Chapter 613: The Noble Gathering - 613
The banquet continued to grow in size every moment. Eventually, the Duchess and her daughter could no longer stay, having to go around and greet others.
Skymender did not sit alone. He and Li Youcai moved around the room. Being so small, he managed to blend in and move around without being noticed for the most part.
By now, noon was nearing. So many nobles were in the Imperial Palace's ballroom that it almost seemed crowded.
Skymender eventually found his Aunt and sat at a table with her, her children, and a few other barons.
Noon struck not long after, and the important people, who had not come earlier, finally arrived.
Naturally, such important people could only be those above nobles.
The first to arrive was the royal family of those Skymender found familiar.
The King of the Still Kingdom, as well as the crown prince, entered the ballroom through the large doors.
All of the nobles stood and bowed at their appearance.
The King and the Crown Prince smiled as they walked through the ballroom and sat at one of the five reserved tables closest to the ballroom stairs.
Four surrounded one that clearly stood above the others.
The Still Kingdom was the Kingdom that the Sky Barony resided in.
After just a brief moment, the King of the Ergen Kingdom, along with the Crown Prince, entered the ballroom. As they had with the Still Kingdoms royal family, everyone in the room stood and bowed.
These were the two most normal kingdoms in the Empire.
Not long after the Royal family of the Ergen Kingdom sat down, the doors opened again.
The King of the Flower Kingdom, as well as his wife and the Crown Prince, entered the room.
It was not unconventional for the Queen of a Kingdom to come, but considering how often these yearly meetings occurred, they usually only attended every now and then.
The Flower Kingdom was named as such because of the endless flower fields which covered the majority of its land. It was the number one site of dyes in the world.
The Flower Kingdoms name made it seem harmless, but that would be a foolish thought.
It was common knowledge among those educated that long ago, before the Faceless Empire ever existed, the area which was now known as the Flower Kingdom was the site of an incredible war, one with the most deaths in history.
The flower fields of the Flower Kingdom were stained with blood, and the descendants of those in the war had formed the Flower Kingdom after the Empire rose.
Finally, after the Royal family of the Flower Kingdom took their seats, the doors opened again.
The final Royal family walked through the doors. They brought with them an air of gloom that seemed to radiate off of their bodies. It was built into their bones.
This was the royal family of the Drop Kingdom. It was named as such due to the constant rainfall that stained the land. 300 days out of the year, rain was falling for at least 12 hours a day.
It was a unique weather phenomenon that researchers still had no clue about.
As the Royal family of the Drop Kingdom took their seats, consisting of the King and the Crown Prince, the doors closed. No more nobles would enter from outside.
Still, silence reigned over the room. The most important people had yet to arrive.
Just as this thought manifested into the heads of many, footsteps rang out.
They came from outside of the stairs. The stairs stood in the back of the room, leading to a door just as large as the door that marked the entrance to the room.
That door opened, and the Imperial Family walked through.
The current Imperial Family consisted of seven members. The Emperor and the Empress consisted of two of those seven.
The rest were the children.
The Emperor and the Empress walked out in front. Right to the side and slightly behind his father was the Imperial Crown Prince.
The other four, consisting of two sons and two daughters, walked behind the three.
This was the Imperial Family. Their clothes, though similar looking to everyone else's, were somehow simply superior. This could be understood from a glance.
The Emperor stood high above on the stairs as the rest of the Imperial Family walked down them, eventually sitting at a table.
The Emperor spoke. "Another year has passed, and luckily, I continue to see familiar faces. However, the heroes of the past cannot be forgotten."
Saying this, he began to speak again. "Darrell of Sekert, Gruince of Proll…"
The Emperor began to speak out names one by one, from memory. Skymender recognized some of them, and knew what this was.
Remembering the heroes of the past was a way to give honor to those that had died for the Empire.
Even if someone did not sacrifice their lives in a single moment, those who were loyal and eventually passed away would have their names spoken by the Emperor that reigned while they died. Only when the next Emperor took the throne would their name no longer be spoken. However, their names still hung on banners in the Imperial Palace, never to be forgotten.
This Emperor had reigned for a long time, obvious from the 10 minutes he spent speaking names.
"Remember these heroes, for each one served the Empire that you live in greatly."
The Emperor began to walk down the steps to join his family. He would speak again upon reaching the table. However, upon going halfway down, a person leaped at a speed the few in the room could even comprehend.
A flash of light could be seen. Skymender barely managed to see it. A human silhouette wielding a sword.
A Sword Master was assassinating the Emperor!
Suddenly, a single step sounded out clearly.
From seemingly nowhere, Sword Master Shang appeared. He put his sword in his sheath, behind the assassin, facing the crowd.
His eyes were calm, without even a ripple.
The assassin stopped, his body and face now visible. His face was plastered with unbelievable shock.
"Impossible. You-you-you, you are no Sword Master! You are a Gra–"
His words were destined to never be finished.
At the same time, his arms, legs, and head separated from his body and fell to the ground.
The sight of this happening, as well as Sword Master Shang's cold eyes, would forever be branded into the minds of all here, including Skymender's.
Chapter 614: Hidden Power - 614
Skymender looked at the Emperor. He was completely calm, with only a look reminiscent of a sneer on his face.
However, Skymender's mind was in turmoil, not because of the assassination itself, but because of the assassin's last words, which he never completed.
Although not many in the Empire would understand them, Skymender's sister was a potential Sword Master.
She had told him information that he normally would have never known.
Even among Sword Masters, there were levels, or ranks. It was classified from ranks one to four.
Being a 4th rank Sword Master meant that, while you were a Sword Master, you could not annihilate an entire army.
At the 3rd rank, you could do so, but only at the cost of your life, whether that be after destroying 90% of it, or dying from injuries afterwards.
At the 2nd rank, you could destroy an entire army with injuries, but still remain alive.
At the 1st rank, as it was said for Sword Master Shang, you could decimate an entire army and return home in time for dinner.
However, there was an even more unknown piece of information, one which Skymender had to beg Skybelle to tell him.
Above the Sword Master, there was another level. The Sword Grandmaster.
Throughout all of history, there was only one Grandmaster. He was the Sword Grandmaster of the Ancient Empire.
It was unknown how long he had been alive, but it seemed longer than any normal human could live.
The oldest records of his existence dated back nearly 200 years ago.
However, if Sword Master Shang was a Grandmaster, then the entire world would be upheaved by this news.
The strength of a Grandmaster, unlike Sword Masters, was simply unknown. However, there was a legend, not confirmed to be true, but stood as a testament to the might of a Sword Grandmaster.
Once, back when the Sword Grandmaster of the Ancient Empire was younger, an Empire declared war on the Ancient Empire.
The Sword Grandmaster walked through the gates of that Imperial Capital, guarded by perhaps millions of soldiers, and when he walked out, that Empire was erased from the maps.
Not just an army, but multiple armies, multiple Sword Masters, and it was done in a single day.
Since that day, no Empire had declared war on the Ancient Empire, which led Skymender to believe that the legend was true.
Sword Master Shang walked to the side of the Emperor. The Emperor had stopped in the middle of the stairs.
"As you can see, our enemies are nothing but fools. Sending an assassin at a time like this, thinking I would let my guard down, is a pathetic attempt at planning."
A voice rang out from above. "Indeed. Those bunch of no good idiots are gonna be wiped out sooner or later, even if we don't do it."
Skymender looked up. Leaning on the rails was the Imperial Scholar, as wise looking as ever.
Skymender did not even know when he appeared.
The Emperor smiled. "Well said. Care to come down and join us?"
The Imperial Scholar could not refuse the Emperor in front of so many people. Although unwilling, he came down and stood to the other side of the Emperor.
These three, standing in the middle of the stairs, represented the highest authority, intelligence, and power in the Empire.
It was an incredible display of dominance for the whole room to see.
The Emperor did end up finishing his walk down the stairs. The Imperial Scholar and Sword Master Shang did not sit, but stood behind him.
The Imperial Scholar had to pull out a cane, clearly too old to be standing for too long.
The Emperor spoke a few words, and the noble gathering officially began. There were few events, but they were not taking place just yet. There was a period of free time to roam around before anything like that.
Most of the nobles went to pay respects to kings or the Emperor. After today's events, the Emperor's standing increased in their hearts once again.
Even as they bowed to the Emperor, their hearts were still filled with turmoil.
The body of the assassin and its limbs had long been cleaned up, but blood stains remained in the carpet, being cleaned up by some servants.
Skymender himself did not go over. His status was not high enough to get too close to the Emperor right now.
Rather, he went to the side and got some food. Few people were doing so at the same time. After all, most of the focus was on talking to others and greeting the Emperor and Kings.
Most of them were children.
As Skymender grabbed a plate and walked around, someone bumped into him.
Skymender took a step forward, while the person who bumped into him fell to the ground.
"Oww." Skymender heard someone say.
He turned around, and some boy, seemingly around nine years old, was getting up from the ground.
He looked warily at Skymender for a moment before apologizing.
"I'm sorry. I need to watch where I'm going."
Skymender nodded. "It's alright. Don't worry about it."
He began to move on when the kid spoke again.
"You look familiar. Who are you?"
"Skymender of the Sky Barony."
The kid thought for a moment before speaking. "Yes. I remember. You were the one who saved the Duchess's daughter."
As if she had been receiving a call, the Duchess's daughter, Val, walked over to Skymender.
"Skymender. My mom wants to introduce you to some people."
Skymender nodded and walked over with her.
The kid did not follow, but seemed to be trying to remember Skymender.
Led by Val, Skymender made his way to a circle of nobles talking. They were near the Emperor, but not close enough for him to hear them.
Skymender instantly noticed someone as he walked over, someone he had not yet seen, but had been looking for. At the same time, she saw him.
Melly's eyes brightened and she shook her fathers hand off. She walked around the group that was speaking and met Skymender before he and Val reached the group.
Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
121 Power
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