Spellcasting Gods

In fact, long before the war ended, she began planning how to purge some of the nobles to make room for the commoners she had promoted.

But who would have thought that before they could even take action, these fools would jump out and offer up a perfect excuse?

It should be noted that the nobles themselves proposed to leave the kingdom, rather than her actively expelling them, so there was no need for her to bear any corresponding political risks.

Chapter 1104 Times Have Changed

Without a doubt, Vilia's cold declaration in the main hall of the palace directly cornered those enraged nobles.

After the meeting adjourned, these men, who had been stripped of their titles and territories, gathered in a villa, staring at each other with grim expressions.

A full minute passed before the court nobleman who had spoken in the palace finally spoke: "My esteemed lords, as you have all seen, the kingdom is no longer the one jointly ruled by the nobles and the royal family. The woman sitting on the throne now is merely a madwoman who seized power through a coup, a tyrant no different from the traitor Kerwin. Now, she is unwilling to even give us the most basic respect and rights, and she even wants to undermine our foundation."

"So what? What exactly are you trying to say?" another older man asked loudly, clearly annoyed.

Clearly, he was worried about how to explain to his wife and children that he was no longer a nobleman and that he would have to move out of the castle where his family had lived for generations within a month.

Of course, he wasn't the only one with such worries; almost every nobleman present looked distressed, still unable to believe that they had almost lost everything overnight.

“What I mean is! Since the kingdom is no longer our kingdom, then we have no obligation to continue protecting it. Why not cooperate with its enemies?” The court nobleman put forward his idea meaningfully.

Intrigue and betrayal are always closely linked to politics.

Especially the nobility under the feudal system had no concept of the country; everything they did was for the sake of their own family.

Nobles located at the border of two countries have long been accustomed to constantly switching sides, pledging allegiance to whoever is stronger in order to ensure that their own interests are not harmed.

Upon hearing these blatant words of treason, the older man subconsciously frowned and tentatively asked in a hesitant tone, "Who are you referring to as the enemy? Or rather, who has bribed you?"

"Oros the Lion, the great Emperor Harrison. I wonder if this answer satisfies you?" The court nobleman pursed his lips, a smug smile spreading across his face.

"Emperor Harrison? He actually contacted you!"

Another, slightly younger nobleman standing nearby suddenly stood up, his emotions becoming unusually agitated.

The court nobles nodded seriously: "That's right! The great Emperor Harrison believes that our arrogant queen should be taught a lesson. To be precise, she is unworthy to sit on the throne and issue orders, so she is preparing to help the old king restore his throne. So, who among you is interested in participating?"

"Me! If Emperor Harrison were the initiator, I would be willing to go bankrupt for him."

Count me in!

"For a kingdom ruled jointly by the royal family and the nobility!"

"Tell me, what are we going to do?"

……

It must be said that Harrison's reputation and political prestige, cultivated over decades, are now fully on display.

Upon hearing his name, these nobles immediately became as if injected with adrenaline, completely disregarding the powerful army under Vilia's command, as if with the help of this legendary monarch, they could easily defeat any opponent, no matter how strong.

But as they enthusiastically discussed how to launch a rebellion, overthrow the queen with Harrison's support, and restore the kingdom to its former state, they were completely unaware that their every move was being monitored by magic.

As Vilia gazed at the virtual images and sounds transmitted back through the magic mirror, she couldn't help but sneer, "How disappointing! I thought they might come up with some interesting plan, but they've just been used as cannon fodder."

"Don't let your guard down! Harrison is not like an ordinary monarch. His political influence and prestige are unmatched by any other king. Look at these people; the moment they hear Harrison's name, they act like completely different people," Isolt warned, stroking his beard.

“I understand! Harrison was indeed an excellent emperor, even from the perspective of an enemy. But the problem is, times have changed, and his methods of winning over the nobility are destined to be swept into the dustbin of history. However, his presence as an opponent does give me an unprecedented excitement. I believe that as long as I defeat him, history will surely give me, a queen who came to power through a coup, a very high evaluation, won't it?”

As he said this, a burning light shone in Veria's eyes.

As the saying goes, power can fundamentally change a person.

Although she had never been interested in these things before, now she longed for them more than anyone else.

"Yes! You're right! Times have changed! Our master has brought about change and a leap forward to this world! Let's join hands and create a glorious future. The Lion of Oros—Emperor Harrison the Great—will be a good stepping stone."

After saying that, Isolte waved his hand and turned off the Magic Mirror's surveillance.

Given the kingdom's current military strength, a mere noble rebellion has never been a major issue. What is truly noteworthy is just how many trump cards this powerful monarch holds.

"So what do you think I should do to deal with this rebellion? Shall we annihilate it with swift and decisive action? Or should we wage a protracted war and slowly uncover the hidden enemies behind it?" Vilia asked with great interest.

The old man hesitated for a moment before suggesting, "I don't think a noble rebellion will amount to much, so it's better to proceed slowly. Politics is an art of deception. You need to lower the guard of the surrounding countries, and ideally make them believe that such powerful weapons are difficult to produce and cannot be used in every battle. That way, they won't unite to form an encirclement."

"What about Kerwin? Could he also be involved in this conspiracy against me?" Vilia leaned forward slightly, raising the issue that concerned her most.

"I'm sorry, we've fallen out. He won't reveal any secrets to me, so I can't be sure for now. But one thing is certain: if you show even the slightest weakness, he'll seize the opportunity to tear you to shreds. Remember, the master won't interfere in the fights between servants; theoretically, you and he both have a chance to get rid of each other."

"Hmph! Since that's the case, let's see who has the last laugh."

"Believe me, in the prelude to this new era, we will all play the most important role, but only if we do not disobey our master's orders."

“Disobeying orders? I’ve already seen what happened to Kerwin, I won’t do anything foolish.”

"That's for the best. I don't want to change partners again..."

Chapter 1105 Deterrence

“Master, this is the information you recently gave me regarding the island kingdom. I have collected and compiled it all.” Allens carefully placed a piece of paper covered with magical symbols on the table.

His voice was so soft, as if afraid of accidentally interrupting his master's thoughts.

"well done!"

Zhang Cheng picked up the paper, quickly pulled his attention away from the vast depths of the universe, and glanced at it briefly.

Since his location was exposed, he could sense that several eyes were constantly watching his every move from the shadows, but the problem was that the other party was too well hidden and it was impossible to track them.

It goes without saying that the rulers are trying to decipher his personality, behavior, and abilities through such observations.

What's even more interesting is that these guys aren't all in cahoots; they're interfering with each other, creating obstacles for one another, and one of them is even deliberately messing up the rules, making spying increasingly complicated and difficult.

Since the rulers are virtually immortal, time is meaningless to them. Each of them is exceptionally patient and still has no intention of showing themselves. It would not be an exaggeration to describe them as cunning and scheming.

Undoubtedly, one of Zhang Cheng's special skills is his ability to devise schemes and plots, but no amount of intrigue or trickery works against these scoundrels who are committed to a defensive strategy.

Left with no other choice, he secretly increased his vigilance and steadily pushed forward the plan, using the planet's natives for experiments while cultivating the Chaos Tree that continuously absorbed the planet's core energy.

He simply couldn't believe that once the planet was completely transformed into a chaotic planet, the rulers of the Order and Neutral factions would still be able to sit still.

It's important to understand that spreading chaos is an irreversible process, and a single successful example means it can be replicated indefinitely.

When more than half of the planets in the universe become chaotic planets, order will naturally be compressed to the brink of collapse, which not only seriously violates the ideology of the order faction, but also does not conform to the view of the neutral faction to maintain the balance of the universe.

In a sense, Zhang Cheng was simultaneously provoking the bottom line of the other two factions, making them understand that he was a monster who would not consider the consequences when he went crazy.

Only in this way will those powerful, established rulers choose to exercise restraint instead of actively seeking trouble.

Making the enemy hesitant and fearful through reckless actions is undoubtedly a form of terrorism.

This is similar to how terrorists on Earth force governments to back down by launching suicide attacks or even massacring civilians.

Especially in modern times, the Jews, who were the first to use terrorist attacks, successfully used this method to establish a country, and one of the planners eventually became the prime minister of the new country.

Not only did they successfully clear their own name, but they also didn't forget to smear their opponents who tried to use the same methods.

In contrast, some other organizations that launched terrorist attacks are far more pathetic; not only did they fail to achieve their goals, they became universally reviled.

The root cause was not that their methods were wrong, but that they lacked the ability to sustain irreparable damage to the enemy.

Simply put, there isn't enough deterrent power.

Imagine if a bearded man who was killed could continuously cause huge damage to those important cities, or even assassinate and kidnap important politicians and members of financial families, would there still be the invasion war that broke out later?

The answer is 100% no!

When you lack sufficient power to deter your enemy, yet constantly provoke and clamor with words, this is undoubtedly the most foolish and idiotic behavior.

But Zhang Cheng is different; he believes in saying less harsh words and taking decisive action.

A hundred verbal threats are not as direct or memorable as a single action.

Allens, clearly unaware of his master's thoughts, continued his description: "I've noticed that since the civil war broke out in this country, all the residents have become quite strange. They neither interact with each other nor participate in any recreational activities. Every day is just work, work, and more work, then eat and sleep. I tried to blend in using disguise magic, but I was immediately exposed."

"Heh, nothing to be surprised about. The inhabitants of this kingdom have been completely taken over by a parasitic species that can communicate with each other through telepathy, so no amount of disguise magic will work." Zhang Cheng casually lit the paper and threw it into the air, letting it burn to ashes.

"Parasitism?!" Allens' eyes widened, his expression one of disbelief.

Zhang Cheng nodded slightly: "That's right! If you kill one of the residents and then dissect his body, you'll discover the secret hidden inside. But be careful, once it gets inside you, you'll be controlled too."

"Thanks for reminding me! I'll go catch one right now!"

Without saying a word, Allens immediately used teleportation magic and disappeared from the spot.

Under the influence of the chaotic forces, his behavior became increasingly chaotic, and his sense of morality and responsibility was rapidly lost, replaced by reckless and willful behavior.

Just a few months ago, he was a young man who wasn't too bad-hearted, but now he has become a ruthless killer.

Judging from the mountain of corpses piled up in the basement, it is not difficult to tell that his soul had long since become completely corrupted, and he even enjoyed the painful cries of the dead.

Watching the test subject he had created leave, Zhang Cheng also stood up from his chair, opened a portal, and muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear: "Since I still have some free time, I'll relax a bit and see how far the game between the Demon King and the Hero has progressed. I hope the hero chosen this time isn't some white-haired old man or a simple-minded, physically strong man."

The words had barely left his mouth!

He immediately passed through the portal and appeared in the wilderness about ten kilometers away from the entrance to the underground ruins.

Because of the skinning monsters, this place is littered with corpses. Every short distance you can see rotting, stinking bodies, as well as abandoned weapons and armor.

Since the start of the game, at least 3000 adventurers have perished on this perilous land, with only a very few having the chance to enter the depths of the tomb.

Just as Zhang Cheng was about to change his appearance and physique, he suddenly heard someone shout, "Hey! Wait!"

"Um?!"

He instinctively turned around and saw a small adventure team of seven people running quickly toward him.

The leader was a tall and strong man. Judging from the colorful paint on his face, he was a barbarian warrior from the desolate mountains of the Northwest. He also carried a two-handed greatsword that was at least 1.5 meters long on his back.

Chapter 1106 An Unexpected Encounter

Seeing the agile soldier run up to him, Zhang Cheng immediately pretended to be confused and asked, "Are you calling me?"

"Of course! You're the only one here, who else could it be?" The burly man took off his helmet and wiped his sweat-drenched forehead.

It must be said that his physical fitness is really good. Even when he is doing strenuous exercise in such a hot and humid environment, he does not feel tired at all. On the contrary, he looks energetic.

"What is it?" Zhang Cheng raised his head slightly, revealing his eyes hidden under the hood.

moment!

Every member of the adventure team was stunned!