Chapter 52 Brutal Selection

A piercing draconic roar stabbed through the blue skies of the Sylvian Capital, attracting the attention of the millions of residents filing through the streets. However, one look and they understood that this was the royal wyverns procession, nothing they could or would like to involve themselves with.

Looking down from above, Leonardo found the infrastructure of the imperial capital similar to that of Valdmor, meaning, those millions of people were barely the tip of the iceberg when it came to the overall population of the imperial capital.

This was Leonardo's first time witnessing such a densely packed city without a motion of chaos or disorder, even with the apparent lack of patrolling soldiers. This peaceful ambience clearly reflected the benevolence of Queen Adeline and how her conduct influenced her people. Of course, his attention was drawn to the assortment of grand palaces in the distance.

A young wyvern rider by his side smiled and explained, "The Imperial Palace is the one in the centre, it is where the King and Queen reside. However, the King doesn't involve himself with the people or the secular world and is instead focused on his cultivation. As for the other constructs, they are Royal Palaces for the various Princes and Princesses, their wives, concubines, and children."

"The Royal Grandchildren without any rights to the throne loiter at the bottom of the ladder in terms of status and military achievements, they are stationed as Marquesses in the various commanderies sectioning the domestic provinces from the feudal territories."

"The Lords of our kingdom are free to either serve as vassals following the laws passed down by Queen Adeline or separate into their own territories under the stipulation of paying yearly tribute in the form of taxes. Of course, there are restrictions on their military operations…"

The man continued his long-winded exploration although Leonardo wasn't paying him attention at all. At least, he stopped paying attention after the matters concerning the royal family was over.

He truly didn't care one bit about the monarchy and government laws these people adhered to, as they were almost guaranteed to be overhauled by him sooner or later. After flying across the skies of the imperial city for almost an hour, they could finally land peacefully in front of the grand palace gates that put the greatest walls to shame in more aspects than one could count on their two hands.

It was a massive wall so high a mortal wouldn't be able to see the end of it. Laced in a multitude of enchantments that drew and persevered worldly energy, dipped in gold, and a divine-like halo radiated off its surface. Leonardo was absolutely amazed to see rows of pedestrians young and old literally prostrating to the wall praying to and for their High Queen, reverence and worship clear as day in their eyes.

When the procession of soldiers approached the thick gates, everyone split like the sea in a practised manner, bowing their heads low. Contrary to Leonardo's expectations, these pedestrians seemed wel-fed, dressed, and educated even though they were a dense pack of non-cultivators.

Of course, Leonardo paid them no mind whatsoever, much like Aria who slept soundly on his right shoulder. Since everyone believed Leonardo to be a non-cultivator, they helped push him along with a gentle force that propelled him forward.

Some people were curious as to how a non-cultivator could withstand the aura and pressure of multiple saints, especially the oppressive atmosphere which rested beyond the palace's gates. However, they soon realised that a formless energy fluctuation imbued with the essence of sainthood rippled from the white little fox on the young man's shoulder, solving their conundrum.

Still, they were shocked that a non-cultivator had a saint magical beast as a pet. How extravagant.

Several princes and princesses gathered on the balconies and terraces of their bedroom chambers to curiously observe this mysterious person about to be crowned as a Foreign Prince by their High Queen, and they were somewhat taken aback by his casual clothing and disregard for proper dressing codes or formal attires.

Was this the attitude of someone about to meet with their High Queen?

How would they know that Leonardo couldn't act surprised or taken aback no matter how much he desired to. Although the architecture seemed grandiose and all, it was nothing more than an enlarged medieval design in his eyes.

Of course, you can slap a few eye-catching manifestations of spiritual energy to represent the height of their cultivation, but who were they fooling? Perhaps if Leonardo's life so far followed the traditional protagonist path of a greater mountain peak behind every high mountain peak, a sky beyond the sky, and all those philosophical theories meant to humble the cultivator on his path, then maybe this would impact him somewhat.

But having gone from the rug of cultivation society on Earth to the pinnacle of the known universe to his comprehension, only to be brought down to a civilization that could be described as mediocre at best, he truly found it hard to feel overwhelmed.

In terms of cultivation and realms, the energy he felt from Nier's body during their moment of union was at least ten times greater in multitude and magnitude than what he perceived at the moment. Of course, it was so overwhelming he literally blanked out, never to recall the experience that followed.

Regretfully…

As for aesthetics and luxury. Well, to be humble, they were a few generations behind his home planet in that aspect. Leonardo was still unaware that his mother brought about a revolutionary upgrade to the concept of artificial intelligence, which indirectly revolutionised supercomputers and technology in a butterfly effect, completely overturning the industrial ecosystem across the globe within a short span of twenty years.

While Leonardo was being escorted into the massive structure, his head was filled with thoughts about his own territory and the great culling. Moreover, he was wondering if Queen Adeline had any ulterior motives for being so kind and generous to him.

Back in the Star Territory, the preparations for the great culling were already underway and on the cusp of completion. Of course, the territory's name was changed from Star Territory to Grace Imperial City, with the five towns incorporated into the massive city as five separate districts that will be named at a later date after Leonardo's return.

Pandora wanted to rush the selection as much as possible, but Juvia suggested postponing it to build an all-encompassing defensive wall around the circumference of the five towns and the lake situated in the epicentre of the region. These walls would serve as the borders of Grace Imperial City, as they both knew of Leonardo's plans to declare war not too long after his official coronation.

With the assistance of Pandora, Juvia, and a few saints dispatched by Queen Adeline, the ten thousand slaves quickly constructed a great wall. The wall was inlaid with an assortment of defensive formations personally inscribed by Juvia, these formations were a collective of twofold and threefold arrays direction from her elven heritage, and she could only be so extravagant with them because of the ridiculous amount of wealth Leonardo left behind.

Since he couldn't progress his energy cultivation under the suppression of Arcadia's will, he opted to invest all his wealth in the construction of his palace, and city, and raising his army.

"After the great culling and when the cowardly citizens have fled beyond the borders of our walls, shut the gates and start up the formation…" Juvia spoke weakly as she stood up, Pandora to the side providing her with the necessary support.

"Is carving formations really that exhausting?" Pandora asked as she helped lead Juvia to her bedroom chambers inside the palace.

Juvia rolled her eyes at that silly question before responding, "I had to constantly burn my essence energy to properly carve my family's Ode of the Elements into a self-sustaining defensive formation, how about you tell me?"

Then she added, "If you thought that tiny water dragon was something, wait until you see the formation utilise every drop of water in that lake, and you'll realise how powerful the heritage of my race truly is!"

Although Juvia wanted to boast, her pale complexion and low voice really made it hard to do that. She could barely structure two sentences before coughing, making it difficult for Pandora to take her seriously.

However, she didn't feel like agitating this former princess, and she appreciated the risk Juvia took by openly displaying her heritage as an elven royalty regardless of the dire circumstances. Thus, after delivering Juvia to her bed, Pandora asked Leona and Kieran to never leave her side while the petite lady left to carry on with the brutal selection.