Nexalia was in shock from the words, but suddenly, she understood something and said, “Lang, give me a chance to make up to you. I assure you, that the culprit will kneel in front of you.”
Shi Lang waved his hand and said, “You had the time. You could not do it. The attack targeted me. I will get my revenge myself. You do not have to worry.”
Amelia said, “Lang, do you wish to violate the dignity of the Empress by acting yourself? She did not have a clue, to begin with. This time, the empress has promised you. Let her do things. You still have not recovered completely, you know that.”
Shi Lang was unwilling to wait for even a second, but that was because of his rage. At this moment, the feeling of losing Amelia, and the potential threat to his family was like a knife stuck in his heart. This knife was something he had to take out really quickly or it will become a heart demon. He did not wish for that to happen.
He calmed down and said, “Your Excellency, I will leave the matter in your care. Do as you think is fit, however, I would like to ask you, to help me get some medicines.”
Nexalia would not let go of this chance. Shi Lang was willing to take a step back and it was now her turn to lower her head. She was a ruler who understood how to bend and stretch. She asked, “Please tell me what you need?”
Shi Lang waved his hand to OB-One who gave a list of herbs to the lady. This bot has been searching through every single blade of grass recorded in the Neomonian data. He even found some rare herbs that would ease the harm to Shi Lang’s meridians and allow him to use spiritual energy again.
After the meeting was concluded, Nexalia and Ameris sat down in Amelia inside a closed room. Shi Lang had left and was meditating to calm his rage. The Empress needed someone to discuss this. The information revealed by OB-One had shocked them all.
Amelia held a cup of tea and her expression was calm, but that was only on the surface. Her eyes were indifferent. Nexalia suddenly regretted her idea to talk to this young lady. General Charlotte was not so indifferent to her, as her daughter was. Amelia was no less enraged when she saw Shi Lang immersed in the tube, with the flesh from his back missing, making him look like some sort of a medical dummy.
He went through all that because he wanted to save her. This was not something she liked. Half her rage was targeted at the Neomonia’s failure and a half at herself. However, she had to hold on to her sanity otherwise, Shi Lang might lose control and massacre everyone in front of him.
Ameris asked, “Amelia, what do you think is the best plan of action? Should we do it discreetly or should we be open about it?”
Amelia gazed at Ameris and said, “You should know what you wish to do, Minister Ameris. I am here to learn about your arrangements, and nothing more.”
Ameris nodded and glanced at Nexalia, who said, “Kar-te, the person mentioned in the reports is the Neomonian Envoy at the Galactic Council. During our investigations, we discovered that the generals from his family have been adjusting the timings of the patrol and this could be a part of their plot. We have decided to call Kar-te back home in the name of a diplomatic meeting with the Federation. Then we can interrogate him, and appoint a new Envoy in the council.”
Amelia nodded and said, “I understand with this thought process, however, how sure are you that Kar-te will believe your words?”
Ameris interjected, “We propose that the first fleet of the federation is called over and posted at the borders of Neomon and The federation. We will post a fleet there as well, and project it to look like a military confrontation.”
“Will the Galactic Council not raise any objections?”, Amelia asked.
The defense minister shook her head and said, “We can call it a military exercise. All we need to do is misguide Envoy Kar-te.”
Amelia began to think over the suggestion. She was not a fool to not understand that they wanted to stage a celestial drama. The last element was for Envoy Shashi to abruptly return home otherwise things will look a bit too fake. Thinking about this, she nodded and said, “I will have a word with the others. I do not have the authority to call shots in this matter.”
Nexalia nodded and said, “I hope that you can reply to me as soon as possible. We have delayed a bit too long.”
Amelia nodded and left after some more questions. Watching the young lady leave, Ameris sighed and said, “This time, we are in a tough spot.”
Nexalia nodded and said, “Just when the things seem to be going smoothly, some bastard would turn up and screw us over.”
…
Amelia sat down in front of General Edward, Mrs. Dupont, and General Charlotte. Hayley and Jenkins were also present but they were not allowed to speak in matters this big. They were here to observe.
After Amelia was done taking, General Knight said, “We can go forward with this.”
The first lady also nodded and general Edwards said, “What we need to do is to stage a drama, however, the movement of the fleet is not possible. Shi Lang is on vacation and so is the rest of the fleet. They have not been given a vacation in almost forever, and to have them come back all of a sudden, is not good. How about, we enlist a secret division or one of the young fleets for this? We will use the opportunity to train them. The rest of the arrangement is fine.”
General Edward was almost always thinking about the betterment of the federal army. After they were done discussing. General Edward made a few calls, and things were set in motion. In the meantime, Nexalia procured the herbs Shi Lang had asked for.
…
Shi Lang was watching a herb turning into tiny drops of oil-like substance, and OB-One said, “Sire, the refining is complete.”
It has been a couple of days since they started refining herbs, and they have both set up an array that could use the spiritual energy in the void to melt the herbs from physical to spiritual form. The oil droplet floating in the void was the condensed spiritual essence of the herb.
The array was controlled by manipulating the spirit input on the array diagram. This was required because different herbs had different compositions. Also, the attributes were different too. Shi Lang was not very easy in channeling his spirit energy at the moment so they had to enlist the help of his parents. As they were the only ones, who were not busy.
The rest were dealing with the plan to entrap the Envoy of the Neomons. Things have been delayed for at least a week, and the military action was stated as a classified matter in the Neomon military. Clement has been isolated and none of the people were allowed to go in or out. It was said that the Empress had imprisoned the Federal guests.
The fanfare she has set for the earlier welcome was too big, this matter was discussed in the Neomonian news. So, now the sudden turn of events had caused an intangible tension in the air of the empire. The people were discussing all sorts of questions. They wanted to know why the biggest ally had suddenly turned into their enemy.
The military fleets involved in the drama were given a gag order as well. They were not at liberty to discuss anything with even their spouse. The drama was staged and the characters were all on stage as well. Shi Lang did not care about it, his priority was to refine the pill of the essence.
OB-One made an apparatus and everything was in place. He said, “Sire after you consume the pill. Please make sure to meditate and channel your spiritual energy throughout your meridians. They will heal.”
Shi Lang rolled his eyes and said, “I know all that you big hunk of tin.”
OB-One did not know all those expressions and said, “Sire, I am not made up of tin, I am made from a material called Star iron. The atomic mass…”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “I wonder, why do you follow up on such stupid questions when you have such a high IQ.”
That said, he sat on the ground and placed the pill inside his mouth. The pill melted from the warmth and his saliva. The next thing was the outburst of spiritual essence inside his body, while he was there healing himself, Amelia and the rest were standing in a hidden chamber watching the protagonist of the show, Kar-te walk inside the royal court.
Now begins the adjudication.