The circular floating disk silently ascended, Miss Ogrande clenched her skirt tightly, her expression serious and solemn.
"Who is currently at the airfield?"
"Everyone is here, Young Lady..."
Facing Miss Ogrande’s inquiry, the maid behind her hesitated for a mont before she whispered softly.
"Almost everyone has arrived."
"I understand."
Although the maid did not specify, Miss Ogrande clearly understood that this ant representatives from all the forces gathered at Golden Bay were almost entirely assembled. Obviously, they were not here to welco the fleet of the Kingdom of the Holy Church but to witness firsthand the spectacle that was about to unfold. After all, the fleets of the Kingdom of Fla and the Land of Wealth had not kept their schedules secret, and even under the urging of so "interested parties," it had beco public knowledge. Presently, these emissaries were here predominantly to enjoy the show...
Walking into the hall and looking at the crowd nearby, Miss Ogrande took a deep breath, then she turned her head and stared at her own servant behind her.
"Go, raise the security level to the highest. Check everyone entering, even if they are servants, and ensure there are absolutely no mistakes! No matter how high their status, if they do not have an invitation, they shall not enter!"
Currently, there were representatives from various nations here, along with the imminent arrival of fleets from the Kingdom of the Holy Church, the Kingdom of Fla, and the Land of Wealth. If those damned cultists wanted to make headlines, this would be a perfect opportunity. Although she had already requested support from the Sanctuary, Miss Ogrande still wanted to ensure the best possible security; otherwise, if anything went wrong, she would inevitably be the one to take the bla.
With these thoughts in mind, Miss Ogrande clenched the corner of her skirt tightly, then released her hands and walked into the airfield hall. If Fang Zheng were here, he would notice that the design of this airfield hall resembled the airport lounges in his own world, with its vast space and large bright floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a clear view of the sea and the floating harbor outside. This was the only harbor in Golden Bay that had been rebuilt, considering that a hundred years ago at the dawn of the great age of exploration, people possessed only seafaring ships and had never envisioned welcoming fleets from the air; thus, only here was completely designed and constructed in a modern style for airships.
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This place could accommodate ten flagships and two hundred magitech warships of various ranks, and its excellent wind-sheltered conditions further enhanced the value of Golden Bay over what it was a hundred years ago.
Indeed, they had all co.
Miss Ogrande’s gaze slowly swept across the crowd. The individuals dressed in distinctive attire were representatives from various duchies and domains, while on the other side, representatives from the four nations were quite conspicuous. Those in white armor were from the Templar Order of the Kingdom of the Holy Church, and the blond middle-aged man at their forefront was the representative of the Kingdom of the Holy Church—Sir Astor. He was also a high-ranking mber of the Sanctuary. Miss Ogrande had heard rumors about this Grand Knight; it was said that in his youth, he was a charming womanizer who had romantic entanglents with many noblewon. Unexpectedly, this handso, almost Prince Charming in the dreams of all the young girls of the Holy City eventually married a common female adventurer, and after that, he transford from a libertine to a devoted husband, a story quite widely spread within the Kingdom of the Holy Church.
Astor had beco famous not only because of his romantic history but also for his diplomatic skills. As a Grand Knight, his prowess was unquestionable. More than that, his diplomacy was highly regarded; this Grand Knight was one of the few in the Sanctuary responsible for foreign affairs and etiquette. He even had the illustrious history of singlehandedly forging a non-aggression pact with the Serpent People in the Black Stone Region.
Perhaps for this reason, the Kingdom of the Holy Church had dispatched him to handle matters here in Golden Bay.
"Ah... Miss Ogrande."
At that mont, Astor also noticed Miss Ogrande approaching him, turned around, and, with a smile, nodded at her.
"You have arrived as well."
"Yes, Lord Astor."
Miss Ogrande also quickly returned a bow, and then looked out the glass window—where, apart from the azure sea and white clouds, there was nothing else.
"It seems our fleet will be arriving soon?"
"Yes, I just received word, in twenty minutes, you will be able to see our Kingdom of the Holy Church’s glorious fleet."
Upon hearing Miss Ogrande’s question, Astor smiled and reached to touch his small mustache.
"Speaking of which, Miss Ogrande, it seems you had previously observed a military parade of the First Fleet?"
"Yes."
In front of this Grand Knight, Miss Ogrande naturally did not display any airs of nobility. She was polite, her face adorned with a smile, nodding her head just like any proper noble heiress would.
"I had the fortune to attend the First Fleet’s military parade when I was ten years old. The impression it left on , especially the sight of the ’Divine Blessing,’ remains fresh in my mory, unforgettable to this day."
Just then, suddenly, a hearty voice ca from nearby, cutting into their conversation.
"Well, Miss Ogrande, I believe today’s mory will be even more unforgettable."
"...General John..."
Upon hearing this voice, Miss Ogrande’s eyebrows slightly raised before she turned around. Not far behind them stood a man about two ters tall, burly, clad in red dragon armor, and with a full beard, who was approaching them with a broad smile.
He was none other than General John Cliff, the commander of the Seventh Fleet from the Kingdom of Fla.
This bearded man, who appeared to be in his forties, took large strides over to the two of them. He first smiled and gave a nod to Miss Ogrande and then turned to look at Astor.
"I’ve heard much of the great reputation of the Kingdo of the Holy Church’s First Fleet, but it’s a pity that I’ve never seen your fleet while stationed in the Endless Sea for so long. Luckily, our Seventh Fleet is also about to arrive. I hope we can mutually learn from each other... If there’s anything needed, feel free to say. We are all children of order, duty-bound to uphold it."
At this, Miss Ogrande slightly frowned. Although General John’s words sounded friendly, they carried an undertone of a big brother lecturing a little brother. Indeed, his remarks basically amounted to ridiculing the Kingdom of the Holy Church, given that the Kingdom of Fla’s Seventh Fleet had long been stationed in these waters and yet had never encountered the Kingdom of the Holy Church’s fleet—right at its own doorstep; wasn’t John essentially mocking the Kingdom of Holy Church’s fleet as cowardly?
Not to ntion the blatant mockery afterwards, which really irked Miss Ogrande—it sounded as if the Kingdom of Fla’s fleet thought it was more experienced and therefore looked down on the opposing side.
"Your kindness is appreciated," said Astor, his facial expression unchanged, still wearing an elegant smile.
"After all, our fleet has been busy dealing with attacks from Chaos, so we haven’t had much free ti. But this ti, I’m sure General John will have his wish fulfilled. Ah... speaking of which, there was a navy Major General from your country who ’disappeared’ in these waters... I wonder how that’s going. Have the missing been found?"
"........"
Upon hearing Astor’s response, which was a barbed reply, General John’s expression shifted, while Miss Ogrande’s heart suddenly leapt. She knew exactly what incident Astor was referring to. After skipping over the story of their arrival at the Golden Bay, where a warship from the Kingdom of Fla had followed them, led by a navy Major General nad Moose. Alas, the poor man ultimately t an undealt fate by Black Katie, leaving nothing behind, and their warship still lay not far off in the sea near Golden Bay.
Miss Ogrande had not counted on that incident remaining a secret. Even if Fang Zheng himself stayed silent, there were many people and sailors aboard that day who might speak out. But what Miss Ogrande had not anticipated was that the Kingdom of Fla, instead of pursuing the matter aggressively as she had expected, rely issued a statent claiming that Major General Moose had "disappeared" while carrying out a special mission... Of course, this essentially ant the Kingdom of Fla had to swallow a bitter loss.
However, as the commander of the Kingdom of Fla’s Seventh Fleet, General John was naturally aware of the reasons. Besides the Kingdom of Fla not wanting to escalate the situation into a conflict with the Holy Church, the most crucial aspect was that Major General Moose had been on a mission commissioned by a major noble within the Kingdom to handle a "private matter." Initially, everyone thought nothing would go wrong with such a legendary powerhouse taking on the mission. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a total disaster, not only failing to apprehend their target but also resulting in the loss of both a warship and a major general... The council had their hands full just dealing with the outrage from the families, naturally having no desire to stir further troubles.
"You needn’t concern yourself with that; we in the Kingdom of Fla have our ways of handling things."
"That’s good then."
Watching General John in front of him, Astor smiled slightly, while General John stood there expressionlessly, seemingly without any particular thought.
For a mont, the air grew tense and silent.
It was quite unbearable...
Watching the pair engaged in their sharp exchange, Miss Ogrande felt a cold sweat down her back. She hesitated montarily, about to excuse herself and leave, when suddenly a clear ringing sound echoed throughout the entire airfield.
"Ding... Ding...!"
It was here!
Hearing the bell, Miss Ogrande instantly perked up, then swiftly turned to look out the window.
Off in the distance, a fleet of silver-white warships slowly erged from the clouds.
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