Chapter 63: Perspective

"I would rather be called a butcher or a headsman than become a captive, a slave to another nation."

After saying this, Edward sank back into his seat. "Forgive me, I got a little emotional. In short, these are the reasons why I want to silence the voices of the other sects."

Wade didn't mind Edward's lack of decorum.

What Edward had just said was simply too impactful for him to process easily.

What was this man planning to do?
Revive the imperial family!

He had to admit that the imperial family still retained some lingering influence and people willing to pledge their allegiance to them. But restoring the monarchy felt like turning the wheel of history backward...

As for Edward's hawk-like ideology, Wade had known about it from the beginning, so it came as no surprise.

"If we restore the imperial family and the monarch turns out to be incompetent, what should we do?" Wade asked.

"We are merely utilizing their name to unify the empire once again. As for political power, we can firmly grasp it in the hands of the Iron Cross sect. As long as the sect's trajectory is correct, its ideology is right, and its decisions are made in the nation's best interest, we can keep moving forward instead of spinning our wheels in place," Edward said with resonant strength. "When the time is ripe, we can force the emperor to step down, leaving behind an intact Dロス—ruled entirely by the Iron Cross!"

If Robin were here, he would instantly understand what Edward was trying to accomplish.

This was the concept of grand unification, most familiar to the people of Huaxia...

Edward wasn't trying to revive the royal family; he was looking to borrow a blade—a rusted blade called righteousness.

As for supporting an emperor first only to dispose of him later, Xiang Yu and Zhu Yuanzhang would say they were intimately familiar with this line of work.

"Pardon me, this matter is of such magnitude that I need to give it serious thought." Wade raised his head and looked at Edward. "I assume you didn't come to me and say all this without any preparation, did you?"

"You are indeed a prominent figure within the Iron Cross, but you are not our Chancellor yet..."

"The Chancellor shares my exact view." Edward let out a long breath. "We need you, and we need your magitech brigade."

"My current assignment is to ensure your safety here in Anzio," Wade said helplessly. "The intelligence network and forces of Dros here are suffering a devastating blow; protecting your security is no simple task for me."

"Therefore, you have ample time to ponder my words," Edward smiled.

"Let's talk about something more relaxed..." Wade shook his head.

Clearly, reviving the empire, bringing the emperor back into the public eye, and silencing all other sects to leave only one was an overwhelmingly heavy shock to him.

This was nothing less than completely dismantling the current system of Dros, equivalent to overturning the entire table. The difficulty of such an endeavor could easily be imagined.

"Did you know? The recent incident regarding the Roland Art Studio was exposed by a victim who is now a darling of the Black Mountain Army and a competent soldier," Wade said. "He is also a Drosian."

"To think that kid was the one who blew the lid off it," Edward remarked with mild surprise.

Before coming here, he had done his homework and read plenty of newspapers.

The current issue in Anzio was the conflict between Grand Duke Benito and the kingdom itself. And the epicenter of this conflict lay on the battlefield of Volsini.

Had it been the Robin of the past, earning even a corner of a newspaper page would have been a stretch, but under the hype generated by both sides, Robin had been thrust straight into the spotlight. Consequently, Edward had learned of him as well.

"Do you resent him? A Drosian who betrayed national interests," Wade asked casually.

"Why should I resent him? He is a commoner and a victim of this affair; nothing he does surprises me," Edward said indifferently, taking a puff of his cigar. "Does our current nation deserve the love of commoners? Does our current government deserve their devotion?"

"When something like this happens, we should first examine where we went wrong to make our own citizens betray our country!"

"If we did nothing wrong and he is in the wrong, then I will kill him."

"If we were in the wrong and he was right, then we should change, become better, and win the genuine, heartfelt support of the commoners."

"I met him. He is a man of talent, and I want to use him," Wade said earnestly. "He raised his voice to draw the Grand Duke to his rescue, and then used the Roland Art Studio incident to forge an opportunity for himself to escape Volsini."

"Indeed a man of talent," Edward nodded. "I saw reports of the duel in the papers, along with his combat record... Truly a valorous warrior."

"To think someone like that was sold out by the Cult of the Devouring Demon Wolf. Who knows how many talents have been ruined in this manner."

As a hawk, Edward greatly admired such brave soldiers and held a natural affinity for courageous military men.

"Do you have any objections?" Wade probed. "He could easily have reported it to the upper echelons of Dros for internal handling, but instead, he has thrown Dros into the international spotlight, and we have no idea how much influence and profit we will lose. Not just the nation of Anzio, but other countries will take advantage of our misfortune."

Wade had his own deep motives for both meeting Robin and considering using him.

Robin was a talent, certainly, but he certainly didn't warrant such deep attention from someone of Wade's stature. Back at the Roland Art Studio, Wade had merely spoken to him in passing without taking him to heart.

It was only after learning that Robin had exposed the studio affair that Robin's shadow finally registered in Wade's mind. It wasn't that he viewed Robin as an irreplaceable talent, but rather that Robin could serve as a litmus test for the Iron Cross's stance.

"Heh, that's probably because he lost faith in the Drosian government, isn't it?" Edward smiled. "Wade, you must cast your gaze further and broaden your horizons."

"Robin pushing this country into the spotlight might actually be a blessing in disguise. Destruction must precede construction."

"Furthermore, in this matter, it is really our nation that isn't strong enough."

"When we are strong enough, let alone one such incident, what would ten or a hundred matter?"

"Any major problem can be suppressed as long as we possess sufficient power. Iron and blood can resolve most problems in this world!"

"Robin exposed this, and other countries want to seize the opportunity to apply pressure and grab a share of the spoils."

"However, what if we possessed sufficient power? We would only need to excise the tumor of the Devouring Demon Wolf, offer an explanation, and would they still dare to squeeze benefits out of us?"

"If we truly employ him, we will completely burn our bridges with the Devouring Demon Wolf, and they will spare no cost to hunt Robin down," Wade gently sipped his wine. "Besides, others may not be as magnanimous as you. In their eyes, never mind that Robin is a victim; even if he were hacked to pieces, he should only feel gratitude, not betrayal!"

A sharp gleam flashed through Edward's eyes. "Perhaps he is a breakthrough point—at least when dealing with the Cult of the Devouring Demon Wolf."

"If you can truly bring him back to the country and pledge allegiance to the Iron Cross, this man... I will protect him."