The sky was clear and the sun was shining bright the next day.
It was almost as if the heavens themselves were blessing the ceremony that was about to come.
However, for the people involved, it was like it was storming outside.
They all looked like they hadn't slept all night.
That was because even after an entire night of thinking, they couldn't think of a way to deal with the crown prince's group.
They had just received notice that the crown prince's group was less than half a day's travel away and would arrive in time for the ceremony at noon.
With the clock ticking down, the only thing that they could think of was to use the guards to stall the crown prince's group as much as they could.
Once the ceremony was over, even if the crown prince's group came into the town, it would be too late.
So that was the only thing that they could do.
Yue Lan even had the Mercenary Guild send some guards to help with the town.
Of course, it was in the form of a mission submitted to the Mercenary Guild in secret, so no one would be able to say anything about it.
With how lucrative it was, even the dumbest mercenaries would know to keep this a secret.
So there wasn't a problem arranging the guards for the gate.
It was just a problem of if they would be able to stop them…
When noon came, most of the town gathered in the square in front of the town hall.
Since this was something that would be known to the world eventually, it was better for them to hold a large ceremony to increase their own prestige. At the same time, this was what the envoy wanted to see since they wanted a public display of loyalty.
But of course, they had already prepared everything with the fourth prince ahead of time, so it didn't matter if there was a public ceremony.
The whole town was excited about this dungeon town being named a city since it would mean that they would all benefit from it.
A city was a completely different concept from a town.
By being part of a city, they would have a much higher status than just being a random citizen of a town.
By being from a city, they would have status over those from towns and villages in the Mu Empire. This was equal to a slave becoming a commoner.
As for Lin Fan himself, he would be receiving a title as a noble since all the city lords of the Mu Empire were nobles.
Being under a noble meant that they would have a noble's protection, which was a very valuable thing.
A village or a town wasn't protected by a noble, so most of the time, the empire troops were not obligated to help them. But it was different for a city under a noble.
Nobles were the highest caste in the Mu Empire and were required by the empire, so even if it was for show, they would defend this city with troops.
There were also many other benefits that they would receive from this dungeon town being promoted into a city.
So of course the ceremony was very lively.
When it began, Lin Fan came in with the envoy, walking side by side to the stage.
Once again, he was surprised by this since this was the envoy's suggestion.
No matter what he told himself, it was still very strange for him seeing this fat and ugly minister who clearly looked like a village act so humble.
When they arrived on the stage, the host started the ceremony.
It wasn't Yue Lan or one of the other girls who personally hosted the ceremony, rather they hired a professional host to take care of it.
After all, it was embarrassing in the end hosting a large ceremony like this. Even if they were skilled and courageous, it was hard for them to do public speaking like this.
The host hyped up the crowd at first, but then with a signal from Yue Lan, they quickly moved the ceremony along.
It was clear that they had prepared plenty of material, but Yue Lan wouldn't let them go through any of it and tried to move the ceremony along as quickly as possible.
She had already received the report from the gate that the crown prince's group had made it to the town. The guards had been able to prevent them from entering the town with a random excuse, but it was unknown how long they would be able to stall them.
So Yue Lan wanted to finish this ceremony as soon as possible.
The envoy was a bit surprised by this, but he didn't mind either.
The sooner that this was over, the sooner he would receive his credit from the second prince. At the same time, that would mean the sooner that he would receive his reward.
The ceremony was rushed along smoothly and while the audience were confused why it was being rushed like this, they were still happy to see it happen.
At the end, the host called the envoy and Lin Fan onto the stage for the final step of the ceremony.
The envoy had a scroll in his hand and he stood there facing Lin Fan. Behind him was one of his subordinates that held onto a token that had the word "Mu" on it.
Seeing this, Lin Fan fell onto one knee.
But it wasn't just Lin Fan who went down. Most of the other people at the ceremony all bowed down when they saw this token.
That was because this was a token that represented an imperial edict.
This was a token that represented the might of the Mu Royal Family and seeing it was like seeing them.
So there wasn't a single citizen here that dared to defy this token and all bowed down to it.
Seeing this, the envoy had a satisfied look in his eyes.
Even if he was a humble person, this display of power was one that he could never get enough of. He was still a man and he had his pride after all.
After taking a moment to enjoy this, the envoy said in a strict and ceremonious voice, "Lin Fan, accept this imperial edict sent by the royal family."
Lin Fan bowed his head and lifted his hands up to receive the scroll.
After putting the scroll in his hands, the envoy said, "From this day forth, you will receive the title of a baron in the Mu Empire and will be named the city lord of this Dungeon City."
Normally, the name of the city would be decided by the one who created the city or the city lord that took over the city. However, in this case, the second prince had been the one that had named the city with the imperial edict.
This was his way of showing his influence over the city and to mark this city as his.
There was no doubt or questioning in his voice, it was as if he was issuing an order to Lin Fan, which technically he was since this was an imperial edict.
Lin Fan bowed his head again and said, "I accept this title and appointment."
The envoy gave a satisfied nod before turning to the crowd and saying, "From this day forth, this place will be known as Dungeon City and Lin Fan will be the city lord. So decrees the royal family."
pαпdα-ňᴏνêι·сóМ The crowd broke out in a cheer after hearing this.
This was the signal that this ceremony was over and that their town had been officially appointed as a city of the Mu Empire.
With this, they would be able to enjoy the benefits of being a city in the Mu Empire.
Seeing this, all of the girls and Lin Fan let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed that they had been able to get through this ceremony without incident. Even if the crown prince's group wanted to cause trouble now, it would be close to impossible for them.
So there was no worry even if the crown prince's group made their way to the ceremony.
But during this time, there was a resounding clapping that rang out through the cheers of the crowd. It was so loud that it buried the cheering and soon it was the only thing that could be heard.
Hearing this, the crowd immediately fell silent and turned in the direction of the clapping.
At the same time, they moved to the side and created a path for the person that this clapping was coming from.
It was a group that was at the very back of the crowd, but based on the way that they were dressed, they clearly weren't normal people.
When the envoy saw who this was, he immediately knitted his brows.
That was because this was a person that he would recognize even if he was blind.
The person that led this group came forward while clapping before saying, "Congratulations sir…no, Lord Lin on becoming a baron and the city lord of this…Dungeon City was it?"
Lin Fan also knitted his brows when he saw this person, but it wasn't because he recognized who he was. It was because he acted the completely opposite way of what he expected from this person.
Before Lin Fan could say anything, the envoy spoke first by asking, "What are you doing here?"
The leader of this group looked at the envoy and said with a smile, "I'm here to bring a gift of congratulations to Lord Lin. Am I not welcome here?"
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