"My daughter, how have you been?"
Charnak welcomed Flora with a smile. The latter smiled back faintly and hugged her father with open arms.
This was the first time Flora had seen her father in the past few days. Ever since the invasion of the undead began, Charnak would always disappear from people's sight for a period of time. When he appeared again, it was as if nothing had happened.
This wasn't normal. After all, the country was in a state of war. The King had to be in command at all times. Every time Charnak disappeared from the people's sight, he would always inform his daughter of the next step of deployment. When he disappeared from the people's sight, Flora would shoulder the responsibility of ruling the country and be in charge of the overall planning and coordination of the entire country!
Speaking of which, this was equivalent to letting his daughter be the king!
Although it was not explicitly stated, all the upper nobles could smell the passing of power … Could it be that Charnak had other plans?
The monarchs in history were not necessarily ruling alone. Apart from the regent assisting the young lord, there were cases of two emperors ruling together, three emperors ruling together, and even four emperors ruling together. Although the history of the empire was constantly in the midst of war, many stories of the empire ruling together had been passed down to this day.
Sometimes people would say, "Brothers of one heart can cut through gold." However, to the royal family, this saying was basically a joke. The poison of 'power' was an irresistible temptation to most people. What was even more irresistible was the selfishness buried in the bottom of the human heart.
If one had ten gold coins and gave away one, perhaps it would be normal. However, if one gave away five gold coins for no reason, they would be regarded as a lunatic. And if one gave away ten gold coins, it would be the God of Light.
This was the mentality of most humans. Generally speaking, no one was willing to give away more than half of what they had. The so-called 'multiple emperors ruling together' was becoming more and more of a joke.
However, now, Emperor Charnak's actions made people feel this atmosphere more and more.
"To be honest, I don't feel too good."
Flora's eyes were slightly tired. It was obvious that she did not have a good rest these days. Other than the undead's attack, she was more worried about Marquis Barton's army and the "reinforcements" coming from the east.
"When something is about to happen, you should face it directly. You shouldn't rely on self-numbing illusions to avoid the reality that is about to happen." Emperor Charnak reached out and patted his daughter's shoulder. Now, this princess of the empire had an aura that ordinary people could not compare to. With the crown on her head, Charnak believed that she would become an outstanding ruler. However, he hoped that his daughter could live an ordinary life because the temptation of power was enough to make anyone take risks. The path to becoming a monarch was filled with dangers. "This is a test for you. Of course, it's the same for me."
"It seems like the undead's attacks are getting fiercer and fiercer, but this seems to be just a facade. Perhaps only time will tell what they are planning."
Charnak pulled his daughter to sit on a comfortable armchair and pointed to the sand table in front of the table. "Do you see anything?"
"They seem to be using all kinds of methods to trap us," Flora said.
She clearly understood that the current situation in the empire seemed to be extremely tense, but in reality, because they had retracted their defenses, the losses were not that great. However, due to the defense, the entire country's food production had stopped. The few safe areas that were still planted were not enough to supply the food supply.
However, they had stored enough food to last them for half a year. There was no need to worry about this problem now. Flora was more concerned about the possible battle that might happen.
"Trap?
Actually, we can't trap them. If we let the army charge out now, the undead army might not be able to stop us. The Elven Empire can provide sufficient reinforcements at any time. However, can you tell why I haven't done anything yet? "
"Create an illusion?"
"It's easy to guess, isn't it?"
Charnak smiled. However, his face seemed to have aged a little compared to the last time Flora saw him. "War is a game of chess with overt schemes. We say that a battle is very complicated and that a small battle can change the entire situation. However, in reality, it's the same logic as playing chess. The person who is good at chess will always win."
"Then, our opponents …"
"Perhaps you still don't understand them?"
Charnak seemed to be prepared. A thin book appeared in his hand and he handed it to Flora. "The destruction of the Rondor Dynasty was basically caused by them. Now, it's time for you to understand our real enemies."
Flora stood up and took the book. The texture of the book was very normal. It felt new to her. There was nothing written on the cover. The normal black color made the book look even more mysterious.
"Let's stop here for today. I'm going to see what kind of mess these useless nobles left me. Read it carefully. It will decide the fate of the empire."
Charnak joked. He turned around and walked out of Flora's office, leaving the princess holding the book staring blankly at his back.
Her father's back was a little haggard. Flora clearly understood this. This king who always faced the storm with his back straight was giving his all to deal with the upcoming crisis.
She looked down and flipped open the nameless book. She saw Charnak's handwriting on the yellowed parchment paper. The first line made Flora frown!
"The relationship between the members of the Undead Council and the Empire of Saint Reims."
* * *
Oditore's life was unusually peaceful compared to Sirius's. The undead only attacked Pombo Castle. There were no signs of them touching the area east of Pombo Castle. This allowed the farmers to protect their crops under the protection of the guards and maintain the food supply at a decent level. In short, according to the current standard, Oditore had nothing to worry about other than using Medusa's magic group to blast the undead into pieces. Even the school in Oditore Castle had resumed classes. The trade was still going on as usual. The expansion of Oditore Castle had also started operating normally.
The entire Oditore Castle had been expanded ten times. Of course, ten times sounded huge, but for a large city, this expansion was definitely not the last. So, the entire design and planning after the expansion was to leave room for the next expansion.
Everything was running in an orderly manner.