"Kill the old Emperor?"
When this crazy proposal was thrown out, "Raven's" usually half-squinted eyes suddenly opened wide for a moment.
He had to admit, it was an extremely tempting proposition.
If Franz Joseph I were to die suddenly, the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire would instantly disintegrate. The already fragile alliance of nationalities would completely lose its unifying bond.
For the Holy Britannia Empire, which wanted to see a chaotic Central Europe to pin down the Saxon Empire, this was simply a dream script.
But this temptation lasted for less than two seconds.
"Raven" was not blinded by impulse. As a senior director of the Military Intelligence Bureau, he knew better than anyone that some red lines absolutely could not be crossed.
Assassinating a Crown Prince and assassinating an Emperor were two entirely different concepts in nature.
Especially now, when the Saxons and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were still ironclad allies. If the Austro-Hungarian Emperor died an unnatural death at this critical juncture, and even the slightest clue pointing to Britannia was left at the scene...
"No."
"Raven" coldly spat out the word, snuffing out that dangerous spark in its cradle.
Seemingly sensing his superior's hesitation, the subordinate standing on the left—a commoner who had climbed into the Intelligence Bureau purely on his astonishing talent—immediately chimed in agreement: "Sir, I also believe it's too risky... We still don't know which faction threw dirty water on us regarding the Sarajevo incident."
"Although we have constantly tried to guide public opinion, there are still quite a few factions secretly pointing fingers at us. If something happens to Franz I at a time like this..."
He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "Currently, the Empire's Ministry of Foreign Affairs' lobbying work in the Balkan Peninsula has reached its most critical moment. Bulgaria, Romania... these countries are all watching from the sidelines..."
Although this commoner intelligence officer didn't finish his sentence, "Raven" understood his meaning.
If another problem occurred at this critical moment, it would definitely affect the attitudes of these Balkan nations.
After all, these countries were also monarchies; it would inevitably make them overthink things...
However, the subordinate of noble birth standing on the right, who had proposed the assassination plan, scoffed disdainfully.
He cast a sidelong glance at his colleague and said sarcastically, "Some people are just cowards. If you fear the wolf in front and the tiger behind when doing great things, how can the Empire remain great? As long as it's done cleanly, who will know we did it? Just blame it on those Bohemian bumpkins, wouldn't that work?"
The commoner subordinate's face instantly flushed red, his fists clenching by his sides until they cracked, but he ultimately held back, merely turning his head away.
The backgrounds of these two men before entering the Military Intelligence Bureau were worlds apart. One was the son of a noble, while the other was a highly gifted commoner.
So even when deployed deep within enemy territory, minor conflicts between the two were frequent.
It could be considered a certain extension of the Holy Britannia Empire's "office infighting" culture.
"Raven" didn't have the time to pay attention to the overt and covert struggles of these two subordinates right now.
Or rather, as long as their conflicts didn't go overboard and affect the mission, he usually wouldn't interfere.
"Raven" actually thought highly of that gifted commoner. He appreciated the commoner subordinate's sharpness and pragmatism, so he had always wanted to cultivate him.
But the problem was the other subordinate of noble birth. It was said the family power behind him was not small...
Heaven knows if the other party had a brain cramp, giving up a perfectly good noble life to insist on passing training, assessments, and physical tests to become an overseas sleeper agent.
Precisely because of their identities, "Raven" found it hard to show favoritism to either side. Fortunately, there hadn't been any major screw-ups during their undercover work previously.
"Enough."
"Raven" didn't want to hear their nonsense anymore and directly made the final decision.
"Abandon any operations targeting Franz Joseph I. The situation has already spiraled out of control. That Saxon unit that popped out of nowhere has disrupted all deployments... We cannot afford any further complications."
He stood up, walked to the fireplace, and threw a stack of documents directly into the fire.
Flames instantly leapt up, consuming the papers covered in dense plans.
"Execute the evacuation protocol, destroy all documents here. Except for deep cover operatives, notify everyone to evacuate Vienna in batches immediately."
"Raven" turned around, looking at his two subordinates, a cold, sinister smile appearing on his face: "As for this mess... let those Bohemians have a headache over it themselves. We did our best; it's their troops who are too incompetent."
"Also, contact the 'Baron'..."
"Raven" seemed to remember something and added, "That Mage Lord is still waiting in the palace for good news... Tell him the mission is canceled, evacuate quickly, and don't get blocked inside by those Saxon barbarians."
"Yes, boss!"
Soon, the materials in this safe house were destroyed, and the personnel rapidly began evacuating according to the protocol.
A 2nd-tier mage apprentice staying behind in the safe house also sent a message to his mentor in the Hofburg Palace via a communication stone, relaying "Raven's" decision and telling him to evacuate as soon as possible.
Hofburg Palace. This symbol of Habsburg power seemed isolated from the gunfire outside, enveloped in silence.
However, just an hour ago, a tragic "infighting" had occurred here.
A middle-aged man wearing a black robe stood before the floor-to-ceiling window in the corridor of the Emperor's bedchambers, looking down at the Czech soldiers busily setting up defenses below.
He was a 6th-tier Enchantment school mage from the Holy Britannia Empire's Highland Mage Order, codenamed "Baron" for this combat operation.
"Truly a bunch of trash... If not for the Empire's assistance, these people wouldn't necessarily have even been able to fight their way into the palace."
"Baron" looked at the coup soldiers below who couldn't even stack sandbags neatly, his face written full of contempt.
As a noble spellcaster, he genuinely looked down on his Austro-Hungarian counterparts who only knew how to play in the mud, and looked down even more on these rebels who couldn't even hold a gun steady.
Like everyone involved in this coup, when the operation was going smoothly at the beginning, "Baron" also felt victory was assured.
He even began fantasizing about what benefits this thrilling and successful field mission could exchange for within the Mage Order.
At that time, the coup forces, with the help of the three "Hound Mark 4 Modified" Armored Knights, had also destroyed multiple Armored Knights of the Imperial Guard.
While breaching the gates of Hofburg Palace, they had incidentally destroyed multiple "Anti-Magic Units" and detection units.
And this time, to coordinate with the operations of the Military Intelligence Bureau operatives, this 6th-tier Enchantment mage had specially requested to use a [Ring of Invisibility] from the Highland Mage Order's vault.
This ring allowed him, an Enchanter, to cast [Invisibility] three times a day.
Relying on the [Invisibility] activated by the ring, this Highland Mage codenamed "Baron" rapidly entered the core area of Hofburg Palace after the "Anti-Magic Units" and "Detection Units" on one side failed.
Because the Austro-Hungarian Empire's research in magic was even worse than the Saxon Empire's, the quality of their mages was also a tier lower.
The Mage Tower of the Holy Crown Mage Order was even established with the help of the Saxons.
And rather than calling it a Mage Tower, it was more like a magitech research center...
At this point in time, all high-tier combat mages had been sent to the border regions to support the fighting. Those remaining in Vienna were basically all research mages.
The only combat mages were the seven Royal Magic Guards guarding Franz Joseph I inside Hofburg Palace.
But these mages, who were at most 5th-tier, posed absolutely no threat in "Baron's" eyes.
Just two [Crown of Madness] and one [Mass Suggestion] caused these Royal Magic Guards, who lacked PvP experience, to turn on each other, even heavily crippling a squad of Royal Guards nearby in the process.
The last two surviving but heavily injured mages were also finished off by "Baron."
And Franz Joseph I was subsequently controlled by the coup forces that broke deep into the palace.
From beginning to end, "Baron" carefully concealed his presence, never letting the fighting parties discover him.
"Baron" looked back at the closed bedroom doors on the other side.
At this moment, that old Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire lay on the large bed inside.
To ensure nothing went wrong, "Baron" had even used a precious [Modify Memory] scroll.
Now, in the old Emperor's mind, everything that just happened was a despicable betrayal—his most trusted Royal Magic Guards had suddenly gone mad and attempted to assassinate him.
Just as "Baron" was still feeling smug about his masterpiece, the communication stone in his breast pocket suddenly vibrated.
He pulled it out somewhat impatiently, and the next second, his expression changed.
"Mission canceled? Retreat?"
"Baron" almost couldn't hold back a curse.
He had finally set the stage and got the actors in place, and now the director says the play's off?
Although extremely reluctant inwardly, "Baron" also knew the nature of this operation did not allow him to put on the airs of a "Mage Lord."
Moreover, in the message, his apprentice specifically mentioned that a Saxon unit possessing heavy firepower was slaughtering its way toward the palace.
Although unclear why a Saxon unit had suddenly appeared, "Baron" obviously had no intention of staying to find out.
"Consider yourselves lucky."
"Baron" snorted coldly, reaching out to touch the ring inlaid with a transparent gem on his left index finger.
As mana was injected, "Baron's" figure began to blur, light twisting around him, and in merely two seconds, he completely vanished into the air.
Then, he swaggered out the doors of the bedchambers just like that. The alert coup soldiers around him completely failed to detect his presence.
However, when he reached the first-floor hall of Hofburg Palace via the stairs, the commotion outside made him stop in his tracks.
Boom! Boom!
Fierce explosions shook dust loose from the hall's dome.
Through the shattered main doors, "Baron" saw a scene he would never forget.
A squad of soldiers wearing gray uniforms and strange steel helmets, accompanied by a large number of Imperial Guard soldiers, was slicing through the coup forces' defense line like cutting through butter.
Their movements were uniform, the weapons in their hands spewing continuous tongues of fire. Although the coup soldiers trying to stop them were howling and firing continuously, they still fell one by one.
And behind those gray-uniformed soldiers, three Armored Knights painted field gray were taking heavy steps, crushing those makeshift fortifications to pieces.
"Saxons..." "Baron's" pupils shrank violently.
This firepower density, this tactical literacy... compared to the engagement he saw in the morning between the coup forces and the Imperial Guard, they belonged to completely different eras.
He instinctively wanted to retreat, but obviously retreating into the interior of the palace would only result in being cornered inside.
The only way out was to blend into the chaotic army and slip out the front.
The [Invisibility] activated by the [Ring of Invisibility] was the same as the original spell; as long as "Baron" didn't attack, it would last for an hour.
So "Baron" wasn't in a hurry. He patiently found a corner to crouch in, preparing to quietly leave when the firefight entered its final stages.
After all, the bullets flying outside had no eyes.
The front courtyard of Hofburg Palace.
The battle here had turned into a one-sided instructional demonstration.
"1st Squad suppress the left flank! 2nd Squad grenadiers follow up and prepare to throw! Semi-auto riflemen, lock down those windows on the second floor!"
An instruction unit master sergeant held his submachine gun, precisely firing short bursts at enemies who dared to pop their heads out, while methodically issuing orders to the instruction unit soldiers around him.
And behind the instruction unit soldiers, the rearmed Imperial Guard soldiers were deeply shocked by the combat scenes before their eyes.
So this is how our allies fight.
The entire unit was completely dispersed, with multiple combat teams alternating cover, suppressive fire, and demolition assaults.
The entire process was smooth and flowing. Breaching the coup soldiers' defense line was as fluid as mercury spilling onto the ground.
The two heavy machine guns on the defense line didn't even have time to adjust their firing arcs before they were taken out with hand grenades by instruction unit soldiers who somehow managed to sneak up close.
Those coup forces who had been fighting back and forth with the Imperial Guard just this morning were like a bunch of kindergarteners holding fire pokers in front of these Saxons.
"This is true war..."
An Imperial Guard captain murmured to himself, and the expressions of the Imperial Guard soldiers around him were mostly the same.
Morin didn't have time to care about the psychological activities of these allies.
His goal was very clear: charge in as fast as possible and fish that old Emperor out.
"Commander! The main doors must have been blown open by the coup forces themselves this morning, we don't need to breach them!"
A combat engineer nimbly slide-tackled behind a sandbag barricade where Morin was, reporting to him.
"Good. Let these Imperial Guards who charged in with us take the lead. It's time they played their part and recovered the palace."
Morin quickly issued instructions. After occupying the Central Telegraph Office and having the communications company hurry to contact the outside world, he had led the assault force to attack towards the Grand Palace.
Besides obtaining the support of Ludwig's Armored Knights and infantry, they had also gathered several groups of Imperial Guard stragglers along the way.
Now, it was time to let these "locals" charge at the front.
And those Imperial Guard soldiers, upon receiving the instruction, charged out from behind cover without the slightest hesitation.
For their special unit, having the palace captured and the Emperor taken prisoner was an extraordinary disgrace.
Now, no matter what, they had to find a way to make amends.
Once these Imperial Guard soldiers charged into the interior of the palace, Morin also instructed Ludwig and the others to lead the remaining Imperial Guards to hold the exterior of Hofburg Palace, preventing a rebel counterattack.
Then he led the instruction unit soldiers to follow them into the palace's interior.
The hall was filled with the smell of gunpowder smoke and blood.
The floor was littered with the corpses and wounded of both Imperial Guards and coup soldiers. Some coup soldiers who luckily survived had long lost their souls, throwing down their weapons and kneeling on the ground shivering.
Just as Morin was preparing to order the continued advance towards the bedchambers, a strange feeling suddenly welled up in his heart.
After his body was modified by the "Second Generation Sentinel" potion, Morin's perceptive abilities had also been enhanced. His entire person became extremely sharp in a combat state.
And now, he felt as if he were being stared at by some cold, venomous snake.
Morin stopped abruptly, raising his left hand to signal the people behind him to stop advancing.
"Commander? What's wrong?" Manstein followed closely behind him, looking around warily.
Morin didn't speak. His gaze swept over the empty hall like a radar, but he didn't discover anything.
And the system map showed that, besides his own people and the surrendered coup troops, there were no other hostile units present nearby.
"An illusion?" Morin frowned.
This time, the vigilance was entirely generated by himself; no new markers appeared on the system map, so Morin also somewhat suspected if he was being a bit too sensitive.
Simultaneously, the shouting and yelling of Conrad and the others catching up from behind also diverted Morin's attention.
He knew his primary task now was to rescue the Emperor; he couldn't waste time here fighting wits and courage with the air.
Thinking of this, Morin told everyone to move away and take cover in a specific direction. He then threw a stick grenade with its fuse pulled toward the location he suspected.
Boom!
The stick grenade quickly exploded in the hall, kicking up a large amount of smoke and dust.
The others, including Conrad and Manstein, felt somewhat puzzled by Morin's sudden action.
However, after Morin glanced at the location of the explosion a few times and found nothing abnormal, he didn't dwell on it further.
"It's nothing... Just assume I had a brain cramp just now. Let's keep moving."
Morin withdrew his gaze, and the instruction unit soldiers moved out again.
Only after the last soldier disappeared around the corner of the stairs did "Baron," who had remained in his invisible state, abruptly slump down, leaning against the stone pillar he was hiding behind, panting heavily.
His back was already soaked in cold sweat... Who knew this guy would suddenly toss a hand grenade over!
If he hadn't happened to be hiding behind a sufficiently thick stone pillar just now, there would have been a huge problem.
"Is this guy a human or a monster..."
"Baron" took a deep look at the stairs where Morin and his men had disappeared, then didn't dare to linger any longer, quickly leaving the area.