Shift! The Side-Character Heroine-Chapter 724 - The Empress’s Political and Military Achievements

It did not take long for Yang Yunfei and Shang Zetao to get to know more news that left them puzzled.

Initially, they had believed this continent to consist of several kingdoms. Now, they’re hearing news of how the entire continent had been unified by a certain Empress “Olivia.” As for who Olivia was, epics and legends about her had spread throughout the continent. Many Bards loved telling tales and ballads that were dedicated to her.

Captain Yang Yunfei and gang had intended to fight the endless squad by borrowing the power of Emperor Emhyr. Looks like that bridge had been burned down, just like their minds currently were…

“”The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” or at least this version of it, is now a complete mess. Other than the secondary quest “Collect ‘Em All,” we can’t do anything else. All the major flags have been triggered by this child of destiny “Olivia”!” Shang Zetao roared.

Calling “Olivia” a child of destiny was not exactly a stretch. First of all, she had a rather extraordinary background. She was the daughter of Emperor Emhyr and the younger sister of Cirilla who was basically the second protagonist of “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”. After all, Cirilla was also playable at some points in the game. As for how fun it was to play her, only those who have experienced it themselves would know.

So, this empress “Olivia” was actually the sister of Cirilla. Just by that alone, she was qualified to be the protagonist!

“Why have I never heard of Cirilla’s sister? Her sister’s a genius, and she’s the so-called “Pearl of the Northern Kingdoms.” If Cirilla’s already so beautiful and her sister tops even that, how the heck does she look like, really?” Shang Zetao mused. If his expectations had ever found a ceiling, now was the time it tore through it. It could not be helped. Not one out of those who have played “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” would say that Miss Cirilla was not beautiful. She may have been an ugly duckling as a child, but after she definitely grew into a white swan.

The group headed towards the Free City of Novigrad and collected various Gwent cards along the way. It did not take them long to collect all the regular cards. When it came to the rarer cards, they could only rely on playing against those famous Gwent players. However, they needed a rare card of their own to even use it as a wager steep enough to have the opponent put his rare card on the line.

Yang Yunfei’s squad was not all that unscrupulous. They would not rob the innocent of their rare cards. On one hand, they still had morals. On the other hand, they realized that all of those who had special cards were all influential figures. It was in everyone’s best interests to obtain the cards fairly and squarely.

Wasn’t this how the video game worked? When players lost themselves in “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” they would not do the main quests. They would not get on the secondary quests, or even the witcher quests. Instead, they would roam around the world to play Gwent. Clearly, going to Skellige Isles at level 16 was the safest, but some players would unlock this map from as low as level 4, all for the purpose of playing Gwent…

In the process, Yang Yunfei and the others began to understand more and more about Olivia. Of course, with each new revelation came more surprises. Empress Olivia life, or rather, the Legend of Olivia was more than enough material for an entire novel series.

“This empress is really amazing. She was meant to be eclipsed by her Elder Blooded sister. She was destined to remain as an insignificant a side-character. Who would have imagined her becoming the most powerful figure in the entire continent? She even married her own sister. This, this, this is simply… beautiful!” Shang Zetao cried. He was now an absolute fanboy. He was already highly fond of the characters from “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” to begin with. Now, just as Olivia had blown away the in-game world, she had most certainly blown his world in similar fashion.

Hardcore otakus like Shang Zetao should never be treated like wise men. Often at times, their IQs might even be tremendously high. However, that IQ would quickly plummet when a waifu gets stationed before their eyes!

Of course, other members of the squad were equally curious about Olivia. Her beauty seemed to precede even her achievements in unifying the continent. There were countless paintings of her going around in the market, many of which depicted fair maidens…

People could often tell how good a painter was, depending on how well they expressed Olivia’s beauty. This seemed to have become a global standard on art.

Of course, Olivia’s political and military achievements were nothing to sneeze at. She had most certainly inherited the characteristics of a certain empire that focused madly on building basic infrastructures. They especially loved building bridges and roads, as well as create public transportation. Moreover, they channeled the population’s workforce to form even mightier workforces through urbanization, uniting humanity like never before, which had created a powerful, recognizable form of cultural identity!

At the same time, Olivia was also a leading proponent of the slogan, “magic advances a country.” She treated magic like how our reality treated science. Through research, she sought to understand the mystery of magic and use it to improve the lives of the people. In fact, through the dark technology of magic, she had achieved what science could not even hope to achieve!

Sometimes, magic could be used, even if you did not fully understand its effects. As long as you had enough blood energy, magic was equivalent to eating, drinking, and breathing, like an instinctual behavior.

This was all Olivia’s “politics.” She had liberated the productive forces, developed the productive forces, and allowed the people at the lowest level of society to have the best possible food and clothing. She also attached great importance to education and hoped that it was a platform that provided everyone with equal opportunities. The children of the poor could at least improve their social status through hard work. They would be able to live a decent life and contribute to her empire.

Olivia’s “military” was even more exaggerated. Her magical modern army had already made quick work of the other kingdoms, and the whole continent now bowed towards her in unison. On the other hand, such a big empire would always have some stubborn, foolish old noble trying to restore their kingdom. Of course, Olivia had exercised her powers to suppress these people merciless. It was a bloody path, but it was necessary for her to achieve her imperial revolution.

This founding empress was unbelievable. She was simply invincible. As she was focused on development, neither did the interests of the masses or their social class mattered. She could ensure a more reasonable distribution of talent, rather than a distribution that was biased towards the dignitaries.

Now, the time to test her kingdom’s military was coming once again. The “White Frost”[1] that heralded the end of the world was coming, and the Wild Hunt[2] from the world of Aen Elle was out for blood!

The Yang Yunfei squad received a notice from “Main God,” saying that the other squad would be a natural ally of the Wild Hunt, and the Wild Hunt was the power of the other squad. Now, it’s the race to getting Olivia’s “power.”

Translation note :

[1] White Frost, or White Chill, is one of the omens prophesied by Ithlinne as heralding the beginning of the end of the world. Many attributed climate changes to the prophecy.

[2] The Wild Hunt, or Wraiths of Mörhogg, as they are called in Skellige, was widely believed to be a group of specters galloping in the sky. They were described by common folk as a cavalcade of wraiths on undead horses galloping across the sky and serving as an omen of war. In fact, they are a group of Aen Elle elves from Tir ná Lia who also call themselves the Dearg Ruadhri in their native Elder Speech, meaning Red Riders. They are led by the general, and later king, Eredin Bréacc Glas, commonly known as the King of the Wild Hunt.