NABC Page 63
Page 63
His upper body fell to the ground with a 'thud,' and the smile on the young man's face visibly turned into terror and pain.
"Aa ...
"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts so much!"
His screams shattered the deathly silence in the square in front of the West Wind Council.
Gone was the imposing air he had when he gave his speech, gone was the confidence and composure he displayed when he shouted "freedom." All that remained was a distorted face streaked with tears and snot, hands clawing at the ground, and pitiful wails that seemed to alleviate his pain.
And this time.
A soft laugh from a young boy rang out from the back of the crowd.
"What, isn't it 'Give me liberty or give me death'?"
"Keep shouting?"
Qin and Barbara stared in disbelief at the source of the sound.
Looking at the boy standing in the sky.
They didn't know what emotions they were feeling. Before, they might have felt puzzled and confused by his indiscriminate killing of innocent people, but now that they saw him here, they felt inexplicably at ease.
And in a high place.
At the entrance of the West Wind Council.
Listening to that familiar voice.
Frederica shuddered violently.
Looking at the young man standing in mid-air with one hand in his pocket, looking down at the crowd below with great interest, her body trembled slightly with excitement, and her beautiful eyes showed an almost fanatical expression.
"Yes."
Frederica murmured fervently, "That's it, that's it..."
It's different from the peace of mind that comes with having two people, or the fervor that comes with having only one.
The people who had previously been incredibly enthusiastic, shouting for 'freedom'.
Those who incite unrest and stir up trouble among the people.
Everyone fell silent, staring in awe and even fear at the man in the sky who was smiling faintly at them.
Some were shocked that he had returned from Liyue so quickly.
Many others seemed to recall the events of the past six months, the fear that had been deliberately forgotten and relegated to the corners of their memories, the fear that had once dominated them.
"Screaming?"
"Why don't you scream?"
"Weren't you just getting really into it?"
Lin Jiu'an remained smiling, but no one dared to utter even the slightest sound.
The memories of "Judgment Day" still lingered in their minds.
Even those who hadn't witnessed it firsthand, or heard the survivors' terrified recollections, dared not utter a sound, for they knew that what awaited them next would only be approving 'wind blades'.
"Keep yelling?!" Lin Jiu'an suddenly raised his voice.
'Snap!'
Some people who had experienced "Judgment Day" had their knees buckle and knelt down on the ground.
It was as if it were a signal that a battle had begun.
As they knelt down.
The people who had just been shouting "Give me liberty or give me death!" spread outwards like a tide, trembling as they knelt on the ground.
Lin Jiu'an stood alone, like a god, high above everyone else, amidst their fearful gazes.
Chapter Twenty-Five: Freedom is indeed precious... (6K5)
Tong Lin Jiu'an slowly landed on the ground.
He strode forward at a leisurely pace toward the gates of the West Wind Council.
The kneeling crowd parted to make way for him, like a tidal wave.
On the path that opened up to him on both sides, leading to the center, and amidst the kneeling crowds 'welcoming' him, Lin Jiu'an walked forward naturally. Every step seemed to give the people of Mondstadt a glimmer of hope for 'life,' as if he were climbing the stairs to heaven.
Frederica watched this scene with rapt attention, her body trembling slightly with excitement, and her legs involuntarily pressed together.
She got wet.
As he climbed the complicated steps, Lin Jiu'an reached the top.
He didn't look at Frederica, who was staring at him infatuatedly, but paused slightly before speaking in a low voice that everyone in the silent square could hear.
"Kneel for seven days."
“Those who are still alive should be dragged to the place where the wind rises to build a city.”
The most important thing for Liyue to build a city in Guili Plain is to open up the land route between Liyue and Mondstadt.
To unite these two countries that already belong to him.
However, given the distance between the two countries, simply building a city in Guiliyuan would certainly not be enough. Without the divine power to build a city in a single day, it would require years of accumulation.
That matter isn't urgent.
Mondstadt, on the other hand, needs a new port more.
While "Jingfu Harbor" is nice, it's located in the northernmost part of Mondstadt, while Liyue is in the south of Mondstadt.
It's a good idea to build a new town in the eastern part of the region where the wind rises; it's always good to build more ports.
Lin Jiu'an was originally thinking about how to trick them into building a city in Fengqidi.
How about we come up with a legend that 'so-and-so's treasure is buried in Fengqi Land' to entice explorers to first build a decent town in Fengqi Land? But that would be too slow.
Just right.
Don't these people like to cause trouble?
Isn't he full of energy?
Lin Jiu'an has plenty of work for them to do.
His manor, which was under construction, happened to be located to the east of Fengqidi.
Although the scenery is beautiful.
Backed by rolling mountains and forests, with plains and streams in front, and Eagle Beach and the boundless sea nearby.
However, there is no human habitation within a hundred miles.
The round trip from Mondstadt takes several days.
It would be good to have these people help him finish building the manor faster, and then build a port town a few dozen kilometers away, which would also make it convenient for him to retire and enjoy life in the future.
The kneeling people turned pale upon hearing this.
Kneel for seven days?
After kneeling, they were supposed to be forced to work as laborers in Fengqidi to build a new city?
After all this, they'd be lucky if even one-tenth of them survived!
"Speaker, spare my life!"
“Speaker, I accuse! I expose! We were all instigated! No! We were all forced!”
"We were enjoying grilled meat and singing in the tavern when some bastard suddenly brandished a musket and forced us to come here to protest! We had no choice!"
"It's him! It's him! This is the man who coerced us!"
"And him! They! They're the ones who coerced us! We implore the Speaker to investigate!"
"Speaker! Speaker! We have been wronged!"
Frederica followed Lin Jiu'an into the council chamber half a step behind, keeping pace with him in the gray and white corridor. Just as she was about to ask whether she should send someone to arrest the troublemakers and interrogate them about who was behind it,
"It's so noisy it's giving me a headache."
≤Q@skirt≌land*!ear()*~ling∧ling?√er″Ⅱ]
Lin Jiu'an suddenly said without turning his head, "Kill all those who are talking."
······
Inside a manor in the inner city.
Inside the long corridor covered with a bright red carpet.
A young nobleman ran frantically toward the innermost room.
I had just run to the door and reached out to press on it when I heard a 'bang!' sound.
Wait for him to open the door.
He then saw a pile of broken vases at the feet of his father, Karl.
"Smash it! Smash it all!"
"Damn the Fools! Damn the Abyss Cult! Damn the Executors! Damn 'Young Master'!"
"Where's the promised help?! They all disappeared when something happened!"
Knowing that his father already knew about Lin Jiu'an's return and the suppression of the uprising, the young man changed his words and asked, "Father, what should we do now?"
"What should we do?" Karl gave a wry smile.
He originally thought his plan was perfect.
Although the Fools were certain that their plan was to lure Lin Jiu'an back, and then their "Young Master" would take Lin Jiu'an down, then the Fools would want Lin Jiu'an, and Mondstadt would be handed over to them.
However, he doesn't completely trust the Fools, as evidenced by the incident with "The Doctor" last time.
However, the people in charge this time are the "fools".
This was exactly what he had envisioned.
He was just trying to take advantage of the situation.
If "Young Master" could really intercept and kill Lin Jiu'an on his way back as he said, that would be the best outcome.
If the other party cannot do it, then he also has plenty of time before Lin Jiu'an returns to Mondstadt.
Under pressure from the public and media, Frederica was forced to back down, leading her to change some policies in their favor and release some of their imprisoned 'old friends'.
By the time Lin Jiu'an returned, the die was cast.
He has also eliminated those who knew he was involved, destroyed all evidence, and distanced himself from the matter.
And that would be the best-case scenario.
After Lin Jiu'an finished dealing with the matters in Liyue, before he set off from Liyue back to Mondstadt, he used his overwhelming power to quickly force Frederica to submit, and then let Mondstadt return to 'stability', so that he would give up the idea of returning to Mondstadt.
But he never expected it.
Three days ago, in a message sent by their spies in Liyue, the Fatui were still confident that Lin Jiu'an was still in Liyue and showed no signs of returning to Mondstadt. How come he inexplicably appeared in Mondstadt today?!
"Why don't we just rebel?" The young nobleman's expression hardened. "He'll definitely not let us off if he finds out!"
"opposite?"
Karl, as if he'd heard a joke, retorted angrily, "What are you going to use to rebel? You idiot! Do you even have the right to rebel?!"
"Without the Fools' Enforcers' help, he could kill us all by himself!"
The young nobleman was speechless.
"But what should we do now?"
"Just continue with the original plan."
Carl and his son suddenly heard a hearty laugh.
Startled, I turned my head and saw a young man who looked like Zhi Dong standing at the door.
"Young Master", Dadalia.
"The real show is about to begin."