novelraw #268 - Section 268
#268 - Section 268
This is prestige, this is influence, we've arranged everything perfectly!
The only audience is the little adjutant that Roger brought.
But since Roger can keep her by his side, he must trust her enough, and she wouldn't randomly badmouth important figures, like filing a complaint with the emperor...
If she's really unreliable, then we have ways to shut her up, this is my territory after all!
Although the newTianming Instructor is doing good deeds, the repeated painful lessons have taughtXiana that revolution is not a dinner party, and one must not be constrained by trivial matters to achieve great things, and some rather cruel things must be done when necessary.
She thought of everything, but never imagined that this female adjutant wouldn't need to file a complaint at all, because she is the Empress herself.
The Eternal Night Empress has secretly cultivated Taibeira's(泰贝拉: Taibeira)'s art of the biao(婊: Biao), and a test would probably reveal a Tea Power level of nine.
ForXiana to play these tricks in front of her, the woman's intuition instantly maxed out her alertness radar to 120% power!
I asked you to take care of the child, why are you acting so intimately with her?
You look so upright and honest, but you actually have the heart to be a 'ghost father'?
Roger felt a fiery gaze staring at his back, and all his muscles tensed up.
[This girl really knows how to cause trouble, of course, it's impossible to guard against Her Majesty suddenly doing this kind of incognito visit...]
[It seems thatXiana really considers theTianming Army her family, for those who are helpless, she can put aside her previously strong and independent image and act so coquettishly and pleasingly towards me...]
The Eternal Night Empress actually felt a bit of relief from Roger's Tǔcáo, which means 'roast' or 'commentary'?
So you really want to be a 'ghost father' after all?
It seems that my incognito visit was the right choice, there's going to be a big harvest soon!
She suppressed her emotions and didn't explode, preparing to see how Roger would respond, to see what outrageous things he could come up with after being entrusted with her trust to take care of the child!
Her mood is also easy to understand, because Xiana's(夏纳: Xiana)'s previous state was to do as she pleased, playing with you when she was in a good mood, and ignoring you when she wasn't.
Who told her that her first pet in this world was the mysterious and unpredictable cat master? This caused her already solitary and eccentric personality to be tinged with a bit of feline independence.
It's just that Roger also knows that his relationship with the Empress is currently in an ambiguous state, and showing intimacy with a young and beautiful girl in front of her will definitely cause resentment.
ButXiana has already leaned in with practiced ease, and pushing her away would only seem like a guilty conscience, with even more uncontrollable consequences.
So at this time, only the most dangerous method is the safest method!
Roger can be considered battle-hardened, and it's not the first time he's experienced this kind of Shura field crisis, the response routine doesn't require much thought, he directly put his arm around Xiana's(夏纳: Xiana)'s shoulders:
"Oh, now you're in trouble and you think of me, what about before when you didn't care, learned my skills, and were so confident that you could handle everything?"
The Eternal Night Empress's eyebrows twitched, but her clenched fist loosened a bit.
It seems... the situation isn't right?
This man isn't feeling guilty about their relationship being exposed, but completely doesn't care that I know about his relationship withXiana.
No explanation, no panic?
He wouldn't dare to openly show affection in front of me, so could it be that I've misunderstood something?
The Eternal Night Empress was even more suspicious in her heart, but her emotions began to calm down.
She believes that the current situation is not the kind she was worried about, the two have a good relationship, but it's not between a man and a woman.
Sure enough,Xiana didn't push away Roger's hand, and seemed to be accustomed to such intimacy.
She pouted and said coquettishly: "People are still young, of course there will be times when they misjudge, adults don't remember the mistakes of little girls, give me a chance to make up for it."
She turned her head, kissed Roger on the cheek with a 'smack', and whispered in his ear: "You can order me however you want this time~".
The Eternal Night Empress's eyelids twitched, emotionally she was angry, but rationally she became more and more calm.
Roger's heart was very calm, and he didn't have too many thoughts about taking advantage, this wasn't the psychological state of encountering a beauty in distress and taking the opportunity to demand a X(X: Unkown) transaction.
So, I really misunderstood?
The Eternal Night Empress always felt that something was wrong, but the situation happening in front of her was quite obvious...
She saw Roger rub Xiana's(夏纳: Xiana)'s head and laughed: "Anything is fine? Can you call me daddy too?"
"Mr. Charles, you're going too far!"
"Then I can represent the Empire, summarize the previous failed experiences, it doesn't matter anyway, there are many, many such planes, we have many, many opportunities to practice our ideas."
[But the lives of your subordinates are only one, do you dare to gamble?]
This is a situation that anyone with eyes can judge, a plain statement, but a naked threat.
Xiana bit her lip, feeling both wronged and helpless, and called out in a low voice:
"Daddy~"
She really dared to call out, after all, in some situations, there are many random calls of address under excitement, and this one call doesn't make much difference!
The Eternal Night Empress's suspicion suddenly disappeared when she heard this, and she couldn't help but show a chuckle in her eyes.
Damn you, what a boring man.
I thought you really had the guts to follow my orders and steal someone!
So all this effort was just to play a relationship gag, is this your pursuit?
You've completely lost the face of the people of the Empire!
She looked at the interaction between Roger andXiana, no longer feeling it was an eyesore, but rather a strange kind of warmth, and a bit of shyness and sweetness.
Calling someone daddy can be flirting between lovers, or a joke between friends.
But combined with Xiana's(夏纳: Xiana)'s birth process, there are more levels of explanation.
For example, she, as a stepmother in a certain sense, was also taken advantage of by Roger with this call of daddy byXiana?
You stinky man, are you just trying to take advantage of me in a roundabout way?
Should I say you're bold, or that your courage is only at this level?
Her series of psychological activities, because of Roger's too frank performance, instead ruled out suspicion, and even began to experience a bit of family happiness from their interaction.
Okay, there's still a bit of jealousy, probably the feeling of an old mother having her attention stolen by her grown-up daughter, and being happy that the father-daughter relationship is harmonious, and feeling like she's lost favor.
"Ahem, Your Excellency, our time on this trip is limited."
The Eternal Night Empress reminded the two to stop, and pay attention to the occasion, in the capacity of an adjutant.
Roger separated in a timely manner, a glint flashed in his eyes, and he immediately entered work mode, starting to think about the problem of the base, without dwelling on the relationship between himself andXiana:
"Okay, just kidding. Don't worry, that Louis should just be a Holy Spirit of Conqueror's Canyon, he's just a bit difficult to deal with, with Her... Colonel Beatrice(碧翠丝: Bìcuìsī) here, the problem of force can be easily solved."
So the topic transitioned naturally, and he even casually gave the Eternal Night Empress a name.
This wave, is called playing along!
Because the action was also expressed extremely naturally, without any concern for the Eternal Night Empress being present, it can instead be explained as not being afraid to let the Eternal Night Empress know about his relationship withXiana.
Through a "daddy" that can be explained as flirting, or a harmless little joke, the substantial 'ghost father' became a loving father.
WhatXiana cares most about is naturally the problem of the base.
She still wants to be taken advantage of by someone's jīng chóng shàng nǎo, which means 'lust-driven', and then bullied!
Giving some small advantages is okay, but she won't easily let Roger gain the upper hand for any reason.
If it's going to happen, it has to be this angel taking the initiative, it must be on top!
The Eternal Night Empress was a little dissatisfied with Roger randomly giving her a name, but they didn't discuss this aspect before they came, so she reluctantly accepted it.
Her strength is also easy to explain, the Empire's national strength is now developing rapidly, the strength of professionals is increasing rapidly, and it is natural for more and more strong people to emerge with talent and sufficient resources.
This is also the important reason why the Eternal Night Empress can only command on the front battlefield, and no longer needs to personally go into battle.
After a large number of strong people walked out of the Eternal Night World, legend is no longer their upper limit of strength, and more and more strong people are surpassing this level, it is quite natural for a strong person who can restrain the Holy Spirit to emerge.
After all, the Dark Night Guard is not some trash, it is very normal for a commander to go deep into another world alone, or a base that is being besieged by the church, to bring a strong bodyguard.
Roger andXiana discussed the current situation of the base, and talked about more details.
Originally, as an adjutant, Colonel Beatrice(碧翠丝: Bìcuìsī) should not casually interrupt when the commander is discussing issues, but the Eternal Night Empress doesn't care about these things?
Discussing fighting, and after playing too many crushing games, looking for a turning point in a completely unfavorable situation, she couldn't help but substitute herself into the role of the base commander, thinking about how to use limited chips to break the situation, and then give some suggestions.
And now the atmosphere in the Empire is becoming more and more open, and the hierarchy of superiors and inferiors is slowly being smoothed out, as long as there is something to say, you can just say it.
As an undefeated general, the Empire's non-crooked-mouth war god, the Eternal Night Empress relies on her genius battle intuition and experience, more than just having something to say, she is simply personally teachingXiana how to fight battles that she wouldn't be able to fight.
The three of them chatted until lunchtime in this world, and the Eternal Night Empress helped theTianming Army formulate strategic tactics that didn't even require extra aid, only a small expansion of the current armed forces, and with the virtual magic god magic energy repeaters already installed, they could absolutely resist the church's advance by using the terrain.
"Colonel, our time on this trip is limited."
Seeing that the Eternal Night Empress seemed to have the urge to personally command, Roger quickly reminded her with the words she had just said.
[You are not a real adjutant, you are the Eternal Night Empress, you have a bigger battlefield waiting for you to play on.]
The Eternal Night Empress felt extremely wronged!
Alas, why did I become an Empress, and I can't even participate in truly interesting battles.
Taibeila, can't you be more helpful, if this continues, I'm going to feel like I'm winning without a fight!
After the war deduction, the "family of three" continued to visit theTianming Army base, showing a more real other world.
Chapter 246: This adjutant of yours is a talent!
The Eternal Night Empress has traveled in many worlds, but she is still quite curious about what kind of changes will happen after a world completely occupied by gods is destroyed by herself and the ruling church is overthrown, and what the lives of the people in this world are like now.
Looking at the base where the military-civilian relationship is particularly harmonious, there is an enlightenment similar to the QingTeng(青藤: Qīngténg) Empire, but there are also some differences.
With the publication of "New Arcana", Roger established the Dark Night Guard, set up the Empress Award, and then opened various policies and laid the foundation for the environment, the QingTeng(青藤: Qīngténg) Empire has been working hard to abolish the theory of bloodline, and reduce the impact of birth on a person's development.
But in the Empire, what replaces bloodline is the amount of knowledge.
In the final analysis, the Empire is a country built on the foundation of powerful magicians, and the key point for the liberation of the bottom people is that the process of acquiring knowledge becomes cheap, and everyone has the opportunity to change their destiny through learning.
But as this system is established, a chain of contempt based on knowledge, social contribution, mastery of skills, and combat power has been re-established.
Under the superficial fairness, there are already emerging "technical nobles", because they control the direction of the Empire's progress, and have widened the distance from the bottom people, occupying a great first-mover advantage, and resources are infinitely tilted towards them.
People like Frankenstein and Lydia, because of their outstanding research talent, have the status and resources that 99% of the people in the Empire cannot imagine in their lives.
It's just that this kind of people have a strong impetus for the progress of the Empire, and they themselves have enough strong productivity, and they don't need to oppress the bottom people.
On the contrary, it is these magicians who have been working hard in their own fields who constantly bring newer and better technologies to the bottom people, so that they can have a better life.
The Empire's propaganda agencies have always instilled the idea that technology is the primary productive force to everyone, so that they understand what the Empire is concentrating resources on, and depict the beautiful future that the Empire can build after a basic breakthrough.
It's not the ethereal arrival of gods, but a sudden change that can be realized in this life, within five years.
The foundation of such changes is the winners of the Empress Award, the magicians and researchers who rely on advanced technology to obtain more wealth, so although a small number of people enjoy more benefits, these people are not hated by the people of the Empire like the nobles of the past, but have become idol figures pursued and emulated by the whole people.
The education and dialectical thinking that the Empire is working hard to promote have opened up the people's wisdom and given them a sufficiently beautiful life, and the fairness in the system is already a beautiful environment that has not existed in the past ten thousand years.
On the surface, some people have reached different heights, but that is the result of talent and effort, not because they had a good birth and can do whatever they want, such a fanatical pursuit of technology similar to "scientists governing the country" has gradually been written into the DNA of the people of the Empire.
TheTianming Army does not have such a foundation, they are a group of knights and refugees abandoned by the gods, and they are much more lacking in technology and materials than the QingTeng(青藤: Qīngténg) Empire.
The fairness they are presenting now is that the upper and lower levels enjoy the same benefits, the cadres take the lead in undertaking hard lives and dangerous battles, and then try to mobilize everyone's subjective initiative as much as possible, and everyone works together to catch up with the part of the gap that the church forces are leading.
At least, we can't lose this base anymore, and even have to expand outwards, and liberate more people to such a life where we can see the future.
In such an environment, the spirit and temperament of the people are different from the past. Their eyes are no longer numb, and their demeanor is no longer so timid.
From the Eternal Night Empress's perspective, if the Tianming Army survives this period and liberates these soldiers and civilians, it is entirely possible that they could ignite a prairie fire in this backward, ignorant, and cruel dark world.
"This is an equally magnificent undertaking, one that stirs the heart. No wonder that little girl is reluctant to return!"
A playful smile appeared on the Eternal Night Empress's lips.
There are no massive ten-kilometer warships, no earth-shattering power, no feats of slaying gods, but what Xiana is doing in this plane—igniting the light in the hearts of more people—is a seemingly ordinary but fundamentally different and magnificent undertaking compared to the past.
She chatted with the native locals she met along the way.
As a mage, language is not a problem at all; it's all within the scope of magic.
Without needing to offer any benefits, just talking about the improvements in everyone's current life is enough to make many people jump out and show off.
The Tianming Army broke the caste system, bringing hope to the lowest levels of the population, less exploitation, fairer distribution, and is also working hard to enlighten the people, making everyone understand why we fight and what we strive for.
This policy, different from ordinary gods and the manipulation of the masses, is the direction the Eternal Night Empress is striving for. Although the conditions are limited here, they are still persevering, which makes her favorability rise sharply.
"The gods are no good, and neither are most of the nobles." She heard about the miserable lives in this plane before, the sad state of the world after it was completely occupied by the gods, and she couldn't help but sigh.