Time quickly came to mid-to-late March, the 23rd.
The weather gradually warmed up and the imperial celebration was held as scheduled.
The central area of the royal city and the upper and lower urban areas were all filled with a lively atmosphere. Being able to enjoy the highest-level festival of the empire with the Sun Royal Family gave the local residents a strong sense of honor and superiority.
During this period, Chen Lun's life was quite dull. Apart from going to church to preach, answering believers' questions and listening to their stories, he would return to his residence in the church area to eat and rest.
He seemed to have really become an ordinary priest, living a simple and austere life.
The team members have gradually adapted to the new environment of the Royal City. During their rest time, they took a few walks around the three urban areas. Although they did not visit every corner, they had a general idea of what the Royal City was like.
Frey had successfully completed the task assigned by Chen Lun the day before yesterday, commanding several hired construction teams to renovate the Kangkai Church area. Under the huge gold pound offensive, the efficiency was frighteningly high, and the traces of the former Red Apple Church were almost wiped out.
Now this church area has completely taken the shape of the Kangkai Parliament.
And inside the Conrad Church, a huge statue of His Majesty Conrad was erected for believers to admire and worship.
It was a man sitting on a high-back chair with his back to the door, wearing a well-fitting suit. He was playing with a scale in his left hand, with his right hand slightly raised on the armrest, his index and middle fingers gently holding up a goblet with half a glass of wine in it…
Devotees cannot see her face unless they go behind the statue.
But in fact, Chen Lun deliberately instructed Frey not to carve the face of the King of Slaughter when negotiating with the stonemason... So even if the believers walked behind the statue, they would find that the statue had no facial features.
in addition.
Because now not only the circus cadres live in the church area, but also the councilors under Chen Lun, some high-end apartments were added during the renovation of the residential area.
Chen Lun even tried his best to meet the requests of every cadre and councillor, such as Maggie's independent pharmacy, Alex's music room, Connie's workshop warehouse, and Akbin Frey's personal research room and study room.
Chen Lun even reserved a studio for Noah. When he comes back, he will probably be delighted. Thinking of the shy smile of the boy, he couldn't help but smile.
These expenses were naturally not small, but fortunately the public funds approved by the parliament were sufficient. After Frey's 50,000 gold pounds were used up, Chen Lun allocated another 20,000 to get everything done.
Chen Lun’s current physical strength limit has reached more than 3,800, so the upper limit of the number of black crystal dolls that can be manufactured using the B-level monster: Hope Workshop has also become 38.
He assigned 8 to Connie to help her make weapons and equipment, and the remaining 30 were responsible for patrolling the church area. Chen Lun also specially put large black cloaks on these black crystal puppets. At first glance, they looked like the "mysterious giant guards" serving the Kangkai Council.
Half past eight this morning.
Chen Lun got up early, washed, dressed, and boarded the carriage to the Fire Emblem Square. Along with him were the circus cadres and councillors.
This is not only the most grand festival event in the empire, but also the awarding ceremony of the commander-in-chief. It is of great significance and Chen Lun's subordinates do not want to miss it.
Basically every believer of the Kangkai Council has learned about this matter, so among the residents gathered in the Fire Pattern Square today, many believers of the Kangkai Council are looking forward to seeing Father Jack's glorious moment.
"We're here, Captain."
The carriage slowly stopped, and Golov's voice came from outside the curtain.
Chen Lun listened to the lively noise around him, silently sat up from the chair in the carriage, and got off the carriage with his silver cane.
He was wearing an extremely formal black tuxedo today, and the black flat-top hat on his head was brand new. On the brim of the hat, there was a purple chrysanthemum pinned specially for him by Flo Yin, and there was also another one in his left breast pocket.
At the security checkpoint on the edge of the square, there were two bright yellow warning strips, and behind them was a crowd of people, all of them were residents of the royal city who came to participate in the celebration.
This event had no identity restrictions and no fees were charged, so countless ordinary people from the lower city came to join in the fun. Fortunately, the Fire Emblem Square was wide enough to accommodate so many people.
After Chen Lun got off the carriage, a group of imperial guards came up to him and greeted him. The leader was a royal steward, who bowed slightly to Chen Lun and raised his hand to greet him.
"Mr. Jackspeight, this way please."
"Thanks."
Chen Lun nodded.
Then he followed the team of guards into the square and headed towards the central area.
The circus cadres and their parliamentarians followed closely behind, and the group attracted a lot of attention from the crowd. Some people recognized Father Jack from the Kangkai Parliament and greeted him with joy.
Chen Lun smiled and raised his hand in response.
"Father Jack saw me! Praise the God of Contract, praise the Kangkai Council!"
The believers were so excited that they even prayed.
Soon, everyone arrived at the deepest part of the Fire Pattern Square and climbed onto a spacious platform, from where they could easily overlook the entire square and the huge crowds of people.
Behind the platform were several rows of seats, divided into ten areas, corresponding to representatives of the seven orthodox churches, the Imperial Asylum, the Sun Royal Family, and the powerful and wealthy businessmen.
Chen Lun sat down in the area where the Kangkai Council was located, which was on the far left of the second row, and he could clearly see many important figures.
'So that's the Sun Princess... and the Prince?'
Chen Lun glanced at the seats in the front row. A beautiful figure with blonde hair tied up, a diamond crown on her head, and a white dress was sitting quietly in the middle. Next to her was a young man wearing a golden cotton coat and a long robe, also wearing a crown.
As if noticing his gaze, the prince slowly turned around, smiled amiably, and nodded at him. Seeing this, Chen Lun also smiled politely and made a gesture of touching his chest in response.
'And the Archbishop of the Sun Monastery of the Church of the Sun... Terrence is here too.'
Chen Lun looked to the other side. Next to the seats of the royal family members sat a group of white-robed monks. They were solemn and quiet, yet exuded a faint warm atmosphere.
The old acquaintance Terrence was sitting among them, but Chen Lun realized that she, like the other high-ranking people, was just an incarnation.
The top leaders of the Imperial Internment Camp and other Orthodox Churches arrived one after another and sat in their own seats... Most of these bigwigs remained silent and were unwilling to chat, but some of them who were on good terms with each other were whispering to each other.
Time passes slowly.
Before I knew it, it was already ten o'clock in the morning.
The bright rays of the sun shone through the clouds, illuminating the entire square.
A middle-aged man with pale skin and a clean-shaven beard walked up to the stage and picked up the microphone. He was wearing a gorgeous golden turtleneck, with a straight back and a noble look.
This is Babaye, the chief steward of the Sun Royal Family, an "old man" who has served the Sun Royal Family for decades. He announced the start of the imperial celebration in a slow but solemn tone.
Wow!
The crowd in the audience cheered excitedly and raised their fists high.
Babaye smiled and waited for more than ten seconds before raising his hand and pressing it. The crowd immediately quieted down. Then, the chief steward invited Prince Dazlet to come out and said that the prince would give a speech next.
Amid many heated gazes, the prince stood up from his seat with a smile on his face, walked to the front of the podium, and took the microphone from Babaye.
"Dear citizens of the Empire, I will host the celebration here on behalf of my father... Although the Trisur Empire has just experienced a disaster, fortunately, the entire Empire has worked together to resolve this disaster. I am very grateful to everyone for their trust and support for the Empire, and I am also grateful to the seven major orthodox churches for their contributions to this disaster..."
The prince was calm and composed, with one hand behind his back and the other hand gently holding the microphone to his lips.
His voice was gentle and very infectious, and during the nearly 20-minute speech, he moved the residents in the audience to tears several times.
"… Today is the empire's annual celebration day, and it is also the first celebration day we all celebrate after the Red Disaster. This is a milestone worth remembering, and a day that the empire should record in history… Starting today, the next week will be a celebration time for Tourmaline Closter. Shops and houses in the three major urban areas will receive corresponding tax exemptions and financial subsidies."
"Praise the sun!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your generosity!"
"Long live Trisul! Long live the empire!"
The people in the Fire Pattern Square were extremely excited, with waves of enthusiastic cheers coming one after another.
Hugh-Bang!
Boom boom boom!
Several fireworks suddenly rose into the sky, blooming into a brilliant golden sunflower pattern. The people felt extremely honored and happy in this grand scene.
On the high platform, the prince raised his head slightly, the fireworks were reflected in his eyes, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
A few minutes later.
The fireworks have finished blooming.
"Next is the investiture ceremony of the Imperial Inquisition. Nine new members will join the group and serve for the future peace and stability of the empire."
The prince said slowly.
The audience was somewhat confused, as this segment had never been included in previous celebrations, and they had rarely heard of the name "Imperial Inquisition". They only secretly guessed that this might be the royal family's armed force, an organization similar to a public security shelter.
At the reminder of a manager at the back, Chen Lun stood up and walked to the front with eight other young men and women.
During this process, he clearly felt many different gazes directed at him, including curiosity, doubt, indifference and unkindness. Among the royal family members, there was an extremely hostile gaze that caught Chen Lun's attention.
He glanced in that direction inconspicuously following his feeling, only to see a middle-aged man staring at him coldly.
The other person was wearing a golden suit and a gold and white wide-brimmed hat. The wreath pattern on the brim of the hat was inlaid with eight yellow gems, which was the standard for a duke's attire.
'Duke Abiram...'
Chen Lun shook his head secretly and then looked away.
Some time ago, the Duke went to Kangkai Church to ask for someone because of Peter's matter, but was righteously rejected... At that time, Chen Lun just felt that the Duke should not have anything to do with a Sequence 8 opposition transcendent.
So that day he requested information from the intelligence department of the parliament headquarters and soon found out that the other party had a good relationship with Terrence, so he guessed that the other party might be hostile to him because of his hatred for him.
After sending Golov and his two companions to investigate, Chen Lun did some divination to confirm and easily connected the clues together, and found out the general truth behind it.
What Viscount Ryan thought was a secret could not be hidden from Chen Lun at all.
But Chen Lun didn't care much about it.
"The royal duke... is a great figure who is high above ordinary people, but he can't do anything to me. If I were just an unofficial Sequence Five, I might be afraid of him, but I am now a high-ranking member of the True God Church, with a strong backing. It's boring for an idle duke to want to cause trouble for me."
Nine people, six men and three women, stood in a row in front of the platform.
The prince smiled gently and walked in front of the crowd.
"Congratulations on joining the Imperial Inquisition and becoming a member of it from now on."
"It is our honor."
A plain-looking man with long hair said this and bowed.
Chen Lun glanced at him and thought to himself:
'Shadow Walker Hamilton... As expected, this guy is destined to join the Imperial Inquisition, but I didn't expect that I would be in the same class with him.'
The prince waved his hand, and two young and beautiful maids came to him, each holding a wooden gift box. One of the wooden boxes contained nine golden numbered plates, and the other box contained nine round epaulettes.
"This is your respective ID card, please keep it safe..."
The prince distributed the numbered cards to the nine people one by one, put the epaulettes on them personally, and then chuckled.
"And these shoulder straps are the symbol of your title. From now on, you are all barons of the empire. This honor will be passed down from generation to generation. I hope you will not disappoint the empire's expectations."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"We swear to defend the glory of the empire until our death."
Everyone said hurriedly.
The prince nodded slightly, then raised his hand and pointed to the seats in the shelter at the back.
"You will be assigned to nine judges according to your numbers. You can get to know them better at the dinner tonight."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Everyone answered.
The prince nodded and ended the awarding ceremony.
But before leaving, he deliberately glanced at Chen Lun and smiled at him. This action could not escape the eyes of the other eight new members of the Imperial Judgment Group, after all, they were all Sequence Five Transcendents.
But they were quite confused about this and didn't know why the prince looked at Chen Lun differently.
Chen Lun sensed the confusion of his "colleagues", but had no intention of explaining. He turned around and left, returning to his seat.
"Captain, you have become a noble?!"
Connie covered her mouth in surprise and whispered.
"Should we call you 'Lord Baron Jack' from now on?"
Maggie added.
"I think 'Your Excellency the Baron' would sound better..."
Alex shrugged.
Chen Lun couldn't help but smile, and just replied:
"It's up to you, but there's no need to make a fuss. This title is just an honorary one, and it doesn't come with any fiefdom or corresponding power."
"oh… "
Connie and the others nodded, not quite understanding.
At this time, Chen Lun picked up his number plate and looked at it carefully. The plate, which was made of gold and the size of a finger, was engraved with a string of numbers -
"01061."
"So I will be assigned to the first team of the Imperial Inquisition, under the command of His Excellency the Chief Inquisitor MacLean... Judging from the number, I am the 61st member."
Chen Lun thought.
Based on this calculation, the total number of members of the Imperial Inquisition is approximately five to six hundred.
Although they seem few in number, these members are all mid-sequence transcendents, and most of them are sequence six or sequence five. This is actually a very terrifying force.
Take the Kangkai Parliament for example, the number of Gold Cup members within it is less than a hundred!
After all, the selection of the Imperial Inquisition is extremely strict, and usually only selected from the captains of the executioner squads, the heads of regional detention centers and military commanders, so the Inquisition can be called the highest military agency of the Empire.
Chen Lun raised his head and looked in the front row for his future superior, His Majesty MacLennan, but accidentally met a pair of beautiful and clear eyes.
"Um?"
Chen Lun was a little surprised.
The pair of eyes belonged to the Sun Princess. She turned her head and looked into Chen Lun's eyes calmly, with no idea what the hidden meaning was.
The two sides did not communicate, but Chen Lun always felt that the princess seemed to want to convey some message to him. After a few seconds, the Sun Princess withdrew her gaze and turned her head back.
Chen Lun frowned slightly, as if he had thought of something.
'Anna Trisur... I remember she seemed to be the official narrator of the game's official CG, and...'
His thoughts drifted away, as if he had returned to that dark world.
'I remember Arnold's sister was also called Anna...'
Chen Lun was suddenly stunned.
"If they are the same person, then Arnold's identity... could it be a prince? ! "