Chapter 943: Chapter 546: You Wenqi’s Return
Shen Sui instinctively thought that this was another stunt pulled by Alice.
But upon closer inspection, he realized he had misunderstood Alice.
Although she was adept at stirring things up, she wasn’t capable of directly splitting a unified empire without any foundation.
The Azure Federation’s internal strife was incredibly complex, with some aspects even involving the real world.
After a thousand years of development, the Azure Federation had become stable. This vast nation had internally eradicated the existence of the Deep Sea, but beyond the borders, the Deep Sea still possessed formidable strength, and its aggressiveness hadn’t dwindled over time.
Each year, the fortresses along the border would engage in several battles with the Deep Sea.
However, in recent years, possibly due to strategic adjustments by the Deep Sea, the frequency of attacks on border fortresses has significantly decreased, and each time they were easily repelled by the fortress fleets.
This gave the city-states within the Federation’s inner sea a false sense of peace, causing them to indulge in this illusion to the point where the shipgirls of the inner sea started focusing on competitions rather than warfare.
Meanwhile, the commanders and shipgirls at the border knew that the Deep Sea’s strength hadn’t diminished at all, and the numbers hadn’t significantly decreased; only the desire to attack had weakened.
Even more so, just like the Red Maple Fortress, they maintained surface peace by colluding with the Deep Sea.
The cognitive dissonance between the two sides led to the Azure Federation’s internal split.
Originally, such a split wasn’t a big deal; in any nation, there will certainly be many differing voices internally.
Every few years, the Azure Federation would change presidents to ease such contradictions.
Sometimes a firm president would be elected, naturally supporting the important border fortresses. Other times, a dove president would take office, not seeking to eliminate the Deep Sea, only to maintain the status quo and focus on internal affairs.
Under this model, the Azure Federation had sustained itself for hundreds of years.
But this time was different.
With the new president’s rise to power, dissenting voices within the Federation grew louder, and the young leader couldn’t suppress the major military fortresses on the borders, forcing investigations into these areas in an attempt to reclaim control, leading to various independent actions by these strongholds.
Indeed, many Life Card Masters were fanning the flames.
Whether Life Card Masters were in border strongholds or inner sea city-states, they all sought more opportunities to acquire new Life Cards. Coupled with the involvement of the most professional official color organization, they genuinely incited the Azure Federation’s internal conflict.
Although it hadn’t yet escalated to a full-scale civil war, localized conflicts had already erupted.
The Red Maple Fortress was the first to oppose the new president’s rule.
Shen Sui looked at all of this with a very unpleasant expression.
In a way, the Shipgirl World was like a second home to Shen Sui from a previous life, even the later-obsessed Dawn Continent had to step aside somewhat in comparison.
Though a thousand years had washed away most evidence of Shen Sui’s existence, the nation’s existence was the greatest proof of his Guardian Mansion.
This was a nation his shipgirls built together, roughly as a byproduct during their voyages seeking Shen Sui’s whereabouts.
Perhaps due to some misunderstanding, Alice wasn’t asked to set out and intercept the investigative fleet sent by Shen Gang, but Alice wasn’t pleased.
The sudden escalation of the situation disrupted her original plans. She initially intended to use her achievements in repelling Deep Sea North Residence to receive commendation at Shen Gang and casually observe other shipgirl models, but was forced to adjust her plans.
And the direction she chose to adjust indeed had Alice’s style: since she couldn’t enter Shen Gang as a decorated commander, she’d break into Shen Gang as a rebel leader!
Luo Chengbing’s side was still hesitating about the impact of directly rebelling?
Alice’s side was already planning the attack.
By charging fiercely into Shen Gang Governor’s Mansion, everything would turn out well.
Moreover, Alice already came up with a reason.
This wasn’t about rebellion; it was truly an act of justice. The Deep Sea was powerful, viewing the Azure Federation as a juicy morsel, with Red Maple Fortress as the frontline against the Deep Sea, enduring great losses while valiantly resisting Deep Sea attacks over these decades.
Yet at such a time, the Federation wanted to reclaim control from Red Maple Fortress.
This would push the Federation into the Abyss! There were definitely traitors within the Federation!
She must raise troops to the capital, criticize and weigh the stakes, and if necessary, she could enact divine wrath against treason!
Undoubtedly, Alice’s idea actually had considerable feasibility in the current situation.
But this time, Shen Sui stopped Alice.
["Huh? Why?" Alice didn’t quite understand.]
["If the Azure Federation were an evil empire, I certainly wouldn’t stop you from doing this. But think carefully, is this country really rotten to that degree?" You asked.]
[In truth, Alice didn’t know.]
[She was just a newcomer, with her understanding of the Azure Federation limited to Red Maple Fortress.]
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