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Although most people who weren't directly affected by it only saw the news of other countries as 'entertainment', Emilia more or less 'taking over' the country of Carmen still caused an almost unprecedented uproar.
The fact that both the countries she had 'acquired' were doing significantly better than anyone ever expected completely transformed her image from 'a mysterious rich beauty that too many people obsessed over' to a living legend that many couldn't help but be in awe of.
If her fame was allowed to grow unchecked, maybe it wouldn't be long before people started actually looking forward to her 'invasion' of their own homelands.
Needless to say, most people in power didn't appreciate such thoughts… at all. They weren't just being looked down upon and despised anymore, but feeling a real threat from her existence!
If they didn't stop her now… wouldn't it be too late?
Where there was admiration, there was also hate. And with Emilia's rising fortune stinging more than a few high-profile figures in the eyes, one didn't need to guess in which direction they fanned the flames.
Emilia naturally understood that the reason these people hadn't already made their intentions clear must be because they first wished to manipulate public opinion in their favor.
They may not care about anyone else's feelings much, but these usually conceited figures obviously understood the importance of not falling out of favor with their own people, especially when dealing with someone like Emilia.
If they were careless, wouldn't they be repeating the mistakes of Carmen? Even if the chances of the opponent being able to take advantage of them to such an extent at this time was small, most of them didn't get where they were by chance.
Obviously, powerful as the network on Emilia's side was, it couldn't quite keep up with the combined might of her opponents.
Even with her 'knights' fiercely defending her around the clock, the general sentiment in both the media and the open internet seemed to be that Emilia was just a puppet being used by the White Deer Corporation, and they in turn were only trying to sink their hooks in as many places as they could before they started sucking out all their blood.
There was no way to be sure how many people really believed it, and how many were just working under the influence of these superpowers, but fortunately, Emilia was far from being helpless.
While her plan to have their future launchpad ruined in advance might have failed, the generous gift she received from the prime minister of Phoenix recently more than made up for that loss.
Just when her opponents felt it was time to make the final declaration and wipe off this 'eyesore' once and for all, they suddenly received a piece of alarming news.
"What?! Phoenix did what now?!"
"Impossible!"
With their mutual distrust of each other, most of the prominent figures who allied against Emilia weren't present in the 'war hall' physically, but half the participants being faces on a screen didn't stop the mood in the room to drop to a chilling degree.
Their disbelief only lasted for a moment before the reality of the situation dawned on them, and many of the 'superpowers' plotting against Emilia couldn't help but curse.
Given that both Phoenix and Blue Dawn's leaders had made it public openly, no one would be stupid enough to doubt the authenticity of their treaty. What really baffled them, however, was just how it happened.
Obviously, the empress of Blue Dawn would try to grasp every straw that she could at this point. This much was clear from her recently failed assassination, which was just a joke in their eyes. That part was no surprise.
But for anyone who wasn't already tied to her boat to assist her at this point… simply made no sense.
After all, the only three things she had to offer were money, fame, and beauty. And in front of real 'strength' that could bring entire nations to their knees… all these things were incredibly cheap.
Only certain stupid dictators would be tempted by such 'low-level bait' and end up giving away far more than they should, but having dealt with her more than once, no one expected someone like Bella to make such a move.
"Has the prime minister of Phoenix gone crazy? Can she not read the situation anymore?"
Of course, compared to her simply losing her mind without reason, they believed it was much more likely that the prime minister of Phoenix must have made another 'deal' in secret, one big enough for everything to make sense.
"I wonder… what kind of benefits must the White Deer have promised Phoenix for them to make such a move…?"
"Goddamn! This is not a 'nonaggression pact', but a mutual defense agreement!"
Such a thing was never meant to be a 'fair trade' to begin with, since it favored the more vulnerable of the two, but now that everyone with half a brain could tell that Emilia was about to be in deep trouble… it took an entirely new meaning.
This was just Phoenix blatantly protecting Blue Dawn without reason!
"Those old idiots of White Deer live there, do they not? Think this has anything to do with them?"
"Heh… I suppose to get that cunning woman to make such a big move, they must have paid a huge price."
Sharing a knowing look, some of them couldn't help but sneer.
"It looks like a good deal for Phoenix, being able to gobble up most of White Deer's assets with just a piece of paper. Unfortunately… if she thinks we'll really back off because of her… she's vastly overestimating herself."
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No one on Emilia's side actually expected their treaty with Phoenix to 'deter' her enemies for long. After all, these people were so confident in their combined strength that their only 'concern' seemed to be that she might 'escape alive', or that bringing her down might be too expensive.
Of course, considering the difference between the military might of the two sides, Emilia could understand where they were coming from, though she didn't think such behavior was very wise.
After all, even when facing an army a tenth the size of their own, one could end up losing their head just as easily if they were careless. And a headless army was no different from a flock of sheep waiting for slaughter.
But no matter how confident or arrogant they were, such a huge change in Emilia's lineup inevitably made her enemies pause and reevaluate their strategy. And the time it took them to do that… was exactly what Emilia needed to prepare her side.
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