126: Chapter 126 This isn't betrayal, it's asset restructuring

The voice boomed like thunder, carried by the cold night wind, instantly spreading throughout the entire core camp area.

The centurions, who had long been assembled and waiting, moved upon hearing the sound. There was no hesitation on their faces; instead, a near-fanatical fire burned in their eyes.

Following Tiberius's command, the personal guards immediately brought out several heavy wooden crates and slammed them onto the ground. The lids were opened, revealing rows of brand-new black breastplates and standard-issue longswords shimmering with faint runic light, reflecting the cold glow of the torches.

“Listen up, everyone!” Tiberius's voice rang out again. This time, he took off the Eagle-Crested Helm that symbolized a commander of the Imperial Legion and tossed it at his feet. “From this moment on, the Imperial Second Legion designation is abolished! We are now the Blackstone Territory Security Department, Northern Branch! Our employer is Lord Levi Byron!”

He paused, picked up a copy of a contract, and held it high.

“Everyone's pay is tripled! For those killed in action, a death benefit equivalent to twenty years' salary will be paid in full at once! From this day forward, your children will be raised to adulthood by Blackstone Territory!”

There was no uproar or commotion over 'treason' as one might imagine. What answered him was a sudden explosion of cheers, like a mountain tsunami, following a moment of suppressed silence.

“Triple pay! Gods! Did I hear that right?!”

“That dark iron armor! I saw it! It has Wind-Walking enchantment runes! The junk those bastards at the Quartermaster's Office sold us can't even compare!”

“Northern Branch! I like that name! It sounds way richer than that bullshit Second Legion!”

To these soldiers who lived with death year-round, the distant glory of the Empire was far less real than a warm meal for their families and sharp weapons in their hands.

What Levi offered was exactly what they craved most but had never received—dignity and security.

Tiberius looked at his impassioned subordinates, and the last shred of doubt in his heart vanished.

He knew he had made the only correct choice.

Levi did not appear at this mobilization meeting, which could be called a 'mutiny'; that wouldn't fit his style as the 'Chairman.'

When General Tiberius, carrying the chill of the night, stepped back into the City Lord's study with his ten core centurions, Levi was leisurely using a small silver knife to slowly peel a green apple.

The apple skin was peeled into one long, continuous strip that coiled downward without breaking.

The air was filled with the fresh scent of fruit and the smoky aroma of firewood from the fireplace.

“Lord Levi,” Tiberius's voice was steady and powerful. Behind him, the centurions looked at the man—who appeared younger than any of their own sons—with a mix of awe and curiosity.

Levi sliced the peeled apple into pieces, skewered one with a silver fork, and offered it to Tiberius.

“Try it. A Frostfall Fruit, a specialty of Silvermoon City. The sweetness is just right.”

Tiberius didn't take it, merely saying in a deep voice, “We are ready. Please issue your first order, my Lord.”

“No rush.” Levi smiled and took a bite of the apple himself, chewing unhurriedly. “Before we officially start work, I want to clarify the nature of our operation to everyone.”

He set down the silver fork and signaled Evelyn to distribute a document to every officer present.

The officers took the documents in confusion, seeing a bold title on the cover: "Proposal for the Liquidation and Disposal of Non-Performing Assets in the Imperial Northern Military Supply System."

“Non-performing assets?” the one-eyed centurion read aloud, puzzled.

“Correct.” Levi stood up, walked to the map on the wall, and picked up a pointer. “Gentlemen, please look. According to the financial data we have, the three largest grain depots on the Empire's northern defense line, as well as these two iron mines, have had an average deficit rate of forty percent in book materials versus actual inventory over the past five years. These embezzled materials are what we call ‘non-performing assets.’”

His pointer tapped heavily on five red dots on the map, making sharp clicking sounds.

“And those responsible for the loss of these assets are the parasites entrenched in the military supply system—the traitors of the Empire. Therefore, our action this time is not a rebellion, much less a raid.”

Levi turned around, his calm gaze sweeping over everyone, his voice clear and firm.

“Our mission, in the name of the Blackstone Territory Security Department, is to assist the ‘Shareholder Representative’ of the Radiant Empire—Her Highness Princess Ella Radiance—in purging the Imperial traitors and reclaiming state-owned assets illegally seized by corrupt quartermasters. This is a legal and righteous commercial liquidation act. Is that understood?”

The officers present looked at each other. Their faces were initially blank, but were soon replaced by a strange expression of sudden realization.

They were rough men who didn't understand 'non-performing assets,' but they understood 'purging traitors' and 'reclaiming state assets.'

This phrasing gave the military operation they were about to launch an impeccable cloak of legitimacy.

It turned out that working for a new boss meant even a rebellion could be described in such a fresh and refined way.

General Tiberius's mouth twitched imperceptibly.

He finally realized that he wasn't dealing with an ambitious man, but a devil capable of playing with the entire world in the palm of his hand.

“You're lying! You're just twisting words!”

Ella Radiance's angry voice echoed in Levi's office as she slammed a stack of parchment, retrieved from the royal archives and bearing magical watermarks, onto Levi's desk.

The edges of the paper curled slightly from her force, emitting a faint aura of moonstone energy.

“This is the truth!” Her pale fingers turned white at the knuckles as she pointed at the shocking corruption data. “You knew long ago that the Imperial military supply system was rotten to the core! You're not helping the Empire clean house; you're using this corruption as leverage to entice the army to defect! You're shaking the very foundations of the Empire!”

Levi sat in his large high-backed chair, not even lifting an eyelid.

He just quietly picked up the evidence and flipped through it page by page, as if reviewing a quarterly report submitted by a subordinate.

His calmness formed a sharp and stinging contrast with Ella's agitation.

“Princess, your business sense is still not keen enough.” After a long while, he finally set down the documents, laced his fingers, and looked calmly at the Imperial princess who was nearly ignited by rage.

“In my view, the Radiant Empire is like a poorly managed, giant enterprise on the brink of bankruptcy. Its internal management is chaotic, its employees (nobles and officials) line their own pockets, its core assets (the army) are inefficient and costly to maintain, it's riddled with debt, and its cash flow (taxes) is about to snap.”

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze as sharp as a surgical knife.

“What I am doing is not shaking it. I am performing a necessary and efficient asset restructuring on this insolvent enterprise. Stripping away non-performing assets that produce negative value, optimizing core departments, and cutting redundant costs to restore its profitability. This is saving it, not destroying it.”

“As for General Tiberius and his men,” the corner of Levi's mouth curled into a mocking arc, “they haven't mutinied. They've simply jumped from a failing old company that can't even pay wages to a new platform with excellent benefits and broad prospects. In business, this is called the ‘rational flow of talent.’”

Ella was left speechless by this set of crooked logic, her chest heaving violently, but she couldn't say a single word.

Levi reorganized the stack of evidence and pushed it back toward her.

“And you, Princess Ella Radiance, as one of the most important ‘shareholder representatives’ of the Radiant Empire, I formally invite you to personally supervise the entire process of this asset restructuring. Ensure that all liquidated assets are used where they are needed most, rather than falling from one pocket into another.”

His voice carried an unquestionable magic, as if he truly were laboring for the future of the Empire.

Ella stared blankly at the stack of evidence on the table—enough to cause a massive earthquake in the Imperial court—and then at Levi's face, which was so sincere it was flawless. Her mind fell into chaos.

She felt like a saintess who had stumbled into an Ogre's lair; instead of eating her, the Ogre had politely invited her to discuss how to more scientifically and efficiently cook other intruders.

When the first ray of dawn pierced the cold mist of the North, General Tiberius had already led a vanguard of five hundred men to Greystone Keep, the largest grain depot on the northern defense line.

This force had been completely transformed. They were clad in standard equipment provided by Blackstone Territory, their black armor gleaming with a cold luster in the morning light, with an emblem of a mountain peak combined with a gear engraved on their chests—the mark of Blackstone Territory.

The killing intent in the air put immense pressure on the garrison atop Greystone Keep's walls, who were still wearing Imperial standard leather armor.

However, the expected siege did not happen.

Tiberius rode alone to the closed drawbridge.

The garrison commander of Greystone Keep, a one-armed veteran named Gray, appeared on the battlements looking nervous.

“General Tiberius! What is the meaning of this? An Imperial legion at the gates of an ally—are you planning to rebel?”

Tiberius did not answer his question, but instead took a document from his cloak and held it high.

“By order of Lord Levi Byron, Lord of Blackstone Territory and Chief Consultant for Asset Liquidation in the Imperial North, I have come to inspect the military inventory of Greystone Keep. Gray, I have the complete ledgers here of how you and the former Quartermaster General, Varnes, embezzled pay and sold off military grain. Do you want me to make these public and then raze your castle? Or will you open the gates yourself and cooperate with our asset liquidation work?”

On the wall, Gray's face instantly turned deathly pale.

A moment later, the heavy drawbridge was slowly lowered, and the thick iron gates of Greystone Keep swung open with a tooth-aching screech.

The one-armed commander Gray led his officers out of the castle and knelt on one knee before Tiberius's horse.

He didn't defend himself, but simply looked up and said in a nearly pleading tone, “General, that bastard Varnes took seventy percent, and I only got five! My five hundred brothers here haven't received their full pay in three months! I beg you, and I beg Lord Levi, to take us in! We are willing to merge into your forces and serve the Lord!”

Tiberius looked down at him, his gaze cold.

This was the current state of the Empire: rotten through and through, from top to bottom.

He didn't agree immediately, only saying coldly, “That will depend on your performance in this ‘asset liquidation.’”

Meanwhile, in the Silvermoon City Lord's Manor, Levi was listening to Evelyn's report.

“My Lord, Cassius has disappeared.”

Evelyn's voice was as steady as ever, as if stating a trivial matter.

“Disappeared?” Levi looked up, his charcoal pencil coming to a halt.

“Yes. According to our surveillance, late last night, he disguised himself as a laborer unloading goods and slipped into a merchant caravan heading south. Our people last saw him at a sentry post ten miles outside the city.”

“Direction?”

“Due south. His destination seems to be the Third Legion's station, rather than returning to the Imperial Capital.”

A playful smile appeared on the corner of Levi's mouth.

This envoy wasn't too stupid after all.

He knew that if he directly reported 'Tiberius's mutiny' to the Emperor, he—the envoy who failed in his duties—would also be punished, perhaps even treated as a sacrificial pawn.

So he chose to go fetch 'reinforcements,' attempting to gather the strength of other legions to stage a drama of coming to the rescue of the throne.

“No need to chase him.” Levi waved his hand. “Let him go. He will be our best mouthpiece.”

Evelyn waited quietly for him to continue.

“Also, Greystone Keep has been taken over by the General without a drop of blood shed. The news of Commander Gray's request to defect has also been confirmed.”

“Very good.” Levi stood up and walked to the window, watching the rising sun gild Silvermoon City with a layer of gold.

“Evelyn, go to the printing house of the ‘Business Express.’”

He looked out at the vast and chaotic Northern lands, his gaze deep.

“Immediately publish an extra edition and use the fastest channels to get it into the hands of every noble, merchant, mercenary captain, and military town commander in the North.”

He paused, saying each word as if it were precisely calculated.

“Use the headline—‘Imperial Envoy Flees to Avoid Punishment, General Tiberius Cleans House on Behalf of New Master.’”

Levi knew that once this report was released, it would be like a giant boulder thrown into a stagnant pond, inevitably creating a massive wave across the entire North.

And he only needed to sit here and wait quietly for those sharks who smelled blood and profit to swim into his net of their own accord.

The old order was collapsing, and the new rules would be written by him.

The sunlight outside the window seemed to grow more intense.