Weapon seller in the world of magic

Chapter 464 Who am I? Mark or Lu Zhen?

A week ago, the previous Emperor's nephew, Shang Jun won against the crown prince during the final stage of the trial of the throne and became the successor.

But, once he became the Emperor, all sorts of problems arose. Right on the first day, a special investigative team was formed, filled with strangers. Within three days, these people managed to arrest several nobles and a couple of former ministers, and even high-rank soldiers. He cracked down on corruption.

Secondly, due to the same reason, an arrest was issued on the crown prince, but he evaded it with the help of some of his loyal subordinates. He went into hiding. 

The third prince, however, enjoyed the position of the new Prime minister. The old one was removed and given retirement, citing old age.

Thirdly, citing low funds in the treasury as the reason, the new emperor ordered wealthy individuals to pay more taxes, and that too, without giving them any time. Those who resisted were thrown into prisons. The money collected during the past week was used in creating a well-organized orphanage.

And then, he took everyone by surprise with a new order. He rejected the independence of Western Yan and announced a volunteer army to take back their land. This army isn't made of trained soldiers. 

Instead, civilians were being recruited for hefty amounts of money. They were then sent to the border to fight for their homeland.

So far, more than a thousand deaths occurred, but Shang Jun has no intention of stopping. For the sake of feeding their families, men from poor families still lined up for joining this army. As for the rebellion elements, for some reason, they weren't born yet, although there is a rumor that those who want to incite rebellion went mysteriously missing.

These actions of Shang Jun only brought Western Yan and Western Moon kingdoms closer. Despite that, Shang Jun didn't show aggression toward its neighboring kingdom. Instead, he attempted to improve their trade relations.

Surprisingly, he didn't try to find his missing father. The latter was still imprisoned at Fujian Island, spending his time watching the little princess train every day with the ancient grade beasts.

She successfully broke the wall and entered the Exalt realm but continued to train with them as her desire to get stronger grew further. It's because of this fact that Lan Jingyi didn't meet her even after finding her location. She continued to watch over her daughter from far away.

Back at Lunaris City, due to the lack of weapon supply, Meng Tao and Chang Bo continued with their multi-store business and stopped selling all kinds of ammunition and firearms. Xie Mei joined them as a staff member while training under Meng Tao in the gunfight.

As a result, the store's reputation got a hit among the masses in the Western Moon kingdom. If not for the fact that the gold dragon was guarding the borders, even Feng Wu would have also become more stressed. 

The small merchants also lost a bit of faith in Genesis Store due to its frequent closures while having a monopoly in the market. They felt like they cannot put their livelihood in the firearms business.

The dwarves took this situation as an advantage, releasing the massive stock of low-quality 9mm ammunition at a price of 3 silver and 50 copper. The public didn't get a chance to buy them yet as Shang Jun hoarded most of the stock for his volunteer army and patrolling guards.

Imperial Palace, Phoenix Empire;

Court proceedings were going as usual with the new Emperor, new ministers, and new higher court officials. Everyone is relatively young here, below the age of 40. Under their bold Emperor, everyone also tried to be bold and risk takers.

The new head of the Ministry of Rites, which oversees rituals, ceremonies, and diplomatic protocol, stood up and handed a scroll to the third prince.

As the new prime minister was reading the letter with not so pleasant expression, Shang Jun grew curious.

He asked, "What is it, Prime Minister Wei?"

Shang Wei then looked toward him and replied, "Your Majesty, it's a piece of bad news. The Dragon Empire is demanding compensation for the loss of its Royal ancestor in the battle of fire seed. Their investigations have determined that it is likely the work of Lu Zhen. We want an unconditional apology from the Emperor at our imperial court or 100 million gold coins. If neither of our conditions are met, it will be considered an act of war."

"Bullshit. How were we responsible for that?" Shang Jun grew angry.

The third prince replied in a calm manner, "Your Majesty, The Imperial Palace has employed Lu Zhen for the fire seed. Hence, his actions during that event are on our heads."

Shang Jun clenched his fists and forcefully calmed himself down. After taking his seat, he asked, "So, what do you think of it?"

Shang Wei answered, "I believe they were trying to test His Majesty. Rightfully, their so-called royal ancestor came here without taking our permission. His entry is illegal and by right, we can give him any sentence based on our laws. Hence, he should be prepared for the consequences too. They already lost the right to demand anything. However, they can take revenge on a personal basis. In that case, they would go directly to Western Moon and demand them to hand him over. They knew that too. It only makes sense if they want to see whether His Majesty is a docile cat or an aggressive tiger or a cunning wolf."

"Hmm…" Shang Jun rested his elbow on his knees and placed his fist below his chin, thinking about what his cousin said. He was aware that war is not an option. Fighting with Dragon Empire would only bring destruction as they command an army stronger than any other Empire. Only Leon Empire can give a tough fight.

Adding on top of that, they were also the wealthiest empire and can fund it for years without any problems.

So, what options are left? Apology? That's not even an option. And sticking for Lu Zhen who left their empire is considered foolishness in Shang Jun's view. 

What about assassinating Lu Zhen and handing his head over to the Dragon Empire? Shang Jun would rather go to war against the Dragon Empire than offend the resentful fellow. He was smart enough to know that.

As he was thinking of the matter, something suddenly clicked in his mind and a creepy smile appeared on his face, taking the third prince by surprise.

He said, "The court session is adjourned for the day. Zhang Kang, Sui Weisheng; I need both of you to meet me at the throne room (an official private meeting room)."

"Eh?" Shang Wei was taken aback, not getting such an invitation when he was supposed to be Emperor's most trusted official.

After a while;

Zhang Kang, the heir of Zhang Clan, rose to his feet in shock, "Are you serious? Your Majesty, I hope you are thinking about this thoroughly. The consequences will be unimaginable if you wake up the sleeping lion."

As the minister of War was silently pondering on the matter, Shang Ju shook his head with a smile, "Don't worry. This will not trace back to us even if it fails. And we won't keep her as the prisoner. Song Yue will be handed to the Dragon Empire as a gift from an anonymous person, who was worried about the war. That's all. Make sure to leak the entire contents of the letter to the public. Maybe, we can even generate a bit of hatred toward Lu Zhen in the process."

Sui Weisheng who finished thinking asked, "Do you have any personal enmity with Lu Zhen, Your Majesty?"

Shang Ju shook his head, "Nope. I haven't even met him once. But then again, he isn't a friend either. I'm not obliged to think about his well-being. However, unlike me, both of you had enmity with him. Zhang Kang, you had your fiancé stolen away by him. And Sui Weisheng, I don't think I should remind you how he humiliated your Clan. If Lu Zhen dies, the Dragon Empire will be satisfied. And if the Dragon Empire ends up being troubled, then, their arrogance will be defeated. No matter the outcome, we will win."

"But, what about Shang Wei?" asked Sui Weisheng.

Shang Ju shrugged his shoulders in response, "He should be kept in the dark."

"Alright, I understand" "As you wish, Your Majesty"

***

Sylvandrial Dominion, Earth-486; 

In the tree house, Mark who went into a deep sleep state started shivering uncontrollably. As a result, first the bed, then, the floor, and eventually, the whole house started shaking as if an earthquake was occurring.

Steve and James were sitting in the living room, doing their own things. The former is busy drawing the parts of an aircraft while the latter is writing a short story. Zan Rong is currently outside somewhere.

All of a sudden, they felt the vibration beneath them.

"Steve," cried out James, wondering whether it is an attack. "Hurry up and prote…"

Before his words finished, the entire house collapsed, surprising the roaming elves nearby.

As both of them pushed out the rubble fallen upon them, both of them raised their heads to see a floating figure in the sky.

"What is this power?  Shouldn't I be a mortal? How did I become a Spirit Warrior? And what is this other set of memories? Am I Lu Zhen? Or am I Mark? Or am I someone else?"