December 136 of the Iron Age

After eight years of tug-of-war, the Empire finally won a decisive victory on the battlefield of the Badajoz Peninsula with the strong command of His Royal Highness Sven No. Jericho, Prince of Tiamat, who personally participated in the battle this year, and drove the deserters back to the Red Earth Continent in one fell swoop.

To welcome the triumphant return of the Prince, His Majesty the young Yolo I will receive Prince Jericho in the Imperial Chamber, accompanied by His Royal Highness King Caterina Regent. This was the first time that Emperor Yolo had received his vassals in the Imperial Hall since his accession to the throne, and although it was still done with the assistance of Her Royal Highness Katarina, it still made the members of the royalist faction happy for a while, and the former ministers of the previous two emperors were optimistic that this would be His Majesty's first step towards pro-government.

"His Royal Highness Prince Tiamat, Grand Duke Orknis, and First Marshal of the Empire, Swain No. Jericht!"

When hearing the roll call of the court governor, Emperor Yolo, who was originally sitting on the throne, couldn't help but twist his body a little uncomfortably, since the turmoil in the palace of Tiamat, Emperor Alexander and the two princes have died, and several princes left by Beria, except for Yolo who has the protection of Katarina, were disposed of by Alexander after the death of Beria, so after the turmoil, the royal family almost fell into the trap of extinction, if it were not for Yolo, the last direct bloodline of Nicholas I, the throne of the Siliul Empire is very likely to be chosen from other direct lines。

In the end, Yolo was put on the throne by Caterina and Swain, and although many disagreed, this was the last male heir of Nicholas I's bloodline, otherwise only Caterina and other princesses would have to choose an heir to the throne from among their descendants. However, in this way, the emperor's royal blood comes from the maternal line, not to mention that the name is much weaker, and it is extremely easy to cause domestic disputes, and several major branches of the Giang family will inevitably start a bloody battle for this crown.

Today, the eldest princess, Her Royal Highness Caterina is in charge of the government, and before the death of her father, Her Majesty Alexander, Her Royal Highness Caterina had taken over the Ministry of the Interior, and the remaining system of Beria was rebuilt by Caterina, and the huge political pressure put everyone in the empire at risk, and almost no one dared to speak of dissatisfaction with the regent and Prince Tiamat.

It was the two of them who had a terrible deterrent, even if Yolo became emperor, he would submit to the two of them, and everything was decided by Swain and Caterina, and when Yolo was young, he didn't pay much attention to this, after all, Yolo was just a child at that time. But as Yolo grew up, he also slowly discovered that although he was the emperor, he was completely different from his grandfather and uncle, and for several years he had no real power, just dolls in the hands of his sister and brother-in-law.

Now Yolo is fifteen years old, and he has gradually developed his own opinions, but even if he wants to regain his own power, as long as he sees Swain, he doesn't dare to speak at all, I don't know why, he has been afraid of this person since he was a child, it seems that Sven always has invisible pressure on him, and he can tightly choke Yolo's neck.

Dressed in a gray military uniform, dressed in a black coat, Swain walked quickly into the Imperial Hall and walked directly towards Emperor Yolo, followed by his aide-de-camp, Major Charlotte, the youngest female officer in the Empire. Swain's demeanor was a far cry from when he first came to the Imperial Hall, when he was just a small midnight count, and he could only cautiously restrain himself in front of Emperor Nicholas I, and now, even if he looked directly at the Emperor in this solemn place, and put on a posture of grandeur, the nobles in the Imperial Hall only dared to be angry but did not dare to speak.

Swain walked in front of Emperor Yolo, looking at Swain's expressionless face, Yolo's heart was hated and afraid, the young emperor knew that Swain was a mountain pressing on him, only by defeating him, he could really grasp the power of this empire, but even if Yolo was very eager to regain the power that belonged to him, he still did not dare to face this terrible man, there was almost nothing that could bring down the actual ruler of the empire, including his father Beria, his uncle Alexander, and many others, all of whom were devoured by this evil demon king on the way to challenge Swain。

Yolo looked at Charlotte, who was standing behind Swain, and gestured to her covertly. Ever since Swain took Charlotte with him at the parade on the Badajoz Peninsula, everyone knew that Prince Tiamat had a young lieutenant who was almost inseparable. This also made many people wonder if there was any special relationship between Prince Jericho and the young and beautiful lieutenant, and some people even said that even Her Royal Highness Caterina was jealous of the intimate relationship between the prince and Charlotte.

However, in Yolo's opinion, Charlotte is actually not really close to Swain, as the outside world speculates. He had heard Swain and Charlotte arguing in Tiamat's palace several times, and had even heard Charlotte say that he was going to kill Swain. Although he was overshadowed by his sister and brother-in-law, Yolo is not a stupid person, he knows how to endure, and he knows how to wait for an opportunity in patience. If Charlotte was really Swain's mistress, then she would never say that to Swain, although it was not clear what the relationship between Charlotte and Swain was, but Yolo still established contact with Charlotte in private, and it was not that he had no thoughts about this cold young lady who was only one year older than Yolo, who was at the beginning of love.

"Your Majesty, I have brought back victory for you. As if he hadn't seen Yolo's gesture toward Charlotte, Swain said expressionlessly, "The desert people have all been expelled from the Badajoz Peninsula, and the kingdom of Leon has been restored. ”

Swain's voice echoed through the Imperial Hall, and even if his tone didn't fluctuate in any way, it seemed extremely imposing and majestic in this environment. In contrast, Yolo, who sat on the throne of Midletus I, was quite cramped and uneasy, it was the first time he had faced so many people, and Sven, who had scared him the most, was still standing in front of him, even if he had good endurance, he couldn't hide the timidity in his heart at this moment, and the cringe that should have been hidden was revealed.

Caterina, who was sitting next to Yolo, looked at her husband proudly, because of the regency of the eldest princess, an extra chair was specially placed next to the stone throne in the Imperial Hall for Caterina, and compared with the simple throne, this chair was extremely gorgeous.

"Your Majesty," the eldest princess looked at Yolo, her tone faintly threatening, "His Royal Highness Prince Tiamat has made such a great contribution to the Empire, as the Emperor, you should reward it well." ”

What else can I give! Isn't this empire already yours? Hearing the eldest princess's words, Yolo's heart suddenly became angry, but this anger automatically extinguished when it came into contact with Swain's cold eyes—Yolo's fear of Sven was really deep in his bones.

"You're talking about...... "In the end, Yolo still didn't dare to show his backbone and challenge the authority of the regent and the imperial marshal head-on," then. Your Royal Highness, what kind of reward do you want?"

Sven stared coldly at Yolo, his hand already resting on the saber at his waist. His fingers tapped the hilt of his sword again and again, and the cold voice made Yolo sweat at the sound of it.

For the current Swain, there is really nothing in this empire that he can't get, even the crown, if he really doesn't care about it at all, can be dragged off Yolo's head and crowned himself.

What more could he want? As the Grand Duke of Orknis, the whole south was his fiefdom, and he received untold wealth every year, and as the marshal of the Empire, he controlled the army of the whole country and had the record of pacifying the Badajoz Peninsula, which at this age had reached a height that many people could not reach in a lifetime, and at the same time he married the eldest princess, Her Royal Highness Caterina, and he had status and power, and even the palace of Tiamat was his, which was also the source of his title of Prince of Tiamat.

The current emperor is really just a plaything in his palm, he can get whatever he wants, except for the same.

"In the midst of the battle with the infidels, I discovered one thing. Sven slowly dodged his steps and walked over to Yolo, and Charlotte followed him to the back of the throne.

Swain's arms were resting on the back of the throne's chair, and this kind of behavior was no longer a matter of frivolity, it was simply disrespectful to the emperor. However, no one dared to come out and accuse Swain, and those royalists all bowed their heads, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction in front of Swain.

"What is it?" asked Caterina with a smile, unconcerned by Sven's rude demeanor, and even glancing at her brother with interest.

"Weak, our soldiers are already too weak, they are afraid of death, so this war will drag on for eight years, even if our weapons can harvest the lives of desert people in pieces, but the soldiers of the empire are still afraid of bullets, and even dare not brave the fire of the enemy's old weapons to charge. ”

Swain's words surprised everyone, and even Caterina couldn't help but open her rosy lips slightly and look at her husband in surprise. This was the first time she had heard such an assessment, the Imperial army has always been known for its bravery and bravery, and it is not afraid of risks, maybe some of the armies are weak in combat, but Swain can't afford to put cowardly comments on the whole army, right?

Of course, as a wife, Caterina trusted her husband deeply, and she knew that Swain must have a purpose in saying this, so the regent quickly restrained her surprise, and even Yolo next to her did not notice that she had just lost her mind in a moment at Caterina.

"So, how do you think we can regain the courage of the army and let them regain the spirit of their ancestors in history?" Caterina kept smiling and looked at Swain, as she grew older, the former girl now began to pay attention to her makeup, and with a little powder on her face, it looked bright enough in the light of the Imperial Hall.

"Unfortunately, this is impossible, history is only history, it cannot be resurrected in any form, the army of the past is gone, and now we should be thinking about how to build a new army of constant victory, and we don't know how to just follow the glory of yesterday. Surprisingly, Swain didn't agree with Caterina's words, and he patted the back of the Stone Throne chair again and again, each blow hitting the hearts of the royalists below.

Caterina was accustomed to Swain's perverseness, and when she first met Swain, the young count had already shown his unwillingness to follow the crowd, and because of this, Swain was quite unlikable at that time.

"That's all the more anticipating your advice, isn't it, Your Majesty?" the Queen Regent glanced at Yolo, and the young Emperor shuddered a little, and at the same time, he was almost unable to maintain his demeanor as an emperor under the pressure of Swain's sister.

"Yes, yes...... Jerry Keqing, what do you think?"

Because Sven had already circled Yolo's back and leaned his body against the back of the Stone Throne's chair, Yolo had to turn his head and ask Sven for his opinion with trepidation. This is a unique event in the history of the empire, in the imperial hall, the emperor actually turned his head to ask his courtiers.

Seeing this scene, there were already many people in the audience, some sighed, some gritted their teeth, and some were ready to move, but no one had the courage to stand up and reprimand Swain's behavior head-on.

Swain watched every move of the nobles below, and in those cold eyes, there was only a dim light, and he couldn't see what he was thinking.

"Reformation. ”

"What?" Jolo paused for a moment, not hearing what Swain had said.

"Reformation, our religion is too weak, why can the desert people go on an expedition and fight the Imperial army for eight years with inferior equipment? It is because the gods they believe in have given them enough courage to not be afraid of hardships and death, and dare to exchange their lives for victory. And our churches are rotten and cowardly, and they are free to modify their doctrines for the sake of the world, and the clergy who serve the Lord are now keen to wag their tails in favor of mortals. So, now, I demand a religious reformation throughout the empire, to get rid of all these bad habits, and only a new faith and church can bring new vigor to the empire!"

Everyone was stunned by Sven, they had no idea what Swain was crazy about. Reforming the religion was something that Teudmund I had not dared to do, and judging by Swain's tone, it seemed that he was planning to completely overthrow the current church and build a new one himself.

Caterina couldn't hide her surprise at this time, she no longer thought about keeping their husband and wife united in front of outsiders, and frowned tightly. "So, what do you want to do? Do you want to ask the church state to take the initiative to reform, or do you ......?"

Before Katerina could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by Sven: "When I was on the Badajoz Peninsula, I met a group of monks from the Muracen Mountains, whose monasteries were founded on the Muracen Mountains in the time of Bagh I, and after hundreds of years, they were now destroyed by the desert people. These strong-willed, devout monks asked to join my army, and I granted their request. And in my dealings with these people, I found that the texts of their doctrine were different from the dogmas that prevail in the world today, and that these devout believers, who had inherited the legacy of the sages and remained on the right path, were more admirable than those bishops, and in whom I saw the virtues of integrity, hope, generosity, justice, bravery, temperance, and tolerance, which in this day and age are not many people who can do. So, from then on, I began to think about religious reform, and after this war, I finally had the answer. ”

Swain paused for a moment, then raised his head, glanced at the nobles below, and said in a majestic voice, "I am determined to convert to the Zoroas, and to spread the faith of this sect throughout the country. The so-called Orthodox faith in the church state will be regarded as heresy from this day forward, and in the near future, I will crusade against all hereticals!"

As soon as this remark came out, the audience was in an uproar, and after infringing on the emperor's authority and the interests of the nobility, Swain once again reached out to the realm of faith and openly declared that he wanted to believe in heretical sects. The Zoroas, however, had been established as a heresy by the Church before the time of Midletus I, and this sect openly opposed the Ten Commandments that must be observed in the doctrine, and valued pure blood above all else.

Sven's move finally made these nobles who had endured it unbearable. The anger that had been pent up in his heart for a long time poured out in an instant, and the entire Imperial Hall was filled with the sound of crusade against Swain.

Earl William Noe Pitt, the former Prime Minister of the Empire and now the Lord of the Seals, stood up, he held his head high and glared at Swain, he used to have a good relationship with Jericht, but now, he also resolutely chose to stand on the opposite side of Swain.

"Your Royal Highness Prince Tiamat, please listen!" Count Pete's old but deep voice echoed in the Imperial Hall, and hearing the old man speak, the rest of the nobles also quieted down, waiting for the former Prime Minister to speak," The glory of the empire is never supported by one person, even His Majesty Midletus I, even His Majesty Astrad I, these two founders of the Kingdom of Dehebas and the Empire of Siliul will not be so self-proclaimed, they will attribute all this to the unity of the Gion family; So, you, Your Royal Highness, when you speak in such a supreme tone as the protector of the empire, please think about those who support you under you, think about those who fought for you and died for you, and think about the war after thinking about this, and then consider the empire, whether everyone's sacrifice is meaningful, whether everyone's dedication and patience are worthwhile!"

Count Pete's words aroused the same feeling of all the nobles, and they supported Count Pete in unison, and even Caterina couldn't help but start thinking about whether to let the guards enter the field to control the situation.

However, Sven's face remained calm. He glanced at Emperor Yolo lightly, and as soon as Yolo, who had just become a little excited because of Prime Minister Pitt's speech, was swept by his gaze, he suddenly shrank as if he had been poured a basin of cold water.

"I ask you," Swain turned his gaze to Earl Pete, his voice alone drowning out the voices of the nobles, "who are you fighting for?"

Count Pete was not shaken by Swain's might, and after a short thought, he glanced at Emperor Yolo and replied resolutely: " I fought for them, the warriors who had hugged me so tightly but shed their blood on foreign lands, I fought for their wives and children, whose names I heard in their last gasps, I fought for those who returned to their homeland only to find to their horror that it had been overrun by strangers who looked the same as each other, I fought for the empire and her people, who were ruled and exploited by a hypocritical tyrant and branded as sinners simply for wanting to be free! I will fight to the end so that my previous efforts will not be in vain. I'm fighting because I have to!"

The nobles in the Imperial Hall applauded Count Pete's speech, and even some of them wept silently, maybe Count Pete was not a soldier, he had not been on the battlefield, but who dared to say at this moment that he was not a real warrior?

Encouraged by these words, Emperor Yolo also applauded excitedly, and then courage overshadowed his fear, and even at the sight of Caterina's handover look, he no longer felt afraid.

However, the next moment Sven's roar frightened all this applause to an abrupt end.

"And who are they, and what qualifications do they have to make us fight for!" Swain glared at Earl Pete, showing his emotions in a rare way, "What is the greatest illusion in life? I am innocent! I never use a famous excuse to disguise myself, yes, I fight for me alone, not for this empire that is mentioned by everyone but never shows its form, not for the emperor who sits on the throne with trembling and looking left and right, and not for the muddy and nightmare. People who can't even say what they want, what you see is what I think and what I do, so ......"

Swain snapped his fingers, and Charlotte, who was standing behind him, immediately realized and fired a shot at the ceiling. This shot was like a signal, and when the gun was heard, many soldiers with loaded guns suddenly poured out of the door, surrounding the nobles.

"You should have guessed. Swain looked at Count Pete and said slowly.

"Ah, yes. Looking at the muzzle of the gun beside him, Count Pete did not have any fear on his face.

"Let's get started. Swain turned and walked over to Caterina to block the bloody scene for his wife.

Caterina stared at Swain dumbfounded, and it took her a moment to come to her senses. "You, you should have discussed it with me first......" sighed helplessly, and at this time she suddenly remembered the endgame on that boat, and understood why Swain seemed a little different today than usual.

"I'm afraid I'll scare you. Swain said softly, picking up Caterina and walking towards the Emperor's door at the back of the Imperial Chamber.

Suddenly picked up by Swain, Caterina couldn't help but feel a little shy. "Don't be like this, ...... in public"

"It's not in public anymore. Swain shook his head, no fluctuation in his tone.

And Emperor Yolo, who was still sitting on the stone throne, could only watch this massacre in amazement, and he saw with his own eyes that Count Pete was hit by a bullet and fell to the ground, and then stabbed into his body with a bayonet, and blood flowed to the ground. And this was just a scene of this massacre, all the nobles were crying, screaming, and pleading, but Swain's soldiers had no mercy at all, for them, orders were everything, and no matter how much the nobles begged for mercy, they would not stop.

Joloth trembled, the courage he had had had had already lost to him, and now he was most worried about whether these blood-stained executioners would come up and kill themselves.

"Don't worry. Charlotte's voice came from behind the throne, giving Yolo some small comfort, "You'll be fine." ”

"Charlotte......" Yolo hurriedly looked at Charlotte, at this moment he only felt that Charlotte was like his angel, the only person who could save him, "Jericho is a madman, he, he actually slaughtered the nobles of the empire...... I—I'm going to ......."

"What do you must?" Charlotte looked at Yolo coldly, extinguishing the young emperor's newly-ignited hope, "Do you think His Highness Swain has done something wrong?"

"Charlotte......" Yolo looked at the female officer blankly, and his heart suddenly emptied, "You, don't you hate Jericho very much?"

"Hate? yes, I still hate that person. Charlotte turned to follow Swain's footsteps, "But I can't afford to lose him." ”

When Charlotte completely disappeared from sight, Yolo was completely plunged into a hell of despair of killing and crying.