After obtaining the Forest Dragon's Jewel, Noah quietly returned to the Capital, but the result of his actions thoroughly shook the officials of the Empire.
"The death of a forest?" Hearing those confusing words, the young Emperor looked visibly puzzled.
In truth, when news about the southern forest first reached the Capital, the Empire's higher officials were equally confused, but recognizing the importance of the information, they carefully read through every report until their confusion turned to absolute shock.
For so unknown reason, the massive forest south of the Empire had completely turned gray, with all its plants losing their life.
Even the leaves on the trees would crumble into powder with just a light rub of the fingers, the entire forest had beco a wasteland, looking as if it had been entirely drained of its life force.
The samples brought back with the report turned into flying ash when touched by a re breeze, a terrifying sight that shocked everyone present.
It was so strange and impossible to understand that it instilled a deep, primal fear of an unknown power.
What had caused this phenonon?
And if that power could kill a whole forest, could it do the sa to people?
The Danger Beast rampage had only occurred recently, and now an even more terrifying disaster had struck the southern forest, yet they knew absolutely nothing about the cause.
For a ti, the Imperial officials felt a looming crisis, prompting many to submit reports to the Emperor in hopes that he would take the matter seriously.
But in the end, the young Emperor looked completely unconcerned, dismissing the joint request of dozens of officials.
"It's just one forest, isn't it? Is there really a need to make such a big fuss?"
"Your Majesty!" they pleaded, but the young Emperor rely supported his forehead with one hand and groaned, "Ugh, you're all so annoying."
He then looked at Minister Honest, who was standing beside the throne, and asked, "Minister, do you think this is sothing worth caring about?"
Since the Emperor had reacted the exact sa way when a drought caused fifty thousand citizens of the Empire to die, he naturally cared even less about the life and death of a single forest.
Minister Honest was quietly contemplating the situation; after all, the southern forest was even larger than the Capital, and for such a massive area to decay without warning was indeed a little worrying.
If the Capital suffered the sa fate, where would he go to enjoy himself?
Though there were surely other places, in Honest's eyes, everywhere outside the Capital was just an impoverished countryside, so he wondered if the situation had actually reached the point where he needed to worry.
But in the next mont, he caught himself.
'Why should I worry?'
Controlling the Emperor ant he held the greatest power in the Empire and stood above all living beings, so failing to spend all his ti enjoying life would be a waste.
There was no need for him to worry about this crisis when he could simply force those hardworking fools to deal with it instead.
"Hahaha, Your Majesty, since they care so much, why not let them investigate it clearly?" Minister Honest said with a smile, leaving the court officials surprised.
What's wrong with Honest today?
And was he actually helping his political enemies in the anti-Minister faction?
"Is that alright?" the young Emperor asked.
"Of course, Your Majesty, you only need to give them the order. However..." Minister Honest trailed off, suddenly flashing a dark smile.
"If they fail to do the job properly, then I assu all of you gentlen are prepared to be punished?"
"What?!"
"What are you planning this ti?!"
The officials beca furious as they instantly understood that Honest wasn't truly worried about the country, rather, he was planning to weaponize this incident for so sche.
"Oh, that sounds interesting," the young Emperor said, his eyes lighting up.
When the officials cried out, "Your Majesty!", he imdiately snapped back.
"Silence! I like the Minister's idea. I hereby order all of you to investigate the southern forest within three days, and if you fail to reach a conclusion, then let think..."
Filled with both grief and hatred, the officials below watched as the young Emperor, spurred on by Honest, began acting completely unchecked.
At that mont, Minister Honest spoke again, suggesting, "If they cannot find an answer, then let them all be sent to forced labor. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
"Honest!" several officials shouted, clenching their fists so hard they almost bled.
But the young Emperor happily agreed, "Good, let's do that. You people aren't very useful anyway, so if you can't even handle sothing this small, then go do forced labor."
Despite their desperate pleas of "Your Majesty! You must not do this!", their protests fell on deaf ears.
With just a few words from his favorite minister, the Emperor was preparing to condemn at least six or seven high-ranking officials to forced labor, aning the Empire was about to lose crucial leadership in an entirely absurd way.
This was not the first ti sothing like this had happened, as capable people were constantly removed by the Minister as political enemies and replaced by his useless followers who only knew how to eat, drink, and indulge themselves.
The court had long since beco completely rotten, rendering all their protests useless.
A round trip to the southern forest by carriage would take around two days, yet they were ordered to investigate everything within three days—a task that was not rely difficult, but basically a death sentence.
Even though they glared at the man who stood as the root of the Empire's disaster, they were entirely powerless to stop him.
Their families would also be dragged down, if sent to forced labor, their status would be stripped, and their mansions and wealth would inevitably be stolen by the Minister, who would not even spare their female relatives.
'Damn it! Honest!'
At that mont, driven not only by self-preservation but also for the sake of the country and the people's future, many officials in the court finally made the treasonous decision they had never dared make before.
They resolved to escape the Capital, take everything they could, hide in secret, and gather like-minded allies to eventually overthrow this rotten Empire.
...
Late at night, Noah noticed that Leims was hosting multiple visitors who were likely powerful officials of the Empire.
Standing in the garden, Noah watched the fish in the pond while simultaneously paying close attention to the movents on Leims's side of the estate.
Though noble, the Leiden family currently possessed only a title and no real power; maintaining a neutral stance with no authority in court was exactly what had kept them safe all these years.
Powerful officials had never co to visit in the past, aning this sudden gathering was likely not a good thing for the Leiden family.
Tap.
Placing the water ladle to the side, Noah looked up at the night sky as dark clouds slowly swallowed the remaining third of the moon.
"A murderous atmosphere..." he muttered, placing both hands on his thighs to stand up before casually waving a hand to evaporate the residual water from his palm.
He could sense that the Leiden estate was slowly being surrounded by ard n, but considering they slled of fresh blood from recent kills, these n were clearly not the officials' subordinates—they were assassins sent to hunt them down.
Noah walked to the reception room where Leims was hosting his guests and pushed the door open directly.
Though more than seven years had passed and Leims looked noticeably older, his posture remained perfectly straight, preserving his unwavering gentlemanly air.
"Noah?" Leims asked, prompting Noah to nod respectfully before turning to the three panicked guests to announce.
"Gentlen, many uninvited guests have followed you to our front door."
"What?" the three n gasped, looking at each other in shock before one of them gritted his teeth.
"Damn it, that bastard Honest planned to purge us tonight from the very beginning!"
Springing to his feet, the man pleaded, "There's no ti, Leims! Accept our offer and leave the Capital with us!"
Leims frowned deeply, while he sensed their sudden visit was complicated, he never expected it to directly involve the Minister sending assassins to eliminate his old political enemies inside the Capital.
Realizing the Leiden family had been forcibly dragged into the crossfire, Leims spat, "You dare to plot against !"
Refusing to believe these cunning old foxes had been oblivious to their own peril, he realized they had risked everything out of desperation, intending to drag him down alongside them.
Targeting the Leiden family's wealth because their own assets were surely being monitored, these supposedly powerful officials likely needed his untracked fortune to fund their escape from the Capital.
Because Leims no longer had allies with real power near the Emperor, he had been entirely blind to tonight's political upheaval, leaving him completely unprepared for this ambush.
"I'm sorry, gentlen, but I must refuse. As the current head of the Leiden family, this is my formal refusal, so please leave," Leims declared, masking his intense anger.
Given the Minister's paranoid personality, clearly refusing these n now wouldn't prevent suspicion from taking root in Honest's mind—a suspicion that would inevitably prompt the Minister to eradicate the Leiden family entirely the mont he felt irritated.
However, betraying the Empire and fleeing the Capital was even more impossible; beyond the logistics of abandoning his loyal servants, the Leiden family's foundation had been built over a thousand years by his ancestors.
As a re descendant, he had no right to make such a devastating decision for his lineage, and if he truly had to die, he would be buried alongside his family's foundation to honor his na.
"Leims, the Empire is completely rotten! Everything decays after enough ti, and the Empire is no different, so we are giving you a chance!" one official urged.
Giving a cold laugh, Noah stepped forward and gestured toward the three n.
"My lords, if we're talking about chances, I suggest you take your own. Let make this perfectly clear: you will only leave through the front door, as the Leiden family will not open the back door to facilitate your escape."
Knowing that allowing them to escape through the back would be used as damning evidence against the Leidens.
Noah ignored their outraged cries of "You!" and "Who exactly are you to be so rude to us?".
Sighing at their sheer foolishness, Noah did not even lift his hands as he manipulated gravity and wind to forcefully press the three n down to the floor.
Shocked by the strange display of invisible power, Leims stamred, "Noah, this is...?"
Without hesitation, Noah explained, "It's the power of a Teigu."
Leims's eyes widened as he gasped, "A Teigu!", his voice thick with disbelief.
Having only ever heard rumors of these suppression-grade weapons, Leims knew Teigu were so precious that rely being granted one was the highest honor.
"You... haven't you always been working in the Science Team?" Leims asked, already impressed that Noah was a young officer, let alone a legendary Teigu user.
Noah nodded and smoothly explained, "Teigu are also part of our research, but let's deal with our current problem first. I'll escort them out."
"Wait, I also—" Leims started, but Noah cut him off gently. "Uncle Leims, you should stay safely inside. It's alright, just leave it to ."
Watching blankly as Noah dragged the three n outside, Leims realized for the very first ti that the young man's growth had evolved far beyond anything he could have ever imagined!
...
Bringing the three n to the front gate, Noah casually removed their gravitational restraints and released them into the waiting arms of their protective bodyguards.
Ignoring the defensive scramble, Noah stepped forward and hauled the heavy estate gates open, instantly revealing rows of brightly polished spears snapping to attention with a loud Swish! Swish! Clang!
Sweeping his gaze over the Imperial soldiers barricading the street, Noah turned to the three officials behind him and said.
"Soone has co to arrest you. Don't keep them waiting."
A mounted officer spurred his horse forward from the blockading army, calling out, "Whoa—! Boy, who are you?"
Using Appraisal to confirm the officer belonged to Honest's faction, Noah retrieved his identification docunt and announced, "I am Noah of the Science Team, and also the adopted son of the current head of the Leiden family."
The officer chewed on the na "Noah of the Science Team" for a mont before his eyes trembled in recognition, hurriedly dismounting, his harsh expression lted into an extrely warm, respectful smile.
"So it's you Professor Noah. I did not expect—" the officer bead, allowing Noah to smile faintly, exchange a few polite pleasantries, and directly point out the three condemned officials.
This obsequious reaction was exactly what Noah anticipated; having produced several highly beneficial research results, he was currently a prized asset the Minister was desperately trying to recruit.
Although their interactions had remained strictly indirect, Noah had intentionally engineered the dynamic by responding to Honest's recruitnt offers with scientific achievents instead of direct loyalty.
Perfectly positioning himself to gain maximum freedom under the Minister's unspoken protection—a protection that had even guaranteed the smooth approval of his recent Teigu application.
"As expected of you, with this, the Minister will surely be pleased," the officer smirked, ordering his n to advance and arrest the fugitives.
Refusing to abandon their masters, the officials' guards drew their weapons and prepared to fight to the absolute death.
But just before the two sides could violently clash, the noisy clatter of reinforcents echoed from the end of the street, making Noah wonder if a new army had arrived.
Suddenly, a searing orange beam of light pierced through the battlefield, burning a long, blackened trench into the ground that violently separated the two factions.
Shocked by the sudden explosive attack, everyone retreated several ters as a woman's voice commanded.
"Everyone, stop! Otherwise, I will execute you on the spot for the cri of attempting to murder important officials of the Empire!"
The leader of the newcors was a silver-haired woman upon a warhorse, holding a massive, smoking launcher that had clearly just fired the devastating beam.
Looking at her with keen interest, Noah recognized the long-range beam weapon as a Teigu and found its chanics fascinating.
"That's... General Najenda!" the arresting officer grunted, his expression twisting into a very ugly scowl.
Hearing that na, Noah imdiately understood the situation.
'So this was the only other young, brilliant female general in the Empire besides Esdeath.'
With striking silver hair and piercing silver eyes that lived up to the rumors of her shocking beauty, eting General Najenda of the Empire in this kind of volatile standoff was entirely unexpected.
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