Socially anxious people transmigrate to another world; living in seclusion is too difficult.

News of the human alliance's invasion and capture of Bone City from the east, crossing the Bone Ridge, quickly reached the royal city of Damonlit. When Verra and the Council received the news, they felt the situation was extremely urgent. Originally, according to the plan, they had anticipated that the alliance would launch an attack at this time, and the troops drawn from various nobles in the country had almost all arrived, just in time to organize a defense and counterattack.

However, things didn't go as planned. The troop mobilization operation led by the Extermination Bureau made no progress for a long time. What made Verra and the Council even more worried was that the noble forces had secretly bribed half of the Extermination Officers. These bribed Extermination Officers volunteered to carry out missions in the territories of the major nobles. This resulted in the troop mobilization operation against the major nobles making almost no progress. Only some minor nobles were successfully mobilized by Extermination Officers who had not been bribed. It can be said that the number of troops raised was far from the target.

This situation would normally have gone undetected, but fortunately, Lei Cixin arranged for demon officials to monitor it, which led to the discovery of the anomaly. Upon receiving this information, Lei Cixin immediately went to the palace to report to Vera. By this time, the human alliance had already completed its assembly at the border. This is why Vera and the Council of Deliberation felt pressured.

Verra immediately summoned Harold to the palace for discussion. Before long, Harold arrived at the palace with his aged body. This was the second meeting of the three leaders of the royal family, the deliberative council, and the extermination bureau since Verra came to power.

"Lord Lei, the Demon Kingdom's Extermination Officer has been bribed by nobles, delaying important military and national affairs. What do you suggest we do to resolve this?" Verla's words were stern, her tone filled with doubt and anger, something she had never done before, which made Lei Cixin somewhat uncomfortable. After all, Verla had always been there for him as he grew up, and now she seemed to be at odds with him.

But now that Vera is the Demon King, he naturally cannot ignore her question. Lei Cixin organized his words and said, "Your Majesty, this is my responsibility. I will immediately order Yuan Long and Gillette to cooperate with the remaining Extermination Officers to completely eliminate the traitors and re-execute the troop mobilization order."

"Purge the traitors? Re-execute the troop deployment order? Chief Lei, do you think the Demon Kingdom will have much territory left after we've wiped them out and then re-execute the troop deployment order?" Verra's tone continued to intensify, clearly suppressing her unspeakable anger.

"This..." Before Lei Cixin could speak, Harold interrupted, saying, "Your Majesty, this old minister believes that the root cause of the traitors in the Extinction Bureau lies with the nobles, and the source of the nobles' power lies with the Ten Dukes. Therefore, the traitors must be eliminated, and mobilizing troops is also an urgent matter. The two should be carried out simultaneously."

"How can we do it simultaneously!" Vera said impatiently, her tone becoming increasingly agitated.

"I propose that the matter of eliminating the traitors, as mentioned by Chief Lei just now, be carried out immediately. At the same time, the Demon Palace should be mobilized to completely eradicate the ten dukes and sweep away the noble forces."

Harold's suggestion echoed like thunder in the hall, leaving Rachel speechless. Although she had long known that Verla wanted to completely eliminate the noble forces, Verla had never said so explicitly, indicating that she was still somewhat wary. Rachel had tacitly kept quiet about it, but she never expected that Harold would so blatantly reveal Verla's true thoughts today. How would Verla react? So Rachel immediately turned to look at Verla.

Vera sat calmly on her throne, her expression serene, but inwardly she was deeply shaken. This was something she had always thought about, but had never revealed. Why was Harold bringing it up now? Had he already allied with the Ten Dukes? Was he testing her resolve?

With these questions in mind, Vera asked calmly, "Chairman, what do you mean by that?"

“Your Majesty, as I just explained, if we follow Chief Lei’s method of eliminating the traitors before executing the troop mobilization order, there will definitely not be enough time. The ultimate reason why the troop mobilization cannot be carried out is that the ten dukes are forming cliques and winning over the hearts of the people. Therefore, we must thoroughly eliminate the ten dukes, and this task can only be accomplished by the Demon Palace.” Harold still insisted on his point of view.

Lei Cixin had no choice but to speak up. Although Harold's suggestion hit the nail on the head, it was too hasty: "Chief Councilor, there are far more than a hundred nobles in the Demon Kingdom. It can be said that apart from the royal city of Damonlit, which part of the country is not a noble's territory? If we really do this, without a convincing explanation, the nobles will immediately rebel. At that time, even if we wipe out the ten dukes, another ten dukes will emerge. Under internal and external troubles, can the Demon Kingdom still survive?"

Upon hearing this, Vera also looked at Harold, increasingly suspicious of his motives. Harold still insisted on his point of view, but made some modifications: "In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary. Foreign enemies have already invaded. If we cannot quickly eliminate the noble leaders, the nobles will not allow us to mobilize troops. Since Lord Lei wants a convincing explanation, the Council of Deliberation can issue a joint proclamation with the Extermination Bureau today, exposing the crimes of the Ten Dukes, and having the Demon Bureau behead them one by one. At the same time, we should demand that the remaining nobles immediately lead their troops into battle to hold the front line. Once the Ten Dukes have been completely eliminated, the enemy's advance will be slowed down, and the troops will have time to be mobilized. Only in this way can we overcome the difficulties. Your Majesty, don't you agree?"

After Harold finished speaking, he turned to look at Vera, the sincerity in his eyes seemingly revealing his patriotism. Racis objected again: "Chief Councilor, but the Demon Palace... the Demon Palace is, after all..."

“Alright, Aunt Lei!” Vera interrupted Lei Cixin, “Let’s listen to Grandpa Harold.”

Vera eventually believed her own judgment. When she saw Harold's emotionally charged eyes, she was convinced that Harold had no collusion with the nobles.

"Thank you... Your Majesty!" Harold's aged body slowly knelt down, giving Vera a deep bow, while thinking to himself, "Little girl, this is the last lesson, please don't come to help me up..."

Seeing Harold kneel, Vera instinctively wanted to help him up, but she hesitated, ultimately sitting back on her throne to accept Harold's obeisance. After Harold rose, seeing Vera's lack of movement, he felt both satisfied and sorrowful: "The little girl I've cared for for twenty years has finally grown into a worthy queen..."

After the two left, Vera went to a secret room and rang the bell inside. Soon, a hidden stone door on one of the walls of the room opened. Vera went inside and saw six people already kneeling in the room. Upon seeing Vera, they said in unison, "Welcome, Demon King!"

"Get up."

After some explanation and discussion, Verra left the secret room unhurriedly. That night, the ten dukes died one after another in their territories without anyone noticing. Judging from the situation at the scene the next day, the assassins were powerful and numerous. As expected, the news of the ten dukes' assassination caused panic among the nobles. Several earls wanted to declare themselves dukes and resist the royal family, but they were all suppressed in time by Lei Cixin, preventing more serious internal strife.