Though it lay above the cloud layer, the particular construction of this palace above the clouds left one with no discomfort whatever.
And this city in the sky was newly built besides.
Leaning on T2 Iron Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships brought in by the Owl Dragon Legion's Northern Goose Group, it had been rushed to completion against the clock.
The old Governor Su cast an eye round about; more and more people were arriving, and though there was an hour yet before the start—
most had already gathered.
And the position of each power's people had been arranged well beforehand.
The place beside the Su family happened to be the Chu family's.
"You Su fellow, you old wretch — so you have actually left the Purple Perilla Star Region. And here I thought you would never leave that little patch of ground of yours as long as you lived."
A bantering voice came.
The Su family looked over, but dared make no move whatever.
Even the old Governor Su, seeing who had spoken, put on a smile. "Marshal Chu is in as high and hearty spirits as ever — unlike me, a worn-out old thing."
Marshal Chu Changhe sat in a chair; he snapped his fingers, and the adjutant behind him unfolded another chair beside it.
"Don't stand about — come and sit and talk."
The old Governor Su did not stand on ceremony either, but walked over and sat down straight beside Chu Changhe.
Though there was an hour yet before the ceremony, most were still standing obediently.
Those who dared sit on such an occasion were only these few existences of particular standing.
The old Governor Su had not meant to sit either; but since Chu Changhe bade him sit, he would not stand on ceremony — with his frame as it was, an hour on his feet would truly have been hard to bear.
Chu Changhe cast a sidelong glance at him. "I had thought we should meet upon a battlefield this time. I hadn't looked for you, you old wretch, to be as full of calculation as ever — and to have laid your bet on the right side. Though it counts as the Su family's good fortune as well, to have that girl Su Lan. I have met Su Lan; she is a fine seedling, and outstanding above all in commanding carrier starships in action. I truly cannot think how your Su family managed to produce such a talent for generalship."
At the insinuation in Chu Changhe's words—
the old Governor Su did not change countenance, and said with a smile, "That is the girl Su Lan's own good fortune."
And afterward the two of them talked over certain matters of the day.
Time passed bit by bit, and soon it was five minutes before the ceremony's start.
Chu Changhe and the old Governor Su rose at this point, and the chairs beneath them were taken away.
Everyone within the ground fell silent of their own accord.
But it was plain to all that certain very important people had not yet appeared.
The Owl Dragon Legion!
Which set some murmuring in low voices, unable to help themselves.
On so important an occasion, did the Owl Dragon Legion not mean to show its face?
And just as they were guessing at this—
some dozens of shuttles set down on a distant landing apron, and several dozen women officers in the Owl Dragon Legion's uniform made their entrance all together.
Those walking at the front near enough everyone present knew.
The Owl Dragon Legion's deputy commander-in-chief and Owl Dragon First Legion commander, Charlotte.
The Owl Dragon Legion's chief secretary-officer, Lilith.
And following behind, the Owl Dragon Second Legion's commander, Chitong.
The Owl Dragon Third Legion's commander, Shen Bing.
The Owl Dragon Fourth Legion's commander, Su Lan.
The Owl Dragon interstellar missile-ship special fleet's commander, Baixue.
The Owl Dragon interstellar stealth-bomber special fleet's commander, Zhao Wan'er.
……
Near enough all of them holding leadership posts within the Owl Dragon Legion.
And besides these Owl Dragon Legion officers—
there were some who appeared along with the Owl Dragon Legion.
The Northern Goose Group's former president, now chairwoman of the North Dragon Group, Li Yaqi.
The Rose-Red Dragon Group's Red Rose.
And the Owl Dragon Star System's acting governor, Jiang Hong.
As these people appeared, a path opened of its own accord through the middle of the ground.
Step, step, step.
Within the ground there was of a sudden nothing but the sound of military boots striking the floor.
The Owl Dragon Legion's officers walked to the foremost row of the ground, which happened to be beside the Chu family's position, where Chu Changhe stood.
"Marshal Chu." Charlotte and Lilith and the rest, seeing Marshal Chu, gave him a military salute.
This was the only greeting they offered of their own accord after entering this hall; before it, the attentions of the other family representatives might as well have been invisible to them.
"Grandfather." Chu Xuan blinked at Chu Changhe.
Chu Xuan's standing now was that of an Owl Dragon Legion officer as well, so she naturally attended this ceremony too.
Beyond them there were Xue Xiaoxiao, Medusa, Bessie, Marcy… and others.
Theirs was the largest company among all the powers invited.
Add to that the uniform white-ground, gold-threaded military dress, and that air of long-seasoned ferocity about them, and they gave one a most striking impression.
Su Lan noticed at this point the gazes the Su family cast from not far off.
She looked first to Charlotte and Lilith.
"Go over and greet them if you wish; they are your kin, after all." Lilith said it gently.
Su Lan nodded slightly, and then walked over.
"Has the girl grown thinner? You must look after yourself out there." The Su mother came forward first, looking at Su Lan with concern, for all the world as though she were Su Lan's own birth mother.
"Thank you for your concern, Auntie; you must look after yourself as well," Su Lan said.
Su Lan looked toward her own father, and her eyes met her father Su Qiang's.
For a moment neither of them knew what to say.
The old Governor Su clapped Su Qiang's shoulder with a chuckle. "You boy talk of your daughter to me every day, with no end of things to say. How is it that now, seeing your own treasured daughter, you cannot get a single word out?"
The Su family round about put in a word here and a word there; had the old Governor Su not been present, they would, at a guess, have wanted to rush forward and work up a connection with Su Lan.
"A-Lan, you… look steadier than before." Su Qiang looked at his own daughter.
"And you look better fed." Su Lan looked at her father; from his dress and his condition one could see that her father had been living well of late.
Which was within Su Lan's expectation: over this stretch her father and stepmother had been contacting her often out of concern, and she was no fool — she knew the reason behind it.
"The ceremony is about to begin; I shall go back first." Having said it, Su Lan returned to the ranks of the Owl Dragon Legion's officers.
The Su mother nudged her husband with an elbow and said in a low voice, "What is the matter with you? Did we not settle it well enough at home? Talk more with the girl Su Lan — how is it you cannot squeeze out three sentences now!"
"I…" Su Qiang's expression was complicated; there were some things he truly could not bring himself to say.
Facing his own daughter, even he himself found it somewhat hard to believe that this legion fleet commander before him, able to stand on her own and with so full a presence about her, was his, Su Qiang's, daughter.
Boom, boom, boom.
And at this moment a certain music rang through the whole city above the clouds, and lights of every color appeared with it.
Everyone shut their mouths at this hour and looked toward the great door at the side of the throne ahead — the place from which the Empress would come out.
But the first to appear was not the Empress they had imagined.
It was a man in military uniform, with a full presence about him.
As this man walked out, his steps paused a moment, and his stern gaze swept once across the whole hall.
Most of those in the hall, in the instant that man's gaze fell upon them, felt their very souls tremble; that was an exceedingly powerful pressure.
"This boy — a few days unseen, and his presence is fuller still." A proud look rose on Chu Changhe's face.
The old Governor Su fixed his eyes upon this young man.
He knew that this man was the one who had ended the whole Starlight Empire's civil war, and the hand behind the throne that had raised the Empress to it.
And this man would become the one who truly stood at the top of the whole empire's pyramid!
The Owl Dragon Legion's Commander-in-Chief, lord of the Owl Dragon Star System.
Zhao Chen!