Their nation was well-situated, after all, with only a little over a hundred million people. Except for the third of the land belonging to the royal family and the various nobles, the remaining two-thirds of the territory were privately owned by the kingdom's subjects.

The immense territorial size resulted in an extremely dispersed population. The village where Gu Xichen first encountered Fuya.Ming was already considered a settlement with a relatively high population density.

Precisely because the population was scattered, the Yafike Kingdom boasted an extraordinarily comprehensive news coverage network, ensuring that every event transpiring within the kingdom was promptly made known to its citizens.

Thus, on this particular day, every news channel across the Yafike Kingdom simultaneously featured a weeping Fuya.Ming! Fuya.Ming cried heartbrokenly, her face awash with tears, a mixture of sobs and gasps; her eyes had swollen into two fiery red peaches.

It was impossible for her not to cry this way—the handkerchief she used to wipe her tears had been thoroughly soaked in a terrestrial specialty: onion juice, courtesy of Gu Xichen! Before she stepped into the news studio at the base, Gu Xichen had given her arm a sharp pinch, using his internal energy (Zhenqi) to stimulate the nerves in her limb. Fuya.Ming was in such agony she nearly convulsed; it would have been a miracle had she not wept.

"Citizens of the Kingdom! I am your Princess, Fuya.Ming! Here, I bring you a piece of unfortunate news!"

The camera cut abruptly. The screen filled with footage of soldiers cleaved cleanly in half at the waist. The bloody corpses, the scattered fragments of viscera, and the horribly distorted faces of the dead terrified the kingdom's subjects watching the news. Fuya.Ming’s voice-over began: "A bloody massacre that could have been avoided, a battle that should never have happened—yet, it has happened."

The scene jerked sharply, revealing the body of an Aodaoer that had just been cloned. Although the skin was frighteningly pale due to the nutrient solution, this body was peppered with perhaps a hundred bullet holes, its face smeared with blood; no one could discern what he truly looked like.

"Prince Daogen’s army attacked my secret base. My brave and loyal adjutant, Lord Aodaoer, has fallen, and my royal guards have suffered catastrophic casualties! Even more distressingly, three highly esteemed Dukes of our Yafike Kingdom—Duke Jin Lihua, Duke Jin Baihua, and Duke Jin Yanweihua—were severely wounded in the assault and are currently undergoing emergency treatment."

The screen displayed a neat row of medical pods. Inside, the three Dukes floated naked in the nutrient fluid, their bodies riddled with bullet wounds of various sizes and horrific scars from laser swords. Besides these three Dukes, nearly a hundred other nobles, high and low, were also submerged in the pods, their conditions looking equally dire.

"A tragedy, this is an utter tragedy, a massive loss for the Yafike Kingdom! I have lost subjects who supported and adored me; you have lost generous and benevolent lords. And none of this needed to occur! If the Yafike Kingdom had not descended into civil war, none of this would have happened!"

Fuya.Ming was shedding tears, her emotions surging, and she truly began to weep. She sobbed brokenly, lamenting, "My father, your King! If he could see these bloody scenes today, his heart would shatter! My father reigned for eighty-five years, and during those eighty-five years, our Yafike Kingdom never lost a single soldier! But because of this unnecessary civil war, we have lost so much, so very much!"

Taking a deep breath, Fuya.Ming vigorously scrubbed her eyes with the handkerchief. The potent onion juice streamed into her eyes, and her tears multiplied. Her once-beautiful eyes were entirely bloodshot, resembling two swollen rabbit eyes. Her voice changed pitch; the power of the onion juice was too great; she felt as if her sight was failing. In a strangely distorted tone, she shrieked, "Prince Daogen, you have won! I renounce my legitimate claim to the throne—you have won! You will be the next King of Yafike!"

A handmaiden approached Fuya.Ming, carefully presenting her with a three-foot-long alloy casket.

Flinging the lid open forcefully, Fuya.Ming snatched out an exquisitely crafted scepter made of near-translucent white special alloy. The top of the scepter was shaped like a dragon's claw, its five talons tightly gripping a pale blue crystal, about the size of a baby's fist, carved into the likeness of the Yafike Star.

"This is the Scepter of Yafike, symbolizing the royal authority of Yafike. Prince Daogen, in three days, I will present this scepter to you in the Kingdom's Elder Council! If you promise me safe passage off the planet Yafike to Davilms, the core star of the Star Alliance, I will hand over the scepter and allow you to become the next King of Yafike!"

"Halt the fighting, stop this meaningless mutual slaughter. All my armies are yours! All my authority is yours! If your heart hasn't turned to ice, if power hasn't driven you mad, and if you still acknowledge yourself as a Yafike citizen—then let us declare a complete ceasefire!"

"While I must state that you are not the legitimate heir to the Kingdom, and you seized power that was not yours through despicable means, I must concede: you have won!"

"I cannot bear to see my subjects howling amidst gunfire any longer; I cannot endure their pointless deaths on the battlefield. Therefore, you have won, and I yield! If these injured lords can recover, I will personally urge them to swear fealty to you! They will pledge loyalty to you, Prince Daogen!"

The news broadcast ended abruptly. Fuya.Ming, her eyes barely able to open, bolted toward Gu Xichen, grabbing his tunic. She trembled uncontrollably from the pain. This onion juice, this infernal substance—there was nothing on Planet Yafike with such an intense smell!

Looking at Fuya.Ming with approval, Gu Xichen praised, "Your Highness, you possess the potential to become a top-tier politician!" His fingers gently brushed over her eyes, and a cool stream of True Essence flowed into her body. Soon, the onion juice began to flow out, mingling with her tears. Fuya.Ming’s eyes rapidly returned to normal; in fact, she felt her vision was sharper than before—a world of unprecedented clarity spread before her.

"Are you mocking me?" Fuya.Ming glared at Gu Xichen, annoyed. "I am a soldier!"

"I meant no sarcasm, Your Highness!" Gu Xichen chuckled easily. "Well, to be precise, I am a merchant! A mercenary is just a part-time job I take occasionally!"

Fuya.Ming stared intently at Gu Xichen, her face nearly touching his as she leaned in close: "A merchant? Damn it, what merchant could devise such a crazy scheme as yours? In three days, at the Elder Council—are you truly confident you can eliminate everyone in one go?"

He casually snapped his fingers, and Gu Xichen smiled. "Rest assured, Your Highness. I am confident in impersonating agents of the Dokko Federation to eliminate all the Kingdom's Elders and nobles, and Prince Daogen as well, in the process."

"But, what if..." Fuya.Ming leaned in even closer, her nose nearly touching his.

"Ah, rest assured! If there should be a 'what if'..." Gu Xichen carefully leaned back. Though Maria had seen his body before, Maria was a physician, and he was the patient—that situation was entirely different from the current one. Fuya.Ming's breath washed over his face, warm and fragrant, making Gu Xichen feel slightly unsettled.

Sighing, Gu Xichen took a deliberate step back, spreading his hands in open concession. "Should the unlikely happen, I personally guarantee to mobilize every asset at my disposal to help you reclaim the Fike Kingdom. How about that?"

Tilting her head in contemplation for a long moment, Fuya.Ming managed a wry smile. "Then, that is all we can do! If I commanded a competent army, I wouldn't dare risk trusting you like this!"

Gu Xichen gave a slight bow, smiling with absolute confidence. "Trust me, Your Highness. You will receive everything you desire."

Frowning, Fuya.Ming studied Gu Xichen up and down carefully before saying softly, "Then, let us review our plan of action one more time?"

"Excellent!" Gu Xichen readily agreed.

In Gu Xichen’s view, it was a very simple operational plan: slaughter everyone Fuya.Ming wished to purge, frame the Dokko Federation, ignite a kingdom-wide war, and remake the Yafike Kingdom with iron and blood!

'Iron' and 'Blood'!

Gu Xichen was certainly happy to sell an abundance of steel products to Fuya.Ming!