"Yes..." The Prince could only reply this way.
The Empire has only this little inheritance left...
The Prince began to issue orders to the Royal Knight Order, this was the Empire's last elite force, thousands in number, with each member being of Elite Level or above, including dozens of cavalry captains at Hero Level.
When exactly did the Empire become so impoverished and weak?
It seemed to have started twenty years ago, after the power struggle against General Barak, the Empire gradually turned into what it is now.
He would not regret taking action against General Barak back then, after all, he was one of the masterminds of that plan, because if General Barak did not die, then countless nobles in the entire Empire would have supported General Barak to become the new king.
Even the Church Court would have supported Barak as the new king.
For the throne of the Leoric Royal Family, and so that he, the Prince, could become the new emperor in the future, they had to do this.
An Empire not of the Leoric Royal Family might as well be destroyed.
The Royal Knight Order was ready, this last combat force of the Empire began their march, and their target was their former comrades, the Church Court's Templar Order.
Watching the Knights depart into the distance, the Prince could only pray that this incident would be completed as smoothly as the one twenty years ago.
After all, tomorrow he would still need to deal with the advancing Undead Army.
...
Among the departing Royal Knight Order, morale had long since plummeted to the lowest point.
"Are we really going to fight the Templar Knights?" A young Knight muttered softly.
"Shhh! Keep it down." Other Knights nearby immediately warned him.
The young Knight immediately covered his mouth.
"We're just going to put on a show, later we'll just use the heads of some peasants to impersonate the Holy Knights."
"And also, don't rush too far forward, you don't want to become an infamous criminal, do you?" The old Knight reminded the young Knight.
Their conversation was similar among the entire Royal Knight Order, and even throughout the entire Imperial army.
After all, twenty years ago, General Barak, who led the charge to attack the Witch Demon King, became an infamous criminal, while General Julia, who led the escape, returned to the Empire and became the Grand General.
The soldiers didn't speak of it, but they all knew it in their hearts.
Only a few Gold Coins a month, is it worth risking your life?
If it really came down to it, they'd run faster than anyone else because being slow would also make them criminals.
Just less than ten miles from the Imperial Palace, the Royal Knight Order encountered the Templar Order searching for traces of Xue Dili.
Both sides were stunned for a moment, then the Templar Order immediately began preparing for battle, switching their Warhammers for long lances several meters long, readying for a charge.
The Royal Knight Order wasn't poorly organized, being the Empire's best troop remaining, but their first thought wasn't to charge at the Templar Knights.
After all, in terms of troop type, the Templar Knights were all heavily armored super-heavy cavalry, whereas the Royal Knight Order were merely lightly armored cavalry, bound to be crushed in a head-on clash.
"Circle around and rendezvous in the slums!" The commander of the Royal Knight Order quickly issued the order.
The light cavalry immediately turned their mounts to disperse and maneuver.
Thus began a pursuit and battle between the two groups on the streets of the Imperial Capital, the whole city seeming to quake, the sound of hooves on the ground ringing like great bells.
...
Another confidential letter reached the hands of the current Grand General of the Empire, Julia.
Looking at this letter, instructing the last of the Empire's militia to guard the Imperial Capital, Grand General Julia wept tears of sadness.
Even though he had fought and lost countless battles, did the Emperor still trust him?
Since twenty years ago, when he and General Barak marched against the Witch Demon King, to prevent the total annihilation of the Imperial army, he had led a "strategic retreat" and became the new Grand General, not achieving a single victory since.
Honestly, he regretted it, regretted not resisting the Undead Army back then, and choosing the "strategic retreat" instead.
Back then, General Barak had killed the Witch Demon King once, if the remaining troops could have charged the Undead Army with General Barak, perhaps they might have sealed the Witch Demon King for good.
Then, there would be no current undead plague, and the Empire wouldn't have lost control of dozens of cities, with tens of millions joining the Undead Legion.
The greatest impact on the Empire was its honor and morale.
No one fought bravely anymore, every battle saw countless soldiers fleeing, and then these fleeing soldiers formed a flood that swept away military discipline.
As for the disciplinary troops?
Sorry, they were the first to run.
Despite countless attempts to rectify military discipline, morale never improved, if there were victories it would be alright, but any stalemate would result in the battle falling apart.
Perhaps, as long as he, the deserter General, was still alive, the morale of the Empire's army would never rise again.
Looking in the direction of the Undead Army in the distance, General Julia seemed to make the final decision of his life.
...
The rotten situation and warfare across the entire Imperial Capital left everyone bewildered.
But for Xue Dili, at this moment, it was like a fish in water.
After assassinating a Royal Knight who strayed into the slums, Xue Dili smoothly donned his clothes and swaggered towards the Imperial Palace.
At this time, in the Imperial Palace, the guards were extremely lax, even if stopped, they would allow passage upon seeing Xue Dili's Royal Knight Order emblem.
Everything went too smoothly, Xue Dili felt this was far easier than the lowest difficulty level he'd ever played on Assassin's Creed.
Had he overestimated the Empire of this Otherworld?
However, when he smoothly reached the Emperor's bedchamber, Xue Dili saw countless maids bustling about, and then heard conversation in the Imperial Language.
"His Majesty has lost control again, quickly clean up and change the diaper..."
"It's leaking, the defecation is leaking, hurry and catch it..."
"It's bad, the excrement hasn't been fully cleaned and His Majesty is acting up again, quickly hold down His Majesty..."
The maids were in a flurry, with such a foul stench and the unique decaying odor of the elderly that even Xue Dili, behaving like a gentlemen against the wall, could smell it.
Xue Dili could barely understand the Imperial Language, his grasp limited to chanting a few Divine Arts.
But the old undead could understand, and through Xue Dili's vision, Old Barak saw his enemy whom he had longed for vengeance against for twenty years, that Great Emperor of the Empire...
At this moment, he lay there like a corpse, the maids accidentally using hands soiled with the soiled diaper to cover his mouth, leaving yellow matter on his face, and he didn't even know it.
So old and feeble, to be manipulated at will.
Especially with the maids' muttering and complaints, leaving the vengeful old undead speechless for a long time.