A Face-to-Face Confrontation! (Continued)

Maria's reluctance to tell the truth is her business, and I have my own business to attend to.

"So... this time you were sent out to subdue those Shanhai Assembly Sect?"

"Um."

"But you can't kill these people."

Yan Ying almost immediately voiced her opposition.

Maria, on the other hand, tilted her head slightly.

"Why?"

"Because we need bridges... bridges connecting Great Beast and humans."

Yan Ying spoke slowly, her words calm yet earnest.

This surprised Maria for a moment.

Because she truly hadn't expected the other party to say something like that...

"You are... someone who desires a peaceful resolution to the Great Beast?"

Maria was a little confused.

Also a member of the Yan's royal family, the current emperor is determined to destroy and conquer the Great Beast, but the girl, as his younger sister, actually wants to communicate with Great Beast?

Why is that?

"Because now is not the time."

Yan Ying sat down in front of Maria, ignoring the look of despair on Yin Hongying's face beside her, and spoke slowly but firmly.

"My brother is indeed a capable man... During the days of his ascension to the throne, the Imperial Court did indeed encounter many problems, Shanhai–Hundred Stoves Rebellion was beginning to emerge. But even so, he still swiftly rectified the Imperial Court, made up for the deficit in the national treasury, and also defeated the premeditated rebellion head-on."

"I do understand why his older brothers and sisters were willing to give up their positions to him."

"But that's not enough..."

Yan Ying sat down in front of Maria, her tone firm.

"Humanity is far from being able to wage war against Great Beast."

"My brother is indeed quite skilled, but that skill is limited to human opponents."

"The terror of these Great Beast is beyond your imagination! You have no idea what kind of enemy Great Beast truly are!"

Yan Ying looked at Maria in front of her, her tone calm and restrained.

Maria, however, found it somewhat amusing.

"Since that's the case, you should also know what we're doing now, and you should understand that those Great Beasts are not invincible, right?"

"... Of course I know."

Yan Ying looked at Maria in front of her.

Unlike other skeptics, as the person closest to the emperor, she knew far more of the truth than most people could.

She also knew that Maria and the others had indeed accomplished the great feat of defeating the Great Beast... there was no doubt about that.

But that's far from enough.

Yan Ying shook her head.

Her decision to take in those defeated soldiers from the Shanhai Assembly was not merely a spur-of-the-moment thing.

She knew her brother's ideals and agreed with them.

The only difference is... the plans implemented are different.

"From what I understand now, the abilities of Great Beast are not uniform; their strength varies greatly..."

"He did indeed push people to defeat those Shanhai Assembly... But in the end, the Shanhai Assembly only represented the power of those who profited from the Great Beast, never the strength of the Great Beast themselves."

"I also obtained some information about the Great Beast from those Shanhai Assembly. What you have defeated so far are only the weaker ones among the Great Beast. In front of the truly powerful Great Beast, they are not even as good as ants!"

"And us... do you think we can treat them like ants?"

Yan Ying analyzed the situation step by step, her gaze unwavering.

Maria, however, tilted her head.

"Those artillery pieces... those technologies, they will eventually improve."

"Of course, I certainly won't overlook that, and I believe they have virtually limitless potential, but these things take time... People's enlightenment also takes time."

Yan Ying waved her fingers, seemingly waiting for Maria to say those words.

"We have indeed taken the first step... but we cannot take the second step so quickly."

"On the land of Great Yan, there are still far too many people who revere the power of Great Beast."

"It's not just about strength, it's more about psychology... Even if these people possessed the power to defeat Great Beast, they would be unable to act due to fear."

"We need enough time to guide and enlighten the people of Great Yan... This takes time, and the Great Beast won't give us much time."

"In the present, whenever Great Beast appears, it is an overwhelming and devastating force for most of us... And if this happens a few more times, the morale that you have built up to make humanity capable of defeating Great Beast will be destroyed, and this land will once again become what the Shanhai Assembly hope for."

"This situation might even trigger a strong backlash, at which point these people would seize the opportunity to turn the tables and control the Great Yan!"

"At that time, the Great Yan might really have no hope left."

"The only way is to calm down our overheated emotions before we are truly capable of defeating the Great Beast."

"We need to understand the Great Beast; we need time to gradually thaw people's frozen impressions of Great Beast."

"Only when everyone considers Great Beast as living beings, only when our technology advances to the point where we can handle attacks from multiple Great Beast, only when every one of our cities has the capability to deal with them... can we truly be called capable of fighting Great Beast..."

Yan Ying spoke, her tone so calm it was almost frightening.

Maria blinked, listened attentively to what the other person had to say, and nodded slightly only after she truly understood what the other person was trying to express.

"I actually agree with your ideas more than your brother's."

Although Yan Ying's ideas also seemed extremely arrogant and fanciful, at least her direction wasn't the problem.

Human greatness takes time to accumulate, and it also takes time to measure...

"Yeah?"

Yan Ying squinted and smiled softly.

"So, since you agree with me more, are you interested in becoming one of my people?"

"Um?"

"You're treated quite well under me, especially since you're quite pretty. Who knows, you might have a chance to become the first Empress of Yan someday!"

She had barely gotten serious for a moment before Yan Ying started acting out of line again.

But her words stunned the two people present for a moment.

Although Maria didn't know much about this country, she did know that it practiced a rather subtle system of inheritance.

At least, only those with royal blood could succeed to the throne. Unless there were special circumstances, only one person in a generation could succeed to the throne—unless it was during wartime, when the next generation had not yet come of age, in which case a sibling would be chosen to inherit.

But nowadays...

Yan Ying was still able to say these words.

Does this mean...?

Almost instantly, Yin Hongying remembered what the girl looked like when she first met her.

The other party pretended to send her to assassinate the eldest princess and even revealed intelligence. In reality, she, as the eldest princess, sneaked directly to the emperor's side and, with their inside help, almost succeeded in the assassination...

If this really happens, she will not only be the first person in the last hundred years to dare to cause trouble in the palace, but also the first person in nearly five hundred years to commit regicide!

Could it be... that this guy was already thinking about what would happen later back then?

The thought of this made Yin Hongying feel like she wanted to die.

She genuinely didn't want to continue working under him.

But Yan Ying clearly didn't think so; she simply continued to look at Maria with a smile, tilting her head slightly.

What do you think of these conditions?

"... I'm sorry, but I think the most important thing in relationships is loyalty."

"Hmm? But I'm not married~"

"..."

Maria didn't reply, but Yan Ying slowly realized what was going on.

She blinked and looked at Maria.

"You have?"

"... It's not exactly true, but..."

Maria was silent for a moment, but found that she didn't know how to explain her current situation.

She did indeed make a very vague agreement with Lamaline, an agreement that neither of them confirmed.

However... the appearance of Rhodes Island operator Logos suggests that Lamaline may have already found someone else.

So... did the two of them stand each other up?

In reality, perhaps so.

But... what if we add the variable of time?

Maria didn't know how to describe her thoughts.

Lamaline may have waited for him for a long time, but he had disappeared for so long.

Especially since they parted ways while on the battlefield.

From this perspective, Lamaline doesn't seem to have broken her promise?

But none of that matters anymore.

At least, Maria wasn't very interested in the Yan's queen that the girl was talking about.

"That's such a pity..."

Yan Ying shook her head slightly and sighed, "But if you change your mind, you can come find me anytime. After all, I don't actually mind beautiful widows as much as you think..."

Yan Ying continued her flirtatious remarks.

She never cared about expressing her sexual orientation... she knew it was very improper.

But...

What if she became emperor?

The emperor of Yan has always valued ability over gender.

As long as what she does is enough to be remembered in history, those stubborn old historians, no matter how uncomfortable they are, will have to grit their teeth and say that she is benevolent.

As long as the achievements are sufficient...

"Let's get back to the main point. Since you can understand my thoughts, you should also understand... although most of the Shanhai Assembly are liars, there are indeed some who are truly colluding with the Great Beast."

"I won't stop you from eliminating this group of Shanhai Assembly, but... you need to leave behind a few core members. I will manage those people and make them a bridge to delay the Great Beast in the future."

Yan Ying spoke, her tone calm.

But Maria simply shook her head slightly.

"I'm sorry, but I won't listen to you."

"Um?"

"I do agree with your ideas more than your brother's, but... that's only in comparison between the two of you."

Maria's tone remained as calm as ever, and her eyes showed no sign of wavering.

"Your idea is indeed very good, but... it only exists in theory."

"Even people have different perspectives on the same thing at different stages of their lives, not to mention that your plan requires at least two to three generations..."

Yan Ying's plan was indeed good, but for Maria, it was too idealistic.

In fact, her estimate of two or three generations was conservative.