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

So Tsurugi didn't blame him; she just beat him up, stripped him naked, and hung him on a true cross—and incidentally gave him a circumcision.

Then John, after waking up, started hunting him down everywhere.

"So this card will do?" Tsugumi held up the blank card in her hand, her eyes sparkling.

The task he assigned to Saint Matthew was to help him develop the Heroic Spirit Card system, since he didn't know how long it would take or how much patience it would require.

"Following your instructions, I introduced the black mud from that device. After that, all you need to do is summon your Servant, defeat him, and seal it with this Mystic Code to preserve his Spirit Origin," Saint Matthew explained patiently.

Tsugumi, on the other hand, immediately began explaining the props.

【Mystic Code - Blank Card】

'A special Mystic Code created using Pandora's Black Mud, usable within the Type-Moon universe. Obtain the corresponding card by defeating Servants and sealing them within it; using it grants a temporary Servant transformation state.'

"If I'm playing against you, this card is better."

Tsugumi played with the cards in his hand with great satisfaction. Although he didn't really need their combat power, they were still quite good for playing around with. Moreover, they would be excellent for using on his character cards that lacked combat power.

Just as he was about to say something, the church doors were pushed open.

A muscular giant with red hair and red eyes stood at the door, and John, nicknamed "Apostle of Love," locked eyes with Tsurugi.

"I'll kill you!!!"

Without saying a word, he unleashed a set of divine punches.

After causing a chaotic scene and successfully destroying a church, Tsurugi simply slipped away.

However, he had no desire to return to his private residence!

After all, once you get back, you'll definitely be waiting for Nero to urge you to get married.

So he simply took his First Legion agents on a tour of the slums, inspected the living conditions of the residents, and then paid a friendly visit to the nobles of Rome.

After raiding another noble family's ancestral home, accusing them of forced buying and selling, seizing land, and abducting women, and killing the entire family and hanging their heads in front of the door as candied apples, Dongjiang felt much more refreshed.

It's true that people like TuTu, who are guilty, are the most stress-relieving.

Ignoring the jealous or fearful gazes of the nobles, Tsurugi led his entire First Legion to attend the Senate meeting as soon as it was light.

Despite being called to attend a meeting, Tsurugo's only job was to lead these menacing agents to surround the Senate and then "protect" the Emperor and the members of parliament during the meeting.

However, amidst the bloody blades and malevolent expressions, not one of these councilors stood up to oppose the emperor's proposal.

Another day of Nero doing whatever he wants.

257

"Alright, gentlemen, today's topic concerns the rebellion in the British provinces..."

In the solemn Senate chamber, Emperor Nero, seated high above the assembled councilors, cleared his throat and spoke.

"Hmm, Paulinus has failed the expectations of the Empire and me, and has been defeated by those barbarians. It seems that the resistance from Britain is indeed quite strong, so I have decided to order the Governor of Gaul, Vindex, to quell the rebellion. Do you all have any objections?"

"No objections, absolutely none!"

"His Majesty's will is everything!"

"If Windex can't do it, kill his whole family!!!"

Upon receiving the emperor's decree, the councilors and nobles below applauded and cheered, raised their hands and jumped high, some even shedding tears of excitement.

Why are you so agitated?

Because all the feelings of not being excited, not being happy, and not cheering have disappeared.

Today marks the third year of Emperor Nero's reign.

Over the past year, this young emperor has successfully brought about a completely new political climate in the Roman Empire.

Specifically, this manifests in the fact that whatever the emperor says is right, whatever the emperor does is great, and everything the emperor does is noble!

What? You hold the opposite opinion?

Hello, Member of Parliament, this is this month's purge list, and your name is on it!

Drag it out and exile them to Greenland to help the Empire develop its land!

Tsurugi and the First Legion he founded had become a huge dark cloud hanging over the entire Roman Empire.

For the Romans, whose system was still quite primitive, the secret police tactics employed by Dongjiang, which combined elements of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and many later intelligence organizations, were something they had never seen before.

The nobles and members of parliament were in a state of constant fear due to the omnipresent secret police, and whenever they opposed the emperor, the following would happen.

When someone objected to the emperor, the emperor beckoned, and the treacherous minister Dongjiang smiled and pulled out a large stack of papyrus.

Then, he would publicly read out all the faults and immoral acts committed by this nobleman, one by one, and print them out and plaster them all over the streets of Rome.

This includes not only the crimes they committed, but also the 'little stories' behind these crimes.

These short stories often extend from one incident to a shocking but absolutely eye-catching situation. They can go from the small matter of abducting a woman to the fact that the person in question must have been sexually assaulted by his grandfather and father when he was a child, which is why he is full of psychological trauma.

You might ask if such false accusations are effective? They're incredibly effective.

The Roman people didn't care whether the stories were true or not; they just enjoyed the entertainment and the captivating erotic literature.

When such news spread, the damage to the reputation of those involved was extremely devastating. One of the most valuable assets of Roman nobles was their reputation, and to have it tarnished was a terrible thing that could cause them to fall from their social class.

After all, imagine you and your descendants giving a public speech, and at the height of your enthusiasm, someone in the audience suddenly says—'I know him; his grandfather used to play with his crotch when he was a kid!'

Although this kind of thing is not a big deal in Rome, you can imagine how the person involved felt when it was made public like this.

The parties involved have only two options: either commit suicide to prove their innocence, or confront the parties involved in a one-on-one fight.

But these two things actually lead to the same result.

This was just the first step the emperor and her treacherous officials took to deal with those who opposed them. If they could endure it, that would be the second step.

No more nonsense, come to our door, ransack our house, and kill the whole family!

Dongjiang, who is well-versed in the essence of political struggle, never wastes words. The first step is to eliminate your political life, the second step is to eliminate your life, and the third step—if you can survive until the third step, then he will use his physical power!

Of course, Tsugumi and Nero are not such unreasonable people.

If you really haven't committed any crimes and there's no shameful evidence against you, then Tsurugi and Nero really won't touch them.

The two of them can frame a real sinner without restraint, but they won't frame a good person.

But it's unlikely that Roman nobles wouldn't commit crimes, though it's also unlikely that they wouldn't.

In this slave society, nobles without sins are extremely rare, but such nobles would never be able to enter the Senate!

Those who can become members of parliament can't possibly have clean hands, so Tsurugai's purge of them was ruthless.

As for trying to use excessive enforcement to resist? Ha! That only works on people willing to listen to the rules. You're talking to someone like Tsurugi who's obsessed with physical extermination? Do you have too many family members in your household?

In just one year, he purged the Roman nobility time and time again, and then supported a new batch of nobles. Under such efficient purges, the Senate and the nobility were basically reduced to echoes of the emperor.

257 >>

The emperor said to go east, and they dared not go west. The emperor said that if the sky was purple, then the blue would turn purple!

Nero thus successfully made himself a one-man government!

At today's meeting, Nero ordered the governor of Gaul to go to Britain to quell the rebellion. Although everyone understood that the real reason was that the governor of Gaul, Vindex, had a very bad relationship with Nero, so he sent him to fill the gap, no one dared to object.

Ultimately, they didn't believe that the invincible Roman legions would lose.

The failure of the British province, in their view, was entirely due to the fact that they had taken advantage of Paulius's absence while he was on an expedition to Wales, and that Britain's isolation made it difficult to transport troops, and that the local barbarian soldiers who had been called up were too weak.

In short, when my Roman army arrives, I will slaughter those barbarians without leaving a trace!

Some people wanted to tentatively suggest trying to secure some help from the Spanish colonies for Windex.

But just as he raised his hand, a cough came from outside. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw Tsurugi looking at him with a kind expression and lip-syncing.

Although Tsurugi said "Hakimi, North and South Green Beans," he clearly mistook it for something else, and immediately turned pale and lowered his hand.

"Hmm, it seems everyone has no objections. Well then, I'll add one last thing!"

Seeing that no one objected, Nero nodded in satisfaction, and then...

"I'm holding a concert at the Grand Theater today, so all of you must be there!"

The expressions on the faces of these noble councilors now resembled those of someone who had lost their mother. Realizing the torment they were about to suffer, they still had to put on a fawning smile and flatter Nero.

Hearing these praises—that she was as beautiful as Venus and as talented as Apollo—Nero wore a look of pure delight.

The council dispersed, and Tsugumi disbanded the First Legion, then headed towards Nero's strange path.

"I am here to express my grief for my lord, and I am here to offer my congratulations to my lord."

"What nonsense are you spouting, Dongjiangqing? Why would I be happy?" Nero chuckled.

"Good fortune contains misfortune, and misfortune contains good fortune; fortune and misfortune are interdependent. Great things can be accomplished!" Dongjiang said happily.

"All the nobles in the court have come under Your Majesty's control, and Christ God has firmly grasped the bottom of Rome. The people of Rome recognize only Your Majesty as their sovereign and father. Is this not a blessing?"

"Then where did the trouble come from?"

"The problem is that Boudica commands an army of 100,000, holding a formidable position on the river... Britain, truly a scourge to Rome!" Dongjiang said, bowing.

"I voluntarily apply to join the expedition..."

"No." Nero lay back on his soft velvet throne, speaking lazily.

“I refuse. Do you know, Dong Jiangqing, that Rome is currently only missing one vacancy, and that is the position of Empress.”

"...Your Majesty, my house is on fire. I must take my leave!" Without hesitation, Tsuruga turned and left, disappearing in an instant.

Nero gazed wistfully at the empty space where Tsurugi had disappeared, her small mouth agape. Just then, a short, green-haired girl draped in a heavy purple-gold robe emerged from the shadows beside her—it was Narokusta.

"Locusta, do you really think I'm that unattractive?" Nero muttered to herself.

"...Your Majesty, there's something I'm hesitant to say," the little girl eating mushrooms said softly.

"Then tell me!"

"Does Your Majesty know that Governor Tsuruga is fond of women?"

"Nonsense, look at what you're saying, who doesn't like women!" Nero frowned, looking at the chief apothecary and cook who were spouting nonsense.

"Your Majesty, the women you prefer are different from the women the Consul prefers," Locusta said quietly.

"Who likes women!" Nero retorted immediately, then paused, his face full of curiosity.

"What kind of woman does he like?"