Chapter 476

"It has become impossible to destroy the warp gates with only the strike force... Is that so?"

"Unfortunately, yes, Your Majesty."

Berthus nodded with a frustrated expression at Savioleene Tana's stern words. He already knew that the mission to destroy the gates was becoming increasingly difficult as the number of gates decreased. In the most recent mission, Tana had to withdraw her troops after destroying only one gate out of the three that needed to be destroyed. The monsters were too numerous and too strong. Two swordmasters from Shanael and four royal wizards died in that mission. It was a painful loss of irreplaceable master-class power. As the gates became more dangerous, the strike force's power continued to decrease. However, the longer the gate-breaking operation was postponed, the more monsters would be released into the world. "What do you think about combining Ellen's unit and Tana's unit?" The city reconstruction work is still ongoing, but the environment has become very difficult to rescue survivors. Now, they will change Ellen's unit's mission to the remaining warp gate destruction and organize a very powerful unit. Tana nodded with a stern expression at the Emperor's words. "If we do that, we can continue the warp gate destruction operation temporarily... but in the long run, we expect that such losses will occur again. Also, we cannot say that there is no risk of Ellen Artorius dying." Ellen Artorius dying during the warp gate destruction operation would be more terrible than any disaster for humanity. People have a lot of expectations and hopes for Ellen. If Ellen dies in the fight to subdue the warp gate, not as a demon king, humanity will fall into despair and grief. It was something that Berthus could not accept, to continue to put Ellen in even more dangerous situations. However, he could not leave everything to Savioleene Tana as before. The situation is very bad. There is not no way. "In the end... it seems that the time has come to organize a large army." "Yes, Your Majesty." They will operate a large-scale unit for a full-scale battle. Large-scale movement through magic is impossible. Therefore, the unit that is organized will receive supplies through magic and travel the continent to destroy the warp gates. Sacrificing those who are a little lower in level than master-class, to preserve the power of master-class and archmages. It is impossible to predict how many people will die. If they organize and deploy such a large unit, they may not be able to return easily. They will have to fight countless monsters while moving long distances to the points where the warp gates are located. We need to organize a large army that won't be able to return until all the warp gates are destroyed. We must now fight a full-scale war since the strike force can no longer perform their duties. The situation is dire, and the only option left is to fight countless monsters while moving long distances to the points where the warp gates are located. The empire must gather all remaining resources to organize a large army. Charlotte is currently focusing on understanding the current situation and gathering important information such as the number of people, food reserves, crime rates, and the number of prisoners in custody. She must ensure that the numbers she remembers are accurate and investigate any discrepancies. Charlotte stares at the man kneeling before the guards while sitting on the throne. She asks him to explain the discrepancy in the amount of fish produced and the amount shipped for the purpose of fish jerky production. Charlotte never imagined she would be interrogating the manager of a fishery. However, the most important and problematic issue is food. Food is directly related to people's lives. The fish collected by the mermaids is a very important and essential food resource, and the process of making fish jerky is one of Edina's very important food businesses for long-term preservation of food for winter. The amount of fish received and the amount of fish jerky produced are different. The person in front of Charlotte is responsible for the fish jerky production process. If he doesn't know what he should know, he is already guilty. Charlotte calmly looks at the manager who is trembling with fear. She tells him that if there is an error in the actual yield, the error itself is a crime. The issue of preserved food is a very important national project for preparing for winter. If the person in charge doesn't know the reality, it is a serious dereliction of duty. Additionally, if 40% of the fish are disappearing, there must be technical problems. However, there is not a single report or problem raised regarding the need for technical improvement or enhancement. Charlotte asks the manager for his excuses, but she already knows that he has been caught selling fish jerky that he stole from the company. The guards are signaled by Charlotte. "After investigating each of his crimes, publicly execute him. Also, find out if there are any accomplices. Furthermore, if any accomplices are found after his execution, I will execute his wife and children as well. So, if you want to ensure the survival of your remaining family members, speak the truth without lies."

"Y-Your Highness! Please forgive me!"

"Take him away."

Charlotte watched as the manager of the fish production line was dragged away by the guards.

Crime can happen anywhere. Charlotte wasn't curious about why he committed the crime. It could be inevitable or simply for greed. But once forgiveness starts, it never ends. So Charlotte never even thought about forgiveness in the first place.

"Your Majesty..."

One of the ghosts who had been silently following Charlotte cautiously spoke up.

"Speak."

The ghost trembled as if it was difficult to meet Charlotte's gaze.

"Your Majesty has never discussed the issue of collective punishment when dealing with crimes, but..."

"Ah... I see."

Linehart's reign. Charlotte knew to some extent what had happened. Rather than killing them, they were used as labor, and even if they committed extreme crimes, only the perpetrators were punished. Even the punishment for those who tried to assassinate the Demon King ended with the death penalty, without punishing their clan.

Regardless of the issue of good and evil, the concept of punishment for Linehart was punishment for individuals. But Charlotte's concept of punishment was different. Punish all with one punishment.

"Punish if I say I will punish."

"If I say I will punish collectively, I will."

"Especially, food-related businesses are directly related to the lives of all Edina citizens."

"Those responsible for that business taking personal gain in the middle is a major crime that undermines the foundation of Edina."

"Edina has too many mouths."

"Too many."

"So, I intend to minimize the parasitic mouths that suck the blood of the country to prolong the life of the country."

"In the future, regardless of their affiliation, if anyone is caught pursuing such personal gain in Edina's food business, they will be publicly executed without exception, and their clan who gained the unfair profit will also be disposed of without exception."

Charlotte saw the ghosts flinch. There were even demons among the ghosts. But the demons who sent absolute trust to the Demon King had no shame on their faces.

Those who were afraid were all human.

"If you are clean, pray to the gods that your corruption will not be seen by me." "It's not just you who will die, but also the precious things that belong to you. The lenient rule of the past is over. Edina will see a lot of bloodshed under Charlotte's reign to strengthen the country's foundation. Those who only think of their own pockets will need to prepare themselves for the future. Even the lower management is stealing from the royal family and taking resources for themselves. Those who pursue personal gain in businesses related to food are committing a major crime that undermines the foundation of the country. Charlotte intends to minimize the parasitic mouths that suck the blood of the country to prolong the life of the country. Punishments will be given to all involved, including family members of any accomplices found after the execution. Charlotte's announcement makes the ghosts, including demons, flinch, but those who were afraid were all human. Those who are clean should pray to the gods that their corruption will not be seen by her. The people have confirmed the change in the ruling style through public executions in the plaza. They are not afraid, but rather cheering for the punishment of those who have committed crimes against the country. Charlotte is also examining the overall situation of Edina and establishing new principles and rules. She is also paying attention to the Port Mokna, which is an important place for Reinhardt." The main military force is the knights of the church, and there are also many wizards. They cannot be easily defeated even by attacks from most monsters, and they cannot be easily destroyed even by the powerful psychic, Liana. Charlotte asks for a list of all the supplies that have been sent to Port Mokna so far and also requests documents on the number of survivors who have arrived from Port Mokna to Edina. She examines the documents carefully and notices something suspicious about the amount of food supplies that Port Mokna has been requesting. Charlotte suspects that there may be a problem with Port Mokna and if she tries to correct it, she will inevitably clash with Liana.