Chapter 675 — The Age of Empire

With a low hum of magic, great curtains of light rose from the ground, appearing out of thin air like bell towers; the crowd in the square was stunned into silence for a moment, then they quieted and stared wide-eyed, wholly absorbed in the scenes the holographic projection revealed.

The arcanotech legion set out from Boulderhold, stepped onto the Plains of the Holy Spirit, and marched north.

Cities and villages laid waste by the crystal swarm, bones strewn through desolate ruins, hideous monsters prowling the battlefields.

Soldiers fought with valor, the earth turned to scorched earth, city after city was retaken, and the remaining refugees were sent to the rear by transport columns.

Armored trains fired along the rails, the steel defense line set among the towering mountains thundered with artillery, the line was breached again and again, and counterattacked again and again.

These images had all been selected; the parts that might cause panic had been omitted—yet even so, the crowd in the square stirred again and again, and some even wanted to flee in terror: facing the shock of the holographic projection was tremendous, all the more so for these ordinary people who had just lived through the Battle of Saint Sunil.

But in the end the crowd kept order, for they had not gone without seeing holographic images. Magic was everywhere in this world; even if commoners could not master it, they had at least witnessed it. From the very beginning they had understood that these were images recorded by magic, and after the initial tension they quieted and began to watch those stirring scenes.

Beyond Saint Sunil, in places they could not see, this war had been savage to such a degree.

At last all the image material ended, and a full portrait of Gaosong appeared in the great projection.

"My people, all who dwell upon this land—whether you are slave or freeman, merchant or farmer, soldier or general, commoner or noble, whoever you are, wherever you now stand—"

"Your Emperor now speaks to you."

"This nation has weathered grave challenges and trials; all of us have just survived a disaster. The enemy tried to bring us down—with plague, with monsters, with war, even with stolen divine power—but in the end, we endured."

"We have won.

"But any victory is temporary.

"Hardship and challenge will always exist—be it war, or hunger, or plague, or some other calamity of nature. Living in this world, we have no way to evade them; we can only raise our heads and fight back, for survival is our first principle.

"For survival, to face the challenges of this world, to face those people and things that try to kill us and try to destroy us, I now stand here and declare to you that a new nation will be founded upon this land reborn from fire.

"The Cecil Empire will be a refuge for all who dwell upon this land. People of the Empire's glory, citizens of the future—every one of you belongs to it, and it shall belong to every one of you. With diligence and wisdom we will rebuild it from its ruins and sweep away its filth. It will grow strong because of every one of you, and it will be crowned with glory because of every one of you.

"We will overcome hunger, overcome plague, overcome ignorance and benightedness. We will have food and clothing, warmth and safety, free from care. However long that day may take, we will surely make it come.

"I am your Emperor, Gaoyang Cecil, and I promise you: everything I have said here today shall stand as the cornerstone of the Cecil Empire, forever in force."

The holographic projection gradually faded away.

The cheers came a few seconds late; the people seemed still to be pondering His Imperial Majesty's stirring words. But the cheers did rise in the end, echoing through all of Saintfrost Rest.

On the viewing platform of Silverhold, Rebecca, in a long court gown, stared wide-eyed at it all, beside herself with excitement. Several times she wanted to raise her hand, but each time she hesitated, glanced at Aunt Hetty beside her in full ceremonial dress, and drew it back.

The attendants nearby had no idea what Her Highness meant to do, and every one of them looked somewhat at a loss. At last Hetty tilted her head slightly and said in a low voice that only Rebecca could hear:

"Today is an exception.

"Make a big one—let it commemorate a historic moment."

When that fireball, nearly as large as a magic-driven carriage, flew out from Silverhold and burst apart in the sky with a bang, the salute of cannons sounded at the same moment from the eastern and western sides of the square.

The viewing carriage began to turn, preparing to return to the castle courtyard. Gaoyun let out a soft breath and glanced up at the sky.

His nerves relaxed a little, and he could not help but wonder—

In some years to come, would "How large was the fireball that Imperial Princess Rebecca Cecil set off at the founding ceremony, and what did it symbolize?" become a history question that people loathed with a passion?

The ceremony went on; the remaining rites and closing items would continue until about sunset. But what Gaoyang, the new head of the Empire, had to do was largely finished. Before the banquet began, he could return to the castle and rest a while.

When he returned to his room, he was not at all surprised to see Merys Peronia already waiting there.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty Gaoyang Cecil," the agent lady said with a smile, offering her felicitations. "The age of the Empire has begun."