Volume 2: Empire Chapter 152: Augustine's Extraordinary Transformation
Originally, the atmosphere in the hall was full of excitement. Everyone was filled with passion and they wanted to swear an oath of blood to become sworn brothers who would share life and death together, and finally pledge allegiance to the Queen together.
Then suddenly a person came in from outside, bringing with him wind and snow, completely wiping out everyone's enthusiasm.
These generals, who had been rolling around in a pile of dead bodies for more than a month, were about to get angry, but when they heard the identity of the visitor, they all looked at each other in confusion.
How come the Governor Meteorite of Nutao City is here!
His coming to the North in the heavy snow must mean that something big is happening.
Queen Christina was also a little angry about the banquet being ruined, but when she saw that it was a meteorite, she immediately stood up and said, "There is a secluded room next to it. Let's talk there."
Queen Christina allowed the generals to eat at their leisure and she went to the next room under the guidance of the eunuchs.
Luke handed his hat, cane and coat to the guards and followed Queen Christina into a room filled with all kinds of miscellaneous items.
Queen Christina asked all the eunuchs to leave, and then asked Luke to sit down. She said in an apologetic tone: "Snow City has suffered a series of magical bombardments. All the usable rooms are used to accommodate soldiers and store supplies. I hope you can understand."
Queen Christina used honorifics to address Luke. In order to save himself, he went to Winter City to steal intelligence in person. Just imagine how much risk he had to take to get the secrets that could turn the tide of the war.
And based on the fact that the Snow City was abandoned, it can be judged that something big must have happened in the imperial capital!
Meteorite came to Snow City in person this time, and it is very likely that he would save his life again.
Luke sat down on the chair and said to Queen Christina: “Your Highness, you don’t care about these things, so why should I care?
First of all, congratulations to Your Highness on your victory in Snow City, which is enough to change the course of the war. The entire winter combat phase can prove how correct your decision was to come to the North to supervise the battle in person."
"I have to thank the Secret Service for sabotaging the heating system of the Art County Alliance battlefield, otherwise I would probably be a cold corpse now. Thank you too, Winter City must be full of dangers."
Luke couldn't help but think back to his time in Winter City, where many unexpected things happened.
He said to Queen Christina, "It was a little dangerous, but fortunately I completed the mission. Your Highness did not tell others about my trip to the winter capital, did you?"
"No, I know that the fewer people who know a secret, the better..." At this time, Queen Christina couldn't help but ask, "You came to Snow City alone, is it because something happened in the imperial capital?"
"Nothing has happened in the imperial capital for now, but something is going to happen soon." Luke told Queen Christina about the unusual behavior of the eldest prince Fania during this period.
When the Northern Army abandoned Snow City, Queen Christina knew it must be related to Fania, and now it has been confirmed by the meteorite.
“Do you think Fania dares to launch a coup? Or will he back off at the last moment?
His Majesty is still alive after all!"
Luke replied: "I am not Fania, how can I guess what he will choose in the end? I came to Snow City this time to hear what you will choose, Your Highness?"
“I…” Queen Christina thought for a moment, “I don’t know. Fania probably doesn’t want me to return to the imperial capital now.”
"Yes, once the victory of Snow City reaches the Imperial Capital, Fania will be forced to make a choice. If he really takes a step that none of us want to see, the Empire will face the greatest crisis in its history."
"What do you think I should do?"
Queen Christina looked at Luke. Since he came to Snow City, he must have brought a plan.
Luke didn't keep the secret and said directly: "I have prepared three plans for you, Your Highness: First, stay in Snow City. After this battle, I believe that this army has shared honor and disgrace with you. They are enough to protect your safety during this special period. You can wait until the situation in the imperial capital stabilizes, and then join whoever wins.
The second is to patrol the northern border, relying on the prestige you have established in the war, gather as many troops and occupy as many cities and lands as possible. This way, Your Highness will at least have a foothold, and you will have many more options.
The third is to abandon the Snow City, return to the imperial capital with light luggage as quickly as possible, and use the queen's power to stop Fania..."
Queen Christina considered the advice Meteorite gave her.
The first one was the safest. If Fania won the final victory and became the new emperor of the Golden Shield Empire, as long as she did not do anything that threatened his imperial power and surrendered her military power, she could become the empress dowager imprisoned in the palace.
The second suggestion is to establish a separatist regime and quickly seize the northern border during the Fania coup. At that time, the second prince Alec was in the western border and the city of Raging Waves was in the eastern border. The three families could maintain a balance with Fania together. However, there was also the At County Alliance in the northern part of the northern border. When winter was over, the scale of the war would definitely escalate.
The third suggestion is to face Fania head-on. If he wins, he can save the empire from danger. If he loses, he will be buried with Emperor Augustine.
The first one was directly vetoed by Queen Christina, who had already tasted the sweetness of power and could no longer endure the days in the cold palace.
The second suggestion made Queen Christina think for a long time.
Although they have to face the Art County Alliance, with the support of the West Territory and the City of Raging Waves, they may not be unable to defend this land. Fania will not push himself too hard, otherwise if the Art County Alliance occupies the northern border, he will be surrounded by enemies.
It was only after Queen Christina thought about it again and again that she said to Luke: "I'm going back to the imperial capital!"
Luke was not surprised by Queen Christina's choice, but said, "Fanya will definitely assassinate you along the way."
"You came to Snow City just to protect me when I return to the capital! You already guessed what I would choose?"
Luke did guess.
How could Queen Christina stay in a corner and leave her future in the hands of uncertain allies and powerful enemies?
A strong person dares to fight when it is time to fight.
Luke replied: "Your Highness dares to defend the Snow City, I think Your Highness must also dare to return to the Imperial Capital."
Queen Christina laughed: "I had a feeling when I first met you, you know me very well, better than anyone else...even my parents.
I am both scared and happy that you see me so clearly. Finally someone understands me and knows what I want.
If you want to know anything, you can ask me. "
Queen Christina was dignified and noble. The look in her eyes when she looked at Luke was both wary and joyful of meeting a confidant.
Luke couldn't help but laugh: "It's my honor to be valued by His Majesty... May I know what His Majesty's current situation is?"
Queen Christina expected Meteorite's question, but she did not answer it immediately. Instead, she asked, "I heard that you have a good relationship with the eldest prince Fania. How can I tell that you are not working for the eldest prince?
You extracted information about His Majesty from me and then killed me on the way."
Luke shrugged. “I have a good relationship with most people at court. Everyone has their own subjective judgment about who I work for, and I have no way of proving it.
All I can tell you is…I’ve always worked for myself.”
Queen Christina looked at Luke, as if she wanted to see through his layers of disguise and see his true heart.
After a while, Queen Christina said: "You are indeed working for yourself. Fania can't control you, and Agatha probably can't control you either. I... can't control you now!
His Majesty has not been attending to government affairs and seeing anyone during this period because he is undergoing a supernatural transformation of his body. You have made him feel a sense of crisis, and he does not want the empire to be controlled by you after his death.
So he decided to take the risk of modifying his body to increase his lifespan.”
"Is the success rate high?" Luke was not surprised. This was one of his many guesses, but he was not sure before.
Since Queen Christina chose to cooperate with Luke, she no longer kept the secret of Emperor Augustine.
"His physical condition is very poor and he cannot withstand ordinary extraordinary transformation. Therefore, the extraordinary transformation master has developed two transformation plans for him. The first is a regular extraordinary physical enhancement, which allows him to continue to have a human body. However, the success rate of this extraordinary transformation is very low.
If the transformation fails and his body shows rejection reaction, the extraordinary transformation master will immediately preserve his brain and seal it into the Crown of Wisdom. "
Luke asked, "What is the Crown of Wisdom ?"
"The Crown of Wisdom is one of the sets of weapons Augustine ordered from the Angel Civilization. It includes: the Crown of Wisdom, the Armor of Light, the Shield of Faith, the Sword of Prayer, and the Boots of Earth.
Once Augustine's brain is sealed in the Crown of Wisdom, he can activate the Heroic Spirit Armament and become a Heroic Spirit creature."
Heroic creatures are extraordinary creatures affiliated with angel civilization.
Angels will be obsessed with their own world for a long time. In order to maintain the operation of the sky city, angels created heroic creatures.
In ancient times, angels representing justice were worshipped by countless people, and they often descended to the secular world as justice. When enforcing justice in the secular world, angels would take the brains of recognized heroes after their death, and then return to the Sky City to forge Heroic Armor for them. Finally, they would seal the brains of these heroes in the Heroic Armor, turning them into Heroic Creatures.
For a long time, becoming a heroic spirit and entering the Sky City has been the goal that many heroes strive for.
However, after the ancient wars, angels almost disappeared from the secular world, and very few became heroes and entered the Sky City.
Therefore, Luke was somewhat surprised that Emperor Augustine's final plan was to become a heroic creature.
Imagine that there is an empty shell in armor without a body sitting on the throne of the imperial palace . I wonder what the court ministers and citizens of the empire would think.
"It's a very bad decision... Why would the angels provide Your Majesty with a set of heroic weapons and allow a heroic creature to govern a secular country?"
Queen Christina said: "Your Majesty promised Sky City to build a temple for the angels in Saint Len City."
Hearing this news, Luke couldn't help but frown.
The plot was changed too much by myself.
Angels rarely enter the secular world after the ancient wars. One reason is that the angels suffered heavy losses. After taking the Sky City back from the Shining Gold People, they stayed in the Sky City tightly, guarding against the remaining fallen angels.
Another reason is that angels are rejected by the secular world.
Justice is a very subjective concept, and everyone has a different standard of justice. The angels before the ancient war were romantic, and in their cognition, justice was a virtue.
However, during the ancient wars, the division and departure of the fallen angels caused the angels' justice to lose balance and go to extremes.
Justice is a responsibility.
This is difficult to be accepted by the mainstream values of the secular world, so it is naturally difficult for angels who are dedicated to enforcing justice to return to the secular world.
Luke didn't expect that in order to prolong his life, Emperor Augustine actually agreed to let the angels build a temple in Saint Lun City. What kind of changes will the angels' entry into the temple bring to the Golden Shield Empire and the entire world?
What's more, he is cooperating with hell.
This is absolute evil in the eyes of angels, and must be killed as soon as possible.
Luke said, "Although the Shining Gold people have integrated into the secular world, they have always kept their distance from various countries and never touch politics except for investing and making money. The Sky City does not have this rule. The angel civilization was brought into the secular world by His Majesty, and a temple was built in Saint Lun City. This will break the tacit understanding formed after the ancient war."
Queen Christina was also worried: " It is difficult to use common sense to guess what His Majesty is thinking now. He is wary of everyone and stubbornly believes that the empire cannot do without him. Everyone is untrustworthy in his eyes. He is increasingly obsessed with immortality and being able to rule the country forever.
There is one thing you may not believe, he once contacted the Abyss Temple and wanted to transform into an Abyss Apostle. If you and Fania had not eliminated the Abyss Mage lurking in the Imperial Capital and killed the Abyss Apostle Morris, he would have already tried to snatch the Book of Disaster from Miss Qingkong. "
Luke couldn't help but sigh: "He is really crazy."
"In my opinion, he has gone mad a long time ago. The Empire will never accept an immortal emperor, let alone a non-human sitting on the throne.
Humanity is creating the best era since the ancient wars. Although human civilization is not as powerful as the five ancient civilizations, its prosperity is unmatched by the five civilizations combined. Everyone believes that we will eventually surpass the five ancient civilizations in all aspects.
Only humans can rule human countries, even if they are idiots. If Augustine sits on the throne as a heroic creature, the Golden Shield Empire will definitely be isolated by the entire human world, and that will be the beginning of the empire's demise.
But Augustine could not see it.
He is old... He is really too old!"
Queen Christina became more and more angry as she spoke. She sat up straight and straightened her chest, as if telling Luke who was the one who could save the empire from real danger.
Luke agreed with Queen Christina's words. If Augustine sat on the throne as a heroic spirit, not only would the heirs to the throne disagree, but the foundation of the entire cohesive empire would collapse.
The civilization created by modern humans has given them immense self-confidence. Humans can tacitly and jointly reject the five ancient civilizations, so how could they allow a heroic creature to step on their heads!
