Liberi Reader

There's no end to them...

Look out!

Where did these monsters even come from, and just how many of them are there?!

They don't even seem to be decreasing... in fact, there's more of them now.

I heard last night, the third battalion in the north lost half their numbers...

What?!

Have you noticed? I don't know when it started, but these mysterious monsters are looking even more realistic than they did, and more aggressive to boot...

Where's our ta ma de backup?!

We're in dire straits, if this keeps up—

Stand up.

We must uphold our duty to guard the land.

Imperial Guards?!

All units, form a line and prepare to meet the enemy.

There is no retreat until we annihilate all evil inside the city.

Your Imperial Majesty.

The Grand Commandant's sickness seems to be gone... this gladdens me.

What is it that has you looking for me at this hour?

Has Your Imperial Majesty forgotten? Just the other day, You commanded me to be here for the morning court.

I fear you must have slept to delirium... court is long over. You are late.

No, not yet... the day of the full moon is tomorrow.

This old servant shall accompany Your Majesty and await your order.

...I find myself uncertain why the Grand Commandant wants this done in haste.

I know not what Your Majesty awaits.

And also... what Your Majesty has planned for the day.

That is none of your business.

Your Majesty's silence only keeps this servant guessing.

Would Your Imperial Majesty truly risk your sacred person to activate Bu Fan to settle the crisis within the Tomb of Sui?

...

I know not whose slander Your Majesty has heard... to resort to such an ill-advised course.

With no counsel offered, am I not capable of making my own decision?

Forty years ago... when Your Majesty ascended the throne, it was the Grand Tutor and I who went with you to survey Bu Fan.

I still remember following our visit to that remote room, three whole days came and went without a single court session. To this day I remain unaware of Your Majesty's thoughts at the time.

I remember then as well... But now I no longer fear the Grand Commandant deriding me, so perhaps I shall share.

I was only thinking... in Yan's thousand year history with this object, not even once has there been a single True Lung who used it.

If Great Yan were forced to use Bu Fan while I sat the throne... would I not become the weakest ruler in our history?

If you would grant me a presumptuous question... If Your Imperial Majesty were to sacrifice yourself for the nation, how would it be run, subsequently?

Is there a cause for worry...? Is my replacement not already in Baizao as we speak?

The mandarins would be unsatisfied if the deposed imperial heir Yan Wu were to take the throne, and the country would descend into chaos. And what will happen then?

The fault will lie on the mandarins' shoulders.

I only wish for Your Majesty to abandon this thought.

Ridiculous...

You know well I am no match for the late emperor, whom you so admired...

Why not accept and anticipate my brother's imminent ascension to the throne, where he will be able to realize your ambitions...?

Why trouble yourself to persuade me?

Your Majesty!

For the past forty years, I have witnessed Your Majesty toil tirelessly to grow our country... not even once did you slacken from your imperial duties.

In those years, Great Yan has enjoyed stability. Our population swelled, and the treasury remains full.

Has there been an era in our history... even more prosperous than this one... Or an emperor... more capable and benevolent than the one we have now?

...

And yet, Your Majesty... do you intend to idly watch as our nation's golden age...

Vanishes into night during this turbulent time?

An urgent message from the Sui Regulator. A strong energy wave has been reported from the depths of the Tomb of Sui.

Far stronger than the wave a hundred and twenty years ago.

And how fare the troops and civilians?

Under control at the moment. Baizao's peripheral blocks moved away before the energy blast, and non-mobile settlements nearby have also been largely evacuated. The damage is minor.

Mt. Mang has suffered more damage, but the Tianshis are at their posts, and the Garden of Grotesqueries is still suppressing Sui.

There are geists running amok in the city, and the Imperial Guards are cooperating with the Patrol Battalion to establish a defense line. They will give it their all.

I see... You may go.

It's about time.

You may withdraw, Grand Commandant. The battlefronts of Baizao and Yumen await your commands.

Your Imperial Majesty...

For the sake of Yan... Is Your Majesty truly unaware why I so strongly advocate for war?

Do you still remember why the court came up with the Twenty-Eight Policies?

Victoria, Leithanien, Kazdel... this whole great land is plagued by unrest, Great Yan aside.

We are now in terrible peril... and the nation cannot afford to be passive. We must proactively seek change...

Has Your Majesty not learned from what happened in Ursus?!

...

The Chamber of Heaven's Designs has yet to figure out what sort of power managed to wipe out that entire Originium vein.

If the Crystal Age truly ends with the depletion of every prime vein, then Great Yan must take the responsibility and prepare to lead all of Terra.

Attack Ursus in the north, repel Victoria in the west, pacify Mitsukue and Kusarigawa in the east, and settle Rim Billiton to the south. Furthermore, we must keep a close eye on Columbia's developments as well as possible naval incursions from Ægir's own sea.

And before all of that... while Great Yan stands at the height of its power, we must seize the chance in this fight against the bestial Sui to sweep away decades of weakness hiding under peace and prosperity!

Only then... will we manage to stand tall in this chaotic realm... undeterred for the next millennium.

You dedicated your life to wars for the country, and your military merit is without equal, but this has also left you with injuries and ailments...

Have I ever doubted your undying loyalty to the country?

But earlier, you spoke of what befell Ursus, and that makes me wonder...

Do you remember... what happened to Gaul?

Your Imperial Majesty...?

Your words were incisive...

Yes, Great Yan should seek change, and must change...

But the way I see it, compared to the lives we may lose to this war with the bestial Sui...

What we need even less is a True Lung past his prime... and this power accessible only to the True Lung for the past thousand years...

...

If we talk of Great Yan's future, then I must say, my outlook is indeed brighter than yours, Grand Commandant...

Has Great Yan these past forty years... lacked for loyal and righteous men?

The Grand Preceptor, Yu Cheng, Gu Quan... the Grand Tutor, and yourself...

My officials are loyal, my soldiers are fearless, my people are principled... Where is this 'weakness hiding under peace and prosperity' you speak of?

As for the future you mentioned, you can take a look in my stead...

Your Majesty... you still insist...

That Hunt of my ancestors' days; the remnants of the bestial Sui plaguing Yan for a thousand years... should end with me.

If we must inevitably spill some blood...

Then the True Lung should be the first one to spill it.

If I cannot dissuade Your Majesty, then I can only strive to serve my duty.

Send word to Yumen, it's time to make a move.

You came, in the end.

So you were here.

You don't seem surprised at all to see me, though.

So, at least you weren't kidnapped.

I still don't know just who on this land could manage that.

Everything I've done has been of my own volition.

I'll never stop hating that attitude of yours...

Why are you here? Is this that backup plan the Grand Tutor kept telling you to make?

His words should not be followed entirely... the situation should never have developed as he suggested, in the first place.

I have another plan in mind.

Either way, you're safe. So what comes next won't be much of a problem.

And what are you preparing to do?

Ensure you're safe, get you out of Baizao, then...

...Correct some mistakes made by you and your brother.

I see... so the artifact is with you.

I'm not too surprised.

Hah. And who were you supposing would deliver this writing knife to you?

That's no longer important...

Since you have it, then you ought to know how to use it... and everything else about it.

I was pretty surprised. Every secret I've learned about you since coming to the city has... opened my eyes.

You know, I almost admire your ability to hide so many secrets.

If you truly wish to rectify the mistake I made then, you should follow me.

Follow you...

Where?

Beneath the Forbidden City, to the first Originium.

The writing knife you hold will be of use, and will solve Great Yan's crisis. All will be made right.

Of course, I prefer you hand the knife to me instead. It'll be quicker, and you'll have less trouble to contend with.

But you won't trust me. I'm sure you want to see it all yourself before you'll give up. I don't really mind, though.

Haven't had enough of playing the tragic hero? You're just conveniently skipping over the part where you'd actually lose your life.

We stand before a great crisis... and this is a small cost Yan can afford.

There are no victims in this case. Your work ends here, Superintendent Ch'en.

Don't tell me you forgot. I resigned right in front of you, five years ago.

Though the man standing before me now isn't even fit to be called 'Chief Wei'.

...

You're telling me to watch you throw your life away, and that's not even the part of your words that's pissing me off the most.

Your sacrifice isn't going to move anyone's heart but your own.

And right now, you don't even have the right to end your life just like that.

Hui-chieh, this is no petty squabble. This matter concerns the fate of Yan and its people!

Of course I know that...

But get over your own ego. The country's fate doesn't fall on your shoulders alone. There are definitely other things you should be doing, besides glorifying your own suicide.

Very well.

You don't have to come with me.

Give me the writing knife and go back to Lungmen.

It's too bad I got two blades here, but I can't lend you either of them.

We don't have any more time to lose, and you still want it your way, Superintendent Ch'en?

I'm not the one insisting on having it my way.

Must you force my hand...?

Fine, show me. Let me see how much your swordplay has grown in the last five years!

That's more like it.

As sword ere shadow's trace...

...Cast off as cast.