[FMMIKA] Chapter 297: Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus

Meanwhile, in the Roman Empire's capital, Rome, a blonde woman donning a red dress wielded a massive sword as she received the latest intelligence from the East.

The Persian Empire had fallen once again. This time, there was no Darius to stand in the way, and Alexander's vast army effortlessly conquered Ctesiphon, venturing into India and leaving countless Aryan nobles groveling at Alexander's feet.

All of this naturally left the blonde woman feeling rather unhappy. But there was nothing she could do about it.

More important than the lands in the East were Italy and Gaul. Rebel forces had even crossed the Alps and launched a probing attack on the city of Rome.

Although this assault was ultimately fiercely repelled by the inexplicably fearless blonde woman—only the heavens knew how a mere mortal like her could defeat a Servant. Regardless, she had won.

But winning was only winning. The situation had not improved in the slightest. The two most crucial imperial assets, Gaul and Spain, had fallen into the hands of the so-called United Roman Empire.

In the Eastern provinces of the empire—Dacia, Cilicia, Dalmatia, and countless territories further east, including Egypt and Syria—a mysterious man claiming to be the 'Reincarnation of Alexander' had gobbled them up.

The vast Roman Empire now existed solely in Italy and a few territories in North Africa. The situation was extremely dire, but the confident blonde woman was not afraid!

She was the destined Roman Emperor, meant to rule this empire. There had been more dangerous times than this, whether during the First Triumvirate or the Second Triumvirate. Roman factions and warlords had turned the nation into a boiling pot.

Weren't those formidable warlords and mighty Roman generals, whether it was Antony or Pompey, the backbone of the country? Weren't they also Roman statesmen?

And what happened to them? They were all brought down by her ancestors.

Since her ancestors could bring down those individuals, she could naturally triumph over the current ones.

Until a few days ago, she believed this firmly as she led her army to confront the advanced force of the United Roman Empire.

However, it did not hold true.

Once she confirmed the identity of the person leading this advanced force, the confidence of the blonde woman in a red dress, known by everyone as Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, crumbled entirely.

"Uncle..."

Yes, he was the third emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, her uncle and her mother's brother, the emperor who began his reign with generosity and wisdom but turned mad in the later years and was ultimately assassinated in dishonor.

Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, known as Caligula in his youth.

He had actually been resurrected.

This also proved that the claims of the United Roman Empire were not baseless. They possessed at least one Roman emperor.

This gave them a legitimate claim to rule the Roman Empire.

Although the blonde woman appeared outwardly unaffected and indifferent to this, internally, she was deeply shaken.

Because before this, her army had suffered repeated defeats.

When Nero failed militarily, she could still console herself by believing she represented the True Roman lineage.

But when the other side also had a Roman emperor, her title of 'True Roman' became shaky.

The Roman Empire had reached its most perilous moment.

'The so-called rebels of the United Roman Empire have crossed the Alps. Next, it's the Macedonian army's turn to cross the Adriatic Sea, right? At that time, with the East and West coming together, won't I be blown away...'

Thinking of this, even a confident woman like Nero couldn't help but frown.

This is what she thought before receiving intelligence about a man known as Artorius Pendragon.

However, with the sudden rise of Artorius and his army occupying all of Greece, the Balkans, and Asia Minor, the situation changed.

Nero's eastern territories were now cut off from the massive and powerful Macedonians by Artorius.

This made Nero both surprised and delighted, and she couldn't help but entertain some fantasies:

'Someone is standing under the Roman flag again.'

'Pendragon...'

'I've never heard of this family; they must not be some famous nobles, not even minor ones.'

'They must be commoners.'

'Will that person be loyal to me?'

At first, Nero thought that way.

She even imagined a lot of rhythms, fantasizing that the other person was a suddenly rising grassroots hero. Although he was a genius and very capable, he lacked knowledge. He longed for the Roman way of life while being envious and jealous. She could lead him by pushing and pulling method.

Relying on the luxurious life of Rome, various indulgences, and, more importantly, her own unparalleled beauty, she would buy him and make him her subject.

Especially when she heard that the suddenly rising grassroots hero was very handsome, extremely handsome, and extremely handsome—to promote himself, Artorius had distributed many oil paintings depicting himself in armor worldwide.

Nero, as an artist, of course, understood the benefits of modern oil painting techniques and enjoyed looking at Artorius's portraits while drooling.

Unfortunately, it didn't turn out that way.

"Dragon Emperor, New Roman Empire?!"

Artorius's ascension to the throne and the rebuilding of Rome were not kept secret from anyone. This made Nero extremely angry since she didn't know about this, and even if she did, given her artistic temperament and personality, she definitely wouldn't say it out loud.

But she was still very angry. So much so that when an envoy from the Dragon Emperor came to Rome for diplomatic purposes, Nero almost ordered him to leave.

Of course, she didn't.

'I need to stay calm.'

'Maintain composure.'

After taking a deep breath, causing her ample chest to rise and fall, Nero finally calmed down and then waved her hand.

"Speak!"

'I must reprimand these rebels! I must make the other party understand my authority, understand that I am the True Roman Emperor.'

With this in mind, Nero looked even more displeased at the envoy.

'Do they send envoy who hides their faces like this? Is this how the rebels send their envoys? How audacious!'

Nero slammed the armrest of her chair hard, causing herself pain and making her ample chest sway.

The envoy, wearing a hood and hiding his expression, did not react.

"Please calm down, Your Majesty." The envoy said patiently to the cute, angry empress. "I have my reasons for this."

"I don't care about your reasons—take off your hood! I want to see your face!"

"Since it's Your Majesty's request, then..."

After saying that, the envoy did not refuse. He actually took off his hood, revealing the breathtaking beauty that Nero looked at every night, hanging in her bedroom, the unparalleled face of Artorius Pendragon.