Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

The elven empress, Yushin, lay languidly on the dragon throne, one hand supporting her forehead, her white hair cascading down from the collar of her dragon robe and spreading across the throne.

"White Horse F6, General."

On the chessboard, the holy knight charged into the vicinity of the black king. His opponent picked up the king, placed it on F8, and chuckled, "The time to decide the winner is not yet here, Your Majesty."

Hime Mikami simply chuckled and did not respond. She simply placed the white horse back into position D7 and continued to checkmate.

The player paused for a moment, then continued to observe the chessboard before revealing a wry smile: "Perpetual check and draw... Your Majesty, you are the first in history to force a machine to a draw."

"That's natural." Ji Yushen removed the chessboard, his eyes cold and indifferent. "I have been learning chess since I was a child, and I have had no rivals since I was seven... But let alone a small game of chess, even in this world-leading chess game, only I have ever been able to rival it throughout history. Divine Ritual Officer, what do you think?"

The priest smiled but said nothing.

At this moment, a woman silently entered the hall, carrying a thick stack of memorials.

"Ah, it's Lord Jianqi." The priest stood up, bowed, and said, "Please excuse me, Your Majesty."

Hime nods slightly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The woman walked to the throne, her long, deep purple hair cascading down to her waist, with fine scales faintly visible behind her ears. She wore a plain white palace dress, and her long boots trod on the cool gold bricks.

She was a mermaid princess who surrendered to the empire two years ago when it conquered the underwater kingdom of Atlantis, and is now the empress's close attendant.

"How is the war going?" Himegami's voice was indifferent, not like a question, but more like confirming something.

The Little Mermaid unfolded the memorial and read it from beginning to end: "No war on the Eastern Front."

He paused for a moment, then said, "The western front was attacked by the Kingdom at night, and the forward base was lost."

Himeko tapped the armrest with her fingertip, but said nothing.

The mermaid princess continued reading, and the contents of the memorial were consistent with the version polished by the prime minister: the kingdom's new artillery had an extremely long range, while our army's artillery range was inferior to the enemy's, leaving us on the defensive. Our golden warriors were also targeted; the kingdom was well-prepared, and the two golden warriors fought fiercely, one dead and one wounded.

Regarding casualties, thanks to the bravery of the soldiers on the front lines, the losses were minimal. Furthermore, Lieutenant Kiri Hatsuyuki single-handedly rescued more than 80,000 wounded soldiers amidst the artillery fire, making him a true hero of the empire.

The final paragraph is a personal note from the Chief Minister, directly pointing out that the neglect of military equipment on the western front was not a recent problem. In recent years, most of the military expenditure has been consumed by the eastern front, and the soldiers on the western front have not been trained for a long time and their equipment is outdated, which led to the unfavorable outcome in the first battle. This was indeed not the fault of one person or one day.

After the Little Mermaid finished reading, she placed the memorial on her lap and waited quietly.

“Eighty thousand…” Ji Yushen repeated the number, her lips twitching slightly as she gave a very faint, cold laugh. “A mere Qi Refining cultivator… the entire forward base only has 100,000 people, and she saved 80,000. What a young hero! The factional strife below has even come to deceive me.”

Are you angry?

"Party strife is good, very well done," Ji Yushen laughed. "Why should I be angry?"

The Little Mermaid tilted her head slightly, her eyelashes casting two fan-shaped shadows on her cheekbones, waiting for His Majesty to continue.

Although Himegami completed the ritual of succession to the throne and obtained the "Emperor" card, she still needs to consolidate her control over the "Blasphemy" card through role-playing.

The "Emperor" can control and dominate his subjects by sharing power, which is equivalent to a lower-level substitute for the source quality [Glory]. However, merely using authority is not enough to play the role. Only by using imperial tactics to weigh the court and promulgate laws can one truly bind the name of the Emperor to oneself.

Therefore, the more fiercely the civil and military factions in the court fight each other, the better. If the people above and below are united, she will worry about her unstable grip on power, or that someone below might want to change the mandate of heaven and rebel against her.

The facts contained in memorials are not important, since Hime Misami has her own information channels anyway. What is important is that through memorials, she can see what her subordinates want her to see, as well as the ulterior motives of the civil and military officials.

These were not mentioned by the goddess Himegami.

She straightened up slightly from her throne, her white hair slipping down her shoulders: "It seems that in terms of firearms technology, the Empire is not yet a match for the Kingdom... Issue an edict to invite those few Void Returning Ancestors to come out of seclusion."

"Yes."

The so-called Void Return Ancestors are several Platinum-rank pure-blooded elves within the empire.

As the world's most powerful nation, the Elf Empire is vast and rich in resources. Naturally, not all its inhabitants are elves; intelligent beings such as humans, dwarves, giants, and fairies are also subjects of the empire.

After living together for thousands of years, the bloodline of elves has become difficult to keep pure. Most of them are mixed blood. Although their lifespan is longer than that of humans, they can only live for a little over two hundred years. Pure-blooded elves like Li Xianyu, who have witnessed the empire's two hundred years of ups and downs and are still as young as a girl, are extremely rare.

At the same time, similar to the Kingdom, Platinum is merely a realm attained by Gold-level powerhouses over a long period of time. It surpasses Gold but does not possess the legendary rank and is not recognized by the mainstream. Therefore, in the Empire, the Platinum rank is called "Returning to Void," and each of them is a veteran left over from the founding of the Empire, who obeys the Emperor's orders but not his summons.

But the current Empress is arguably the strongest emperor in history, and those veterans can no longer afford to act recklessly.

"With the Void Returning Ancestors joining the battle, the situation can be reversed in no time." After the Mermaid Princess finished writing the imperial edict, Ji Yushen took it, looked at it, nodded, and then said, "This Tong Chuxue is quite interesting."

"Isn't this a hero created by layers of subordinates trying to make amends for their mistakes?"

"So what if he's a man-made hero? The war has just begun and we've suffered a major defeat, so we do need a war hero," Himeko praised. "He doesn't kill, he only saves people. He might seem a bit cowardly among military officers, but he's very popular with believers and the people."

"His Majesty wishes to bestow her upon him?"

"Not only should she be rewarded, but she should be rewarded handsomely. It would be best if the media could conduct an exclusive interview with her and broadcast it three times every morning on the news!" Ji Yushen paused. "But only I can reward her, and she can only be one of my subjects, not one of my civil or military officials... Isn't the imperial civil service exam in ten days? Order the chief examiner to ensure that she passes the exam and becomes a Jinshi, and then enter the Ministry of War to observe politics."

The Little Mermaid lowered her head, pondered for a moment, and said, "No."

Why is that?

"Tong Chuxue only has a junior college diploma." The mermaid princess's fingers traced the memorial. "According to the laws promulgated by His Majesty, the eligibility requirements for participating in the civil service examination are a bachelor's degree or being currently enrolled."

"Ha, what's so difficult about that?"

Ji Yushen chuckled lightly, "Grind the ink, and fetch paper and brush!"

Then the mermaid princess knelt before the table, grinding ink and preparing the brush. Himeko rose from her throne, walked to the table, picked up the vermilion brush, and bent down to write seven large characters on the blank space of the memorial—

"By special permission of the Empress! Associate's to Bachelor's degree!"

Before the ink was dry, Ji Yushen placed the brush back on the brush holder, turned around, and walked back to the throne.

"By imperial decree, Sheng Tong Chu Xue is to enroll in the Military Studies Department of Wanfa University to prepare for the civil service exam in the capital. He shall depart immediately!"

…………

Ten days later, Wanfa University, Department of Music and Law.

After passing the Wanfa exam, Feng Chuanxiang was riding high and everything went smoothly for her. She first became a disciple of Feng Jiuge, the supreme master of the Sound Dao, and then formed a sisterhood with four other prodigies in the Sound Dao system: Chuyin Fairy, Miaomeng Fairy, Fan Hailing, and Motisi, the Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect. They founded the band "Mujika" and toured the military many times, receiving unanimous praise.

As the band's main creator, she was once again appreciated by her mentor and was selected to take the civil service exam in Beijing this year!

Today is the day of the exam!

As one of the top ten universities, Wanfa University was naturally designated as the examination venue. Toyokawa Sho, along with Hatsune and Myomu, two other students from the top ten who also had a spot, came to the examination venue to wait.

Hatsune is from a prestigious family and once successfully gave a gift to the principal, who praised her as "the most responsible, dedicated, outstanding, and serious student"; while Miaomeng is a famous film and television star and internet celebrity with an unknown amount of wealth, so coming to Wanfa University is considered a way to enhance her resume.

Being with such an outstanding person, Toyokawa Sho, who wouldn't praise him, saying, "This man has the bearing of a civil servant"?

While chatting with Hatsune about childhood memories, Toyokawa Sho couldn't help but sigh again: "It's a good thing I quit Kulaixi in time and cut ties with that college student, Kiri Chuxue, otherwise I wouldn't have the life I have now."

You have to understand that bands are a community of shared destiny. A person can only join one band at a time and receive one salary. Otherwise, they are a slave to two salaries and will be looked down upon.

"Xiao Xiang, you actually know college students?" Hatsune asked in surprise. "What are college students like? I've never met such low-level creatures in my life. Do they look dull and smelly?"

“More than that, college students and us are practically two different kinds of creatures.” Toyokawa Sho sighed. “I have a childhood friend who was originally a Holy Maiden of the Demonic Sect like Motis, but later her family fell into decline and she became a college student, even majoring in civil engineering… I’ve already cut ties with her, so let’s not talk about it anymore.”

But as they were talking, Toyokawa Sho spotted a familiar figure among the crowd of people waiting to take the exam.

With short black hair and a petite figure, she wore a white shirt and black vest, looking like a restaurant waiter, and stared blankly as she looked around.

First snow in Tong!

Toyokawa Sho was startled, turned his head, closed his eyes, and silently chanted, "Don't see me, don't see me."

Having experienced a war, Ke Tong Chuxue was overly sensitive to the gazes of others. She quickly looked over, and a hint of joy unconsciously appeared on her pretty face, followed by a sense of melancholy. Then, recalling the scenes she had witnessed on the battlefield, she felt that compared to guns and death, her previous childish conflicts were nothing more than a few hardships. So she stepped forward and asked, "Xiao Xiang, is that you?"

Toyokawa Sho sighed, raised his head, and quietly looked at Kiri Hatsuyuki: "Why are you here?"

"I was..."

"Let me make this clear first, I've already given you the Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin Pill set, but you refused it!" Feng Chuanxiang said fiercely. "I've already withdrawn from Ku Lai Xi Ku, and it has nothing to do with you anymore! So please stop bothering me!"

Tong Chuxue stood there, stunned. She had only wanted to greet an old friend, and she didn't know why she had been humiliated like this. She felt extremely wronged.

Hatsune, who was standing nearby, curiously leaned over and asked, "Xiao Xiang, is this your ex?"

"Yes."

"no!"

As soon as Tong Chuxue nodded, Fengchuan Xiang immediately retorted, then said to Chuyin and Miaomeng, "This person is the civil engineering student I just mentioned."

"Huh? A real college graduate? Really?"

Hatsune was surprised, while Miaomeng covered her nose: "Security? Where's the security? How could they let a college student into Wanfa University? Is she here to be a waitress? If the restaurant smells like dust and dirt, then I'm sorry, I can't eat here!"

"Miaomeng, don't be so harsh on college students." Hatsune frowned, covered her mouth, and then asked Tong Chuxue curiously, "I heard you're a civil engineering student? I'm sorry, I don't know much about the educational level of college students. When you do civil engineering work, can you understand blueprints?"

"Hatsune, why are you asking all this? Don't tell me you want to become a civil engineer?!" Myomeng said with a displeased look. "You're the most profitable music student, you're in the entertainment industry! In the past, civil engineering was indeed lucrative, but now the Pokémon Empire is a world of entertainment. There's no such thing as civil engineering at its peak, only flashy and colorful entertainment!"

"I'm just curious about life at the bottom..."

"Why be curious about this? Civil engineering is dead now! She's just a college graduate, how could she possibly make civil engineering great again? No way!"

Seeing his new teammates mocking his ex, whether with good intentions or malice, Toyokawa Sho couldn't stand it anymore. He quickly shut them up, then pulled out a few hundred credits from his pocket and handed them to Tong Chuxue: "I know you're not making much money in civil engineering and it's tough for you, but I'm living a new life now. Please don't stop me from pursuing a better future. Tong Chuxue, take this money first. Don't go to Wanfa University so easily in the future. I'm afraid the security guards or the dean of students will get angry if they see it, and then you could face jail time."

Tong Chuxue sighed.

What Toyokawa Sho didn't know was that, as an Imperial Second Lieutenant, having made outstanding contributions on the battlefield and being specially approved by the Empress to pursue a bachelor's degree, he was already an existence that Toyokawa Sho could not reach.

But the old man was so heartless that she had no interest in arguing and turned to leave.

At this moment, a figure appeared at the entrance of the examination hall, instantly attracting the attention of all the candidates and causing a great stir in their hearts.

"Is it...the principal?"

"Is that person next to the principal... the Minister of War?"

"Could today's examiner be the Minister of War? During wartime, the Ministry of War certainly wielded considerable power..."

As the principal of the Ten Great Laws School and the Minister of War, they are both experts at the Gold Realm and pure-blooded elves, terrifying beings who have lived for countless years!

As the two arrived, a storm raged through the crowd. Everyone wanted to strike up a conversation with the examiner, add him as a friend, and offer him a generous token of goodwill to increase their chances of passing the exam.

But the principal and the Minister of War walked hand in hand toward Toyokawa Sho.

Feng Chuanxiang was overjoyed and quickly handed over the favor token. The Minister of War opened it and saw that it contained a full million credits. He nodded slightly: "You are..."

Feng Chuanxiang quickly replied, "I am Feng Chuanxiang from the Department of Music and Law, and I am a student of Feng Jiuge!"

The Minister of War nodded, indicating that he had remembered.

At this moment, Tong Chuxue was holding the favor token, wanting to step forward and hand it to the examiner, but was suddenly pulled by Miaomeng and dragged behind the crowd.

Miao Meng immediately turned her head, revealing a fierce expression: "Are you crazy to be so close?! That's a high-ranking official, a second-rank official! If a college student like you were to offend this official's eyes, you'd be dead a hundred times over!"

However, the Minister of War's words the next moment made Miaomeng feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave:

The Minister of War dismissed Feng Chuanxiang and gave Tong Chuxue a kind smile at the back of the crowd: "You must be Tong Chuxue?"

The principal, who was standing nearby, quickly asked, "Your Excellency, do you know this student?"