There's a traitor in the Empire who tampered with the laws.

"Next, the Empire will assign you new tasks."

"Lermontov!"

"Present!" Luo Chen answered, standing at attention. "Sir, I..."

Luo Chen's energetic arrival, like that of a new recruit, immediately invigorated everyone at Command Headquarters.

They had thought this blow would cripple them and affect the Empire's subsequent missions.

But judging from their momentum, they have clearly rallied.

The man at Command Headquarters gave a satisfied compliment:

"Great, that's very energetic!"

"As expected of an elite who, even with a knife to their throat from a fake Reunion Movement, can still wear a bitter expression and resolutely refuse to betray His Majesty the Emperor."

"The Empire will next send you one hundred Infected recruits. After a month of training, you will head north to join the vanguard of the Reunion Movement and assist them in establishing a temporary logistics camp."

"By the way, did you have something to say earlier?"

Upon hearing that he too could acquire an army, Luo Chen immediately abandoned his plan to report Stuart for fabricating his escape from the city.

I originally thought that two tigers cannot share one mountain.

He could proactively expose Stuart's lack of resolve, thereby usurping command of Stuart's squad.

But now that the Empire is giving him a new force, there's no need for him to risk killing Stuart.

"Reporting, sir! I will certainly complete the Empire's mission."

"Very good, Stuart."

"I am here, General!" Stuart took the communicator from Luo Chen.

Command Headquarters:

"You should also rest for a month, and wait until after a month."

"Go to the villages in the eastern mountains of Chernobog and, under the guise of the Reunion Movement, rob them of their food. While you're at it, kill a few people and seize a few women to entertain your men."

"Your troops suffered heavy losses this time, and morale is low. The Empire does not want any chaos to arise."

Upon hearing this, Stuart frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.

However, what puzzled him was not the order from Command Headquarters to kill civilians and rob women.

The question is, why wait a month?

"Sir, why do we need to rest for a month first?"

"We don't need to rest to deal with those troublemakers."

"We can get started today."

When the Command Headquarters heard this question, they also paused for a moment.

However, he wasn't shocked by Stuart's inhumanity.

After all, they were just a bunch of troublemakers who couldn't even afford to live in a mobile city; killing them was no big deal.

He paused because the imperial tax collectors were going to collect Summer Tax this month.

He felt that saying this directly to his subordinates would make the Command Headquarters lose face.

It's like their Military Command is afraid of the Ministry of Finance.

After considering the wording, the Command Headquarters slowly replied:

"It's His Majesty's decree. His Majesty is going to collect military funds this month, and to avoid conflict, the Ministry of Finance has requested that we not take any action against the villages this month."

"So it was His Majesty's order. Then I'll take my men and rest here for a month."

After hanging up the call, Stuart immediately started complaining to Luo Chen:

"Your Majesty, we have risked our lives for the empire for so long, and now we can't even get a woman."

"I've discovered that since contracting Oripathy, our status is about the same as those troublemakers."

"We're no different from those unruly commoners," Luo Chen corrected him. "We just still have value to the empire."

"Sigh... it seems like what you said is true."

Stuart turned his head to look out the window at the yellow swirling clouds, muttering to himself thoughtfully.

"But this kind of opportunity is something countless Infected long for but cannot obtain."

"We should be grateful to His Majesty the Emperor for giving us a chance to atone for our sins."

Atonement?

Luo Chen sensed a hint of cult brainwashing in Stuart's words.

Then, recalling what happened a while ago, when those Ursus spies insulted the Ursus emperor, Sima Xiangru.

The emperor of Ursus has clearly become a symbol of faith in the hearts of the Ursus people.

Or perhaps it's a political tool used by both the old and new nobles of Ursus to brainwash the lower classes.

But it doesn't matter which one it is.

Luo Chen felt that this distorted worldview needed to be corrected.

"Indeed, we should thank His Majesty the Emperor."

"It's a pity that such a wise emperor is surrounded by a group of despicable people who can deceive him."

Luo Chen uttered a riddle with an ambiguous meaning, but it piqued Stuart's curiosity.

"Who are you talking about? This is a military camp; you need to watch your words."

Luo Chen raised the corners of his mouth, glanced at the soldiers in the communications tower, and then whispered to Stuart:

"Precisely because it's a military camp, I can't say it directly, but if I analyze the Command Headquarters' position for you, then those who understand will understand."

"What deeper meaning was there in what the Command Headquarters just said?"

Luo Chen continued:

"The Command Headquarters said it was the Ministry of Finance that requested it, but in reality, it was the Ministry of Finance that forced the Command Headquarters not to loot the villages this month."

"You say His Majesty's mission is so important, yet the Ministry of Finance would do something like this, and even use His Majesty's name."

"Aren't they just a bunch of despicable scoundrels?"

"Those parasites in the Ministry of Finance!" Stuart gritted his teeth.

"By the way, this is something you and I should know, but don't tell anyone else. Otherwise, if it gets to the ears of the Ministry of Ministry of Finance, we might both be in trouble."

"I'm not afraid of them at all. I'll show all my brothers their ugly faces."

Luo Chen smiled in response to Stuart, his eyes gleaming with determination:

"You're not afraid, but I am. This military camp in the wilderness, though sturdy, is unpredictable, especially in a place where power is intertwined."

"By the way, do you have any Imperial Law, constitution, or Religious Canon?"

Stuart was taken aback when he heard this:

"I don't have any here, but there will definitely be some in this base."

"But why have you suddenly become so interested in studying? These legal articles are incredibly dry."

Luo Chen shook his head, his eyes gleaming with wisdom:

"That's not the case. Although the law may be dry, if you want to truly serve His Majesty the Emperor and avoid being exploited by those corrupt officials, you must thoroughly understand the Empire's laws and constitution."

Chapter 139 The Empire Has Treacherous Ministers Who Altered the Laws.

They accepted the new mission assigned by the Empire.

Stuart accompanied Luo Chen to see the hundred new recruits assigned to him by the Empire.

Although they're called new recruits, they're not actually that new.

These are all new Infected, many of whom are veterans of the Empire.

However, according to the Empire's laws restricting Infected, if Infected appears among the Imperial soldiers...

They would be expelled from the military and become homeless Infected.

However, Infected living on the streets of the Empire are breaking the law and can be arrested and disposed of arbitrarily by the Gendarmerie.

In other words, unless you are a high-ranking officer in the Imperial Army, ordinary soldiers are unlikely to Oripathy.

Their fate was no different from that of other Infected.

They were all arrested by the Disciplinary Squad and military police, and then left to their own devices.

When the two arrived at the recruit camp, the sight before them made Stuart frown.

The newly Infected were all dejected, lying haphazardly on the ground or leaning against the wall.

They were like walking corpses, devoid of any vitality.

Even when the superior arrived, there was not the slightest reaction.

See here.

"Look at yourselves! How can people like you serve the empire?"

Stuart swiftly drew his belt, ready to teach them a lesson about military rules.

But before he could make a move, Luo Chen stopped him with the Imperial Constitution in hand.

"Stuart, it's normal that they haven't adjusted to their mental state yet, since they've only recently contracted Oripathy."

"I think they need instruction more than physical punishment."

"Also, thank you so much for coming this far with me, but now it's my own work to do."

"Let me tell you how to deal with these useless bastards." Stuart nodded, then shared his military experience like a seasoned veteran. "Just attack."

"They are not useless. They are the future elite of the empire."

Looking at the listless, half-dead recruits, Luo Chen revealed a genuine smile.

He was very satisfied with the soldiers' morale.

If they are soldiers with strong will, high morale, and severely brainwashed by the Empire.

He will have to put in more effort to correct their thinking.

But aren't these former soldiers, who have just suffered setbacks and whose psychological defenses are on the verge of collapse, the perfect candidates to instill new ideas?

"Elites? Them?"

Stuart walked away looking puzzled.

Rather than watching Luo Chen reason with the soldiers, he'd rather find a few people to have a drink with and then sleep with a girl.

In the empty camp, Luo Chen stopped in front of the group of soldiers who had recently been infected with Oripathy.

Do you still want to go back to a normal life?

With his hair neatly combed and clothes clean, Luo Chen looked at the soldiers on the ground, their faces covered in dust, and asked a question.

"There's no going back, there's no going back."

"We are Infected, our lives are over."

"I shouldn't have listened to that guy's orders; he did it on purpose."

The soldiers were all demoralized, their eyes devoid of any light.

The greater their hostility and hatred towards those Infected in the past, the more severe their despair is now.

In Ursus, becoming Infected means social death.

As Imperial soldiers, they knew all too well how miserable the Infected were.

Many of them had the blood of Infected on their own hands.

"You're giving up already? Don't you have parents, wives, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, or friends?"