Chapter 649

"Remove the covering cloth."

The steward gave the order.

As the duke who had been the most prominent in recent years, Duke Phibes naturally had to seize this opportunity to display his strength.

Soon, the carriage opened.

A large number of commoners and nobles turned their gazes toward it.

Then, they saw that within the long convoy, some carriages were filled with vast amounts of goldware, others with vast amounts of silverware, and nine carriages altogether were packed with gold, silver, and jewels.

But the last carriage held only one thing.

It was a crystal-clear stone!

If the orcs of Yan Province were here, they would recognize this thing.

Diamond!

The diamonds of the Gods' Continent were harder than those from Lin Yan's world before his transmigration.

Moreover, the diamonds here, when fused with the ever-present magical elements, took on another wondrous appearance.

That was, though utterly transparent, they seemed to shimmer with strange, colorful lights from different angles.

It could be called Magic Diamond!

Magic Diamond!

In fact, diamonds on the Gods' Continent were also quite useful to magicians.

Yet nobles preferred to use them as ornaments.

"Wow, what's that?"

A minor noble, seeing only this single diamond on the entire carriage, exclaimed in surprise.

Some women, upon seeing the diamond, instantly had their eyes gleaming.

"This is diamond, a rare treasure said to come from a land east of the Eternal Night Empire. This one diamond is worth a fortune—Duke Phibes spent several million gold coins to acquire it!"

Beside the carriage, the elaborately dressed steward explained.

"It is said that in the eastern land of the Eternal Night Empire, a popular saying goes: 'Diamonds last forever, one endures forever!'"

The steward recalled this promotional phrase from the Flame Empire's diamond marketing.

Diamonds last forever, one endures forever!

This phrase caused many women in the crowd to begin seeing stars in their eyes.

"Huh, why is there a flying ship in the sky? Isn't aerial flight banned?"

At that moment, a voice interjected.

Flying ship!

Those three words caused the surrounding civilians to look up.

Then, they saw a exquisitely crafted flying ship approaching from afar, led by a small squad of flying beasts, hovering about a hundred meters above the ground.

Due to the angle, they could not see what was on the flying ship.

But the fiery red flame symbol on the hull and sails of the flying ship was clearly visible!

"The capital has indeed banned flight, but it is said that masters above the Legendary Rank can fly and even carry a flying ship."

A noble said.

"Wow, a Legendary Rank master? So this flying ship belongs to some Legendary Rank master?"

A commoner exclaimed.

Legendary Rank masters were rarely seen.

Even in the capital of the Eternal Night Empire, this was true.

Also, a Seventh Rank mage could fly.

Normally, the capital of the Eternal Night Empire did not ban flight; magicians occasionally flew overhead, and even sky knights passed through—who knew which of these magicians might be a Legendary Rank master?

But recently, anyone flying in the sky was certainly a Legendary Rank master, possibly even higher—a Saint Realm master.

But no one dared to imagine Saint Realm.

"The flame symbol—has any Legendary Rank master used this symbol?"

Another noble asked.

"I don't know."

Many people grew curious.

The arrival of a Legendary Rank master instantly drew the attention of everyone on the street; even some great nobles temporarily halted their displays of wealth, lifting their heads to gaze at the sky, guessing the origin of the flying ship.

The flying ship moved swiftly.

Not long after, it passed over them and vanished ahead.

The ripples caused by the flying ship gradually subsided.

Along the long street, the nobles' display of wealth continued.

Even those great nobles who normally preferred to keep a low profile and were more reserved would, upon arriving in the capital, follow the custom and remove the covering cloth from their carriages.

Everyone else was doing it—if you alone did not, wouldn't you seem out of place?

It's not something shameful.

Those invited this time were at least barons or higher.

Nobles of baron rank and above—even the eccentric ones—would hardly let themselves appear out of step.

Nobles who were out of step were almost always fallen nobles; once fallen, even if they wanted to fit in, they couldn't!

Duke Phibes's convoy caused considerable commotion as it passed.

At this moment, the convoy led by the female giantess Hester finally entered the capital.

The four small flying ships carried He Li, equivalent to a total of forty horse-drawn carts.

This caravan was also the largest of all.

Meng Ying sent a wide variety of gifts this time, and the reason for sending so much was largely to seize this opportunity to fully open the market of the Eternal Night Empire!

A common Count typically sends only three to five horse-drawn carts.

After all, if a gift to the Emperor lacks rare treasures, only gold and silver remain presentable.

And not raw gold, but more valuable gold and silver artifacts—gold and silver artifacts are far more expensive than pure gold and silver!

One horse-drawn cart can hold several hundred jin; for a Count's wealth, five carts are nearly the limit.

The value of a Count's He Li is generally around one million gold coins.

Most Counts send three carts.

A Hou Jue sends five to ten carts, and the value of the He Li is typically several million to ten million gold coins.

A Duke sends over ten carts, and the value of the He Li is almost always over ten million gold coins.

Dukes are all extremely wealthy; sending too little would be disgraceful.

But this time, the Flame Empire's caravan had a full forty horse-drawn carts!

That was far too massive!

So as soon as this caravan entered the city, it drew everyone's attention.

"What an enormous caravan!"

Someone gaped with an open mouth.

"Look! The flame symbol!"

Someone recognized the flame symbol on the caravan's banner.

"Yes, it's identical to the flame symbol on that flying ship just now!"

Another person said.

"So it's the gift from that legendary being—but forty carts? This is astonishing!"

A noble exclaimed.

Even though he was a mid-tier noble, forty carts of He Li exceeded his imagination.

It was many times more than his entire fortune!

To send so much in a single gift—how incredibly wealthy must that legendary being be?

This noble simply could not imagine it.

The female giantess Hesite led a squad of warriors at the front, with the horse-drawn carts in the center, each covered with thick red cloth, and female warriors from the Queen's Guard stationed on both sides of each cart.

"Huh? All female warriors?"

Some people grew curious.