For many people, it was a sleepless night. However, for Fang Zheng and his companions, that night was quite leisurely. The next morning, after having breakfast, they were taken by servants from Ogrande to the square of Golden Bay to begin attending the ceremony.
Logically speaking, a ceremony like this, if unprepared for thirty or fifty days, would undoubtedly be criticized. Unfortunately, all significant figures attended this ti. If it were a ceremony organized by a national entity, they would certainly retain all attendees, spend several days preparing various private operations, then reach an internal consensus among a few powers before comncing the ceremony.
But this ti, it was hosted by the Platinum Family; naturally, they couldn’t proceed in that manner. Many people had arrived, but their interest was not in the ceremony. By now, they had already obtained the information and data they wanted; thus, the ceremony itself was not so significant to them.
Therefore, Ogrande did not waste any more ti. Although the Platinum Family held a considerable status within the Kingdom of the Holy Church, the representatives attending were significantly mightier, and many held high authority. People like General John, the commander of the Seventh Fleet, wouldn’t care about so noble family’s trivial matters inside the Kingdom of the Holy Church if he weren’t there to suppress the Kingdom’s morale.
By then, everyone had seen what they wanted. The Kingdom of Fla along with the Land of Wealth indeed made significant efforts to suppress the Kingdom of the Holy Church but ultimately failed. Moreover, with the mysterious fleet’s appearance, it practically signaled the ergence of another power capable of influencing the world’s geopolitical landscape.
As for the na of this force, its background, and location, these questions couldn’t be answered in such a short period. However, their re appearance was enough for the other powers.
Thus, if the Platinum Family had delayed for a few more days, others would have not tolerated it.
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Laozi’s worth jumps by millions in minutes; do you think we’d idle here with you country bumpkins, drinking the northwest wind? Are we fools?
Ogrande naturally did not want to garner enmity from so many people. Therefore, on the second day after everyone’s arrival, they imdiately held the ceremony—of course, this was also to save face for the Kingdom of Fla and the Land of Wealth; otherwise, if they had prolonged their stay, there was a fear that these people would beco vexed and demolish Golden Bay.
Oh, look at those trendous warships in the sky, whether they dare to do that is another question.
The entire ceremony process was quite simple. Ogrande did not engage in any annoying activities but started by telling the history and current state of Golden Bay. They also sowhat familiarized everyone with how Golden Bay returned to human hands—after all, many were curious about Golden Bay’s rumors and the insider story known only to Fang Zheng and Tilia, though Ogrande too had heard from Fang Zheng, and then improvised the speech from there.
Naturally, during this ti they did not forget to lavishly praise Fang Zheng, calling him a hero who saved Golden Bay, even though Ogrande rembered being thrown into the sea by him with burning anger. Still, with Golden Bay now depending on Fang Zheng, she maintained a smile and outright hailed Fang Zheng as the heroic figure who rescued Golden Bay... although that was indeed the fact.
Thereafter, Grand Knight Astor, representing the Sanctuary, also ca forward to speak. Like Young Lady Ogrande, he started by extolling Fang Zheng, but this ti he included much praise for the Sanctuary, ntioning "adhering to the Paladin’s code" and "fighting evil all their lives." Anyone observant could see that the Sanctuary was now trying to curry favor with Fang Zheng...
Naturally, Grand Knight Astor did not forget to state on behalf of the Kingdom of the Holy Church that they would continue to support free navigation and protect the interests of passing rchants, aiming to make Golden Bay the beacon of the new century... In short, that sort of official rhetoric.
Such words naturally made Lieutenant General John’s face cloud over. Those words were initially spoken by the Kingdom of Fla, and now damn it, the group from the Kingdom of the Holy Church had copied their speech... except for changing the na of the country, it was almost exactly the sa!
This is blatant mockery!
Representatives from other powers and countries obviously heard it too, so as Grand Knight Astor spoke above, the representatives below struggled to hold back their laughs... Facing a slap in the face or rather a double slap, the enmity between the Kingdom of the Holy Church and the Kingdom of Fla had grown significantly... However, the two nations were originally at odds, so this was nothing new.
Watching the expressions of the representatives around him, General John’s heart grew increasingly displeased. This ti he had truly suffered a double loss, not only was the Forward Ship wrecked, but even his own fool had, under everyone’s watchful eyes, picked a fight with the opponent—a fight, had you won, might have been bearable, but you actually lost to a group of children under ten?!
General John could be sure that after today’s ceremony, this incident would beco the butt of jokes across the continent!
But these were trivial matters. For General John, what mattered most was that after today, their Kingdom of Fla’s dominance at sea would be completely gone!!
You see, the reason why the Kingdom of Fla had such a powerful force and influence on this continent was entirely due to their control of the entire sea area. The other forces had no choice but to be friendly with them, but now, with the rise of the Kingdom of the Holy Church, these forces would no longer need to act according to their whims.
But then... even knowing this, what could he do?
Thinking this, General John couldn’t help but look up again, gazing towards the distant tal warships. He had already confird with the accompanying mage that those were not illusions or projections, but indeed real. This ant that these warships were not an illusion, so what could the Kingdom of Fla use... to contend with such a fleet?
Forget it, now let’s see what those money-grubbing fat pigs have up their sleeves.
General John sighed helplessly. As a military man, that was all he could do. However, the Land of Wealth would certainly not ignore this situation, given that the wealth accumulation of the Land of Wealth was deeply linked to the sea lanes, and the rise of the Kingdom of the Holy Church along with the transfer of mariti control would likewise cause incalculable losses to the Land of Wealth.
Soon, Grand Knight Astor’s speech concluded, and then Ogrande, Astor, and Fang Zheng ca out and symbolically threw a handful of soil, marking the ceremony’s end. But... as previously ntioned, the ceremony itself, was never the point.
"Please wait a mont!"
Just as Ogrande was about to announce the end of the ceremony, a voice suddenly interrupted her speech, and then everyone saw a fat man with a big belly, dressed in lavish clothes, walking out from the crowd. Seeing his appearance, many were startled, and subsequently, silently shifted into spectating mode—because the man who arrived was precisely the representative from the Land of Wealth, Caron.
"...May I ask if there’s anything else?"
Seeing the fat man’s arrival, Ogrande frowned imperceptibly. She had almost guessed the other’s intention, but... what to do now?
"Before the ceremony ends, I have a matter I’d like to discuss with Your Excellency Fang Zheng."
Having said this, the chubby man turned his gaze toward Fang Zheng.
"Your Excellency Fang Zheng, your warship is truly remarkable and has been an eye-opener for us, but... when your warship landed, it collided with our Forward Ship, which is now completely wrecked... I think you should offer us the appropriate compensation."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing the chubby man’s words, Fang Zheng raised his eyebrows.
"Is that so?"
"...Do you want to pretend it didn’t happen? Everyone at the airfield can testify for us!"
"I see..."
Fang Zheng raised his head and touched his chin, pondering carefully.
"Sorry, I didn’t notice—perhaps your ship was too small?"
"Hahaha..."
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s response, a series of subdued laughter suddenly erupted among the crowd while the representative of the chubby man and General John looked somber—they had spared no expense to build the Forward Ship, intending for it to debut as the largest warship of the continent. Yet, Fang Zheng now claid he hadn’t seen it because it was too small... Although they wanted to retort, looking at the distant Hell Angel Class...
It was infuriating, the other party was speaking the undeniable truth, they really had no coback!
"But... with so many warships around, why was only yours hit? I’m quite suspicious; could it be a deliberate setup?"
Fang Zheng was clearly no pushover; his remark imdiately shifted the focus, leaving the others montarily stunned.
Indeed, you might say these chubby n are craftier than the devils in Hell, so how could they make such a blunder? Did all the other warships escape while only Forward Ship didn’t? What? Are you saying the Forward Ship is slower than the others? Do you have any evidence?
Maybe these chubby n did it on purpose, seeking to shake Fang Zheng down for so money?
"So, Your Excellency Fang Zheng, are you not planning to acknowledge it?"
At this mont, the expression of the chubby representative turned ugly, and he hadn’t expected a Templar to be so shaless... while the expressions of the others also turned weird. Although they all knew that the people from Caron wanted to make a quick buck, Fang Zheng seed a bit too...
"Cough, cough, may I say sothing?"
At this mont, General John stood up, beginning to speak with a smile. Seeing him stand up, Grand Knight Astor and Bishop Carl’s expressions changed slightly. However, before they could react, General John had already spoken.
"Regardless, it’s a fact that Your Excellency Fang Zheng’s warship collided with our Forward Ship under the gaze of many. Of course, we ourselves made a mistake, as this warship had just been completed, and we were not yet fully accustod to its performance. Nevertheless, since we and Caron spent a great deal of money constructing the Forward Ship, you must give us an explanation in any case."
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes, smiling yet not smiling, as he looked toward General John.
"Then, what do you suggest?"
"It’s simple."
General John lifted his head at this mont, revealing a slight smile.
"To be fair, let’s decide with a ’Judgent Ceremony.’"
"What..."
Upon hearing this, the crowd around was imdiately stunned, while Ogrande furrowed his brow, about to say sothing. But before he could speak, Fang Zheng had already made a decision.
"Very well, let’s do that."
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