On the third day after Lynn's return, the Upper City Council held a special meeting.
The main hall of Saint Garus Castle.
Normally, this place is the stage where nobles vie for power, but today the huge hall is so quiet you can hear someone breathing.
The hall was packed.
The patriarchs of Twelve Star Families were present, and the back rows of the audience seats were packed to capacity, with the lesser nobles holding their breath in silence.
They all avoided looking at the lonely, empty chair directly below the head of the table.
That's the governor's seat.
Everyone is waiting for the one who crawls back from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood within the Forbidden Wall to slay the leader of the Orks Twins Gang.
He subdued the savages of the icy plains and was worshipped by all the people Emperor's Chosen.
Kerry von.
The heavy alloy door was pushed open, and Lynn walked in right on time.
He was dressed in the governor's uniform, with a white animal skin cloak draped over his shoulders.
Lynn didn't look at anyone, walked straight to the empty seat, flicked his cloak, and calmly sat down.
The movements were slow and gentle, but the moment he sat down, the atmosphere in the entire hall seemed to become even more oppressive.
The meeting officially began.
The first half was still so boring.
Lynn finally looked up when the agenda was halfway through.
"Gentlemen, I intend to launch an expedition against Dorito to completely eliminate the Orks threat."
After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.
Dorito, the Orks ' stronghold, is also a sword of Damocles hanging over Brevis's head.
Everyone knows the Orks are a major threat, but no one dares to mention the expedition.
That meant burning money and bleeding, and it meant that nobles had to take real money out of their own pockets.
Lynn's gaze swept across the room, his tone flat:
"But expeditions require resources; ships need repair, soldiers need to be fed, and cannons need to be built. Each of these requires your support."
"So the reason I invited everyone here today is to discuss how much each of you can contribute."
The entire room fell silent for a few seconds.
The nobles exchanged quick glances.
His eyes held fear of Lynn's record, hesitation about spending his life, and a hidden sense of luck.
They all knew that Lynn now held military power and his prestige was at its zenith.
No one dared to disobey the Emperor's Chosen status, so it was impossible for him not to pay.
But the greed and arrogance in his heart were at play.
Even if the governor is powerful, can he really exterminate these nobles who have been rooted in the main territory for thousands of years?
Lynn took in every expression.
There was no rushing or interrogation.
The silence lasted for a full half minute.
In the oppressive atmosphere, a voice finally broke the silence from the back row, deliberately adopting a relaxed and flattering tone.
"Since the Governor-General has personally spoken, we will naturally offer our full assistance, however..."
The speaker was the patriarch of the Loren Family, which ranked lower among the Twelve Star Families. He was a well-maintained, overweight man in his forties.
"I've long heard that Your Excellency fought a bloody battle at the Forbidden Wall, narrowly escaping death. You must be very thirsty."
The fat man rubbed his hands together, his tone becoming increasingly obsequious.
"In that case, if the adult could drink ten cups of Dorito wine in a row..."
"Just ten cups, and our Loren Family is willing to provide one hundred million tons of grain!"
Dorito wine, produced on that agricultural planet overrun by Orks people, is the most prestigious and potent wine in the Brevis aristocratic circle.
These words caused the entire room to fall silent once again.
But this silence lasted only a moment before a few scattered voices of agreement broke out.
"Yes, yes, yes! Your Excellency has a great capacity for alcohol; ten cups of wine are nothing to you!"
"My family is in on it too! One cup of wine, ten million tons of grain!"
"Me too! Me too! Your Excellency, please drink as much as you like!"
The jeers grew louder and louder, and the previously suppressed fear was dispelled by this brief burst of cheers.
These nobles weren't afraid of Lynn; they had long been prepared for a huge financial loss today.
Lynn's military power, prestige, and battle record are all there; it's absolutely impossible for him to avoid paying a price.
But now, I can play a trick on this arrogant governor before I bleed.
Watching him make a fool of himself in public, even if only for a moment, satisfies their pitiful sense of superiority.
Fear was temporarily suppressed, while wishful thinking and folly sprouted up like wild grass.
Carter's face instantly turned ashen, and veins bulged on his forehead.
But just as he was about to get up, Lynn gently raised his hand.
Carter paused, looking at Lynn in surprise.
Then he smiled; this is how someone destined for greatness should be.
Lynn showed no anger, only a faint smile.
He raised his hand, picked up the first glass of Dorito wine on the table, and drank it all in one gulp without any hesitation.
The scarlet liquid slid down my throat, its fiery intensity instantly engulfing my throat.
But his expression remained calm, as if he were drinking water, not strong liquor.
He put down the empty glass, picked up the second one, and drank it all again.
One cup after another, the movements were fluid and without pause.
On his throne, High King Caladogon raised his eyelids, his indifferent gaze sweeping over Lynn, who was drinking.
Then she gently closed her eyes and sighed silently.
Even before Lynn returned, he had already made concessions to this Emperor's Chosen.
He had already thoroughly investigated most of the nobles who had planned the attack on Lynn last time, and had handed them over to Carter along with their assets.
That was merely a superficial display of "sincerity," a small gift for Lynn when they first met.
The rest of the people were those he specifically reserved for Lynn.
So that when he comes back, he'll have someone to vent to.
This is also the most fitting approach for the return of the frontier war god.
But now, Lynn neither got angry nor made a scene; instead, he stayed here drinking with these good-for-nothings.
Caladogon's brow furrowed even deeper.
This abnormal calm, in fact, foreshadows something even more intense about to happen.
The ninth glass of wine went down my throat.
A faint blush finally appeared on Lynn's face.
But his eyes remained clear, showing no sign of drunkenness.
He picked up the tenth cup.
The entire audience held their breath.
All the jeering nobles stared wide-eyed, their eyes gleaming with excitement.
Nine glasses! This arrogant governor really did drink nine glasses of the strongest Dorito wine!
If they just drink this last cup, they can go back and brag about it.
We made the invincible governor drink ten cups of wine!
Having gained so much face, they are willing to spend money and resources on it later, even feeling it's an "honor."
But Lynn didn't drink it.
He raised his head, his purple eyes sweeping across the entire room.
Wherever his gaze fell, the excited, greedy, and mocking looks instantly cooled down.
The temperature in the hall plummeted to freezing at that moment.
Lynn gave a signature smile, but it was devoid of any warmth.
The next second, he suddenly flipped his wrist.
Bright red liquid poured down, splashing and splashing at the feet.
Lynn tossed away the empty glass, turned around, and strode straight toward the hall door.
He didn't say anything more.
The heavy alloy door slammed shut behind him with a loud bang.
Like a death knell, it tolled in the heart of every nobleman.
The hall fell silent once more.
The fawning smile on the face of the Loren patriarch, who had made the initial suggestion, froze.
He opened his mouth as if to say something, to explain that he was just joking, but found his throat as dry as sandpaper.
He turned his head sharply, as if grasping at the last straw, staring intently at Caladogon in the main seat, his eyes filled with desperate pleading.
High King! Save me! I was just confused for a moment!
Caladogon merely glanced at him indifferently.
That glance was devoid of any emotion.
He then turned his throne around, turning his back to the entire arena.
This completely shut out the panic and pleas of all the nobles.
Chief Loren's legs gave way, and he could no longer support himself, collapsing heavily into the chair, his face ashen.
"It's over..."
The other nobles finally realized what was happening, their faces turning ashen, and they trembled uncontrollably.
They finally remembered what they had just done.
They were mocking a war god who had just killed two Orks leaders at the Forbidden Wall and single-handedly turned the tide of the battle.
They are also personally certified by the Emperor as chosen ones, bearing the destiny of the gods.
They provoked someone they couldn't afford to offend in the most foolish way possible.
Fear, like a howling wind across an icy plain, filled the entire council hall, chilling them to the bone.