145: that power

The homeworld of the Angel Empire, the Cradle, was, just as its name suggested, the Cradle that had nurtured this ancient idealist civilization and was the holy land in the hearts of all Angel people.

However, at this moment, if an observer unaffected by The Void Realm were to stand here, they would feel a bone-chilling sense of dissonance.

The crowds on the streets, who had originally been panicked and even staged protests due to news of the defeat, were now all wearing smiles.

That smile was not joy from the heart, but rather a dullness and satisfaction akin to being paralyzed by some kind of drug.

The workers in the factories labored tirelessly; even with aching arms and drenched in sweat, their spirits were in a bizarre state of excitement. They no longer complained about overtime or demanded pay raises, as if every swing of their tools was a sacrifice to the god, granting them supreme pleasure.

This was "Sacred Fulfillment."

The "blessing" bestowed by the Void god, the instrument of desire, was also the sweetest poison. It stripped away pain, stripped away the sense of crisis, and granted happiness, while also granting slavery.

In the center of this twisted Eden, the golden palace that symbolized secular imperial power welcomed a special visitor today.

The heavy palace gates slowly opened, driven by psionic energy, emitting a dull roar.

Two rows of Royal Guard soldiers clad in platinum armor stood neatly on both sides of the road. These elite warriors, who had once sworn loyalty only to the Emperor, showed no intention of stopping the figure as they saw him approaching.

On the contrary, their originally resolute eyes revealed fanatical worship.

"Salutations to you, Your Excellency Losanda, the Chosen One."

The captain of the guard took the lead, kneeling on one knee and bowing his proud head.

In his subconscious, blocking this old man, who radiated holy purple light, was an unforgivable sin, and submitting to him was the happiness of following destiny.

Archbishop Losanda wore a red robe woven from high-purity psionic silk threads, holding in his hand the scepter that symbolized ecclesiastical power, and now, even more so, divine power.

He walked with a lightness unbefitting an old man, slowly traversing the red carpet that led to the pinnacle of power.

He looked at the Royal Guard kneeling on both sides, a smile of smug satisfaction curling at the corner of his lips.

"Very good, my children."

Losanda's voice was laced with powerful psionic echoes that reverberated in the mind of every soldier: "The god watches your loyalty."

He did not stop, walking straight through the corridor toward the deepest part of the palace. That was the Emperor's bedchamber, and also the cage that now imprisoned the supreme ruler of the Empire.

The doors to the bedchamber were pushed open.

The Emperor's residence, which should have been heavily guarded, now seemed exceptionally quiet.

In front of the massive floor-to-ceiling window in the center of the bedchamber, Huiguang XII, Emperor of the Angel Empire, stood with his back to the door, quietly gazing at the sky outside that was tinged with a slight purple hue.

He had once been an ambitious monarch.

During his reign, he had overcome opposition to push for material technology reforms, attempting to fundamentally resolve the stubborn stagnation of the Empire's psionic technology. At the same time, he reorganized the military, trying to change the status quo of losing cities and territory to the iofer.

He had once possessed an iron will and a sharp political instinct, serving as the Empire's last hope for restoration.

But now, when Losanda walked behind him, the Emperor did not even turn his head.

"Your Majesty." Losanda's voice no longer held the hypocritical respect of the past, but carried a condescending arrogance: "This old servant has come to see you."

Huiguang XII slowly turned around.

When Losanda saw the Emperor's face, even as arrogant as he was, he could not help but be stunned for a moment.

There was no anger or decadence on the Emperor's face, nor the humiliation of being imprisoned.

Instead, he wore a serene smile, the kind of expression a traveler has after setting down a heavy burden, finally lying on the grass by the roadside to bask in the sun.

"Ah, it is Losanda." The Emperor's voice was infuriatingly gentle: "You have come? Sit, sit, look at the aurora outside the window; is it not beautiful? How did I never notice before that our homeworld was so charming?"

Losanda narrowed his eyes, a glimmer of investigation flashing in his purple pupils.

He had prepared a bellyful of rhetoric and was even ready to use psionic energy to forcibly suppress the Emperor's will.

He had expected to see a furious monarch or a desperate prisoner, but he had not expected the power of the god to be so thorough.

"Your Majesty," Losanda did not sit; he looked straight into the Emperor's eyes, pressing forward step by step: "I am not here today to accompany you in admiring the scenery."

"Oh? Then for what purpose?" The Emperor seemed not to mind Losanda's rudeness and continued to ask with a smile.

"For the future of the Empire."

Losanda slammed his scepter down, and an invisible ripple instantly sealed the entire room.

"Although the war on the front lines has temporarily subsided, the iofer demons remain covetous, the hearts of the people within the Empire are restless, and the old system can no longer adapt to the challenges of the new era."

"We need change, Your Majesty, a thorough transformation from body to soul."

Losanda pulled out a pre-drafted scroll from his sleeve, a document named the "Sacred Integration Edict."

"I need you to sign this edict."

"The content is very simple: abolish the existing monarchy, establish a theocratic Angel Empire, dissolve the secular parliament, and return all power to the Church."

"And I, Losanda, shall become the Empire's Supreme Throne Agent, possessing absolute adjudicative power that transcends imperial authority."

"At the same time, transfer the command authority of all royal family members to me, including the fleets scattered abroad."

"Finally," a flash of greed crossed Losanda's eyes, "open the royal treasury and allocate all stocks of zheluo and psionic crystals to the Supreme Cathedral to maintain the connection with the True God."

Every one of these conditions was digging up the roots of the Empire, and every one was pushing the royal family into an abyss of eternal doom.

If it had been the former Huiguang XII, hearing these words would likely have led him to draw his sword immediately, even if it meant dying to slay this traitor before him.

But now...

After hearing Losanda's nearly usurping demands, the Emperor did not fly into a rage; he merely tilted his head, seemingly contemplating the feasibility of these terms.

Under the influence of "Sacred Fulfillment," his logical thinking was vastly different from that of a normal person.

He looked at Losanda, looking at the surging, heart-palpitating psionic radiance on the other man, and the concepts in his mind that should have represented "threat" and "betrayal" were overwritten by emotions named "reasonable" and "hope."

"Lord Losanda..." the Emperor murmured to himself, "Your power has grown."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Losanda spread his arms, displaying the gift he had received: "This is the blessing of the True God. Only by possessing this power can we defeat the iofer and allow the Empire to relive the glory of a thousand years ago."

"Have you not always wanted to restore the Empire? Have you not always felt pain because of our incompetence?"

"Now, as long as you hand over the power to me, all these troubles will disappear."

"I will shoulder this heavy burden for you, I will lead the Empire toward brilliance, and you only need to enjoy this hard-won peace and happiness here."

Losanda's words carried a powerful psionic suggestion, every word like a lure, seducing the distorted desire within the Emperor's heart.

The Emperor's gaze gradually became unfocused, then refocused, only this time, there was only approval in his eyes.

"Yes..." the Emperor sighed, "I am too tired. For these years, I have exhausted my efforts to resist the iofer and to balance the domestic factions, yet the results have been minimal."

"I always thought that as long as we introduced material technology, we could save the country, but I was wrong; that was merely putting the cart before the horse."

"Since the True God has already descended the oracle, and since you have already obtained such powerful strength..."

The Emperor slowly stood up, walked to the desk, and picked up the imperial seal that represented imperial power.

"You are right, Losanda, you are right."

"Only you can lead us out of the predicament."

"Since that is the case, then hand it all over to you."

Snap.

The bright red seal was stamped heavily onto the edict.

This crisp sound announced the end of the Angel Empire's imperial power and also announced the arrival of an era of theocratic dictatorship.

Losanda looked at the seal and could not help but laugh out loud.

"Hahahaha! A wise choice, Your Majesty! You will be recorded in history because of today's decision!"

He grabbed the edict, as if he had grasped the entire world.

"Rest well, my Majesty; I will block the wind and rain outside for you."

After speaking, he turned and left without looking back, leaving the Emperor alone.

He returned to the window, continuing to wear that bone-chilling smile, admiring the scenery that did not exist.

One hour later, the Empire's Supreme Administrative Council Hall.

Gathered here were the administrative officials of every star sector of the Empire, ministers of various departments, and high-ranking military generals (the portion not on the front lines).

When Archbishop Losanda walked into the hall with the edict stamped with the Emperor's seal, it should have been a confrontation of a political storm.

After all, the people sitting here were all vested interests, and Losanda's centralization of power was directly cutting into their flesh.

According to common sense, they should have slammed the table and stood up, accusing this of being a forged edict, or even directly mobilizing the guards to resist.

However, the reality was eerily calm.

When Losanda stood on the podium, finished reading the contents of the edict in that inflammatory voice, and displayed his psionic pressure as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea, a chorus of agreement actually rang out from below.

"The Archbishop is right!" The minister in charge of finance actually took the lead in applauding, his face overflowing with a joy as if he had just won the lottery: "We were too obsessed with those cumbersome procedures and meaningless checks and balances in the past; in this critical moment, we need a strong core!"

"That's right!" A military general also stood up, his eyes fanatical: "Look at the divine light on the Archbishop! That is the gift of the True God! Only by following the Archbishop can we defeat those demons!"

"For the Empire! For the True God! All power to the Church!"

"This is a great moment!"

Under the influence of "Sacred Fulfillment," the brains of these shrewd and calculating politicians and generals seemed to have been formatted.

Their logic had been tampered with; they no longer considered the loss of power to be a loss, but instead considered it a relief, the best solution.

Since Archbishop Losanda was so strong, and since he could communicate with the god, wasn't it a matter of course to hand the power over to him?

As long as one followed him, the Empire could be revived, everyone could live a good life, so why oppose it?

Some even felt an inexplicable sense of guilt in their hearts: to think we actually doubted the Archbishop's motives before; it was truly inappropriate!

Amidst this chorus of rising and falling praises, the Angel Empire completed the most stable, most bizarre, and most thorough regime change in its history.

There was no bloodshed or resistance, not even a single word of questioning.

The entire upper echelon of the Empire was like a flock of hypnotized sheep, happily lining up to place the ropes around their necks into the hands of the shepherd.

Losanda stood on the high platform, overlooking the imperial elites below who were prostrating themselves in worship of him.

His inner self swelled to the extreme.

"Is this the power of the god?"

"No need for armies, no need for conspiracies; just a single thought is enough to make the masses submit."

He gripped the scepter in his hand and cast his gaze toward the starry sky outside the dome of the hall.

"Next is Akulei's Star Navy, and the iofer."

"Once I have completely digested this power and integrated the Empire's resources..."

"All problems will be easily solved!"