The Artifact Forger from the Beginning of Collapse

……

Sword energy crisscrossed, moonlight shattered, and a fierce aura permeated the battlefield.

When Sayou and Iyeas arrived at the battlefield, guided by the ghostly nobleman, they found the battlefield shattered by sword energy, the Night Raid members bound in glittering sacks with only their heads showing, and Chen Li leaning on his longsword in a strange pose.

"Mr. Chen Li... what does this pose mean?" Iyeas asked Shayou quietly beside him.

"I guess it's some kind of victory celebration pose?" Sayo replied uncertainly.

"Ouch, I twisted my waist." Chen Li took a while to recover before putting away his longsword.

It's not Chen Li's fault. Chen Li just soared into the air, wanting to use the Mirror Style to let these people taste what it means to have sword energy descend from the sky.

Then... he was hit by a laser beam that came from a distance.

Although the bond between Chen Li and his friends helped him block the attack, it successfully caused him to strain his back.

Do you know how much psychological damage it can cause to a 17-year-old who is almost blown away by a laser beam while showing off from the sky?

Enraged, Chen Li then let the main characters experience what it's like to be speedrunned.

Especially Mine, who was secretly shot from a distance, was the only one in the main group to be hung upside down in a sack.

Chen Li's efforts were not in vain, and he successfully obtained 10 crystals, but unfortunately, no miracle card appeared.

"Now, count your sins! You'd better confess honestly, or don't blame me for being cruel! I'll shave the tops of your heads, leaving only the sides, so you can experience the pain of being a middle-aged, balding corporate slave in advance. Then I'll make brushes out of your hair and have someone brush the soles of your feet! Hehehe!"

"Holy crap, how could this person be so evil?!" Chen Li's words unsurprisingly caused extreme horror among the crowd.

109

Chapter 109 To save the world... let's go have some fun!

Six Imperial Arms were placed in front of Chen Li.

Besides the five Imperial Arms of the previous few people, another one that really interested Chen Li was Mine's Imperial Arm, Romantic Cannon Pumpkin, which had injured Chen Li's back by sneaking up and attacking him from the shadows.

This Imperial Arm is a gun-type Imperial Arm that can convert spiritual energy into shockwaves, and its power increases depending on the severity of the crisis the user faces.

[Precision], [Enhancement], [Spirit], [Beyond Limits]

The other entries are one thing, but Chen Li has never seen the [Exceed Limit] entry on any other item before, and its brightness is also quite high.

Although the Imperial Arm "Severing All Things" has few attributes, Chen Li happens to have all of them useful—[Sever], [Holy Light], [Hardness].

This scissor-shaped Imperial Arm has a rather singular function. But that's not a big problem; Chen Li only needs to [Sever] the attribute.

"Alright, let's talk about your affairs now." After putting the Imperial Arms aside, Chen Li looked at the people who were tightly bound in sacks.

Compared to Fu Xuan, who was unable to escape simply because the sack was too heavy, the other six members of the Night Raid group, perhaps because they were assassins, had some sins on them, making it even harder for them to get rid of the sacks specifically designed to contain their sins.

"Gulp, just kill us then," Hill, the naturally ditzy bespectacled girl, said bluntly.

"Alright, drag them away and chop them all up." Chen Li nodded.

"Wait a minute! Don't rush to do it." Lubbock immediately crawled forward from inside the sack, making himself stand out among his companions.

Because he was trapped inside the sack, this was the only way he could express himself.

"Is there anything else you want to say?" Chen Li asked.

“Uh, I feel like there might be some misunderstanding between us,” Lubbock said in a low voice.

"Hey, weren't you guys pretty brave just now, even fighting me directly? Why the change in attitude now?"

"Is it possible that when we asked you together, we wanted you to give us an explanation, but you just wanted to show us your unparalleled skills and beat us up?" Lubbock felt that he and his companions were being wronged.

Lubbock had already recognized Chen Li as the warrior who attacked the minister's residence yesterday and reminded his companions, not intending to accidentally kill an innocent person.

The modus operandi of night raids is this: if a nobleman's guilt is successfully established, then his accomplices will naturally not escape punishment either. But ordinary people who accidentally stumble into a life-or-death situation are not killed.

"Oh, really?" Chen Li was taken aback.

Oh, I think so. (嚨)

but it does not matter.

“So now that we’ve all been captured, we should be able to sit down and have a proper talk, right?” Lubbock said to Chen Li.

“You’re right. So, what are you trying to explain?” Chen Li nodded and then asked.

"Shouldn't you be the one explaining?" Akame said.

"Look at what you're saying. I've already won, so why should I explain? I've captured you all. If I'm happy, I can take you all to the minister's house or even the palace to receive rewards. At the very least, I'll be granted wealth and honor."

"Then what's going on between you and the minister?" The Night Raid members were filled with doubt.

"It was just a trivial deal. I spared his life in exchange for him collecting all the Imperial Arms he could find within the Empire's borders as soon as possible," Chen Li said.

"Cooperating with a minister is like asking a tiger for its skin," Brand, who is suspected of being gay, kindly reminded him.

"It's alright, I have an Imperial Arm that can force others to sign a contract, which I created myself."

"What? There are still people who can forge Imperial Arms these days?"

"never heard of that."

"Isn't that awesome?"

"Hey buddy, how about joining the revolutionary army to overthrow this empire?"

Upon hearing that Chen Li could forge Imperial Arms, the crowd was clearly quite shocked and began to ramble on.

“We’re not talking nonsense; we genuinely want to invite you to join the Revolutionary Army,” Lubbock said again.

“No interest. I’m disappointed with this world. I have no interest in supporting either the Empire or the Revolutionary Army, so I plan to find another wise ruler,” Chen Li said with anticipation.

"Establish a new ruler? Who? Could it be the leader of the Anning Dao sect?" The crowd seemed to be deep in thought.

"Take a guess," Chen Li said.

"Perhaps it's the leader of the Tranquility Path, who has amassed considerable power and a large following on the eastern side of the empire?"

"It could be our boss, Najenda has excellent governance and leadership skills."

"If I had to say, although General Bud of the Empire is old-fashioned, he is said to be a good person."

"Holy crap, Esdeath? Are you serious?"

When everyone heard the taboo name "Night Raid" from Chen Li's mouth, they were all stunned.

You mean you want to make General Esdeath, who's obsessed with fighting, completely mentally unstable, and full of the survival-of-the-fittest mentality, the emperor?

"It's just a preliminary idea. You can raise any objections you may have," Chen Li said.

“I have a problem with that, I really have a problem with it! That woman Esdeath doesn’t understand anything about governing a country!” Lubbock was the first to squat down and say.

“But I don’t think this empire can get any worse,” Chen Li said, stroking his chin.

"Isn't the revolutionary army a good option as well?"

"Well, the system I want to promote is actually a kind of revolution," Chen Li said, hesitating to finish his sentence.

Chen Li chose Esdeath as emperor not because he thought she was particularly suitable, but because this woman didn't use her brain; all she wanted to do was fight.

Esdeath had no interest in money or power, but on Chen Li's "suggestion," she made a decision that went against her ancestors' wishes—to distribute the land to all the farmers.

Even further, given the right conditions...

However, Chen Li didn't actually have much enthusiasm for governing the empire well, after all, it wasn't Chen Li's empire.

As long as this empire is tolerable to me, it's fine; I won't get angry just thinking about it.

But even this simplest of conditions was beyond the Empire's ability to meet. Therefore, Chen Li had no choice but to seek help from someone more capable.

Revolutionary Army? Chen Li is already planning a revolution, so why choose such a conservative option as the even more conservative revolutionary army? Why not just launch a major uprising?

However, the leader of the Anning Dao sect they were just talking about could actually be a candidate to govern the country. Since Esdeath is brainless, she certainly wouldn't be fit to govern.

Esdeath only needs to obediently lead the ice slimes to suppress all opposing forces, while those who govern the country have many more things to consider.

"But in the end, I'm not from your world either, so why should I care so much about this?" Chen Li suddenly realized this problem after seeing the Night Raid members arguing with him.

Holy crap, yeah.

What do I care if the empire has a bright future?

I came to this world to buy goods.

Although one of the hidden duties of a Wondrous Craftsman is to save the world.

But a bunch of noobs fighting amongst themselves doesn't affect the world at all, okay?

The empire, no matter how you look at it, is just one country on this continent. There's another kingdom right next to the empire.

Destroy the world?

impossible.

A force truly capable of destroying the world should be like the Immortal Ship, possessing an almost omnipotent overlord, being an immortal being, capable of causing an explosive population growth if reproduction is not controlled, and having monstrous average combat strength per person.

If I had to put it into words... changing his fate and obtaining crystals and miracle cards might be Chen Li's real goal.

Thinking of this, Chen Li's eyes became clear.

"I'll ask you one last question. If you had the power to change everything, what would be the ideal configuration for your new empire?" Chen Li asked the Night Raid members, and even Shayou and Iyeas, who had been standing there like wooden statues from the beginning.