In the end, after repeatedly facing setbacks and failing to implement his policies, Inega II almost completely ceased managing state affairs. While almost all Fifth Energy Level individuals do not manage state affairs and only steer the direction of The Empire, compared to the past where Inega would micromanage the empire, this action is extremely unusual.

The continuous unusual actions caused Anpid to become highly suspicious. He secretly investigated Inega II’s actions and was shocked to discover that Inega II was secretly attempting to revive some ancient magic beast tribes. The Atlantian Megalopolis was a laboratory, appearing on the surface as a magical beast breeding ground, but in reality, it cultivated a large number of Wise Magical Beasts similar to Governor Bai Ji!

What exactly is it that made his father care more about some ancient relics and secrets than The Empire?

What exactly is it that caused his father to no longer care about his people, even going so far as to revive some Wise Magical Beasts that should have been enemies?

What exactly could make his originally wise father give up benefiting The Empire and instead see The Empire as a tool to fulfill his own dreams?

Anpid believed he had found the answer.

That is, his father was no longer simply ’his father’.

He researched records of the previous generation of the royal family and discovered that Inega II had undergone a drastic personality change in his youth. After that, the royal illegitimate son, who originally had little special talent, suddenly advanced rapidly in abilities, whether in knowledge, power, or planning, as if he were two people, turning an average ordinary prince into the Pioneer Emperor.

What technology is there on Terra that can suddenly endow a person with immense knowledge, unprecedented power, or even transform them into another person?

Anpid never found such technology, nor did he find any reason to doubt his father.

Until the Cheharlowa Family presented a method of immortality.

Echo

Anpid noted that his usually calm father dramatically changed his expression upon learning about this technique, then punished his loyal Cheharlowa Family with nearly the harshest penalties—this immediately aroused his suspicions, and he began to look into the nature of Echo.

Anpid was indeed very accomplished. As the Crown Prince of The Empire, he was almost like the little emperor of The Empire, and it was only natural that he succeeded.

Upon understanding the essence of Echo, Anpid was shocked but suddenly had a ’reasonable’ guess.

His father, Inega II... perhaps had already been invaded or even fused with an ancient echo from a young age!

Of course, a guess is just a guess, and Anpid was not about to officially rebel based on a guess—but his indirect inquiries and various tests instead confirmed Inega II indeed was ’indifferent’ about The Empire’s future and had begun researching ’end methods’, like the Thousand-Star Beast, that could destroy the world and everything within it.

And these methods, Inega II didn’t even share with Hiliard, rather he developed them alone.

Only Anpid discovered this, and the bewildered Anpid only shared this matter with his mother, Queen Karan.

The Queen had actually long noticed something was off with her husband... and she also knew another critically important piece of information.

That is, Inega II had already completed a consciousness transformation technique aimed at ’Humans’.

Echo, consciousness transformation, mind takeover, method of immortality, world-ending techniques, revival of Wise Magical Beasts, the indifference and neglect towards The Empire, the once-thriving Empire gradually beginning to decline...

When Ian deeply understood the information Crown Prince Anpid knew back then, his circumstances at the time, and the various pressures, as Inega II’s successor and student of The Unyielding Fortress, he couldn’t blame the Crown Prince’s suspicion at all.

No matter whose perspective it was from, there was clearly an issue with Inega II!

So, for The Empire, for the future of the Setal Imperial Family, for... ’saving’ his father.

Just as Michael wanted to save Axel, Anpid also needed to save Inega.

They both initiated a rebellion.

And both ’succeeded’.

Even if the cost was their own lives.

During this process, the Tara Confederation countries provided ’help’.

As the enemy of The Empire in recent times, Fiery Flame Land gave as much support as they could, delaying the entire forces of the Western Region of The Empire, preventing the five Knight Orders loyal to the emperor from returning to the Imperial Capital immediately.

The Seven Cities Alliance was indeed The Empire’s ally, but Inega II’s increasingly overbearing demands and strange orders towards the end of his rule were really difficult for them to follow—the interests decades later they could indeed see, but that generation of the Seven Cities Alliance people couldn’t wait.

Steep Ridge Fortress essentially saw the Northern Duke gain independence, who was even a distant relative of the Setal Imperial Family, and he certainly would prefer the Setal Imperial Family to weaken, so he could stabilize rather than be so militaristic.

There’s no need to mention the traitors within The Empire, as the old-generation Imperial Nobility were basically scoundrels. They might have been very capable, enough to make Inega II feel troubled, but this only meant they were very formidable scoundrels.

And Far Shore Island and the City of Knowledge, rather than wanting to oppose Inega II, were more interested in the extensive information Inega II possessed—the former involved some research on the Terra Dragon and New Continent, while the Wise Magical Beasts of the Atlantian Megalopolis were the utmost priority, and the City of Knowledge was more focused on the Thousand-Star Beast. They eventually obtained what they wanted.