I transformed into a cute girl and lived a carefree life in the apocalypse.

Lan Ya knew the answer, but she couldn't say it aloud.

Yan Ziming smiled calmly and let the matter drop. He had just returned to the place he had been in before, and said to her, "I hope you will still be here when I come out to attend the coronation ceremony tonight."

After saying that, she went into the room.

Lan Ya couldn't help but sigh, feeling lost.

With someone like that around, it's really unlikely that Odyssey can regain its former glory... Your Highness, even if you succeed, can you really control her?

..............

It was already close to midnight.

It's currently around 10:30 AM, and the area outside the coronation ceremony is already packed with people. People from all over the world have arrived and are chatting with the noble families of Odyssey. The Blue family, a ducal family, is naturally the center of attention, with people from various countries taking turns to approach them, hoping to seek some private cooperation and exchanges.

Murong Haiyi and Mandala were in the same situation, with many nobles from Odyssey approaching them seeking cooperation.

Behind Mandala is the Lofiel conglomerate, a group that prioritizes capital interests. With capital comes negotiation. Murong Haiyi is the same; he is backed by a powerful and influential family in China, so there can be some private exchanges between them.

The area was already under military curfew. Yi Ke and the Grand Preceptor were present, but Su Yu Chen and the Great Sage, whom all countries feared most, were nowhere to be seen.

At this time, Yan Ziming began to go out for activities.

As the representative of China this time, and also the face of the event, she is actually considered to be arriving at the venue relatively late.

72. Grand Duke

"Your Majesty, if you don't come out soon, I'm going to go and call you."

Lan Ya had been waiting outside for a long time. She had also changed into a gorgeous outfit. As the chief eunuch, her status was naturally not low.

Moreover, her surname is the same as that of the only ducal family in the Odyssey Empire.

"Well, let's go."

Yan Ziming had been thinking about what kind of attack Ina would use and how she should deal with it. She came up with many ideas.

However, she discovered that her understanding of Wen Xintong could not be applied to Ina at all. Although they were the same person with different identities, they were actually worlds apart.

"We have arrived, Your Majesty."

Lan Ya's voice suddenly came over, and Yan Ziming realized that she had arrived at the door. Without hesitation, her temperament changed, and an innate pressure seemed to emanate from her.

"oh--!"

Her appearance immediately drew gasps of admiration from the audience, and most of the cameras turned to her.

Oh my god! So beautiful! Is she the goddess of the moon?

All the nobles in Odyssey looked over with shining eyes, especially the heirs of the noble families, whose eyes burned with desire, all wanting to win over this beauty they had never seen before.

"Holy crap! You brat, put away your unrealistic ideas and open your eyes wide to see who she is!"

"You blind fool! Do you really think you can inherit my position?"

"If you want to die, then go ahead and try! Nobody can save you!"

When the parents of these people recognized who this person was, they were terrified and immediately stopped them from having any thoughts.

They were well aware of the Thunderstorm Knight's reputation, which was comparable to that of the Great Sage. Although the Great Sage did not have a noble title in Odyssey, her strength was higher than any title, even for dukes. Even the current emperor had to give her a lot of face.

If their own children offend this divine being, who is comparable to a great sage, they will all be implicated.

"That's going too far. I'm not a tigress, why are you looking at me like that?"

Yan Ziming was already annoyed by the way those people looked at him from the beginning, and now their expressions of utter disbelief only made him angrier.

"There's nothing we can do; Your Majesty's prestige is simply too great."

Lan Ya thought this was perfectly normal and continued to lead Yan Ziming forward, heading straight to the location of the Duke's family.

A man of extraordinary bearing, whose words and actions exuded the air of a superior, stepped out from the Duke's crowd. Everyone who picked him up consciously parted to make way for him, and the noise subsided slightly.

This person is currently the Grand Duke of Odyssey—Lan Yu.

Just by looking at this man's face, you can tell he's not someone to mess with. He looks to be only in his thirties, but he rose to the position of Duke through a brutal and bloody competition. He's an eighth-level ability user, and his strength and strategy are both at the pinnacle of his position.

Before the royal family's return, their family had been guiding the remnants of Odyssey to develop stealthily under human rule on Earth, until the appearance of Id, the legitimate prince, who then handed over power to them.

Now, this Grand Duke is going to meet with Yan Ziming, who is currently the most sought-after person in China. This has attracted special attention from people in Odyssey and other major countries.

Lan Yu walked directly up to Yan Ziming and extended her hand to her, "Your Majesty, Knight of Thunderstorm, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Yan Ziming had already learned about his identity before coming, but she still gave him face by shaking his hand lightly and then glancing at Lan Ya.

“She is my youngest daughter, Lan Ya. I asked her to bring you here to me as soon as possible,” Lan Yu explained.

Yan Ziming nodded noncommittally, then looked at Lan Yu with his deep gaze and asked, "So, what does the Duke want with me?"

Lan Yu waved her hand, and everyone around her, including Lan Ya, automatically stepped back. At this moment, Lan Yu said calmly, "Because I don't understand the meaning of your coming here as well."

"Oh?"

"Why is it you and Murong Haiyi who came instead of Huang Tao, Qin Tianhai, or Mo Sheng?"

Yan Ziming scrutinized the man a few more times. His eyes revealed a deep and unfathomable look. Was he testing Yan Ziming's intentions?

She pursed her lips and replied, "You're overthinking it."

"Your Majesty, please don't misunderstand, I was just asking." Lan Yu smiled apologetically.

—Just asking that question requires scattering everyone around?

Yan Ziming rolled her eyes. You lie without even thinking, you're really bad!

Even a fool would know that this guy definitely has other motives; either he hasn't explained them clearly yet, or he's already hinting at them.

Suddenly, Lan Yu casually glanced at Manchaluo and Murong Haiyi not far away, and said meaningfully, "After all, judging from your lineup, it's quite obvious that you're going to give the royal family a show of force..."

"...So you're overthinking it." Yan Ziming chuckled.

This is a problem that cannot be admitted, and everyone knows it in their hearts. There's no point in pointing it out, but this guy insists on doing it, clearly trying to imply something.

Yan Ziming did not believe that he, who could become a duke, was a fool who did not even understand the principle of 'seeing through things but not saying them out loud'.

That seemed to be the end of the conversation. Lan Yu then extended her hand, as if she had reached some kind of consensus with Yan Ziming, and said, "I hope we can have extensive cooperation in the future. Constantly creating antagonism is not a long-term solution, don't you think?"

"Of course, nobody wants this to happen."

Yan Ziming gave him a meaningful look, and Lan Yu turned and left.

After repeating the conversation in his mind several times and deeply analyzing his eyes and words, Yan Zimo gave his evaluation.

Good heavens, he's playing with fire!

"What did you talk about?"

Murong Haiyi approached with an extremely natural air, holding a wine glass. Dressed in a proper formal suit, he looked even more handsome. In fact, quite a few ladies from Odyssey had already given him hints or even made explicit advances.

Even if we can't keep the person, keeping his excellent genes is still a great thing.

"He just said, why did it have to be us? And... is he trying to give the royal family a hard time?"

Yan Ziming told him the truth, and Murong Haiyi's expression immediately changed.

"It seems you understood."

He meant that Yan Ziming and the others wanted to give the "royal family" a warning, not to make them look like an "Odyssey"!

This is by no means an overinterpretation by Yan Ziming. As for the so-called ideological indoctrination, Lan Yu approached her with a purpose in the first place. Did he really think he was just going to talk a bunch of nonsense?

Murong Haiyi lowered his voice and said incredulously, "How dare he do this? The legitimate royal lineage of Odyssey is protected by three super strong individuals: the Great Sage, the Imperial Advisor, and Iko. He's dancing in a fire pit!"

"Who knows? If they dare to do that, they must be confident."

Yan Ziming glanced at Murong Haiyi. "What do you plan to do? He has already made it clear that he is not on the same side as the royal family, and may even create an opportunity for you to challenge Yide. What will you do?"

"Bullshit! They're clearly using us as pawns! Our plan is step-by-step, and challenging us right off the bat is outrageous. What am I supposed to do? Are you just here to observe?"

"Why do you think I urgently replaced Sister Mo Sheng here? It's because I have other things to do! This is something I can only entrust to you."

Yan Ziming patted Murong Haiyi on the shoulder, as if he wanted to say something. At this moment, the moon in the sky suddenly magnified a thousand times, as if it was about to crash into the blue planet. If this were seen from the outside world, it would definitely cause panic. But at this moment, the residents of Odyssey were extremely devout.

73. Full of ambition

"what is this?"

Yan Ziming frowned slightly. She didn't believe that Odyssey had really shortened the distance between the moon and Earth. If that were the case, wouldn't they be able to drag the entire Earth down with them?

The only explanation for this phenomenon is visual misalignment.

The moon suddenly appeared so close, the visual impact was unparalleled. The representatives from Russia and the EU were sweating profusely; they had never seen anything like it before, it was like the end of the world, and their legs were trembling.

When they saw that the three people, led by Yan Ziming, remained calm and even had plenty of energy to discuss with each other, their panic subsided.

As long as these three people don't fall, the problem isn't too serious.

"How long has it been since we've seen a sight like this?"

"...It's been too long since the last time, I can't remember."

Inside the palace, Ide gazed in rapture at the moon, magnified countless times, every hole and every hill clearly visible.

His body was emitting a soft glow, and his aura was sometimes surging wildly and sometimes receding wildly. At its strongest, it pushed him to an incredible level, and at its weakest, it was no different from his usual self.