Chapter 183: Chapter 149 Banquet_1
Duanmu Huai was not foolish enough not to be prepared for Cabal’s theft of light energy. Though he had left, before doing so, Duanmu Huai had installed a bomb on Traveler’s shackles. If Cabal really wanted to seize the power of the Traveler, Duanmu Huai would have no choice but to …… blow it up.
Regardless, the alien races must not prevail, no matter what.
As it turned out, the best way to wake a person who was feigning sleep was to give them a good beating.
The bomb had destroyed the shackles binding the Traveler and awakened it from its slumber, but….
“Hmm, I guess I might have overshot the power a bit?”
Looking at the big white sphere in front of him, Duanmu Huai shrugged. The formerly perfectly round white sphere was now full of holes, through which the internal parts could be clearly seen. What the heck was the Traveler, exactly?
From its outward appearance, it looked like a mechanical creature. Who could have created it?
Duanmu Huai did consider taking a look inside the Traveler, but eventually decided not to – after all, he had just blown it awake and it was probably still fuming. Even if it didn’t know who had awakened it… Hmm, let’s just say that the unfortunate pig-face creature bore the brunt of the Traveler’s morning grumpiness.
Regardless, it had nothing to do with him.
The awakened Traveler didn’t show any reaction. It was unclear whether it was unable to speak or just uninterested in communication. One thing was for sure – it didn’t try to communicate with anyone else. It merely spawned a large number of ingenious mechanisms from its ragged body and once again revived thousands of Guardians. Well, it seemed like the Traveler wasn’t particularly angry.
As for the Cabal’s fleet, it was obliterated. The entire fleet withdrew after the death of its commanding general. Duanmu Huai beat the fleet until it was unrecognizable; only a handful managed to escape, everything else was wiped out, reduced to nothing but smoke in the sky.
After this conflict, reconstruction work began in the Holy City. Although the human casualties were minor, the city itself had suffered greatly from Cabal’s bombardment. Despite successfully defending it, there was no avoiding reconstruction.
After this, Savara, on behalf of the High Tower Council, found Duanmu Huai for a discussion.
The conflict with Cabal had prompted the Guardians to realize the necessity of a cosmic fleet. However, they lacked the necessary technology and experience. Hence, Savara hoped that Duanmu Huai could lend them a hand.
In the end, the negotiation concluded with Duanmu Huai agreeing to help them build some warships (after all, once the warships were re-deployed as space station bases, the Void Dockyard could be reactivated). On the flip side, the materials and resources needed to manufacture the warships had to be provided by the Guardian civilization.
Actually, this wasn’t difficult. During the Golden Age, the Guardian civilization had built numerous facilities and mining equipment within its own galaxy. Although many were destroyed, some remained. All that needed to be done now was to send the Guardians to the planets occupied by the alien races to wipe them out and reactivate the mining equipment. This allowed the minerals to be gathered and processed, and then transported to the space station for construction.
Of course, Duanmu Huai wasn’t working for free. At least half of the resources he collected were his reward.
After all, Duanmu Huai also needed to manufacture warships.
None of these events could be completed in a short span of time. While the Guardians would restart factories and mine minerals, Duanmu Huai wasn’t idle during this period either.
“Why do I have to attend such a boring banquet?”
Clad in armor, standing in the midst of the bustling banquet, Duanmu Huai couldn’t help but complain to Ann.
“Ah ha ha ha, there’s really no helping it.”
Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s complaint, Ann sheepishly stuck out her tongue.
“Because this is the engagement ceremony of the Duke of Ulrick’s eldest son and the daughter of Count Hasha. As princesses of Manaria and Regnes, both Greiya and I have to attend. After all, this marriage was a promise made by the king himself, so as a princess, I am obligated to participate.”
“But what does that have to do with me?”
“As the knight, aren’t you going to be Greiya’s and my future husband? How can you not attend an occasion ? Besides, with you here, Greiya and I won’t have to deal with any troublesome matters, and no one would disturb us. Isn’t that great?”
“Well, well, those are your true intentions, aren’t they?”
Duanmu Huai looked towards the group of boys and girls not far away. Judging by their attire, these youngsters should also be children of the nobility of Manaria. They were gathered, whispering amongst themselves and occasionally glancing over in his direction. He could imagine that if he wasn’t here, those guys would definitely come over to chat and establish good relations with Ann and Greiya. However, with Duanmu Huai standing here, his mere presence and intimidating aura deterred anyone from approaching, let alone greeting Ann.
You’ve really been treating me as a useful tool, huh.
Sensing Duanmu Huai’s dissatisfaction, Ann gave a hollow laugh, then quickly grabbed Greiya.
“Greiya, look, there’s delicious food over there!!”
Watching as Ann dragged Greiya away, Duanmu Huai let out a resigned sigh and turned to Ogis.
“You’re not going to wander around?”
“I’m content as long as I’m by your side.”
Even though she had also changed into a fancy black lace dress, Ogis doesn’t seem to have interest in this kind of occasion. Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s question, she answered indifferently while returning her gaze to her novel.
Listening to Ogis’s response, Duanmu Huai shook his head. Just then, a voice rang out.
“Oh, hello, sir knight. Long time no see.”
Duanmu Huai turned his head and saw a beautiful girl with elf-like ears, dressed in a magnificent dress, standing in front of him with a smile on her face. He nodded in acknowledgement.
“Hello, Miss Hanna. It’s been a while. How have you been?”
The elven girl in front of him was none other than Hanna, the student council president of Manaria Magic Academy, an incredibly diligent individual, who had the misfortune of covering up for Ann’s messes in the academy most of the times.
“Without Her Highness causing a ruckus every day, things have become a lot quieter. But it feels a tad too quiet… I hope she didn’t trouble you too much, Sir Knight.”
“For me, she has been of great help.”
Duanmu Huai did not cover up his thoughts about Ann.
“And I don’t think she has caused any trouble for me. The world outside is so fascinating, she is busy enjoying life. From what I see, she seems to be very happy every day.”
Hearing Duanmu Huai’s answer, Hanna breathed a sigh of relief. She turned her head, looking at Ann, who was enthusiastically chatting with Greiya, with a helpless expression.
“I understand that Manaria Magic Academy is too small for Her Highness. She always has her eye on the larger world. It is a good thing for her to be able to realize her own wishes.”
At this point, Hanna turned to look at Duanmu Huai again.
“Nevertheless, I hope you can safeguard Her Highness, Sir Knight. That’s my only request.”
“Don’t worry, Miss Hanna, I won’t let Ann get into danger.”
Duanmu Huai nodded. There’s no denying that Ann is a unique and spirited girl, and her vivacity and cheerfulness have brought much joy. Truth be told, Duanmu Huai quite liked her. He could understand why Greiya liked Ann, but to take her as his betrothed is another matter altogether.
It was a bit embarrassing to say, Duanmu Huai had never even been through a blind date before crossing over, let alone getting married. As they were discussing this, Hanna started looking ahead saying.
“Ah, things are about to start.”
Following her cue, Duanmu Huai looked ahead and saw a guy with a pale face dressed in a white suit stepping down from the central staircase. Not far below him stood a beautiful girl dressed in a black suit with radiant black hair. According to Ann’s introduction, she was the fiancée of the pale-faced guy, and the announcement of their engagement and marriage was up next.
That’s what should have happened…
The pale-faced guy stood in the middle of the steps, glanced at the guests around, and then raised his head, taking a deep breath.
“I, Yald Yurick, hereby announce the cancellation of my engagement to Audrey Hasha!”
The pale-faced guy’s voice echoed through the banquet hall, and for a moment, the hall fell silent. All the guests had their hands up, ready to applaud, but now, they were at a loss for what the appropriate reaction should be.
Even Ann and Greiya, who had just returned to Duanmu Huai’s side, were looking at the scene in front of them with a baffled expression. Duanmu Huai, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow in curiosity, looking at the pale-faced guy.
So, is this the real-life version of a jilted engagement?
This was the first time he had seen it, and he thought it only happened in books!
But Duanmu Huai recalled that in novels, usually the man’s family broke off the engagement because the man had lost his power and was no longer of use. It was the first time he had seen a man openly break off an engagement with a woman.
Why? Was this dude being cuckolded by his fiancée?
At this point, Duanmu Huai switched to spectator mode. It was a pity there were no melon seeds on hand, otherwise, he would have comfortably settled in his seat to watch the showdown.
Miss Audrey, to everyone’s surprise, seemed blindsided by the announcement as she looked at him, face pale, and asked.
“… Why, Sir Yald, do you want to break off our engagement?”
In response to Audrey’s question, the young man named Yald remained silent for a moment, then reached out his hand.
“Because, I have found someone who I genuinely love, she… she is my true match!”
As he spoke, Yald strode into the crowd, reached out, and pulled out a girl with fluffy orange hair, holding her in his arms. He then fixed his eyes on Audrey and announced.
“Only Miss Angela is my true love! I will make her my wife!”
Hearing this, Duanmu Huai looked baffled. He turned his head, looking at Ann who was also shocked.
“Is it common in your country to brag about infidelity so openly?”