I, who was eager to retire, became an Imperial General.

Chapter 68 Fighting
"..."

Upon hearing Emperor William's decision, the entire palace fell silent.

All the members of parliament began to look around nervously, and the conservatives on the left unconsciously turned their gaze toward their own leader.

As the de facto ruler of the House of Lords, Wolfe knew very well that Emperor William's move, though seemingly a consultation, was ultimately nothing more than a test of him.

The other side wants to reclaim the military and administrative powers, and even legislative powers, that have been gradually delegated since Perus I ascended to the throne.

After all, his actions over the past eight years since his ascension to the throne have already proven that he is a monarch with boundless ambition.

With the Empire suffering successive defeats on the other three fronts, Dormammu's great victory gave Emperor William a legitimate reason to do so.

Wolf was curious about what kind of ingenious scheme Dormammu had used to reverse a war that should have ended in defeat, given that the supply lines had been exposed.

But now that the facts are before him, he cannot refuse, neither emotionally nor logically.

However, Wolf, who was well aware of this, did not express his opinion.

Instead, he calmly looked across at Duke Ostan, who was staring at him from afar, waiting for the other party to speak first and provoke this conflict.

"You were all very active when the matter of dealing with the defeat was brought up, but why are you all silent now?"

Seeing that Wolff hadn't fallen for the trick, Emperor William couldn't help but curse the old fox inwardly, but on the surface, he still looked at this 'loyal' prime minister with a friendly and gentle tone, as if he were talking to his most trusted minister:

"Why don't you, Prime Minister Wolf, give your opinion first? I'd also like to know your thoughts on this matter."

“Your Majesty, I believe this is a good thing. After all, General Dormammu has made great contributions and achieved a miraculous victory this time, which is truly a joy for the Empire. In principle, he should indeed be given a higher title!”

Wolf exclaimed in admiration, but then immediately changed the subject, feigning difficulty:
"However, as the Empire's Minister of Finance, I regret to inform you that the Empire's finances are currently in a large deficit, with military spending accounting for the largest share. At present, while stabilizing the domestic economy, we are afraid that we will find it difficult to support a newly formed air force army composed entirely of magic soldiers."

"A massive deficit? Has the Empire's economy deteriorated to this extent? But why does this news differ from the intelligence I've heard?"

As if he had heard a funny joke, Emperor William's lips suddenly curled into a smile, but his cold, sharp eyes swept sharply towards the conservatives on his left, and he pointed at one of the members of parliament, his tone as icy as a block of ice:

"Councilor Baru, the fact that you spent 10 D to bid for an orc female slave at the Santa Club three days ago at 12:09 AM has been the talk of the town among the imperial nobility recently. I bet many people were amazed by your dashing behavior that night, right?"

“Congressman Mister, how is the construction progressing on the private luxury estate in the city center of Kross that you secretly purchased at 8:12 pm a week ago by the butler named Cosay whom you appointed at the Ston Estate? I heard it cost 2,687,431 dinars, which is more than Kross’s annual tax revenue. I must say, such a mansion is truly enviable. If you have the chance, you might invite me to visit it so that I can also appreciate the architectural aesthetics of the Ston family.”

"Oh, right, it seems these are just the basic purchase costs, not including the servants you recruited and the cost of the luxurious renovations. It looks like I'll need to have someone inquire about it again later."

“Furthermore, Representative Kracht…”

Inside the House of Lords, Emperor William recounted the extravagant spending of each member of parliament as if he knew them by heart, while the members whose names were mentioned were all sweating profusely and instinctively turned their eyes to Prime Minister Wolf for help.

But Wolf didn't even glance at these people. His blue eyes were calmly fixed on the king on the high platform, who was recounting the intelligence obtained by the surveillance forces, even at the cost of revealing that he was secretly monitoring the court, all in order to win this meeting.

After Emperor William had finished listing the extravagant spending of fifteen foolish members of parliament and stopped, his throat dry, he finally spoke slowly:

“Your Majesty, in my opinion, what you have said only proves that these families have deep foundations, and has nothing to do with the empire’s finances. After all, Article 16 of the Norman Empire’s property law clearly stipulates that the private property of nobles is sacred and inviolable, and enjoys tax exemption rights in accordance with the law. Grand Justice Christa, am I right about this article?”

"That's exactly what the Imperial Property Law stipulates."

Feeling the king's cold, stern gaze, Chief Justice Christa, who had been inexplicably dragged into this quagmire, wanted to curse inwardly, but in the end, she had no choice but to bite the bullet and answer as follows:
"Since the founding of the Norman Empire, Norman I, together with 13 heroic families, drafted legal provisions concerning the nobility. Although the Norman royal family line ended due to a demonic disease, leading to a change in succession, in consideration of the empire's stability, Perus I upheld the old system in legislation, which has remained unchanged for twelve generations. Therefore..."

"Then change it! The laws of the past should be used in the past. How can we cling to them to the present? What is the point of sticking to the old system except to hinder the empire's further progress?!" Emperor William said coldly. As soon as he said this, the entire Upper House became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

At this moment, all the councilors unconsciously turned their gazes toward the two figures in the center of the room, one above the other, representing the face of the empire and confronting the two most powerful figures of the empire.

At that moment, everyone's eyes began to sparkle involuntarily.

Whether it's worry, excitement, anger, or amusement.

But no one dared to utter a single word.

"Crack!"

Outside the palace, a bolt of purple lightning suddenly struck down from the sky.

A blinding glint of cold light swept across everyone's eyes through the window.

The breathtaking roar continued to fill my ears, the echoes emanating from the world as if to prove it.

At this moment, the Norman gods who had left this world thousands of years ago...

At this moment, it also seems that through boundless power, another world is silently witnessing this moment, a moment worthy of being included in the history books of the Norman Empire.

In this somber and oppressive atmosphere, the magnificent hall suddenly seemed somewhat terrifying.

"The Norman Empire is not His Majesty's empire alone!"

In this almost suffocating atmosphere, Wolf spoke after a long silence.

Ignoring the undisguised murderous intent and anger in the king's eyes, he slowly rose from his chair, placing his hands behind his back. The amiable smile on his face vanished without a trace, replaced by a chilling aura that sent shivers down the spines of anyone who glanced at him.
"Your Majesty William must understand that the Norman Empire's current achievements are all thanks to the support of us nobles. Does Your Majesty truly wish to dishearten the nobles who have dedicated their loyalty and glory to the Empire, and repeat the fate of the Norman dynasty, which lasted for thirty-six generations?"

Wolf's voice was very calm, devoid of any emotion.

But his undisguised words were tantamount to setting off a giant bomb in the room.

Everyone was startled by his almost arrogant behavior.

Immediately, the noble councilors on both sides stood up abruptly from their chairs, either in surprise or fury, their eyes blazing as they looked at their political enemies.

As their eyes met, an invisible killing intent quietly spread.

"Traitorous wretch, I'll kill you!"

Seeing Wolf so blatantly defying the monarch's authority, the young Earl of West roared and was about to rush out and beat this villain, who had violated the proper relationship between ruler and subject and indirectly caused the death of his father, to death on the spot.

Before he could even rush to his seat, Duke Ostan, who had approached him at some unknown time, reached out and forcibly knocked him unconscious. He then had someone immediately escort him out of the dangerous hall.

They turned their gaze to the king, who had risen from the high platform at some point and was now glaring angrily at the crowd, making no attempt to conceal the overwhelming killing intent within him.

At this moment, his aged eyes were filled with unprecedented worry.

……

(End of this chapter)