Chapter 62: Truth Exists Only Within the Range of Cannons

Edward, the ambassador to the Luce Federal Republic, was an exceptional diplomat.

With the current incident blowing up to such a massive scale, it was no longer something an ordinary diplomat could resolve.

Planting spies was one thing, but letting Derosian citizens die in Anzio just to secure some tariff benefits through such dirty tactics was entirely unacceptable. International news was currently flooded with articles slamming Deros.

The problem was that since the deed was already done, someone had to be sent to clean up the mess.

And so, following some "warm and friendly discussions" among various religious factions, this patriotic ambassador, Edward, was dispatched to handle the crisis.

Robin, a mere butterfly flapping its wings, had placed Deros on the grill.

Just at that moment, the tavern owner—a bald middle-aged man named Bob—brought over a large keg of dark beer and placed it on their table. "Oh, enjoy yourselves, my friends."

"Thank you, Bob. You're still as energetic as ever," Edward said politely.

"You're welcome, my friend. The last time I saw you was at your wedding, and you haven't changed a bit since then."

"Transcendent beings are always slow to age," Edward replied with a subtle smile.

Bob had merely dropped off the drinks and exchanged pleasantries before heading back.

Seeing Bob leave, Edward turned his gaze to Wade. "Wade, let's put aside the question of how to fix this for a moment."

"You know, we the Deros Empire call ourselves an empire, yet our supreme leader is a chancellor."

"That's right." Wade picked up a wooden mug, placed it beneath the spigot attached to the beer keg, and turned the tap.

*Glug, glug, glug...*

Fine Derosian dark beer slowly filled Edward's mug.

To prevent excessive foam, Wade thoughtfully tilted the mug at a forty-five-degree angle while pouring.

"The leader of the Church is the Pope, but the leader of the factions is the Chancellor," Wade said as he poured. "When a faction gains enough votes, its leader becomes the Prime Minister of the country. Yet, out of disdain for the royal family, no one cared about the voice of the crown anymore. Over time, people simply grew accustomed to calling them the Chancellor."

"However, we in the Deros Empire do still have a royal family," Edward took the beer pushed toward him by Wade, gripped the handle, and leaned forward, showing no intention of focusing on the drink. "Even if our royal family has already been reduced to mere mascots, we still have a royal family."

"Hah! Back in the day, His Majesty the Emperor fled the capital during a campaign, nearly causing Deros to collapse. Modern Deros is a republic in all but form; does anyone actually care what the emperor has to say?" Wade wore a look of disdain. "The so-called chancellor is essentially just a president. When you say this, you mean—"

When the emperor fled the capital, when the factions grew too powerful, and when the royal family lost control of the military, imperial authority had already ceased to exist.

The only reason the name of the empire had never been changed was that simply no one bothered to care.

In reality, the royal family had long since become a hollow shell.

The descendant of that emperor who fled the capital—the current emperor—owned an estate and a number of servants, but he possessed no power.

The wealth of the royal family had vanished during that war, and no one bothered to target the scraps the emperor had left, granting the imperial dignity one final shred of decency.

Once he could no longer afford to pay his servants' wages, and once he could no longer maintain his estate, he would naturally fade away into the river of history.

Edward picked up his beer mug and took a large gulp. "Do you know? The flaws of a multi-party system are simply too massive! Those factions will stop at nothing to get to the top."

"While in power, any faction will ruthlessly suppress the others."

"Even when it comes to building a single railway, the various factions each have their own agendas, resulting in a project that hasn't even broken ground after twenty years."

"If we keep maintaining the status quo, our country will remain trapped in this cycle forever."

"Don't you think this is a mistaken path?"

"If we stay on this road, let alone becoming great again, the day an external enemy truly invades, Deros will be carved up like a piece of succulent beef by other nations!"

"Don't forget, our industrial foundation and our population are glittering treasures in the eyes of foreign powers."

"Deros still retains a certain amount of strength today, which is why they don't dare to cross the line."

"Once our strength wanes, we will be nothing more than a child wandering a midnight street holding a bar of gold!"

"Only by restoring the empire can we truly unite the factions!"

Wade fell silent.

He filled a mug of dark beer for himself and drained it in one go.

*Hiccup.*

Wade let out a soft burp, then pulled a pack of cigarettes from his coat and offered one to Edward.

Edward shook his head, pulled a cigar from his pocket, and elegantly lit it.

"Mr. Edward, I admit what you're saying makes sense, but the two of us can't even agree on our smoking habits—how do you expect to unify the factions? A country with only a single voice means it has lost its checks and balances, allowing those in power to do whatever they please." Wade blew a graceful ring of smoke.

"Even if unified, power will not lose its checks and balances. Within the same faction, everyone has a different understanding of doctrine, and diverse voices still exist. We can negotiate the right course of action, allowing us to pool our wisdom to find the correct path without constantly sabotaging one another," Edward countered.

Wade's mind was in turmoil. "Could you explain in detail what the benefits of your ideology are for our country? Are we supposed to eliminate the other factions?"

"At the very least, once a policy is passed, it will be effectively executed, rather than having a group of people bickering over trivial matters for twenty years!" Edward was clearly growing agitated. "That's right, our smoking habits are different, but we can seek common ground while reserving our differences! At the very least, I won't snatch the cigarette from your mouth and force you to smoke a cigar."

"We are not going to eliminate other factions. We can respect them, and they can live under our governance—as long as they accept our rule and our ideology!"

"Put it this way: if the Devourer Wolf Cult were to take power, they were willing to trade the lives of their own citizens for profit yesterday; what might they do tomorrow?"

*Bang!*

Edward abruptly stood up, slammed both hands onto the table, and glared fixedly at Wade.

His voice grew increasingly passionate.

If not for the soundproofing transcendent artifact in the room, Wade would have suspected his voice could carry all the way to the small inn across the street.

"And what about the Phoenix Cult? What do they advocate? Slashing military expenditure!"

"Damn it, we are surrounded by enemies on all sides. If we cut military spending, the money we save now will simply become our war reparations in the future!"

"No matter what policies we enact, we must never weaken our military!"

"Because truth only lies within the range of our cannons!"