Chapter 22: My Crown, I Wear It Myself

With eleven standard seconds remaining until the coronation ceremony, Ninglu walked into the ceremonial hall.

The breath of many nobles hitched; the approaching giant felt even more oppressive than he had appeared in the surveillance footage.

Most people, including Kezubaer, thought to themselves: 【Could it be that a deity from the Old Night Myth has descended?】

Some thought of the god of war, Sventovit, but the giant did not have four heads and four faces.

Others thought of the god of thunder, Perun, but the giant did not have a head of copper.

……

Some nobles, such as Yelena, frowned and observed Sage Kaminski out of the corner of their eyes.

【Could he be a cyborg of the Adeptus Mechanicus? Are they unwilling to accept the status quo of a diarchy and have decided to flip the table and unify Teziwoke directly?】

Countless torrents of 0s and 1s surged across Kaminski's bionic eyes, moving so fast they emitted a faint crackling sound.

Subsequently, the summary scan results appeared in binary code, while the built-in Translator automatically converted the language of technology into Wosuotuniya Low Gothic according to preset programs:

【Threat Level: Fatal Threat.】

【Physiological Structure: Unable to Parse.】

【……】

The Sage realized that the giant before him exceeded the scope of his scanning and analytical capabilities.

But he did not stop, forcing the scanning module to continue working until a wisp of black smoke drifted up; only then was he forced to stop, and the two mechanical tentacles on his back extended forward.

After electric sparks flickered for a moment, Kaminski's scanning module returned to normal, and he turned his head away, unwilling to accept the result.

Howard Fender, dressed in a red, gold-trimmed formal robe, spoke loudly to the crowd.

"Gentlemen, ladies, we are gathered here today to witness the dawn of a new era."

"Everyone, the Boleslaw Family has long since lost its virtue; they have taken and harmed, occupying the industries of every family."

"Boleslaw King is nothing but a Hive Giant Rat clinging to Teziwoke, despicable and greedy."

The blonde Count's words stirred the anger of everyone present, as every family had suffered losses to some degree.

"Fortunately, a noble person has descended from the heavens; Ninglu has come to Teziwoke, and he has overthrown the tyrannical rule of Boleslaw King."

"The servants of the Omnissiah have also seen the light of the Machine God shining upon him."

"Now, let us invite Sage Kaminski to crown the new king."

Kaminski's lower two mechanical tentacles lifted the crown, and the pair of tentacles above took it, held it high, and then he strode toward Ninglu.

Red and green lights flickered on the Sage's filter screen as reason and the instinct to explore mysteries clashed fiercely.

The one hundred and twenty-one meter distance felt like ten kilometers to Kaminski.

He arrived before Ninglu, and just as he was about to tell the other party to bow his head and recite the ceremonial holy words, Ninglu reached out, took the gold-crafted crown, and placed it directly on his own head.

His throne was not granted by the Adeptus Mechanicus, but was the result of his own conquest.

Everyone was stunned; this did not conform to tradition.

Red light flashed frantically on Kaminski's filter screen, and the Sound Array Synthesizer emitted a tremolo.

"Ninglu…… crown…… program……"

The Sage did not enter maintenance mode this time, but his overheated logic processing module was unable to complete its calculations for the moment.

"Sage Kaminski, you cannot reach my head; it is more appropriate for me to wear my own crown."

The nobles were silent; on such an occasion, every action carried special political significance. The new king's action was not merely a matter of height difference as he claimed, but held specific political implications.

They all looked at the two upright double-headed scepters on the crown, and the same thought could not help but surface in their minds.

【It seems this King Ninglu does not believe that the royal family and the Adeptus Mechanicus are a diarchy.】

【Then, what are Kaminski's thoughts?】

Many nobles held their breath, their palms sweating; was a great war about to break out?

Even Yelena, who had been very certain before, could not help but doubt her own judgment; was the new king a madman who wanted to go to war with the Adeptus Mechanicus?

Everyone cast their gaze toward the Sage, watching how he would react.

Kaminski was silent for several seconds; except for Ninglu, everyone felt that time was exceptionally long.

Finally, the Sound Array Synthesizer sounded.

"The Omnissiah protects you, Ninglu!"

The Sage did not deliver the coronation holy words written by Sage Kivior as he had in every past ceremony, but he indicated his recognition of Ninglu as the new king.

Ninglu remained calm and composed; Kaminski was indeed as he had imagined. Programs were certainly important, but this kind of political ceremony was not as important as efficiency and industrial capacity.

The Sage had discovered that his combat power exceeded the scope of his calculations, and he hoped that he, with his formidable combat power, would resolve the Vostonia crisis; the tech-priests would not choose war for the sake of political tradition.

In his logic of calculation, ensuring efficiency and industrial capacity was far more important than political tradition.

Accepting his own act of overstepping tradition was the inevitable result of his logic processing.

Ninglu would cooperate with the Adeptus Mechanicus, but he had to be the one in charge; if he could not be in charge, then there was no need for cooperation—he would beat them into ruins and then rebuild.

Today was just the beginning; as his strength increased, he would reshape the order of Vostonia according to his own ideas.

Howard breathed a sigh of relief; if a war had broken out, other than him, no one would likely have stood on Ninglu's side.

To avoid any further accidents, he shouted loudly.

"The new king has ascended the throne; why do you not yet offer your loyalty?"

After speaking, he was the first to kneel on one knee and, following the tradition of the Muska people, said loudly.

"I, Howard Fender, offer my loyalty to my King Ninglu! Whatever my King commands, I shall follow, I shall fulfill!"

Yelena had been beaten to the punch and hurriedly knelt on one knee.

"I, Yelena Kurnikova, offer my loyalty to my King Ninglu! Whatever my King commands, I shall follow, I shall fulfill!"

Kezubaer and the others also reacted and hurriedly offered their loyalty to the new king.

Ninglu scanned the crowd, "I accept your allegiance!"

After the others rose, he spoke again to Howard, who had yet to stand.

"Howard Fender, I hereby grant you the title of Count, in recognition of your loyalty and contributions."

Ninglu once again broke the tradition of the Muska people; the granting of titles should take place in his Hive Tower, not a noble's residence.

"As for the rest of you, your titles remain unchanged; your industries and factories shall resume operations immediately."

Hearing this, the group breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully accepted the order.

"As you command, my King."

"Howard, you stay behind; the others, execute your orders at once."

Kaminski walked up to Ninglu.

"For the next Byniban, Tech-Priest Luoxiji will communicate with you regarding the weapon and armor design plans."

"Please, in accordance with the agreement, restore all Upper Hive factory operations within five work cycles."

"I will honor my promise."

After everyone had left, Howard had Bukayo go find the steward to retrieve the prepared equipment, then followed him to the palace.

"Luoersiliefu will take over the industries originally belonging to the Boleslaw Family; for the industries of the other families, you must produce an allocation plan within one stellar hour."

"As you command, my King."

Howard understood that although Ninglu had handed the industries of the other fallen families to him, he could not distribute them at will, nor could he seek personal gain by assigning the most profitable industries to the Finde Family.

To win Ninglu's trust, he had to allocate them according to industrial relevance and the principle of maximizing efficiency.

(End of chapter)