Chapter 679: The Great Purge
"Alves has left..." Anatoly looked towards a corner with a gloomy expression.
In fact, many people had already left. Some fled far away during the battle, and some left only after witnessing Adam being picked off.
It is even said that the Empire's X-level life forms, those who have been strengthened by genetic essence, took the opportunity to retreat.
Anatoly also wanted to leave. Everything that happened today was too challenging to his worldview. He wanted to find a place to think carefully.
But in the end he did not choose to leave. He believed that Qinglong would not kill to silence the witness, not because of his trust in his character.
It’s because some of those who knew the truth have already escaped, and there is no point in killing the rest.
Besides, even if his identity is exposed and Xingxing finds out that Qinglong doesn't exist, what will happen?
The ultimate life forms have been pierced by guns. Who else can shake his position? Who else can pose a threat to him?
Thinking of this, he did not hesitate but headed towards the central area. Now was the time to show his courtesy.
…
Anduin looked dazed until Li Ming and his mechanical bodies came to his side, and then he came back to his senses.
"Qinglong..." He opened his mouth subconsciously but swallowed it back. His face looked a little hurried, and even now he still felt like he was in a dream.
But Li Ming was already in front of him, and he had to suppress all the emotions in his heart.
But for a moment I didn’t know what to call him.
"Just do as you're used to. We're all old friends." Li Ming said casually.
"Yes, Chairman..." Anduin changed to a more reasonable title, but he felt strange in his heart.
If it was Qinglong, it would be normal to call him an old friend.
But when it came out of Li Ming's mouth, it always felt very strange, mainly because the concept in his mind had not been completely changed.
The dividing line between the two identities of Qinglong and Li Ming is too obvious. It will be difficult for him to change this mentality in a short period of time.
Li Ming could probably guess what Anduin was thinking, but he didn't care. Instead, he looked at Abel beside him.
"Are you stupid?" Li Ming waved his palm in front of his eyes and found that although he raised his head, his eyes were still distracted.
"The brain crashed..." Li Ming was speechless, but saw Anduin raised his hand, ice-blue runes appeared in his hand, and slapped Abel on the back of the head.
Abel's whole body shuddered, and his eyes slowly focused. When he saw Li Ming appearing in front of him, it was as if he had been strongly stimulated by something, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
I'm afraid no one can understand his current mood. He has experienced several ups and downs in a short period of time.
And he saw things that were enough to shatter, reshape, shatter, and reshape his worldview, shocking him to the extreme.
"Is he really not doing well?" Li Ming looked at him and shook his head, "It seems the position of Saint Emperor will have to be given to someone else."
"No, no..." Under the strong stimulation, Abel forced himself to speak.
As soon as I said that, my emotions gradually calmed down.
He suddenly remembered what Li Ming had once told him: "The help my teacher provides is far beyond your imagination."
It was not until this moment that he fully understood the true value of this sentence.
Li Ming stared at him with a half-smile, then said, "Are you ready to become the Holy Emperor?"
Abel's heart skipped a beat, and the complex emotions that he had suppressed surged up again.
However, this time he forced himself to nod and followed Li Ming's gaze towards the brilliant area in the distance.
The outer defense warships had been torn to pieces in the previous attack.
But the inner "Imperial Shield" did not suffer much impact.
On the one hand, it was because in the later stages of the battle, they were almost enveloped by Yongyuan, and there was no aftermath radiating out.
On the other hand, its own defense is indeed quite good, and the aftermath of the slight leakage did not cause much damage.
Perhaps sensing Li Ming's gaze, the Imperial Shield slowly faded away, opening the door.
………
In the ruins of the Imperial Palace, Costat closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and trembled slightly.
Adam fell, and his ambitions and plans were all in vain.
But for some reason, he also felt a sense of relief. During the years he assisted Adam, he was also worried about the future of the empire and could see the pressure on Adam.
At this moment, it seemed that everything was over, and he could face his death with peace of mind.
"This is not a good ending, but it is not a bad ending either." He opened his eyes, and all the shock, astonishment, fear and unwillingness disappeared with the passing of Adam.
"What a thrilling drama." A voice gradually faded away from the side, equally complicated.
Levenbeck's body was dissolving, and when Kostat turned around, only a pool of blood remained.
He felt nothing in his heart and didn't care. He just felt a little tired. He looked around, moved a broken chair from the ruins of the imperial palace, and sat on it.
Soon, a line of light fell, and the one leading it was Li Ming.
Beside him, followed Abel, Anduin, Anatoly and other members of the board of directors.
After landing, Anatoly led the board members to disperse in all directions, apparently to deal with certain matters.
Whoosh--
A figure rushed out from beside Costat. It was Arthur, looking extremely embarrassed but still moving forward courageously.
"No..." Costat's face changed slightly. He thought Arthur was provoked and wanted to attack Li Ming, but then his face darkened.
"Your Excellency Li Ming..." Arthur rushed over, sliding to his knees. When he reached him, he was already prostrating himself on the ground, his voice trembling, "Emperor Arthur, the Holy Emperor of the Empire, respectfully welcomes you."
He slowly raised his head, his face filled with piety and fear. "I am willing to be your most loyal servant and herd the entire empire for you."
Abel behind him showed a hint of contempt in his eyes. In the past, he had some respect for this elder brother, but he didn't expect that he would adopt such an attitude at this point.
"Stand up!" A deep rebuke came from behind. It was Costat. His eyes were brewing with anger, although he felt that he had let go of everything.
But seeing that Arthur's status as the Holy Emperor of the Empire was so humble, he still felt annoyed.
Arthur seemed unaware and just looked up at Li Ming.
Li Ming glanced at Arthur indifferently, without any response, and walked straight past him.
Arthur felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave, as if all the bones in his body had been pulled out.
Abel behind him already understood. He walked forward with disgust and frowned, saying, "You are not worthy of calling yourself the Holy Emperor of the Empire."
"You..." Arthur stared at this brother whom he had never taken seriously. The little bit of self-esteem he had left seemed to be stung. He roared unwillingly, "What do you know? It's just good luck. If not, if not... Li Ming, you are nothing."
Abel scoffed. He wanted to refute his brother, saying that he was just born a few hundred years earlier than him and only held the title of eldest prince...
But seeing the other party's hysterical look, he felt bored and shook his head. Finally, he responded to him with Tan Ding's words, "I accept the loss."
Seeing that the other party wanted to say something, Abel couldn't help but look at Anduin.
Anduin understood and casually pinched out a few runes to seal Arthur's mouth and put him into a deep sleep to prevent him from committing suicide.
"Prince Costa, long time no see." Li Mingze came to the big hole in the center of the imperial palace, glanced at the pool of blood, and shook his head secretly.
Runs fast.
"Li Ming..." Costat said calmly, pausing for a moment before continuing, "I'll still call you Qinglong. You won, and the empire now belongs to you."
"Alas..." Li Ming shook his head and sighed, "I don't want to manage such a large empire. Let your people do it."
"Is there a difference?" Costat asked.
“…Uncle…” Abel came forward and held Kstat’s arm.
He still had some feelings for Costat and didn't want him to die.
Costat just looked at him coldly and forcefully shook his palm away.
"Abel, the position of Holy Emperor is yours. Do you have any ideas?" Li Ming ignored Costat and asked instead.
Abel was feeling sad, but when he heard this question, he stood up straight.
Costat also looked at it vaguely.
After two or three minutes of silence, Abel uttered three words, "The Great Purge..."
"Oh?" Li Ming turned around and said nothing.
Abel's expression was solemn. "I understand that Your Excellency must want the Empire to provide you with benefits as quickly as possible. However, the Empire is now in tatters, and its resources are being severely embezzled. Even if I were to take over, I still have no idea whether I could leave the home planet with a single order."
"And during Arthur's attempt to force the palace, most of the power of the House of Commons and the House of Lords has been exposed. As long as I follow this line and give me enough power, I can purge them."
"After the cleansing is complete, I hope to use your mechanical bodies to fill most of the empire's grassroots and defense forces. This will greatly eliminate cases of corruption and allow us to better serve you."
A sharp light flashed across Costat's eyes. What Abel said was actually Adam's subsequent plan, except that there was an additional variable, Li Ming.
At the same time, this is also to use Qinglong's power to do his own things. In order to avoid Qinglong feeling unhappy, he took the initiative to propose that the defensive force can be replaced by the opponent's mechanical body, which is equivalent to handing the knife personally to the opponent.
In exchange for the other party's support.
"Tsk tsk... He looks a bit like Adam." Li Ming couldn't help but sigh, "It's well-reasoned and well-founded. It's hard for me not to support him."
"I estimate that after you take over, there will probably be a lot of rebellion in the empire. I will contact Reynolds and Mikhail as soon as possible. You can mobilize their forces at will and do what you want."
Costat's expression changed as he realized that Li Ming really didn't seem to be planning to interfere too much in the affairs of the empire.
Abel breathed a sigh of relief and nodded solemnly. His guess was correct.
As long as it does not harm Li Ming's interests and provides him with benefits, Li Ming will not care about his own thoughts.
"I will hand the Chain of Empire over to you." Costat suddenly spoke.
Abel looked over suddenly, excitement flashing in his eyes.
The "Chain of Empire" is the absolute key to controlling non-direct lineage X-level life forms. In the past, it was kept by the Holy Emperor of the Empire himself. With one click, those non-direct lineage life forms could be killed.
"I will also contact those escaped direct descendants of X-level lifeforms and ask them not to destroy the empire." Costat said immediately, "I can also help you and coordinate with other princes to stabilize the situation."
Abel's face grew increasingly agitated.
Kostarte's expression was solemn. "I have only one request: you must fulfill your duties as Holy Emperor and protect the citizens of the Empire."
Li Ming couldn't help but shake his head. These words were not meant for Abel, but for him.
These are the cards in Costat's hand: non-direct X-level life forms, direct X-level life forms, and kings from all over the place.
If they are not dealt with properly, there will be a big mess. Li Ming cannot be the fire captain. He also has to be prepared to deal with Yong Yuan.
Costat simply wanted to ensure that Abel retained a certain degree of autonomy and did not exploit the citizens of the Empire.
"He will fulfill his duties as the Holy Emperor." Li Ming made a promise, and he didn't want to get a messy empire.
Kostat's expression flickered, and this was all he could do to further confirm the matter.
"Get ready, let Arthur announce his abdication..." Costat then stood up, and Abel subconsciously looked at the seat behind him.
Only then did Costat realize that he was sitting on the ruined imperial throne.
There was a moment of surprise in his eyes, and then he sighed.
………
"Can you still sit down?"
In Mikhail's lair, Reynolds gritted his teeth and roared, and the virtual projection paced back and forth, twisting and dispersing.
"Damn Adam, he's so despicable, secretly becoming the Ultimate Lifeform, setting up this whole scheme, and trapping everyone in it!"
"Amazing, really amazing. How did he become the ultimate life form?" Mikhail murmured in a low voice.
"You're still praising him?" Reynolds's mechanical eyes widened, and he shouted angrily, "It's over, it's all fucking over. Who can defeat the Ultimate Life Form? The mechanical seeds that we worked so hard to develop are now useless, and the Mechanics Association is gone!"
"Wait..." Reynolds suddenly realized and asked suspiciously, "Are you planning to join Adam?"
"Survive with Adam?" Mikhail was so angry that he laughed. "Am I crazy? If I surrender to him and constantly be on guard against sneak attacks from you and Qinglong, will Adam protect me closely?"
Reynolds snorted coldly: "As long as you understand."
"An Ultimate Life Form would be incredibly difficult to defeat head-on. Adam can even mobilize the entire empire's forces, so we'll have to hide for now." Mikhail couldn't help but say, "Let's wait and see how far Azure Dragon's Ultimate Gene Seed has progressed in its development."
At this point, he couldn't help but admire, "Although Adam is powerful, Qinglong is not much behind. Letting Li Ming go in his place is really a brilliant move."
"Otherwise, there's really nothing we can do now."
Reynolds stopped and his expression changed.
He had a good impression of Li Ming. Although Qinglong's move was brilliant, it was hard to say what would happen to Li Ming. Even if he didn't die, he would probably be put under control by the empire.
But he was Qinglong's own student after all, so he couldn't blame Qinglong for anything. He just lowered his head, waved the smart terminal in his hand, and said in a low voice: "Why can't I contact Qinglong? What is he doing?"
(End of this chapter)
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