Who is the smartest person in this universe?
It is me, it must be me, it can only be me!
Nathanduum firmly believed that if anyone possessed the wisdom and power to dominate everything, that person could only be himself.
There is only a thin line between a genius and a madman, and Nathanduum was the one walking a tightrope on that very line.
At the peak of a Hive City somewhere in Oceania, Nathanduum stood up from his seat, removing a helmet connected to a dense network of tubes.
He had azure eyes and short silver-white hair, appearing no different from an unaugmented mortal.
In reality, however, Nathanduum’s brain had been modified for one hundred percent development, and exquisite genetic engineering had granted him nearly eternal life—and these were but a small fraction of his insignificant achievements.
He looked back at the seat and helmet connected by cables and pipes; that was his proudest invention, capable of monitoring the inner hearts of everyone within range and even twisting their thoughts.
Truly perfect—who else but Nathanduum could achieve such a thing?
He walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window, looking down upon his subjects within the Hive City.
“Poor Don, he probably doesn’t know his fate yet.
Perhaps his days as Archbishop are coming to an end; he will surely be killed!”
As Nathanduum spoke, his hands pressed tightly against the glass, and tears actually began to flow from his eyes?
“Is Angel going to move against me?
How heartbreaking.
Perhaps I should stop her.
Yes, that’s right, the best plan now is to stop her from splitting the Federation of Indonesia.”
Warp teleportation technology is highly effective for interstellar travel measured in light-years, but on a planet, it is prone to delays.
Therefore, as long as the Empire is prevented from occupying Indonesia, its threat to the Pan-Pacific Empire will be significantly weakened.
“But, but!”
Nathanduum suddenly fell to his knees, his hands tightly gripping his own throat.
“I want her, Angel, Angel, I want her so much!”
Nathanduum was a genius, and even more so a madman.
He possessed a near-paranoid desire for control, which was why he monitored the hearts of all his subjects; he yearned to have all beautiful things within his grasp.
The city-state of Orioc in Antarctica possessed satellites capable of monitoring the entire globe, and Nathanduum often used them to observe everything happening on Terra, his methods so clean that those fools in Orioc hadn’t noticed to this day.
That day, while patrolling all of Terra as usual, a figure firmly caught his eye.
What a beautiful creation, just like a divine messenger from the bibles of Ancient Terra.
He recognized the tall figure beside Morningstar—the Emperor.
Perhaps in terms of perfection, the Emperor was not far behind, but a smart man’s intuition had kept Nathanduum from making a move for a long time.
Until now, Nathanduum had only regarded the Emperor as a newly rising warlord leader.
But now, this warlord leader had actually created a being that even he admired.
Remarkable.
If he snatched that beautiful creation away, what expression would he make?
Nathanduum had been racking his brains on how to snatch Angel into his own territory, never expecting that she would actually come to him.
He thought this must be the choice of fate; the heavens wanted to deliver that beautiful thing into the possession of Nathanduum.
“So Don,” Nathanduum looked up, a bizarre smile blooming on his face which was still stained with tears, “please hurry up and die.
I can’t wait to meet Angel.”
He stood up, gazing at the edge of the dusky sky.
“Angel, come.
I am right here waiting for you.
Come quickly.”
…Morningstar felt a sudden chill for no reason, as if she were being stared at by someone disgusting.
Morningstar looked up at the anti-surveillance psychic barrier.
Surely not—could there really be surveillance that can penetrate even her own psychic power?
Shaking her head, Morningstar looked at the line of trembling mortals standing before her.
“Don’t be nervous, soldiers.”
Morningstar flashed a warm smile.
“I am Morningstar, daughter of the Emperor.
I presume you are the cream of the crop in the army.”
“May I ask why your Excellency has summoned us?” a mortal asked nervously.
He was just a minor character in the army, having only attained the position of squad leader because he was clever and full of ideas, but he never expected the Emperor’s daughter to grant them a special audience.
“I have a mission to entrust to you,” Morningstar leaned forward, looking into each person’s eyes.
“I want you to infiltrate the Federation of Indonesia to orchestrate riots, inciting as much conflict as possible between their Archbishop and the common people.
We will rendezvous with you at the appropriate time.
I have only one requirement: our target is solely the ruling class headed by the Archbishop.
Civilian casualties must be avoided as much as possible.”
“I know this mission is dangerous, but the Empire needs you, and humanity needs you.
This might sound a bit too high-and-mighty, so…
I promise that for everyone involved in this mission, regardless of whether accidents occur, the Empire will treat your families with the highest level of care.
If you return safely, I will personally bestow great wealth upon you.
Those who perform exceptionally will be heavily rewarded.”
Morningstar turned around.
“I will turn back in one minute.
Those who remain here after one minute, I will take as being willing to participate.”
…Morningstar turned back; not a single person was missing.
She smiled and gave a solemn bow.
“My sincere thanks to you all.
And, stay safe.”
All the mortals present were incredibly excited.
To be honest, infiltrating an enemy nation might be safer than the battlefield.
Moreover, since the Princess had said and done so much, what else was there to say?
Offer loyalty to Yuan Kaka—Loyalty!
As everyone filed out, Morningstar let out a sigh.
Where would she get the money?
Right now, she was penniless except for her outfit.
But it didn’t matter—just because she didn’t have it didn’t mean others didn’t.
Morningstar used her psychic power to contact the Emperor.
Morningstar: Hello, dear Daddy, you there?
Emperor:…What is it?
Morningstar: Drop some gold coins.
Emperor:?