Chapter 467 411: Situation Out of Control, The Warlord's End

"We need support! The enemy is too strong, we—AAAAHHH!!"

On the bridge of the Tania.

Claudius sat upon the Governor's throne.

The staff who had once sworn to follow him, who had tirelessly trumpeted the benefits of war and flattered him day in and day out, were now slumped in their chairs, deathly pale.

Cold sweat born of terror beaded on their foreheads, soaking their fine clothes.

The local warlords and Knight Lords, who had once boasted of overthrowing the Grand Governor and helping him ascend, had all changed their tune after learning that Reinhardt, the Lord of Vengeful, had broken through the defensive lines and boarded the Tania Flagship.

Every last one of them had grown evasive, refusing to move their troops.

Aside from the command center's numerous liaison officers, who were still tirelessly negotiating with the fleet's warlords and begging for support, the bridge was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The oppressive silence was a noose around their necks, making every passing second an agony.

At this moment, within the magnificent fleet and across the vast bridge, perhaps the only person still loyal to Claudius was his Guard Captain, the Four-star Earth Knight Jens.

Even though the interior of the Tania Flagship had descended into chaos, Jens remained by his side, never straying a single step.

Perhaps the tide of this war had become irreversible the moment Reinhardt successfully landed in Cyrenaica.

Claudius had a clear enough self-awareness. He was not one of those leaders who could stand on the stage of history, raise an arm, and inspire countless people to follow.

Nor was he a supreme powerhouse, strong enough to suppress the entire situation single-handedly.

His ability to assemble such a massive rebel fleet in Cyrenaica was less a matter of ideological unity and more a coalition of shared interests.

He wasn't a fool, and neither were the warlords and lords under his command.

If they couldn't leverage an intelligence advantage to launch a successful surprise attack and capture Iberia, their military strength was simply too weak to confront a behemoth like the Imperial Administrative Region.

This was especially true after the failure of the operation to assassinate Reinhardt. News of Sipia's defeat and Nelom's betrayal had spread, and the already fragile morale had now completely collapsed.

In truth, the solution to this problem was incredibly simple. Claudius had ten thousand ways to blast Reinhardt and his ship into a pile of space junk before he ever landed in Cyrenaica.

But the constraints placed on him by Enok and Great Sage Cassio forced him to consider the interests of all parties every time he made a decision.

Now, news that the Wizard's Divine Artifact had been stolen and that the Lord of Vengeful was leading a surprise attack on the Tania Flagship had spread throughout the entire fleet. Combined, these two pieces of news had only one true meaning: Claudius was finished.

Losing the Divine Artifact meant he had lost the right to wage a long-term war against the Administrative Region.

The Lord of Vengeful boarding the ship meant that it wouldn't be long before the ambitious Governor Claudius became a corpse.

In such a situation, any rational warlord or lord would choose to wait and see. It didn't matter who won; what mattered was that they would only back the winning side.

The overall interests of the Imperial Administrative Region were too distant a concern for these people.

Only the power and resources they held in their own hands were real.

Besides, what did the war on the Verne Front Line have to do with them? Even if the Lord of Vengeful truly executed Claudius, he wouldn't do anything to them afterward.

They had armies and resources.

Whether the Verne Front Line could hold on depended in large part on their whims.

This was the source of the confidence for the warlords and local lords among the rebels—the confidence to stand by and watch Reinhardt and Claudius fight, placing their bets only when the outcome was clear.

Even though Claudius knew full well what these men were thinking, his heart was still filled with rage.

And at this moment, he began to understand Grand Governor Sedon's predicament, empathizing with him on a deeply personal level.

Unable to collect taxes.

Unable to mobilize troops.

His decrees were ignored outside of Iberia.

He even had to concede some of his own interests just to prevent these people from rebelling and defecting to the enemy.

If not for that great rebellion, these people wouldn't have dared to default on the Empire's tithing even if they had a hundred times the courage. They wouldn't have dared to have the slightest connection to the word "rebellion."

A pity...

'He truly wanted to slaughter all these shortsighted fools who only cared about their immediate gains.'

If they had been able to remain united, there were countless ways they could have bargained with the Administrative Region to gain even greater benefits and authority.

But now, all of his ambitions had turned to dust.

"My lord, are you not planning to evacuate?"

Guard Captain Jens's voice pulled the contemplative Claudius back to reality.

He looked up, lowering the right hand that had been propping up his cheek, and replied, "Evacuate? And where do you suppose we could evacuate to?"

His gaze swept over the aides below, who were all mute with fear.

"Warren, bring me the draft of the trade agreement we have with the Bator World."

Hearing the word "draft," the Guard Captain frowned. "My lord..."

Claudius raised a hand, signaling him to be silent. The way things had developed, he had already lost any right to negotiate with the Imperial Administrative Region.

'But even if he were to die here, he would make damn sure no one else had an easy time of it.'

Seeing this, the other aides were shocked. They knew this was Claudius's final, desperate counterattack.

They had all seen those agreements. Though framed as commercial terms for mutual trade, the agreements also included provisions allowing Grand Lord Kles to station troops, build military fortresses, and establish naval ports in the Tania World.