Herrscher of Reason's Arknights

However, now is not the time to worry about such things.

"Give me your code."

"Truth" sends the coded message "Judgment!"

"Peng—"

The man slammed his fist on the table. "Excellent! Only we can truly propel the empire forward!"

The plan succeeded; the infected were not only a usable resource, but also a valuable asset.

Strike at the crucial moment and you'll reap unexpected results.

Just like now.

"Pass down the order to have the troops prepare to move out and be on standby at any time. As soon as the order to begin the plan arrives, they should immediately move towards the southern assembly point."

"Yes! But... General, we don't have the Emperor's warrant yet... Could it be...?"

"The Emperor's decree will certainly come; we've merely brought forward its timing. Don't forget, we are soldiers of the Empire! Soldiers should serve their country. The outcome is the business of those useless politicians in the Empire. Our mission is to seize more territory and achieve victory for the Empire!"

"Yes!"

Since the general was so confident, he, as a mere adjutant, naturally had no objections. However, Victor was well aware of the empire's internal weaknesses; the emperor would certainly not approve of the military's reckless plan. Although the current emperor had not changed the rules established by the previous emperor, matters of imperial law were entirely dependent on the emperor's opinion. If he said you were rebelling, then you were rebelling; if he said you were seizing an opportunity, then you were seizing an opportunity. Ultimately, the power of interpretation still rested with the emperor, the supreme ruler.

After all, if one were to argue that this is an ancient rule, then no one could simply summon the late emperor.

Therefore, in order to protect their own interests and regain control of the narrative, the military needs a war.

Ursus also needs a war.

Domestic conflicts are intensifying, while internationally, the transition between the old and new eras is marked by fierce friction, with emerging forces constantly encroaching on the resources and power of the old empire.

It's time to settle all the problems with a war, suppress those emerging forces, and show them who's the boss in this game.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; no matter how weak an empire is, it cannot be contended with by newly emerging powers.

Moreover, this war can also seize more resources.

Although Ursus is large, much of its land is extremely barren, and in the past century, Ursus has never experienced this frozen land in winter.

This land shrouded in winter has always put Ursus in a dilemma: maintaining its vast territory requires more manpower to replenish its military strength, but the land's productive resources are limited.

If the population doesn't grow, the country's strength will remain stuck in a bottleneck of slow development.

If this situation cannot be changed, then the collapse of the empire is only a matter of time.

but·····

The man looked out the window.

That's a window facing south.

"When the empire's iron hooves are ready to trample everything, anything can be accomplished."

Their enemy, the Yan Kingdom from the east, is one of the few enemies Ursus has failed to conquer in previous wars.

But times have changed. They haven't fought a war in far too long, while the Empire's army has been constantly embroiled in conflict. The military's ambition is to seize Lungmen and the Eastern Kingdom, then use them as a springboard to launch a major war and fight for the land where the sun can shine again for the Empire's people!

"When the empire's war machine is running at full capacity, the unprepared Yan Kingdom is merely a match for them."

The fate of the Eastern Kingdom is sealed, the fate of Longmen is sealed... and the fate of the Yan Kingdom...

The man twirled the porcelain cup on the table. He didn't like Yan country tea at all, but he really liked the teacup.

There's always a sense of power in the way it's turned.

"The Yan Kingdom will be crushed to dust by the iron hooves of Ursus."

········

ps: First update!

Chapter 368 [Returning to Dragon Gate]

wrong····

wrong!

"Tear-!"

Guard Bureau, Senior Superintendent's Office.

In anger, he tore off a page from his notebook filled with writing, crumpled it up, and threw it into the trash can.

"Damn it!"

In Longmen, at the superintendent's office desk, Chen Huijie rubbed her hair, staring intently at the tattered remains of her notebook, which had been violently torn apart.

For what?

A kidnapping case from several years ago, a cunning snake hidden in the blind spot of thousands.

Was it just to kidnap Talulah? But what was the purpose?

What exactly are you planning?!

I have absolutely no clue.

Even though she graduated from Columbia's Guardian Academy and even made a special trip to Ursus, no matter how hard she tried...

The truth is like ethereal dust, impossible to grasp in one's hand.

When the wind blows, the dust flies away, as if all the efforts were in vain.

Even the mastermind, Koschche, could not be found, and Talulah seemed to have vanished into thin air, completely untraceable.

until······

"Tap...tap"

Those were faint footsteps coming from outside the door.

After all, this was the headquarters of the Guard Bureau, so naturally no one would bother to hide their presence or footsteps. Chen quickly grabbed a few novels he had bought from a street stall and covered them with a newspaper from Ursus.

She quickly touched her bangs to make herself look about the same as usual.

"Inspector Chen~"

The door was pushed open, and a slightly tall man poked his head out from behind it, carrying a bag in one hand.

"Hoshiguma? Is something the matter?"

Seeing that the person who came in was her most familiar subordinate and arguably the most senior agent in the entire Guard Bureau, Chen Huijie asked with a smile.

It was as if the anger and helplessness from just moments ago had never existed.

"Nothing much, I just saw a new bubble tea shop downstairs, wanna try it?"

While she was asking a question, Hoshiguma had already strode in and placed one of the cups from the bag on Chen's desk with a mischievous grin.

It makes it sound like a subordinate bribing their superior.

That's milk tea, it's been all the rage in Longmen lately, after all, who doesn't like sweet things?

"You bought this kind of thing again. It's very high in calories."

You can't hit someone who's smiling. Even though Chen Huijie was ostensibly on a diet, she still happily accepted the milk tea that Xingxiong offered.

"Ugh, another paper straw?"

Looking through the outer packaging at the included straw, I wonder why it seems that many places have recently switched from plastic straws to paper straws.

It's hard to say whether it's good or bad, since it's supposedly for environmental protection, but the cups are made of plastic.

Shouldn't we replace the plastic cups with paper ones first?

Chen didn't know much about international environmental organizations these days. Moreover, according to recent news reports, many environmental organizations in Colombia have become extremist environmental groups, almost terrorist organizations.

"Just drink it as is, it's not like it's unusable."

Hoshiguma, on the other hand, took it all quite well.

However, in an unnoticed corner, Hoshiguma glanced at the corner inside Chen Huijie's body, against the wall.

That trash can was full of manuscript scraps torn into tiny balls.

It had something written on it, but it was torn into pieces as if venting anger, crumpled into a ball, and thrown into the box.

It was filled with inexplicable anger.

Chen is a pretty perfect person; at least in the eyes of others, Chen Huijie is practically perfect.

A perfect boss, diligent, with impeccable interpersonal skills, strict with everyone including himself, yet not unapproachable.

Easy to talk to yet maintains extremely strong principles.

He's the type of person who gets influenced by his surroundings.

However, even people who seem so perfect have their own hidden flaws.

This is something only Hoshiguma knows.

Even after following Chen for so long, as the most senior officer in the entire Guard Bureau, Hoshiguma only knew a little bit of information.

You can glean many details of the case from Chen Huijie's account; she remembers them all very clearly.

But no one could pry anything out of her; it was a secret buried deep in her heart.

However, the inexplicable anger and the various rumors circulating about the Wei family made it hard not to have doubts.

In any era, patricide is not a positive term.

However, at least on the surface, Chen seemed quite normal. She was trying her best to cover it up, and Hoshiguma naturally didn't ask.

Everyone has a past they don't want to look back on, right?

Just as Chen took the straw that Hoshiguma handed him, intending to poke it in and taste Hoshiguma's gaze first.

A terminal beep broke the morning's tranquility.

Who will reply to this message at this time?

Thinking this, Chen Huijie took out her personal terminal from her pocket, but no number was displayed on the caller ID.

?

The girl frowned, put down her milk tea, and answered the phone.

"Which one?"

Good morning, sir!

It was a slightly immature female voice, lazy yet deliberately mischievous.

It was like a prank.

This is Chen Huijie's personal terminal, not a public terminal placed in the office, so not many people know her private number.

Clearly, this seems like a prank.

"Who are you."

However, Chen Huijie still had her professional intuition.

This person doesn't seem to be playing a simple prank; after all, who would call a member of the Guard Bureau's personal number to play a prank?

"who am I?"

The voice on the other end of the phone seemed quite satisfied with Chen's reaction.

They seemed content with staying behind the scenes.

"That's not important. You'll find out who I am later, sir. I just wanted to let you know; I suggest you look out the window now."

Instinctively, Chen Huijie turned her head to look out the window.

It was an urban area, and the Guard Bureau Building was the tallest building there.

From this vantage point, all the mountains appear small.

And the next moment.

"boom----!!!"

Chapter 369 [The Final Step]

"What exactly happened?! Seal off the area immediately!"