For one fleeting instant, Yun dared swear that she saw a vicious gleam in Lin Qi's eyes, ten thousand times greedier than that of a starving wolf.
Lin Qi was so excited that every part of his body seemed to be shaking wildly, his joints continuously cracking with sharp pops. He impatiently patted Alandu on the shoulder and rushed out of the grand hall with him. A projected avatar burst from Lin Qi's body. Dressed in a full set of magnificent imperial robes, it stood atop the tall steps before the hall's entrance, raised its scepter, and called out loudly, "Honored guests, welcome to the Dragon Mountain Empire's New Year Court Banquet! I hope what happened just now did not give you too much of a fright. Now, let us enjoy ourselves!"
Great swarms of maids seemed to emerge from nowhere. Beautiful-faced and voluptuous-bodied, they included Westerners, easterners, Black Spirit People, half-elves, half-demons, half-beastmen, and more. With blazing passion in the corners of their eyes and brows, they mingled among the still-dazed guests and swiftly stirred the atmosphere back to life.
The Dragon Mountain Empire's imperial palace immediately brimmed with festivity. All the guests forgot the slaughter and bloodshed from moments ago, immersing themselves in a warm and harmonious mood. Smiling, they raised their wineglasses and joined the joy that a court banquet ought to have with boundless cheer and enthusiasm.
The corpses and bloodstains in the streets were cleared away spotlessly within a quarter of an hour, and all the prisoners were sent to the Abyssal World. Rank upon rank of elite soldiers marched through the teleportation arrays toward the Dragon Mountain Empire's western border. Lin Qi had already issued an edict for nationwide war preparations. For the first time, he would take the initiative and launch an attack