This was indeed a good question.
Elashia couldn't help but recall every scene before Elasia's destruction in the storyline.
The king didn't care about the lives of his people; he even fled with funds after discovering the disaster was almost insurmountable.
The imperial dignitaries fled with money when faced with the death threat of the Undead Calamity.
The empire's army collapsed at the first encounter with the undead, yet they plundered and massacred the empire's civilians.
If they couldn't defeat the undead, couldn't they at least defeat unarmed civilians?
There were even some outrageous troops that would turn villagers' corpses into skeletons for rewards after massacring villages.
Yet in this desperate nation, two forces still risked their lives to protect this tottering country.
One was the Empire's First Imperial Guard led by Cecilia.
The other was the spies sent by the Iron Empire.
These two forces, one civil and one military, worked together to forge an impossible path of hope in the most desperate country of this desperate world.
Even at the time of Elasia's destruction, the Empire's First Imperial Guard was still desperately resisting on the front lines, buying time for civilians to evacuate.
And many spies from the Iron Empire chose to die fighting in a foreign country at the last moment to delay the advance of the undead army.
The main reason the Iron Empress sent them wasn't to gather intelligence, but for the great cause of human survival.
After more than a decade of operations and activities, these spies had taken root in Elasia. It was impossible to say they had no feelings for this country.
"Immortal King—The Fall of Elasia" had quite a long gameplay, requiring thousands of hours to complete every route, naturally involving countless countries and events. What moved Elashia the most was every scene before Elasia's fall.
Watching those spies die one by one in a foreign land for the continuation of humanity, Elashia was even moved to tears while playing the game.
Thinking of this, Elashia blurted out to Candice:
"What spies? They're all pillars of my Elasia Empire!"
Although Elashia's words were abrupt, they did answer Candice's question.
Candice's tense expression relaxed a little.
She understood that Elashia's meaning was that she wouldn't pursue the matter further.
But she didn't know that one of the most important elements in Elashia's original plan was to make good use of these spies who had appeared in the game.
Because in the game, none of the spies were mediocre, and most had exceptional abilities.
If asked what to do about Elasia Empire officials holding power after the Undead Calamity who were Iron Empire spies?
That wouldn't be her concern anymore.
"Please look, these are the personnel arrangements I prepared before the coup."
Elashia took out a personnel arrangement document from her pocket and handed it to Candice with both hands.
"Well, it seems my guess was correct—you've indeed thoroughly understood our spy network."
Many positions of real power on the personnel arrangement list were filled by Iron Empire spies. At first glance, Candice didn't think much of it, but after reading it through, she knew there couldn't be so many coincidences.
Elashia had already completely mapped out the Iron Empire's spy network!
Especially after seeing that several new Imperial Guard commander candidates were spies who had never fought once since arriving in Elasia to hide their strength, Candice became more certain of her suspicion.
It had only been a little over a decade since the Iron Empire's Empress learned about the impending Undead Calamity and began infiltrating the Elasia Empire through various methods.
When did Elashia start being vigilant, when did she begin investigating, and when did she completely master the Iron Empire's spy network in Elasia?
Terrifyingly impressive.
If it were ten years ago, Candice would have felt genuine fear and would have tried to kill Elashia even at the cost of her life in this private setting.
Keep in mind she's only sixteen now!
If allowed to grow up, she would probably become the Iron Empire's greatest enemy.
But now, knowing the Undead Calamity was about to sweep across the Abyss Marsh continent, she felt more relief and joy.
Moreover, this unfathomable girl before her was actually her niece by blood.
Candice was the Iron Empress's sister. She always had an innate sense of affection when looking at Elashia.
"But I don't understand, why do you trust us so much?"
This question was one Candice had to ask. Elashia's behavior didn't conform to common sense, and things that didn't make sense made Candice feel very uneasy.
Elashia, familiar with the storyline, knew very well how to answer her.
In "Immortal King—The Fall of Elasia," there was a [Morality Value] setting. Even [Human Heroes] had varying levels of morality—all positive, but still with differences.
The level of morality was related not only to kindness but also to life experiences and worldview.
Only those who had seen the myriad forms of human society without being tempted, witnessed all the ugliness of human nature yet still loved humanity, understood the essence of life yet still loved living—only their morality would be higher.
The range of morality values was from -200 to +200. Those above 100 were extremely good people.
Candice's morality value was 120, the highest among Elasia faction characters.
So Elashia knew very well how to persuade her.
Elashia spoke seriously: "I don't care about the survival or destruction of the Elasia Empire, but I do care about every person within it. The most important thing right now is to survive the Undead Calamity. If we don't, not only will the Elasia Empire be destroyed, but humanity will also disappear from the Abyss Marsh continent."
Elashia slowly walked to the map in the great hall, her fair right hand gently brushing over Elasia on the map.
"I think you should understand Elasia better than I do."
"Just by going outside the imperial city, you can see emaciated citizens everywhere."
"Go a little further, and you'll see bandits in large groups. Most of them have business dealings with local troops. The people hate and fear them, but have no choice but to give them most of the grain they've saved throughout the year."
"Facing bandits, local strongmen, and the exploitation of our Elasia Empire, the people can barely make ends meet in years of good harvest. But once they encounter even a small disaster, they transform from obedient citizens into rampaging bandits."
"The tree of evil that produces evil fruit has already grown deep, bottomless evil roots in the Elasia Empire."
"I've always felt that while bandits are detestable, the Elasia Empire is even more despicable."
"Look, such scenes don't exist in the Iron Empire, right?"
Candice nodded slightly.
"So I think—if Elasia were to perish, it wouldn't be something that causes me great pain."
"Look, in the entire 16 years since my birth, have I shown any interest in politics?"
The original Elashia had maintained a harmless image to prepare for her Elasia destruction project, which now benefited the current Elashia.
"What I truly want is definitely not the life of an emperor."
"I know very well how difficult it is to be an emperor. If you're diligent, you face a series of problems, work from morning till night, and must be wary of your own relatives. Being an incompetent ruler is easier, but my conscience definitely couldn't bear it."
"After all, 'vileness is the villain's pass, nobility is the noble person's epitaph.' If I were to be like the old emperor, I certainly wouldn't be able to sleep at night."[ TN: It means villains are defined by the evil they lived, while so-called nobles are remembered for virtues they may never have had. ]
Candice was somewhat moved.
That line "vileness is the villain's pass, nobility is the noble person's epitaph" truly touched her.
"Today's coup, which I prepared for a long time, was to quickly end the old emperor's regime while causing minimal damage to the empire."
"I've studied that when the Undead Calamity erupts, Elasia will be at the frontline against it. Elasia doesn't have time to continue rotting away."
Elashia looked at Candice with sincere eyes and continued:
"I know you understand that I know the Undead Calamity will be a problem humanity must face together. And strengthening Elasia's national power is now the top priority."
"But you must be curious why I dare to boldly employ you spies."
"The reason is actually very simple."
Elashia sat back on the throne.
"I don't care about the Elasia Empire at all."
This statement rang like a great bell in Candice's heart.
Candice's expression changed slightly, but she still quietly listened to Elashia's words.
"After dealing with the Undead Calamity, if Elasia could be incorporated into the Iron Empire, that would actually be quite good."
Elashia decided to reference some knowledge from high school.
"You might not understand, but 'the fall of a country' and 'the fall of all under heaven' are completely different in my eyes."
"If the country falls and joins the Iron Empire, I would raise both hands in approval. I think Elasia's people would also raise both hands in approval, and those dignitaries have already been controlled by me, so they would have to approve with both hands as well."
The girl smiled at Candice.
Elashia continued: "But you also know that the disaster capable of destroying humanity is right before us. For me, even if I survived the Undead Calamity, just thinking about having to deal with the undead every day, I think I would eventually go mad."
Elashia stood up again, slowly walked to Candice, and gently held her hand.
"So, I ask for your help to prevent Elasia from being destroyed by the Undead Calamity."
"Whenever I see you, I feel a strange sense of familiarity. I can't explain why, but I inexplicably feel you're trustworthy."
"You might think I seemed very capable just now, as if I controlled everything, but I actually know nothing about politics and military affairs, so... I can only beg you. Among all the people I've met, only when I see you do I feel genuinely safe and reliable, feel that you can be trusted..."
Elashia's words were sudden, but Candice wasn't surprised at all.
After all, Elashia was her niece. Long-lost relatives always feel a strong sense of familiarity toward family members.
Candice suddenly interrupted Elashia. Elashia could see a hint of mischief appear on Candice's face, which had almost never shown any expression before.
"What if I refuse?"
"That..."
Anxiety flashed across Elashia's small face, which quickly turned to despair.
"Then I'll have to abandon my revolutionary fruit and flee with the money alone, but I'll definitely arrange everything properly before I leave."
"After all... I don't understand anything, and alone... I simply can't govern this country..."
Elashia lowered her head, seeming somewhat self-destructive, but soon a warm hand rested on her head.
"I accept."