Chapter 335: A Great Purge
Early in the morning, within the side hall of the Council Chamber in the Royal Palace of Ersten, the atmosphere was heavier than usual.
Emperor Fidel, who had just finished the aftermath work of the northern war, returned to his loyal capital late last night, the weariness of the campaign not yet fully washed away.
After the Demon King was sealed, the demon army in the North was leaderless and completely routed under the attack of the allied forces. The fall of two of the Seven Sages of Destruction thoroughly interrupted the possibility of a demon counterattack. At least for the foreseeable few hundred years, the North would welcome a rare peace.
This should have been a triumphant return worth celebrating, but...
Before his seat was even warm, a series of headache-inducing news arrived one after another.
The most troublesome was an urgent report from last night: a Count's mansion had been attacked.
If it were just that, he wouldn't be so distressed. But what made his eyelid twitch was that all evidence and eyewitness testimonies clearly pointed to the Magic Association, especially the famous apprentice of Serie, Flamme.
Flamme had been responsible for handling daily affairs in the Magic Association. Every mage who entered the Association had seen her to some extent, including the mages present at the Count's mansion.
Thus, the moment they engaged, they recognized Flamme. Consequently, when Flamme left with Alvin and the others, they immediately informed everyone else.
At this moment, inside the side hall, Fidel looked at the calm Rhodes and the cool-faced Serie before him, feeling the good mood from returning to the capital vanish completely.
He rubbed his temples, his tone laced with helplessness. "Lord Rhodes, Lady Serie... I just returned from the front lines. Before I could even drink a sip of hot tea in peace, I heard your apprentices caused quite a commotion."
He tried to keep his tone peaceful, even indifferent, but the trouble in his eyes was real.
He naturally knew Rhodes's true identity by now.
From initial shock and disbelief to reverence after confirmation, it had now transformed into a cautious attitude when dealing with a living legend.
After all, in a sense, Rhodes's reputation among humans was unrivaled. Coupled with the Elven Saint Serie, they were practically god-like existences.
He knew very well that in front of these two, his title of Emperor carried little weight.
Before Rhodes could speak, Serie snorted grumpily and cut in, "Fidel, get your facts straight. It was those sneaky rats who coveted us first, daring to attack me on the streets of the capital! We merely followed the vine to find the melon and invited them for a chat." Her tone was blunt.
In Serie's view, not razing that Count's mansion to the ground was already giving the Empire plenty of face.
Fidel choked on Serie's words and forced a smile. "Lady Serie, that is not what I meant. It is just that... wasn't your action a bit too high-profile? Lady Flamme and the others didn't even cover their faces. Now the entire capital knows the Magic Association made a move. This makes things very difficult for me."
He tried to express his difficulties tactfully. "If they had masked their faces or used more covert means, I could have maneuvered among the nobles and suppressed the matter."
In fact, shortly after he returned to the palace last night, a large group of nobles had run to him, complaining about the lawlessness of Serie's disciples.
Daring to openly attack a Count and kidnap him within the Imperial Capital was simply disregarding the Emperor!
To this, Fidel could only try his best to appease them.
After all, given the terrifying seniority of these two, if they truly disregarded him, what could he do?
He couldn't be like that fool from the Southern Unified Empire, sending armies and assassins to attack them, only to fail and dismantle his own country in the process, could he?
He wasn't stupid to that extent.
"Unnecessary," Serie answered crisply. "To deal with these hiding rats, we must strike openly and directly, letting them know the consequences of provoking us!"
Fidel was momentarily speechless, knowing that talking about political balance with this strong-willed elf was useless.
He could only cast a pleading look at Rhodes, who had remained silent, hoping this legendary hero, who had been more reasonable in past interactions, would understand his plight.
However, Rhodes's next words nearly made Fidel jump out of his chair.
"Fidel, regarding this matter, and the large number of unstable elements pouring into the capital recently, Serie and I have made a preliminary judgment. We believe that within the Ersten Empire, especially among the nobles, a great purge is needed."
He paused, emphasizing with clearer words: "A very, very big purge. You need to be mentally prepared."
"Pur... Purge?!" Fidel's mouth gaped open, the shock on his face undisguised. He even suspected he was hallucinating.
Purging nobles?
This wasn't as simple as catching one or two lawbreakers. This was a major move that would shake the foundation of the Empire's rule!
He swallowed carefully, his voice trembling. "Lord Rhodes... has the situation... become that serious?"
He wasn't ignorant of the situation in the capital.
He had received word of the influx of powerful outsiders and the attacks targeting Rhodes and Serie.
He also knew the root of all this pointed to that immortality magic capable of driving anyone mad.
Rhodes nodded, confirming Fidel's guess. "Yes. The situation is more complex than it appears on the surface. According to our current intelligence, a significant number of Imperial nobles are involved in the plot against Serie and me."
Looking at Fidel's shifting expression, he added, "This is not just our personal grudge."
"Others cannot learn my immortality magic, nor can it be replicated on anyone else. But even if I say this, no one will believe it."
"For the sake of this magic, these nobles have invited wolves into the house, colluding with external forces and luring them into the capital. Cleaning them up is solving our trouble, but also purging internal threats for you."
Fidel fell silent. He leaned back in his chair and sighed deeply.
As an Emperor, how could he not know the corruption and greed of some nobles?
But a large-scale purge would inevitably trigger massive turmoil, involving countless interest groups. If handled poorly, it might even shake the rule of the Royal Family.
Looking at the calm Rhodes and Serie before him, a sense of powerlessness rose in his heart.
Before these two existences with absolute strength, his weighings and balances seemed utterly unimportant.
After all, they didn't care how the noble class would counterattack, nor how many nobles would be purged in the process.
They only needed a result—an environment where no one coveted them.
After a long while, as if resigning to fate, Fidel sighed again. "I understand! Since Lord Rhodes and Lady Serie have decided, I will do my best to cooperate."
He knew he had no room to refuse.
Rather than passively waiting for these two to act on their own and cause uncontrollable chaos, it was better to cooperate actively. At least he could control the scope and impact of the purge to a certain extent.
However, thinking of the bloody storm about to sweep through the capital and the backlash from various nobles, Fidel felt a headache coming on.
Being an Emperor... was truly too difficult.
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