Great Ming Square
Xu Fu's slightly shrill, effeminate quack of a voice rang out. A moment later, a special Soul Tool amplified it across the entire Great Ming capital, Ming City.
"The Western Alliance United Nations—Haagen-Dazs, Sylves, and Hadrian—present gifts worth ten million Gold Soul Coins to congratulate Great Ming on quelling the empire's turmoil and sweeping away the barbarians!"
Ten million. Xu Nian'an raised an eyebrow, then looked toward three middle-aged men outside Ming City Square.
They were the kings of the Western Alliance's principal member nations.
Once they understood that the Western Alliance United Nations had been founded on the strength of Great Ming, the three kings showed admirable sense and chose to attend in person on such an important day for Great Ming.
Zzzzt~!!!!
Just then, the sky above Great Ming Square flickered. A moment later, a holographic projection appeared.
The three middle-aged men clearly looked startled. Once they recovered, they put on warm smiles without showing a hint of their surprise.
"We fully support His Majesty the Emperor of Great Ming. We hope Great Ming continues to prosper!"
····
The holographic projection above Great Ming Square was enormous. Almost everyone in Ming City could see it just by looking up.
"The Pelagi Kingdom presents ten million Gold Soul Coins, hoping to put all past grievances with the Great Ming Empire behind us and forge an alliance!"
The Western Alliance United Nations had presented gifts worth ten million Gold Soul Coins. Perhaps many of those items had been vastly overvalued.
But the Pelagi Kingdom was different. This was a solid ten million Gold Soul Coins.
The lines Xu Fu read out were rather interesting, too.
Under what circumstances did one country pay tribute to another?
When it wanted to curry favor—or when it feared and had submitted to another country, of course.
And as it happened, the Pelagi Kingdom had once belonged to the Star Luo Empire's camp.
Everyone knew that before the Great Ming Empire and the Star Luo Empire went to war in earnest, Xu Nian'an had openly declared war on numerous nations across the continent.
That year, Xu Nian'an had stood tall, pointing at the world as he recited the names of one country after another.
Everyone had thought the Great Ming Empire would pay a terrible price for it, perhaps even be wiped off the map.
But no one had expected that, despite the joint assault of the two great empires, Great Ming would not only hold out—
It had done more than hold out. It had surrounded both empires' capitals, defeated them, and forced them to sign humiliating treaties of surrender.
So this was no tribute from the Pelagi Kingdom. It was protection money, plain and simple.
On a continent where both great empires had submitted, the Great Ming Empire was unquestionably the foremost superpower.
With the two empires' fates as a warning, who would dare refuse to pay protection money?
As it turned out, someone did.
"The Heaven Realm Kingdom presents supplies worth ten million Gold Soul Coins, hoping the people of Great Ming can quickly recover from the war of invasion. The Heaven Realm Empress extends her peaceful greetings to all the people of Great Ming!"
The Heaven Realm Kingdom had been established through Xu Nian'an's machinations. It had once been a super-province of the Star Luo Empire, with a population of over a million.
Now it was under the control of the empress, Ma Xiaotao.
It was a country that yearned for freedom and peace.
"The Yunluo Principality donates five million Gold Soul Coins unconditionally to Great Ming's borderlands!"
The situation was rather amusing.
To the west of the Star Luo Empire lay another country called Yunluo. Because of its small territory and sparse population, it had been classified as a principality.
Every country on the continent had received an invitation to Great Ming's military parade, and they had all come.
Even the Pelagi Kingdom, ceded after Emperor Xue Ye signed the treaty of surrender, had sent a representative.
"The Star Luo Empire presents a million in aid supplies..."
"The Heaven Dou Empire presents a million in supplies..."
···
Xu Fu read out the names of nearly every country still standing on the continent, but he left out two.
The Balak Kingdom and the Gilikris Kingdom.
Of the two, the Balak Kingdom had been ceded to the Great Ming Empire under the treaty of surrender signed by Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Xu Nian'an could understand why it didn't pay money or send supplies. The country—and all the generations who would live there—would belong to him eventually. It made sense that they wouldn't pay.
What Xu Nian'an couldn't understand was how a kingdom still on his list of enemies dared to refuse to pay and then show up at Great Ming's military parade as if it had every right to be there.
Was this parade really just a parade?
Wasn't it an open shakedown under the banner of a military parade?
Why did all those countries scramble to pay up?
They were trying to shed the label of "enemy of the Great Ming Empire," of course.
"Ahem..."
Xu Fu glanced toward the Gilikris Kingdom's representative on the platform, looking as though he wanted to say something but couldn't.
The representative of the Gilikris Kingdom paused, then slowly rose to his feet.
"Everyone, my Gilikris Kingdom only recently gained independence and is still developing. Please forgive us if we have fallen short in any way."
"Besides, before the war, my Gilikris Kingdom was at the heart of the Western Battlefield."
"So our economy is underdeveloped, and many people are displaced and going hungry. If we could receive some resources... Zzzzt!"
The holographic projection above Great Ming Square vanished in an instant.
Well, well. They'd come to Great Ming's military parade without paying, and now they even had the nerve to beg for sponsorship.
Xu Nian'an walked up, his face dark.
It was true that Xu Nian'an had ulterior motives for holding this parade, but it was also a way of giving them face.
He had offered them this way to pay up. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a parade—the Great Ming Iron Cavalry would have trampled them into the dirt.
Xu Nian'an had never imagined anyone would actually fail to get the hint.
"Good. Next, we thank the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Spirit Hall for their generous donations of one million each!"
That's right. Xu Nian'an hadn't spent a single coin on this parade. In fact, he'd made a fortune.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Spirit Hall had also provided support behind the scenes.
This was also Xu Nian'an's first face-to-face encounter with people from the Spirit Hall.
"Next, the parade... begins... Dear viewers, please look to your back right!"
Whoosh~!!!
Neighing horses suddenly rang out across the sky. On the empty expanse to the right behind Great Ming Square, a huge cavalry force appeared.
The cavalry wore silver armor and white robes, and a dark-yellow Soul Ring hovered over each of them. On closer inspection, each rider had a phantom behind him, holding a long spear and carrying a bow and arrows.
They were clearly Martial Souls and Soul Rings.
Whoosh~!!!
Beside the viewing box of the two great empires' envoys, the Spirit Hall's flag fluttered gently. But inside the box, everyone had panicked.
"This is a Martial Soul... cavalry... They actually have Soul Power, and they've become Soul Masters!"
A Spirit Hall elder's eyes flew wide open.
There were nearly a hundred riders in this cavalry force.
So many people, with nearly identical Martial Souls—how could the Spirit Hall have no records of them?
"Kill!!!!"
Before they could even react,
a deafening roar rang out, and golden light blazed.
A moment later, a formation of Dragon Armor Infantry marched slowly forward.
There were fewer than a hundred of them in the ranks, but the terrifying thing was that every one of them had a thousand-year Soul Ring as their first!
"This... How is this possible?!"
A feminine voice rang out from within the Spirit Hall!