Chapter 766: 602 Completely uncooperative
Descending from the airship, the massive Imperial Palace and a host of brilliant golden buildings were hanging in mid-air, their splendor accentuated by the sunlight. Runes rose continuously around the buildings, maintaining their positions in the sky. Ai Lin strolled along, marvelling at the sight. Girls were often drawn to such spectacles. Ai Lin mused, even Long Yi would find this sight intriguing if he was here.
Well, not necessarily—after all, Long Yi is a Giant, and these Floating Islands were created by his kind.
Before they could enter the palace, a group of guards performed their routine inspections. The magic was swept over everyone, not even sparing Crown Prince St. Antonio. When the scan reached Ai Lin, a set of runes automatically sprung from her, obliterating the magic in mid-air.
The guard conducting the search immediately went on alert, his magic staff pointed at Ai Lin. As the staff glowed, the Red Demon Scorpion on Ai Lin’s head jumped down, returning to its original size, its lethal stinger glistening ominously.
"The Red Demon Scorpion!"
"Dammit! Isn’t this creature supposed to be in the Underground City?"
"Quick, call for back-up!"
"Guards! Hold on! This creature is my father’s guest! Here is my father’s decree!"
Crown Prince St. Antonio hurried forward, opening his hands, manifesting text and a seal unique to the Royal House with his magic. The guards immediately lowered their weapons, Ai Lin turned, gave a gentle pat on the Red Demon Scorpion’s claw. Hissing with disdain, the scorpion fled back to Ai Lin’s head, transforming back into a hair ornament.
As they proceeded, Crown Prince St. Antonio’s heartbeat quickened. Yes! He had deliberately not shown the guards the decree earlier. He wanted the guards to provoke Ai Lin! He wanted everyone to see Ai Lin’s power! Ai Lin’s strength was his strength!
He was sure that everything that happened outside the palace had been witnessed by many. Every moment, someone was watching, and today was no exception!
Ai Lin might be powerful, but he and his mentor, Axiga, had studied her carefully. They surmised this girl to be a disciple of a powerful mage from the Sanctuary. Despite her strength, she seemed naive and unfamiliar with worldly matters. She didn’t even recognize a fragment of the Cosmic Stone. If she hadn’t sensed it instinctively, she might’ve left clueless. One must know, the power of the Cosmic Stone is legendary in the multi-verse. It was the core material the Giants used to create the cosmos! Each Cosmic Stone represented a universe! Enough to attest to the frightening potential of the Cosmic Stone! Even minor fragments of it possessed endless power, enough to fascinate any mage from the Sanctuary.
Ai Lin’s indifference was perceived by Crown Prince St. Antonio as an opportunity, an opportunity for him to rise to power! Although she was formidable, she was definitely not smarter than him! He planned to masterfully control her!
Today! Crown Prince St. Antonio would rise!
Crown Prince St. Antonio, who usually kept his head down to avoid revealing his eyes, raised his head high today, puffing his chest out. He was confident that today, he would reach new heights!
Ai Lin, strolling beside Crown Prince St. Antonio, was struggling to suppress her laughter. Looking at Crown Prince St. Antonio’s demeanor, she instantly thought of a phrase.
A paper tiger.
This Crown Prince St. Antonio sure had a lot of confidence. Did he think that she would undoubtedly help him? Did he see her as a clueless girl?
Well, she might be young, but she wasn’t foolish. She was well aware of the various manipulations among those at high positions! Although being with Long Yi had offered her peace of mind to not think about these matters anymore, that didn’t mean Ai Lin wasn’t aware of them!
What’s more... she was incredibly strong!
Powered by mana, the heavy doors of the palace slowly lifted, revealing nothing but a simple mechanism within. Only a nation built upon mana could afford such a use of it.
Entering the palace, the long hall was lined with tall statues. Crown Prince St. Antonio informed Ai Lin that the statues on the right represented the Emperors of The Divine Auffa Empire and those on the left were the sculptures of the Chief Mages who had served each Emperor. The Emperors appeared to be all middle aged or older, while the Chief Mages varied in gender and age.
There were no visible signs of carving on the statues, most likely a result of magic.
After leaving the hallway, a wide, concave structure like half a bowl awaited them. The Emperor was seated on a high throne. An elderly man in a white robe standing next to the Emperor had nine radiant stars of mana shining on his chest.
"Nine stars of mana, he has five more than your Second Brother." Ai Lin murmured quietly.
"Even though there’s just a difference of five stars, it means all the difference in the world!" Crown Prince St. Antonio spoke fervently, clearly desiring the nine golden stars of mana.
At this point, all the ministers settling in were closely eyeing Ai Lin.
About ten days ago, the Second Prince, Saint Julio, had his arm sliced off by someone at the Teleportation Gate. Rumour had it that it was the act of this girl. Afterwards, Third Prince St. Antonio left with this girl, and Saint Julio had been demanding her from him. But St. Antonio had managed to play dumb until today, when he decided to bring up the matter at The Divine Auffa Empire’s highest bi-monthly council meeting.
The lofty Emperor was also observing Ai Lin.
Actually, the Emperor had gotten word of this matter from Axiga. As the mentor appointed by the Emperor to the princes, Axiga’s words held credibility. Hence, the Emperor did nothing. In his eyes, Saint Julio merely suffered the consequences of his own recklessness. If you have the power, fight back. If not, suck it up.
Now, as he watched Ai Lin, who was innocently looking around with curiosity, unfazed by the solemn council, he noticed her walk, clearly a result of high-class etiquette training. While she possessed a strong, un-lady-like demeanor, it did nothing to detract from her unique beauty.
"You are Ai Lin?"
As the Emperor spoke, the murmurs of the ministers around him quickly faded into silence.
"Greetings, your Majesty. I am Ai Lin."
Ai Lin bowed her head only as a younger person does to an elder.
"How dare you! Kneel before the Divine Emperor!"
The ritual officer near the Emperor scolded loudly.
"Are you joking with me? He may be your Emperor, but he isn’t mine."
Ai Lin retorted confidently.
"Nonsense! The bloodline of the Emperor is sacred and noble! This is agreed upon throughout the multiverse! Even if he is not your emperor, wouldn’t you kneel down?"
The elderly man besides the Emperor chided.
"Noble bloodline?" Ai Lin asked with a laugh.
"Absolutely noble!"
"What about the Giants then?"
"Well...the Giants are the most noble bloodline under the Creator God...and they’re the creators of our races..." The old man may be proud, but within the multiverse, there’s really nothing that comes close to being comparable with the Giants. In the multiverse, most races admit only one fact - if not for the Giants, many races might not have been able to develop their current civilizations, they might have been destroyed by the harsh living environment long ago. Therefore, when the topic of Giants is brought up, even the proudest people wouldn’t dare utter a word of disrespect.
So, these people are also created by the Giants? No wonder they look almost identical to humans! The last shred of mystery about these people has been dispelled.
"So, if the Giant bloodline is that noble, are there any historical records of the Giants kneeling before other creatures?" Ai Lin asked again.
Speechless, the old man fell silent. Isn’t it true that all records about Giants involve them assisting other races, unconditionally, selflessly?
"Behold, so don’t show off your bloodline anymore. No matter how noble the bloodline, if you amputate their arm, they will cry too."
With that, Ai Lin casually glanced to one side.
In that direction, the chilling gaze of Prince Saint Julio had already begun brewing with rage: Ai Lin’s remark had ignited his fury.
"I will kill you! Where are my soldiers! Kill her for me! Whoever deals the fatal blow, I will reward the Titan Wand!" Prince Saint Julio roared. His entire face was distorted with anger. Yet, while he screamed loudly, he only took a few steps forward and was quickly barred by the guards.
"See?" Ai Lin remained motionless, still looking at the old man beside the Emperor, "He has such a noble bloodline, yet he is a coward at heart. He doesn’t even have the courage to confront the enemy who severed his arm directly. I cannot bear this bit, flirting with a girl and got his arm cut instead. What a disgrace it would be if this were known to others."
Ai Lin spoke at length, flaunting the art of infuriating adversaries that she had learned from Long Yi, to the extent that Prince Saint Julio was about to be blown up by rage. But he didn’t dare to advance! Prince Saint Julio was no fool, he knew very well of Ai Lin’s power. He didn’t even see clearly how Ai Lin had managed to amputate his arm in the first place!
Now, there was a faint white mark in the middle of Prince Saint Julio’s left arm. He clenched it tightly as if it was throbbing a sharp pain again.
"Enough!" The old man near the Emperor shouted, "Miss Ai Lin! Did you come here just to provoke!?"
His roar contained a Mana Impact and a Mental Impact, causing the guards around Ai Lin to stagger.
"I didn’t want to come, you invited me." Ai Lin grinned. This minor Mana Impact and Mental Impact were completely ineffective. Long Yi’s legion had undergone a series of mental impact training under Little Zi, the master of mental power. Compared to that, this little mental impact felt like a soft breeze.
"Father, Master August. Please calm down. I invited Miss Ai Lin to come here to explain this matter."
Prince St. Antonio finally spoke up, speaking politely.
Prince St. Antonio knew that the situation was ripe. He had been silent for waiting for the right moment. He guessed that with Ai Lin’s temper, that seemed obviously spoiled by her powerful master, she would soon cause a lot of troubles here. He decided to wait for the right moment, wait till the trouble was big enough, but not yet out of control, then he would step forward.
And the time, was now.
"So, Miss Ai Lin, are you going to explain?"
Master August beside the Emperor began to speak, his voice full of dissatisfaction.
"Absolutely no need." said Ai Lin, "If you want me to leave, I’ll leave. If you want to kill me, you’ll have to see if you have enough strength."
Ai Lin decided to act defiant. Having witnessed Long Yi entertaining enemies in this manner, Ai Lin had always wanted to try it out herself. Now that opportunity arose, she couldn’t help but feel thrilled by the infuriating effect!
Prince St. Antonio originally thought that he had given Ai Lin a leeway, and as long as she offered a slight explanation, he would add some decorative words, and it would soon be over. By then, Ai Lin would surely be grateful for his assistance, coupled with his good-looking appearance, she would soon notice his charm...
But Ai Lin surprisingly did not cooperate at all! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it on qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.
