Chapter 771 - 51: New Era, New Goals

When the morning sun rose, the citizens awaited their King to emerge from the decaying ancient castle.

In the capital of Latovia, after hundreds of years of rule, it was as decayed as the castle. After all, if people can only struggle at the subsistence level, who would take the first step into the unknown?

As Lille stepped out of the castle, what he saw were people unleashing anger, venting grievances, releasing all their emotions...

And they were confused people, in their confusion, they pinned their future direction and hope on him.

This scene reminded him of his previous life, when he finally decided not to follow orders and work, and saw the people the first time he walked out of the shelter.

Only this time...

He hoped to do better.

This time, he wasn’t filled with regret and malice as before, desiring only destruction for the future.

Standing in the morning sun, Lille announced the execution of Vladimir, executing the tyrant in full view of all and declaring the outcome of the Latovia civil war to the world.

With the expectation of the citizens, he announced that he would become the new King, yet took nothing from the castle: the crown, the royal cloak...

Not even the castle itself.

On the first day of the battle’s outcome, Lille ordered the castle to be demolished.

The first group of Latovians, who had been hiding in the mountain base, were finally able to see the light of day and pass on external knowledge to their compatriots.

The entire battle lasted less than a week. While the outside world was still bickering, the result was already a foregone conclusion.

The sun rose, and the sunlight cast a golden glow on the scorched ruins of the capital and the new flag, blowing away the emblem representing Vladimir from the square.

The former was admired by all, the latter trampled into the dirt.

"...fellow sufferers of slavery and oppression, we have waited too long for this day."

"From now on, this land will shine brightly again under this flag, with our hands, minds, and will."

"The fields will have endless food, the grasslands warm houses, children can play in the fields, and no one... will need to hide anymore."

"I, Lille Lee, hereby vow, a prosperous new era is about to begin!"

The crowd cheered jubilantly, united under the flag, greatly inspired!

"Long live Your Majesty!"

....

"The Global Times brings you the latest news: The civil war in Latovia has ended, and Lille Lee, the founder we know from the Atlas Group, has ascended as King."

"The civil war’s sudden occurrence and swift conclusion have genuinely surprised many, with neighboring countries already issuing diplomatic notes, mostly not recognizing his legal status."

"However, Mr. Lee has yet to respond, or rather, his most recent ’response’ was destroying an armored unit — previously declared as a peacekeeping force by the United Nations."

"What impact this new regime will have on the political ecology of the region remains unpredictable, yet their King’s identity seems to suggest that this political environment change will spread globally..."

"Let’s keep following up."

[Johnny: Unbelievable...we’ve overthrown a country...]

"It was me, I overthrew a country."

[Johnny: Right, it was you, one King is gone, another King comes.]

The vast troops moved through the wilderness.

After the war comes reconstruction.

The original capital was filthy and chaotic, mostly ruins; rebuilding the capital on such a devastated land was truly unnecessary.

Latovia had plenty of fertile land suitable for farming and construction, as long as there was technology, people, and a stable and positive environment, there’d be no worry about development.

Now, all of this was in place.

The new capital would be built in the wilderness, utilizing all available space.

[Johnny: I have a question, how did you know for sure you’d win?]

Truth be told, Lille’s high-profile offensive was tactically a foolish move: it gave Anton Wank an opportunity for an ambush.

Johnny’s little mind could only grasp the tactical level, Lille didn’t blame him.

"I wasn’t sure. What I could be sure of was: there would definitely be an ambush."

Vladimir must have received external help, otherwise, he alone wouldn’t have amassed so much military material.

Using Prosthetic Technology to turn people into war machines required a very solid technical foundation, even intelligence level.

But Lille had no way of knowing what kind of ambush would occur, that much was certain.

[Johnny: Really?]

"Really," Lille admitted, "But strategically, I had to do it this way, otherwise Latovia wouldn’t be as... vibrant as it is now."

Johnny nodded in agreement and suddenly swore:

[Johnny: Damn...I always fantasized about blowing up Arasaka Tower, sending something to their servers to inspire people...]

[Johnny: But I also knew, that stuff was just like the music I’d played for so many years:]

[Johnny: Do you think people would be inspired? Of course, they would, but probably just for a while, maybe days for the longer ones, then life would go back to normal, some will goof off again.]

Johnny stood on horseback, watching the ragged but exhilarated people.

The way they looked at Lille was exactly what he had pursued all his life.

[Johnny: I really...truly envy you; I want to kick you out of your body...let me have a word, would you?]

"Then you’ll never be me, so stop showing off your half-baked skills."

[Johnny: Damn you’re arrogant, who taught you that?]

Lille heard this and, unusually, smiled—

Johnny’s words weren’t wrong; the remarks he made earlier were indeed cocky, not usually his style.

But with such a super cocky guy in his head, it’s hard for anyone not to snap back at him.

Yet to say this behavior was rare...it seems it’s indeed rare since becoming AI, he wasn’t that stiff before.

[Johnny: And then? What’s the next move?]

"There are lots of things to do; first, I need to get the Atlas Group back up and running, win the civil war in Mei Country, and uproot Rocksen Group and its allies."

[Johnny: I mean short term, like building here?]

"Short term..." Lille paused, "Remember? I’m heading back to Night City."

[Johnny: Why go back to that cesspit? You have your citizens here, shouldn’t you prioritize settling things here?]

"As expected from you, the rock star, the chaotic god, you initially said you wanted to go back to Night City, then said transforming robots over there seemed interesting, now you want to stay here..."

"Night City also has my people, people waiting for me."

Perhaps it was a certain level of shared brain synchronization of some emotions, or perhaps many of Lille’s current emotions were actually drawn from Johnny...

Johnny paused, then suddenly said:

[Johnny: The way you say that, it’s as if you have a chick on the side in Night City.]

Lille didn’t respond, and it was this silence that made Johnny’s expression even odder.

[Johnny: Seriously?]