Man on the ark, forced to become king

"That's definitely true."

Witt tried his best to embellish the intelligence, but he couldn't think of a way to do so no matter how hard he tried.

According to the information he received, the infected were nothing more than a rabble. Their combat effectiveness was extremely limited, not to mention that of the Imperial Guard, they were far inferior to even the Empire's regular army.

Although the group called 'Reunion Movement' contained traces of Imperial Shield Guards and that legendary captain, even at his peak, wearing the Empire's most advanced and sophisticated power armor, it was impossible for him to defeat the siege of six Inner Guards, let alone kill them all in a short time.

They marched a thousand miles to attack a group of poorly clothed people, only to be completely wiped out. This was incredibly shameful; it could be said that those six men had utterly disgraced the empire's elite forces!

"Your Majesty, the deaths of the Imperial Guards may be due to the arm of Bozokasti, the legendary David who participated in the Battle of Sunset Canyon and rendered countless meritorious services to the Empire. He and his Shield Guards are on the southern ice plains, among the infected. He—"

"Stop talking, Witt, there's no need to defend those good-for-nothings!"

Fyodor waved his hand, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. If he didn't still have a shred of reason left, he would have wanted to grab everything in front of him and smash it to pieces, and then call over the guards to give them a good scolding!

He had seen the life story of the legendary Wendigo, one of the most brilliant warriors of the previous emperor's era, the vanguard of the Imperial Legion, with numerous military exploits. Unfortunately, the captain had already left when he ascended the throne, so he had no chance to meet him.

However, even after so much time has passed, his strength has not only not declined but has become even more refined, surpassing his peak period. He still cannot kill six inner guards on his own. At most, he can hold them off for a while or repel them. That is the limit, the limit of human power.

As for the Shield Guards and the Infected... they are no match for the new generation of Inner Guards who have fused with the fragments of the demon, and they are of little use. They might even help strengthen the Inner Guards, as the power derived from the alien demons is almost unbeatable for ordinary people.

However, the inner guard died, on the icy plains of the empire's frontier, a death that seemed utterly meaningless.

The record speaks for itself; no amount of embellishment or whitewashing can conceal the incompetence of the defense, just as no one can turn a pile of dog poop into a delicious meal.

Moreover, the performance of the Imperial Guards was more than just incompetent; they were a bunch of idiots! Pigs! Cowards! A disgrace to the Empire!

Their record will be etched on the pillar of shame, becoming the biggest laughingstock of the empire in recent years!

If possible, Fyodor would love to call them all over and hurl every insult he could think of in their faces to see if they knew anything about face or shame!

"Your Majesty, the specifics of that battle are still unclear. We failed to capture any bystanders, and there must be something we don't know."

"No matter what, the Imperial Guard could not have degenerated to this extent."

"Perhaps a powerful enemy from abroad has infiltrated Ursus's territory. We must not take this lightly and need to make a careful plan."

After thinking for a moment, Witt subtly expressed his thoughts.

The internal guard is dead and cannot be brought back to life, but there is much to be done about this matter.

Whether the disloyal inner guards die or not has little impact on the emperor. A force that cannot be commanded is as good as none. In fact, it might be better for the emperor to remove these unstable elements within the inner guards.

Compared to their deaths, the mastermind behind this operation is the one who should be the biggest headache.

As long as they make their stance clear, the nobles will absolutely not dare to directly break ties with the emperor at this time. Regardless of who did it, someone will have to take the blame.

Their investigation was not secretive, and the powerful figures in the empire should have already received the news. Anyone with eyes can see that the emperor is truly angry this time, and more angry than ever before.

In order not to affect their own status, they would compromise without saying much to appease the emperor's anger and avoid causing greater turmoil, which would benefit no one.

In this light, the internal guard incident was not entirely a bad thing. The emperor could take this opportunity to expand his power and influence, consolidate his authority, and take a big bite out of those wealthy nobles.

"Yes, you're right, Lord Witt."

Fyodor rose from his chair, paced back and forth in his study, and after a moment of thought, looked up and said, "Then give the order! Command the Third and Fourth Groups to go to the ice plains and suppress the bandits!"

This was a decision he made after careful consideration.

Are those officers so eager to fight that they don't take it seriously? Then let them fight, let them fight to their hearts' content. Nobody should be idle; get them all moving!

Since their power is not in the emperor's hands, and the emperor does not need to bear the cost of a large-scale military campaign, why not use a suitable reason?

Not only should we use it, we should use it fiercely!

A few infected people would not require the intervention of the Imperial Army Group, let alone two Army Groups. Local armed forces would be sufficient to deal with those bandits who had little combat power. But who told them to kill the Imperial Guards?

Six still!

Fyodor didn't know how those infected managed to do it, nor did he know if there were any unexpectedly powerful individuals hidden among the infected. He didn't need to care about that; that was a headache for the army groups and nobles.

The deaths of the six Imperial Guards were sufficient justification. Whatever the Third and Fourth Armies encountered on the southern ice plains, as long as they were deployed, it would be a sure win for the Emperor.

They might easily wipe out the infected on the ice plains, but during the time the army is on the offensive, the military strength of the nobles will inevitably be weakened, allowing them to take advantage of the situation to intervene in areas they couldn't reach before and regain more power.

If the army group suffers a crushing defeat in the southern ice plains, and there really is some heavyweight powerhouse hidden among the infected... hehe, wouldn't that be even better?

Power that cannot be controlled is a potential threat to those in power, and it could explode at any time!

Fyodor wished there was something on the ice plains that could teach the army groups and nobles, who were almost ready to declare themselves kings, a lesson they could not forget.

The more devastating their defeat, the greater the power vacuum they leave behind, and the less power the nobles and the military have.

As for whether that hidden powerhouse is so strong that Ursus's strength is insufficient to deal with him... Although the empire is in decline, it is not one that can be bullied at will.

What they could defeat before, they can defeat now.

As long as the imperial power can be restored and the emperor's glory can once again shine across the land of Ursus, Fyodor is fully confident that the declining Ursus Empire can be made great again!

"This... Your Majesty, isn't this going too far?"

Witt frowned slightly, looking somewhat worried.

Mobilizing two army groups is a major event for the entire empire; it's no small matter and requires countless resources and money.

Would those aristocrats, who valued money above all else, accept such a ridiculous reason as suppressing bandits?

"It's alright. Those fat rats are lying in the empire's granaries, eating their fill. It's time to make them spit some out."

"Besides, they don't know what we've found out, do they?"

"Do you want to..."

Witt suddenly realized that, indeed, no one knew what had happened on that ice field, and what kind of enemy they would face was completely unknown. It was like a blank sheet of paper that could be scribbled on at will.

However, what excuse to use to lure those greedy guys into mobilizing their entire army remains a problem.

"Go do it, Witt."

Fyodor's gaze was deep, reflecting the Ursus map on the study wall.

“Go and speak with my beloved Grand Dukes. I will give them a reason they cannot refuse.”

Chapter Seventy-Eight: Lin's greatest love in life was making many friends.

"This ice and snow music festival has a great atmosphere."

Standing on the street, Lin Lu looked up at the large electronic billboards with their neon lights and the banners with LED strips hanging from them, and couldn't help but click her tongue.

St. Petersburg is practically in a city-wide carnival at this moment. You can see traces of the Ice and Snow Music Festival on many streets. Many shops have set up stalls in front of their stores to sell some Ursus-specific souvenirs.

Keep in mind that this place is several streets away from the actual venue of the music festival, and the atmosphere here is already this hot. What must it be like at the actual venue?

Compared to Chernobog, which is far on the border, St. Petersburg is like another world. At first glance, it is not much different from Lungmen.

"It must be a large-scale event spearheaded by some nobles, covering almost half of the city."

Theresa, carrying the 'Ursus-style bear ear hat' she had just bought, offered her opinion.

“An event with a large enough impact can attract a large number of tourists and generate considerable economic benefits. Besides, Ursus is so big, it can’t all be like that. This place is close to the capital of Ursus, so it’s normal for it to be a bit richer… What kind of look is that!”

Seeing Lin Lu's shocked expression, as if she had seen an alien, the princess was quite annoyed.

"No, it's nothing. I just didn't expect you to think about these things."

It’s hard, the fist is hard!

The princess's eyes widened, clearly indignant.

What do you mean I can think about these things? I was once a monarch, you know? I'm still the Demon King of Kazdel!

So what if he's a vase demon king? He's still a demon king!

Once upon a time, she also wanted to lead the Sarkaz to a better living space, so isn't it normal for her to think about people's livelihood and economic issues?

"How could I not understand these things? In your eyes, am I just a clueless mascot?"

“Ah, no no no…”

I think it's about the same.

Lani interjected quietly.

how to say……

She felt that Kazdel under Theresa's rule was not much different from Lienia under her rule when they were at the border.

The difference was that at that time, she focused all her energy on how to escape her predetermined fate and had no intention of getting involved. After Queen Renara of the Full Moon was placed under house arrest in the Great Library, all the power in her hands was divided up by the Kalia royal family and the magic academy.

Theresa, however, was eager to manage things, not only concerning herself with them but also meddling extensively, which can be described as extremely diligent.

Unfortunately, she went down the wrong path; the more she meddled, the further she strayed from the right path, ultimately creating a complete mess.

This may be partly due to the fault of a certain white-haired filmmaker, but she herself is also inextricably linked to it.

In this situation, if she were a subject under the princess's rule, she would want to ask this ambitious demon king: Have you considered inaction?

If you keep making mistakes, you might as well just give up and leave it alone.

Kazdel, a once-prosperous land, instead of uniting under the interference of multiple external enemies, was engulfed in internal strife, nearly exhausting its strength and resources. Ironically, both sides claimed they wanted the Sarkaz to unite and rebuild Kazdel.

This is... quite bizarre.

In contrast, Lani felt that Lienia, which she had left to its own devices, was actually doing quite well, at least it wasn't like its own people were fighting each other so fiercely, right?

"...Lani!"