390: Dawn passes, Empire descends

“I have a bad feeling.”

Looking at Yu Maochun’s slightly playful eyes, the President put down his wine glass.

He suddenly realized that he had become a bit carried away and had forgotten his original intention for hiring Yu Maochun.

The culture of the Free Federation and Jiuzhou is completely different.

Indeed, he could not understand Jiuzhou’s affairs based solely on his own way of thinking.

Moreover, this matter was indeed strange.

The collapse of the Northern Federation back then was also sudden, but it was a case of a thousand-mile dike crumbling from an ant's nest, and intelligence agencies of various countries had already made predictions, completely unlike Jiuzhou, which announced its demise without any warning.

That was a regional great power!

Even if Zhongzhou, where Shangjing City is located, was destroyed by a nuclear bomb, there were still eight other states; did they not resist at all?

For Jiuzhou to truly perish, unless those eight states simultaneously declared independence, it would be almost impossible.

This is possible.

Shangjing City is the symbol of the Jiuzhou Federation and the seat of its core government.

If Si Zhenfeng and his group were wiped out, no one would be able to resist the Eight Great Families of Jiuzhou.

If they each declared independence, then Jiuzhou would indeed be gone.

But the intelligence also said that the Eight Great Families were transferring assets; what was that about?

Just as the President was puzzled, another piece of intelligence came from the Machina at his ear.

“Report, President, Shangjing City has not yet lifted its martial law, and the internet shield has not been shut down.”

“But observed from a distance, the lights of Shangjing City are on, and the buildings are in good condition.”

Lights on, buildings in good condition… The President took a deep breath.

Shangjing City was invaded by the Ten Commandments, yet it remained intact?

Then, did Jiuzhou win this War?

The President immediately asked, “Can we determine who won and who lost now?”

“Our Machina cannot get close to the battlefield.”

“But a very strange thing was detected.”

“There seems to have been a spacetime disturbance near Shangjing City.”

“The Machina’s timer is 1 minute slower than normal time.”

“At the same time, the Soul fluctuations of the Ten Commandments have also disappeared. The Machina’s judgment is that there is an 80% probability that the Ten Commandments are dead.”

Bang!

The President’s body trembled, knocking over the champagne glass beside him.

The Ten Commandments all wiped out!?

What kind of horror story is this?

Those ten people were all Emperor-Ranked Professionals.

Their combined combat power could sweep across half of the Western World.

Even the Free Federation dared not confront them directly.

It was precisely because of these ten top combatants that the Childs could manipulate the world with impunity, using various despicable methods to harvest the wealth of all humanity.

These ten people were all wiped out?

Then isn't Child finished?

The President’s lips curled up, and his eyes lit up with excitement.

At this moment, he seemed to see the doomsday of all Childs.

But soon, his smile froze again.

Wait!

What’s going on!?

The Ten Commandments simultaneously invaded Shangjing City, and then they were all wiped out.

Moreover, the city remained intact?

Doesn’t this mean that the combat power of one Shangjing City alone is far stronger than the Ten Commandments?

Ah?

Is Jiuzhou that fierce?

No… then why did he announce its demise again?

This is making my head so messy!

The President had a headache and said to the Machina, “Investigate further! We must find out what happened in Shangjing City!”

Seeing the President’s expression change drastically, all the advisors were stunned.

Is there an emergency?

Was the champagne opened too early again?

The President took a deep breath and said to everyone, “You all go out first, Yu Maochun stay.”

The advisors were momentarily stunned, then had to put down their wine glasses and walk out of the Oval Office.

After everyone left, the President said to Yu Maochun:

“Mr. Yu, I was arrogant just now.”

“According to the latest intelligence, Child has been defeated, and all of them have been killed.”

“Therefore, the demise of Jiuzhou may be a misjudgment of intelligence.”

“It's not a misjudgment of intelligence.”

Yu Maochun shook his head and said, “The Jiuzhou Federation may indeed have perished, but what perished was not Jiuzhou, but the Federation.”

The President was stunned and immediately understood: “You mean, they switched to an Empire system?”

Yu Maochun said, “Do you remember the codename I gave Qin Yang when I analyzed him?”

“I remember, Empire Dawn.”

The President murmured.

He had a very deep impression of Qin Yang.

As early as his Awakening, he had learned about him through various intelligence reports.

At that time, the real Yu Maochun suggested defining him as a threat, ranking him one hundredth on the threat list.

And predicted that this person was very likely to be the key figure in Jiuzhou’s shift to an Empire system.

One must know, this was an extremely great honor.

The people on the “threat list” were either Emperors or Monarchs.

At that time, Qin Yang was only an Elite-Tier Professional.

Qin Yang did not “disappoint” the Free Federation.

In the battle near the coast of Jiuzhou, he proved with his actions that the real Yu Maochun had not misjudged him.

And in this invasion War, it must have been he who played a huge role.

The President suddenly paused and said, “He is going to unify Jiuzhou!?”

Yu Maochun nodded: “When Lin Xiaoer became the Little Sword Emperor, the Qin Family already had the ability to unify Jiuzhou; it was just lacking an opportunity, and the invasion of the Ten Commandments provided that opportunity.”

The President murmured, “So… the Dawn has passed.”

Yu Maochun continued, “The Empire has arrived.”

The Oval Office fell silent.

After a long while, the President looked up and said, “How should we respond to this Empire?”

Yu Maochun lowered his head to adjust his glasses, his gaze hidden in the reflection of the lenses, and said, “Don’t worry about other people’s Empire; let’s solve our own family matters first. With the Ten Commandments annihilated, the Childs have no more reliance.”

The President paused slightly, scratched his slightly itchy philtrum with his finger, and chuckled, “I understand.”

... Northern Kingdom of Snow Country.

“The battle in Jiuzhou is over?”

Inside the ice palace, the Queen, enveloped in frosty Qi, turned around in surprise.

The minister, dressed as a wizard, nodded and said, “The crystal skull can still sense Lin Xuan’s Qi, but the Qi of the Ten Commandments can no longer be sensed. They are either dead or have retreated.”

The Queen’s deep blue eyes flickered, finding such a result hard to believe.

She took a deep breath, exhaling frost-like crystals, and said, “I understand, you may withdraw.”

The Northern Kingdom of Snow Country originated from the disintegration of the Northern Empire.

Even though it has been in decline for a long time, it still possesses the ability to sweep across the Western World.

The reason they haven't done so is that the Ten Commandments blocked their way.

The financial and military strength of the Childs should not be underestimated.

But now, the minister said that the Ten Commandments were defeated in Shangjing City.

This made it difficult for the Queen to accept.

One must know, Snow Country possesses Emperors and Monarchs inherited from the Empire era, and the number of Monarchs even exceeds that of the Free Federation.

In annual military reports, Snow Country always ranked before Jiuzhou.

But now, a single Shangjing City repelled the Ten Commandments.

Doesn’t this mean… that the city’s defense forces of Shangjing City alone could sweep across the Northern Kingdom of Snow Country?

Thinking of this, Yekaterina, known as the “Snow Queen,” actually shivered, and a sense of crisis welled up in her heart.

Snow Country borders Jiuzhou, and there are historical territorial disputes. If the two countries were evenly matched, they could still sit at a table and be friends.

However… Jiuzhou has grown, and grown very quickly.

The Queen walked to the frosty throne, reaching out to caress the ice-sculpted armrest, her face full of worry.

“One region cannot accommodate two great powers.”

“Current Jiuzhou is ruled by Qin Yang and Si Zhenfeng, two Sages.”

“These two seem to be hardliners.”

“Once War breaks out, the entrance to the Elf World will most likely be exposed… Oh, my God, how can I protect my home?”

The Queen murmured; she had already foreseen the future War.

Just then, a breeze swept by, and a soft voice spread: “Yekaterina, do not casually utter Qin Yang’s true name.”