As they had arrived early, Melissa and Baansen were able to choose a pretty good spot. They could see a strange object on the grayish-white stone pillar in the middle of the square. One end was different, and it was painted with dark blue paint. It was connected to some kind of cable.
Beneath the object was a group of soldiers in red shirts and white trousers. They carried grayish-white metal backpacks and held complicated rifles with large calibers. They warily watched their surroundings.
With the influx of citizens one after another, the square was filled with people and became more and more lively.
At nine o 'clock sharp, the strange object on the stone pillar suddenly emitted a rustling sound. Finally, it turned into a deep voice.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm your emperor, the ruler of Rouen, East Balam, and the Rorsted Archipelago, George Augustus III."
… That thing can speak? Is it based on the principles of a telegraph? Melissa's eyes widened as her attention instantly shifted from the speech to the strange object.
…
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm your emperor, the ruler of Rouen, East Balam, and the Rorsted Archipelago, George Augustus III."
In West Borough's Memorial Square, Audrey accompanied her father, mother, and brother as they stood near the platform. They looked at the king in his ceremonial robes and listened to his speech.
As she knew in advance which direction George III would focus on today and what kind of atmosphere he would create, Audrey didn't wear her favorite clothes. Be it the color or style, they were all girlish. Instead, she wore a simple and conservative dress like Countess Caitlyn. The color was pure black, and she didn't wear any accessories.
"… I'm very happy to tell everyone that we've finally stopped the first phase of the Feysacians' attack. We've thwarted their plan to wipe out Rouen in three months …
"… However, too many outstanding young people have died on the front lines, in this war. They should've had a better future. They should've accompanied their parents as they aged, matured with their spouses, and allowed their children to grow up in a loving environment and have a beautiful childhood …
"… The Feysacians have destroyed all of this …"
Audrey, who knew why the war was started, was not incited by the king's speech. She just felt that he must have a talent for drama.
She could hear small sobs coming from the crowd around her. She could feel the sorrowful emotions emerging bit by bit, converging and brewing.
This caused her eyes to redden uncontrollably.
The King's speech was fake, but the people's grief was real enough, especially since Audrey had met many relatives of the fallen and helped those who lost their children, husbands, and fathers overnight.
This is the great resonance of emotions. This is the best occasion to consume the Manipulator potion … Audrey suddenly came to a realization, but she couldn't use it. This was because not only had she not digested the Dreamwalker potion, but she also hadn't accumulated enough contribution points from Mr. World.
She took a slow breath and controlled the fluctuations of her emotions. She looked away from King George III and let her thoughts wander uncontrollably.
Mr. World is very concerned about today's speech. I wonder how he will make use of this matter …
"I hope there won't be too many accidents …
That thing called "broadcasting" is based on radio principles? Mr. World mentioned that there are already factions out at sea that are using this technology … Compared to the storm-prone ocean, land is clearly more suitable for such products … "
Just as Audrey was lost in her thoughts, George III, who had a mustache and was solemn and old-fashioned, had finished the first paragraph of his description.
He solemnly said, "Let us observe a moment of silence for our heroes. Ladies and gentlemen, repeat after me in your hearts:
"In the name of Emperor George III, may the souls of the dead obtain peace. May they become eternal in the kingdom of the deity they believe in."
This sentence carried an indescribable sense of majesty. It made everyone, including Audrey, involuntarily lower their heads and clasped their hands as they silently chanted:
"In the name of Emperor George III …"
...
"In the name of Emperor George III …" On the other side of Memorial Square, Klein, who was wearing a black coat and had an ordinary face, prayed at the same time with the people around him. He appeared completely normal.
During the three minutes of silence, he used an avian marionette that was standing on the roof of a nearby building to carefully observe George III's every move. He tried to find any signs that the king was about to leave quietly, enter the mausoleum, and consume the potion.
According to Klein's understanding, "In the name of Emperor George III" was the core of the entire Black Emperor ritual. If he were to consume the potion, it would definitely be at this moment, or within two to three minutes of the end of the silence. If it was delayed any further, the effects wouldn't be too good.
Eh, George III is also observing a moment of silence. He didn't do anything else … Klein held back his impatience and puzzlement as he waited patiently.
The moment of silence that made many people cry gradually came to an end. Everyone opened their eyes one after another. At this moment, George III still didn't do anything. He spoke again and began his speech.
"We have already passed the most difficult moment. We will definitely defeat evil and brutality. This is the power of justice. This is the power of every soldier on the front lines. This is the power of every worker in the factory …"
This … 0-08's arrangements didn't succeed. George III has no intention of becoming a god today. It's purely to "bait" the enemy who wants to destroy the ritual. After all, he can give many similar speeches in the future? Klein frowned slightly as thoughts flashed through his mind.
Suddenly, his expression turned solemn as he thought of a possibility.
In the blink of an eye, Klein switched places with Enuni, who was hiding in the sewers. The latter was dressed the same as him, and he looked the same. Just from the outside, there was no difference.
Right on the heels of that, Klein took four steps counterclockwise and went above the gray fog. With the crimson star representing Miss Justice, he used his "true vision" to observe the situation in the square.
He was already a Sequence 3, so he didn't need to use the Sea God Scepter to expand his range. Of course, compared to a Scholar of Yore, the Sea King's "true vision" was clearly larger, but there was no need for it this time.
Just as Klein cast his gaze towards the platform where King George III was giving his speech, his gaze froze. This was because there was no one there, or rather, there was only a fake "illusion"!
It was the imagined George III giving his speech!
Before Klein began his speech, he had been wary of such problems. He had specially observed and confirmed that it was the real George III. To his surprise, in just a few minutes, without him noticing, the real George III had become the imagined George III.
During the moment of silence, he had used the powers of the Black Emperor pathway to "Distort," silently swapping himself with a substitute? This means that George III should've already entered a secret mausoleum and was consuming the potion in an attempt to advance! With a thought, Klein hurriedly observed the situation in the surrounding area. He discovered that there was an abnormal and extremely majestic dark power secretly growing beneath the podium.
Klein then picked up the Black Emperor card on the surface of the long bronze table and sensed it. Using the law of Beyonder characteristics convergence, he confirmed that the power belonged to the Black Emperor pathway and came from Distortion.
How impressive. While using a speech to "bait" the enemy, he used a fake person to disguise himself and silently left to consume the potion … It's almost too late … Klein tensed up and immediately returned to the real World. In the sewers, he chanted in Jotun:
"Holy Spirit that pursues knowledge;
"Mysterious World's Lighthouse;
"Eyes that pry into fate;
"King above the sea;
"Holy Bernadette Gustav …"
This was the honorific name of Queen Mystic, but it was somewhat different from a normal Sequence 3. Her range was extremely large, and it could even be effective in Baekeland. With regards to this, Klein suspected that this eldest daughter of Rosell The Great had used a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact to achieve this effect.
Bernadette rarely told others this honorific name, afraid that enemies would use prayers and automatic responses to lock onto her location before she reached Sequence 2. This matched Klein's thoughts very well.
Klein had made an agreement with her that as long as he recited this honorific name, she would randomly choose a secret mausoleum and use the blood he gave her to draw a symbol to open the door and attempt to destroy it.
He and Bernadette didn't have extravagant hopes of succeeding. This was because with the other party having angels, the guards inside the mausoleum would definitely recite the honorific names of those angels every once in a while, allowing "Them" to use the prayer light to remotely observe the corresponding area. Once they discovered anything amiss, they would immediately rush over to help.
Bernadette's main purpose was to attract attention!
Of course, if the angels descended slowly, Queen Mystic could also go from a support role to a main attacker.
After doing this, Klein immediately reached out his right hand and grabbed at the air.
As he pulled back his arm, a figure appeared in front of him.
It was a lady with ordinary facial features and dark eyes. She wore a simple robe and a tree bark belt. Her long black hair hung down, and she was barefoot without any shoes or socks.
The matron of the Evernight cloister, leader of the ascetics, Servant of Concealment, Grounded Angel, Arianna.
I succeeded on my first try … Klein jumped in fright, but he didn't have the time to think too much about it.
He hurriedly said, "Conceal my existence and protect the citizens of Baekeland."
He was worried that George III would rush out of the mausoleum and endanger the people in the city after the ritual was destroyed.
"Alright," Arianna replied with a calm expression. She wasn't stiff or stiff at all.
… It can't be a real person, right … Actually, my summoning didn't succeed. It's just that the Goddess had long gotten Ma 'am Arianna to secretly return to Baekeland. The moment she sensed that she was summoned, she came over … An angel of concealment also has a certain level of confidence in her image in the Historical Void? As these thoughts flashed through Klein's mind, he realized that he had entered a strange state, a state where he was no longer sensed by the outside world.
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