Chapter 1278: Celebration
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Of course, Lin Li didn’t like to be a teacher, but he had to teach these young inscribers of the Octopus Clan because he needed their help to ensure the smooth procession of the processes later. That was also the reason that he merely requested intermediate- and advanced-level inscribers from the Octopus Clan. Although these inscribers were of a lower rank than Masters of Inscription, they were much more flexible and versatile than the Masters of Inscription who already had fixed mindsets. Thus, it would be easier to train them into the talents he needed.
When Lin Li arrived at the guest hall of the emba.s.sy, the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Gilded Kingdom, Jefferson, was already waiting there.
As soon as he saw Lin Li, Jefferson hurriedly stood up, and respectfully said, “President Felic, the kingdom’s founding celebration is just around the corner. I’ve been instructed by His Majesty to come invite you to join us for the celebration in two days’ time.”
At least on the surface, the Gilded Kingdom was rather cordial towards Lin Li as both the war-supporting and peace-supporting ministers had reached a consensus not to offend Lin Li who wasn’t willing to suffer any losses. Not to mention the Illuminati’s support for Lin Li, the fact that Lin Li was a Guru of Inscription was enough to make them bow down even though they were extremely arrogant.
“Please tell His Majesty, King Bradlor, that I will be attending the celebration when the time comes.” Since they had a good att.i.tude, Lin Li naturally wouldn’t refuse.. Hence, he agreed very quickly.
Seeing that Lin Li had agreed, Jefferson couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief, and the expression on his face was suddenly less tense than before. In fact, he knew very well that the founding celebration was of extraordinary significance to the Gilded Kingdom.
If it was a force that was on good terms with the Gilded Kingdom, partic.i.p.ating in the Gilded Kingdom’s founding celebration would be a great opportunity to strengthen their friendly ties. However, based on Lin Li’s performance since he’d arrived in the Gilded Kingdom, Jefferson really didn’t think that Lin Li would take this matter as an opportunity or whatsoever.
Hence, before coming to the Tower of Dusk’s emba.s.sy, Jefferson was still rather worried and afraid that the ill-tempered Lin Li would really turn them down.
After settling on a time with Lin Li, Jefferson stood up to leave, and got ready to return and report to Bradlor.
However, when Jefferson was getting ready to leave, Lin Li suddenly called out to Jefferson, and said, “By the way, please wait a moment. There’s something else we need to talk about.”
Hearing Lin Li’s words, Jefferson’s heart skipped a beat, and he thought that some problem had cropped up. He quickly turned around, and anxiously said, “President Felic, please feel free to let us know if you’re displeased with our hospitality, or if someone has come to hara.s.s you again.”
Having learned his lesson from the previous two conflicts where Lin Li put the Gilded Kingdom to shame, Jefferson didn’t dare to be negligent when facing Lin Li, for he feared that he would cause more trouble for the Gilded Kingdom if he was a little slow in responding to Lin Li.
Amused by how tensed up Jefferson was, Lin Li waved his hand, and said, “Don’t worry, Lord Jefferson, I just thought that since we’ll be getting ready to go home after attending the founding celebration, it’s about time to fulfill my order for the Magical Crystal Cannons.”
So that’s what he wants! Jefferson couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat, and he quickly said, “President Felic, please don’t worry. Considering the difficulty in transporting the Magical Crystal Cannons, we’re planning to deploy some large cargo ships to help you transport them back to the Breezy Plains after the purchase is completed.”
The reason that the Gilded Kingdom had refused to sell the Magical Crystal Cannons previously was because they had been hostile towards each other. Be it the peace supporters or the war supporters, they wouldn’t do such a silly thing as to benefit their enemies.
However, the Gilded Kingdom had now completely given up on going to war, and was instead fully committed to building good relationships with Lin Li. Naturally, they would no longer make any excuses in fulfilling the deal with Lin Li. In fact, in order to show their sincerity, the Gilded Kingdom had even specially deployed some large cargo ships in hopes that Lin Li would be satisfied.
However, to Lin Li, the Gilded Kingdom’s approach was obviously a little redundant. He shook his head, looked at a Jefferson who was full of antic.i.p.ation, and said, “No, Lord Jefferson, I really appreciate His Majesty’s kind intentions, but that’s not what I’m going to talk to you about. Previously, I’ve already informed Grand Duke Vidi that you guys only have to prepare as many Magical Crystal Cannons as possible without having to worry about the problem of transportation.”
Jefferson was baffled. Does the Tower of Dusk secretly own a huge fleet? Or have they already discussed and reached an agreement with some sea merchant to settle the transportation issue? More importantly, he said to prepare as many Magical Crystal Cannons. Exactly how many does he need?
“President Felic, we still have a considerable number of Magical Crystal Cannons in stock, so please rest a.s.sured about this matter. Also, do you really not need our help in transporting the cannons? Even if we disa.s.semble the Magical Crystal Cannons, the parts will still require a large transportation capacity to be transported.” Jefferson had no choice but to remind Lin Li once more so that Lin Li wouldn’t find any fault with them again.
However, Lin Li waved his hand nonchalantly, and said, “No need for that. I just want to remind you guys that you don’t need to consider the transportation issues, and should just focus on providing me with enough Magical Crystal Cannons.”
Seeing that Lin Li had repeatedly reminded him to prepare enough Magical Crystal Cannons, Jefferson couldn’t help but ask with some curiosity, “In that case, President Felic, how many Magical Crystal Cannons do you need?”
Lin Li really couldn’t give an exact answer about the number of Magical Crystal Cannons he needed. Given the almost infinite s.p.a.ce in the Ring of Endless Storm, he could definitely fit as many Magical Crystal Cannons as the Gilded Kingdom could provide. If he told them the truth, they would probably really be frightened, and when the time came, they would find some excuses to turn him down again.
Hence, when faced with Jefferson’s question, Lin Li didn’t answer directly, and instead smilingly said, “Please rest a.s.sured that we won’t shortchange you in terms of the price. I just hope that you won’t disappoint me when the time comes.”
Although he did not get a clear answer, Jefferson thought that Lin Li probably wouldn’t ask for an exaggerated number of Magical Crystal Cannons, and thus he didn’t dwell on the matter any further. Hence, he agreed to complete the deal with Lin Li after the ceremony ended on the day of the founding celebration. He then left the emba.s.sy.
After seeing Jefferson off, Lin Li continued to train and teach the inscribers of the Octopus Clan while waiting for the arrival of the Gilded Kingdom’s founding celebration.
Two days later, it was finally the day of the Gilded Kingdom’s founding celebration, and the atmosphere outside was extremely lively. Lin Li took Connoris and the others with him to the palace of the Gilded Kingdom under Jefferson’s lead. Apart from Lin Li, the representatives of various Sea Clans had also gathered in the royal palace at this moment. Even Queen Halleleah and Prince Cleve of the Siren Clan, as well as Great Monarch Hegel of the Octopus Clan, had arrived a day in advance.
After exchanging pleasantries with his acquaintances for a while, Lin Li and the rest boarded the floats that the Gilded Kingdom had specially prepared for the founding celebration this time. For the guests, it was a great honor to be able to board the floats and receive the worship of the nationals of the Gilded Kingdom together with King Bradlor. Only the seven most powerful Sea Clans and the three great human kingdoms had the right to do that.
As the president of a small and unknown force, Lin Li actually received the same treatment as the seven overlords of the sea and the representatives of the three human kingdoms. Clearly, the Gilded Kingdom valued him greatly. However, many people were aware that Lin Li was an inscriber, so they weren’t too surprised by such an arrangement.
The large caravan set off from the square in front of the royal palace, and traveled along the avenue of the capital, all the way outside the city. Both sides of the avenue were crowded with the nationals of the Gilded Kingdom, who were all dressed in festive clothing and wearing smiles on their faces. They were all praising and giving their blessings to the Gilded Kingdom loudly.
Lin Li couldn’t quite get used to such a scene. Not only were they attracting the attention of everyone, it was too noisy here, and Lin Li even regretted accepting the Gilded Kingdom’s invitation. Had he known earlier that this would happen, he would have just gone straight to the celebration venue and waited there.
Fortunately, after the caravan left the city, the number of citizens on both sides of the avenue gradually decreased. The honor guards then stood neatly in rows there. The military band played music while marching. The honor guards looked extremely majestic, and the horses they were riding were trotting in sync, causing the ground to tremble.
There was also a portion of nationals that followed behind the caravan, all ready to go to the square for the celebration. Although they were not organized or led by anyone, they sang the Gilded Kingdom’s national anthem and similar songs together with the accompaniment of the military band. As the caravan proceeded, more and more nationals joined the line, boosting the festive mood to the climax.
It took half a day for the caravan to arrive at Hopra Square, where the ceremony was held. Hopra was the first king of the kingdom and the most revered person in the hearts of all the nationals of the kingdom. Hence, be it the capital of the kingdom or the square where the celebration was held, they were both named after Hopra.
Hopra Square occupied a large area, consisting of a 10th of the total area of the Gilded Kingdom. It was absolutely second to none even in Anril. The ground of the square was paved with lazurite of the best quality, which was even more extravagant than gold. Even a Legendary powerhouse would barely be able to damage the ground of the square.
There were several-hundred-meter-tall statues in the square, and they resembled mountains from a distance. The tallest statue in the middle was a statue of King Hopra, the first king of the Gilded Kingdom. On its right, there were statues of the founding fathers of the kingdom whose families were now the few existing senatorial families of the Gilded Kingdom.
To the bewilderment of most people, the ancestral statue of the Giant Whale Family that had once started the rebellion was still present in the square. Some said that it was because the royal family of the Gilded Kingdom was very magnanimous, and wouldn’t erase the great achievements of the ancestors just because of the Whale Family’s rebellion. However, some people guessed that there was still a greater significance behind the existence of these statues, which wasn’t for the future generations to revere and look up to.
At this point, Hopra Square was heavily decorated, and the ground was spotless too, so much that even the reflection of the people there could be seen. The several statues had also been cleaned and maintained well, looking as good as new. There were also decorative ribbons.
At this point, the teams from various places had already gathered there a long time ago. There were military squads as well as civilian teams who were performing for the celebration.
On the other side of the square, a viewing deck that was more than 10 meters tall had already been erected. The royals of the Gilded Kingdom and the representatives of the various forces were all watching the founding celebration from the viewing deck.
The caravan stopped in front of the viewing deck, and King Bradlor alighted from a celebratory float together with the important members of the royal family. They then went up the stairs as Lin Li and the rest stepped onto the deck under the lead of ushers.
After everything was prepared, the ceremonial minister in charge of the ceremony announced the start of the Gilded Kingdom’s founding celebration using sound-amplifying magic props. The military bands on both sides of the observation deck began playing some celebratory music, while the first procession began to enter the square.
Lin Li had witnessed major events such as the national day parade in the world that he transmigrated from, which was extremely spectacular. However, compared to the current celebration in the Gilded Kingdom, the national day parade seemed to be rather inferior.
Although there would be performances with a variety of weapons at the national parade of the world he belonged to before transmigrating, as well as tanks, other military vehicles, and fighter jets, Lin Li felt that the Gilded Kingdom’s celebration was much more spectacular, perhaps because he had never seen the Gilded Kingdom’s celebration before.
For example, the crisp and fast trotting of the horses on the lazurite ground of the square was just like mighty music. All the knights were dressed in colorful armor and pointing their spear diagonally at the sky in a neat formation, making it look like a forest of spears.
There were heavily armored knights, infantry regiments, squads carrying spears and crossbows, and so on. Although there were no tanks or fighter jets in the Gilded Kingdom, there was still a great visual impact when they walked past the front of the observation deck in neat formations.
After the military procession, the civilians’ processions began to enter the square one after another. Compared to the neat and spectacular formations of the military squads, they were much livelier, and their processions were themed around sacrifice. The performers were dressed in various outfits, and performed scenes that were familiar to the nationals of the Gilded Kingdom, such as fighting amidst the wind and waves, battles against calamities, and so on.