Subduing the Enemy Without Fighting

When the elders were reprimanding him, they all knew they had been tricked.

It is obvious that the invited ' Ainsworth ' has a very close relationship with his aide, Rovi.

Moreover, they seemed to have placed too much trust in the formidable abilities displayed by this Ainsworth True Magic, and were so blindly optimistic that everyone personally went to the scene?

"Just how many bastards have you taken, Rigushido Gituso?!"

The elders all looked at the elder who had taken the initiative to invite ' Ainsworth '.

"I didn't, I didn't..."

How can you prove you don't have it?

"..."

What the hell do we need certificates for? We're in a real crisis!

The pale eyebrows of the elder named Ligushido Gituso twitched violently.

Perhaps it was because the situation was extremely urgent... that's why the other elders were trying to figure everything out.

At least we can't lose in a way that's neither clear nor justifiable, right?

He really wanted to say he didn't know.

It's really just a coincidence!

But who would believe that now?

"Ah, no matter how much time has passed, humanity is still the same!" Moonlight fell, illuminating the scenery of the city. The battle outside the palace continued. Athena, facing the bright moonlight, glanced at this scene and the silver-haired, red-eyed girl couldn't help but laugh.

Her actions could not possibly have been pre-arranged with Rovi.

After she manifested in the mortal world as a 'spirit', she simultaneously sensed the methods taught by Rovi and practiced and perfected the True Magic she had comprehended, which represented the Soul Manifestation in the 'future'.

At first, she was still in the illusory mode of a soul.

As she saw more and more Human Order and witnessed more and more, the True Magic called Soul Manifestation was perfected, and her soul condensed into a tangible form.

During this process, she also gained some fame.

Some people call her 'Saint'.

Some people also call her ' True Magic magician'.

The former are ordinary people in the mundane world, while the latter are those who know the mysterious side of existence.

Because of this fame, she was invited by the Senate. After learning that their purpose was to 'assassinate' her assistant, Rovi, Athena agreed without hesitation and demonstrated her power.

Her power instantly boosted the elders' confidence, so much so that they all came in person.

Even now, after her secret has been exposed, she still easily instigated infighting among the elders.

"Goddess of Wisdom, how terrifying." Rovi smiled as he looked at the girl who was completely nestled against him.

He wrapped his arms around her slender waist.

"Compared to you, I am still lacking." Athena brushed a strand of hair from her forehead behind her ear, making her crimson, beautiful eyes even clearer. "What do you say, Your Excellency, the Esteemed Sage Manipulates Hearts?"

"Athena..."

"My current name is Ainsworth."

"What does the form of address matter? As long as it's you, it's fine, right?"

"The image is correct, but we still need to distinguish between gods and humans. After all, a pure god cannot be with you, can he?"

Athena narrowed her crimson eyes, or rather, Ainsworth smiled, "Now, my name is Ainsworth."

"This pronunciation is too long... let's just call him Ai Yin directly?"

"That's fine too, as long as it's your name, it doesn't really matter."

Athena tiptoed slightly, kissed Rovi, and smiled, looking quite happy.

Having traversed thousands of miles, she finally touched once again the wisdom she had longed for...

Hee hee hee!

The neighing of horses echoed through the night, and the sound of orderly footsteps suddenly came from afar, with moving torches linking together in the distance to form a long dragon.

The elders who were arguing paused and looked up.

After separating from Athena, Rovi Rovi over and smiled, "They've finally arrived."

"Yes, they're here." Athena without surprise, "What have you been planning this time?"

"Of course, it's about how to perfectly receive your 'gift'!"

Those coming from afar were undoubtedly an army.

Athena appeared as ' Ainsworth, ' and when she made the senators all go all in, they chose to gamble everything. At this moment, what surrounded the small city was not only the troops that had entered the city, but also a third of the Empire's legions controlled by the Senate outside the city.

With nearly ten legions and seventy to eighty thousand regular troops, they surrounded the city completely, and also controlled the legion that accompanied and protected the emperor stationed nearby.

Only the elders' trusted troops entered the city.

Not part of the Roman Empire's legions.

In any case, assassinating an aide, though not as serious as assassinating the king, is still a crime.

According to the elders' original plan, they would use this group of confidants to disguise themselves as 'bandits' to disrupt the banquet and then take advantage of the chaos to kill Rovi.

Then they allowed the 70,000 to 80,000 Roman Legion outside the city to enter.

In the name of 'protecting the emperor'.

In this way, those present at the scene could transform from assassins into meritorious officials protecting the emperor.

Even at times, he could control the emperor.

'To seize the world and conquer Rome'.

Athena's last-minute defection thwarted their plans.

At this moment, even more Roman Army appeared, marching on their way.

"By order of Officer Rovi, you all shall lay down your weapons!"

Roman soldiers, carrying torches and holding javelins, surged in from all directions like a flood.

The leader, wielding a sword and shield, had long red hair that fluttered in the wind, beneath which were a pair of emerald green eyes. His delicate face was full of heroic spirit. Beneath the armor that only protected his vital parts was a long white dress, his chest high and full, which accentuated his extremely slender waist. He sat astride a white horse, his hips swaying and his fair and plump legs swaying.

Boudica, a spirited and athletic female warrior from Britannia.

Her boots swayed in the air; in this era without stirrups, riding a horse relied entirely on the balance of the body.

And she did it exceptionally well, without a doubt.

The red-haired girl brandished her sword, drawing thousands of soldiers to the scene. More troops surrounded Antium, a city within the legion controlled by the Senate.

With superior military force...

"It seems that from the very beginning, Officer Rovi had already planned everything." The arguing elders stopped arguing because of this sudden turn of events. For them, internal purges should indeed be dealt with later.

They should have focused more on the present... If they hadn't planned ahead like this, how could these Roman Legion have arrived so quickly?

The elders remained calm.

Ainsworth's 'betrayal', the Roman Legion outside the city were actually their main asset.

Moreover, although they are mortals, they do not possess any mysterious powers.

As influential figures who can impact a nation, they also possess a national-level 'standard' belonging to the Human Order Level.

Yes, after entering the era of Human Order, the so-called standards have never been defined solely by mystery.

Destroying a country, influencing an island, or a continent by force is of ' Continent-level Specification '.

Influencing the world by manipulating power and wealth is also a ' Continent-level Specification.

Therefore, even in the age of Human Order, there still exist powerful and mysterious Magecraft. When they move in human society and face those important figures in the outer world, they still need to follow the rules of the outer world.

Specification is the mysterious thickness, which can also be regarded as the thickness of human nature.

This specification can make them immune to a certain degree of mystery.

So there's no need to panic.

They still have a chance.

Before that, everything must be done.

Let's sort out the whole story.

Athena remained silent, simply standing behind Rovi, admiring the brilliance of the wise man she loved.

Rovi Wei took two steps forward and frankly admitted, "Yes, ten legions. Originally, His Her Majesty Nero wanted them to serve as his personal guards. Although I suppressed her plan, the army was still mobilized."

"Were they setting a trap all along?" The elder suddenly realized. Large-scale troop movements could not be kept secret from the Senate. If there was a troop movement that was first moved, then blocked, and then moved again, it would indeed be easy to overlook.

This is exactly what is meant by "the darkest place is under the lamp".

"You deliberately only sent one legion with you, was it for this purpose as well?"

"After all, if you weren't accompanied by only one legionary guard, you probably wouldn't have dared to make a move, right?"

The Senate could only control one-third of the Roman Legion; if there were ten legions, they would not, and dared not, take action.

The facts prove it.

Even without ' Athena ', Rovi had already outmaneuvered them to death.

Of course, they weren't his target.

Instead... it's the army.

The legions controlled by the Senate.

"Is Officer Rovi planning to take advantage of the situation to eliminate our forces within the army?"

Rovi did not deny that this was indeed his purpose. "Rome, not your Rome."

"The Roman legions should not be either."

"But Rome never belonged to Augustus. The Rome of today, and the laws and systems implemented at its founding, belong to us senators!" One senator clenched his fist. "And what good will it do you to yourself?"

In any case, Rovi himself was just an assistant.

He is not the First Consul.

He was not the emperor.

He was merely a close advisor to the emperor, and he was only a "minister." In terms of stance, Rovi should have been closer to the elders.

To gain greater power as a subject.

There can't be an overly powerful emperor overshadowing you.

But faced with the elders' final questions, or rather, their final struggles, Rovi simply shook his head and said, "That's why I said you don't understand me, and you don't understand Nero Claudius either."

"I have little interest in the power of Rome, and even less energy to focus on the struggle for power."

"Nero will not stop me from doing what I want to do, because what Nero wants to do is the same as what I want to do."

Ignoring emotions and personal factors.

Like-minded.

This is the more important factor.

"What do you want?" one of the elders couldn't help but ask.

Rovi smiled and replied, "What I want is a magnificent and powerful empire."

"What I want is a stable and happy life under the protection of the empire."

"I want economic prosperity, I want technological excellence, I want spiritual inheritance, and I want to become the 'king' of consciousness who leads the liberation of thought."

"I want this world to be—"

"Without you!"

"Phew... I see." The eldest elder finally breathed a sigh of relief. He said, "Your ideals are lofty and great. You may indeed be a 'saint' as those people say."

"But saint... this world has never been as sacred as you think."

"Just like the influence of our Senate and the military, it cannot be dismantled simply by saying so."

"You can't kill us until you dispel our influence!"

The elders, though old, remained confident.

They have the protection of Rome; they wield national influence on the 'tree' of Human Order.

Rome was a powerful nation.

It can influence a country, or even the entire European continent.

Under this premise, killing them might cause turmoil in Rome.

This contradicts Rovi's objectives.

"Influence...?"

"Do you still have any influence?"

Boom boom boom...

The ground shook slightly.

The elders all stared wide-eyed at the same time.

Astonishment appeared on their faces.

Because they saw the Roman Legion they controlled from afar, they all simultaneously abandoned their weapons.

They surrendered.

"Ugh, Nero Claudius! Roman soldiers, lay down your arms! Do not point your weapons at Rome! Those who surrender will be forgiven!" The shouts continued, but they had changed.

The night was deep, but it could not conceal the fiery red figure.

Nero Claudius had somehow left the city; she stood on a chariot, surveying the legion.

Everyone who looks upon him is loved and respected.

Wherever the emperor went, the people turned to him.

when...

The elders were jolted awake, only then realizing that the shouts of fighting outside the palace had already subsided.

Their trusted confidants, whom they brought with them, lay scattered all over the ground.

The battle is over.

Their opponents...

"Ah, a bit boring, just ordinary humans!" A woman wielding a greatsword, wearing heavy armor, with dazzling blonde hair and an exaggeratedly muscular physique stood there, looking bored.

"How could an ordinary human possibly be a match for you, Barghest?"

The red-haired girl tiptoed on the ground, her long red dress swaying with white buds along its edges.

"That's why I said, Bufan Xi, leave it to me, why did you have to do it yourself?"

"Because I am also one of the 'Apostles'..."

The 'girl' called Bufan Xi bowed to Rovi in the distance, "Lord Rovi, we've arrived!"

That's not a person.

is a 'goblin'.

Rovi's ' Twelve Apostles ' Part 2.

Rovi Wei and the others nodded, then looked at the astonished elders in front of them. "You have forgotten one thing: your influence comes from the soldiers and civilians under your command."

"But we can give them even more."

"Soldiers are human beings too; they also have families. My policies and Nero's policies brought stability and development to their families. Our actions showed them what 'Rome' should be like."

"From the very beginning, you lost—or rather, I should thank you for gathering your armies together, which gave me the opportunity to completely overwhelm your last remaining influence in the military!"

Just like the principles of the mystical side.

The scale of influence can also be overridden.

The elders were already inferior to Nero in status.

They were never as good as Nero.

The influence of the elders and veterans in the army has been completely suppressed by Nero.

By Nero...

Or rather, they were overwhelmed by the millions of people hidden behind the Roman Army!

They went to the protection of 'standards'.

"Don't try to sway me with words, and don't try to win me over, elders."

Rovi spread his arms, his tall figure in the tailored aide's uniform standing out in the evening breeze. His voice echoed in the elders' ears as he said, "Of course, I also want to thank you for packing yourselves up and delivering yourselves to my door!"

The elders looked at each other, and the oldest elder stared wide-eyed.

Their last hope was shattered.

He thought that even if he was defeated, he could still retain enough strength, but he spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Truly... as terrifying yet captivating as ever!"

Athena murmured softly.

Rovi smiled.

The cleaning is now complete.

It is only natural, and it is inevitable.

Intrigue and schemes are ultimately just a backdrop.

He has already gathered a powerful force.

So, if the timing is right, then we can just go all out and crush them!

'At the beginning of the 10th century AD, the reforms that revitalized Rome, which had shown signs of decline, were not without their challenges. The senators and nobles launched a massive rebellion, leading a third of the empire's legions in a split-third of the empire.'

'But the Roman officials used only one method and easily suppressed the rebellion.'

He used the people behind the soldiers as leverage to gain the support of ordinary soldiers within the rebel army.

This is a rare example in Human History of a betrayal that uses another's strength against them.

His aide, Rovi, was thus hailed as the greatest Military Strategist of the early 20th century.

' The Transformation of Rome '

"This is what is meant by 'subduing the enemy without fighting'!" Rovi lowered his hands.

The struggle between the Roman senators and the emperor was a crushing defeat for the senators, and here, at this very moment, they were utterly defeated!