Penelope and her men waited in the palaces' audience hall, for the famous ruler whose name had taken Carona by storm.
They waited for his Majesty, Landon Barn!
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Some said he was a messenger from the heavens.... while others said that he was a God who had descended from above to these Mortal plains.
Of course for others, he was an extremely blessed individual, who was sent to better Carona.
All in all, everyone who had seen him..... had returned to Carona with an unshakeable reverence for the man.
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He was an existence that no one could understand.
More specifically, it was his mind that was unfathomable.
Words alone couldn't describe what they were feeling right now.
Sure... they had heard a lot about Baymard.
But they soon realized that the stories didn't properly depict the place at all!
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No matter how one tried to explain it, seeing what they were talking about was definitely a game changer.
And in all honesty, they thought that some of the stories were made up... as some tales were just too hard for them to believe.
But now they know better.
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Penelope stood within the hall silently, as she tried to calm her chaotic brain.
Just like everyone else, she also felt like she was in a different world.
Right from the time she saw the harbor, and even the massive ships (cruise ships) that were stationed on the last harbor lane..... she felt like she had truly seen a miracle.
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It was the biggest ship that she had ever seen..... and it looked like someone had placed several buildings on top of it..... as it was as tall as a small mountain (from her own point of view).
As a general rule, Penelope had learned to hide her emotions very well.... but this time, things were different.
As a tiny smile cracked through their aloof facade.
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She felt her blood itch, as she desperately wanted to get onto the ship and explore all its wonders.
And that wasn't the only time that she felt like that since coming to Baymard.
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From the moment she stepped into the Coastal Port with a V.I.P pass, to time when she walked around the port looking at the stores... followed by her ride from the Coastal Port to here, she had been completely blown away by how advanced this tiny empire was.
Not to talk about the beautifully crafted palace before her..... which was way better than hers by ten folds.
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She had seen Glass buildings as high as hills, Roads as smooth and black as night, pe ople all looking well-off while walking or driving their carriage vehicles (cars), 'trains' that moved above their heads ... and many more.
In short, throughout this trip..... she and all her knights had turned their heads so many times that it was a miracle that they weren't dizzy.
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2 things surprised them about the empire the most.
The first was its customer service.
Since arriving, they had observed that whether it was them or even other guests.... everyone was treated with respect and care.
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One could see a ruler's true nature by observing how the people interacted with others.
They handled even the poorest and raggedy visitors with proper attention.... as they made their visitation comfortable.
This alone made them give Baymard a 5-star rating for their services.
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As for the second thing that surprised them.... it would have to be the cleanliness of the entire empire.
It was ridiculously clean and even the well-paved sidewalks were void of any dirt at all.
One should know that within the other empires, someone could even throw rotten foods onto the streets or roadsides, as well as the carcass of dead animals.
Even human faces could be thrown just about anywhere within the city.
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I'm these medieval times, 85% of all places... even palaces, smelled like shit!... especially during the summer.
With no plumbing, the open toilets would let out a foul stench that would fill up the halls and rooms.
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Most times, only those who lived at the highest floors within the palace..... were privileged to have 70% of the stench removed.
As all the popping would be dropped to the lowest level, and the 'shit' workers would collect and dispose of all shit somewhere else.
And even if they lived in courtyards, they did their businesses in buckets... so that the maids would throw it far away as well.
But the stench would still linger around the rooms for a while.
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Long story short, even as royals, they were all used to the smell of poop lingering around the air... but here in Baymard, the air was ridiculously fresh.
It was as if these people didn't poop at all.
In fact, she didn't know that this was how air was supposed to smell like.
And it wasn't just her... as her men also noticed the change as well.
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They had all whiffed it in and out, as if they were taking drugs.
It was too damn clean!
Within the Coastal port, some of them had used the bathroom there.... and had felt like it was the best invention ever.
But that didn't lessen their curiosity at all.
How did Baymard achieve this?
More importantly, where did their poop go?
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The more they knew about this newly established empire..... the more they had massive respect for his majesty Landon Barn.
How could a normal person think of all these things?
Yup!
The people were right!
He was definitely not human..... maybe a God?
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Duke Samuel (Carmelo's brother), as well as ambassador Victor.... who was the newly appointed Caronian ambassador assigned to stay in Baymard, were also shocked at Baymard's growth as well.
They had seen water come out of a metal stick, light come on without fire, and many more..... so how could their minds not be blown away?
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Duke Samuel felt like jumping around like a little kid, as he had finally arrived at Baymard.
Last time, his family had left him in Carona, and had enjoyed their stay here without him.
But now... it was his own time to have fun.
He didn't believe that the knight training here would be as tedious as they had said.
So in his mind, he treated this whole trip was a very lax vacation.
What harsh training?
Bring it on punk!!
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The hall remained dead silent, as the visitors waited attentively.
And through the silence, all that could be heard.... were the steady tickings of a massive mirror-like clock.
"Tick! Tock!.... Tick! Tock!.... Tick! Tock!'
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Eagerness!
Every single tick was like an invisible weight..... which made the visitors grow more and more anxious to see this Baymardian King.
And soon... their patience finally paid off.
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'Bam!!!'
The hall doors opened up again, and soon.... 12 men walked in unhurriedly.
And leading them, was a 17 year old boy.
Almost immediately, they had recognized the boy at first glance... as they had seen his profile sketch all over Baymard.
He was on money, as well as on the brochures, massive billboards and so on.
In a way, he was like a famous celebrity.
This person was his majesty Landon Barn.
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At once, they all showed him respect by going down on one knee... as they felt like Carona indeed owed him a depth of gratitude.
Less people died from the cold, and their foods were now cheaper that even the peasants could have enough for a while.
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"We greet your majesty Landon Barn!" They replied.
Likewise, the men surrounding Landon, also did the same as well.
"We greet her majesty, Penelope Thayllard!" They said, as they too went down on one bended knee.
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Soon, Landon introduced everyone around him.... and Penelope did the same, for all the people who had higher positions within her group.
She had brought over hundreds of soldiers with her.
So introducing everyone would take all day long.
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Looking at the calm and collected man before them, the Caronian knights couldn't help but want to touch him.... so as to bring blessings into their lives.
Due to all the stories, and even all the things that they had seen, their minds had already accepted that Landon was a higher being.
So right now, no matter what Landon did... his every move looked refined and godly in their eyes.
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And coupled with his extremely handsome appearance, they subconsciously nodded in affirmation of this Baymardian king.
Some who were right at the back, even tilted their heads in hopes of catching a glimpse of this divine being.
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"Once more.... I welcome you all to Baymard.
Here, you all will trainand better yourselves tirelessly.
As Carona's first batch of soldiers, we have high expectations for each and everyone of you while you're studying here.
For the next 3 days, you all will rest and properly settle into Baymard.
Everyone will be required to sign up for classes, as well as collect your schedules, army orientation documents, and complete any other important tasks too.
Because come Monday morning, you all will officially start your Training as Caronian Soldiers."
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After his brief speech, Landon had some of his men send the Caronian knights to their new Barracks.
While he, Penelope, Duke Samuel, Ambassador Victor, Gary and Mark on the other hand... .... all went to his study instead.
Of course Lucius, Trey and Josh couldn't meet them, because they were presently out on their missions within the other empires.
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As soon as they entered the office, Penelope turned around and silently looked at Landon intensively.
"Fight me!!"
"_"