Prime Minister Pon-Wai Jian

The three ministers kept their thoughts to themselves, each with their own considerations. However, the balance was eventually broken by something no one could conceive! A messenger scurried in under everyone's gazes and exchanged hushed words with the new Minster of Information. It was quite sad. The former Minister of Information was Minister Linshi, who occupied a terrifyingly high level of authority and control over the Imperial Council. She was unofficially the third most powerful figure underneath Minister Keigon and the Prime Minister due to her magical influence! When Emperor Lianghu died and Minister Linshi 'disappeared', the information division went with her. It took a huge number of resources to rebuild it, and even then, it was a shadow of its glory days. No one had much faith in the division nor the new minister.

That was why when the Minister of Information shouted, stood up, and slammed the table, people became angry. They snapped, "What are you shouting for? If you have anything to add, then say it. Don't act like an animal!"

The minister realized his mistake and meekly bowed, "My apologies, Prime Minister."

"That's not a problem. What did you hear that elicited such a reaction?" Pon-Wai said with a smile. He was always smiling, which made it impossible for people to read his thoughts. Coupled with his tremendous presence, everyone subconsciously shivered and averted their eyes. He was like a giant looming over the room!

"It's like this…" the Minister of Information hesitantly explained. "A foreign power… arrived at the Xi Wall and… wishes to talk with us."

"What?"

"Nonsense!"

"What a farce!"

Many shook their heads in disbelief, disdain filling their eyes. It was obvious no one thought it could be true. The world had been painted in two colors since the very beginning: the Alzar Kingdom and the Xingyuu Empire. Only in recent times did a third power, the Zino Kingdom, rise. But there was a firm belief that besides humanity, there was no one else! They were the lone rulers of the world!

"You must have had evidence before presenting this before the Imperial Council, right?" Pon-Wai argued slowly. "If not…"

"No, no, no! We have evidence!" The minister felt his back drenched in sweat. The indignation forced him to shout at the messenger, "Hurry up and spit it out! Repeat what you told me!"

Feeling betrayed and cursing his superior in his heart, the poor man walked up and said, "The Xi Wall reported that there were five guests from beyond the wall that arrived approximately ten days ago. They were described as bird-like creatures, though they were taller than humans… And they came with a flying ship…"

As he spoke more, he felt his soul wither away. The atmosphere was so suffocating that he almost believed he would get executed the next moment! He was thrown straight into a bottomless pit with no return! No one dared to say anything, though it was clear what they thought. The ministers reflexively turned to see the Prime Minister's reaction. As they expected, Prime Minister Pon-Wai's face turned solemn. While he continued smiling, that made it scarier, causing the messenger to wet his pants.

"Cardinal Loujin, take him outside and give him thirty lashes," he ordered coldly.

Ah, that kid is in for it now. He's dead for sure, people thought while sighing.

Who was Cardinal Loujin? He was one of the Four Cardinals, originally tasked with protecting Emperor Lianghu! After Elizabeth's abrupt reversal in the final battle though, Cardinal Shaolong met with his untimely demise, reducing it to three. That said, their might remained formidable! They were hailed as the strongest Imperial Sentinels in the empire and their mere presence was enough to affect an entire army's morale! They were so powerful that Shaolong could produce a flying strike, despite lacking a complete understanding of Martial Energy. Additionally, they clashed against Sir Winstin several times, letting the kingdom's strongest knight suffer loss after loss. They might be incomparable to the Sword King or Protector Avin, but they were definitely strong!

The man nodded. His goliath of a body stepped out and the floor seemed to tremble. Cardinal Loujin was a monster of a man, and his strength was unfathomable. That was why his weapon of choice was a gigantic shield, the size of a carriage door! Only he could wield that hunk of metal with such ease that it seemed almost weightless in his hands. And do not misunderstand, his size was not indicative of his speed. He was not slow at all! Even Sir Winstin was helpless against this person, forcing him to look the other way in their battle. A single lash from a normal person might breach and bleed the skin. However, in Loujin's hands, that lash could easily break bone and kill! Therefore, the thirty lashes were really a death sentence!

"Please… Please wait! I'm just the messenger, so please have mercy on me! I can explain! I have proof!"

"You have ten seconds," the Prime Minister said.

"Yes, yes… I have multiple seals of approval from respected individuals. Two from the Regiment Commanders at the Xi Wall, one from their Division General, and five seals from within the information division…"

He fumbled in his pockets, like his life depended on it, and retrieved them one after another. The ministers exchanged glances. From what they could see, they were not forged. Giving their seals of approval was a very big deal. It was equivalent of placing their reputation on the line! If the news was really made up, then they could be stripped of their positions and imprisoned for life. Worse case scenario, even execution was possible! No one would be stupid enough to gamble like this for a joke, especially a Division General. A Division General might be the third from the top in terms of the command chain, but they still commanded over five thousand troops! That was enough for these ministers to warrant some more attention.

"Not to mention, Army General Huangfu and Unit Commander Haea read through the report and approved of it!"

Those two? Everyone sucked in a cold breath.

This was an earth-shattering revelation! General Huangfu and Commander Haea were extremely famous and influential individuals in the army. On paper, an Army General might be a simple rank higher than a Division General, but the difference was enormous. A Division General commanded five thousand, while an Army General commanded twenty-five thousand! That was a five-fold difference already, and how many soldiers were there in the entire empire? Tack onto that, General Huangfu's accomplishments in his youth, and how he dominated the north in the First Great Kingdom War, it painted just how revered this man was! He was one step from becoming a Unit Commander, one of the cornerstones of the empire's military!

So obviously, Unit Commander Haea was exactly that person, a cornerstone! Officially, her title was First Junior Imperial Unit Commander. Put into simpler terms, she was the Third-In-Command of the Tai Feng Army! Third-In-Command! In fact, she was the one responsible for overseeing the entire southern theatre! During the Second Great Kingdom War, this was the Teria Sea Campaign, Invasion of Aereon, and even the Battle of the Millennium! In some ways, she was involved with New Havens too, leading to Elizabeth's tragedy… The extent of her reach was really unfathomable, and she had deep ties to countless famous events. When those two approved of the report from the Xi Wall, the council had to consider it seriously, even if they innately refused it!

"Is it really true?" someone muttered. They could not help but doubt it still.

"If Unit Commander Haea said so…"

"Maybe they were imagining things…"

"All of them?" Everyone grew quiet.

"… Assuming the report is correct, who were they and what did they want?" Prime Minister Pon-Wai asked.

"And what about their numbers or relative strength? Are they a threat?" Minister Keigon added. Worthy of their seats, they regained their composures in a matter of seconds! Even the idea of a foreign species visiting them was not enough to ruin their tempo.

Suppressing his admiration, the messenger instantly replied, "According to their leader, they hailed from a Rank 3 civilization called the Featherwind Sect. Their leader was their acting Sect Master, Argo. They emphasized that they wanted to talk with the Imperial Council. There were five of them in total, and their strength was hard to gauge. The assumption is that they're at least Perception Realm or Condensed Drop. Their capabilities are unknown… and their intentions are also… unknown."

"What a useless report," someone chided. "It went through so many levels of approval, and we get this?"

"It's too dangerous to agree. If they have hostile intentions, aren't we offering our heads by going? In my opinion, we should ignore them."

"Now hold on, we don't know if they're the vanguard of this sect. If we offend them… this might lead to an invasion."

"This is obviously a sign from a higher power! We need to take this precious chance while we can!" someone cried.

"What if they're making things up though? We don't have any way to prove otherwise!"

"Just the fact that they came in on a… flying ship gives itself credibility, don't you think?"

"Hmph! I won't believe it until I see it for myself. How could a ship fly, much less birds talk? It all sounds ridiculous!"

"Then how could you explain Unit Commander Haea's approval?"

"That…"

Right then, Prime Minister Pon-Wai raised his hand and silenced the noisy hall. "I understand everyone's considerations. While the situation remains unknown, I believe it does warrant our attention. I shall go there myself."

"Prime Minister?" Everyone shouted. "This is unwise! You're the leader of the Imperial Council!"

"Don't worry," the man smiled. "I have everything under consideration."