Anti-Imperial Faction

Anti-Imperial Faction (反皇帝派は) was an anti-imperial faction that existed within the Baharuth Empire, comprised of individuals who sought to launch a coup d'état against Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix. 
==Background==
Sentiments against the Bloody Emperor have existed long since the recent reforms and purges against the nobility. Though they lacked the power and unity to effectively topple the autocratic monarch. However due to several events since the Catastrophe, calls for revolution having be growing amongst the spiteful nobles, both remaining and former. 
==Chronology ==
===Mass for the Dead Arc===
Emperor Jircniv while being an object of fear for the aristocrats and a reliable presence for his subjects, his strong image was drastically weakened after the Demon Emperor Jaldaboath humbled him during the attack on E-Rantel. His weakness was made known to the rest of the empire. While the empire was still recovering from its losses against the Demon Emperor and Chaos Beasts, a trio of the faction, the Anti-Jircniv Faction, plotted a rebellion believing that it was the right moment. 
Their rebellion required manpower and weapons which they would receive from the Slane Theocracy. To secure a route to the Theocracy, the nobles and their merchant associate contracted a newly formed New Six Arms and several workers to escort them through the Katze Plains to the find a viable path through the fog.
The trio made the mistake of trusting Zero, who they believed shared their sentiments against the emperor. In reality Zero had betrayed the insurgents, for a knighthood, selling them out to the imperial knights. The faction and their workers was summarily arrested or killed by the knights and New Six Arms.Mass for the Dead Special Event: Worker Within The Fog
Despite having crushed the possible insurrection, the group was just one of many anti-imperial factions that kept popping out and plaguing the emperor. They were being monitored by Jircniv, after the "Greetings and Victory" festival in E-Rantel. One independent group was showing movement which caught the emperor's eye. 
When the emperor decided to host the Sorcerer Kingdom event of "Greetings and Victory", he predicted that there would be backlash by the anti-imperial factions, so arranged to have New Six Arms provide security and deter any plans that they might make to disrupt the festivities. At the same time, Jircniv plotted to use the event to lure the dissidents out and eliminate them.
Through Regi, the Sorcerer Kingdom was made aware of the emperor's plans to use New Six Arms to crackdown on the anti-imperials. From the kingdom's own intelligence, one of the protagonist's project was deciphering some secret letters exchanged between a merchant from the Baharuth Empire capital and another merchant who was suspected to be backed by some other country. Before the homunculus vanished in E-Rantel, he report that that it involved a sub-faction that led by a merchant from the Imperial Capital who had some kind of grudge against the Emperor. It appears that he was slaver trader who suffered losses after the emperor restricted slave ownership and freed many races that were enslaved. 
Due to this the merchant formed his anti-imperial group with others who shared the same views. It now seems that this same group is now moving covertly during the festival's preparations and based on Demiurge's additional intelligence they appear to be relatively new and had no contact with the other anti-imperial groups. The Sorcerer King wanting the festival to go uninterrupted, believe that his kingdom would do well to serve the Empire in weeding out any suspicious anti-imperial figures, and start a separate investigation.
To lure out the dissidents, Regi leaked information at the Singing Apple Pavilion that her team had been contracted to provide security for some packages coming from the Sorcerer Kingdom to the Empire. The information was overheard by a spy for the anti-imperial group led by the merchant, who then dispatched workers to assault the convoy entering the capital. Though it was a sting orchestrated by Zero and New Six Arms in which the ambushed the other workers and arrested them.
Even though the workers hired by the anti-imperial sub-faction were captured, the group continued to plot against the emperor and ruin the festival. Despite the circumstances, the merchant associate managed to secure personnel and supplies for their plan to be put in effect. Unfortunately one of the anti-imperials were captured by Sebas, and his was forced to reveal many details of the anti-imperials plans which were passed to Regi. One being a map that showed a blueprint of the anti-imperials plot to attack the emperor and his party whilst he was traveling to the Grand Arena to make a public address on the new festival. Using the intel, New Six Arms and the imperial knights foiled the plot, arresting the conspirators and ensuring that the festival proceeded without any issue. Though after the festivities, Emperor Jircniv suspected that probably that the anti-imperial faction and the temple forces, including Theocracy, were teaming up to cause trouble in this incident as they were dissatisfied with the "Greetings and Victory" celebration. For the latter, Jircniv believed that the Theocracy had set up several intermediaries with the anti-imperials, leaving only circumstantial evidence that the mastermind and those associated with were involved in the attempt at disrupting the Imperial Capital's "festival."Mass for the Dead Special Event: The Glorious Imperial Capital Harvest Festival
Sometime after the Calamity of Cracks, the members of the Anti-Imperial Faction decided to hold a rally to solidify their base against the emperor. Word had reached the noble circles how the emperor had been abandoned by Fluder Paradyne and that he had grown soft. The later was proven in the eyes of the nobility after the Empire had captured many slave traders and anti-imperial factions, but rather than be beheaded they were handed over to the Re-Estize Kingdom for their crimes. Taking this to be a opportune time to strike on what they perceived as weakness, the like minded nobles decided to make a pact of a Blood Oath at the rally to show their resolve in the eventual uprising against the emperor.
The Anti-Imperial Faction though seriously underestimated the emperor, as he already caught wind of their plot. Jircniv had already prepared to have a girl from a loyal noble family infiltrate the venue of the rally, to steal the Blood Oath which contained all the name of the conspirators which the emperor intended to use as evidence against the rebels. However the girl he intended to use backed out in cowardice, prompting Jircniv to reach out to Zero for aid in finding a suitable female replacement. Zero was more than willing to volunteer his teammates Regi and Shizuni to the task.
Regi and Shizuni thus underwent a training course in noble etiquette under Yuri Alpha and Renner, with the former playing the role of a noblewoman and the latter as the servant. Thanks to Regi's training, the false backstory crafted by the emperor, and confiscated weapons supplied to the faction, she was able to fool all the nobles present into seeing her as a powerful ally that would support them in their revolution as well give them an escape route to the Slane Theocracy. 
When the Blood Oath was presented to her to sign her name, Regi and Shizuni initiated the thief, killing a guard with several bodyguards in hot pursuit. Once they reached the streets, the guards were faced with the rest of New Six Arms. The guards were later defeated and the nobles at the venue were all captured thanks to Iguva's undead summons. The Blood Oath was then handed over to the Bloody Emperor, but not before details on the Blood Oath's names were copied by CZ, revealing information on slave traders and arm dealers from the Empire and Theocracy which the Sorcerer Kingdom began to analyze.Mass for the Dead Special Event: A Young Lady Casting a Shadow of Ambition
== Strength ==
The anti-imperials lacked cohesion as an organization. It was more akin to a subversive social group who despised imperial authority. They were described as belonging to disquieting anti-imperial elements, but were not necessarily all united, thus making it hard for the authorities to round them up.
The people who made up it ranks were made up of current and former nobles, with enough wealth and influence to be a serious danger to the empire. However their bodyguards were noted to be a serious joke in skill and ability to more veteran workers.
Though not all anti-imperials were in league with one another. The faction had many sub-factions with anti-imperial groups among them that were made up entirely of merchants and no nobles with different agendas. 
== Trivia ==
* While non-canon, this is the third politically subversive organization to exist in the Overlord series, aimed at defeating a specific sovereign of a nation. The first being the Anti-Sorcerer Kingdom Alliance that Jircniv attempted to form against the Sorcerer King. And the second being the Anti-Jircniv Faction.
==References==
Category:Terminology
Category:Mass for the Dead Terminology
Category:Groups and Organizations
Category:Noble Groups
Category:Subversive Groups
Category:Baharuth Empire