Time flies.
The tranquil and picturesque Chambord City gradually became lively.
In less than four days, young King Alexander will turn eighteen and be eligible to receive investiture from Her Highness the Grand Princess of the Zenit Empire on behalf of Emperor Yassin, thus officially ascending the throne and becoming the 8th King of the sixth-rank vassal state of Kingdom of Chambord.
In the past two weeks, Chambord City has experienced a great deal of events. During this process, Alexander has risen to an incredible level, transforming from a fool ridiculed by everyone into the supreme and true King in the hearts of the people of Chambord City. Therefore, everyone in the country is looking forward to this day.
As the time drew near, everyone was happily preparing for the king's coronation ceremony.
Everything was made way for the coronation ceremony. Even Best and Brook, the two military and political giants of Chambord City who were extremely busy dealing with the upcoming military and political reforms, had put down their heavy work and begun to devote all their energy to the preparations for King Alexander's coronation ceremony.
According to the tradition of Chambord City, the coronation ceremony was held on the summit of the East Mountain in the city. Four days later, when the first golden rays of the morning sun burst forth from the sea of clouds, it was the moment when Alexander ascended the throne.
Despite Sun Fei's repeated requests to simplify the celebration ceremony, large quantities of supplies for the ceremony were still carried up the steep summit of East Mountain every day. Everyone was determined to make this coronation ceremony a grand event for Chambord City. Alexander's previous performance had completely won over the hearts of the city's residents, and most people were willing to accept the rule of such a benevolent and loving ruler. Men, women, young and old alike rushed to contribute money, strength, supplies, and manpower, all joining the preparations for the celebration ceremony.
To the great surprise of many, the Holy Church's Chambord City, Mazzola and Luciano, also joined the service. The church's monks and knights showed unprecedented enthusiasm, providing substantial financial support. Mazzola and Luciano personally ascended to the top of the East Mountain to pray and celebrate Mass every morning with utmost piety, as if it were not Alexander who would be enthroned as king in four days, but His Holiness Pope Sergiyeli.
Meanwhile, guests from afar also entered Chambord City.
Upon hearing the news that Alexander was about to come of age and ascend the throne, many small states around Chambord City, which were also vassal states of the Zenit Empire, sent envoys to offer their congratulations. Of course, out of the 250 vassal states of the Zenit Empire, only a very, very small number came to offer their congratulations. After all, Chambord City was only a sixth-rank vassal state, and it was still uncertain whether it could maintain its sixth-rank vassal state status in the upcoming imperial military exercises. Weak states have no external support, and the same principle applies to the Azeroth Continent.
In the early morning, birds sing and flowers bloom.
The King's Council Chamber.
In the center of the main hall, clear water flowed gently in a small pond, and red fish playfully swung their tails. On the stone chairs on both sides of the pond, the leaders of Chambord City were gathered together, holding a 'People's Congress' in preparation for the upcoming King Alexander.
This was an expanded meeting. In addition to military and political leaders and nobles, some highly respected and virtuous individuals from across the country were also invited to attend.
On the first stone chair to the left of the throne, the herald Best is presenting the information he has compiled.
"... Prince Obina of the Kingdom of Seles, Prince Modric of the Kingdom of Reich, Prince Da Lei of the Kingdom of Shenhua, Ambassador Neto of Black Rock City, Ambassador of Chanba Kingdom, Ambassador of Luneng Kingdom, Jin'ao Kingdom, Jinshan Kingdom, Evergrande Kingdom, Remer Kingdom..." The handsome old man Best rattled off the names of more than twenty countries before raising his head and slowly looking at the people sitting on the stone chairs in the hall. He continued, "This is the list of envoys from various countries who have come to congratulate His Majesty Alexander on his formal acceptance of investiture."
"Even the third-class vassal state of Kingdom of Xerez has sent people?" Brook, sitting on the first stone chair to Sun Fei's right, frowned slightly upon hearing this, as if he had thought of something, and exclaimed in surprise, "Haven't they always maintained good relations with Black Rock City? They've even sent Prince Obinna, one of the so-called 250 vassal King [ Five Eagles ]?"
" Five Eagles?" Sun Fei keenly caught the word.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Among the 250 vassal states under the Zenit Empire, many young masters have emerged from the Prince of various royal families. Each of them is exceptionally talented and has received substantial support from their respective royal families. They are collectively referred to by many as the [ Ten Heroes ], [Nine Heroes], [Eight Outstanding Individuals], [Seven Wolves ], [Six Heroes], [Five Eagles], [ Five Eagles ], [Three Madmen], [Two Hidden Figures], and [One Sword ]. Prince Obinna of the Kingdom of Xerez is one of the [ Five Eagles ], the [ Winged Eagle ], and it is rumored that he has already reached the Four-Star Class of strength. In addition, the Kingdom of Xerez is a third-class vassal state, but it has always been very close to our mortal enemy Black Rock City, and can be considered one of Chambord City's potential enemies. I didn't expect that they would send someone to attend Your Majesty's coronation ceremony, and the person who came was [ Winged Eagle ] Obinna... I suspect that they have come with ill intentions."
Upon hearing Sun Fei's question, Brook immediately stood up and gave a brief introduction to the origins of the Five Eagles, while also concisely explaining the relationship between Chambord City and the Kingdom of Xerez.
Sun Fei nodded, understanding dawning on him.
The fact that a mere third-class vassal state possessed a Prince with around four-star strength slightly surprised Sun Fei. Moreover, besides the [ Five Eagles ], there were also the [ Ten Heroes ], [Nine Heroes], [Eight Outstanding Individuals], [ Seven Wolves ], [Six Heroes], [Four Blades], [Three Madmen], [Two Hidden Figures], and [ One Sword ]. These individuals were clearly not ordinary people, especially the ten individuals ranked before the four-star [ Five Eagles ]: [Four Blades], [Three Madmen], [Two Hidden Figures], and [ One Sword ]. Their strength was obviously even more terrifying.
This discovery suddenly gave Sun Fei a sense of urgency, making him feel like he was looking down on the world's heroes and was being narrow-minded... He had thought that Chambord City was developing well recently, but now it seemed that it was far from enough, and relying solely on the [ Hulk Potion ] was not enough.
"However, apart from that, the fourth-class vassal state of Kingdom of Lake has always maintained good relations with Chambord City. King Blanco of Kingdom of Lake and Your Majesty's father were once very close, addressing each other as brothers. This time, the young Prince Modrić, who has come to offer his congratulations, is only sixteen years old but has already ranked among the top Ten Heroes among the two hundred and fifty King of the Zenit Empire's vassal states, possessing the strength of Peak of Two Stars. His future is limitless. I believe Your Majesty should personally receive Prince Modrić," Best suggested.
"Okay, you take care of the arrangements for receiving the envoys. Just let me know when you have the results."
Sun Fei was a bit overwhelmed by this kind of meeting. The countless trivial matters piled up and were too tedious. It wasn't something he liked. After thinking for a moment, he simply dumped the task on his future father-in-law Best, Brook, and the others. Then, shamelessly, he dusted himself off and slipped away, turning around and leaving the main hall.
The assembled officials in the main hall looked at each other in bewilderment.
How many people in this world yearn to ascend the throne, and how many, once on the throne, clutch their power tightly, fearing that even a fraction of it will be taken away? But Alexander was the complete opposite, avoiding it as if it were a plague. Such King was truly extraordinary, but how could the ministers in the palace possibly bear it?
"Let's... continue our discussion."
Best shook his head with a wry smile, "I will report the final result to His Majesty for a decision."
There was no way around it; it was one thing for the son-in-law to be lazy and unhelpful, but the father-in-law, even for the sake of his precious daughter, couldn't be lazy and had to honestly help his lazy son-in-law clean up his mess.
The back mountain of Chambord City, formerly the Iron Prison Dungeon Square.
This place had long been designated as a forbidden area and was completely sealed off. Of course, on the surface, there was no sign of anything amiss. The guards were the same as before, only four or five, standing lazily at the entrance of the stone fortress, extremely lax. But in secret, the Twenty-Two Warriors of the Stone Bridge were each patrolling quietly along the mountain passes and forks in a strange route. Even if a mosquito flew in, it would be detected immediately.
As the King, Sun Fei had unimpeded access to the forbidden area. He walked straight into the underground grotto city of Mi without any hindrance.
This dark, sunless underground cave has now undergone a complete transformation.
Compared to the tranquility outside, the inside was a scene of bustling activity, with the clanging and banging of metal and stone echoing everywhere. Warden Oleg and Captain Petr Čech of the King's Guard were directing more than a hundred carefully selected soldiers to renovate the Iron Prison Dungeon according to the animal skin scroll blueprints provided by Sun Fei.
The more than one hundred soldiers working there were elite soldiers selected by Brook from among all the people of Chambord City according to Sun Fei's previous orders. They were of good character, loyal and reliable, and after being refined by the diluted [ Hulk Potion ], their strength had greatly increased. Although none of them had yet been able to advance to the Star-Rank Warrior, each of them had a physical strength of at least a thousand catties, making them strong and powerful, absolutely comparable to the twenty-two warriors in the previous battle at the stone bridge. After being trained by the master Petr Čech, they were disciplined and had already begun to take the shape of an Iron Army.
The once eerie and terrifying Iron Prison Dungeon are gradually changing their appearance.
Many bloodstained iron bars and instruments of torture have been removed. In the Dashi hall deep in the passageway, which is as spacious as the interior of a skyscraper, more than a dozen iron furnaces have been set up. The best blacksmiths in Chambord City, along with their apprentices and with the help of soldiers, are constantly melting down the iron bars that have been delivered and remelting them. They are creating new and bizarre things according to the blueprints provided by Sun Fei. These things are not swords or armor, but mostly strange props that many people cannot understand.
I went to transfer money to my younger brother at noon today, and it took an hour to wait in line at the China Construction Bank. I'm really sorry.
Two more chapters to go.
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