and Indulgence.
Could Wizard Vistula have also betrayed to Hidden Leader after hearing or seeing something?
People like them have their own beliefs, but in the face of the "truth" they have been chasing, all beliefs can be abandoned.
"If that's the case, then I don't have to worry about being controlled."
Loria let out a sigh of relief.
She could only let out half a sigh, even though she was close to the truth, it wasn't enough to help her solve the problem.
The make-believe story had an unbelievable twist. The dying empire in the capital city surprisingly launched a successful counterattack and pushed Hidden Leader back.
"Are you kidding? If the empire had that kind of ability, would they really let themselves be attacked in the capital?"
Loria tugged at her hair.
Obviously, this was because of some unpredictable reasons that made the simulator unable to accurately simulate Hidden Leader's strength.
Could it be caused by the interference of "supernatural power"?
The last time the demon from the ruins caused a major error in her simulation results.
To confirm her speculation, Loria immediately started the third simulation.
This time, she intentionally leaked all the defense information of the capital, but the simulation results were the same as the previous one.
"Looks like I guessed correctly."
This is difficult, as we can't predict what Hidden Leader will do next, she can't prepare in advance.
Loria can only temporarily focus on the newly triggered special event.
[Special Event - Xū]
The event description mentions demons, seals, the Stone of Enka, and a magician in search of the truth, and ends with a question—
What is Xū?
"Is this urging me to collect the Stone of Enka and then open the seal of Xū?"
Loria silently shakes her head, she would never do such a thing.
If people act recklessly, they may die, and she doesn't want to die.
It's impossible to remove the seal of Xū, not in this lifetime. All she can do is hide the Stone of Enka in her hand, so that no one from Hidden Leader can ever break the seal.
"Blame yourselves for not getting the Stone of Enka in time, which gave me the opportunity!"
Loria turns off the simulator.
With her expectations in mind, she was not as shocked about Vistula's betrayal.
She turned her head and said to the guildmaster and Vita, "I want to go to the north, somewhere close to the capital city, where we can better observe the upcoming situation."
Vita didn't really want to go along, but she eventually agreed after Vita insisted.
Currently, the safest place in the entire empire is the north.
Since the decision was made, Loria didn't waste any more time. The next morning, they set off on their journey to the northern part of the empire.
The journey wasn't particularly long. At least when they arrived at their destination, the army of the Hidden Leader hadn't reached near the capital city yet. They were still facing off with the elite imperial forces across the Vistula River.
Loria knew that all of this was temporary. Unlike the demoralized makeshift army, the elite forces near the Vistula River remained high in morale.
But the elite troops also need enough supplies to fully exert their strength. In the early stages of the war, the empire's logistics department failed to deliver food to the front lines in time. Now that the imperial city is in chaos, they can no longer do it.
How can soldiers fight when they are hungry? It's already good if they don't turn their guns directly at the heart of the empire.
After resisting stubbornly for several days, with more and more soldiers fleeing the battlefield, the empire's defenses set up along the Lintz River became full of holes. The rebels quickly discovered the loopholes and crossed the Lintz River, advancing rapidly towards the imperial city.
With each kilometer the rebels approached the imperial city, Loria's heart grew more anxious.
In the end, when the rebels' flag appeared outside the imperial city, the whole world buzzed with excitement.
"It's about to begin."
The development of the situation didn't surprise Loria.
The counterattack mentioned by the simulator never happened. Upon learning that he might be surrounded, the emperor simply fled, showing no intention of fighting to the last in the imperial city.
Under the protection of the royal knights, he fled all the way to the largest fortress in the north, Altuna.
The emperor ran away, so the ordinary people in the city will not fight back desperately anymore.
The rebels spent an hour mocking the weakness of the Oder Empire royal family, and in the end, they managed to quickly demolish the defense structures that were built in the city for over a month. This is quite ironic.
But Loria had completely lost interest in paying attention to this.
She thought that by hiding the Stone of Enka, she could destroy the Hidden Leader's plan. But unexpectedly, the Hidden Leader didn't follow the rules. Even though they only had three Stones of Enka, they tried to unlock the seal on the ruins.
On that day, a red cloud rose from the imperial capital. Even Loria, who was a hundred miles away, could see it. It looked like a blood-red floating island in the sky.
