Vol. 1 - Ch. 318 - Integration of Thunder Empire

The Phipps family was one of the largest commercial dynasties in the Thunder Empire, owning the empire's largest bank, winery, and plantations, while also being involved in transportation and the mercenary business. The family's fixed assets amounted to tens of billions of gold coins. The dynasty had persisted for five hundred years.

The current head of the family was a sixty-year-old named Morgan Phipps, who had once been awarded a baronial honor by the empire for his substantial charitable donations, and he was ambitiously planning to take his family to greater heights.

However, fate had other plans. Morgan could never have imagined that the vast empire, which was enjoying a prosperous and stable phase, steadily growing stronger with aspirations to expand its territories, could collapse so suddenly. Morgan had seen Emperor Frelio's ambition to annex nearby kingdoms and even the surrounding lands of the empire itself and had hoped to strategically position his family to profit from these developments.

Unexpectedly, the great empire fell apart. This happened so swiftly that Morgan had no time to react. With the Phipps family's extensive business and complex industrial ties, it wasn't something that could be easily dismantled overnight.

What now? The empire was ruined, yet not entirely. The territories under the Demon King's control constituted less than one-fifth of the entire empire, meaning that the vast majority of the population and cities were still unoccupied by his forces. One could imagine that these areas, whether populated by civilians or officials and nobility, were falling into unprecedented panic, and a major collapse and mass exodus were inevitable.

It wouldn't take long for the news that the Emperor had been killed, the imperial capital had fallen, and the imperial army had been utterly defeated to spread throughout the empire like wildfire. Within as little as ten days or as long as a month, an unprecedented wave of panic and escape would engulf the empire, with at least half of the empire's population trying to flee before the Demon King could gain control over their area. Once this trend of collapse took shape, the disintegration of the empire was inevitable. The region would struggle to unify again for the next twenty years, with order completely disrupted, making business almost impossible.

Old Morgan also felt despair. He thought about making a drastic decision to abandon all of the family's fixed assets, accumulated over five hundred years, and take only a portion of the assets to seek refuge in another empire, away from the fearsome power of the great Demon King.

However, the problem was that the Demon King's minions had already taken control of the imperial capital. Some tried to bribe them for a chance to escape, but these minions were fanatically loyal to the Demon King and almost none of them wavered in the face of lucrative offers, which was truly astonishing.

What to do? Old Morgan was already overwhelmed with headaches when suddenly his son, young Phipps, rushed in.

"Father!" he exclaimed, "Something big has happened!"

Morgan, already weary, felt his face fall further. "Another twist in the situation? I'd like to see how much worse this can possibly get!"

Th young Phipps quickly replied, "Father, this might not be bad news. We've received word that the Northern Guardian Duke, Ophelia, has recently arrived in the imperial capital. She has declared that she will ascend to the throne as the seventeenth emperor of the empire."

"What?" Morgan was shocked.UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m

First, the status quo of the occupied territories would remain unchanged. The Demon King promised to withdraw from the imperial capital, to not harm the lives and property of the empire's citizens, and to refrain from causing further conflicts without reason.

Second, the empire would join the Chaos Federation as a member state, effectively becoming a part of the federation. Empress Ophelia would become the Vice President of the Chaos Federation and pledge allegiance to the Demon King of Darkness City.

Third, Darkness City would gain the right to station troops in all imperial fortresses, with the responsibility of maintaining the empire's territory, quelling rebellions, and defending against external enemies.

Undoubtedly, this was an unequal treaty that compromised the empire's sovereignty. The Demon King had no intention of relinquishing control over the southern territories of the empire. Not only did the empire cede the southern territories to the Demon King, but it also became subordinate to him, integrating into the Chaos Federation and losing its military sovereignty.

However, the empire had no choice. As the defeated party, it had to pay a significant price and offer substantial concessions to ensure its survival. At the very least, the empire could still maintain its daily operations.

Young Phipps anxiously said, "Father, we should leave quickly. The new emperor is clearly a puppet!"

"No, we don't need to leave," Old Morgan said, feeling a sense of relief after learning about the peace agreement. "This Demon King is not a simple-minded one... There might be greater opportunities here than elsewhere!"

The empire, at least, would not disintegrate, and this was undoubtedly the result of the Demon King's strategy. Old Morgan realized that this Demon King was far from being just a brute with mere strength. This move not only saved a lot of time that would have been spent in further conquest but also maximized his own benefits. It was a very shrewd move.

For the common people, the empress's ascension and the signing of the agreement stabilized their morale. The Demon King, in effect, controlled the empire, and his power was bound to increase further. Given the Demon King's aggressiveness and ability to conquer, could the surrounding empires and other forces remain untouched? Rather than running away, it might be better to stay here. By aligning with the powerful, one could secure more benefits.

Old Morgan thought for a moment and then announced, "To celebrate Empress Ophelia's ascension, I have decided to donate half of our family's assets!"

Upon hearing this, the members of the Phipps family were stunned. What was the head of the family trying to do? Donating half of the assets seemed like an excessively generous gesture.

In reality, for businessmen like Morgan, it didn't matter who truly held power. What they needed was simply a stable order and a conducive environment for commerce. During the creation of a new order, many previous leaders who couldn't keep up would fall, inevitably creating numerous vacancies and brewing new opportunities. If seized properly, these could lead to significant advancements.

Compared to that, sacrificing half the owned assets amounted to nothing.