The Star Luo Empire.
The Imperial Palace.
Xu Jiawei sat silently on the Imperial Throne, his face withered and drawn.
The assembled ministers below exchanged uneasy looks. None dared speak.
Ever since news of the continental alliance's crushing defeat had spread across the continent not long ago, rumors of a Sun Moon Empire counterattack had run rampant, leaving everyone from nobles and sects down to commoners in a state of panic.
Now that the Sun Moon Empire had begun pulling the rug out from under them, the staggering scam it had spent so long brewing had finally surfaced. As ministers of the Star Luo Empire who prided themselves on having some wealth, how could any of those present have resisted the chance to make a profit?
There were even quite a few who had poured their entire fortunes into it.
As ministers and members of the Star Luo Empire's upper echelon, they naturally had a keen nose for politics.
Losing their entire fortunes was certainly painful, but what frightened them even more was the state of the whole court, the Star Luo Empire, and even the entire continent.
In the wake of this affair, a staggering number of Gold Soul Coins had been siphoned out of the nations of the Original Continent and poured into the Sun Moon Empire. Their personal losses were secondary; what awaited them next was financial turmoil and a reshaping of the financial order.
"Your Majesty, just today, large numbers of merchants arrived from the Sun Moon Empire. They have been buying up all manner of shops, supplies, and Soul Bones in the Star Luo Empire, and penetrating its major supply chains..."
The finance minister knelt on the floor, his expression desolate.
Whether he was worried about the calamity facing the nation or the total loss