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Under the leadership of their grand elder, the top-level fighters of the Nightingale clan were swiftly dispatched to take care of the home minister of Carmen.
None of them knew, however, that the home minister had already contacted the president by this time, and the two were somberly discussing how to deal with the ‘conspiracy’ of the Gray Wolfe.
“To be honest, I still believe that the internal turmoil within the Gray Wolfe is real.” The president frowned. “I have known Sanders for a long time, and it never seemed like the man had any deep ambitions of taking over the country.”
Feeling the other man’s hesitation, the home minister couldn’t help but be a little anxious. “Mr. President, you can’t let your feelings cloud your vision at this time! There’s too much at stake here. Even if the chances of the Gray Wolfe and the Nightingale clan conspiring together to knock down our democracy are less than ten percent, we still can’t take this gamble!”
“You’re just basing this all off of a single conversation with the Nightingale clan’s head, though, but…” The president sighed. “Alright, let’s just assume for a moment that your hunch is right, then what? What are we supposed to do? Send the army to wipe them all out and push our country into a state of civil war?”
The home minister wanted to refute, but found himself completely speechless when he really thought about it. ‘That’s right… with the Gray Wolfe and Nightingale clan’s strength combined, unless we’re really willing to go all out, it would be impossible to get rid of this tumor easily.’
Needless to say, doing such a thing would hurt their country’s vitality almost irreversibly, and who is to say they won’t be swallowed up by someone else at that time?
The president sighed. “I understand that you are uneasy, but we can’t treat this situation lightly. Although it seems like all they can do now is grumble and groan powerlessly, with enough stimulation, the seemingly docile crowds can quickly turn ferocious. At that time, we cannot guarantee that they can be easily controlled or suppressed.”
The home minister nodded in understanding.
Blue Dawn was a shining example of just how wrong things could go if a government remained ignorant of the repercussions that severe economic turmoil could have on a country. Not only was there a rebellion, but it even lost its status as a democratic country to a foreign girl!
As true patriots, neither of them could accept the thought of Carmen falling into such a state.
The people there may be happy for the short-term relief now, but in the history books, it would definitely be an unforgettable, shameful stain.
After all, true to everyone’s expectations, Emilia really did seem to lead her ‘Empire’ as if she was playing a game, and despite her initial success, there was only so far her luck could go.
Once her good fortune came to an end, it won’t take long for people to realize just how foolish they had been.
At that time, it wouldn’t matter how deep White Deer Corporation’s pockets were. The most they would be able to do was try to get their precious princess out of the mutinous crowd without being torn to pieces.
The older man’s eyes suddenly lit up in enlightenment. “Speaking of which… isn’t this a wonderful opportunity?”
The home minister blinked. “I don’t understand what Mr. President means?”
The president chuckled. “It would be a disaster for everyone if we were to get into a frontal conflict with both the Gray Wolfe and the Nightingale clan, but what if we can suppress them without getting involved at all?”
“I-I’m afraid I still don’t understand…?”
The older man patted the home minister’s shoulder with a grin. “The credit to this idea should actually go to you. If you didn’t bring it up, I wouldn’t be able to think of such a brilliant solution so quickly!”
Looking at the other man’s confused face, the president grinned. “I’m talking about the White Deer, of course!”
The home minister couldn’t help but be shocked. “Use them to suppress Gray Wolfe? Isn’t that the same as inviting a foreign enemy home to resolve an internal conflict?”
The president shook his head in denial. “Not at all. How can it be the same? Not to mention that the Gray Wolfe and the Nightingale clan can no longer be considered an integral part of our country from the moment they had thoughts of rebellion, but can the White Deer really be considered a foreign enemy?”
Seeing the home minister’s expression twist, the president quickly elaborated. “Don’t look at their recent success, as long as someone takes a closer look, they will discover just how hollow the White Deer Corporation really is. A few years ago, they didn’t even dare to squeak in front of the Black Tiger, which is already a puppet of Oriana now. Can they really be so strong?”
The home minister felt that his president’s words made sense, but when he tried to think of the White Deer as ‘powerless’, his gut feeling was still that something was wrong with that thought.
Even after chewing on that thought for a while, the home minister still felt hesitant. “I-I don’t think we should be underestimating them so much. Regardless of how it happened, they are at least ahead of Gray Wolfe in rankings, and also managed to take over Blue Dawn, right?”
The president chuckled confidently, as if he had long since known he would have such ‘naïve’ doubts. “The rankings? They go up and down every day. Do we need to look at such meaningless things? As for the Blue Dawn… do you really know how much of the Empire’s military is directly under White Deer’s control?”
Seeing the home minister shake his head in confusion, the president grinned. “I’ll tell you, then. Actually, I wasn’t the only one worried about such a thing, but after several big shots tried to look into it, they all discovered something shocking.”
Under the expectant gaze of the home minister, he continued. “In reality, despite their princess being the Empress and all their claims that the people there worship her… the military structure is almost entirely composed of the natives of Blue Dawn.”
The home minister couldn’t help but exclaim in shock. “What?! Are the people at White Deer stupid?!”
The president shook his head with a smile. “It’s more like they’re helpless. That little girl just happened to be in the right position at the right time, and the rebels of Blue Dawn put her on a pedestal because they felt like they needed an icon, that’s all. It’s all luck. Even if the White Deer wants to make more out of it, there’s not much to actually squeeze out without alarming the real powerhouses there.”
Of course, these powerhouses were none other than the rebel leaders and military commanders of Blue Dawn, who were all natives. Their allegiance to White Deer was probably extremely fragile, if not completely non-existent.
The president smiled. “Their current worth is actually really overinflated because most people can’t see through this truth so easily. At least, not now. And that’s why they are trying their best to capitalize on this spike of wealth and popularity before it runs out.”
The home minister nodded, his eyes bright and full of enlightenment. “I understand now! The White Deer’s arrival in our country at this time is really our great fortune! So long as we can make them agree to cooperate with us on this matter, we can kill two birds with one stone!”
Not only would they be able to suppress the Gray Wolfe and the Nightingale clan’s ambitions, but they would do so by using the resources of the overambitious White Deer!
With their current desperate situation, how could it be possible for them to resist such a good bait?
Of course, they might have their own ambitions and agendas, but so what? Their intentions didn’t really matter when they simply had no strength to contend against Carmen.
So long as they were within Carmen’s borders, if the government allowed them to prosper they would prosper, and if the government told them to pack up they could only tuck their tails between their legs and leave.
Just as the two of them arrived at the same conclusion and grinned in satisfaction, however, the meeting room’s door that was supposed to remain closed until the president’s signal slammed open without warning, shocking them both.
“What the hell—?!”
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