In the Name of Empress-Chapter 359 - 245: A Pair of Gamblers

"Lord Count, ahead is Walden."

The Governor of Brook Province, Aramis, calmly introduced the advancing route to Sif.

After hesitating for a moment, he quietly reminded, "Walden is the capital of Count Lafei’s domain. You should have let Ados accompany the expedition; he is more familiar with this place."

Sif raised an eyebrow, remembering that Ados had once mentioned he was the Count Lafei of Jin Yuan Kingdom.

Facing Aramis’s suggestion, Sif responded softly with a composed expression, "That’s unnecessary. I never planned to pass through here."

"Huh?"

Aramis was a bit bewildered and didn’t know how to respond at the moment.

If they weren’t going through Walden, then why spend money on military passage rights? This was not a small expense.

While he was trying to decipher Sif’s intentions, Sif’s gaze had shifted westward, and she said with a smile:

"From here to West City is less than fifty kilometers. With the defense troops of Walden being relocated, the road to West City is unobstructed. What do you think of this?"

Aramis was stunned.

He never imagined Sif would be so reckless.

She planned to take West City with just these fifty thousand troops?

Wait, whether they can take it or not doesn’t seem to be the point. Advancing on West City isn’t really a military issue; it’s a political and diplomatic issue.

Although he didn’t want to contradict the Empress, he must dispel his lord’s unrealistic fantasy.

That was the duty of a loyal minister.

"Lord Count, attacking West City would change the nature of things. It wouldn’t just be a conflict between lords but a war between nations, causing extremely adverse international repercussions. It might even give those scoundrels in the Cabinet an excuse to impeach Her Majesty the Empress."

Watching Aramis’s anxious monitoring, Sif said with a smile:

"Aramis, if the power-holder of Jin Yuan after the war is Marco, indeed. But after this battle, Alina will become the master of Jin Yuan."

Aramis opened his mouth, unable to utter a word for a long time.

He understood that Sif was gambling.

She gambled that Marco would fail in his campaign and that it would cost him dearly.

Aramis never imagined that Her Majesty the Empress would leave no retreat and place all her bets openly.

He had seen many compulsive gamblers, but none as ruthless as Sif.

While the momentum was strong, Aramis didn’t trust momentum alone; he only believed in strength. He couldn’t help but remind:

"You might not like what I’m saying, but I must say it. There’s no reason to do this. While the rewards of success are high, the consequences of failure are something you cannot bear."

Sif looked at Aramis with a smile, wanting to explain but held back.

She couldn’t bear to leave a loyal minister in the dark, so she subtly suggested, "Aramis, my enemy is not Marco but Sofia."

Aramis’s body shuddered slightly, his pupils contracted sharply, almost doubting his ears.

After confirming that Sif wasn’t joking, his emotions became a bit confused.

Following Sif was not an easy decision.

His biggest worry was not Sif’s lack of ability but her lack of ambition.

As a monarch, one need not master everything, but must have a drive.

Aramis yearned for power greatly and hoped for a monarch with ambition who sought progress.

But he didn’t expect Sif to crave progress this much.

He knew of Sofia’s capabilities and had heard of her formidable reputation.

There was a consensus among the continent’s strong figures: challenging Sofia head-on was extremely foolish, a suicide mission.

His Majesty Sylph seemed smart; didn’t she know this?

She surely knew.

Facing such a fierce enemy, if she still intended to challenge, she must have some assurance, right?

Aramis never imagined that what Sif desired wasn’t the absolute power of the Sussex Empire, but rather, the title of Great Emperor.

Aramis’s face flushed bright red, his blood boiling.

He smelled the intoxicating scent of power, something he couldn’t refuse.

He might die on the path to reaching the pinnacle of ministerial power but couldn’t give up the opportunity to fight.

He withdrew all his defeatist arguments, and his tone grew spirited.

"Since you’ve made your decision, I’ll fully support you! Do you know which hidden experts Jin Yuan Kingdom has?"

"I know a few, but you surely know more than I do. Tell me about it." Sif’s lips curved into a smile.

She wasn’t guessing wrong; Aramis was also a Jin Yuan person.

Though his accent didn’t have a hint of Jin Yuan tone and sounded like a native Brook person, that was precisely the biggest flaw.

The Three Overseas Provinces weren’t closely connected with the Empire’s mainland, but quite tied with neighboring Jin Yuan.

The elite in this region are mostly proficient in both languages, often with a hint of Jin Yuan accent in their speech.

Aramis’s speech lacked a Jin Yuan accent, indicating he was hiding something.

Concealing but without ill intention, it’s just personal privacy.

Sif was very open-minded and wouldn’t force Aramis to confess.

Unless he was willing to voluntarily share.

Clearing his throat, Aramis said in a deep voice, "The top experts in Jin Yuan Kingdom rarely serve directly for the state. About half of them are from old nobility, the other half are academic scholars."

"Jin Yuan Kingdom has a developed university education, and transcendence is a focal point of research at major institutions, so many Transcendents stay within the academies, forming a circle."

"If we handle it correctly, letting these people realize you’re not here to destroy the nation, there’s a chance to keep them out of the fight..."

After Aramis finished introducing the power structure of Jin Yuan Kingdom, Sif nodded gently, her lips curling into a confident smile, raising her Long Spear.

"Target, West City, move out!"

...

Everyone was busy, and Roland was no exception.

He and the Fourth Fleet made a wide loop, bypassing the Sunset Ocean from the Land Sea, and returned to the outer waters of the Sussex Strait.

The massive fleet, composed of nearly a hundred warships, couldn’t be concealed. Everyone concerned with the war knew the Monarch was about to return to the Three Overseas Provinces, but few knew Roland never intended to go back.

He intended to make big news, like landing in the Jia Lai region.

Under his command, after a long trek, the Fourth Fleet finally arrived at the outer waters of Jia Lai.

Such a high-profile operation is not something that the commander of the Northern Defense Zone of the Jin Yuan Kingdom would be blind to; of course, he has seen it clearly.

The commander of the Northern Guard District, Andre, was infuriated by Roland’s audacious marching route.

He adjusted the defense lines while requesting reinforcements from the First Fleet stationed at the West River Estuary.

The moment of landing is the most vulnerable for a fleet; if handled properly, the powerful First Fleet has the full capability to teach the Sussex people a harsh lesson.

At its peak, the Jin Yuan Navy had seventy percent of the Sussex Navy’s official strength, and although it has since declined, it still retains about fifty to sixty percent of that strength.

The First Fleet concentrates more than half of the nation’s main battleships, making it extremely powerful in hard strength.

If they seize the opportunity to annihilate the invading Fourth Fleet, it would be a heavy blow to Sussex’s sea power.

To completely annihilate a complete fleet of the Sussex Empire!

Such an achievement, how could Andre resist?

There was no need for his reminder; Fleet Commander, Admiral Vernaf, had already led the fleet out.

Vernaf had been waiting for this day for too long.

The Sussex Empire has dominated the seas for hundreds of years; someone has to come out and break this hegemony, why can’t it be him?

This is a generous gift that the Sussex have delivered to their doorsteps!

They are the invaders, so Vernaf’s retaliation is completely justified.

First Fleet, launch!

...

The sky was blue and the sea breeze was gentle.

Roland stood on the top deck, leisurely watching the ongoing landing operation, as calm as if he were an outsider.

Roland was very composed, but Bridges couldn’t sit still.

After receiving the latest intelligence, he couldn’t help but climb up to the top deck.

Seeing Roland still discussing with Lisa about the different ways to eat lobsters, he couldn’t help but cough to remind Roland that they were at war and should be more serious.

When Bridges approached, Lisa used the excuse of preparing lunch to slip away, leaving the not-so-friendly-looking Vice Admiral alone with Roland.

Looking at Bridges’ unfriendly gaze, Roland smiled as if nothing happened and said:

"General Bridges, I don’t quite understand the landing matters, no need to consult me."

"Lord Governor, I’m not talking about the landing; it’s about the incoming Jin Yuan First Fleet!"

Bridges took a deep breath and used the mildest tone possible to explain to Roland.

"Lord Governor, naval battles are different from land battles. If you lose a land battle, there’s still a chance to retreat; losing a naval battle often means total annihilation."

"I know, I trust you, so naval battles are your responsibility."

Roland’s trust lifted Bridges’ spirits for a few minutes, but only for a few minutes.

He coughed lightly and continued, "Thank you, Lord Governor, for your trust, but that’s not what I’m talking about. What should we do? The landing operation has begun, the fleet has deployed its formation, and is currently suppressing the opposite shore with firepower. Now the enemy is here, what should we do?"

"You mean that if we don’t array quickly to meet the enemy, the naval battle might be lost, but if we focus all efforts on the naval battle, the landing battle would be lost?"

Bridges’ expression remained grave, but his heart finally relaxed a bit.

Although the Governor doesn’t understand naval warfare, his thinking is always clear.

Roland nodded, smiling and teased, "Such unity between the land and naval forces is rare. Since the enemy fleet is here, let’s face them."

Bridges breathed a sigh of relief.

Although this choice was difficult, it was the only right choice.

It’s just a pity for those thousand landing troops; even though they’re not his navy, losing them for nothing still hurts.

Though it was hard to speak, he struggled to ask, "What about the landing troops? Without fire support, it will be hard for them to hold the beachhead."

"Surrender them."

Bridges almost fell to the ground, he stared at Roland in shock, speechless for a long time.

"I can’t let the army be trapped without supply support and expect the warriors to bleed dry."

Roland calmly said, "Jin Yuan is also a civilized country; being captured is tough, but at least they can keep a life, give the order."

Bridges’ eyes were complex.

Objectively speaking, this is the best choice.

If they win, the captured soldiers will return today.

If they lose, after paying the war reparations, the soldiers can go home.

Ordering the beachhead troops to surrender is responsible for the soldiers, but it would tarnish Roland’s formidable reputation.

He had thought about it but dared not mention it.

Roland glanced at Bridges, knowing this general understood everything, so he said nothing more, simply pointing his Scepter westward.

In no more than three hours, a massive fleet would appear there.

Even one-on-one, they’d not lose to the peak Fourth Fleet’s super fleet.

"The Jin Yuan fleet is our prey."

"Yes, sir!" Bridges suppressed his excitement, stood straight, and gave Roland a very standard military salute.

Roland raised his hand in return, casually adding, "I need the enemy flagship; make sure to capture her."

Bridges said nothing, nor did he ask why; he took the order loudly, and turned to leave.

Capturing the enemy flagship is indeed very difficult, but he didn’t care.

Without difficulty, how could his skills be showcased?

He abandoned the plan of winning by T-advantage, deciding to do the opposite, personally maneuvering the Monarch to launch a no-return assault, directly engaging in side-to-side combat with the enemy flagship.

This is the only choice.

Watching Bridges leave, Roland gripped his Scepter tightly, looking solemn.

He certainly wasn’t trying to make things difficult for Bridges.

He truly needed the flagship, and even the enemy’s commanding officers alive.

Launching a frontal attack on West City is international folly, but using the enemy’s flagship for a surprise attack?

This is the only way to break the impasse.

The stakes aren’t many, so it’s all-in.