Most Ursus nobles had never seen an Imperial Guard's scimitar, but it was impossible for them not to recognize it.
And the person who could so easily give away such a blade would naturally not be simple.
Xing Chen and Theresa had always been arranged to stay in the palace, so they didn't know which Ursus noble had given the order.
His identity was not important to either of them.
The Ursus Emperor was extremely busy; leading his people to forge a path on this vast land would undoubtedly require immense effort.
Unless you were in Perlivar.
The Emperor's attendant returned the Columbia and Victoria documents and informed the three that His Majesty would meet them at the dinner banquet.
After the attendant closed the door, Ivan sat on the sofa, trying to calm his excited heart.
As an ordinary shieldguard, being reviewed in Saint Junius's square was already the lifelong pursuit of glory for an Ursus soldier.
And now, he would face the Ursus Emperor directly within the Imperial Palace—how could this not make one's heart surge with emotion?
Although he had hitched a ride with Xing Chen and Theresa, being adept at choosing a good patron was not necessarily an inferior skill.
On the other side, Theresa pulled Xing Chen into a room, locked the door, and cast a soundproofing spell.
"Xing Chen, come look at this," Theresa's left hand seemed to be holding something, and suddenly, a sword hilt emerged.
She gripped the hilt with her other hand, separating her hands, and a longsword, predominantly white, appeared in her grasp.
"Isn't this just an ordinary sword?" Xing Chen asked, puzzled.
"No, it's not my sword; it suddenly appeared in my consciousness, and also," she said, using the white sword to cut a gash on her hand.
A strange thing happened: as soon as the blade left, the wound healed instantly.
"Could it be..."
Xing Chen had a bold idea.
"Break off my arm, and then stab me with this sword."
Theresa nodded. She first used a silk thread to sever his arm, then stabbed Xing Chen's chest with the white longsword.
"No effect?" It wasn't quite what he imagined, so he decided to try a different approach. "Why don't you bring the severed ends closer and try again?"
This time, it was as he imagined: the severed ends, like magnets, clung tightly together and then completely healed.
"Is this Originium Arts?"
"The manifestation is very similar, but I don't feel any fluctuations of Originium Arts or sorcery at all."
"Hmm... then let's not worry about it for now. Just treat it as a healing staff."
"You're right, but it needs a name."
"How about diamond? The power of healing is far more precious than the power of destruction on Terra."
Theresa nodded; she thought it was an excellent metaphor to use such a precious item as a diamond.
For her, saving was much more joyful than destroying. The time for the banquet quickly arrived.
Xing Chen and Ivan changed into the formal attire Ursus had prepared for them, while Theresa temporarily sewed herself a white gown that suited her temperament.
According to the agreed plan, Xing Chen and Ivan walked behind, playing the role of attendants, while Theresa was the protagonist of the banquet.
As the guards pushed open the ostentatious golden doors, the resplendent banquet hall of the Ursus Royal Court appeared before the three.
Xing Chen took a deep breath, trying to calm his emotions.
In the past, when he went with his team to discuss projects with higher-ups, at the dinner table, with any director sitting there, he would try to speak as little as possible to avoid appearing unsuitable.
Not many people in this world are born with Conqueror's Haki; most rely on acquired status and position.
Given the vast disparity, it was already very good that he could maintain a demeanor that was neither humble nor arrogant.
"Theresa, King of Sarkaz, representing Kazdel, greets you, esteemed Ursus Emperor."
Theresa bowed slightly, appearing dignified and composed among the Ursus royalty and nobles.
Ivan was very surprised to hear of Theresa's identity as the Demon King.
Exposing her identity at this moment was the result of discussions between Xing Chen and Theresa.
Xing Chen believed that their cover story would be largely ineffective against sufficiently well-informed superiors, so it was better to directly display their sincerity.
Theresa also agreed. After settling matters with the Ursus Empire, she would go to see her brother. Revealing the news of her survival at this time was perfect for the drama of her "resurrection."
"Welcome to Ursus, Demon King," the current Emperor of the Empire, Feodor Vladimirovich, sat high on his throne, looking down at Theresa. "Before our formal discussion, I have a question: the Sarkaz all say their Demon King died in the civil war. How then are you here?"
"Long before the arrival of the Divine and Ancient races, the Tikaz already lived on this land. Our familiarity with Kazdel (the continent of Terra) far exceeds that of other races."
The Sarkaz, in front of other races, always carried a touch of the mysterious.
And this stereotype was now being exploited.
Never mind what sorcery; I am back now, standing before you.
Ursus was a martial nation; trying to gain concessions through weakness was absolutely impossible.
So, what Xing Chen thought was to demonstrate their power, let the other party recognize their value, and thus achieve the desired outcome.
It was just that doing this could easily raise the other party's blood pressure.
After Theresa sensed the change in the other party's emotions, she prepared to help cool him down.
"Your Majesty, on our way to Ursus, we found some assets of the Empire. Now, I wish to return them to you."
With that, Theresa snapped her fingers. Xing Chen heard the crisp sound echoing in the hall and immediately took out the two Imperial Guard protective suits he had packed earlier, looking directly into the Emperor's eyes, and handed them over.
"Thank you, these are extremely important military secrets of the Empire," Feodor said expressionlessly.
That's what the Emperor said, but through the Black Crown, Theresa could feel that the other party's, no, the entire hall's anger was gradually dissipating, and confusion and fear were steadily growing.
Xing Chen had kept one protective suit, intending to study it.
This thing looked quite like an anti-G suit; he wondered if there were any other functions that the Ursus people hadn't discovered.
In any case, the Ursus people knew how many Imperial Guards they had. Three Imperial Guards went missing, and the clothes of two were returned almost completely intact.
Regardless of whether it was a sneak attack or a trap, three of their top combatants were gone just like that, and it was a complete crushing defeat, a huge blow to the confidence of the entire Ursus Imperial Guard force.
The sense of oppression from a 0:3 score and a 1:4 score is completely different. The latter at least knows that the opponent can be defeated, while the former means that three combatants against the enemy, the opponent is invincible.
Just like 0:6 and 1:8, the latter can at least be seen as a tragic sacrifice to achieve victory, while the former can only be a meaningless struggle.
Zero cannot be a denominator because it has no meaning.
Now, the Ursus Empire was in this state.
Presumably, the Emperor was now rapidly thinking in his mind about how many types of sorcery he knew could achieve such a battle outcome.
A perfect start.
"Your Majesty Feodor, are you satisfied with this gift?"
"Of course. Then, King of Kazdel, tell me the terms of your transaction."
"Thank you for your generosity," Theresa bowed again, then suddenly turned and scanned the royalty and nobles present.
The pressure of a century-old Demon King and the killing intent from wars of annihilation were all released at this moment.
Human aesthetics are not the same as Terran aesthetics.
Xing Chen thought Theresa was peerlessly beautiful, but in the eyes of Terrans, the lifespan, sorcery, and power of the Sarkaz were their main focus.
"Your Majesty, I want to ask you a question," Theresa turned her head. "Do you think that great rebellion has truly passed completely?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the nobles present immediately felt a tremor in their hearts.
They had heard something of Theresa's ability to perceive emotions; whether they chose not to believe it or imagined it as mind-reading was hard to say.
At this moment, mentioning that rebellion from twenty years ago (the Great Rebellion in 1074, Theresa's assassination in 1094, the Chernobog Incident in 1096), it was clear who the target was, even if you thought with your butt.
"The Third and Fourth Army Groups have been exiled to the frontier, and the Sixth and Eighth Army Groups have been disbanded," Vit, the Speaker of the Imperial Council, stepped forward to shield Feodor from this sharp question.
"Yes, indeed," Theresa nodded. She looked around but did not find the figure Xing Chen had asked her to pay attention to. "But, have you truly eradicated some of the things beneath the surface?"
"..." The Emperor answered Theresa's question with silence.
"How much do you know about the Undying Black Snake?"
"An immortal; the remaining information is a secret of Ursus," Vit replied.
"Then what if I told you that he is planning to bypass His Majesty and launch a war with Yan Country? Would you believe me?"
The nobles present remained unmoved and tried to control their emotions to avoid revealing any flaws before Theresa.
"I am acquainted with Wei Yenwu, the Lungmen Governor of Yan Country."
"I fought a civil war with my brother."
Personal relationships have some influence between nations, but there is more than one factor influencing international relations.
Ursus needed war. Their expansion focus was not on the central and eastern regions, but who they fought didn't matter, did it?
The real point was that the Emperor didn't know about this—even though he acted as if "everything was under control."
The Imperial Guard and the nobles had concealed information from their object of loyalty.
"Have you figured out the cause of the late Emperor's death?"
This sentence became the final straw that broke trust.
An inexplicable pressure quickly filled the entire banquet hall of the Imperial Palace, and shadows spread amidst the brilliant lights.
Feodor's eyes widened. Theresa immediately pulled out diamond and lunged at Grand Duke Baikal and Viscount Dunkel.
In an instant, blood splattered.
The Ursus nobles were not alarmed by this; instead, they quickly acted, apprehending the two nobles.
Perhaps at this moment, the two would have preferred Theresa to use an ordinary longsword.
The interrogation work would be left to Ursus themselves; the Imperial Guard would take good care of them.
"Thank you. I will have people extract all information from their mouths."
"You're welcome, Your Majesty." Theresa stood in the center of the banquet hall with the blood-stained sword, like the lead actor of a play. "Your Majesty, have you ever considered adding another loyal army for yourself?"
"All armies are loyal to..." A noble hastily jumped out, but was immediately interrupted by the Emperor.
"Go on." Feodor had long been dissatisfied with these nobles but had never found a way to deal with them.
And now, Theresa had arrived.
"Ivan, come forward and tell your story."
The powerful nobles understood everything, but without someone of sufficient weight to bring matters to the table, they would act as if nothing had happened.
Things that were clearly simple were deliberately dragged into irreconcilable social problems, and this state bore some responsibility.
Ivan recounted his and his village's experiences, expressing dissatisfaction with how the Empire treated the Infected.
At least, those Infected who had contributed to the nation should not be treated this way.
Coincidentally, Feodor also had the idea of improving the treatment of the Infected.
"So, you want me to establish an autonomous region for the Infected and form an Infected Army Group."
"Exactly." Theresa leaned on her sword and nodded, saying, "This army will be completely loyal to His Majesty, that is, to you, who will grant them status."
"But, King of Kazdel, to form a new army, some sacrifices are needed, such as war."
"Of course, Your Majesty, war also creates Infected, doesn't it?"
Theresa smiled. Xing Chen found it so beautiful, but many of the Ursus nobles around felt a chill.
Ursus wanted war, Sarkaz wanted war, and Columbia also wanted war.
So, could these three be involved in the same war?
"Your Majesty, in the Four-Nation War back then, His Majesty Ivan did not get what he wanted, did he?"
Theresa projected the map of Victoria using the power of civilization's continuation.
"And now, a new opportunity lies before you: the Five-Nation War. I wonder if anyone here is interested."
Theresa used the tip of diamond's blade to point at several spots on the map.
The banquet hall fell silent, but beneath the stillness, the fervor for war was gradually igniting.
"Cough." Feodor coughed, then raised his wine glass towards Theresa.
At this moment, an attendant, carrying a tray, presented three glasses of the Water of Life to the three.
Theresa and Ivan both picked up their glasses. Xing Chen had no choice but to follow suit.
"To victory." The Emperor drained his glass.
"To victory." The three followed suit.
"To victory!" All the nobles present raised their glasses together.
Subsequently, the band entered, and the banquet officially began.