Glorious God Throne

For a time, public outrage erupted!

— From ancient times to the present, similar tactics have been seen countless times, yet they always work. The masses are blind and conformist, easily incited.

However, one-sided smearing is too low-level and easy to see through. At this point, another group of rational bystanders appeared. They represented the public’s doubts.

[…Isn’t this smear campaign going too far? Do they think we’re all brainless? As everyone knows, noble titles have long since been reduced to mere honorary roles. How could he possibly oppress men and women at will based on his noble status?]

[Exactly, even taking bribes has been mentioned. This Sir Leonardo has no official position, how could he demand bribes from others just based on an empty noble title? If you’re going to make up lies, at least make them a bit more believable.]

[…That makes sense. These scandals don’t seem very credible.]

[It’s another attempt to smear and fool the public, isn’t it? We won’t be deceived.]

After a wave of analysis from the rational party, the incited crowd sobered up from their anger and began to question the authenticity of the scandals. At the same time, these clever individuals felt they had grasped the truth.

The real fatal blow then appeared.

[Hiss… I think I understand something now.]

[I get it, I get it.]

[Oppressing men and women, taking bribes, no wonder. I was wondering how an empty noble could have such power. So there’s someone behind him… Hiss, we can’t say it, we can’t say it.]

[What’s there not to say? It’s just the corrupt royal family that should have been overthrown more than fifty years ago. Indeed, even after so many years, they’ve only gotten worse.]

[…The commenter above, you’re truly brave.]

[The Chenxing Empire belongs to all citizens of the Chenxing Empire, not to one person. The royal family harbors evil, and as law-abiding taxpaying citizens, what can’t we say? If I suffer retaliation for this, wouldn’t it further prove the royal family’s corruption and authoritarianism? Everyone, times have changed!]

At this point, the true intentions were revealed!

The public opinion in the Chenxing Empire underwent a drastic change, with countless people pointing their guns at the figure sitting high on the imperial throne.

Over the years, voices calling for the complete abolition of the imperial system in the Chenxing Empire had never ceased. However, the royal family, having learned from their past lessons of nearly being overthrown, changed their image of autocratic tyranny. Instead, they learned from the parliament, working hard to improve their reputation and present a good image to the public. Now, the mask polished for years seemed about to shatter.

In a short time, using Sir Leonardo as a trigger, various scandals of Chenxing Empire’s royal family members were exposed, causing quite an earthquake throughout the Chenxing Empire.

At this point, no one was paying attention to the assassin anymore.

[Disappointed, so disappointed. Is this our Chenxing Empire’s royal family? Are these the people who control 1/3 of the Chenxing Empire’s power, supported by all of us taxpayers?]

[The commenter above is too naive. Did you still have any illusions about the emperor? Emperors and the royal class should have been thrown into the trash bin of history long ago.]

Radical advocates for abolishing the imperial system also began to speak out, occupying the high ground of public opinion.

[Those who do evil deserve retribution. Regarding this assassination, I can only say well done!]

[A dog can’t stop eating shit. The emperor’s existence is oppression to each of us, no matter how beautifully they disguise it. Now the facts have just proven this point.]

[…Abolishing the imperial system might still be difficult for now, but it’s time to restrict the power of royal family members, gentlemen!]

This grand public opinion war, from the assassination to its final explosion targeting the royal family, all happened within a short time. Everyone’s attention shifted from the assassination to the corruption of the imperial royal family and the restriction of imperial power.

The imperial royal family, who had spent a great deal of energy and focus on capturing the assassin, was caught off guard by this sudden attack.

Even though they quickly reacted and took corresponding measures, such as claiming to thoroughly investigate all scandals without leniency, severely punishing those with conclusive evidence of guilt, holding relevant responsible persons accountable for negligence, and encouraging all citizens to report wrongdoings, etc., facing this sudden wave of attacks, they were ultimately unprepared and a step behind their opponents.

Even after temporarily dealing with everything, some imperceptible traces were still left in the hearts of the Chenxing Empire’s citizens.

— This became the embers left for the future.

The emperor, who understood the situation clearly, could only swallow this bitter pill, gritting his teeth in hatred towards those causing trouble behind the scenes.

As for the suspects, there was a 90% chance it was the parliament.

The reason was simple. There were always intricate connections between the nobility and the royal family. Although the cabinet also wanted to seize power from the royal family, they didn’t want the emperor to step down or the imperial system to be abolished. Otherwise, their noble status would lose its value.

But the cabinet’s suspicion couldn’t be completely ruled out either.

After all, this wave of public opinion attacks only targeted the royal family and not the nobility. Instead, it portrayed most nobles as pitiful figures with empty titles. This made it hard for the emperor not to suspect the cabinet’s involvement, aiming only to weaken the emperor’s power.

The complexity of the situation made the power struggle among the Chenxing Empire’s upper echelons increasingly complex and intense.

The biggest beneficiary, of course, was K.

Just as the public opinion fire in the Chenxing Empire had barely subsided, the parliament, cabinet, and royal family were each plotting their own schemes, with differing opinions. Regarding this audacious assassin, the disgraced royal family wanted to eliminate him as soon as possible, while the parliament was hindering in various ways, almost hoping this assassin would remain active forever, keeping the royal family on the pillar of shame. The cabinet members, meanwhile, were stirring up trouble in between, playing both sides.

In this situation, how effective could the so-called vast net of capture be? For K, who possessed special abilities, it would be utterly ridiculous to be caught by such a disunited manhunt.

An ordinary person would have seized this opportunity to flee and disappear.

But “K” was never an ordinary person.

This “ghost that appears in rainy nights”, “executioner bringing killing and bloodshed”, “pleasure-seeking criminal skilled in manipulating people’s hearts”, was never afraid of vast nets, only fearing that the stage wasn’t grand enough.

So, in the following period, the mysterious killer appeared again, brazenly starting another series of assassinations.

In return, he received the highest bounty in the Chenxing Empire and worldwide infamy.

And those he killed would always have various unsavory scandals exposed online afterward, always with intricate connections to the royal family, making people marvel at the “coincidences of fate”.

At this point, even if the royal family came forward to clarify, there would always be self-proclaimed clever people believing this was the royal family deliberately burying the truth. Although among these scandals, some were indeed fabricated.

Even if someone was completely innocent, enough slander would make people believe it. Let alone the Chenxing Empire’s royal family, which was already not so clean, with countless scandals?

That serial killer [K], whose identity had been thoroughly investigated worldwide, including the exposure of the Ghost in the Rainy Night Serial Killings committed in Yao Country, was inadvertently portrayed as a “dark justice executor” by Chenxing Empire’s sensationalist media, inexplicably gaining a group of admirers and imitators.

His mysterious appearances and disappearances, his unattainable skills, and his targeting of evil added a layer of legend to his persona.

— The events that once occurred in Yao Country seemed to be re-enacted in the Chenxing Empire.

At this time, in order to avenge Adams, Yao Country didn’t follow the usual procedures but applied for an emergency channel, urging the Chenxing Empire to quickly approve the transnational arrest warrant.

This not-so-complex application, however, was stuck due to internal conflicts in the Chenxing Empire.

The battered royal family saw an opportunity in Yao Country’s application, attempting to use Yao Country’s influence to suppress the powerful parliament.

— While ordinary people were still confused about everything happening in the Chenxing Empire, the upper echelons of various countries were well aware.

It was all just a game played by those in power.

The public opinion war was merely the shallowest layer of this game. There were more, deeper-level confrontations happening in places invisible to ordinary people, and what was finally displayed in public opinion was the outcome of both sides — the parliament gained a lot, the royal family suffered a considerable loss, and with the cabinet’s intervention, the cabinet gained some benefits, barely maintaining their basic position.

Because of this, they were eager to find external support to strike back at the arrogant parliament, even at the risk of potentially damaging national interests.

“Support the Chenxing Empire’s royal family? Take sides in their internal strife? Form an alliance solely with the royal family? We can’t possibly agree…”

The entirety of Yao Country was shocked.

Was it possible to rashly interfere in another country’s politics just to capture a fugitive?

Whoever proposed this condition must be out of their mind, right?

Although the Chenxing Empire’s royal family offered other benefits as well, it obviously couldn’t make Yao Country violate its principles and meddle in another country’s politics.

They almost suspected that the Chenxing Empire’s emperor had lost his mind.

Until they received an explanation from the other side…

“So far, all the people K has killed can be linked to the royal family, even if some connections are tenuous. As soon as these people are killed, their scandals are promptly exposed online… No doubt, this so-called killer is targeting the royal family. Behind him, there’s a powerful force helping him eliminate the threat of royal family’s manhunt, while he follows orders and guidance to target people related to the royal family. It’s because of such close connection that their coordination can be so seamless…”

“As for the force behind him, who they are, I believe everyone knows in their hearts.”

“— Clearly, this guy is just the parliament’s dog! Since you want to catch the dog, how can you not offend its master? Wouldn’t cooperation between us be the best choice?”

To be fair, this argument made sense. Provided one didn’t know K’s true identity.

The Special Case Investigation Team had a lot to say about this. They had been secretly studying him for a long time.

“…Based on our personality simulation of him, this otherworldly visitor has no sense of belonging to Blue Star, his nature is unconstrained, and he could never become the parliament’s dog. More likely, they have a cooperative relationship, each taking what they need.”

“…To put it bluntly, it could also be said they’re using each other. The parliament needs someone who dares to trample on rules and take action against the Chenxing Empire’s royal family, while that otherworldly visitor, who has nothing in this world, now urgently needs to settle down.”

“— He needs his own territory, needs local forces to shield him from external troubles, to provide him with a period of quiet development and familiarization with this world’s rules and order… If I’m not mistaken, this should be the basis of their cooperation.”

Once analyzed, it became quite clear.

Li Fufeng stroked his chin and expressed his deduction. “— I wonder what kind of cooperation terms he and the parliament have reached. The parliament probably thinks this guy is just a temporary knife to deal with the royal family, perhaps even harboring the idea of taming him for their own use. Even if they can’t tame him, they’re confident that at worst, they can destroy this knife later.”

Saying this, he sighed. “Unfortunately, they will probably regret their current decision immensely in the future. I have a feeling that guy will do even more shocking things in the future.”

“…If we can’t catch him in time.”

Everyone’s hearts sank in unison.

“It looks very difficult now.”

With the parliament’s involvement, things had become very complicated, unless they exposed the other party’s identity as an otherworldly visitor. But if they did that, the Chenxing Empire would be even less likely to let him fall into their hands.

Everything seemed to have reached a deadlock.

Thinking that all of this was caused by K, everyone couldn’t help but feel a headache. It seemed like they were back to those days of city-wide unrest and sleepless nights investigating the murders.

It looked like this would be a task that would take a long time to complete.

For now, they could only issue a wanted notice.

“This guy, he’s really troublesome!”

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