The high platform extending from the arched columns and the railings of the white jade pillars carved with complex patterns are the high places of the palace. Standing there, you can overlook most of the capital below.
The blond princess stood behind the white jade railing, bathed in the bright sunlight, looking at the endless land. The wind came whistling, blowing her long golden hair that seemed to be shining in the sun like the waves of the sea, and the wind continued whistling backwards, raising the white tulle hanging on both sides behind the princess. rolled up.
The royal city during the day is noisy and prosperous, and even in the midst of war, the people living on Emperor Star were not affected much. Tens of thousands of years of peace and tranquility have made the people here completely forget the cruelty of war. They firmly believe that the Emperor Star is different, no one dares to attack the Emperor Star, and they are even more different as the residents of the Emperor Star. They feel that no matter which side wins, the Emperor Star, which is the political and economic center, must be well protected, so they are all safe.
So at this moment, what Salome sees from the tall pavilions and high platforms is still the bustling royal capital, and the bustling flow of people shuttles endlessly in this bustling city.
Salome looked up, and she saw the black flag flying above the square, like a black flame.
From a very young age, she always felt that it was her pride and the glory of the royal family.
But how long can this symbol of empire last
Thinking of this, she looked a little dazed.
… and all glory will soon be gone.
...
The sudden commotion woke her up from her trance, and she saw soldiers running in a hurry in the distance, and there was chaos outside the palace for some reason, as if something terrible had happened.
What's wrong
Salome frowned, then thought of something.
Could it be that the [Scepter of the Kingdom of Heaven] has exploded
Isn't there still ten hours left
Thinking of this, she subconsciously looked up at the sky.
Looking at it, she realized that something was wrong. She saw a few stars in the bright day sky, big and bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, and the stars kept getting bigger.
Salome's heart skipped a beat.
Of course she knew what this meant—it meant that something similar to a meteorite or a satellite was colliding rapidly towards the Emperor Star.
She changed her mind, and almost instantly thought of the person who could cause such panic.
emperor.
That pale and thin man who looked weak but was more terrifying than anyone else.
That man must have left a hand on the [Scepter of Heaven]!
Salome knew very well how terrible the destructive force would be if the armed satellite hit the ground, she couldn't care about anything else, she turned around and picked up the hem of her skirt, and ran down in a hurry, her high-heeled shoes knocked loudly on the wooden floor Voice.
Running down the spiral staircase, running through the long arched corridor, white yarn is flying on the columns on both sides.
When she rushed into the empty hall, she saw the emperor sitting quietly on the throne, and the white-haired old attendant standing below. A light curtain flickered with data, floating in front of the old attendant.
Before she had time to think about it, Salome ran directly in front of the light curtain, and when she looked up, she was stunned by what was displayed on the light curtain.
She reached out and tapped quickly on the virtual keyboard under the light curtain, trying to prevent those satellites from colliding with the planet.
The emperor sitting on the throne watched her movements calmly, without saying a word, and the old attendant beside him did not try to stop her. Because they know it's useless, those satellites that activate the self-destruct command will never be controlled by anyone again.
Suddenly, Salome saw several red messages brushed on the light curtain that clearly belonged to the category of confidentiality.
Her mind exploded with a buzz.
Her heart stopped beating for a moment.
[Scepter of Heaven], three of the armed satellites are equipped with nuclear energy bombs inside.
Just one nuclear bomb can turn an asteroid into scorched earth.
Those three satellites were hitting Emperor Star.
"… stop."
Salome stared at the message on the light curtain, her voice trembling.
She turned her head, and for the first time, she yelled wantonly at the tall man.
"Stop them immediately!!!"
The emperor sat on the throne and looked down at her. His thin and pale face showed no emotional indifference, only his eyes were still hot, terribly bright, and there seemed to be flames burning deep in the eyes.
He didn't say anything, just looked at Salome like this.
The old attendant next to him spoke in a low voice.
"I can't stop." He replied with difficulty, "...I can't stop anymore."
Salome suddenly turned her head to look at the old attendant with an extremely fierce gaze, wishing to tear him apart. She didn't continue to talk to these two frantic lunatics, but rushed towards the room on the side of the main hall, where there was a room for communication.
She rushed in, tapped the communication platform quickly with trembling hands, and finally connected to the flagship of the person she wanted to contact.
Salome raised her eyes, and the stern marshal appeared in the suspended light curtain.
"... save people!"
She thought about this prosperous city where she had lived for a long time, about the countless people who knew nothing in the city, about all the people on this planet, her mind went blank at this moment.
She tried to calm herself down and told Troll the situation as concisely as possible.
At a time like this, the only person she could think of helping the planet was Troll.
She looked into Troll's eyes almost begging for a moment.
"Troll, I know that man deserves to die, but the others... other citizens are innocent... help them."
There was a dead silence in the hall of the flagship opposite the light curtain, and even the sound of breathing seemed to freeze at this moment.
Marshal Troll stood on a high podium, looking at her with narrow phoenix eyes, and his lips were pursed like a sharp blade.
He didn't speak for a long time, but just looked at Salome like this.
With such silence, Salome's heart sank endlessly into the abyss.
"Troll..."
She still wanted to try to say something.
"His Royal Highness."
The blue-haired colonel stood up, his face was ugly, but he could only shake his head.
"The satellites are attacking indiscriminately, destroying all ships approaching the Emperor Star. We simply cannot send warships in to rescue them."
"Just destroy those moons..."
"Your Highness, I regret that the only thing that can destroy satellites is the Star Destroyer Cannon, and only three flagships of our warships are equipped with Star Destroyer Cannons." Via paused, and he let out a long breath, "Before and During the battle of the enemy forces, the energy of the Star Destroyer Cannons on the three flagships has all been exhausted."
"..."
Salome didn't say anything more, a wry smile appeared on her face.
In fact, she knew that Troll couldn't save people on this planet-she knew, she just didn't want to think about it.
He clearly knew that what he was grasping in his hand was a straw, and everything was futile, but he still subconsciously grasped at the straw.
It's just... that straw can't save anyone after all.
She closed her eyes, long eyelashes covering the despair in her eyes.
She turned around without turning off the communication, and left the room slowly.
There was no sound in the hall of the Ishtar ship at this moment. Everyone could only look at the back of the princess leaving lonely. They could only stare blankly at the trajectory of the armed satellite in the light curtain flying towards the emperor star.
It's like the countdown to hell.
...
……………
"why?"
Back in the palace hall, Salome stared at the man on the throne with sharp eyes, with undisguised disappointment and anger.
"Why do you want to do this?"
She questioned: "You are the emperor, the emperor of this empire, all the people on this planet believe in you and serve your people, why can you do such a thing—"
Salome didn't understand, she really didn't understand.
She hated this man, she hated her fate as a pawn—but in her heart, this man lived up to the glory of the throne.
He is a real emperor.
He shouldered the heavy responsibility of the empire.
He is cruel, but he is a competent emperor.
She hated him, but still respected him and admired him.
This man is ruthless to others, and he is even more ruthless to himself. He has given everything for the rebirth of the empire, and he is so ruthless to himself that she can't even hate him.
And at this moment, her respect for men completely collapsed at this moment, she never thought that this man could do such a crazy thing—
"... poisoned your royal father... Or, the family that cut off the blood of the royal family is one of the three major families, isn't it?"
Salome looked at the man on the throne and shook her head in great disappointment.
"It's just for revenge... Just to let that family be buried with the royal family, you don't hesitate to let 9.8 billion people die with them."
"Do you really know what you've done?... No, you don't... You've lost your mind."
The emperor on the throne kept his eyes closed, allowing Salome to speak. After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes.
In the bright hall, his eyes were still terribly bright, looking down on Salome like a burning flame.
"Salome."
The emperor spoke with a low voice and a calm tone, without a trace of madness.
"Although you are not my child, over the years, I have taught you that you have never hidden any secrets."
He looked at Salome and said, "...It's a pity that after studying for so long, you still can't become a qualified emperor."
"As you wish, [Scepter of Heaven] explodes, and then?"
"..."
Salome was at a loss, she didn't understand why the emperor suddenly said this.
The emperor didn't seem to want her to answer either, and continued to speak in a low voice.
"In a decisive battle between the two sides, Troll defeated the coalition of nobles." He said, "He can only defeat it."
The difference in military strength between the two sides is not large, so the result of encirclement and complete annihilation is impossible.
No matter how strong Troll is, he can only defeat the coalition forces of nobles.
"If the elite coalition army loses, it will suffer a heavy blow. However, even if it defeats the coalition army of nobles, it will be difficult for him to capture the heads of the three major families."
Those noble patriarchs cherish their lives the most. On the battlefield, even if they are defeated, they can still escape without losing their lives or being captured.
"The three of them were defeated and fled. Because the elites suffered heavy blows due to damage, they will definitely hold together more tightly."
"After the defeat this time, at most, the number of six and four compared with Troll's forces will become the number of four and six."
"Then, continue to fight, and it will take at least ten years, maybe even longer, to solve the three masters."
The emperor spoke calmly.
"In the past ten years, wars have continued. There will probably be hundreds of large or small wars, maybe thousands of times... The flames of war will spread throughout the universe, and the war will affect hundreds of thousands of planets. The number of people who will die in war will be tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions."
Salome said nothing.
She seemed to understand something, but she felt that she didn't want to understand.
"Use [the scepter of heaven] to destroy the Emperor Star, all the heads of the three major families will be killed, and the elite will be destroyed."
"Without the Patriarch, we cannot unite, we can only fight on our own."
"In order to compete for that position, the family that lost the patriarch began to fight among themselves and consume themselves."
"It only takes about seven or eight years to clean up these headless flies... maybe less."
In the empty hall, only the voice of the emperor echoed in it.
Salome stood there in a daze, the sunlight falling into the hall was extremely bright, and instead formed a kind of indescribable emptiness in her eyes.
"One planet, 9.8 billion people."
"The decades-long war has spread to hundreds of thousands of planets, and the lives of hundreds of billions of people have been lost."
The emperor's words were so cruel, but they were also truer than anything else.
"Which one do you choose, Salome?"
The princess stood there in a daze, her eyes were blank, her lips opened and closed, but no sound came out.
The lives of the planet in front of me, the lives of 9.8 billion people.
The lives of hundreds of thousands of planets in the future, and the lives of hundreds of billions of people.
how to choose
It's too heavy, a burden that even the soul can't bear.
A choice that simply cannot be made.
Just listening to this made her feel so heavy that she couldn't breathe.
"... I can't do it... On this planet, there are living people... You have to touch them... You have to watch them..."
The emperor on the throne smiled.
"There are living beings on other planets too," he said.
He put it lightly.
"the same."
As he said this, he closed his eyes and mouth again, and stopped talking.
The sun shone on the man's pale skin, and traces of light blue blood vessels under the skin could be faintly seen on his neck.
He closed his eyes and sat on the golden throne, as if he had fallen asleep peacefully.
For the first time in so many years, he could finally sleep peacefully.
... ... ...
In addition to those mentioned above, the emperor actually had some things to say.
The name of the imperial royal family still has a great influence in this universe, and there are many loyal people who oppose Troll and want to save the declining royal family. However, the destruction of a planet and a mad last emperor completely destroyed the faith and loyalty of the entire human race to the royal family.
After that, they would abandon the disappearing royal family without hesitation, and throw themselves into the newborn empire without any scruples.
It was the last thing he could do.
Use a lifetime of infamy.