Edwan's whole body was tense:

"If you respect me, do as I think! I am the Emperor, and you are my subject! Yang Ming! Even if you put me to sleep and they take me away, you can't stop them! We cannot go to war with Sherman! We are just toys for Sherman's amusement! Whether I am asleep has no impact on this matter, they can even mobilize their border fleets! Are you willing to sacrifice your entire Mechanical Army, Yang Ming? Answer me! Do you not care about your ideals anymore!"

"..."

"Father?"

"Listen to him."

"Promise me, give the future throne to Emilia, I believe Emilia is more outstanding than me; she will perfectly replace my role and continue our cooperation. Also, also... the Wind Alliance must adhere to the three principles we set, and the people of Wind will usher in a new era of democracy, freedom, rule of law, fairness, and independence. Promise me, Ming. Revolution inevitably requires sacrifice, and the first to be sacrificed should be this nation's Emperor!"

Yang Ming's voice became more hoarse.

"...I promise."

"Thank you."

Edwan pulled his hand away from Guina's palm, took a deep breath looking up.

He smiled while tidying his attire, turned to Guina: "Tell her for me... never mind, I'm not qualified to love her."

He finished with a slight smile, picked up the ceremonial scepter representing the Vassal Emperor, and walked towards the door with his head lowered.

Guina wanted to follow but was stopped by Edwan's gesture.

She must not be exposed.

"Go find Emilia immediately and watch over her. This person is smarter than we thought."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Edwan opened the door, and the guards outside saluted in unison.

The sunlight outside was slightly glaring.

"Your Majesty Edwan, Princess Luna is unwell and wants to invite you aboard the ship to discuss some simple matters... They specifically noted that you can bring ministers but Princess Luna wants to speak a few private words with you."

"Transmit back to them, I will go alone."

"Your Majesty?"

"Transmit back to them, I will go alone."

Edwan smiled:

"Although we are on Ilando Star, in reality, the real rulers are far away in other galactic arms, go, and do as they say. Has Emilia woken up?"

"Your Majesty, the Princess is washing up."

"Have her prepare a bit, I may invite her for lunch later."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

...

"Commander... Commander?"

"Ah," Yang Ming instinctively raised his hand as if to cough, swallowed, and tried to restore normalcy, "what's the matter?"

"Do we still need to inspect the vassal fleet suspected of having New Federation spies? You seem not to be feeling well, is it exhaustion?"

"Maybe I've been using the Genetic Stabilization Liquid too little, a bit tired, but it's nothing."

Yang Ming rubbed his nose and smiled: "Let's head back to the command ship, I need to rest."

"Do you need to schedule the medical team?"

"No... really, no need, I just..."

Yang Ming tilted his head back and tightly closed his eyes.

"I just suddenly feel homesick a bit, nothing more, let me be alone for a while."

"Alright, please do call us if you need anything."

...

"Sorry, I cannot sign these contracts."

On the ship that arrived at Ilando Star from the Empire.

Edwan shook his head and pushed the metal-paper contracts back in front of Princess Luna.

Princess Luna frowned: "You know Edwan, the Empire is in a rather difficult time now, we need the vassal states to make certain contributions, and we will give your Wind Empire very good feedback... you entirely have the ability to sign this contract."

"But doing so, Luofeng would revert to how it was twenty years ago."

Edwan's gaze was resolute, speaking softly:

"Do you know? In the interstellar era, on most governance systems and human-inhabited planets, in the era of limitless energy, how ironic is it for a planet's populace to suffer mass famine?"

"This was truly what happened on Wind's Fifth Administrative Star, because energy, food, the most basic materials for survival, were all priced, and under the pressure of similar contracts, limitless energy had no direct relationship with the population's grassroots level."

Princess Luo An bit her lip: "I know this, but Edwan, please don't forget, the Wind family was always dukes of the Empire, in essence, you are Imperial nobles and must prioritize the Empire's interests."

"I must protect my people."

Edwan spread his hands:

"I can promise partial terms, but it's impossible to give our hard-built industries to the Empire at no cost."

Luna hastily said: "It's not without compensation, here..."

"Our technological industry is our foundation, Luna, this cannot be negotiated."

"Edwan!"

Luna glared at Edwan.

"You can't change anything! I must remind you, whether you agree or not, this matter will be carried through, your refusal now is meaningless, trust me."

Edwan stared at Luna.

Luna averted her gaze sideways.

"Princess, I have prepared a lavish lunch for you at the palace," Edwan stood up and smiled at Luna, "the ministers are still waiting, let your ship land."

"Edwan!"

Princess Luna stood up, clearly intending to say something, but was at a loss for words.

Edwan shook his head, turned, and departed with a somewhat regretful expression.

Two somewhat older maids opened the cabin door, revealing the luxuriously decorated hallway outside.

After Edwan walked out, the cabin door immediately closed.

A maid approached from the front, as she was about to pass by Edwan, suddenly lowered her head and crashed into him.

Edwan paused for a moment, then felt a prick in his arm, as if pierced by a needle.

His vision blurred slightly, he staggered forward a few steps.

Around the corner, over a dozen maids filed out, heads lowered, continuously bumping into Edwan, small needles piercing out one after another.

"You..."

Edwan grasped the railing as his body slowly sagged down, collapsing there, his breathing becoming slow and heavy.

His organs quickly began to fail.

The 'maids' just stood with their backs to him, in two lines, listening to the weakening breathing, showing no emotion.

Vision was gradually blurring.

Edwan suddenly chuckled, 'listening' to the activation tone of the chip in his brain, slowly closed his eyes.

He had actually placed two chips, one to prevent detection, the other to trigger certain conditions upon his death. He left a letter for Emilia, he needed to ensure that Emilia would continue on the path they had set out.

The light here, it seems like...

Seems like that afternoon, when he was seven or eight, he was in a small garden in the palace, sitting on his father's shoulders, listening to his father planning grand blueprints, formulating a strategy with several elder statesmen to leverage powerful nations, seeking opportunities for independence in the cracks.

His father was young then.

'Edwan, you will lead this nation into the Abyss.'

'Edwan, as long as we strive, this nation will surely have a bright future.'

'Edwan...'

Dong——

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.