Chapter 667: Between Light & Light (V)

"Sigh..."

Standing on the sleek, towering platform, Carl let out a helpless sigh. He put his hand to his forehead and stared into the distance. But he didn't see what he had expected.

"Could Royal Highness have gotten the time wrong..."

He murmured under his breath and couldn't calm his anxiousness. Then, this pitiful old man turned around and looked down the flight of steps at the clamoring, disgusting mass of people by both sides of the road. As the diplomatic envoy of the Munn Kingdom, Carl knew that these people weren't there to welcome Lydia. Instead, they were holding a protest against her. This had become an annual program for the people of the Country of Light whenever the Dragon Soul Ceremony was held. They would raise highly all sorts of portraits with dishonoring slogans to 'welcome' the ruler of the Munn Kingdom. Not only that, but Carl also knew that this was undoubtedly the trick of the Light Parliament. But what could he do to them? The Light Parliament announced that their people had the freedom and privilege to enjoy parades and Carl could only watch from behind as the crowd treated Lydia like a joke. However, Lydia was indeed a figure beyond expectations. She had participated in the Dragon Soul Ceremony annually and had never been bothered by the hateful crowd as though the deafening clamors were nonexistent.

Carl had arrived in the Country of Light a month ago to begin preparations to receive the guests. Independent duchies and territories would normally dispatch their diplomatic envoys to get in touch with the Light Parliament. However, Lydia took things one step further. After she took over the throne, she revoked the envoy stationed in the Light Capital with the reason that the Munn Royal Family were the subordinates of the Light Dragon Soul and there was no reason for them to report to the Light Parliament. If the Light Parliament wished to contact the Munn Kingdom, they could dispatch their envoys to the Munn Kingdom or report to the Light Dragon Soul directly.

The Light Parliament was naturally discontent as Lydia's methods obviously treated the Light Dragon Soul and Light Parliament as separate existence. All this while, the Light Parliament had been considering themselves as the 'supervisor' of the Light Dragon Soul. But Lydia's actions clearly told them that they had nothing to do with the Light Dragon Soul and they should stop taking the name of a great cause as their shield.

Due to this reason, the Munn Kingdom didn't have any diplomatic envoy in the Country of Light. They would dispatch men to the Country of Light a month before the start of the Dragon Soul Ceremony in preparation to receive their great ruler. Of course, the Country of Light deliberately made things difficult for the Munn Kingdom. However, they didn't dare go too overboard because they would be at the losing end if Lydia knew about it and cut down the sum of money offered to the Light Dragon Soul.

Even though there would be parades at this period of time every year, the situation was a little different this year. Carl scanned the high-raised written slogans in the parade.

"Evil dictator! Get out of this land of freedom!"

"Release the Reformist Party! Return their freedom and justice!

"Cruel murderer! Your hands are stained with the blood of Humans, but we will never back down!"

"Angels are a group of whores! Get off the surface that belongs to us Humans!"

"Oppose the vicious suppression! Oppose the bloody massacre! Lydia has to apologize to the Humans! Angels have no right to conduct trials on Human behaviors!"

"Get out of here! The Country of Light doesn't welcome you! Dictator! Tyrant!"

"Make the South independent! That's their rights! They should be free!"

"Suppressing the freedom-seekers is a disgraceful move! We have no need for friendship with a tyrant!"

The written slogans were strangely glaring under the beaming sun. Some of them even lifted a portrait of a prostitute with a pair of blackened, rotten wings and Lydia's head. The prostitute spread her legs wide with a heavy, bold 'X' between her legs.

Carl felt his blood boiling in wrath. He wished so hard that he had the spiritual power to roast all the hateful and disgusting people to corpses. But now, all he could do was to wait for Lydia's arrival. He wasn't sure what she would feel if she saw the disrespectful signs. Carl lifted his head and gazed into the distance. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the glaring sun rays. However, he soon realized that the spotlessly white clouds shrouding the entire sky dispersed as a long, an enormous object that broke through the cotton-like layer of cloud.

What... is that?

Carl widened his eyes in astonishment. An incredibly gigantic magic warship emerged from the clouds. Its flawlessly white, towering hull glittered in sacred radiance under the passionate sun. This massive presence slowly descended along with the wind and silenced the noisy haters instantly. The haters opened their eyes wide. The warship brought about an incomparable pressure before them, as though a floating mountain was above them. No one was sure if it wouldn't come crashing down on them.

In an instant, the bustling noises were muted.

"It seems like there's a large group welcoming us warmly down there." Rhode gazed at the dense mass of people. As the warship descended, he saw all the various written slogans and portraits raised highly in their hands. Even though he couldn't read the text clearly from the far distance, he knew that they weren't saying anything nice.

There's so many people. There must be thousands of them...

Rhode was entranced as he scanned the crowd. At the same time, he was fantasizing the moment this Saint Lady Vessel stripped off its veil and reveal the rows of magic cannons to raze the entire capital to the ground. Soaring blaze. Flying limbs. Screams and blood-curdling screeches. Crimson blood that stained the roads. Thoroughly mashed corpses lying flat across the ground. Not good. He almost drooled at his delusions.

Rhode wiped off the non-existent saliva from the corner of his lips. At this moment, the sound of the deep bugle horn filled the sky.

The show was about to start.

The gigantic warship adjusted its direction in the strong winds and leaned toward the tall platform. Then, a metallic flight of stairs was released from above that connected to the ground. Shortly after, the group stepped down the flight of stairs following Lydia's lead.

Lydia donned a splendid dress for the event. But compared to what she usually wore in the Munn Kingdom, this dress was rather 'conservative': a white dress with golden outlines and embroidered with the mark of the Munn Kingdom wrapping her curvy body closely. Gaya and Amund followed closely behind her. The black-haired young lady presented her usual, aloof expression, carrying her precious harp in her hands. The elderly Mage held his staff and displayed a calm, steady face. Marlene, Lize, Derick, and the others were the next to follow.

"This..."

The crowd was left speechless. Lydia's representative team was mainly filled with young, rising talents. Even though they were mostly capable, they had basically never been to the Country of Light. This was because they were mainly the pillars and heirs of their large families in the Munn Kingdom. Due to the sinister relationship between the two nations, the Country of Light surely wouldn't mind causing some trouble for the families. If any of these people died in the Country of Light, it would be too much of a loss for the families. Due to this reason, the young people mainly never went to the Country of Light. However, they were reminded by Rhode before they stepped down from the warship that they would face hostile treatment here. But even so, they had never imagined that the Country of Light's people were this unfriendly. Just look at the written slogans in their hands. Damn it. That's totally blasphemy!

"Oh my goodness... I thought I've just arrived in an enemy country..."

The female scholar in golden-framed spectacles sucked in a deep, cold air and mumbled under her breath. But shortly after, Rhode's voice pulled her out to her senses.

"This IS an enemy country, Miss Cohen. Stand strong. Don't let them see your weak side. They're gathering here to make a joke out of us. If we look weak to them, we may even become the laughing stock of the Munn Kingdom."

"What should we do, Leader? Should Anne give them a good bashing?"

Anne asked curiously with clenched fists while the others turned to Rhode. Rhode had entirely convinced this group of people with his experiences and erudition over these few days. Perhaps due to the differences in standpoints and identities, Rhode's reputation in this representative team was one of the highest.

"I don't mind if you can handle all of them."

Rhode didn't sound like he wanted to stop Anne at all.

"Staying calm will do. Don't take their words to heart. Everyone, you're nobles while they're civilians. You should know what to do. Perhaps you can also try to block out their meaningless clamor and treat as though they are welcoming us wholeheartedly."

Rhode paused for a moment. Then, he revealed a gentle smile.

"Like this."

Rhode extended his arm and waved warmly to the civilians, leaving them exasperated. They pushed forward and berated at Rhode while pointing their fingers.

"Lackey of the tyrant! How dare you smile and even be willing to become the slave of the Angels!"

"Get out of our country! We don't welcome you!"

"You aren't suited to be a Human! Bastard! You're nothing more than a lover of that Angel whore!"

The smile on Rhode's face remain unchanged. He perambulated along the carpet and waved his hand continuously. Perhaps due to the overwhelming pressure that they felt from the massive warship from Munn Kingdom, the civilians blew their tops. They decided to use all their strength to show the tyrant's lackey that even the strongest violence wasn't enough to stop them from upholding justice and determination!

"You see. They're getting even more furious now. Don't you think that's kinda fun?"

Rhode turned around and said to the group behind him.