Unfortunately, the Iron-Blooded Camp soldiers, exuding a murderous aura, showed them no mercy whatsoever.
Several burly men in black armor, seemingly still stained with blood, grabbed two nobles who were screaming like pigs being slaughtered, and dragged them away from the hall. The two men roared and cursed Arshavin's name, but the Iron-Blooded Camp soldiers mercilessly smashed their mouths with knives, causing blood to flow freely and their angry curses to turn into low, miserable moans.
Less than half a minute later, two screams of agony came from outside.
Then an officer from the Iron-Blooded Camp strode in, carrying two blood-soaked heads. His eyes flashed with a cold light as he scanned the faces of the many Military Department leaders present. He snorted coldly and threw the heads to the ground with a thud. Blood splattered, but the features were still vaguely discernible; they were Andrew Shemak and Diarra, who had just been pushed out.
They really killed him?!
The intense visual impact made everyone present feel dizzy.
These were two long-established nobles with prominent positions and considerable influence in the empire. To kill them without trial by the Knights' Hall or decision by the Emperor—wasn't the Crown Prince's method far too violent and hasty?
Everyone was trembling with fear, heads bowed, not daring to look at the high and mighty prince.
The eldest prince sat imposingly in his chair, a knife in his right hand, his expression cold and stern. He didn't even glance at the two severed heads on the ground, remaining silent, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Among the crowd, some people quietly retreated, wanting to leave the council hall, but were blocked by the murderous Iron-Blooded Camp soldiers.
Among these nobles were quite a few who came from martial arts backgrounds. Some of them had followed Emperor Yassin in battle and possessed considerable martial arts skills. Unfortunately, years of decadent and dissolute living had caused them to decline to their limits. Even if they could defeat ordinary soldiers, they were no match for the experts in the Iron-Blooded Camp. Moreover, the First Prince Arshavin's strength was already at the Seven-Star Class level, making him a great expert in himself. No one present was his match, and no one dared to make a move!
Soon, dozens of trembling Military Department clerks entered, surrounded by a large group of soldiers in black standard armor. Then, a large number of documents and letters were brought in, piled up like a small mountain. The entire hall was completely sealed off. The clerks picked up the documents and letters from the ground and read their contents aloud in a trembling voice.
These were all letters exchanged between nobles in the capital and outside the capital in recent days, and their contents were shocking—faced with the crisis, some people had actually chosen to collude with enemy forces, and most of them were evidence of collusion with the Anzhi Empire, a newly rising hegemon in the Northern Region.
Many well-informed people know that the Anzhi Empire has a good relationship with D'Alessandro, and has even sent a Great Sun-Rank Venerable to join D'Alessandro's ranks. The Anzhi people can guarantee that even if the Zenit Empire is destroyed by D'Alessandro's wrath, as long as the nobles are willing to serve Anzhi, they can still enjoy a life of luxury!
Thump thump!
As the scribe read aloud the contents of each letter word for word, some people in the hall trembled and their legs went weak, collapsing to the ground, their faces pale with fear, unable to utter a word...
The ruthless, Iron-Blooded Camp soldiers charged forward, and any noble whose name was called out, regardless of their rank, was dragged out and beheaded...
"No, even if we have committed a crime, it should be tried by the Imperial Knights' Hall, and judged by the Senate and the Emperor. Although you are a prince, you have no right to kill a nobleman!"
"Spare me, Your Highness! This is a frame-up, absolutely a frame-up! You know, my family and I have always stood by your side; we are your loyal servants..."
"This is an overstepping of your bounds, this is treason! His Majesty Yassin will absolutely not approve of your actions. Are you plotting a rebellion?"
The dying nobles either begged for mercy, angrily denounced, wailed, or struggled, but their fate was always the same—their bloody heads were chopped off and thrown into the center of the council hall, piling up into a small mountain.
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty nobles had been killed.
Some tried to escape, but were shot dead without hesitation by the Iron-Blooded Camp soldiers guarding the perimeter.
Throughout the entire process, Crown Prince Arshavin remained seated quietly, not uttering a single word. The angry shouts and killings in the hall seemed to have no effect on him. His mind was completely elsewhere, as if even the deaths of all the bigwigs of the Imperial Military Department before his eyes, an earth-shattering event that would shake the entire empire if even a whisper of it were to be revealed, could not attract his attention in the slightest.
The killing continues.
The capital city, not far from the imperial palace, is the residence of the eldest princess.
As a former royal representative who firmly stood in the camp of the First Prince Arshavin, Princess Natasha, known as the " Female Literary Sage," has always exerted an immeasurable influence on the empire's political arena. This woman of profound wisdom was regarded as the First Prince's right-hand woman and was the Number One strategist in his camp. She controlled half of the imperial capital, and many nobles in the capital held this most intelligent woman in the empire's history in awe that far exceeded that of the First Prince himself.
Princess Natasha played a crucial role in the development of King of Chambord Alexander, a the Storm Riders figure in the Empire. During the Imperial Martial Combat Competition and the period preceding it, many well-informed nobles in the Empire knew that the two had a very close relationship.
Unfortunately, as a rift developed between the eldest prince and King of Chambord, the relationship between the eldest princess and King of Chambord Alexander also became delicate.
That day, King of Chambord, enraged, relied on his unparalleled martial prowess to storm the capital and settle the score with a single punch in front of the entire empire, shocking the nation. Before leaving, he left behind the words, "You have disappointed me greatly." Many speculated that these words were meant for Princess Natasha.
No one knows what impact these words had on the eldest princess, nor does anyone know how she truly viewed the King of Chambord —as a tool to be used, an ally, or a close friend?
The only fact that reveals even the slightest bit of information is that since that day, the eldest princess has disappeared from people's sight under the pretext of her chronic illness worsening, and has never shown her face again. Even the most trusted ministers of the eldest prince have never seen this [ Female Literary Sage ] appear once.
Rumors suggest that a rift has developed between the eldest prince and the eldest princess due to King of Chambord's influence. The once inseparable and powerful siblings, who made the entire capital and empire tremble, and who were the best partners in both civil and military affairs, seem to have fallen apart.
Suddenly, all sorts of rumors began to circulate.
However, the truth is never as simple as it seems on the surface.
In the sparsely populated Princess's residence, beneath a lush, fragrant tree in the lush back garden, the Princess, dressed in a creamy-white sleeveless palace gown, sat quietly on a bamboo chair, gazing up at the deepening pale blue Heavenly Curtain. She seemed to be contemplating and waiting for something. In the depths of her beautiful, sky-blue eyes, as insightful as the ocean abyss, lay a faint, almost imperceptible sorrow.
A Aura and radiant young girl named Zi Yan, dressed in Ziyan, stood quietly to one side.
"By this time, Andrei has already made his move?" The princess sighed softly and asked in a low voice.
"Intelligence has just come back that everything in the Military Department is now under the control of His Highness the Crown Prince. You can rest assured about that. In the capital, no force is a match for the [ Iron-Blooded Camp ], and in terms of military capability, no one is a match for the Crown Prince," Ziyan reassured him.
"Good, that's good." The princess nodded. "Send a message to Paris; they can make their move now."
"Your Highness, the people from the Imperial Capital Public Security Office have always been at odds with us. They are the Second Prince's men. Are they capable of fully cooperating with our forces? This operation cannot afford any mistakes," Ziyan couldn't help but remind us.
"Don't worry, Paris isn't stupid. She'll understand the importance of this matter. Besides, I think that person is already by Paris's side. He'll help her complete this plan." The worry in the princess's eyes became even more apparent at this moment.
"That person... you mean?" Ziyan seemed to understand what the princess was referring to.