Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Eva was picking out Lu Zhiyu’s clothes. She chose a light red pullover with a belt, which she then paired with a white undershirt, white trousers, and black boots. It was a very popular style in the capital.
Eva then brought him breakfast. Though Lu Zhiyu had no real physical need for food, the habit of eating had remained with him, so he continued the ritual regardless.
“Master, where are you going today? The National Library again?” Eva asked, while she poured him a glass of wine.
The National Library was the largest library in the city of Nia. As such, it had collected some books within the last few years that Lu Zhiyu hadn’t yet seen. This was why Eva had assumed that he might be heading there.
“Not today. Let’s join the fun in the streets instead,” he replied.
The streets within the city were very lively. This was because the ambassador from the Orc nation, the Holy Seville Empire, was coming to meet the Crete Empire Emperor Zolman II.
This would be the first diplomatic meeting held between the Crete Empire and the Holy Seville Empire. It would also be the first diplomatic meeting between human and orc countries in many years. The meetings were intended to help the two sides ease the tension between their races, so everyone present was in a great and hopeful mood.
Since the formal exchanges between their countries had been almost non-existent, trade had only been carried out privately by individuals. As such, both sides wished to improve the situation by negotiating a series of border trade regulations, as well as a series of bilateral cooperation initiatives.
At the same time, the Holy Seville Empire was struggling to combat the orc slave trade. This time, the ambassador had come with the added goals of having the Crete Empire ban orc slavery in exchange for the return of a large number of enslaved orcs.
However, this goal would affect the profits of many stakeholders in both the Crete Empire and the Holy Seville Empire. A small minority of the orc nobility also engaged in the slave trade by secretly trafficking some of the weaker orc ethnic groups to the humans. As such, these slave traders had amassed a large fortune by making a huge enterprise. It’s also worth noting that, at the same time, many human slaves were also imported into the land of the orcs.
Added to all of this, the upper echelon of the Crete Empire intended to establish diplomatic relations with the Holy Seville Empire in order to exert further pressure upon the Church of Light for more concessions and compromises on their part.
As this was the first diplomatic meeting between the humans and the orc kingdom, there was naturally a large amount of interest. The Holy Seville Empire was a powerful dynasty, as it was the first ruling power to unite all of the orcs in the northern Alen Continent.
A large number of civilians stood on the streets, awaiting the arrival of the ambassador and the meeting with King Zolman II. In the early morning, the gates of the city had opened early, and the crowds had immediately streamed into the streets.
People were everywhere, in the streets and alleys, and on the houses and roofs. Many women huddled together, shouting down from their perches above street-level.
The last war between humanity and the orcs had taken place forty years ago. At that time, the Crete Empire and the Church of Light had joined forces and invaded the Kingdom of Menkaure. It had taken less than a month to ransack the country and terrify all of the orcs. None of the orcs had dared to venture south since then.
Since that time, forty years had passed. Among the orcs, there were still some who were hostile towards humans, yet humans had long forgotten the threat of the orcs. For them, the lands of the orcs were merely some distant cold, barren, and desolate regions in the north.
They also considered the orcs as being a weak and barbaric race. Compared to the prosperity of the humans, the orcs could only play a supporting, minor role.
This arrogance and contempt was present in the hearts of all the members of the Crete Empire. This time, they were not here to witness the arrival of the ambassador, but to see a vassal nation pay tribute!
They had long forgotten that the orcs were an intelligent race that had formed city-states long before humanity had even heard of civilization! In fact, a thousand years ago, the orcs had almost pushed humanity to the brink of extinction.
If the first emperor, Golden King Ahenaten, had not united humanity and defeated the twelfth orc king, Wolf King Costa, at the Red River Plains, humanity would never have even had the chance to develop!
Instead, the orcs would have likely invaded the south and occupied the entire Alen Continent. In that case, humans would have become either a marginalized vassal state or been completely annihilated!
At the moment, a large number of soldiers blocked the road and were maintaining order at the gate. This was in preparation for the reception of the orc ambassador.
Although the Crete Empire looked down upon the orcs, the Seville Empire was still a powerful dynasty that had unified the entire race of the orcs. Also, its army numbered within the hundreds of thousands! So, no matter how much the humans looked down on them, they paid careful attention to etiquette, so as not to offend the other side.
The gates opened and many armored lion-people knights advanced inside. They entered the city in a striking and imposing manner. The rows of the human soldiers standing at the sides could sense the battle-hardened aura that was being emitted from the lion orc knights from the north. They were stunned.
As the people of the city also witnessed the cavalry entering the gates, they gazed in awe at the hundreds of knights marching in unity. They held their breaths until the procession had passed, then began engaging in fierce debates.
“Was that the cavalry of the orcs? It seems like they’re about to eat us!”
“Yeah, I heard that these savage orcs actually love eating humans.”
“That’s so scary! The orcs aren’t as weak as I thought!”
“They don’t look too different from us. Their faces are a bit hairier though.”
“The leading general is also an orc? I couldn’t tell at all!”
Their leader was Allen Yi Wensi, one of Verthandi’s original Holy Knights. He was a direct subordinate of Verthandi, and was one of her earliest followers, ever since the conquest of the Amos Icefield on the quest to slaughter the dragon Frost. He was also one of the greatest generals and central figures of Holy Seville.
Moreover, unlike Verthandi’s other Holy Knights, Allen Yi Wensi was a human being. As such, he had a very unique position within the upper echelons of the orcs.
He was chosen this time precisely because of his status as a human being and his illustrious career. By sending a high ranking official like him to Crete, Holy Seville was demonstrating its commitment to building a relationship between the two countries.