Chapter Title: The Silent Purge Begins

Chris's POV

The command had been given. Now, it was time to watch the system breathe—to watch whether the empire's lungs expelled loyalty or betrayal. I knew the answer already. Corruption doesn't sleep. It burrows. It smiles. It shakes your hand and steals from your pocket.

But I wasn't going to shake hands anymore.

Inside the Situation Room—deep below the main palace, where walls were reinforced with six inches of Blacksteel and layered with quantum surveillance dampeners—I waited. The Supreme Commander stood at attention beside me, while Henry paced, scanning the updated dossiers flashing across the screen wall.

It had only been three hours.

And 47 border officers were already under arrest.

Two had been caught burning documents. One tried to flee through the underground train network—he didn't make it. Another, a mid-tier officer with a squeaky-clean record, was found with encrypted devices buried under his farm. Inside them? Direct communication with foreign merchants, offering protected access through "discreet routes."

Henry tapped a file. "Sir, this one—Captain Fredrick Ulo—he received 2.3 million Blackcoin in the last four months from an untraceable source."

I turned slowly. "And who approved his transfer to the Central Border Command?"

Henry's jaw tightened. "General Thomas. One of our senior officers."

"Bring him in."

"Already done."

I sat, steepling my fingers.

"And the schools?"

Henry's assistant stepped forward. "We've begun the sweep, Your Majesty. Seventeen schools in border towns have confirmed fake admission records. The students were registered under altered IDs, but background analysis shows they were foreign."

"Nationalities?"

"Two from the former West States Alliance, six from the North Warden Republic, and at least nine with unknown heritage. We suspect forged births."

"And the administrators?"

"Six detained. Three fled. We're tracking them now."

I turned to the screen as a red alert pulsed. "Status update?"

The Supreme Commander replied, "Ten thousand elite soldiers are fully deployed. Border lockdown is in effect. No movement across any entry line. The Blackwood air fleet has initiated sky patrols every four hours. Surveillance satellites realigned for full perimeter coverage."

"And trade?" I asked.

"All import/export channels shut. Only Union-approved shipments remain under route-lock. No unsupervised logistics allowed for the next 96 hours."

"Good," I murmured. "Now for the money."

An accountant from the Ministry of Treasury joined the feed.

"Sir, preliminary financial sweeps from the Borderland Trade Authority reveal 10.7 billion Blackcoin in unaccounted project overruns over the past 12 months. Some were rerouted to ghost companies. Others were sent to shell accounts under names of deceased citizens."

"Names?"

"They're uploading now."

I stood and walked toward the central console. With a gesture, I opened a live line to the Imperial Broadcast Network.

"It's time," I said. "Let the empire know we're cleansing the bloodline."

The screen flickered to life. I stepped into view—my gaze cold, voice calm, but every word a surgical cut into the rot.

> "People of the Blackwood Union,

For years, we have opened our hands to the world, offered peace, trade, and structure. And for years, certain traitors have sold pieces of our empire to outsiders, for personal gain, for short-term comfort, for greed.

That ends now.

I have ordered a total lockdown of all border operations. No one enters, no one leaves. Every officer, every civil servant, every institution involved will be investigated, exposed, and purged.

If you betrayed the Blackwood Empire,

know this:

You were watched.

You were known.

And now,

you will be erased."

I signed off.

Then turned to Henry and the Commander.

"Continue the sweep. Leave no room untouched. No title is above suspicion. Not even governors, not even bloodlines."

I paused… then added:

"And if you find anyone in my inner council with even a hint of involvement?"

Henry nodded solemnly. "We eliminate them."

"No trials. No mercy. The Blackwood Empire survives by purity of loyalty."

The purge had begun.

And this time, no one would be left untouched.