In the banquet hall, musicians were playing beautiful music, the rich fragrance of flowers was blooming in everyone's noses, and exquisite food and pastries were placed on both sides of the banquet hall.
Imperial nobles dressed in exquisite and gorgeous clothes and with elegant manners walked back and forth in the banquet hall. If you put aside the dark atmosphere in these people's minds, the entire banquet hall can be said to be very beautiful.
"Marshal Xiao, you're here... You're still as handsome as ever tonight. Seeing you makes me feel full of energy all night long."
"Marshal Xiao, we should have visited you at your residence some time ago, but you were away at the military camp, so we couldn't disturb you. Now that we see you are well, it is truly the greatest blessing for the empire."
"Marshal Xiao, every time I see you, I find you incredibly charming."
"Marshal Xiao, I thought today was just an ordinary banquet, until I saw you, Your Excellency."
Regardless of gender, almost the first moment they saw Xiao Chen, they gave him exaggerated flattery. They knew that the party he was attending was Xiao Chen's return, but they still lied with their eyes open.
However, Xiao Chen, who had been attending imperial banquets for many years, was already accustomed to these people's exaggerated words. He just smiled and nodded at everyone, occasionally exchanged a few words, and didn't say much.
But his eyes subconsciously turned to the northeast corner of the banquet hall, where a girl who looked very familiar to him was sitting.
The girl was wearing a gradient blue dress today, and her already fair skin looked even more like the finest white jade. She had a slight frown on her face, as if she was thinking about something.
Xiao Chen slowly withdrew his gaze and exchanged greetings with the people around him again, pretending that what had happened in the past two months had never happened.
This banquet was said to be held for him, but in fact the core of the banquet was still His Majesty and the Crown Prince.
The banquet cannot begin until His Majesty and the Crown Prince arrive.
Xiao Chen's eyes wandered over everyone, memorizing everyone's movements and expressions in his mind. Once this person was different from usual, or if the other person's behavior made him suspicious, Xiao Chen would remember the other person's name in his mind without hesitation and be more vigilant about the case.
The palace is heavily guarded. Although he is not worried that spies or Zerg undercovers will take action in the palace, he must always be vigilant to prevent any accidents from happening.
The other three marshals and other high-ranking officials of the empire were also surrounded by a variety of people. Xiao Chen looked at the crowds surrounding them and then smiled and greeted the others nearby.
In fact, he preferred the iron-blooded style of the military camp to the hypocritical atmosphere of the banquet.
As the melodious music began to change its tune, a deep and pleasant voice emerged from the crowd. Six young noblemen in black suits led the way. After the crowd automatically dispersed, a handsome man with dazzling blond hair appeared in everyone's sight.
"Dear ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today's imperial celebration." As soon as Lei Ze finished speaking, applause rang out all around.
"Then let's go and welcome my father, His Majesty the noble Emperor of the Empire..." Lei Ze raised his hand with a smile to suppress the applause of the crowd and continued.
However, although this sentence sounded fine, many people felt that something was strange. Many people around looked at each other, especially Xiao Chen, who frowned slightly with a deep look in his eyes.
Lei Ze's words fell.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the crowd behind him dispersed again, and a middle-aged man who was slumped on an exquisite throne, with a crown on his head, looking listless and unable to move, was carried over by four servants!
Cheer!
The entire banquet hall fell silent in an instant, and everyone present stared intently at the emperor who was being carried up.
Even Ye Wenya, who had not been paying attention to the banquet and had been staying in the corner, frowned and her expression changed slightly.
The next second, the silence turned into chaos. Someone instantly drew out the particle gun from his waist, but before these
As soon as people took action, the palace guards who had been thinking about the banquet hall all pulled out their particle guns, and some even released their mechas and quickly got in.
"Your Highness, what are you doing?! Are you planning a rebellion?" a middle-aged man, dressed in finery and meticulously combed hair, clutching a tall wine glass, shouted harshly. "You are already the Crown Prince, the sole heir to the entire royal family. Why would you attempt to murder His Majesty? If you could just let His Majesty go now, we can pretend nothing happened!"
"Pretend nothing happened?"
Lei Ze stroked his chin and chuckled softly. Facing the movement of someone in the banquet hall pulling a gun and pointing it at him, he said slowly, "Things have already developed to this point. How can we just pretend nothing happened? This is too embarrassing."
"And I... never really like to embarrass others."
“Bang! —!”
As Lei Ze finished speaking, the middle-aged man's head suddenly exploded, and a transparent little bug, about two fingers thick and about ten centimeters long, slowly crawled out of the middle-aged man's exploded head.
"Ah! It's the Parasite Tribe, it's the Parasite Tribe! Your Highness, why are you colluding with the Zerg to harm the Empire?!"
"No! He is no longer our prince... He must have been parasitized by the parasite tribe."
"Are you palace guards still going to listen to a person who has been parasitized by the parasitic insects for a long time?!" Someone in the crowd reacted and shouted loudly.
But what was waiting for him was only the cold particle gun.
"Bang!——"
The particle gun shot through the man's head, and he fell down with a look of disbelief on his face.
Lei Ze smiled at everyone present and said, "Ah...you're overthinking it. How could I possibly be parasitized by those filthy Zerg? Only filthy fellows like you are the perfect match for the Zerg."
"The vast majority of you... have been infested by the Zerg since you first entered the palace."
"These parasites are naturally able to block out mental energy. Only those with SS-level mental energy can sense their presence... So, anyone with mental energy below SS-level, I hope you will consider carefully. I need someone to help me manage this vast empire."
"Speaking of which, if the parasitic Zerg didn't start manipulating humans, their consciousness would be completely taken over by the Zerg, turning them into puppets...it would be disgusting to see them neither human nor insect. Otherwise, I think it would be a good idea to just turn everyone into puppets." Lei Ze curled the corners of his lips and looked around. Everyone had a look of fear and worry on their faces.
Many young boys and girls who had not experienced the world of the world hid timidly behind their parents.
Lei Ze glanced at them indifferently, waved his hand, and smiled at the royal guards beside him, saying, "You stay and take good care of those pillars of the empire whose mental power is above SS level and who have not been parasitized yet... Father will take them to rebuild a new empire in another world."
"Your Highness, even if all the high-ranking officials of the empire are infected, the rest of us will not surrender. Rather than serving the Zerg, we would rather die in battle! This is my pride as the Grand Marshal of the Empire." The beautiful woman with a ferocious expression holding a particle gun fiercely pulled down the hem of her clothes that was in the way and said coldly.
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