Civilization Chronicles: Rise of the Divine Creator

As for how the masses learned where the recent influx of material aid came from, that was simple; after all, it was pretty hard to miss the 20 massive ships of the Vast Ocean Trading Company which were parked at the southern docks.

If that hadn’t been enough, the labourers and dock-workers who had been responsible for unloading these ships naturally hadn’t kept their mouths shut about the famous figure who had brought all these relief supplies.

From the bars, to the taverns, to the all the markets and shops, word of mouth spread rapidly, with stories of the Royal Ancestor’s kindness and generosity only growing more and more exaggerated the further the rumours flowed.

Many people in and around Misty City were doubtful about these stories at first, scoffing at the idea that a powerful noble would ever do anything to help poor commoners like them. The Balfours were good Lords to them, but even their kindness and generosity had limits.

However, with dozens of wagons filled with grain, medicine, and simple clothing being shipped out day after day, it soon became impossible for even the most cynical of folk to deny that real assistance had been brought to their shores from afar.

Even if most still felt the rumours were too good to be true, with the proof right in front of their eyes, there were plenty of commoners who felt incredibly grateful to Ariana Rockwell.

”Elder Rockwell, everything is prepared,” one of the sailors came up to Ariana and reported.

”Understood, tell the crew to cast off,” Ariana nodded and instructed without turning back.

”Yes, Elder,” the young man saluted and signaled to the rest of his shipmates.

It was finally time to leave.

For the ships docked at the port, moorings were cast off. For the ships idling out in the harbour, anchors were weighed.

Bells rung across the fleet as lines of light lit up all their hulls, causing the surrounding World Qi to stir.

Although the auxiliary Propulsion Arrays used up a large amount of Spirit Crystals when activated, they allowed the massive wooden ships from the Kore Sovereignty to move much faster and in ways impossible to achieve with their sails alone.

As the ship gently lurched beneath her feet, Ariana heard a resonant shout come from all the gathered Spirit Realm Cultivators back ashore, ”Safe journey and swift return, Your Majesty!”

The rest of the crowd echoed the sentiment a moment later. These voices were far less coordinated, but they were many times louder, filling the southern harbour of Misty City with well-wishes for the former queen.

Feeling the genuine gratitude literally washing over her, Ariana decided to indulge the crowd a bit, infusing her powerful Internal Qi into her voice and shouting in return, ”May the Heavens bless the Rockwell Kingdom!”

Naturally, the crowd cheered again, this time with many of them also jumping up and down, clapping or waving their hands frantically. The noise was so thunderous it probably reached all the way across the Lorren to the shores of the Darr Kingdom.

No one knew when they would next see the former queen, nor if they would ever get another chance to thank her for what she had done, so everyone went all out today, hoping to convey at least some of their heartfelt feelings to Her Royal Majesty, Second Queen Ancestor Ariana Rockwell.

.....

The din of the masses didn’t ebb until the 20-ship-convoy was several kilometres away from the port. Only then did the crowd begin to calm down and disperse.

Even if a visit from a Royal Ancestor was a momentous occasion, it didn’t change the fact that everyone still needed to eat and put a roof over their heads, so all the commoners headed back to their homes or places of work to get their day started.

As for the envoys, diplomats, and representatives from around the wider Rockwell Kingdom, most of them also returned to their ships, carriages, inns, hotels, or private residences throughout the city.

These people may not have needed to worry about where their next meal would come from, but they still had responsibilities to attend to.

All of the members of the younger generation also left the port, with most preparing to return home with the delegations from their forces. A few, however, had decided to stay longer in Misty City for one reason or another.

That left just a couple dozen or so powerful masters at the southern dock, all of them staring out over the waters and across the river to their neighbours to the east.

Each of the people here was a real powerhouse in the kingdom; Generals, Ministers, high-ranking nobles, or an extremely close representative of such a person.

An entire hour passed in silence as these masters stood there, the cold winter winds blowing past them, each of them seemingly waiting for the crowds behind them to fully disperse.

Finally, once they were certain they were truly alone, former king Hayden Rockwell asked the question everyone had on their minds, ”That was a warning, wasn’t it?”

”Indeed,” General Oscar Caldwell from Falcon’s Bend furrowed his brow, ”Her Majesty made it sound like she was just speaking casually about what was happening in the markets of the Sovereignty, but there’s no doubt her intentions were to leave us one final ’gift’.”

”Agreed,” Joanna Roth nodded solemnly, ”There’s no other explanation for why the Royal Ancestor would mention something like that out of nowhere.”

The Darr Kingdom has been exporting more and more sugar these past few years, mostly in exchange for metals, food, and medicine.

Going over those words again in their heads, the various leaders gathered at the dock all frowned deeply, especially Celestina.

As the one who stood guard over the only major route connecting the two nations, she would undoubtedly be at the very forefront of any conflict that erupted between the Rockwell and Darr Kingdoms.

However, that wasn’t what the red-headed Marquess was currently concerned about.

”The issue isn’t that our long-standing enemy may be plotting against us; the higher-ups of the Darr Kingdom eyeing our territory is nothing new,” narrowing her eyes slightly, Celestina turned back to face her fellow leaders, ”The issue is... none of us were aware that the Darrs had begun any kind of substantial military buildup until just now.”