Chapter 452: The Noble Silver

Chen Yu was well aware that the old nobility harbored discontent with the Empire's rule. He just hadn't expected that after Casaric's departure, they could still find new collaborators.

Chen Yu wobbled his gel body in gratitude, "Lady Sabrina, thank you for the intelligence. This is of great help to the Empire."

"If possible, I'd like to invite you to witness this spectacle five days from now."

Sabrina gave a slight smile, "Of course. We'd also like to see how those legendary tales from the biography are reenacted."

"You will see."

Chen Yu began shifting the conversation, chatting with the mages about the customs of the south, then invited them aboard a magic ship for a tour of all of Slime City.

By the end of the day, the mages felt they had gained a great deal of insight.

On the city wall of Slime City, Chen Yu watched as the inspection team packed their belongings at the city gates below.

The Shadow Owl stood quietly by the roadside, its back laden with neatly strapped crates filled with specialty goods the mages had collected from various parts of Slime City.

The mages were crouched beside the crates, carefully checking whether the ropes were secure, occasionally exchanging words about the upcoming journey as they prepared to depart.

Oros walked up to the city wall at that moment, following Chen Yu's gaze down to the bustling scene below.

"What do you think of these mages?"

Chen Yu thought for a moment: "At least they're far more civilized than my former enemies."

"Oh, that's probably because they don't consider the Empire an enemy."

Oros suddenly asked, "How is that child Olivia doing?"

Chen Yu gave a slight wobble of his gel body and said casually, "Don't worry. In five days, you'll probably get to see her."

"By the way, she's already figured out how to conceal her aura."

Oros's gaze flickered slightly as he turned to look at him.

He had been watching the Slime Emperor's conduct today.

He had been deliberately downplaying the Empire's presence, avoiding proactive responses, refraining from flaunting military might, and even putting on a relaxed posture when hosting the inspection team.

This was indeed a wise form of concealment, preventing neighboring powers from becoming wary and ganging up on the Empire prematurely.

But pure restraint would not truly earn respect.

Appropriately revealing some of one's cards, letting those prying eyes in the shadows weigh one's measure, sometimes yielded longer-lasting peace than endless concession.

By choosing to have Olivia make a public appearance five days later, he was declaring before all kingdoms that the Empire now had its second Legendary.

And choosing a silver dragon as that second Legendary carried implications that needed no explanation.

Oros mused in silence for a while but ultimately said nothing.

It wasn't that he couldn't understand Chen Yu's intentions.

Binding the silver dragon to the Empire, leveraging the silver dragon race's reputation among the forces of law and order to provide a credit endorsement for the Empire's existence.

On the chessboard of politics and diplomacy, this move was not a misstep.

He simply couldn't help but recall some old memories.

In that War of the Gods a thousand years ago, they had gambled and lost. After Alex left, he never returned.

The giant dragon race had been forced to cede the Material Plane to the rising human kingdoms, drifting through the Astral Realm ever since, seeking refuge in those floating dreams and the crevices between Fissures.

Even the Father God's gaze upon the silver dragons had gradually waned over the long passage of time.

He had once worried whether this young Slime Emperor would, like Alex, suddenly vanish one day, leaving behind those who trusted him waiting in place for a promise that would never come.

But time had proven that the ancestors' trust in Alex wasn't without reason.

Not because that man's promises were particularly eloquent, but because what he did was changing this land.

And what this Slime Emperor was doing now might have the hope of reshaping the Material Plane's landscape once more.

Faced with this new change, the silver dragons needed to make their own choice.

They could not stand idly by while everything unfolded in the Material Plane. Faced with this newborn Empire, they had to choose either hostility or cooperation.

Yet he also couldn't ignore the reality before his eyes. The new magical crafts and the new racial harmony he witnessed were all brought by this newborn Empire.

Just as a black dragon cannot betray its evil nature unless its eyes are gouged out,

a dragon cannot

deny the beauty unfolding before them.

The choice facing the silver dragon race was never black and white.

It was a choice concerning the heart.

If they chose to cooperate with demons out of fear for the future, then what difference would they have from those cunning, despicable green dragons?

The silver dragons were not noble because of the color of their scales, but because they always chose to follow their own hearts. Only then were they worthy of this noble silver radiance.

He gradually withdrew his gaze and left a parting instruction: "Tell that child Olivia to be careful of demon curses."

"Those dregs of the Abyss always hide dirty little tricks in places you least expect. She's just become a Legendary, and it's easiest to suffer losses from such insidious methods."

Clearly, he didn't know what changes Olivia had undergone.

The dragon nest was never short of Legendary silver dragons, so he wasn't particularly curious.

He merely left a warning as an elder before turning and walking down the city wall, catching up to the inspection team about to depart.

And to facilitate their passage through the Empire's territory, Big Brother Slime would also accompany the inspection team for the five-day journey.

Chen Yu stood on the wall for a while, bidding farewell to Big Brother Slime and the mages.

The Shadow Owl spread its wings and rose into the air, carrying the inspection team members and their crates full of specialty goods, gliding toward the eastern horizon.

Chen Yu watched the massive figure disappear into the clouds before speaking: "Silver Sparrow, contact the Stone Descendants. Secretly investigate the recent movements of the White Horse Kingdom and the Merchant Alliance's old nobility. You should still remember the list."

"Yes, Master."

Silver Sparrow replied simply before falling silent, clearly getting to work.

Chen Yu remained standing on the city wall, gazing at the gray horizon in the distance.

This matter was definitely not simple.

Logically speaking, when it came to demon-related forces within the Empire, the Demon King Cult would be his first thought.

But he hadn't received any relevant warning messages. Instead, the Dawn Council knew about the planned attack before the Empire did.

This suggested that the demons behind this didn't belong to the Demon King Cult.

Could it be that group of demons collecting giant relics?

He became vigilant.

There were still four giant Totem Ice Pillars in his possession, so the other side obviously wouldn't let this go easily.

The old nobility of the White Horse Kingdom and the Merchant Alliance had never been satisfied with the new order established after the Empire's founding, a fact even Louisa was aware of.

He had even deliberately allowed them to collude in secret, letting their discontent accumulate, waiting for the right moment.

When they truly couldn't hold back any longer and bared their fangs, he could then legitimately uproot these outdated forces within the Empire that refused to move forward.

He just hadn't expected a third party to cut in.

And that third party could evade Silver Sparrow's monitoring network and silently infiltrate these old nobles.

If the Council hadn't proactively warned him, he would indeed have faced a tragedy in the Empire's eastern region a few days later.

He returned to the Royal Palace and waited until the next morning. Just as dawn broke, Silver Sparrow's voice sounded again.

"Master, the intelligence investigation is complete."

"The Belmont family deployed in full force, quickly reaching the eastern region through newly opened Fissure passages, conducting a joint search with the local Slime Mages."

"Without alerting any nobles, we have completed a comprehensive search of the implicated nobles' mansions and secret chambers, uncovering a total of one hundred thirty-four pieces of evidence and critical intelligence."

She paused briefly, "According to reliable analysis from the Slime Mages, these nobles have recently been in contact with the Undead."

Undead?

Now he could be certain.

The mysterious demons causing trouble behind the scenes were indeed that group, and they clearly still had their sights set on the Totem Ice Pillars in his possession.

Silver Sparrow continued her report: "At the same time, we conducted investigations on some believers of Morgul's Corruption. They possessed considerable intelligence about nobles contacting the cult, but the nobles had jointly suppressed the information, preventing it from spreading."

"Based on all intelligence compiled thus far, the attack timing can be pinpointed to the fourth day, late at night."

"There are two attack locations: Misty Bay Harbor of the Merchant Alliance and the Southern Territory of the White Horse Kingdom. Additionally, intelligence indicates they are also brewing an operation targeting Golden Radiance Valley, with the objective appearing to be the Empire's western defense zone."

"Silver Sparrow believes the eastern attack is likely a strategic diversion. The enemy's true target is the Empire's western border. Only by breaking through the western defense line and driving straight to Slime City could they maximize the benefits of the attack."

Chen Yu stood by the window, listening to Silver Sparrow's report, a strange expression on his face.

Since when did these demons learn to play such dirty tactical games?

Relying solely on the demons in the Deep Abyss, most of whom only knew how to solve problems with brute force, they probably couldn't have devised such a scheme.

There was likely more than just demons pulling the strings behind all this.

But regardless, all the intelligence had now converged into his hands. The Empire held the initiative, and it was time to strike.

With that thought, a wicked plan began to take shape in Chen Yu's mind.

He would not only make those demons pay the price but also use their hands to further expand the Empire's influence.

Even the Demon King Cult could use this opportunity to gain some prestige in the Abyss.

He narrowed his eyes, gazing out at the waking city beyond the window, quietly brewing his counterattack.

...

Misty Bay Harbor.

Deep within a mansion in the noble district, magical crystals suddenly lit up inside an underground secret chamber.

Milo Fletcher sat in a high-backed wooden chair, silent.

His face appeared to be barely thirty, but those gray eyes carried calculations far deeper than his years would suggest.

As the youngest successor in the Fletcher family's history, his ambition far exceeded any of his predecessors.

The Fletcher family belonged to the old established nobility.

They disdained haggling with merchants personally like those nouveau riche families, instead devoting themselves to operating in the shadowy gray and black markets that never saw the light of day.

During the family's peak, they had once controlled nearly half of the Merchant Alliance's gray transactions and underground markets.

Their influence stretched across major coastal cities, and even most nobles in the Council had to show them respect.

But the good times hadn't lasted. Ever since the Merchant Alliance was absorbed into the Empire, the newly enacted trade decrees and public security systems had gradually tightened, cutting off most of the family's once-unobstructed underground channels.

Some gray and black assets involving extreme violence had even been directly confiscated.

He hated this so-called Empire that had sprung up from the swamp.

If it weren't for those damned slimes, he should be the true uncrowned king of the Merchant Alliance's underworld by now.

With that thought, he looked up at the magical light before him and said flatly, "How's the preparation going?"

The light flickered slightly, and a woman's laughter emerged: "Mr. Fletcher, you're still so impatient."

"You know those slimes' monitoring methods. With the slightest disturbance, not only would the plan fail, but you and I would both be heading straight to the chopping block."

"However, I did manage to obtain intelligence on the locations of the magic formations those slimes have set up. As long as your operation is meticulous enough, their vaunted early warning network can be crippled at the critical moment."

Milo tapped his fingers on the table, pondering: "I'll arrange people to lie in ambush nearby. When the time comes, your people will coordinate with my inside contacts and strike simultaneously."

"That self-proclaimed Emperor slime will never expect the crisis this Empire is about to face in just a few days."

"This is the price of offending the nobility."

"If the new world has only citizens and no nobles to guide the order, what a foolish and mediocre world that would be."

"Our Fletcher family will never allow such evil practices to succeed."

The female voice in the light suddenly interjected: "What do you plan to do about those demons?"

"Dealing with them means being prepared to pay the price."

Milo Fletcher's expression didn't change: "They have no interest in this land. Their goal has always been just that Slime Emperor."

"Besides, we don't need to control the entire Empire. We only need to carve out a territory in the new order where we can survive."

"As for who becomes the visible power holder, I don't care."

"Whoever sits in that position will inevitably face the questioning and judgment of the Dawn Council."

A cold smile crept onto his face: "I imagine they'll die under the Council's judgment, while we remain hidden in the shadows, completely safe."

The woman let out an "mm" and reminded him: "I recall two fools previously wrote letters to the Council, accusing the Empire of tyranny."

"Should the Council make contact with the Empire and trace those letters' Traces back to us..."

Milo Fletcher cut her off, sneering: "If they come looking, they'll find those two fools. Our Fletcher family has no direct written correspondence with them. There's no evidence that can drag us into this."

He let out a light breath and ended the topic: "Alright, let's end this conversation here. I suspect that Emperor has been secretly monitoring the movements of all old nobles. We shouldn't keep contact too long, lest we be exposed."

The woman nodded: "Goodbye, Mr. Fletcher."

"Oh no, perhaps I should address you early as... the King of the Underground."