The war in The South remained tense. Since the Revolutionary Army had suddenly emerged to strike at The Empire, it had indeed caused many repercussions, preventing them from shifting their attention to the North Territory.
For Cerydra, this was a golden opportunity!
Unifying the North was currently Cerydra's most important task. The greatest difficulty in this matter was not knowing when The Empire in The South would intervene.
Those bizarre and varied Imperial Arms, while not necessarily posing a fatal danger to Cerydra and Hysilens, still carried a certain level of threat that she had to guard against.
What Cerydra feared most was those Teigu Users taking advantage of them being spread thin to carry out a concentrated massacre of the Northern army.
No matter how strong a soldier was, they would appear powerless when facing an Imperial Arms User, unless they possessed a Teigu with special non-combat abilities; otherwise, the probability of victory would not be high.
But now, The Empire was actually being held back by the Rebel Army?
At this thought, the smile on Cerydra's face became unstoppable, as the four-person team of the Assassination Clan she had once encountered gradually surfaced in her mind.
Why did the Revolutionary Army suddenly make such a major move at this time?
Why did it happen to provide such effective help to her?
Cerydra did not believe those people would act out of the goodness of their hearts, unless someone among them played a pivotal role!
Without a doubt, it had to be Barbara and Merraid.
Cerydra had once commissioned Barbara to assassinate the Old Emperor of the Northern Country, reaching a level of cooperation to some extent.
Later, she had released Barbara's three disciples and even sent them off with several carts of gold; this was also an act of expressing goodwill.
Though there was no exchange of letters and they had only met a few times, the clever people in the Revolutionary Army must have realized what she intended to do, which is why they took this chance to launch a massive offensive within The Empire's borders.
The Empire's interior was naturally full of powerhouses; if they deployed their full combat strength, they might be able to handle both the Rebel Army and Imperator simultaneously.
But therein lay the problem: the decadent Empire, due to its internal issues, simply could not deploy its full strength, nor could it conduct a two-front war. Thus, it was pinned down within its own borders by the Revolutionary Army.
"Since you've gone to such lengths, I won't be polite!"
With The Empire unable to free its hands, Cerydra could concentrate all her attention on the Nobles within the Northern Country, ordering Dux Gladiorum and Alptraum to seize all Noble territories in the North at the highest speed.
With Cerydra's iron-blooded methods, those who resisted naturally met no good end, only to be sliced in two by the two powerful warriors.
While surrendering could preserve one's life, they would be directly stripped of their original Noble Peerage by Cerydra, becoming ordinary people who no longer enjoyed any of their former privileges.
Imperator had no need for those old foxes of the political arena; she needed young people with ideals, ambitions, and loyalty to her.
If they could demonstrate their talent and value during the war—whether it was outstanding combat power or a mind for leading troops—as long as they produced effective results, they would be directly granted a Peerage by Imperator.
In just one short month, more than a dozen exceptionally gifted talents appeared under Cerydra's command and received personal Peerage titles from Imperator.
The Northern Country, which had been teetering just a month or two ago, miraculously completed the unification of power in an extremely short time, a feat that could be described as staggering.
However, despite such major events occurring in the North, the name being circulated was not that of the Prince of the Northern Tribe, Numa Seika, but a Godslayer named "Cerydra."
That's right—Cerydra was no longer blocking news or covering up the war in the North as she had before. For her next move, Cerydra needed her name and identity to spread, creating a massive uproar in the world.
Next, the entire world would likely be shocked by the news of "Cerydra" and the "Godslayer."
But Cerydra didn't care about that, for she had more important things to do next...
★ ★ ★
Inside the magnificent Palace, a group of warriors in various styles of dress walked step by step toward the throne deep within. They formed ranks according to their status, allowing one to recognize the differences in rank at a glance.
Leading them were two beautiful girls: one with smooth black hair and the other with bright blue hair. These were Dux Gladiorum and Alptraum, who had followed Cerydra from the beginning.
The dozen or so people following them were the talents who had displayed their gifts during the battles in the North. All had been given catchy titles by Cerydra, such as Dux Brumalis and Dux Carminum—all Peerage titles based on Imperator's former subordinates.
Because these people were special warriors who reminded Cerydra of her former subordinates, she chose such titles.
Imperator also told these "second generation" new peers that the names of the titles they received held special significance and that they must not tarnish them, otherwise...
Imperator would strictly punish anyone who defiled them!
Incidentally, the surrendered general Najenda, titled "Dux Benevolentia," was among this rank. Clearly, this strong woman had recognized reality and joined Imperator's banner.
However, upon hearing she was granted the title "Dux Benevolentia," the expression on Najenda's face seemed a bit strained... but that was none of Cerydra's concern.
At the very end of the line were over a hundred individuals who had performed excellently under Imperator, all possessing decent talents. Perhaps in combat, management, or logistics...
Though they couldn't compare to those in the front, they belonged to the better batch in this world, and most were loyal to Imperator. Cerydra needed these talents to help her manage the Soldiers and logistics.
These hundred or so people chatted and laughed, not at all like normal officials in a palace, but more like friends on an outing. Upon reaching the foot of the throne, not a single person performed a kneeling rite; instead, they raised their heads to look at the petite figure on the throne.
They did this not because they completely ignored the Lord on the throne, but because they understood her too well...
Though Lady Imperator was iron-blooded, she surprisingly did not care for those tedious etiquettes. Whether it was kneeling, bowing, or the so-called Foot-kissing Ceremony, they had all been completely abolished by her.
Furthermore, according to internal rumors, this Lady did not seem to like those whose height was greater than hers deliberately lowering their heads below her height.
Hmm... though strange, not a single person was dissatisfied; on the contrary, they developed unique feelings toward this Lady Imperator.
Naturally, someone had opposed the cancellation of the Foot-kissing Ceremony, but they were beaten up by Lady Imperator's most loyal Knight, Hysilens, and since then, no one had objected...
Seeming to sense the movement below the throne, Cerydra, who had been meditating with her eyes closed, gradually opened them. She swept her majestic gaze across those she had granted Peerage titles below.
Then, a rare smile appeared on the girl's face.
"Since everyone is here, let us begin!"
★ ★ ★