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Only spicy news sold well, so the media often tended to exaggerate certain matters to their audience without a care for the impact it might cause. Unfortunately, most people who watched them failed to realize that these too were just people desperately trying to make more money.
The channel Amos usually watched was one which took the harshest stance against Emilia most of the time, but he didn't realize that it was only because they relied on traction born from 'controversy' to generate revenue that they did so.
Now that there was a bigger target in sight, why wouldn't they switch their aim?
"The thirteen allies are in big trouble! Flames of rebellion ignite all over their territories while they're busy waging war overseas!"
If one were to believe their opening, they would almost believe that there was a large-scale rebellion taking place in all thirteen of the Federation's constituents.
Of course, their 'discussions' were even more outrageous.
"It looks like everyone has greatly underestimated just how many of these fanatics exist, and how much control the empress of Blue Dawn has over them."
"It does seem like that, doesn't it? Had I not known better, I would have almost thought she must be using some strange drug to brainwash people in secret."
"Well, with the White Deer Corporation's resources… it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if they were able to do so."
Most would be able to tell that even the people on the screen didn't fully believe in their own words, but Amos wasn't one of them.
"N-No way… h-how can those idiots just let something like this happen?! You're so much stronger than her! Just crush her, destroy her!!!"
His hysterical screams made Crystal chuckle in delight. "If that was enough to put you in such a bad mood… now I'm really looking forward to your reaction to what I'm about to tell you."
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While there was quite a bit of criticism aimed at Emilia for presumably sending these 'terrorists' in the first place, with the distinct lack of evidence to support the argument, most people ended up focusing on the 'easier' target… the leaders of the Federation.
After all, taking care of their own territories was their primary responsibility, was it not?
Their careless attitude this time not only proved that they didn't care about their people much, if at all, but it also showed their distinct lack of wisdom when it came to judging the severity of certain matters. And with the combined 'badges' of 'corrupt' and 'incompetent'… it would've been strange if they hadn't become a target of public criticism instead.
Normally, this wouldn't be such a big deal.
People at their level had long since gotten used to ignoring people's thoughts and words when needed, after all. But this time, the 'unrest' also seemed to have 'inspired' many small pockets of rebellion within their respective territories.
Most of these 'problems' could be traced back to Emilia's fanatic fans, and they hardly posed any real threat to the local law enforcement, but the leaders of the Federation realized that they still had to treat these hot potatoes carefully.
It wasn't that they feared any retaliation from Emilia or her well-wishers, though. If they did, they wouldn't have dared attack the empire of Blue Dawn in the first place, so those were the least of their concern.
What really made them tread so cautiously was how eagerly their political opponents were supporting these 'protesters', and how bad things could get if they were given even more ammunition.
"I can almost smell the scent of White Deer's money on these treacherous bastards."
"Unfortunately, even if it is obvious, it's not so easy to trace it all back, especially with their declining stock price."
"Speaking of which… I'm guessing Phoenix must start regretting their decision pretty soon, huh?"
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Despite her 'sabotage' being even more successful than expected, Emilia actually wasn't in a particularly good mood.
After all, how could she be happy while watching more and more of her people die?
Her every day was filled with doubt, wondering if it would have been better if she approached her problems from another angle, and whether she could have avoided this conflict.
'Maybe if I didn't take over Carmen, these people would never have been able to find an excuse to band together… right?' Emilia bit her lip in thought. 'B-But if I didn't and they somehow still decided to attack me, wouldn't things be much worse?'
Of course, the crimson-haired girl realized that such thoughts were 'useless', and she should only focus on winning the war in front of her, but that was easier said than done.
Even with many of the political opponents of her enemies accepting their bribes, she had no delusions about being able to repeat the 'miracle' of Carmen again.
After all, with her enemies being so cautious now, trying to do so would just be a waste of time and resources. Even in the unlikely event that they did manage to pull it off, the ones who would get in power would be the political opponents of her enemies, and there was no way to ensure their 'loyalty' at that point.
'At least big sis is able to buy back most of our shares at a heavy discount now.' Emilia smiled bitterly. 'Though it will be meaningless if we lost the war.'
Her gaze turned sharp as she stared at the outposts built by the 'Federation' soldiers close to their border, and by her side, Dixie couldn't help but tense up.
It was only after Emilia turned her eyes back to her own camp that the dark-haired girl dared to relax, and even Cynthia breathed a sigh of relief.
Without a doubt, had Emilia been able to see any of the enemy leaders, she would have rushed right in to behead them personally right away.
Luckily for them, this was a modern battlefield, and the commanders didn't actually need to be anywhere near the actual battle area to send down instructions. In fact, nobody had any idea where the leaders of the Federation were actually located at, though most speculated that it must be in Red Dusk.
Of course, the reason Emilia was able to resist the urge to just rush in right away was mostly because she realized that it wouldn't be the best approach to punishing her enemies, and might just end up causing more losses for them instead.
It didn't mean that she was able to calm herself down.
Dixie suddenly had a bad premonition as she looked at the dark gaze of her princess, and she couldn't help but step forward to hold her hand. "E-Emily! Don't do anything reckless, okay? We're slowly gaining an advantage."
The crimson-haired girl turned to her with a smile, as if wondering why she was so worried. "Reckless? Don't worry, I was only thinking of going out for a stroll tonight. You can… accompany me, if you want."
Dixie obviously knew it was a bad idea, and that she should immediately inform Noelle, Crystal, or Sam so they could try and convince Emilia not to do something she shouldn't. But facing the smile of her princess… what kind of a knight would she be if she chose not to side with her at this point?
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This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢