Volume 4 Chapter 23: National Assembly Monthly Meeting (Part 1)

  "The so-called Nefarian Empire is a sinful nation ruled by the despicable dark elves, evil vampires, terrifying liches and heretical gods' minions!"

  This is the evaluation of the spirits of Yongju Island on the Second Empire of Nai Se Riel, although it's hard to hear, but if you're lucky enough to attend a meeting of the Imperial Congress, you'll find that this conclusion isn't entirely a lie.

  As the street lamps were first lit, Elminster left the inn where he was staying and walked alone to attend today's monthly congressional meeting. Although Gandalf had invited the teacher to stay in the Prime Minister's mansion, Elminster still refused his invitation. After all, as the head of state, Gandalf was busy with official duties, and last night's visit had already delayed him for a considerable amount of time; the great sage did not want his student to be distracted by his own affairs again.

  The Imperial City of Narsiel was actually a relatively young city, this giant metropolis with a population of five hundred thousand thirty years ago was still a desolate lakeside grassland that produced nothing but rabbits and wolves. Until the original capital, Deepwater City, was attacked by the elven fleet, leaving the esteemed senators feeling insecure, coupled with Deepwater City being located on the western frontier of the country, making it inconvenient to govern, the Congress decided to move the capital inland after countless meetings. Finally, a magnificent new capital emerged on the shores of the Shadow Sea in the central part of the country, this is the origin of Narsiel City.

  Due to the short time since its construction, coupled with funding shortages and the impact of war, the construction of Nicosia has been intermittent. In fact, it has not been fully completed until now. There are many stone blocks, wood and other building materials piled up on the inner side of the city wall and around the residential areas. The urban area is also interspersed with many empty lands full of wild grass, which have become a chaotic gathering place for refugees.

  But the government building complex surrounding Victory Square, undoubtedly the earliest completed part of the entire city, with its majestic and solemn halls, roads lined with sculptures and murals, guardsmen with magnificent and mighty exteriors, and grounds paved with flat bluestone strips and decorated with reliefs, all show the nobility and majesty of this land.

  Unlike other nations, the Imperial Congress usually convenes at night to accommodate the dark elves and undead members who dislike sunlight. On meeting days, government agencies have to work overtime. As a result, the roads are crowded with cars and pedestrians during this time. Ilmirester wore a coarse long robe and a seal skin hat in the style of the extreme north, blending in with the officials wrapped in thick coats and down jackets like pincushions. His prestigious identity was not visible from his appearance, but due to the Flame Sword hanging at his waist, he was repeatedly questioned by patrolling soldiers as a suspicious person.

  Of course, after learning the true identity of the great sage, the patrol soldiers' vigilant and suspicious gaze suddenly became hot and respectful. The signature books handed over were so many that they could open a bookstore, not to mention the large group of reporters who surrounded him, and the flash of cameras and image magic made Erlinster's eyes dizzy. And the inexplicable and even personal attacks made him want to cast an attack spell to blow these bastards into the sky - someone actually asked him, "You and the Goddess of Magic have not had children yet, can you talk about which side has a physical function problem?" This is simply blasphemy!

  "You bunch of idiots!" Ilmuster, who had always been well-behaved, finally lost his temper after hearing the absolutely forbidden word from a reporter for the twentieth time. "Get out of my sight, all of you!"

  A magical flash of light appeared. The paparazzi were terrified and scattered in all directions, a disaster was about to occur.

  "Slap!" The great wizard's magic was interrupted before it was completed by a whip. Irumynster turned around in surprise, but found a familiar figure. His hand trembled involuntarily, and the prepared counterattack spell vanished into thin air.

  "Victory Square prohibits any violent behavior!" A tall, slender woman intervened to stop Irmgard's rampage. She wore a tattered and worn-out black robe, holding a silver whip in her hand. Her beautiful silver hair seemed to have never been combed, messy like a bird's nest. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, as if she had not yet woken up from a hangover. Yet, there was an inherent, awe-inspiring majesty and dignity about her.

  Yelmingster stared blankly at the silver-haired woman in front of him. His body leaned forward slightly, as if he wanted to rush up and grab her hand, but ultimately stood still on the spot, only gazing at her with extremely complex eyes.

  "Erlaslan, how have you been these days?" After a half silence, Erlminster still only managed to squeeze out this one sentence.

  "Just call me Xin Bu, otherwise it would be too familiar." The silver-haired woman said coldly, "These days have been pretty good, eating idly in Silver Moon City is also boring. My sister Kui Rou asked me to come to the Imperial Capital to help her maintain order. But I didn't expect that the great sage who usually stays in Shadow Valley couldn't even protect his own home, and instead recklessly cast magic at the people of the Imperial Capital, what a wonderful skill, what a wonderful prestige!"

  Erlin's face turned red, he was originally not very concerned about others' evaluation of himself, and occasionally there were some curses.

  But since Owo wrote that broken book, "**" has become an absolute taboo. Once someone dares to mention it in front of him, he will inevitably fly into a rage and enter a state of madness, resulting in many bloody cases, greatly damaging his reputation.

  "...I don't want to say much about this, but I was indeed impulsive." Seeing the atmosphere wasn't right, Ilmuster gave up on chatting with Xin and got straight to the point. "I'm here for the National Congress's monthly meeting, can you show me the way?"

  "……Come with me." After a brief stalemate, Xinbu turned and walked towards the Capitol Building, gesturing for Ilmuster to follow. "There are also reporters arranged in the Congressional Hall for interviews. I hope you can control your magic and not cause any more trouble. We already have enough trouble dealing with the violinist!" She casually whipped her whip on the ground, causing a crisp cracking sound that made the Great Sage tremble involuntarily.

  However, if Xin Bu knew what the reporter she just protected was going to do, she would probably turn back with her whip and settle scores with these ungrateful paparazzi.

  "Not bad, this time we can get an exclusive scoop, super sensational news! The great sage beats up a reporter for no reason, the Storm Queen whips her ex-boyfriend!" An old and experienced journalist put away his camera which had just captured the scene of Xin Bu whipping Ier Minsiter, and excitedly started discussing with his colleagues how to write the article.

  "Later, I'll go back and write a good article about the two of them falling in love, living together, and finally breaking up. I'll criticize Ilminger's infidelity and explore the possibility of their old flame rekindling... Ah, yes! Let's put a large nude photo of the two of them on the front page to make a striking contrast. That way, our newspaper will definitely sell well!" The old reporter looked at the worn-out Ilminger, then at the spirited Hymb, and suddenly had a new inspiration.

  "...naked photos of Erlminster are easy to find, as long as you don't mind the nausea. But where would we have naked photos of Hinbul?" The apprentice looked at the old reporter with a worried expression, "Master, please don't get any ideas about sneaking a peek at Queen Hinbul while she's bathing. She's one of the most powerful mages in the world, and if you're caught, she'll skin you alive."

  "You idiot, can't you just cut out a page from that illustrated edition of 'Erasandra and her 1001 lovers' and swap the head with Queen Ximera's?" The old journalist slapped his apprentice. "After all, Erasandra and Ximera are sisters, they should be about the same build..."

  It seems that Ouvo's malicious influence on the news industry still lingers.

  In history, the goddess of magic, Misla, once possessed her female believer, El-Sanda, and gave birth to seven daughters with the mortal, Domon Silver Hand. These are the famous "Seven Sisters". They are both demigods and Misla's chosen people, the earthly representatives of the goddess, with considerable strength and power in their own right, and also the protagonists of many legends around the world.

  Xin Bu was originally named Aila Slan - Silver Hand, ranked sixth among the Seven Sisters, and was known for her fiery temper and unkempt appearance. She once ruled over the small country of Agralon in the eastern part of the Ferelden continent, known to the world as the Storm Queen (the two words "storm" clearly pointed out her characteristics). She had fought several times with the early ruling Red Robe Mages of Thedas, and later joined the Circle of Magi after reconciliation, dominating the superpower nation of Thedas for a long time, was a first-class female strongman. And the tortuous love affair between Ilyminster and her is also a famous legend in the folk.

  But when the elven army invaded Agralar, the Storm Queen was quickly defeated due to the betrayal of her subordinate elf tribes. In a moment of crisis, Himbril once sought help from Elminster who was nearby, but the great sage hesitated because of his relationship with some elf friends and his instinctive aversion to participating in wars.

  Finally, Elminster spirited Imbue away from Agrach Dyrr just before the fall of the kingdom. The two naturally went their separate ways and never saw each other again. Elminster returned to Shadowdale to resume his role as a great sage, while Imbue went to Silverymoon to live with her sister Alustriel, where she remained for many years as a guest, until recently coming to Waterdeep at the invitation of Queen Calanthor, taking up a military post in charge of government guards.

  Now, Erlminster is following his old flame with a rather embarrassed expression, walking past one beautiful or magnificent building after another, under the astonished gaze of onlookers, to attend the monthly congressional meeting, and he really doesn't feel quite right.

  "It's been years since I met Elaslan, but running into her in a place like this is just terrible. Sigh, who knows how those damned newspapers will report on it tomorrow? Hopefully they won't make up some nonsense about us." The great sage gazed at the back of his former lover, lost in thought, completely unaware that he was about to suffer another "scandalous photo" blow.