Having traversed countless realms, can you possibly be as clever as me?

Changing styles doesn't stop the killing spree! : 157. Using the Tiger Talisman

The struggle between the emperor and the Senate was essentially a battle for power distribution that was inevitable during the transition between the two systems.

This is an indispensable stage of struggle for almost any feudal dynasty, and the ultimate goal of the feudal system is inevitably to maximize the centralization of imperial power. The struggle between feudal emperors and these large slave owners, landowners and nobles is no exception.

In fact, the Senate was able to survive entirely because Octavian was forced to compromise back then. But the moment Rome transformed from a republic into an empire, the two sides were destined to be irreconcilable enemies.

Politics is the art of compromise, but there is no room for compromise in the struggle for power!

"But by doing this you are violating the spirit of the republic, violating the decrees of the ancestral god Romulus..."

Nero, who had been taught and instilled with the ideals of the Roman Republic from a young age, subconsciously retorted, but Tsugumi's next words left her speechless.

If the Republic were the right thing to do, then Tiberius, Caligula, and her adoptive father Claudius would not have all made the same decision to distance themselves from the Senate. Nero's abolition of the informer system was an important factor in the consolidation of power by the emperors during Tiberius's era, and the secret trials of the senators she promised not to attack were an even more malignant tumor.

What is a secret trial? Simply put, it's a personal court where these politicians can arrest their opponents or invite them to their homes for parties, then ambush them and, in their personal capacity, sentence them guilty and execute them on the spot.

Yes, what they did was exactly the same as what Dongjiang did today.

What right do they have to accuse Dongjiang of being wrong or evil?

Furthermore, Nero relinquished the power to liberate free men, the most direct negative consequence of which was that the number of slaves in Rome more than doubled in the two years since she came to power.

"It's pathetic for one person to enslave another," Tsurugi said, tilting her head as she looked at the bewildered emperor.

"Too many slaves will bring the most unstable situation to your empire and your rule, and slaves do not only come from Rome's enemies. Your Majesty, if you have time, you should go to the slums of Sabra and see how many Romans are enslaved by their own people every year."

Dongjiang took a walk around in the middle of the night and what he saw most was the filth hidden beneath this seemingly grand empire.

People were tied together with collars and ropes in large numbers, walking through the streets and alleys like pigs and livestock, or being bought and sold at will in the port.

Parents in the slums who can't afford to raise their children choose to sell their sons and daughters to brothels. On one side of the street are nobles who would rather vomit up what they've eaten and stuff it back in, while on the other side are people in the alleys who exchange everything for a piece of bread.

The Catholic concept of hell, the prototype of the devil, and original sin were largely based on these Roman nobles, so the shadow beneath the city's great glory is no different from hell.

Of course, Tsurugi didn't want to criticize anything; social development inevitably has its unpleasant aspects—he simply killed whenever he wanted.

Tsurugae recounted to the young empress the plight and suffering of the common people and slaves.

Nero was not unaware of this, but even though she had wandered the streets as a child, the wealth and status she possessed still kept her life away from the lowest levels of society.

So when Tsugumi described it to her, Nero was mostly bewildered.

"If you want to change Rome and become a great emperor, the first thing you must do is wrest power from the hands of these senators and nobles."

Tsugumi placed her hands on Nero's shoulders, leaned close to her small, delicate ear, and whispered...

"Nero, think carefully, who made you give up these powers? Who made you compromise with them? And after compromising, do you still consider yourself an emperor?"

Nero recalled being crowned emperor by the Praetorian Guard, accompanied by Burroughs. Then her mother told her that as emperor, she should correct the mistakes of the previous generation, and so, at her mother's urging, she began to give a speech in the Senate.

That was her first public speech, and she spoke haltingly, but even so, the elders gave her extremely enthusiastic applause.

Why? Because she returned almost all of the Senate's power from the Republic era to them!

Her mother, Julia, was sitting beside her at the time, and while Nero was basking in the cheers and applause of others, this woman was exchanging glances with the other senators.

From that day on, Julia took power as the mother of the emperor, while Nero's reign as emperor was practically meaningless.

"Mother......"

Nero's emerald green eyes gradually brightened, and a hint of fierceness, barely perceptible, emerged in them.

Tsugumi took two steps back with satisfaction. Sure enough, even on the moon, Nero possessed the qualities of a tyrant.

He snapped his fingers, and the hundred-plus soldiers instantly vanished in a blur—this was merely an illusion he had conjured on a whim using Goetia magic.

Why the sudden urge to teach Nero to be emperor? Because it sparked my interest.

Dongjiang does things without any plan. Just now, he was provoked by a nobleman at the banquet, so he tore him up. Then he simply decided to go all the way and prepare to take TuTu.

However, since Nero stopped him, Tsugumi decided to try a different approach.

Are there even simulation/raising games in visual novels?!

"In short, if you can feed the people and have the military power to suppress rebellions, you'll surpass 90% of emperors. Think about how to do it yourself."

Tsugumi shrugged, took a step back, and laughed.

"As for now, I need to go and procure food. Once the people are appeased, there's no need to worry about anything else."

"If it can't be done, don't force it." Nero's thoughts returned, and he looked at Tsugumi.

"This is just boasting at the banquet; Dong Jiangqing doesn't need to take it to heart."

Is Tsugumi good at things other than killing? It depends on the situation, or rather, on her interests.

He had no interest in personally feeding a million people; he found it too troublesome! But he was very interested in getting a million portions of food to show off his skills and impress others!

How to procure enough food for a million people for a hundred days in just three days? This may be an astronomical figure, but for Dongjiang, it has never been a problem.

After all, putting aside other places, he could get the Moon Foundation to handle the food supplies for the UC universe in less than a quarter of an hour.

In the cosmic era, the technology for synthesizing starch from carbon dioxide is highly advanced; by inputting certain chemical raw materials, one can create synthetic starches with a myriad of flavors. Of course, having enough food to feed everyone is a completely different matter from ensuring that everyone is well-fed.

Tsurugi didn't take it to heart. After giving the little princess's ahoge (cowlick) one more good rub, she left decisively amidst her wild antics.

For the next day and a half, he wandered around the city.

He was looking for someone—more accurately, he was looking for an illegal organization.

Yes, he is searching for the whereabouts of Catholicism.

Although Catholicism later became the number one religion that spread almost all over the world, it is clear that sixty years after the passing of Jesus Christ, Catholicism has not yet shown any signs of resurgence.

They've not even gained any traction; these people are now practically pariahs.

Because their beliefs contradicted the mainstream Roman pantheon, and because the early Catholics were essentially disciples and descendants of Jesus Christ, they were seen as atheists and outlaws who disrupted social order.

Even in this era, they could only spread their faith through secret gatherings, which led to rumors that they were performing immoral rituals.

Therefore, the probability of finding Christians in Rome is no less than trying to find a flat-chested battleship in a port.

Frustrated, Dongjiang wandered around but couldn't find a single Christian. He wandered to the Tiber River, and it seemed he had no choice but to give up.

Teacher Da Ye: Where is my apprentice? Where is my apprentice?! Give me back my apprentice!!!

"Give up what? ... It's a good opportunity to give this thing a try."

Tsurugi pulled out the Tiger Talisman he had obtained in the previous world.

【Twelve Zodiac Animal Charms - Tiger】

'A wondrous artifact possessing one-twelfth of the power of the Fire Demon, it has the power to balance and harmonize Yin and Yang. In its complete form, it can help you harmonize your power; in its separated form, it allows you to split between the two sides of good and evil.'

He fiddled with the seal in his hand, engraved with a black and white tiger, a famous prop from Jackie Chan Adventures—tsk, why isn't it a horse or rat talisman?

But something is better than nothing, right? Tsugumi was also quite curious about what her good and evil sides would look like.

Although I feel there's a risk, but—

Haha, I don't know if I'll regret using it, but I'll definitely miss it to death if I don't!

Tsuruga snapped the talisman in two with a single blow!

Then--

With a blink of an eye, Tsurugi and Tsurugi's eyes met, and they blinked.

"This feeling... is so fucking weird." x2

The two thrushes are right here on the riverbank. You make a move, I make a move, and our actions are completely synchronized!

Yes, Tsurugi felt that the talisman's effects were somewhat different from what he knew.

He remembered that Jackie Chan used this talisman to split into two relatively independent parts, one purely good and one purely evil—well, actually it wasn't that evil, it was just like a split, anyway, the evil part was unwilling to return to the good side and merge.

But when Tsurugi used it, although it split, his consciousness was still only one.

This feeling is similar to playing a game with two perspectives and two ideas, but controlled by a single will.

However, when the will controls different bodies, there seem to be some subtle differences. Tsurugi is still Tsurugi, and each one is him, but the questions that Tsurugi thinks about will be slightly different.

On the banks of the Tiber River, two identical young men looked at each other as if they were looking in a mirror, and then asked in unison.

"You're the good one, aren't you? x2"

"Huh? How could that be? You're saying my idea is good? x2"

After another moment of silence, Tsurugi on the left spoke.

"If a wicked nobleman whom you despise appeared before you, what would you do...?"

"Kill them!" Tsurugi on the right shouted without hesitation.

"Kill him first, extract his soul and find out where his whole family is, then kill them all! Drag the guilty out and torture them, leave the innocent alone, consider him unlucky!"

Then it was Tsugumi's turn on the right to ask the question to the left. After thinking for a moment, he revealed an evil and pleased smile.

"How can you torture him so simply? First, make him watch his power and wealth vanish before his eyes, then throw him among those he has tortured, letting him suffer endless torment without dying. Give him a glimmer of hope, then shatter it just as he's about to grasp it, then kill him in his despair, and then..."

"Why are you being so indecisive? Wouldn't it be better to just be straightforward?" Tsurugi on the right said with a look of disdain.

“I’m telling you—no, you can’t scold Mom.” Tsurugi on the left rolled her eyes.

"Damn, won't using this stuff too much cause a mental breakdown? x2" they said in unison.

After venting her frustrations, Tsugumi finally realized that the patient Tsugumi on the left after the separation was probably evil, while the one on the right was probably kind... right?

Anyway, the essence of everything that TuTu finds unpleasant hasn't changed, but the evil ones are more patient in slowly laying the groundwork for torture. The kind ones, on the other hand, tend to kill the entire family and clan, cleanly extracting TuTu's soul and burning it.

Haha, she's so kind!

Changing styles doesn't stop the killing spree! : 158. One Heart, One Body, Good and Evil Dongjiang (Includes panel)

Do you have a habit of talking to yourself when you're alone?

Even when there's no one around, when you feel like complaining, you still say it to someone and then happily accept their rant.

Anyway, Tsurugi feels about the same way right now.

This is roughly what it feels like to use the Tiger Talisman; it's like asking and answering your own questions...

"Hellish War God, come out!!!"

Kind-hearted Tsurugi clenched his fists and roared, while Evil Tsurugi immediately sprang out from behind him.