The City of Silver, also known as the "City of Nobles," or the "Land of Noble Lineage," and the "Eternal Center of Law"...
Like the aristocracy, this is a city that is conservative and unwilling to change.
The ancient city retains the distinctive features of the Dark Ages, with little alteration to its various buildings, and even the stone bricks in front of the city gates are etched with the marks of a thousand years.
The city was originally the Covenant City, the first choice for nobles in the Dark Ages when signing alliance covenants, because it had the most famous witnessing institution—the Divine Covenant Council, where covenants could be signed under the watchful eyes of the gods.
After the Dark Ages ended, Covenant City, which had lost its former prestige, became the stronghold of the Silver Council after its establishment, continuing to serve the nobles.
Just like a thousand years ago.
Just as the gods still dwell high in the heavens.
...
Formerly the Covenant Hall, now the main meeting hall of the Silver Council.
The huge circular hall, which could seat thousands of people, was deserted at the moment, with only twenty or thirty people sitting in the very center circle.
They may be thin or fat, with different body types and appearances, but what they all have in common is the aura they exude—arrogance.
Even though they try their best to hide their arrogance, you can still sense their usual bossy attitude from their every move.
Even in this tense situation, in order to conceal their confusion and fear, they unconsciously choose to use fake smiles to show their arrogance, or rather, their "composure."
"Have these feelings become ingrained in your very being?"
Sitting down in one of the seats, Keynes withdrew his gaze from observing everyone.
"Heh, I must say they truly deserve to be the most honored highest senators of the Silver Council?"
The observation of this powerful head of the Jaslin family was undisguised; every nobleman who noticed he was being watched involuntarily tensed up, even the current Speaker.
This is not surprising, as Keynes was one of the highest-ranking people present, and his status as a former speaker meant that he did not have to bow to the current speaker on such occasions.
No, he doesn't need to be one of several people. Theoretically speaking, apart from his own lack of strength, Keynes is the one with the highest status, prestige, wealth, and age among those present.
Unfortunately, the nobility is a group that is particularly concerned about seniority and hierarchy, so Keynes's presence could not be eliminated and he remained the focus of everyone's attention.
Dongdong.
The wooden mallet, inlaid with rare ivory that shimmered with iridescent magic, struck gently, making the already tense atmosphere even more tense.
"My beloved compatriots, we who inherit our noble bloodline—"
"Thank you all for attending this highest-level emergency meeting. The Silver Council is facing its greatest crisis since its inception!"
After drawing everyone's attention with a gentle tap of the Hammer of Covenant, the current Silver Speaker cleared his throat and then spoke calmly:
"Now I will reiterate the current situation."
"Based on the reports of our brave young heroes who volunteered for the First War Zone, and combined with some secondary information provided by the Watchers, we have received some astonishing news."
His meticulously trimmed white beard twitched, and the speaker took a deep breath before slowly speaking:
"The gods... are about to return."
The sounds of inhaling rose and fell... but this did not happen. Every nobleman present was well-informed and had already finished inhaling the air the moment they received the information.
The speaker understood this as well, and continued speaking without pausing for long:
"Moreover, their return is irreversible, and you are all intelligent people who understand what this means."
Taking a deep breath, the Speaker scanned the room intently, then fixed his gaze on Keynes and spoke in a deep voice:
"Currently, the Silver Council faces only two paths."
"First, continue to uphold our alignment with humanity, fully support the work of the Watchers, and dedicate all our strength to them, including the lives of you and your offspring."
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silence.
The nobles remained silent, deep in thought. The speaker swallowed hard, then, maintaining a facade of calm, spoke:
"And as the speaker, I must remind myself that this path is destined to be full of risks."
"I believe you can all find out how powerful the gods are in your family records. Once we choose this path, we will inevitably become enemies with such beings."
"But compared to the enormous risks, the rewards of this path are not generous enough. Even if humanity ultimately wins, our status will not be able to advance any further. Will the Watchers allow us to gain more power?"
"I believe you all feel the same way about this. In our interactions over the years, the Watchers' intentions have been completely undisguised."
After the speaker finished speaking, he paused for a moment to give the heads of the families time to think, while also observing everyone's expressions and eyes.
Having taken in everyone's reactions, he nodded and continued:
"The second option is to pledge allegiance to extraordinary beings, or rather... to dedicate oneself to the gods."
These words immediately caused a commotion in the hall, but it quickly subsided, and pairs of eyes filled with complex emotions were fixed on the speaker on the high floor.
"First of all, with the gods as our backing, the core members of our family will definitely be protected and will no longer have to worry about their safety."
"We don't even need to fight desperately. We just need to remain inactive when necessary and defend ourselves."
"As for the compensation... I'll just mention one point: after the gods win, they will still act as before, not doing everything themselves. They will need a group of agents in the mortal realm."
With an almost uncontrollable madness gleaming in his eyes, the speaker's voice began to rouse, and he loudly announced:
"When that time comes... the moment for the true revival of the family's glory will truly arrive!"
winter!
He struck the mallet forcefully, his speech quickening:
"I also need to remind everyone of one more thing: once we finally choose the second option, we must act quickly... As heads of families, I believe you are all aware of the huge gap between the first and second place."
"In addition, if we want to join the ranks of extraordinary beings, we must have a sufficiently substantial pledge of allegiance. But there's no need to worry about that; we've already made preparations."
At this point, the Speaker paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked up at the enormous, hollowed-out Eye of Arcane Power sculpture on the dome above his head.
Under the witness of the covenant, nothing here will be noticed by the outside world, not even by the gods!
Taking a deep breath, the speaker's voice trembled, yet also carried a hint of excitement.
"We will offer them a gift they cannot refuse."
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he slowly began to speak.
He said:
"Spatial Beacon of the City of Watch!"
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