Perhaps because they had learned from the previous lesson, this time, the Alliance had sealed off the surrounding area early and placed layers of soldiers on guard.
The Alliance clearly attached enormous importance to today’s conference.
After all, if another incident like the last one happened, the Alliance would truly be finished. Those officials who were usually so high and mighty would have to resign in utter disgrace.
It could be said that today’s conference was not merely a simple meeting. It also concerned whether the Alliance could rebuild its prestige among the various interstellar races.
For this reason, the Alliance had rarely chosen to livestream the entire conference to the public.
Camera robots the size of little bees filled the entire exhibition center, and the official livestream room had already flooded with a huge number of viewers.
Because this conference had been so disaster-prone, nearly dying halfway before it even began, and because of the bloody livestream from a few days ago, its popularity had remained high.
Even in the remotest corners of the star regions, people chose to connect to StarNet and take a look.
The popularity of the official livestream room continued to rise.
There was still some time before the conference began, but reporters had already begun waiting at the exhibition center. However, their attitudes were still relatively relaxed and casual.
The ones arriving now were all small races with little influence. There was almost no hot news to report from them, so the atmosphere had clearly not reached its liveliest point yet. Naturally, these reporters were all taking their time.
Their main target today was the Saint Clan.
Especially the Saint Clan sovereign and his child—the young man who had stolen the spotlight in the previous incident.
The discussions on StarNet about this father and son were no less heated than the incident itself.
Everyone was extremely curious.
Had that Saint Clan tyrant really had a child? What was the relationship between this father and son really like? And... what exactly was the Saint Clan’s true attitude toward this little highness? Were the Saint Clan really as brutal as StarNet said?
A pile of questions circled in the reporters’ minds, making them like alert leopards, their eyes fixed fiercely on the entrance.
As a result, almost every race arriving at the scene was left somewhat bewildered by the grand formation of reporters beside them.
...Why did it feel like all these reporters were watching them like prey?
Suddenly, someone shouted, “Look up there!”
Up there?
What was up there?
The somewhat confused crowd followed those words and looked toward the sky.
The next moment, everyone froze.
[Am I seeing things?!]
[Which race is that? What an arrogant entrance...]
[Holy—! Is that a destruction-class warship?! I’ve never seen a destruction-class warship with my own eyes in my entire life!]
A massive warship was hovering above the square. It was a silver-white warship, its coldly gleaming metal hull outlined with large, intricate golden vine patterns.
It did not have the towering body of a giant fortress like Thanatos, but its design and appearance were almost absurdly beautiful.
The golden vines twined around the silver-white hull, making the entire warship look like a crown suspended above everyone’s heads.
And in the most conspicuous position, someone discovered a line of rather unusual small letters hidden among the vine patterns.
—ZhiZhi.
[ZhiZhi? What does that mean?]
[...Is that the name of this warship?]
[Such a huge warship is called ZhiZhi... It actually feels kind of cute?]
[Am I the only one curious how expensive this warship is? The materials on it seem to be the newest model...]
[I checked the price. An ordinary warship costs tens of millions of star coins, while a destruction-class warship costs over ten billion. For a specially customized one like this, the price has to be multiplied again.]
[Sorry for intruding. This poor ghost with a monthly salary of only five thousand star coins just burst into tears.]
For most viewers on StarNet, something as expensive as a warship was far too distant from them, so right now, most of them were simply marveling loudly at how extravagantly wealthy this warship looked.
But there were also some people who understood warships fairly well. With one glance, they recognized that the position where “ZhiZhi” appeared was usually where the ownership mark of a warship was placed.
Some races would mark their race’s name there to tell everyone that this warship belonged to their race.
And ZhiZhi clearly did not look like the name of a race or nation. Instead, it looked more like a person’s name. If it was a person’s name, then this warship belonged exclusively to an individual.
A privately owned destruction-class warship...
This sight could not help making them click their tongues.
This Z—
“Ah-choo!”
Just then, Wen Yuzhi could not help sneezing.
...Was someone saying bad things about him?
Wen Yuzhi held the little crown that had almost fallen off and thought this with his cheeks puffed out in slight gloom.
Bai Yi looked at the cub beside him with some concern. He stood up, wanting to fetch another coat and drape it over Wen Yuzhi.
Seeing this, Wen Yuzhi hurriedly shook his head and refused.
“No need. I’m not cold.”
They would be going down soon.
There were so many reporters below. If he went out wrapped up like a ball, how embarrassing would that be?
Bai Yi paused with the coat in his hand, then instead turned up the constant-temperature system inside the command room a little.
Mond stood to the side. Watching this series of actions from Prince Gallorans, he somehow felt as if he, the chief affairs officer, was about to “lose his job.”
Thinking this, Mond smiled and walked forward, asking Wen Yuzhi, “Is little highness satisfied with this warship?”
Wen Yuzhi nodded without hesitation.
“I like it very much.”
After saying that, Wen Yuzhi lifted his head and looked toward Mansendis.
“Thank you, Dad!”
Just as the StarNet viewers had guessed, this warship did indeed belong exclusively to an individual.
Because it was a gift Mansendis had given to his child.
All expenses had been paid by the Saint Clan sovereign himself. The best materials had been used, and the design and appearance had also followed the requirements Wen Yuzhi had once mentioned to the designer back in Ersoris.
As for the golden vine patterns and the name on it, those had been added at Mansendis’s request.
Without question, if one were to rank the most expensive gifts in the interstellar world, this warship would absolutely have a place on the list.
But it was only one among the many gifts a father had given his child. After it was built, Wen Yuzhi had not even once boarded it to take a look.
He had not expected Mansendis to choose this warship for their trip to the conference today.
“Perhaps because... His Majesty values this conference rather highly.”
Alvin explained with a smile.
After all, this warship engraved with their little highness’s name was undoubtedly the Saint Clan’s public face.
Hm? What kind of face?
Of course, the ZhiZhi brand.
There was no landing platform in front of the exhibition center, but fortunately, the square was large enough. When the gangway descended, the entire square abruptly fell silent.
“Tap, tap, tap—”
Neat, uniform footsteps rang out.
The first to walk down were rows of tall, upright Saint Clan soldiers. They wore black military uniforms, and beneath the brims of their hats, their faces were cold and solemn. From a distance, they looked like silent, ice-cold statues.
They separated and stood on either side, as if guarding something, and also as if welcoming someone to whom they were willing to devote their loyalty and lives.
The reporters hurriedly aimed their cameras at the hatch, and they quickly captured a shocking scene.
Under everyone’s breathless gaze, the figure of the silver-haired sovereign appeared unhurriedly at the hatch.
Under the high-definition cameras, the Saint Clan sovereign’s cold and handsome face appeared with exceptional clarity on the livestream screen.
How could one describe the shock of that instant?
The tall sovereign had long silver hair colder than frost and snow, and his golden eyes were noble and icy, like a blazing sun. They should have been the warmest color, yet on the silver-haired sovereign, they seemed cold, without the slightest trace of emotion or warmth.
Since he could have such a beautiful son, the Saint Clan sovereign’s appearance was naturally not inferior either.
The world had many definitions of beauty.
And this Saint Clan sovereign undoubtedly possessed the most aggressive beauty in the world. Like the strongest male lion on the grasslands, every word used to describe a powerful person could be reflected in him.
Mansendis wore a sovereign’s formal attire. His long cloak rolled around his feet, revealing its scarlet lining.
He was like a sword. That powerful and icy presence seemed capable of piercing straight through the screen and violently penetrating the hearts of every viewer, making them feel a suffocating tremor and fear.
There was no need for introduction or proof. The moment Mansendis appeared, everyone knew—
He was the highest authority of the Saint Clan.
He was also Mansendis Salileno, the one called a tyrant.
And behind him, Wen Yuzhi wore formal attire similar in style to Mansendis’s.
This overly intricate and gorgeous formalwear was already considered outdated in the current interstellar era, which favored novelty and individuality.
To put it nicely, it was retro. To put it bluntly, it was old-fashioned and behind the times.
But only today did everyone discover that this kind of intricate, gorgeous clothing suited the young man perfectly.
Wen Yuzhi’s features were already exquisitely beautiful to the extreme, like an expensive and rare gemstone. Only the finest velvet and brocade could match such brilliant beauty.
The crown atop his head made the young man look even more like a noble, dazzling little prince.
Only, unlike his cold and powerful father, the young man was clearly still a little shy when facing so many cameras.
His curled lashes, like butterfly wings, trembled slightly. The young man carefully leaned a little closer to the silver-haired sovereign, like a shy cub instinctively wanting to hide behind his parent and seek his father’s protection.
Unsurprisingly, this scene made the face fans waiting in the livestream room scream.
Cute!
The cub shrinking behind his dad was way too cute!
But that was not the end of it. These excited face fans soon discovered another handsome young man.
Beside Wen Yuzhi, Bai Yi also attended this conference.
This kind of public appearance in front of the masses was equivalent to the Saint Clan acknowledging his royal-blood identity.
The formal attire on him was not as gorgeous as Wen Yuzhi’s. It was more restrained, allowing people to tell at a glance which of them was the heir.
Bai Yi was not used to this kind of occasion where everyone’s attention focused on him. From the moment he stepped off the warship, his expression had remained tense.
But in the eyes of others, the silver-haired, golden-eyed young man had indifferent brows and eyes, like cold snow on a high mountain, stern and frigid.
He did not possess Mansendis’s overwhelmingly oppressive presence, nor did he have Wen Yuzhi’s exquisite and beautiful appearance. The silver-haired, golden-eyed young man looked more steady and reserved.
If Mansendis was a lion king who had long since ruled the entire grassland, then Bai Yi was a male lion that had only just reached adulthood.
Although his strong and graceful form had already begun to reveal itself, there was still an extremely distant gap between him and the former.
Three Salilenos, three completely different styles.
But they all had one thing in common—
This family’s looks were extraordinarily heaven-defying.
The extremely special combination of silver hair and golden eyes produced an effect on them that was simply greater than the sum of its parts.
Even the stingiest reporters would not save their data storage at a time like this.
The livestream bullet comments instantly filled the entire screen.
[Damn it! I know they’re the vicious Saint Clan, but... why did no one tell me the Saint Clan look this handsome in human form?!]
[You all curse the Saint Clan as monsters on StarNet every day, so I thought they really looked like monsters. Now that I’m seeing them, I realize the Saint Clan are all good-looking... Even the women behind them are so cool and handsome!]
[Dad is handsome! The cub is cute! The young man is also super cool! What kind of divine family is this?!]
[The cub looks so pretty in this outfit! He’s literally a little prince!]
[Silver-haired, golden-eyed cub! Who said our cub isn’t his biological child?! Open your dog eyes and look! With the cub and his dad looking like this, who dares say they aren’t father and son?!]
[The Saint Clan sovereign looks so young. Honestly, standing with the cub, they really don’t look like father and son. They look more like brothers.]
[Now that you mention it, they really do look like brothers... The cub’s dad doesn’t look like he’s already a father at all. It’s just that his aura is too terrifying. Looking into those eyes, I actually had the urge to kneel down and beg for mercy.]
The StarNet viewers discussed heatedly, and at the scene, everyone’s eyes were also focused on the Saint Clan.
Because of their immense strength and reclusive nature, the Saint Clan’s image in the interstellar world had always been extremely mysterious.
This was the first time the Saint Clan had officially appeared before the public.
And at their head were the three noble royal-bloods.
But the Saint Clan members being examined by countless gazes did not care about the eyes of others at all. Led by Mansendis as their sovereign, they walked through the crowd with calm, composed expressions.
With the Saint Clan’s strength, they indeed had no need to care about anyone present.
They possessed the strongest military power, the largest fleet in the entire interstellar world, and energy mines rich in resources.
This deep foundation created the Saint Clan’s proud character.
Compared with them, the other races were made to look somewhat dull.
For the merfolk race, a situation like today was undoubtedly very rare. After all, in the past, no matter where they went, the merfolk were always the focus of the crowd.
But now, several dozen gorgeous and beautiful merfolk stood here, yet all of them had been collectively neglected.
All the reporters had gone to chase and photograph the Saint Clan, making their side seem rather cold and deserted.
Lottie whistled and sighed.
“That entrance was really flashy. What a pity this is land and not seawater. Otherwise, if the Saint Clan can ride their warship here, then we merfolk could have ridden whales over.”
A scene of whale pods swimming over would surely have shocked the entire interstellar audience just as fiercely as the Saint Clan did.
Alas, a miscalculation.
Haisena knocked her younger sister on the head.
“Enough. The Saint Clan has already gone in. We should go in too.”
On the steps of the exhibition center, Raymond An had specifically come out to take a look after hearing that the Saint Clan had arrived.
As a result, he saw the Saint Clan walking at the very front, with the other races following one after another behind them in a vast procession.
At first glance, it looked as if all races were following the Saint Clan’s lead.
And this scene did not seem abrupt at all.
It even looked completely natural and right.
For some reason, Raymond An had a faintly bad feeling in his heart.
It was as if the conference the Alliance had so carefully prepared would, from this moment onward, become the steps beneath the Saint Clan’s feet.
