Starting from the Planetary Governor - Chapter 1316 - 749: High Lord Chairmanship (Part 2)
Chapter 1316: Chapter 749: High Lord Chairmanship (Part 2)
Their core objective in doing this is to create a rift between the Alliance and the Central Empire.
They are well aware that the assassination attempt will not succeed.
The Assassin Court isn’t foolish.
Even if the Assassin Court takes action, it doesn’t guarantee a successful assassination.
But as long as the incident is exposed, several layers of effects will occur.
First, will Gu Hang lose trust in the Central Empire? After the assassination incident, would he dare to come to Holy Terra alone when ordered by the Central Empire?
Second, after Galaraldo stirred the situation at the Supreme Council, the already bleak outlook for the “Alliance Plan” was further overshadowed by suspicion.
Third, as long as the mastermind behind the assassination remains undisclosed, the mystery of who this person is will always linger, with Luo Fei being a prime suspect based on motive analysis. Even without evidence, Galaraldo has often used this matter to mockingly criticize at the Supreme Council, causing internal rifts within Zebert’s political faction.
Some of these goals have had an effect, while others have been futile.
Especially when Gu Hang personally arrived at Holy Terra and forcefully pushed the “Alliance Plan,” many issues were resolved.
But so what?
The cost for the National Church and Yasida to do this was not high.
The Assassin Court, due to its responsibilities and survival traditions, could not possibly betray them.
As long as they themselves did not mess up, and the news didn’t leak, then the cost was almost nothing.
Yet, things went wrong.
The National Church probably did not know that the Yasida they roped in, or Yasida’s confidant Yu Jinwen, had already been secretly controlled by the Dark Spirit Race.
What’s even more mind-boggling is how the Great Sage Kao’er of the Mechanical God Cult learned about this matter?
Gu Hang was very curious as well.
But when this message was conveyed to Gu Hang, and Gu Hang himself took action to bring the entire incident to light, the Nation Church’s biggest trouble arrived.
What was originally a small, secretive ploy had catastrophic potential once exposed.
Was the National Church prepared for such exposure?
That was no longer Gu Hang’s concern.
In fact, Gu Hang didn’t care much about the struggle between the Pope and the Prime Minister.
He currently portrays himself as the Prime Minister’s disciple, constantly proclaiming his loyalty to Zebert, but it’s just a sham.
However, fight as they may, he does not want to be used as a tool in their conflict.
If anyone involves him, he will retaliate!
This is Gu Hang’s first and biggest objective.
Though he is individually strong, the Alliance he represents is not yet strong on the Empire’s grand stage. When weak, it’s necessary to show one’s teeth and be formidable.
Appearing too weak is not being low-profile, but rather inviting trouble.
If one incident is not addressed, many will think of using the Alliance as a convenient tool thereafter.
Must strike back hard!
Cut off any hand that reaches out!
Other objectives can be considered subsequent matters.
Yasida’s downfall is inevitable. In fact, Gu Hang, who controls the Spiderweb Domain and is neighbors with the Star Devouring Cosmos, must stay alert in case Yasida becomes desperate.
Gu Hang estimates Yasida won’t make a significant move.
If he’s merely associating with the National Church, there might be risks, but the main battleground would still be in political interest exchange. If Innocentius XVIII was determined to keep him, it would be hard to retain the High Lord position, but maybe he could hold onto the Cosmic Domain Chair.
Under such circumstances, Yasida’s capability to cause trouble in the Star Devouring Cosmos could make Holy Terra cautious.
However, adding the factor of susceptibility to Dark Spirit Race corruption makes it untenable, severely reducing the ability to topple the table. Despite the Dark Spirit Race potentially infiltrating the Space Domain Government, unless it’s widespread corruption from military through to grassroots citizens, rallying the Human Empire’s soldiers and civilians under alien leadership to instigate a major conflict with Empire authorities is nearly impossible.
In this aspect, Void Insect Species’ parasitic infection and Chaos Cult’s soul corruption are terrifying entities. Once established, they can indeed corrupt entire planets and billions of people.
The Dark Spirit Race is more adept and covert in corrupting individual key figures without that mass corruption capability.
The National Church and Zebert might engage in their struggle, but they wouldn’t aid in deceiving forces in the Star Devouring Cosmos to instigate rebellion while their leadership is being corrupted.
Of course, matters aren’t always so absolute. What if corrupted high-level officials could deceive the middle and lower tiers, even the public, to follow suit? What if the Star Devouring Cosmos’ State Church system has high-level corruption as well? What if…
The situation could be very complex.
Fortunately, the Imperial Guard reportedly intends to directly intervene. It’s estimated that taking several dozen personnel with them is certain. Accompanying them would be soldiers from the Forbidden Palace Guard.
The so-called Forbidden Palace Guard refers to the Mortal Auxiliary Army personally trained by the Imperial Guard. While the Imperial Guard is powerful, numbering only a little over ten thousand, the control range is limited. Stationing can only occur at critical points. The Imperial Palace, albeit called a palace, is actually a magnificent architectural complex covering the highest plateau of Holy Terra; ten thousand people couldn’t oversee the entire facility.
Just like Interstellar Warriors need auxiliary armies, so does the Imperial Guard.
Based on this, Gu Hang judged that Yasida won’t be able to stir up major turmoil.
The Alliance preparing for readiness is just a precaution.
With Yasida stepping down, who will rise to the position?
Regarding the position of the Star Devouring Cosmos Chair, Gu Hang is very interested, but knows it’s unlikely.
Securing real control of the Spiderweb Domain while preserving the Alliance’s foundation required enormous political cost and Herculean efforts. Gaining the Star Devouring Cosmos is utterly impossible.
Thus, he seeks other alternatives.
Unable to get substantial benefits, going for illusory ones is still worthwhile.
The High Lord seat.
This is also quite challenging, but it’s relatively more feasible.
Moreover, there is the Martian Sect.
Though Gu Hang still harbors concerns over Kao’er’s prophecy and the costs involved in the near future, between a distant issue that’s uncertain and current tangible advantages, it’s better to grab the immediate opportunity.
Whether Mars truly supports him or not, he’ll follow standard procedures and try; it won’t hurt.
Gu Hang does not plan to invest high costs here, for obvious reasons.
If it were a position with real power and autonomy as a High Lord Chair, it would be extraordinarily valuable, influencing Central Empire policies directly, benefitting his Alliance and the Spiderweb Domain significantly.
However, he assumes that even with Mars’ support, he would still need Zebert’s approval. Otherwise, it would turn into a conflict between Mars and the Prime Minister’s faction.
After all, the previous holder of the position, Yasida, belonged to Zebert’s faction.
No matter how strong Mars is, snatching a High Lord Chair from Zebert in the Supreme Council is extremely difficult.
Even if successful, Gu Hang would be visibly marked as belonging to the Martian Sect.
This is something Gu Hang isn’t keen on seeing.
Mars is too far, and too isolated in the broader imperial political scene, offering little.
He still needs Zebert’s nod.
But will he approve?
…
“You want to run for High Lord?” In his contemplation, Zebert was suddenly awakened by Gu Hang’s voice.
He was immediately amused, momentarily dispersing the gloomy mood brought on by Yasida’s entanglement with the National Church and corruption by Dark Spirit Race.
As if Gu Hang had told him a very funny joke.
Yasida was sure to step down, and the next question was who would replace him, that was certain.
But of all the candidates Zebert considered, Gu Hang never came to mind.
The reason is simple: Gu Hang is not one of his own.
