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Chapter 318: Integration of Thunder Empire

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.

With three of the empire\'s four Guardian Dukes dead, and the imperial capital\'s Emperor, prime minister, and minister of the military, among other top aristocratic authorities, completely eradicated, if there was anyone left who could stabilize the situation, it would only be this remaining Guardian Duke.

No one expected that, under the circumstances of the Demon King\'s occupation of the imperial capital, Duchess Ophelia would return and announce to the nation her intention to take the throne. By lineage and status, Ophelia indeed was the only one currently qualified and capable of inheriting the imperial throne. But the question was, how could the Demon King allow this?

Eagerly, Old Morgan asked, "What was the Demon King\'s reaction?"

His son quickly responded, "After Lady Ophelia announced her ascension as the seventeenth emperor, she also declared that she would start peace talks with the Chaos Federation, aiming to resolve the conflict without further violence and ensure the safety of the people."

Upon hearing this, Morgan finally understood. There seemed to be two possibilities.

The first possibility was that the northern duke, Ophelia had calculated her moves: she had colluded with the southern Demon King to eliminate the legitimate lineage of the Frelio royal family to ascend to the throne herself. This was all a maneuver for power in the battle for the imperial crown. The second possibility was that the Demon King had actively invited Ophelia to become the emperor, aiming to stabilize the populace by supporting such a puppet empress to prevent a major collapse and ensure order, thus better controlling the empire.

However, both possibilities had issues.  Ophelia teaming up with the Demon King could indeed resolve the situation in the imperial capital. But would she not fear the possibility of inviting a wolf into her own house? After all, the Demon King had defeated the dukes of three territories. This theory seemed implausible.

The second possibility seemed more reasonable. But the Duke of the northern territory was famously proud; how could she willingly be a puppet empress? Moreover, Ophelia held significant prestige in the empire, and while her becoming empress could stabilize the situation, she would not be easily controlled.

Although unsure of the exact circumstances, any stabilization of the empire was good news. Ophelia\'s announcement of her ascension as emperor had significantly calmed the public, effectively preventing the total disintegration of the empire.

Young Phipps asked, "What should we do now?"

Old Morgan said gravely, "The situation is still unclear. Let\'s wait and see for now."

Two days later, the northern Grand Duke, Ophelia Frelio, entered the imperial temple and officially underwent the Frelio family\'s rites of passage and inheritance, becoming the seventeenth emperor of the Thunder Empire.

At the same time, Empress Ophelia met with the Darkness City\'s Demon King. Ultimately, both sides signed a ceasefire and peace agreement. The contents of the agreement were made public. The three most critical points were as follows:

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."