Chapter 1723: Chapter 979: The Decadent Chancellor of the Old Empire
The core of power in Holy Terra is steeped in silent decay.
Although the Prime Minister should be working from the Terra Imperial Palace, Zebert had long left.
The new Prime Minister’s residences were numerous. Zebert would meet with government officials in one of them. Nobody knew which residence he would be in each day, not even the people scheduled to meet him; they could only be informed at the last moment.
Yet most of the time, he was actually in none of the residences, but on his ’carriage,’ plotting various matters.
His Prime Ministerial orders still occasionally appeared in the public broadcasts of Holy Terra; many Empire Government officials would still receive his commands.
However, whether they would actually be followed was not guaranteed.
Any bureaucrat loyal to the Empire or humanity, upon seeing his current form, could no longer remain loyal to him, or believe that he was still the same Zebert as before.
In the depths of Zebert’s bulging eyes danced a murky green light, while corrupt fluids seeped from beneath his velvet robe, nurturing one after another of rotting plants at his feet, where numerous mosquitoes and ’little spirits’ frolicked, exuding an eerie vitality.
His fat and swollen knuckles tapped on the edge of the table, his belly so large it could hold three adults, the rolls of fat on his face squeezing out his features... In this form, only those very familiar with him would barely recognize that he was once the final unifier of old Empire politics, the once skillful Imperial Prime Minister!
By rights, his life should have ended decades ago.
It’s true that the powerful human elites could undergo life-extension surgeries, with lifespans of three to five hundred years being quite common.
However advanced such technology may be, it was still only a life-extension surgery, not an immortality surgery.
Zebert, who could not become an Eternal Life, had already reached the end of the lifespan granted by his fifth life-extension surgery, leaving him with no other options.
Undergoing a sixth life-extension surgery? That would be a gamble; in the Empire’s ten-thousand-year history, only two or three people had ever walked away from the sixth operating table.
Even so, when elites—especially people at Zebert’s level—had no other options, they would often insist on another attempt even if it meant wasting resources. But rationally, everyone knew it was just trading one form of death for another—either dying naturally or on the operating table.
Before the Great Cataclysm, he had paid a high price to obtain a promise from Gu Hang.
A nominal high lordship seat was exchanged for an improved life-extension surgery that could extend his life by another sixty to a hundred years.
However, the outbreak of the Scarlet Scar changed everything.
Separated by the rift, with no news from the Alliance on the other side in the Empire’s Eastern Border, despite his efforts, he simply could not locate Gu Hang to perform the surgery.
But Zebert really didn’t want to die.
Before the Cataclysm, he had already seized the highest power in the Empire; the Great Cataclysm’s outbreak utterly destroyed all his plans, yet he still managed to keep the Terra Government running. Back then, the situation across Terra, and even the entire Sun Star Domain, was still quite manageable.
Yet, his life was already like a flickering candle in the wind.
In the last phase of his life, he had lost interest in politics and instead explored every possible way to stay alive.
However, ironically, he clung to power with a tenacious grip.
There’s no contradiction in that.
If he wanted to survive, he obviously needed sufficient power; otherwise, how could he mobilize so many people and resources to find a way to extend his life?
If he did survive but lost power, what meaning would there be in such a life?
The weaker he became, the more obsessively he desired power. Anything that posed the slightest threat to his power was dealt with ruthlessly.
This undoubtedly caused significant damage to government operations, especially during such difficult times.
Yet, no one opposed him.
A sick tiger is still intimidating; who would dare provoke it?
Everyone knew he was going to die, and no one wanted to endure his madness before death.
Moreover, there was no need.
Just bear with it; once he died, everything would be fine.
However, no one waited for that day to come.
After exploring every possible way to survive to no avail, an endless despair and longing for life filled his inner being. At this moment, he heard a voice from the void, infinitely kind, bringing with it a miraculous blessing. If he accepted it, he could restore his health.
At first, he hesitated, but in his dying moments, he couldn’t resist.
And the blessing came so quickly.
His withered body filled out in a very short time. He felt vigorous and full of life.
He outwardly claimed that it was a blessing from The Emperor. The Emperor appreciated his more than one hundred and forty years of service as Imperial Prime Minister and graciously granted him kindness that restored his health.
But the hateful, disgusting traitors dared to claim it was a blessing from an Evil God, saying he was tainted!
The Tribunal, the Golden Knight Legion, the Legal Department, the Imperial Guard, the Assassin Court... all these people who once benefited from him lined up to come after him.
At first, they started from the shadows, investigating and probing.
Later, it escalated into covert assassinations and open challenges.
But what was the use?
He had long prepared, doing too many things in secret.
He made passionate speeches at the Supreme Council, and the High Lords in the council continued to support him as always.
These High Lords remained as close as ever with him, and privately, he generously shared the blessings he received with them.
Though not entirely, it was enough to secure many votes in the Supreme Council.
Everyone gained health and eternal life from the divine blessing—what could be wrong with that?
The future could be endless, ruling the Empire eternally hand in hand!
However, even with a conclusion already reached by the Supreme Council, those damned traitors relentlessly persisted!
In the end, even the Tribunal led the way, with the Imperial Guard leading the charge, storming his Prime Minister’s mansion in the Terra Imperial Palace!
But even that, he had foreseen.
He had moved early on.
He declared these people as traitors and called on the entire Empire’s might to completely bury them!
Many government officials left the palace with him, maintaining another operational Empire Government. Large numbers of troops loyal to the Prime Minister’s Office also received eternal blessings and fought for him.
In the Nest Capital, amidst Holy Terra’s billions, the blessing had actually been spreading over the past years.
People, inspired by the Prime Minister’s kindness, gathered around him rapidly, expanding the scale of inspiration and blessing.
Countless billions continued to chant the name of the benevolent father.
The Empire would indeed be eternal.
No matter in what form it achieved eternity.
