After lunch, Lanqi stepped through the ornate doors of Salem Palace and stood at the entrance.
Dressed in a black overcoat and top hat, his expression was solemn, as though he were still reflecting on the weighty discussion that had just concluded, weighing the immense responsibilities he bore as a leader.
The streets of Hersalem bustled with activity as citizens hurried past, the ambient roar of the city rising steadily around him.
Even with the shadows of war hanging over the metropolis, life moved forward.
The passersby soon began to notice the prime minister.
Several stopped in their tracks, watching him with curious and respectful gazes.
Some nodded in greeting, and Lanqi cordially responded. The citizens showed him their admiration and curiosity, and a few even called out words of encouragement, urging him on in their resistance against the Horning Empire.
These interactions brought a faint smile to Lanqi's face, his eyes flashing with a touch of gratitude and determination.
Reporters swarmed forward in droves, but Lanqi disclosed nothing.
He maintained his silence until his secretary guided him into his carriage.
Alone in the dim compartment, he stared into the dark interior, which felt unnervingly still.
"For now, a steadier method is needed to balance the public's favor and parliament," Lanqi murmured to himself.
Just as he had been pondering inside, this remained a delicate puzzle.
The nobility and traditional elite of the Polant Empire controlled the military and the upper tiers of power, while he, as prime minister, held the backing of the populace.
Unable to win over public sentiment on their own, the ruling elite were forced to seek cooperation from either Lanqi or the conservative faction.
To seize power quickly, the first step would naturally be winning the trust of key figures to secure military command, or amassing as much private force as possible.
Compared to Empress Khesia, the support of several generals was far more critical.
"Meow, meow..."
Boss Cat poked its head out of the shadow beneath Lanqi's feet.
Ever since Lanqi began his conversation with Empress Khesia, the cat had been feeling uneasy.
While Lanqi was acting as eccentric as ever, Boss Cat could not fathom why Lanqi's primary target of control had been the Empress.
"Lanqi, what are you planning to do next, meow?"
Boss Cat cast a sound-dampening barrier, crawled quietly onto Lanqi's lap, and asked in a low whisper.
"I think the first step is to get a firm grip on [Public Favor] and [Parliament]," Lanqi said as he stroked Boss Cat's head.
"Right, meow."
Boss Cat was certain that even with Lanqi's talents, the past day and a half had proven that he could preserve at most one of the two. It was fundamentally a zero-sum mechanic; satisfying everyone at once was an impossibility.
"Originally, I intended to take direct control of parliament and become the sole decision-maker, but I've changed my mind now," Lanqi muttered to himself.
"Meow?!"
Boss Cat was instantly reminded of that terrifying man named Luoqi McCarthy.
"Don't worry."
Lanqi temporarily cut off the live feed of the Shadow World Recording Program. He preferred not to reveal too much, lest people in the Southern Continent let their imaginations run wild.
Boss Cat was evidently terrified that Lanqi would go down the path of a dictator. If they eventually brought Hubao back to the Polant Empire only for her to find out Lanqi had turned into a despot—and that the entire Shadow World was being watched back at Ikerite Academy—she would lose her mind completely!
A villainous duke's daughter of the demon race and a tyrannical dictator were far too natural a match!
Boss Cat had already let Hubao down once in the Northern Continent; it could not allow another catastrophe to happen. It had to ensure Hubao met Lanqi in peace.
"No, no, no, you can't pull that off anyway, so just put it out of your mind, meow! Don't even think about it, meow!"
Boss Cat gave it some thought and quickly breathed a sigh of relief.
Lanqi had clearly realized it as well. With so little time in this Shadow World and the threat of the Horning Empire looming, taking the time for internal strife to quickly seize total control of parliament was practically impossible.
It was simply out of the question.
The cat was immensely relieved that Lanqi had not continued down that dead end.
"Actually, the strategy is fairly straightforward," Lanqi explained upon seeing Boss Cat's misunderstanding. "I could win over the imperial nobility first. Then, one day, an arson attack would break out at parliament in Hersalem. When my stormtroopers rush in to help, they would accidentally purge the conservative faction. While surrounding the building, I would demand the passage of an Enabling Act. I'm sure everyone would gladly agree by then."
"?!"
Boss Cat was horrified.
It genuinely believed Lanqi was monstrous enough to do exactly that.
"Meow, meow, meow! Lanqi, promise me! You must never do that! Think of Hubao! I know you have a better way!"
Boss Cat clutched Lanqi's coat frantically with its claws, crying out in desperation.
It could not fail Hubao again.
It had been naive before, but now it truly understood just how terrifying Lanqi could be!
"Don't worry, I've grown tired of political power struggles. I have no desire to spend every day scheming and fighting."
Lanqi picked up Boss Cat, a gentle warmth in his eyes.
This was the conclusion Lanqi had reached back in the Protos Empire of the Northern Continent.
All he ever wanted was to make Hyperion happy.
Yet back in Herrom, he had hardly seen her smile.
"That's wonderful, Lanqi! Let's help the Polant Empire through this crisis the right way, meow!"
Moved to tears, Boss Cat wiped away a stray tear.
It felt as though Hyperion's past admonitions had finally struck a chord with Lanqi.
Lanqi nodded.
He felt confident that in this moment, he and Boss Cat were entirely on the same page.
Plenty of imperial nobles despised him at present, but just as many detested Duke Moretti and the unyielding conservative faction.
Winning over the nobility was far from impossible; he merely needed to show them the lesser of two evils. When the time came, they would naturally want to use him as a blade to eliminate the conservatives.
Afterward, they would likely hope to use Lanqi to sweep away Duke Moretti's clique, placate the public for a brief period, and replace Lanqi after a couple of years.
It would be child's play to turn the elite against one another in mutual destruction.
And since Lanqi, the figure they feared most, would seek no personal gain from the chaos, they would be lulled into a false sense of security.
What they did not know was that once the administration fractured, Lanqi's true objective was simply to restore absolute imperial authority to Empress Khesia.
Drawing upon the premise established in his previous Shadow World, the Banquet of Sanctuary Villains, Lanqi was also a member of a secret anti-Blood Clan cult. By now, his standing within the church was quite high. After over a decade of expansion, the church had built a solid foundation and amassed a sizable flock within the Polant Empire.
Over the next few days, Lanqi planned to establish contact with the church, use his position as prime minister to grant them sweeping resources and backing, and coordinate their operations across the empire for the coming month.
He had decided against destroying parliament; instead, he would transform parliament into a church.
He would restore the Polant Empire from a constitutional monarchy into an absolute monarchy.
Hyperion had never liked prime ministers.
She liked priests.
Therefore, he would turn this empire into a theocracy and become its pope.
"Rest assured, Boss Cat. Hyperion is going to be thoroughly satisfied this time. When I bring her back to the Polant Empire, she won't be frightened again,"
Lanqi murmured, patting the cat gently with a hint of remorse.
Since Hyperion despised politicians and favored priests, the answer was obvious.
This time, his path lay in fracturing the government, restoring the crown, and empowering the clergy.
Once he built the holy church for her, Hyperion could assume whatever position she fancied when she returned. The entire church would belong to her.
However, his current progress was still far from sufficient to achieve that ambition.
Even if he maximized the public's favor, victory remained elusive.
He needed to personally recruit a powerful ally.
First, he would have to travel to the Demon Realm. Forging an alliance with the Demon Realm could substantially boost the Polant Empire's [Military], [Treasury], and [Diplomacy], providing the decisive leverage required to overhaul the empire once and for all.
And above all else, going to the Demon Realm meant finding Hyperion.
Chapter 540