"Respected Lord Hao, did you sleep well last night? I hope those clumsy fellows in the courtyard didn't disturb your rest," King Erl inquired with a slight bow.
"Thanks for your concern, Your Majesty. I slept very well last night," Hao Yun raised his hand casually in greeting to King Erl.
"That's good to hear. Lord Hao must be hungry now. Shall we have breakfast first, and then I can show you around the surroundings?" King Erl asked respectfully.
"Sure! Oh, by the way, that roast meat from yesterday was excellent. What kind of meat was that? Could I have a couple more pieces?" Hao Yun replied casually as they walked towards the breakfast hall.
"You had the roasted giant cockatrice leg last night. These giant cockatrices are specially bred by us, the people of Everlasting Star, known for their delicious taste and rich nutrition," King Erl replied with a smile.
"I see. Do these birds have wings? I bet if we breaded their wings and deep-fried them, they'd be incredibly delicious!" Hao Yun said, wiping the corner of his mouth unconsciously.
"Breaded and fried wings? Such a way of eating?" King Erl asked curiously.
"Oh yeah! Let me tell you, fried wings are one of the best foods in the world! How about this, when we have some free time later, I'll personally guide your chefs and let you taste the different delicacies from different civilizations!" Hao Yun patted King Erl's shoulder in a friendly manner.
"Sounds great! If Lord Hao recommends such a delicacy, it must be incredibly tasty! When we have a moment, I must taste it too!" King Erl nodded eagerly. Despite their current lively conversation, both of them knew that whether they could still get along so harmoniously later was questionable.
During breakfast, Hao Yun and King Erl continued their friendly exchange about food, occasionally laughing at some amusing stories, causing the guards around them to chuckle along. The atmosphere was extremely relaxed and harmonious, giving the impression to outsiders that they were just two familiar friends having a gathering, without a hint of hostility.
After breakfast, under the escort of dozens of heavily armored warriors riding on griffins, Hao Yun and King Erl, in a royal ceremonial carriage pulled by four griffins, set off towards Everstar City. Along the way, Hao Yun saw many Everlasting Star people coming and going, all of whom appeared perfectly normal. According to the readings from Hao Yun's Mold Spirit Energy Tracking System, these people did not have elevated Mold Luck levels, indicating that they were neither infected by Mastanian toxins nor contaminated by Mold Spirit Energy.
Moreover, these Everlasting Star people did not seem to suffer severe enslavement or oppression due to the occupation of Everstar by the Mastanians. They moved freely, busy with their own affairs. However, Hao Yun noticed that although these people were free to move, their faces did not show any joy or relaxation; instead, they all displayed a suppressed and deeply depressed expression.
However, passing by the Everlasting Star civilians at this moment were the King's convoy, so when the pedestrians saw the King, they stopped and bowed respectfully to the convoy. At this moment, Hao Yun could clearly feel from these pedestrians various complex emotions such as hesitation, fear, and anticipation. He was quite certain that these pedestrians did not respect King Erl but were disappointed in him.
"Hahaha! Lord Hao, have I not spoken the truth? Although the Mastanians have occupied Everstar, as you can see, our people have not all been locked up in concentration camps waiting for a death sentence; they can still move freely on this land," King Erl waved cheerfully at the passing Everlasting Star people, continuing to sell his viewpoint to Hao Yun, unconcerned about the low spirits displayed by the passersby.
It took about an hour for the convoy to finally turn onto a wider boulevard. According to King Erl's introduction, this boulevard was the main road in Everstar City—Eternal Avenue—and following this road would lead directly to the Everstar Palace. The surface of Eternal Avenue was entirely paved with multicolored pebbles of almost identical size and shape. At intervals on either side of the avenue, towering statues were erected, each about fifteen meters high, depicting Everlasting Star warriors. The statues struck various poses of battle, looking extremely majestic. From afar, they resembled two rows of formidable giant guards, protecting the King's party safely as they traveled along this avenue.
Between every two giant statue guards on the road, three heavily armored soldiers stood on guard, and patrolmen on strange birds occasionally flew in the sky. Passing through so many guards made it difficult for people not to feel intimidated by the suffocating pressure. Hao Yun observed that under this invisible pressure, all pedestrians walking on Eternal Avenue consciously moved towards the center of the road, trying to maintain a certain distance from the guards stationed on either side of the avenue.
Of course, the real security maintenance and protection of King Erl's party as they passed along Eternal Avenue were still the Everlasting Star soldiers stationed beside the giant statues. These soldiers had skin as thin as withered grass and eyes that flickered with green light. Hao Yun immediately understood that the reason why the passersby here seemed so fearful was because the soldiers guarding both sides of Eternal Avenue were puppets of the Mastanians.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
In addition, as Hao Yun passed by the towering statues, he also noticed some small clumps attached to each statue's shoulders. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that these inconspicuous clumps were actually Mastanians curled up into balls in their original form, motionless and paying no attention to passersby. Therefore, Hao Yun found it difficult to determine whether they were resting or deliberately hiding in this manner to conceal themselves from those passing by.
"Hahaha! The Eternal Avenue is an important transportation hub in Everstar City, and it requires heavy military presence at all times. Coupled with the long standby capability of these grass-like guards, they naturally become the best candidates to constantly protect our personal safety!" King Earl chuckled as he explained to Hao Yun while observing the soldiers stationed on both sides of the avenue.
"You mean you and the Destroyer Black Gate?" Hao Yun raised an eyebrow and glanced at King Earl, questioning.
"Yes. The Destroyer Black Gate is the leader of the Mastanians, and I am the king of Evermoore. Since we are equally important to Everstar, these guards naturally need to protect the personal safety of both of us!" King Earl replied.
"But the Mastanians are invaders. By coexisting peacefully with them like this, aren't you handing over your territory to the enemy?" Hao Yun asked.
"As long as we can save the lives of our people, ensure our homeland is not destroyed, making some compromises is not necessarily a bad thing," King Earl replied helplessly.
"Alright, Master Gu, let's not dwell on these details for now. Once we cross that bridge ahead, we'll reach Everstar City. How about we first go into the city for a visit, and then I'll treat you to lunch at a famous restaurant inside the city? They have craft beers that rival royal wines, and the most renowned fruitwood and herb-roasted meats in the city. Since you appreciate Evermoore's cuisine so much, I look forward to your evaluation of the food there," King Earl continued.
Seeing that King Earl seemed unwilling to continue the previous topic, Hao Yun followed King Earl's arrangements obediently. For Hao Yun, as long as King Earl didn't confront him, he was more than willing to go along with their rhythm. Because for Hao Yun, what he needed to do now was to delay the time as much as possible without provoking them, to reduce the consumption of his armor's energy, while waiting for Dao Lao and the others' rescue.
After crossing a large stone bridge built between two valleys, Hao Yun and his group officially entered Everstar City. Everstar City was built on continuous mountain ranges covered with lush vegetation. Especially those exaggerated towering ancient trees made the whole city look like a mythical fairyland, both spectacular and mysterious.
As Hao Yun expected, Everstar City was still bustling with people, and everything seemed very orderly. If not for the puppet soldiers passing by occasionally and griffins flying overhead, it would be hard to tell that this place had been occupied by the Mastanians. Of course, like what Hao Yun had seen before, the citizens here also had the same solemn expression, always revealing a strong sense of fear, helplessness, and anxiety. Hao Yun could feel that although these citizens appeared to be free, they seemed to be forced to continue living in Everstar City for some reason.
"This city is really beautiful, and much livelier than I imagined!" Hao Yun forced himself to praise, suppressing his displeasure and doubts.
"Thank you for your praise, Master Gu. We Evermoor people value the natural ecology, so when we built Everstar City, we used the natural environment of the Everstar Mountains as much as possible, finally integrating the city almost into the mountains," King Earl proudly replied.
Then King Earl continued, "Hao Yun, please follow me this way. Today at noon, I'll take you to a restaurant called Elfeida Grand Hotel. This restaurant has been operating in Everstar City for many years, and our royal family are regular patrons here!"
"Everything is at Your Majesty's arrangement. Oh, by the way, I'm actually quite hungry now!" Hao Yun casually rubbed his stomach and said.
Not long after, King Earl and his party arrived at Elfeida Grand Hotel, located in a corner of Everstar City. Upon seeing Elfeida Grand Hotel, Hao Yun was immediately attracted by its surprising design. Because this hotel was built entirely around a towering giant tree and a clear-watered waterfall, coupled with the quaint and understated exterior design of the entire hotel, it perfectly blended with the surrounding environment. Moreover, it not only did not feel abrupt but also gave people the feeling that this hotel was originally formed naturally together with this giant tree and waterfall.
Perhaps because King Earl was personally present, today's grand hotel was not open to the public and was already filled with fully armed guards. Guided by the anxious waiter, Hao Yun and King Earl passed through layer after layer of outer halls of the hotel and entered the innermost part of the hotel, a large banquet hall that was extremely hidden and exclusively used by the royal family. The layout of this banquet hall was very square, and the decoration style showed the nobility of the royal family. However, compared to these, what surprised Hao Yun the most was that the furnishings and layout inside this magnificent banquet hall were completely identical to the royal hall of Everstar Palace.
However, this majestic banquet hall was not where Hao Yun and King Earl would dine. After giving a lively introduction to Hao Yun about the history that had occurred in this banquet hall, King Earl, accompanied by another tall figure wearing a wide-brimmed hat and serving as a waiter, left through the back door of this banquet hall, which could accommodate at least five hundred people dining at the same time. Then, Hao Yun and his party walked through a straight corridor before entering a smaller dining room with reduced pomp.
"After all, there are only the two of us dining together, so to avoid extravagance and waste, I specially arranged for Master Gu to dine in this inner dining room, and I hope Master Gu can understand," King Earl hurriedly explained to Hao Yun after he took his seat.
"No problem. I actually dislike overly grand occasions. After all, we're just having a meal! As long as the dishes are delicious, even if we squat on the street to eat, I have no problem with that!" Hao Yun replied nonchalantly, then carefully inspected the small inner dining room.
This inner dining room was indeed much more modest than the majestic banquet hall outside. However, this dining room, which could accommodate up to thirty people dining at the same time, was also not as bad as King Earl had described it. Because this dining room used a lot of soft decorative materials, it gave people a comfortable and relaxed feeling. Of course, what impressed Hao Yun the most about this inner dining room was that the dining table in the center of the room was already filled with various delicious dishes emitting delightful aromas.