People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

If you don't take it and I don't take it, how can Sami improve?

The World Summit is committed to the peace and development of Terra, and this is not just empty talk. While he is still the head of the World Summit, Ernst is very willing to support the national development of various Terran countries within his power.

A little anthropomorphism might not be a bad thing!

Besides, it wasn't his money that was being spent.

"I will convey your message to the True Dragon. As for the reward, Lord Sami, it is still necessary. Even if you don't take it, at least consider the ordinary people of Sami."

"Moreover, if you don't accept any reward, even a true dragon might not dare to send you. After all, there's an old saying among us humans—what's free is the most expensive."

"If you find it troublesome, you can leave this to me."

[Sami] didn't hesitate. He really didn't care about money, and there wasn't any of the backstabbing and infighting that Ernst had mentioned on Sami's land. But [Sami] still trusted Ernst. He had already said so much. If He argued back and the real dragon didn't invite Him, wouldn't that be a loss?

Since Ernst is willing to help, then let him take charge; it's a way to bring some benefits to the Sami people.

To prevent [Anma] from constantly nagging in her ear like a complaining woman about how hard the children are living, and from running out in the middle of the night to deliver her little snowball to someone else.

Are there any other people?

Ernst asked again.

Sami sat back down at the stone table.

Instead, the year came to take its place.

The sound of "Nian" is loud and easy to recognize:

"Ernst, are you listening? By the way, can we go back?"

"Yan is actually going to have a big fight with Sui! How can we not go and lend a hand? So, has Zhenlong said anything? Do they need us to go and help them out?"

Ernst was speechless for a moment.

You think this is a street brawl? They're even trying to intimidate people!

"The True Dragon's decree should reach Sherag soon. He wants to gather all available forces, including the Year Beast's agents."

Nian seemed to have thought of something, and looked somewhat surprised:

"Huh? All of them? So, Second Brother will be going too?"

“I just saw your second brother last night,” Ernst said.

Nian immediately became interested:

"Is he always expressionless, like he has a blank face, and also very difficult to talk to?"

Ernst thought about how Wang looked last night.

Dragon who doesn't laugh, Dragon who is serious, Dragon who is a master of ideas.

Hmm, a contrasting style?

Ernst coughed lightly and replied somewhat awkwardly:

"Is it alright? It's a little better than I expected."

"I didn't realize you could get along so well with Second Brother?" Nian Xin asked curiously.

Ernst can talk to anyone.

The sound of Ling's collection of things came from the side, echoing the praise. The voice sounded unusually clear-headed and energetic, without any trace of his usual drunkenness.

She glanced at the people present and asked:

"Has anyone seen my wine gourd? Nian, did you secretly take my sister's wine?"

"Sister Ling, how could that be!"

Nian quickly waved his hand.

Ling glanced at Xi's painting again.

Although Xi doesn't reject the giant beast banquet, she usually doesn't come out of the painting to participate unless she has nothing else to do.

This is what a socially awkward girl is like.

It's unlikely she would steal her own wine gourd.

That's strange, how could the wine have suddenly disappeared?

This puzzled her greatly. Fortunately, Nian interrupted her thoughts:

"Sister Ling, we can go back to Baizhao now! The True Dragon is about to completely eliminate Sui!"

"Yes, I heard it."

Ling was still somewhat absent-minded.

"Then let's do it. It's long overdue."

Seeing that Ling was not in high spirits, Nian turned his head again, reached into Xi's painting, and pulled her out by her arm:

"Xi-mei, stop peeking! Are you happy? We can go play the New Year's game together!"

Xi's lips were trembling, and upon hearing this, she shuddered even more, her face turning pale.

"I...I...can I not go?"

"Why? This is such a great opportunity! We've finally managed to get our revenge!"

Nian was somewhat puzzled.

Xi gritted her teeth and questioned:

Why are you so excited?

"That's a year old!"

"Sister Jie was eaten by her back then, aren't you...aren't you scared?"

She stared intently at Nian's face, trying to detect any hesitation or panic, but there wasn't a trace of fear on Nian's face.

She grinned:

"Afraid."

"But Xi-mei..."

"More than age, I'm afraid of everyone disappearing one by one, until in the end, only one or two of us are left, or even just me."

"Instead of that, it would be better if we all died together!"

She clenched her fist, full of confidence:

"Besides, this time, it's not easy for our whole family to get together, so we can all gang up on that old bastard! And we have so many older brothers and sisters helping us!"

"Think about it carefully, isn't this exactly in line with the ending of the movie!"

"The hero and her companions, along with countless helpers, gathered together and finally transformed into light to defeat the resurrected evil monster!"

"True End!"

Chapter 966 Hoping for a Clear Self-Awareness

Da Yan, Bai Zao, Forbidden City, Imperial Garden, Small Pavilion.

Inside the hexagonal pavilion, nestled among green bamboo, wisps of tea smoke drifted through the rolled-up bamboo blinds. The palace maid holding the teapot lightly touched the lid of the purple clay teapot with her fingertips, her eyes lowered unconsciously, yet she couldn't help but raise her head to observe the person sitting opposite the dragon, momentarily lost in thought.

It was only when Zhenlong subtly tapped the stone table that she snapped out of her daze. In a haste, she concealed the shimmering light in her eyes, gave a slight bow to the two people in the pavilion, and then turned and ran away from the garden as if fleeing.

"Mr. Ernst's charm is truly remarkable."

The dragon was in a good mood, a slight smile playing on his lips. He didn't pursue the palace maid's responsibility, but instead jokingly remarked in a serious tone,

"It's understandable that this girl doesn't know the rules. If Mr. Ernst needs someone to take care of him, perhaps..."

Ernst quickly waved his hand:

"Your Majesty, please stop teasing me."

Are you kidding me? Palace maids in the imperial city aren't people you can just take away so easily.

The "real dragon" was just a joke; Ernst wouldn't take it seriously.

Besides, that palace maid only glanced at him once; there was no need to make a fuss about it.

There are far too many people on this land who are curious about him.

Zhenlong shrugged, looking somewhat regretful. He wouldn't insist; rushing to give gifts would be beneath him. He picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and got to the point:

"Mr. Ernst, the plan is going very smoothly."

"My elder brother has no choice; he has already begun to be investigated for corruption and abuse of power in various departments."

Ernst nodded: "So, what are Your Majesty's plans next?"

"Chop off a group of people."

The true dragon spoke calmly, as if he were talking about some trivial matter.

"I do want to wipe out those corrupt officials in one fell swoop. But for now, the Great Yan still needs them, so I'll let them off the hook for the time being."

For the true dragon, corruption is definitely something that needs to be investigated, but compared to the problem of the Year Beast, corruption seems less important.

Now is the time when we need capable people. Unity and cooperation, and a united front against external threats, is the right way. Investigating the case and committing murder are merely a means to establish authority and force the officials to agree to the year's punishment, not the ultimate goal.

If the emperor were to act ruthlessly at this time, he might indeed be able to clean up the court, but who would replace these people? If no one could be found to replace them in the short term, would the plan to celebrate the New Year have to be postponed again?

Will there be such a good opportunity again in the future? Wei Yanwu's investigation card can only be used once; it won't be as effective a second time.

Moreover, some corrupt officials are not incompetent; on the contrary, they actually perform quite well in their positions. Greed for money is considered one of the most acceptable crimes in the Great Yan Dynasty.

The concept of "offsetting one's crimes with merits" may not exist in modern times, but the Great Yan Dynasty was, after all, a feudal society. Ensuring their loyalty and holding them hostage to make them fully carry out the will of the true dragon in their work of plundering the year was much more appropriate than simply killing them and replacing them with a bunch of clueless greenhorns.

Ernst understood this approach and didn't object further, but instead asked:

"How many cuts does His Majesty intend to make?"

The true dragon sat at the stone table, holding a teacup, his expression cold yet thoughtful. Finally, he slowly said:

"There are about two hundred people in one unit, let's wipe one out."

He deliberately made his statement somewhat conservative.

In reality, the actual number of people killed would be far more than that. Back then, in the case of the Grand Tutor's rebellion, although it was said that "only the Grand Tutor's family would be executed," in fact, tens of thousands of people were implicated.

But he didn't want to tell Ernst the truth.

As far as he knew, Ernst rarely used violence to carry out purges. He feared Ernst would think he was too bloodthirsty.

Ernst pursed his lips, nodded slightly, and then asked:

"What about tomorrow?"

"???"

"Ahem, Mr. Ernst, the Great Yan Dynasty doesn't have that many people who would kill someone based on fate."

He couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

Wasn't Mr. Ernst supposed to be a peace lover? That line, "What about tomorrow?", almost gave him a back injury. (Wu: liusi)

Ernst realized what was happening and awkwardly took a sip of tea.

This can't be blamed on him; it's mainly because the "liquidation moments" he's witnessed in Terra over the years have all been on a rather large scale.

Looking back a bit further, a few months ago, after the Duke of Wellington died, the other grand dukes swiftly, ruthlessly, and thoroughly purged his faction. More recently, after Grand Duke Baikal's death, Emperor Fyodor's purge of Grand Duke Baikal's forces nearly left a trail of corpses!

Although Ernst did not participate, he was a witness to it all. Compared to his own purge of the Grand Elder, the intensity of the purges carried out by the Terran kingdoms was on a completely different level.

He thought Yan Kingdom should be even more formidable.

After all, Yan Kingdom is one of the few countries with a super-crime of "exterminating nine generations of relatives."

A brief silence fell over the pavilion. Wang, still lying on the stone chessboard disguised as a chess piece, spoke up somewhat impatiently:

"Let's talk about the age issue instead."

"Ernst, you have a way to save Millet, is that true?"

Ernst nodded.

After calling out to Precys for most of the night without success, Ernst tried to contact Sherag.

Due to the different time zones, although it was late at night in Da Yan, it was only early morning in Sherag. The great god Yeragand responded quickly.