Among the many envoys present, each had offered precious gifts to celebrate the ascension of the new emperor of the Star Empire. The value of a gift, in a subtle way, reflected the prestige of the sender’s nation. Snow-dragon hide, Losia steel armour, magic-pearl jewellery, and the Sword of Sauron were all unquestionably rare treasures that money alone could not buy.
Yet, under Ye Chui’s skilful lead, the gift offered by Princess Linda instantly became the most precious of all. What gift could be more valuable than fighting with one’s life to protect the new emperor? Moreover, when the Apostle appeared, almost everyone else panicked and tried to hide. Only Linda stepped forward alone, sword in hand. Though she was a woman, the courage she displayed in that moment far surpassed every other person present!
When the envoys heard Ye Chui declare that Linda’s bravery was the finest gift offered to the empire, some were reluctant to admit it, but they had no choice but to agree. All the other guests were wholeheartedly convinced and applauded enthusiastically for the female warrior of the Victoria secret order.
Prince Geller glanced at the huge crater that Ye Chui had perfectly disguised as a pond. Beads of cold sweat still seemed to linger on his forehead. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief, though he also felt a trace of complaint towards Ye Chui. It was obvious that Ye Chui had known about the Apostle all along. He had even deliberately allowed the Apostle to appear at the ceremony in order to kill it in front of everyone and kindle the resolve of the other empires to resist the Church.
One had to admit the method was reckless, but it was also extremely effective.
At the very least, the envoys from the Yellow Sand Empire, the North Ridge Empire, and the Morning Wind Empire all wore expressions tinged with resentment towards the Church. They were intelligent people. They understood that by bringing an Apostle here, the Church had probably intended for it to slaughter everyone present: both to crush the morale of the Star Empire and to provoke the other empires’ fury against the Star Empire.
They had all been disposable pawns in the Church’s scheme!
That realisation made them furious.
Even angrier were the envoys from the poor southern region of Between Rocks. The princess who had just fought so valiantly had completely overshadowed the gifts they had spent enormous thought and wealth to select. Their national prestige had taken a blow.
Jacob, naturally aware of Ye Chui’s intentions, waited until the applause had died down a little, then smiled and addressed the crowd. “I wish to thank Princess Linda for her valour just now. Every gift brought by the various empires is something I treasure deeply. However, the gift from Princess Linda is clearly the most precious of all!”
That settled the matter. In the contest of gifts between the envoys, Princess Linda had emerged victorious.
Princess Linda felt an overwhelming surge of delight. The gift she had originally brought was quite ordinary; she had even prepared herself for mockery. Never did she imagine she would become the bearer of the finest gift. She hurriedly curtsied deeply to the new emperor Jacob in formal imperial style.
The ceremony was to continue.
Next came the offerings from other important figures: leaders of the empire’s major guilds and mercenary groups, the Tower of Magic Books stationed in the imperial capital, city lords and territorial lords from various regions. Even, thanks to Ye Chui, Mayor Cass from distant Stan Town had sent a messenger with a gift: a pouch of extremely rare spices, a speciality of Stan Town.
During this time, instead of mingling with the crowd like everyone else, Ye Chui led the somewhat weary Princess Linda to one side.
Princess Linda suddenly looked rather awkward. “I… perhaps I should go and change my clothes…”
The earlier battle with the Apostle had left her gown considerably torn. It was not the tentacles that caused the damage, but rather the fact that she was unaccustomed to fighting in such an elaborate ceremonial dress. A slightly larger movement was enough to split the fabric. During the fight she had accidentally ripped the skirt at her thighs and split the sleeves at her arms. Her current appearance was rather dishevelled. A pair of strong, shapely long legs was now fully exposed, creating quite a breathtaking sight…
“No, Princess Linda. Your gown was damaged while protecting His Majesty. It is proof of your courage. There is no need to change,” Ye Chui hurriedly reassured her. He clicked his tongue appreciatively at those long legs…
“Is that so?” Princess Linda nodded, seeming a little shy. “Very well, but it does feel rather improper.”
Debbie’s voice suddenly rang in Ye Chui’s ear. “Shameless!”
Ye Chui’s expression froze. He muttered quietly, “Number Two, Number Two, how can you say that about Princess Linda? She was just fighting the Apostle with everything she had.”
Debbie: “I wasn’t talking about Princess Linda. I said you are shameless. If you want to admire her legs just say it openly.”
Ye Chui: “…”
…
The gift-giving proceeded swiftly. The other guests did not need to give long speeches about how magnificent their offerings were, so this segment soon drew to a close. Yet at this point many people suddenly grew expectant. The major guilds and mercenary groups of the imperial capital had all presented lavish gifts, but Ye Chui had still not made a move.
The guild under his command was the foremost magic guild of the empire, and his own prestige was unmatched. It would hardly do if he did not offer something precious, would it?
Some of the envoys, such as Prince Karl of North Ridge, had previously looked down on Ye Chui. After witnessing him punch an Apostle to death, however, they now acknowledged his strength. Naturally, they assumed his gift would be extraordinarily valuable. After all, when he killed the Apostle just now he had not claimed that act itself as his gift. He must have something even better prepared.
With that thought, many people turned expectant gazes towards Ye Chui.
Ye Chui, who was chatting amiably with Princess Linda, received a report through his earpiece at that very moment. “Number One, Number One, this is Alpaca Forty-Seven. Jamil has been sighted. He is moving towards the high platform. He appears ready to make his move. Over!”
Alpaca Forty-Seven was the security member equipped with thermal-vision gear. As Ye Chui had predicted, although the Shadow-Snake clan leader Jamil possessed an almost flawless ability to erase his presence, he could still be detected by thermal imaging. From the start of the ceremony he had been under strict surveillance. Now, finally, he could no longer restrain himself and was preparing to act!
The appearance of the Apostle had not altered his original objective.
While everyone’s attention was on the gifts being announced, he was stealthily approaching the platform where Jacob stood. To assassinate the new emperor, it had to be during the coronation ceremony, in front of all the envoys. Only that would deal a sufficient blow to the Star Empire and demonstrate the formidable skill of the assassin.
But Ye Chui had already prepared a countermeasure against Jamil.
He said a quick word to Princess Linda, then stood up with a whoosh and strode towards the high platform. Many people saw him approach and grew excited. Was President Ye Chui finally going to present his gift?
All eyes were upon him!
“Your Majesty Jacob, I have a gift to offer you!” Ye Chui announced loudly, stopping in front of the platform. His eyes flicked briefly to a spot in the upper right. According to Alpaca Forty-Seven’s report, Jamil was standing exactly there at this moment. Thanks to his miraculous ability, however, Ye Chui could not see him at all.
Jacob looked slightly surprised, then pleased, to see Ye Chui step forward. Before the ceremony began they had agreed that the Anything Goes Magic Guild need not present any gift. After all, Jacob’s smooth ascension owed everything to the guild’s support. Jacob still considered himself a member of the guild. What gift could he possibly accept from it…
Of course, that was what he said, but deep down Jacob was rather looking forward to it. He had heard that recently Ye Chui had forged an ultra-powerful vibranium brick for Green, and vibranium greatsword and vibranium spiked mace were being prepared for Guni and Shalom. It really would not do if Ye Chui gave him nothing…
He did not ask for much. A single flying magical vehicle would make him perfectly happy…
“I wish to perform a dance for Your Majesty.”
Ye Chui’s voice rang throughout the entire Garden of Stars.
Silence fell.
It took Jacob a long moment to process the words. “…What?”
Debbie’s utterly disgusted voice came through the magic communicator. “Number One, Number One… you’re really going to do this?”
“Number One, Number One, this is Alpaca Forty-Seven… Jamil appears so shocked he has frozen in place in front of the platform and forgotten to move,” came the next report.
Ye Chui smiled faintly, then started playing an energetic BGM. As the music swelled he began to move his body. In that instant he became the absolute focus of every eye. In that instant every body present trembled. In that instant countless gazes filled with the same expression one wears when witnessing a madman fixed upon Ye Chui…
“To laughter and to song, to praise, a frown brings heartache along. I’ve no time to care what they think, I only feel what you feel…”
With the beautiful female vocals ringing out, Ye Chui’s body began to shake and sway. A mysterious “I am the king of the dancefloor, behold my dazzling radiance” glow shone from his face. Accompanied by the stirring BGM he performed a series of retina-searing moves that ruthlessly assaulted the hearts of everyone present.
“I can’t bear to watch…” Debbie whimpered through the communicator.
On the high platform, Prince Geller stared in stunned disbelief, nearly choking to death on his own breath.
Jacob and Dani exchanged helpless glances, then spoke into the exquisite ornamental magic communicator at their ears. “President, please don’t do this. We truly aren’t expecting any gift… President, we beg you, stop the cringe-dancing!”
But Ye Chui danced with great enthusiasm. He shook his body, then suddenly waved invitingly at the dumbfounded Princess Linda standing to one side, motioning for her to join him in the awkward dance.
Linda’s face went blank. She shook her head frantically and looked innocently away. I don’t know this lunatic!
Seeing Linda refuse to cooperate, Ye Chui had no choice but to continue solo. Shake, shake, the shakiest shake, that’s my soaring step. Bend, thrust, then a seductive, eye-gouging self-caress.
Sheral, president of the Flower Village guild who deeply respected Ye Chui, swayed and nearly fainted. If Bart had not caught him, he would have collapsed on the spot, believe it or not.
The foreign envoys who, moments ago, had gazed at Ye Chui in awe after he punched an Apostle to death now realised they had to completely reassess the president of the Star Empire’s number-one guild. President Ye was indeed formidable, but his brain seemed… a little off…
At that moment the BGM reached its climax.
“…You are electricity, you are fire, you are the only myth…”
With that soaring lyric, bang, bang, bursts of pyrotechnic-like flames and blue lightning suddenly exploded around Ye Chui’s body. This was an effect built into the BGM, triggering flame and lightning visual effects.
Whoosh!
The flames and lightning were undeniably spectacular, but to the onlookers it felt like a tragic waste of perfectly good special effects.
Jamil, hidden nearby, was caught completely off-guard and received a faceful of fire and electricity. Scorching heat and tingling numbness instantly coursed through him. He hurriedly clamped both hands over his mouth to avoid making any sound. His presence-erasure was perfect, but any noise would immediately reveal him.
Although the flames and lightning Ye Chui’s BGM produced were merely stage-effect level, they were still extremely uncomfortable for Jamil. Burning anger surged in his heart, and for the first time exposing hostility towards Ye Chui!
The instant that hostility flared, his figure instantly appeared in Ye Chui’s vision!
Ye Chui’s magic guide book could detect hostile intent. Once hostility was detected, Jamil could no longer erase his presence from Ye Chui’s sight.
The entire reason Ye Chui performed this cringe-dance was to draw Jamil’s attention the moment the assassin prepared to act, making him afraid to move rashly, while simultaneously using the dance effects to provoke Jamil’s hostility and force him into the open!
Everything was proceeding exactly according to Ye Chui’s plan. Jamil, possessor of the most fearsome stealth ability, was now completely exposed before Ye Chui’s eyes!
To avoid drawing attention, Jamil remained rooted to the spot, silently enduring the flames and lightning. This only caused his hostility towards Ye Chui to burn ever hotter. In truth, even without the BGM effects, Ye Chui’s current dance alone was enough to provoke murderous intent. On Ye Chui’s magic guide book map, the entire area around Jamil had turned bright red…
As the BGM gradually faded, Ye Chui struck one final cool pose to conclude his retina-searing performance, then spoke into the communicator. “All members, applaud!”
Silence.
“…Damn it, nobody clapping is super awkward…”
“President, do we really have to go along with this?” Green replied.
“If you lot don’t clap, believe me, I’ll do another round!”
At those words, sparse, reluctant applause immediately broke out around the garden. Unlike the enthusiastic ovation for Princess Linda earlier, nobody tried to lead the rhythm this time. The other guests had no intention whatsoever of joining in. Good heavens, what if clapping encouraged President Ye to get excited and dance again?
Amidst the half-hearted clapping, Ye Chui bowed deeply to Jacob and asked with a smile, “Your Majesty Jacob, are you satisfied with my gift?”
“Good… very good. President, your gift is… the best…” Jacob replied with a smile while tears streamed inside his heart.
