98.STORM‘S COMING

It stands to reason that the news that the second prince of the Imperial Prime Minister, Shunezel, was abolished from the right to inherit the throne should not have caused such a big stir.

Anyone with a little bit of brains understands that after the public statement of the second prince, it is only a matter of time before the emperor deposes him, and it is a matter of a short time. Charles, who was a brother and sister who was crippled and even killed back then, didn't blink an eye, and his ability was put aside, and his ruthlessness was really unmatched by anyone in the world. Abolish a son who tried to shake his own regime, and there are more than 100 people in line below.

No matter how bad it is, you can wait for your grandchildren, the emperor is in the spring and autumn period, and he can afford to wait for another twenty or thirty years.

There are some things that Lao Tzu can't say before he dies.

It is hard to imagine that Schunezel, who has always appeared in front of the world with a steady image, would make such a mistake on impulse.

No.

This situation is not surprising at all, and anyone who says "this country is on the wrong path and will perish in the long run" will have to pay the most painful price.

The reason why the world was so angry was because the emperor sentenced "peace" and "freedom" to death for his wordless actions.

Thanks to the advent of ZERO, people now believe in miracles, that even a country as powerful as Britannia is not unshakable. I believe that sooner or later, they will be able to get rid of their slave status like the Japanese -- this time perhaps without bloodshed.

Schunezel, who represents the empire in front of the camera shakes hands with ZERO with a smile and a bright sun.

Even if they weren't so simple as to think that the handshake would immediately give them back their freedom, they ・・・・・・

If ZERO brings "hope" to the world, Schunezel really provides "possibility".

And that "possibility", the seedling that cowardly sprouted from the tip of the sprout, was crushed to death by a cruel kick like this, right in front of everyone's eyes.

Angry crowds poured into the streets in the districts, followed by natural repression, civil-military clashes, bloodshed, spontaneous anti-government groups, counterinsurgency, and more casualties.

The soap bubble of dreams bursts, and they finally understand that the empire will not change—as long as the emperor is alive for one day.

That man is a demon, poisonous, and a cancer of the world.

As long as he is alive, there will be more oppression, exploitation; As long as he has a breath left, more people will die.

And just when all the numbers took out the posture of the final battle, ready to fight with the imperial army around them to the last person, the smell of gunpowder in the air was so strong that it almost exploded, and everyone was nervous to the extreme, another piece of news gave all the people who were sharpening their knives and preparing to splatter blood for five steps a slap in the back of their heads.

The Federal Republic of China, silently, coup d'état.

It's not going to be a peaceful year.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

"What do our people say?"

In the small conference room, there was a long table, and there were black armchairs at one end and one at the end, and it was the two giants of the Black Knights who sat down. On either side are two couches, which sit the senior civil and military cadres within the organization.

This is an intelligence exchange meeting urgently convened by ZERO, and the questioner is none other than the helmet man himself, who wants to know more about the inside intelligence of the organization's ears and eyes in his country than the exaggerated reports and speculation in the news, and this is the part that the head of the secret service, Diethart, is responsible for.

"The situation should basically be true, the order for the second prince to be dismissed and investigated was indeed issued by the emperor, but it is unknown where he is imprisoned now."

"That's all?"

ZERO CROSSED HIS FINGERS ON THE TABLE, TAPPING THE BACK OF HIS HAND SO THAT NO ONE COULD TELL WHAT HE WAS THINKING.

"I'm very sorry that it happened suddenly, and that's all we've found out about now."

“・・・・・・”

ZERO WAS SILENT FOR A MOMENT, AND A SIGH CAME FROM HIS HELMET.

"You know, I don't like to hear the words 'basically true' in front of the information."

"I'm sorry ZERO, but that's really the limit of what we can do at the moment." The pony-tailed man said with a wry smile.

"Forget it, is there any other 'basically true' news?"

"Yes. There is also a folk rumor that there may be another charge for the dethronement of Schunazel -- the crime of inciting rebellion. ”

ZERO'S FINGERS STOPPED IN THE AIR.

"Go on."

"It is rumored that Shunezel was not arrested by the emperor's own soldiers that day, but the second empress Conelia sent someone to escort her into the palace, and attached a recording as evidence."

"Recording?"

ZERO LOOKED UP AND STARED AT DIETHART.

"Yes, of course it's just rumors. The second princess recorded the conversation between Shonezel and her seizure of power, which was the real reason why the emperor directly stripped her of the right to inherit the throne without going through any procedures. ”

ZERO DIDN'T SPEAK, BUT LOOKED ACROSS THE TABLE.

I couldn't see my face head-on, my feet were stacked on the table, and the soles of my shoes were straight towards the masked man.

In the whole world, only Bai Mao dares to sit opposite ZERO like this. He didn't make a sound, and seemed to be lost in thought.

"Well, the news from their country let them continue to investigate, and it is okay to lose a few people if necessary. I hope that the next intelligence will start with 'reliable information'. ZERO SAID, LEANING BACK IN HIS CHAIR.

"Yes." Diethart flipped back a page of the report to move on to the next topic. "Then the federal ...

"You don't have to worry about the Federation." ZERO RAISED HIS HAND TO INTERRUPT THE AGENDA. "It's not our business, it's up to them."

Diethardt was stunned.

The Federation upheaval is theoretically not about the Black Knights, but it's the Federation! Or a coup d'état! If this kind of thing is to make the front page bold, then the empire will not even be able to squeeze in the layout of the small advertisements in the middle seams!

Everyone stared at ZERO in amazement.

Fan raised his hand hesitantly.

"Uh, ZERO, don't we even have to react? In order to organize the current relationship with the Federation, at least a statement should be issued to take a stand on this incident, right? ”

"Why?" ZERO ASKED RHETORICALLY.

"No, our current foreign trade, no, it should be said that almost ninety percent of the aid we receive unilaterally comes from the Federation, which was also the first country to support our regime. If they lose the support of the new federal government, if they don't recognize the agreement signed with us during the Eunuch period..."

It's a very simple truth, everyone here understands, only Fan Yao can't help but ask.

"Coup d'état?" ZERO SNORTED. "The seizure of power by military personnel is a coup d'état, the murder of a monarch and the usurpation of the throne is a coup d'état, the impeachment of a party is a coup d'état, and the change of dynasty is a coup d'état. Now the federation is still the federation, the Son of Heaven is still the Son of Heaven, and the name of the country has not changed a word. It's just that the imperial court was reorganized and the military power was concentrated, all of which were clearly written as the rights of the Son of Heaven, so why did it become a coup? What reason do they have for not recognizing the agreement with Japan? ”

This one stopped everyone.

Oh, yes. If you want to define the personality of this matter, it is just a reorganization of the cabinet. It's just that the decadent impression of the Son of Heaven holding real power in the face of the Federation for many years is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and everyone has forgotten that if it comes to power on paper, the Son of Heaven is even above the emperor.

The emperor has to weave at least a reason to kill people, and whoever the Son of Heaven wants, just snort, that person has to be grateful to Dade for taking the three-foot white silk handed by the eunuch.

In theory, yes.

But... It's okay to fool children with this set of rhetoric, but it's too reluctant to deal with this circle of people here.

ZERO DIDN'T WANT TO SAY MUCH ABOUT IT, AND WAVED HIS HAND.

"Go on."

They only know that ZERO's relationship with the Federation is extraordinary, and they also know that ZERO has given the Federation a lot of benefits in private, and the transactions under the table are definitely deposited. Little could they have imagined that it was the two of them, seemingly indifferent, who were in charge, liaison, planning, participating in, financing, and monitoring all the details of the long-planned coup.

The handle of the Federation is in his own hands, and there is no way to go wrong. Li Xingke, the only unstable dìng factor, seeing that he has a few days to live, and when the situation of the federation is stabilized, he doesn't have to do anything, and he has his own Hades ghost to invite him down. Is there anything left behind before death?

Only Schunazel is their greatest threat.

"Okay, here's the main topic for today."

Diethardt flipped through the chapters of the Federation, glanced at the outline that followed, put the file down, and put his fingers in front of him.

"Are we ready?" The pony-tailed man's gaze swept around the faces of everyone at the table, his eyes both anxious and excited. "Is now the right time?"

The Black Knights have established themselves in Japan, with absolute prestige and dominance, and their power has reached saturation in this narrow island chain.

The next step is to spread the flame of revolution around the world.

"Hmm. Fan, I don't have much time in the organization now, how is the personnel training? ”

Fan Yao glanced at the other end with his legs on stilts on the table, a pair of scoundrels coming to the door to force debts.

Isn't this something to ask the deputy commander?

"Rainbow troops?"

Fan knew that this was the situation of asking foreign students again.

"Hmm."

"The quality is sufficient, it's just that it hasn't been rolled on the battlefield yet. Numbers... Excluding a few satellite areas that have been largely fully colonized by the Empire, the maximum number of people is 1,300, and the minimum is only 190. ”

"Not enough?"

"The deputy commander means that it is enough, and it is generally composed of personnel of their own nationality, and then led by experienced veteran regiments, with a small number of liaisons, translators, and a considerable number of ideological and political personnel. There should be no question about developing ten times the number of local militias in a short period of time..."

“ZERO。”

A tall man who had been sitting silently in the corner suddenly spoke.

"I've never heard anything like this. No, I'm not joining the Black Knights for this kind of thing・・・・・・"

All eyes turned to him.

Fujido Kagamishiro.

The miracle Fujido, the leader of the Four Holy Swords, and the only remaining veteran of the Japanese Liberation Front.

During the year of living incognito, he has been silently watching, observing the direction of this regime, whether the people are happy, and whether the country is stable.

The final conclusion was yes.

I have to admit that there is no one in this world who can do it better than ZERO.

Japan has changed so much that you don't have to travel around the four islands, just look at the people around you and draw conclusions.

The children have gained weight, the men have jobs, the women have become cleaner and want to have children. There was a smile on everyone's face, a smile of rebirth, and there was a smell of hope in the air.

No one, except for ZERO, can transform a country that has been colonized for seven years and drained of its vitality into such a state in just one year, even if it is magic.

Fujido has a knot with ZERO, but that doesn't mean he's going to change because of it.

He still loves this country, this land.

He is willing to pay a qiē for the position.

He longs to protect this dreamlike new world.

He had no choice but the Black Knights, so one early morning a few days ago, he led a dozen of his subordinates, including the Four Holy Swords, to Shinjuku's recruit registration office and filled in his name on the form.

Not surprisingly, just one day later, he received orders to meet ZERO. Not much nonsense, he was promoted by one level, and the lieutenant general became a general and went directly to the center of the system.

He had planned to listen quietly today, but he didn't expect this kind of news.

"ZERO, I'm here to defend the country, not to go out and poke a hornet's nest."

"I didn't let you go." The helmet man said coldly.

"Do you want to destroy the hard-won peace?"

"General, I don't want to repeat the principles of this organization anymore." ZERO KNOCKED IMPATIENTLY ON THE TABLE. "'Liberating humanity' is not 'liberating Japan.'"

"Isn't it enough that so many people died?!" Fujido slapped the table and stood up. "And sell the Japanese abroad to die?! Just for your personal so-called 'ideals'?! ”

"Voluntary..." The girl stretched and took over boredly.

"They were just carried away by this man's victory and speech! They simply don't know what they're doing! There is no need for Japan to be responsible for other countries! ”

"Hmm~~~ Speaking of which, Shuki is your disciple, right?"

C.C abruptly changed the subject.

"I finally know where his brainless master is."

"I can't be sarcastic..."

"Ahh

C.C didn't look at him, hugged his knees, and used his hands to shape the shape of a duck's beak.

Fujido was choked and speechless.

"It's all said, you want to protect Japan, no one will let you, and what others want to do is someone else's business. Isn't that right? ”

"That's enough."

ZERO told C.C to shut up immediately, the general was thin-faced, and she lost a few more paragraphs, maybe she had to pick Fujido's anger and stop it.

"All of you, don't you have the slightest suspicion・・・・・・"

Hearing Fuji Tang ask this, surprisingly, no one was surprised, and no one made a sound.

The Black Knights are ZERO's Word Hall.

There is no need for explanation, no need for questioning, and no need for reason.

All they have to do is follow orders, complete tasks, and report in a timely manner.

ZERO will bring them victory.

At such an awkward moment in the atmosphere, it is still the good old man who wants to come out to attract firepower.

"Ahem! The report just now is only a preliminary estimate. The attrition after the first war is not counted, and if there is an emergency, it will need to be replenished by personnel from the Japanese headquarters..."

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

"What are you doing?"

The meeting ended in an embarrassing atmosphere, and Lelouch quietly listened to the report on organizational construction, didn't say anything, and asked the cadres to leave, saying that he would give them an answer tomorrow.

As soon as the man finished, he locked the door, walked quickly to Ilan's side, and raised his foot and kicked in his chair.

No response.

Bai Mao still shrunk in the chair, propped up his head, closed his eyes, and rested.

The chair lost its center of gravity, rolled its pulley to the side, and finally fell to the ground with a thud.

As soon as he touched the ground, the kid immediately turned over and jumped up, the cold light flashed in his palm, he held the dagger in front of him, and pressed the gun behind his waist with his other hand like lightning.

Lelouch hurriedly stepped back.

"Hey!"

Ilan's eyes widened, his pupils constricted, and he quickly scanned the room, searching for possible enemies. The snort was heavy, and the temples were pounding, and it took a while to slowly relax.

"・・・・・・ meeting is over?"

As he spoke, he tucked the knife into his sleeve as if nothing had happened.

"Are you sleeping?"

Lelouch asked incredulously.

"How is it possible, to tease you."

“・・・・・・”

"What are you lying to, really! Just kidding! ”

"What Fujido just said?"

"・・・・・・ urgency?"

“・・・・・・”

"Ahhh "I've been really tired lately, can't I take a nap in a meeting?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you seem to be able to go ten days without sleep?" Lelouch folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Don't eat or drink, fight for ten days, and don't sleep."

No, not even when you doze off. With his alertness, he would wake up as soon as someone approached, and the difficulty of making him fall to the ground was basically equivalent to turning the earth upside down.

Unconscious?

"Yilan, Hongyue made a small report to me a few days ago."

"Huh?"

"She saw you pouring painkillers into the toilet."

"The tutor is not good, I see a smile, I'll do nothing first..."

As he spoke, he turned around and was about to open the door.

"What the hell just happened?"

Elan pressed his hand on the handle.

Sudden neuralgia had been plaguing him for a whole year, with the after-effects of an overdose.

Sometimes a second ago, I was fine, talking and laughing with people, and suddenly my brain was like someone smashed into a nail, and ordinary people would have to fall on the spot a long time ago, and there would even be visual and auditory hallucinations in extreme pain. At this time, I had to quickly find a corner where no one was around, and hold my head tightly until this time passed. It's also thanks to Elan that he hid it from everyone for a whole year.

Of course, this is also one of the consequences of his own secret withdrawal from the drug.

Unlike other conditions, this severe neuropathic pain is not fatal but can never be cured. The prescriptions suitable for this symptom are drugs with dull pain effect of the central nervous system - morphine, opioids, **, **, fentanyl.

In other words, drugs.

The result is sluggish reactions, diminished sense of time, decreased concentration, and increased dependence.

The ultimate thing is to become a waste.

Compared to the irregular severe pain once in those few days, this is undoubtedly the result that Ilan is more unwilling to accept.

"We... can't have weaknesses, can we?"

Ilan smiled wryly and turned back to sit back in his chair.

Lelouch didn't know how to answer.

"Did you hear anyone talking to you?" C.C sat down on the table, holding his chin and asked suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Can you hear who is talking during a seizure?"

"How is that possible?" Yilan waved his hand and laughed.

How does she know?!

It was all meaningless words, but there were voices that echoed in his head

C.C snorted and ignored him.

"How's it going?" The white hair changed the subject.

"The right time, place and people are all ready. For the Black Knights to go out of Japan, this is a once-in-a-century opportunity. The question is...

"Second Emperor Brother?" Elan tilted his head.

"Well, there are two pieces of bad news, which one do you want to hear first?"

"I don't want to hear anything if I can."

"Now the world is in the midst of an unprecedented anti-imperialist wave, which is a tailwind for us, but the one who blows this wind is Schunezel. The people were angry because the emperor imprisoned the only person in the empire who was on their side, stifling illusions of peaceful liberation. If we take advantage of this shareholder wind to go out・・・・・・ no matter what we do, we must carry the banner of helping the second prince avenge his grievances. ”

"No matter what results are made, his public opinion will rise."

Borrowing strength, retreating as advance, others planting trees and enjoying the shade.

"Well, this is expected, what about the second bad news?"

"Schunazel・・・・・・ seems to have hooked up with Cornelia."

Lelouch bit his fingertips and said the situation just now with a solemn expression, and Ilan's eyebrows gradually wrinkled.

"It's definitely a good show of collusion. He knew he wouldn't be able to run away anyway, so he gave it to Cornelia. The question is why. ”

"Hmmm・・・・・・"

"Protect Cornelia?"

"Hmm... and then..."

"A coup d'état with the army controlled by Conelia, killing the emperor, and then giving up his seat?" Ilan speculated wildly.

"And then... no, once he is imprisoned, he has no contact with the outside world, he can't be that far... he can't continue to command the whole situation in prison, and even if Cornelia does this, there is no chance of success." Lelouch muttered to himself.

"Yes." Ilan let out a long sigh. "The Order."

Looking at the two of them scratching their ears and cheeks, C.C ate and laughed.

"What does my sister-in-law think?"

"Maybe he really doesn't want to do anything?" C.C said as he curled his hair with his fingers.

"Inaction?"

"The world is about to be in chaos, isn't it?"

"That's right."

Ilan nodded.

Once they start a worldwide campaign of terror, there is no need to think about it. The forces of all sides are in a mess, and the loss of humanity may reach a point where it is impossible to calculate horror in money, and it will be a regression of the entire civilization.

"So..." C.C shook his head and sighed in disappointment. "You two really don't have the qualifications to be kings."

"Ahem! Uh... "I didn't mean that in the first place, but I always felt bad that I was looked down upon by this woman. "Please also ask my sister-in-law to explain."

"The storm is coming, and the fools and the people who think they are smart are rushing out to revel, and he is the only one who arranges everything and finds a place to hide."