Inside the Federation airship, Roberts stood in the cabin for a moment. Watching several inspection personnel enter, his expression shifted several times before he strode briskly outside.
As for Durant, who had been reduced to ashes below, he had no interest whatsoever in taking a second look.
Reaching the corridor, he tried to look for Fantner, hoping the latter could step up in Durant's place.
Although he had no close ties with this military representative and persuading him would be difficult, he believed he could offer terms that would satisfy him.
Yet when he went looking, he discovered the man had already left, an unforeseen development. Assuming Fantner had seen through his intentions early on and left ahead of time specifically to avoid him, Roberts's face darkened considerably.
It was impossible for him to shoulder this matter himself, nor did he want to.
Yet there was still one person who might do—
Ethan Walker.
That propped-up Federation hero.
He suddenly felt that bringing this man along had been an exceptionally wise decision.
Due to the special nature of Throne martial artists, political authorities generally avoided heavily publicizing them to the public. When individual combat prowess and public prestige converged, it inevitably led down the path of deification, which would deliver a tremendous shock to a nation's ruling system.
This was a situation governments of all nations had long striven to avoid. Some countries were even utterly reticent about martial artists, avoiding any publicity altogether—a tendency that grew stronger the more mature the political system was.
The Federation, however, was willing to cultivate heroic figures like Ethan Walker. The latter's combat power would always be restricted within certain bounds, kept well within control. When needed, he could coordinate with the government to steer public opinion; and in major events driven by upper-tier martial artists, he could stand at the forefront as the "Federation Hero," thus keeping the true power concealed behind the scenes.
In this battle in particular, he was originally slated to be the primary subject of post-action propaganda. Naturally, this was no secret to the upper echelons of various nations, but rather a shared tacit understanding. All countries did the same; even the Consortium would never excessively trumpet the strength of martial artists—what they wanted was control.
And such a person could now be put to use.
Although to those truly in the know, Ethan Walker's stature might seem somewhat lacking, that could be entirely compensated for through media steering and a reasonable distribution of interests.
The crucial point was that he had no other cards left in hand. If he didn't want to take the fall himself, this was his only option.
Then there was Durant—
While that man was around, Roberts could maintain an intimate relationship with the Consul. Without Durant, he had to guard against the Consul casting him aside. While that wouldn't happen immediately since they remained bound together for now, he would have to be careful in the future.
Thinking it over, his gaze sharpened. Striding briskly back to the cabin, he had several telegrams dispatched in quick succession.
Briggs stood on the terrace of the Sky Behemoth. Looking at the scattered airships in the distance, he could not help but sigh. What a grand, imposing spectacle it had been when they entered Weishu Continent, flanked on all sides by observer delegations from numerous countries and corporations! Yet now, only a few lonely airships trailed along.
What was more, the airships were uniformly coated in a layer of yellowish-black dust, looking utterly wretched however one looked at them.
Beside him, Lily was turning the camera's scroll wheel while peering through the viewfinder. This time she was thoroughly satisfied, having returned with a bountiful harvest.
She had snapped quite a few shots purely by intuition back then. Thanks to the memory eye technology employed by the camera, it not only mitigated some of the effects of field interference, but also allowed her to browse the images captured and stored in its memory right at this moment.
Her eyes lit up, and she held up the camera. "Uncle Briggs, look."
Briggs took the camera and had a look, a look of surprise washing over his face. To his discerning eye, more than a dozen of them were extraordinarily valuable.
In particular, the scenes in some of the photographs were completely imperceptible to the naked eye, visible only because this camera had brought them to light—and nearly every one of them was related to Chen Chuan.
For a moment, he viewed his niece in a whole new light. Due to the psychological impact of Throne martial artists' spiritual power, countless professionals couldn't even keep their footing before them despite the great distance, let alone step up to take photos. Yet Lily had overcome it; in a sense, she possessed a special talent.
As he was thinking, Lily's eyes suddenly darted, and she tugged at his wrist. "Uncle, come on."
She pulled Briggs toward the interior of the airship cabin.
At first Briggs was puzzled, but as they walked, noticing that they were heading toward the cabin of that Federation hero, he immediately understood the girl's intention.
He smiled and offered no objection, following along toward that cabin.
At this very moment, aboard the scattered airships of various nations and mega-corporations, the observer delegations and media personnel were just as busy.
Before coming, most of them had already prepared two draft reports in advance: one for a Federation victory, and one for the Tianji Sect withstanding the Federation's offensive. But never in their wildest dreams had they expected the subsequent developments to veer so far beyond their expectations.
Now both drafts were scrap paper, and they were all scrambling to rewrite them.
Even now, most people could hardly calm their racing hearts. One had to realize that the Federation alone had deployed nearly ten Throne martial artists this time; add to that the Tianji Sect and the Throne martial artists who had joined in succession later, and the scale of this battle defied imagination.
At the time, they had felt only shock and exhilaration, but thinking back now brought a wave of lingering fear. In a situation like that, the slightest misstep would have yielded truly unpredictable consequences.
Regardless, this battle was enough to go down in the annals of history—and the one who deserved the greatest coverage of all was, without a doubt, a single individual.
Before long, telegram after telegram was transmitted across the globe through various covert and specialized channels.
Norland Northern League, the Aranda Council Palace.
Council President Calvin Hunter stood at the rostrum. Approaching eighty, with graying temples and a slightly portly frame, his gaze beneath gold-rimmed glasses was steady and sharp. It was clear that he, too, was an old-school politician who rejected implants and relied solely on pharmaceuticals to maintain his bodily functions.
He looked down, leafing through the official documents in his hands, then lifted his head slightly to look at the council members hurrying in below. Waiting until the last member entered and took a seat, his slightly raspy voice resonated through the assembly hall:
"Ladies and gentlemen, honorable members of the council, I had no choice but to summon you all here, because just a few minutes ago, we received a very important report."
He turned toward a man in his fifties on his right, who had prominent cheekbones, a pronounced nasal bridge, and an extraordinarily solemn expression.
"I now invite Mr. Napps to explain the details."
The man stepped forward and looked over the assembly. Under his piercing gaze, those whispering among themselves involuntarily fell silent.
He brought out a report and said in a cold, hard voice, "Two hours ago, the Federation organized an assault against the Tianji Sect. However, due to obstruction by a certain Great Shun martial artist, matters did not proceed smoothly. I presume you have all already heard something of this.
"According to a report received five minutes ago, the Federation has retreated, and this operation has ended in failure.
"Subsequently, we received an official communique from the Federation stating that their operation achieved some of its intended objectives, successfully weakening the Tianji Sect, and that under the mediation of the international investigation team, in order to fulfill international responsibilities and prevent further damage to the Ring of the World, they chose to voluntarily withdraw from Weishu Continent."
The council members' expressions varied, and another murmur of whispers stirred through the chamber.
Calvin Hunter on the rostrum tapped his gavel lightly against the desk, and the chamber gradually settled into silence.
Someone shouted from below, "We need to know the specific details!"
The people present were all politicians; they knew full well that propaganda was one thing, and the real truth was another.
Calvin Hunter said to Napps, "Please continue."
Napps said slowly, "According to intelligence, the matter is quite simple. That Great Shun martial artist, acting entirely alone, defeated every single Throne martial artist on the Federation's side—"
Before he could finish, the floor erupted into an uproar. Many immediately raised doubts, some burst into laughter, and others voiced derision.
Facing the tremendous clamor, Napps's expression remained completely unchanged. He raised a hand, and a massive field screen projected down directly before the council hall, displaying a succession of martial artists' portraits and names.
Among them were Throne martial artists who undeniably carried immense international influence.
Napps continued in his distinctive cold, hard tone, "Among the Throne martial artists defeated and confirmed dead are the following individuals:
"Irose, Pope of the New Light Cult.
"Cyrus Morton, Archbishop of the Primordial Sect.
"Sivert Drakeholm, Chief Security Officer of the Deep Sea Spiral Company.
"Igor Karnelov, of Noros Theocracy's Tower Whale Company.
"Klaus Field, representative of the Federation's Colossus Plant.
"Derian Crossal, representative of the Federation's West Coast Council.
"Mm, as well as Zhenren Ming, formerly of the Tianji Sect; due to a lack of specific data, he is not shown here."
As he spoke each name, the corresponding portrait dimmed. With each dimming image, the noise below diminished a degree, and when nearly all the portraits had gone dark, the entire council hall fell dead silent.
After a while, someone finally broke free from their state of shock and spoke up: "Mr. Napps, pardon me, but I would like to clarify. Did that Great Shun martial artist challenge all the present Throne martial artists one by one?"
"I know what Mr. McLaren is referring to," Napps said in an uninflected tone. "You mean knightly duels of the old era? Regrettably, this is no longer the old era. Aside from His Majesty Emperor Capa, most of those present likely had no regard for such traditions.
"According to the report, this Great Shun martial artist was besieged, yet he defeated and annihilated a host of powerful enemies several times his number."
Right at this moment, someone hurried in through a side door, passed the rows of seats, and came up to Napps's side, whispering a few words into his ear.
Napps nodded. Then everyone watched as the silhouette representing Durant dimmed as well.
The entire hall fell into stunned silence.
Beyond the initial shock, many looked increasingly grim. They all understood the implications behind this: Great Shun had gained an exceedingly terrifying martial artist, a development momentous enough to sway the existing world order to a considerable degree.
"Ladies and gentlemen, honorable members of the council," Calvin Hunter finally spoke up, "to ensure the stability and balance of the current situation, we must immediately begin studying and formulating a completely new international security plan."
Chapter 1330