Summit Farmer

The Vastsea Nation had never been this chaotic before, as if overnight the situation changed dramatically with internal forces clashing and external empires invading, throwing the entire empire into chaos.

The New Emperor sat atop the Great Hall, watching the ministers fiercely debating countermeasures, feeling utterly helpless and on the verge of tears, as he had never anticipated things would develop in this direction.

Now the New Emperor felt as if he were dreaming, finding it incredibly hard to believe the empire had suddenly become like this.

"All beloved ministers, what do you believe we should do now?"

Upon hearing that one city after another had changed hands, all occupied by various powers, the New Emperor truly didn't know what to do.

As these words were spoken, the entire Great Hall suddenly fell silent.

No one dared to speak, with too many people conjuring the image of a certain figure in their minds.

Sigh!

Many ministers could only sigh in lament. When Peter Brown was around, the whole empire was flourishing. With Peter guarding the nation, no other country dared invade. No one knew what the New Emperor was thinking, forcing Peter to leave for the Northern Region.

Thinking of Peter Brown, everyone could only sigh.

Of course, no one dared to suggest inviting Peter back. Last time, when a minister just mentioned it, he was immediately stripped of his title and his family punished.

Seeing the Great Hall in silence, the New Emperor grew anxious and said in a deep voice, "You all know the state of the nation. If nothing changes, our empire will be finished, and you won't be able to escape either!"

"Your Majesty, the West Flame Kingdom has always been friendly with Our Country, and the Imperial Dowager is, after all, of the Royal Clan of the Crimson Flame Nation."

Indeed!

With this minister's reminder, everyone's eyes brightened. If reconciliation with the Crimson Flame Nation was possible, the western front could cease hostilities, possibly even borrowing their army to pacify regions.

The New Emperor sighed, "We can only first talk to them."

Just as he said this, a minister hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Crimson Flame Nation has already advanced to our West Gate, and now the commander of West Gate is requesting assistance."

At these words, everyone's hearts trembled. West Gate was a crucial stronghold defending the western region of the Vastsea Nation. Losing it would spell danger for the entire empire.

"Report!"

A voice came from outside.

"Your Majesty, urgent report from West Gate 800 miles away."

A general, covered in blood, was helped into the room.

Seeing this, the New Emperor's expression changed.

"Speak!"

He had a very bad premonition.

Sure enough, the general panted and said, "Your Majesty, West Gate has fallen; the army of the Crimson Flame Nation has entered unhindered."

The entire Great Hall fell silent again. Since the Crimson Flame Nation had invaded, would they retreat?

"Your Majesty, the Crimson Flame Nation is strong, they absolutely won't withdraw easily!"

"What do we do?"

The New Emperor was truly anxious now.

The situation had reached such a level, and there was no one who could think of any solutions.

At this moment, another shocking piece of news arrived — the Eastern Sea Clan Empire had attacked, continuously defeating the city defense armies. In the east, due to the prior elimination of the Eastern Legion, there was simply no one to withstand their power. Therefore, the Sea Clan's army was advancing towards the hinterlands.

The ministers looked at each other, with none speaking. At this point, they knew full well that even if they had great capabilities in their minds, without an army at hand, they were powerless.

Many ministers sighed again; with Peter Brown's presence, the empire would not have changed like this.

"Your Majesty, I believe the actions against Marshal_Wang were wrong. If there had been no actions against Marshal_Wang, the empire would not have changed like this. I plead for the execution of disrupting minsters!"

"I second this motion!"

"Indeed, if not for the corrupt ministers, our court would not have seen where loyal ministers are targeted. Marshal_Wang was forced to leave!"

One by one, the ministers grew furious. If not for those ministers plotting against Peter Brown, such a precarious situation would not have arisen.

The New Emperor remained silent.

If it was before, a minister uttering such words would have directly faced execution, but now, with the people's fury, everyone was convinced that it was because of listening to slanderous ministers that such actions were taken.

At this, Jocelyn Nelson snorted and said, "You claim Peter Brown is loyal, but did a loyal person ever establish themselves as king?"

His words silenced everyone.

In their anger, they believed Peter Brown was forced away by the ministers' plots. Yet, now thinking about it, Peter Brown had established his own kingship, making the loyalty argument untenable.

Jocelyn Nelson spoke loudly again, "It's too late to say anything now; Your Majesty should personally lead the army to confront the Crimson Flame Nation's forces!"

"Where do we still have an army?"

Jocelyn Nelson loudly declared, "The Imperial Guard still numbers in the tens of thousands; adding regional troops, we have at least ten to twenty thousand capable warriors. If we crush the West Flame Kingdom's army in a single battle, we can still have a chance to turn the tide!"

"Can we possibly defeat the Crimson Flame Nation?"

"Your Majesty, dispersing the army to fight individually won't work. I propose concentrating all regional disperse forces together, and that way, we can gather at least 500,000 troops. We are not without a fighting chance!"

The New Emperor listened, his expression finally softening, and he said in a low voice, "What we need to do now is to concentrate our power for a decisive battle, as per Jocelyn Nelson's suggestion."

The ministers stepped out one after another.

Thinking of the combat prowess of the Imperial Guard, and the fact that many local armies relied mainly on Peter Brown's Northern Army, they all became uneasy.

The New Emperor himself was equally uneasy. After entering the study room, a few trusted ministers also arrived.

"How confident are you, Minister Jocelyn?" the New Emperor asked Jocelyn Nelson.

Jocelyn sighed and said, "Your Majesty, to be honest, our army doesn't possess particularly strong combat power, as you know. I merely considered the situation of the court ministers to stabilize them."

The New Emperor's expression changed, "Then what should we do?"

"Your Majesty, we should join forces with Peter Brown!"

"What?" the New Emperor looked at Jocelyn Nelson in surprise.

"Your Majesty, the Crimson Flame Nation is strong. I believe even Peter Brown harbors reservations. Now, all other considerations can be set aside. We need to think about how to stabilize the situation. If we can gain Peter Brown's army's assistance now, in the eyes of the world, it will appear as if Peter Brown is still with us, thus leveraging the situation. If we defeat the Crimson Flame Nation's forces, we will regain our deterrence."

This reasoning everyone agreed with, and they couldn't help but nod in approval.

The New Emperor now truly regretted, knowing if this were the case, he would have never moved against Peter Brown. Hesitating, he asked, "Would Peter Brown agree?"

"Your Majesty, though Peter Brown established himself as king, he has no consort. We can betroth Princess Rose Thompson!"

A betrothal?

Once again, everyone fell silent.