The Great Purge!

"Is this it? Hurst's residence, according to the list..."

"But... is he an idiot? Giving up a good position as an Imperial official to collaborate with the rebels? And the rebels are truly audacious... sneaking into the Imperial Capital's Upper District to gather intelligence. What are the Imperial Guard doing? Useless!"

"Enough with the complaints. Break down the door! Arrest the traitors!"

"Yes, sir!"

Outside a residence in the Upper District of the Imperial Capital, a group of elite soldiers clad in black armor kicked open the heavy, ornate doors with a powerful blow. The sturdy wooden doors shattered from the force, sending splinters flying past the face of a maid inside.

"Ah—!" The maid let out a piercing scream.

"Everyone, get down! Disobey and die!"

"Search the premises!"

The soldiers quickly began tearing through the house, and it wasn't long before Hurst, the civil official mentioned on the list, was dragged out from his hiding place. Struggling and shouting as he was taken, he protested loudly, "I'm an Imperial official! You have no right to arrest me! No right..."

But the soldiers weren't in the mood for his outbursts. A swift punch to his face silenced him, and one of the soldiers declared, "**By order of General Selene, we're arresting you on charges of [collaborating with the southwestern tribes]."

"This is revenge... revenge..." Hurst muttered, still trying to protest.

"Take him away! Let's move on to the next target on the list."

...

Hurst wasn't the first, nor would he be the last. With Honest signing off on arrest orders and Selene commanding the Imperial Guard, the capital soon descended into a storm of bloodshed. Under Selene's orders, waves of Imperial Guardsmen swept through the Upper and Middle Districts, arresting numerous officials under various charges—rebellion, collusion with foreign tribes, and more.

Under the "friendly" persuasion of the prison interrogators, the arrested officials quickly confessed to their crimes.

In the end, so many were executed that the paving stones of the execution grounds became stained dark red, emitting a chilling smell of blood.

Within just a few days, as the number of arrests and executions grew, it became clear to anyone with sense who was behind it all.

The officials accused of participating in the "rebellion" were all from the clean stream faction or former minister Chouri's circle, who had previously criticized Selene. The message was obvious: General Selene and Minister Honest were in league.

Fear and unease quickly spread throughout the capital.

But for Selene, the situation was satisfactory.

When she heard from Sebas that some clean stream officials in court had criticized her for excessive killing and suggested she should have shown mercy and used moral teachings instead, Selene nearly laughed out loud in anger.

These officials had hidden like ostriches when it came time to lead the troops, yet when news of her victory came, they suddenly turned into armchair generals, using a few words to completely dismiss her achievements.

It was as if they believed that simply speaking to the southwestern rebels would have made them surrender and retreat without a fight.

The more Selene thought about it, the angrier she became. She was just a regular person—there was no reason to act like a saint. Vengeance shouldn't wait until tomorrow; it should be immediate.

With a temperament like mine, if I don't wipe out your entire family, I might as well take your name, Selene thought, laughing to herself.

"General Budo, you wanted to see me?" Selene asked cheerfully as she entered the Imperial Guard headquarters within the palace, pleased to have settled her scores.

"General Selene." Budo, seated at his desk, handed Selene a file with a stern expression, his voice tinged with anger. "This is the result of my investigation into the Imperial Guard."

As he spoke, Budo slammed his fist on his desk, shattering it. "Corruption within our ranks! As Imperial soldiers, they broke the law! And they didn't even realize they were being used by the rebels!"

"General, why..." Selene began, but before she could finish, guards burst through the door in response to the noise, only to be shouted out by Budo.

"This..." Selene quickly scanned the file, feeling a bit embarrassed. I might have accepted some bribes too... maybe, she thought to herself.

"He was an Imperial general, yet he took bribes from merchants, leaked Imperial secrets, and opened backdoors to help merchants evade taxes, lining his own pockets."

"And if it were just that, I could overlook it. But these merchants were rebels in disguise! They exploited this loophole to send numerous spies into the capital!"

"Is he an idiot?! He's so sharp and brave on the battlefield, yet he didn't notice something so obvious..." After a fit of rage, Budo sat back in his chair, rubbing his temples in frustration.

"If it hadn't been for Honest's purge of the court that uncovered so many real traitors, I wouldn't have even suspected..."

Now extremely upset over the disgraceful behavior of his Imperial Guard, Budo asked, "Selene, what do you think we should do with him?"

Technically, this was a matter within Budo's jurisdiction as head of the Imperial Guard, so why was he asking her? Then Selene remembered that she now held the rank of general and was the second-highest authority in the Imperial Guard system, with the power to oversee all its members.

Realizing that Budo, true to his upright and principled nature, was handling everything by the book and not covering up for anyone, Selene replied after a moment of consideration, "This could be handled as a major or minor issue. If it's just about taking some bribes, even though he was used by the rebels, it didn't cause significant damage. In my opinion... strip him of all ranks and titles, demote him to the lowest rank, and give him a chance to redeem himself."

"But ultimately, it's up to you, General Budo."

This punishment was actually quite lenient by Selene's standards.

"If you're still unsure, I suggest conducting a secret investigation and purge within the Imperial Guard system..." Selene added.

"Understood..." After a moment of silence, Budo replied. "Speaking of which... Selene, the capital is in turmoil because of your actions. You know..."

"Stop right there, I know, 'military officials shouldn't meddle in politics.' That's practically your catchphrase by now..." Seeing that Budo was about to start lecturing her, Selene quickly cut him off.

"And besides, they brought this on themselves. I'm sure you're just as tired of those useless clean stream officials who do nothing but talk."

"This is an opportunity to clear them out of the court so we can have some peace in the military..."

"But the ancestral teachings..." Budo, though tempted, still clung to his stance as a military official.

"Honestly, I'm not that interested in politics either. But they started this, so it's not my fault."

"Well, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now, General Budo." With that, Selene turned and left.

Leaving the Imperial Guard headquarters, Selene didn't return to her residence in the Upper District but headed straight for the palace.

She hadn't forgotten the late Emperor's reward—the opportunity to select a relic from the Imperial Armory!