National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Taking Such a Long Detour, Just for the System’s Mission

Her Majesty the Queen, Lu Yinxing, sat amongst her guards, a bright smile blooming on her beautiful face.

It was an undisguised smile, silently sending a clear signal to everyone present.

No matter what happened today, she would stand firmly behind Chu He.

At that moment, some of the more astute people in the hall began to put the pieces together.

They were beginning to understand,

why Lu Yinxing had gone to such lengths to poach Chu He from the Great Jing Empire,

even going so far as to find his long-lost birth parents.

It turned out,

it was all so Lu Yinxing would have another powerful trump card amidst the chaos and voices of opposition within the Great Xia Empire.

With Chu He’s power, she could suppress the dissent and quell the internal turmoil.

The ruler of the Great Jing Empire, a Queen by the name of Ji Shengyue,

and the Great Xia Empire’s Lu Yinxing were two young Queens of similar age,

yet they had chosen completely different strategies on their paths to consolidating royal authority.

These two paths were destined to lead to vastly different futures.

”The Black Pearl has appeared three times across the globe, and each time, it has dealt a devastating blow that not even an entire nation could withstand.

I know there are varying levels of strength among King-level experts, but in my opinion, the power of the Black Pearl is beyond the scope of human capability.”

A Martial Artist, about fifty years old, stood up. ”I am not questioning Mr. Chu’s abilities, but the gravity of this situation is far beyond what we can imagine.

If the Black Pearl cannot be stopped effectively, then embarrassing the Great Xia Empire on a live broadcast is a trivial matter. What’s truly terrifying is the devastating blow it could inflict upon the Great Xia Empire.

Those are consequences we cannot bear.”

His words resonated throughout the hall, and another, a young female Martial Artist, added, ”I agree with that point.

Mr. Chu is certainly powerful, hailed as the world’s undisputed number one expert.

But the threat of the Black Pearl, in my opinion, is even more terrifying than most Demon Caves.

We just hope that this matter can be handled with more caution. We don’t mean to target Mr. Chu.”

Just as everyone was murmuring amongst themselves,

Her Majesty the Queen, Lu Yinxing, who was seated at the head, spoke up. ”Since Mr. Chu has already decided to shoulder this heavy responsibility alone, then I, naturally, believe in him one hundred percent. Therefore, I will entrust this matter to Mr. Chu.”

Chu He replied simply and confidently, ”I will not disappoint.”

”Since Her Majesty the Queen has already stated her position, this matter can only be settled as such.”

Seeing that Her Majesty the Queen’s resolve was as firm as a rock, the elderly Martial Artist

shook his head helplessly, let out a long sigh, closed his eyes, and said no more.

He was clearly extremely dissatisfied with Her Majesty the Queen’s decision,

but given her status, he could only express his protest in this silent manner.

”I imagine everyone here, with the exception of Mr. Chu, is already more or less aware of the upcoming plan.”

Her Majesty the Queen, Lu Yinxing’s voice echoed in the hall. ”In order to better unite the strength of all the Martial Artists in the nation,” she continued, ”we have decided to select a supreme expert—an individual whom all Martial Artists can look up to—to serve as a leader.

I call this the Leader Initiative.

Given the threat the Black Pearl poses to the Great Xia Country, I have decided to implement this initiative ahead of schedule.

Now, I would like to hear your opinions. Are there any suitable candidates?

Alternatively, those who believe themselves capable may nominate themselves.”

As soon as Lu Yinxing finished speaking, her gaze slowly swept from the Martial Artists on her left to the ministers on her right, carefully observing everyone’s expression.

The ministers and Martial Artists present all silently pondered the Leader Initiative.

Just as Lu Yinxing had said, this leadership position was of utmost importance to the entire Great Xia Empire.

Once the initiative succeeded, this leader would wield immense power, becoming a figure second only to the Queen herself.

Therefore, the contest for this position was destined to be a fierce struggle.

The ministers on the right had long since begun their clandestine struggles, rallying support for the candidates they wished to back, hoping to secure a foothold in this Leader Initiative.

But they hadn’t expected Chu He to appear out of nowhere, and they wondered if he would become an unpredictable variable in their calculations.

The same elder who had previously expressed dissatisfaction with Chu He taking on the Black Pearl disaster alone,

spoke up again, his tone sarcastic. ”Since Her Majesty the Queen has so much confidence in Chu He, why not just give him the leadership position in this Leader Initiative?”

The atmosphere in the hall shifted subtly,

and strange smiles, tinged with a hint of schadenfreude, appeared on many faces.

With his usual directness and stubbornness, the elderly Martial Artist once again became the center of attention.

He was proud and alone, with no children or relatives, and few people were willing to get entangled with him.

After all, his infamous motto was already deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds:

”Life and death mean nothing. If you have a problem, let’s fight. Worst case, we trade lives.”

Now, he had unexpectedly pushed Chu He into the eye of the storm,

a turn of events that made everyone present feel a trace of surprise and excitement.

Chu He didn’t back down. Instead, facing the provocative atmosphere, he calmly spoke, ”Since this esteemed elder has recommended me, then I might as well take on the leadership of this initiative.”

The moment he said this, the hall instantly erupted in an uproar.

No one had expected that Chu He would accept this heavy responsibility so decisively.

Seated at the head of the hall, the smile in Lu Yinxing’s beautiful eyes grew even wider.

’I was just wondering how to push Chu He into this position,’ she thought. ’I never expected this old Martial Artist to unintentionally do me such a huge favor.’

However, not everyone was pleased with Chu He’s decision.

Many of the Martial Artists present began to voice their dissatisfaction.

They felt that the leadership position was too important to be handed over to someone who had just arrived in the Great Xia Empire and had yet to achieve any merits.

”On what grounds?”

A Martial Artist stood up and loudly demanded, ”We know you were indeed famous back in the Great Jing Empire, but you’re in the Great Xia Empire now. No one here cares about your past.

You have no merits or honors here, so what makes you think you can take on such a heavy responsibility?”

Chu He looked at the Martial Artist calmly. ”On the grounds that I will resolve the Black Pearl incident by myself.”

The young female Martial Artist from before wasn’t buying it. ”The problem is, you haven’t resolved it yet.”

Chu He smiled faintly and looked toward Lu Yinxing at the head of the hall. ”Her Majesty the Queen, if you agree, then why don’t we postpone this initiative for a few days?

Once I’ve resolved the Black Pearl incident, it will be only natural for me to take the leader’s seat.”

Lu Yinxing looked at the people seated in the rows to her left and right and asked softly, ”What are your opinions?”

The hall fell silent as everyone contemplated the question.

They hadn’t expected that a meeting originally meant to discuss the Leader Initiative would escalate to this point.

Chu He, an expert who had just joined the Great Xia Empire, had unwittingly become a candidate for the leadership role.

”Since no one has any objections, then the matter of the Leader Initiative is settled.”

Chu He tapped the table lightly, his action sealing the deal.

’I don’t care what these people think,’ he thought. ’If I wanted to, I could easily kill every single person here.’

’Going through all this trouble was just to complete the system’s mission.’

’From now on, I have to fight,’ he resolved.

’Now that I have a family, I absolutely will not allow what happened in the Great Jing Empire to happen to me again!’

[Third update~ Thank you to my patron, Book Friend 202404302234, for the 170 Book Coin tip!!! Thank you, patron!!]