Ch.145Kill Each Other Starting Now. (2)

# Chapter 145: Now, Kill Each Other. (2)

[Holy Sebelli Empire’s Goodwill from Other Nations -5%]

[Stability Throughout the Holy Sebelli Empire -5%]

One might wonder why I’m making such a fuss over a mere 5% reduction.

To be honest, even in the actual game, a -5% stability was…

Something you could easily fix by replacing planetary or regional governors, or by utilizing happiness and stability systems within the planet.

Besides, for an empire managed by a player, stability would typically be at least 80-90%, making a -5% drop rather insignificant.

For it to have any meaningful impact, it would need to be -50%, not just -5%.

However, for the Holy Sebelli Empire where I currently reside, this -5% stability was nothing short of infuriating.

‘Pause, check imperial stability.’

[PAUSED]

[Holy Sebelli Empire Overall Stability]

[Current Imperial Average Stability: 45%(-5%)]

[Imperial Direct Territories]

[Capital Region: 37%(-5%, -20%)]

[Gaia Region: 73%(+20%{Descended Paradise Trait Applied}, -5%)]

[Saunar Region: 51%(-5%)]

[Zansro Region: 43%(-5%)]

[Zaniradia Region: 35%(-5%)]

[Other Undesignated Planetary Systems Average: 42%(-5%)]

[Imperial Vassals and Protectorates]

[Seban Administration: 57%(-5%)]

[Mis-Fel Democratic Union: 40%(-5%)]

[Riksi Council Territory: 37%(-5%)]

[Nurbal Republic: 46%(-5%)]

As the status window that appeared in response to my mental command showed…

The current stability of the Holy Sebelli Empire was, for a player empire, catastrophically bad.

As mentioned earlier, a player-run empire at this stage should have at least 70-80% stability.

Yet the Holy Sebelli Empire’s stability was barely half that level.

Even this sorry state was only achieved after I was transmigrated here and worked tirelessly alongside Artraia to improve it.

When I first arrived, the average stability was… if I recall correctly, somewhere in the 20% range.

—————————

For reference, in this game, lower stability resulted in various debuffs and disadvantageous traits for the empire.

Below 50%, resource production would decrease by 10%.

Below 25%, resource production would fall even further, happiness would decrease, and crime would surge throughout the empire.

Without player intervention, stability below 25% would continue to drop on its own—a true disaster.

If it got worse and fell below 10%, all sorts of rebellions and coup attempts would begin to surface.

And finally, if it reached 0%…

The empire would simply burst into civil war.

—————————

‘Hmm, this is really annoying.’

After expressing my inner frustration in the dignified language style of ancient Sebellian nobility and organizing my thoughts…

[PAUSE RELEASED]

I immediately released the pause and posed a question to Riel and the advisors before me.

“…What’s the current status of the Pope’s loyal forces?”

“Hmm, compared to their optimal state, they’re at about 70%? Actually, I’ll just show you on screen.”

As Riel said this while manipulating her terminal, a massive screen on one wall of the office displayed information about the current military situation.

[Papal Office Military Status]

[Holy Knight Order: 100% (Currently detained in the Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry underground)]

[Fortress Knight Order: 95% (Defending Papal Headquarters)]

[Toscana Legion: 56% (Retreated due to annihilation, reorganizing in the rear)]

[Celestial Guardian Corps: 75%]

[Sacred Realm Protection Knights: 58%]

[Judgment Fleet: 90%]

And my immediate thought upon seeing this status report was:

‘No matter if they’re mercenaries trained by an admiral from the Warlord Corps, mercenaries are still just mercenaries.’

The Papal Office’s forces had suffered less damage than expected, which momentarily made me feel disappointed in the mercenary admiral who wasn’t present…

‘No, what’s important is that as mercenaries, they managed to annihilate two direct Papal forces.’

Upon reflection, it was actually quite an impressive result.

After all, they were essentially street thugs with random equipment who had managed to completely destroy forces equipped with the empire’s finest gear and fanatical faith—not just once, but twice.

Moreover, while the Papal Office seemed to have plenty of forces remaining, a closer look revealed otherwise.

The Holy Knight Order was already beginning a new life in our Diplomatic Enforcement Ministry’s underground dungeons.

The Fortress Knight Order… those guys would never leave the Papal Headquarters no matter what happened.

In the end, apart from the Judgment Fleet, the Papal Office’s remaining available forces were…

Essentially just the Sacred Realm Protection Knights, who had already lost a quarter of their strength.

After reviewing all this, I proceeded to request additional information from Riel.

“Riel, how many Zeltech refugees remain?”

“Are you asking about ‘all’ refugees, Minister? Or just the ‘hostile’ ones?”

After hearing Riel’s question, I took a moment to consider before speaking again.

“All refugees. Give me a brief overview of the refugee camps and corporations.”

In response to my request, Riel began explaining while scrolling through screens.

“To put it briefly, most of the Zeltech refugees in our empire are currently migrating to Ztrakfor through Kar-Du.”

“Hmm.”

Perhaps due to the Papal Office’s thorough massacres, combined with the rumors we spread…

The number of Zeltech refugees crossing the border seemed quite substantial.

However…

“Then the number of remaining refugees must be quite small.”

“Umm… not really? Roughly over 50% of the refugees who initially came to our empire have stated they want to settle here permanently.”

“Uh… what?”

The number far exceeded our expectations, and I couldn’t hide my momentary bewilderment.

“But we’re deliberately allowing massacres to happen, and they were the ones planning to overthrow the empire through corporate alliances. Don’t they know that?”

It was baffling, but Riel continued with a nonchalant attitude.

“Well, that’s to be expected, isn’t it? Most refugees had no idea about such plans and didn’t realize they were being manipulated.”

“…”

“From the beginning, most of them were people whose country was destroyed, and who weren’t accepted by other nations before drifting here.”

“That’s true.”

“Besides, if not us, they’d have to go to Ztrakfor, and given the planetary characteristics preferred by that species, it would be difficult for Zeltech people to live there.”

“Hmm…”

After listening to Riel’s explanation, I gathered my thoughts and spoke again.

“Then are those who remain now truly prepared to assimilate into our empire?”

“The Interior Ministry and Land Management Ministry are conducting extensive surveys, and apparently many have expressed willingness to convert to our state religion if necessary.”

Interesting.

“…Is that true?”

“Yes, but honestly, they don’t have much choice, do they? To be frank, most of the radical factions among the Zeltech have already been massacred.”

“So, there are no longer any elements capable of overthrowing our empire?”

“That’s right.”

And just as Riel finished speaking…

-Ding♬

[PAUSED]

[Event: Elimination of Radicals]

[The Zeltech refugee and corporate alliance faction that aspired to transform the Holy Sebelli Empire into a corporate state mixing capitalism and democracy through constitutional monarchy has been gaining influence.]

[However, these factions have been utterly crushed by recent events, causing a massive shift in internal Zeltech public opinion.]

[The former radicals have been blamed for the damage caused by the Papal Office and your machinations, while simultaneously being partially expelled by their own people as a way to assign responsibility for recent events.]

[After these chaotic developments, the Zeltech refugees remaining in the empire have expressed their willingness to comply with whatever the Sebelli Empire demands.]

[All Zeltech species within the Holy Sebelli Empire gain the ‘Submissive’ trait (Imperial System Compliance +25%)]

‘Oh.’

The event message that appeared seemed to confirm Riel’s words.

Seeing the reward attached to it, I realized this was precisely the moment when we needed to intervene more actively.

[PAUSE RELEASED]

So I immediately released the pause and said:

“Riel, contact the Purge Unit and the Imperial Guard Commander right now.”

“Yes? Um… what should I tell them?”

“Tell them that from now on, we will do our utmost to subdue the fanatics who are massacring refugees.”

With a straight face, I decided to implement our plan to appear as the so-called ‘righteous allies.’