Chapter 381 Paid Respects to Your Highness
Wang Tianzong did not hide anything.
His palm appeared on the huge screen in front of the stand.
Several green leaves that were still green but no longer sharp fell from his hand.
He stared down at the drop of blood in his palm.
His hand was bathed in the sun, which flashed in the blood, making the latter fantastically crystal clear.
Through the screen, everyone saw the blood in Sword Emperor’s hand.
Everyone watched that in disbelief. They were in an uproar and full of shock.
But when they thought about it carefully, they didn’t know what they were shocked about.
The Forever Silent World.
That sword stroke covered the world. All the light became dark, and the world was silent and illusory. Only a few green leaves wandered along with the sword intent and eventually hit Wang Tianzong’s palm, producing a drop of blood.
Undoubtedly, it was the most powerful sword stroke of the younger generation.
So what shocked them?
Looking at Wang Tianzong’s palm, no one knew whether they were shocked by Li Tianlan’s power, or whether they were impressed by Wang Tianzong’s mighty.
That unprecedented sword brought out a drop of blood from Wang Tianzong’s palm.
It seemed like glory and yet humiliation.
The shock inside everyone became complexity.
There was a surge of sword intent in Wang Tianzong’s palm.
That drop of blood, wrapped by the sword intent, dripped between his fingers and landed on the green leaves under his feet.
The small, invisible wound on his palm had begun to heal.
Wang Tianzong lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.
The entire maneuver area was completely frozen with his silence.
Li Tianlan and Wang Tianzong stood face to face.
Wang Shengxiao and Song Ci were lying together.
Gu Hanshan and Jiang Shangyu were lying together, too.
They were all in a coma.
Li Tianlan didn’t say a word.
He wanted to move, but he couldn’t.
Wang Tianzong’s sword intent remained condensed, but it was invisible and immaterial, firmly locking him in place. He could not describe or resist the sword intent that could easily tear him to pieces.
Li Tianlan stood quietly, restraining his sharpness and even the calmness that he had always kept utterly.
His body, like a piece of deadwood, looked a little false.
Wang Tianzong raised his head, looking at Li Tianlan, his eyes playful.
“Pay respects to Your Majesty.”
Li Tianlan bowed slightly.
The invisible and immaterial sword intent bound everything around him, so he didn’t even dare to bend too low.
He looked at the ground when he bent.
Under absolute force, his aptitude and kendo were unprecedentedly weak, and he was not even free to do the most respectful salute.
Not free to salute.
The muscles in the corners of Li Tianlan’s mouth twitched fiercely.
He showed no sign of anger, but his eyes looking at the ground became extremely obscure.
“Interesting.”
Wang Tianzong looked at Li Tianlan, his eyes deep, like the sea. Even though he was calm and gentle, he was still awesome.
“But it’s not enough,” he continued.
Li Tianlan straightened up and looked into Wang Tianzong’s eyes.
The two stared at each other for a moment.
He looked away and looked at the four opponents who were now unconscious behind Wang Tianzong.
“For them, it’s enough,” Li Tianlan said.
“Not enough for me.”
Wang Tianzong’s voice was indifferent and clear.
What was clear was his attitude.
Li Tianlan’s body tightened little by little.
The air was filled with sword intent but without killing intent.
But Wang Tianzong’s sentence—not enough for me, explained everything.
The sound of something piercing the air sounded in the woods behind him.
With the fastest speed, three figures passed through the passage in the woods that Li Tianlan created with one punch and finally stood between Wang Tianzong and Li Tianlan.
Zhuang Huayang.
Dongcheng Wudi.
And Cool Breeze, the director of the Political Department of the Sky Academy as well as the top assassinator of Sigh City.
In terms of Martial Arts, they were just three masters who had not entered the Invincible Realm.
But in terms of the general trend, in this case, the three respectively represented the Academics, the Giant Group, and Sigh City.
The three rushed over as soon as Wang Tianzong disappeared. They didn’t get to the scene until now.
Seeing Li Tianlan standing there unscathed, the three were relieved at almost the same time.
Wang Tianzong suddenly raised his eyebrows, like an unsheathed, long sword.
Wang Tianzong had always been calm before, but at this moment, with his eyebrows raised, he suddenly became extremely aggressive and sharp.
Wang Tianzong said indifferently, “Step aside!”
Zhuang Huayang said seriously, “Why does Your Majesty get this far? The maneuver of the two academies is a stage for young people, and now the result is clear. Please respect the rules of the maneuver, Your Majesty.”
After Li Tianlan’s sword intent was torn, and before Wang Shengxiao and several others lowered their realms, Zhuang Huayang had received a call from the Leading Cadre in that short time.
Seeing is believing.
Li Tianlan’s battle strength and potential were now seen by everyone.
For the Academics, which had high hopes for Li Tianlan, they must show a clear supportive attitude at this time.
“You can’t stop me.”
Wang Tianzong took a step forward.
The Sword Energy surrounding Li Tianlan slowly contracted, while the three masters who stood before Li Tianlan realized that they were overwhelmed directly by a sense of oppression at the same time.
Dongcheng Wudi took one step forward.
He was expressionless, but his eyes seemed to be burning with fire, fierce and determined.
“War?”
On the stand, in front of everyone, he mobilized 40,000 troops. And at the same time, he used the power of the new commander Wang Wantian in the Eastern Theater of Operations to limit the higher-ups in the Eastern Theater of Operations.
He had already told Wang Tianzong the consequence of him attacking Li Tianlan.
If Wang Tianzong dared to break the rules, Dongcheng Wudi dared to risk everything.
As soon as he harmed Li Tianlan, the constant war between the Army Headquarters and the Wang family of Beihai would occur right away!
That was Dongcheng Wudi’s overall situation.
“I won’t kill him.”
Wang Tianzong took a deep look at Dongcheng Wudi and slowly said, “I just think he is more suitable to be an ordinary person. It’s better for everyone.”
Dongcheng Wudi moved forward again. He asked the same question, in exactly the same tone.
“War?”
Though Dongcheng Wudi was facing the strongest Sword Emperor in the Dark World, his attitude was getting tougher and more aggressive.
Wang Tianzong looked at his face.
He watched that for half a minute, and then suddenly laughed.
Listen to the Sea trembled in his hand.
Wang Tianzong’s thumb pushed the hilt of the sword.
The sharp sword blade came out of the sheath inch by inch.
“Yes, war,” he said.
Neither his eyes nor his expression showed any room for discussion.
Not killing Li Tianlan was his biggest compromise and concession.
But Wang Tianzong didn’t think there was a need for Li Tianlan to keep his combat capability.
Li Tianlan was still alive.
How much justice could the Dongcheng Clan claim in such a war?
The pupils of Dongcheng Wudi suddenly contracted.
He saw the unalterable determination in Wang Tianzong’s eyes.
But he, too, had reasons not to compromise.
Li Tianlan must be alive, and his Martial Arts must not be damaged at all.
Otherwise, what was the significance of the Giant Group’s plot over the years?
“Your Majesty, Sigh City is hundreds of miles away from the Wang family of Beihai. It’s close.”
Cool Breeze’s voice was soft, and what he said was like a reminder, but his expression was also extremely determined.
Cool Breeze and Drifting Cloud.
They were two top assassinators who were known as the genius duo.
They got to where they were today, not just by force but also by ability.
At least on such an occasion, Cool Breeze was qualified to represent the stance of the entire Sigh City as he stood here.
Sigh City was hundreds of miles away from Beihai Province.
The distance was within the range of a medium-range missile.
Sigh City’s top assassinator could cover this distance in a day.
Cool Breeze’s words were brief but full of meaning.
Wang Tianzong was still smiling.
Zhongzhou State and the Dark World were often impressed by the Sword Emperor’s calm, silent face, which made people wonder what he was thinking.
He had a handsome smile, with the unique charm of an old man, and looked warm.
But in Cool Breeze’s eyes, this smile was indescribably dangerous.
He was tense and ready to move.
Wang Tianzong had taken a step forward.
The Sword Energy surrounding Li Tianlan expanded suddenly and formed a straight line between the several people.
Suddenly, Cool Breeze felt a mountain on his body.
As far as the eye could see, the earth and forest were constantly rising, while the sky and the scorching sun were suddenly far away.
The messy smoke and dust rose and drifted.
Cool Breeze noticed the acute pain of his body as everything in his sight became extremely blurred. An endless sense of pressure pressed against him from all directions, making it difficult for him to move even his little finger for a while.
Cool Breeze sobered up all of a sudden.
Heaven and earth remained the same.
They neither rose nor went far away.
It was his body that fell.
Sword intent surged.
The massive Sword Energy pressed on him. As Wang Tianzong’s feet landed, Cool Breeze’s entire body was directly pressed into the ground.
His skeletons and muscles were intact, but most of his body was forcibly pressed into the ground, leaving only his head above the ground.
Cool Breeze opened his eyes wide with astonishment.
He couldn’t look up.
In his sight, he could only see Wang Tianzong’s shoes.
“I don’t accept any threats.”
Wang Tianzong lowered his head and looked at Cool Breeze. He indeed occupied a commanding position.
Cool Breeze blushed instantly.
He wanted to get angry, but Wang Tianzong’s eyes were directly fixed on Li Tianlan.
His eyes were deep, dangerous, and indifferent. He looked at Li Tianlan like a goshawk staring at the hare.
“Your Majesty!”
Zhuang Huayang gritted his teeth.
“Get lost,” Wang Tianzong said indifferently.
He walked past Cool Breeze without looking at Zhuang Huayang.
Zhuang Huayang narrowed his eyes tightly.
Anger? Humiliation?
These were not important.
He was in his seventies. There had been too many ups and downs in his life. The words “get lost” could far from making him forget himself.
What he felt most intuitively was only Wang Tianzong’s determination.
This maneuver made the Wang family of Beihai and Kunlun City truly realize the infinite possibilities and huge threat of Li Tianlan in the future.
Wang Tianzong broke the rules, desperately trampled on everything, and ignored the general trend, making it clear that he would deprive Li Tianlan of his Martial Arts completely.
Dongcheng Wudi’s face, which had always been extremely calm, gradually twisted and became ferocious and insane.
The big screen in front of the stand was still working.
Dongcheng Wudi raised his hand.
His palm was stable and determined.
Today in Huating, he was ready to bear all the consequences.
So now he dared to do anything.
Wang Tianzong’s strength ranked first on this land. He dared to trample on the rules and harm Li Tianlan, but Dongcheng Wudi didn’t believe that he dared to turn a blind eye to Zhongzhou State and hurt a director of the Decision Making Committee.
Wang Tianzong had made up his mind.
He wanted war.
So Dongcheng Wudi would give him what he wanted!
Under the sun, in the shadows of the woods, Dongcheng Wudi suddenly clenched his fist and waved violently!
In front of the stand, 40,000 iron-willed elite troops of the Border Control Corps saw the scene clearly.
This gesture only meant a military order in the Border Control Corps.
All-out attack! At all costs!
Major General Li Zonghu of the Blood Battalion in the Border Control Corps suddenly roared at the top of his lungs. He bellowed so hard that he hurt his throat.
The moment the 40,000 troops stood at attention, the somewhat hoarse roar suddenly resounded, shaking the sky.
“Border Control Corps! Charge!!!”
Li Zonghu of the Blood Battalion.
Sun Mengran of the Pegasus Battalion.
Guan Zhengie of the Wild Sand Battalion.
Wu Junyu of the Black Dragon Battalion.
The four top generals present in the 40,000 troops sprinted forward at full speed.
They led their men in a charge.
Officers were in front.
Soldiers were in the rear.
The almost endless troops started to charge at the same time, without hesitation.
The heavy footsteps were like the muffled thunderclaps that shook the Sky Academy.
Violent and wild.
The 40,000 troops crowded into the maneuver area at the fastest speed and turned into a huge wave of people in an instant.
The entire Sky Academy shuddered amidst the charge of the 40,000 troops.
The dust was flying in the sky.
The platform was constantly shaking.
Everyone looked pale at the scene.
They watched the most elite troops of Zhongzhou State rushed indomitably toward the strongest Sword Emperor of Zhongzhou State without hesitation.
At the risk of their lives!
The fighters and helicopters above the Sky Academy began to dive.
One tank after another rushed out of the arsenal.
It was an impressive display of power.
No compromises or concessions.
The battle would never end until one side was wiped out!
Wang Tianzong clearly heard the charge and roar of the 40,000 troops at the Sky Academy, clearly felt that the earth was shaking violently, and clearly saw the fighters in the sky starting to dive toward here.
Wang Tianzong suddenly thanked the Samsara Palace inwardly.
He thanked the deep sea near the Samsara Palace.
If it were him a few days ago, he would have difficulty dealing with today’s situation even if he could leave in one piece today.
In the heavy and silent deep sea, he made a sword stroke with the Sword Energy up to ten thousand meters.
That sword stroke was enough to overthrow the whole world.
He logically took another half step forward in the most peak realm.
So for him, Li Tianlan’s sword intent was not enough.
Forty thousand troops were not enough.
The fighters in the sky were not enough.
The sword Listen to the Sea slowly came out of the sheath in his hand.
Wisps of Sword Energy were as heavy as mountains, surging like the sea and as high as the sky.
The Sword Energy was not mighty.
But it was perfect and natural.
Li Tianlan stood at the very center of the Sword Energy and seemed to be isolated from the whole world.
There were no sounds, scenery, or people around him.
It was all light.
Pure and infinite light.
The light stirred slightly.
Li Tianlan, who almost won a complete victory in the team maneuver, had blood suddenly burst forth all over him.
His face paled in a moment.
His straight body seemed to be under tremendous pressure, and all his skeletons were contracting.
Li Tianlan’s eyes were silent and calm.
The great pain grew stronger and stronger.
The massive sword intent seemed to overwhelm him.
He stood where he was with all his strength.
He neither stepped back nor bent over.
If he were destined to die today, he would always maintain a proud posture, give the whole world an impressive victory, and present the world a most wonderful ending as well.
Wang Tianzong felt the pride and tenacity of Li Tianlan.
He smiled softly, without mockery, banter, emotion, or disconsolation.
It was just a pure smile.
“It’s useless.”
He said, “No one can stop me if I want to hurt you.”
“I can stop you,” Li Tianlan whispered.
His voice was stable, but it was somewhat weak and hoarse under severe pain.
Blood gushed from his mouth as he spoke.
Li Tianlan watched Wang Tianzong calmly. “How old are you this year?”
Wang Tianzong froze.
“More than fifty… It’s really half a lifetime.”
Li Tianlan asked a question and answered it himself.
In the crazily surging sword intent, Li Tianlan raised his hand strenuously.
As he raised his hand, a great deal of blood dripped. A deep wound which revealed his bone appeared on his arm.
Li Tianlan’s expression was calm and almost numb.
He flicked his fingers as his blood dripped.
“Puff!”
The dull and subtle sound rang out directly behind Wang Tianzong, and at the same time, a few extremely muffled groans were heard too.
Wang Tianzong turned around without scruple.
His pupils contracted instantly.
In his sight, Wang Shengxiao, Song Ci, Jiang Shangyu, and Gu Hanshan had woken up from a coma.
As Li Tianlan flicked his fingers, immaterial Sword Energy rushed out from all parts of their bodies in an instant, with the spray of blood.
Arms, legs, abdomens, eyes, noses, mouths.
Blood was gushing everywhere.
The aura of Wang Shengxiao, the most seriously injured one, directly fell to the bottom the moment the sword intent broke out. And his eyes became dim.
Wang Tianzong’s eyes flashed with hesitation. He looked back at Li Tianlan.
Li Tianlan’s expression remained calm, but his eyes gleamed with a sinister, maniac, and hysterical grim smile.
He saw the hesitation in Wang Tianzong’s eyes.
But he had no intention of negotiating.
If these bargaining chips couldn’t stop Wang Tianzong from attacking him, Wang Tianzong also couldn’t stop Li Tianlan’s destructive Sword Energy, which he had long left in the bodies of the four.
His body was getting closer and closer.
The sober four twitched continually. The Sword Energy surged faster and faster, and their bodies were already full of blood.
Wang Shengxiao gritted his teeth, insisting on bearing the pain, his eyes blurred and dim.
Among the four, Gu Hanshan, who should have been the most strong-willed, was the first to scream.
“Save me! Save me! Hurry up, save me! ”
He fell flat on his back weakly, howling as hard as he could.
Fountains of blood spurted from his eyes.
It was all his own blood.
“Good.”
Wang Tianzong’s eyes calmed down again.
Li Tianlan said coldly, “Is it enough?”
Wang Tianzong lowered his eyelids and said indifferently, “Not enough.”
Li Tianlan laughed.
Li Tianlan never thought about Wang Tianzong’s attitude, so he would not be surprised by any of his attitudes.
“I will die.”
Li Tianlan calmly said, “But all four of them are going to die with me today. Wang Shengxiao is very good, Your Majesty. After he’s gone, could you still raise such an excellent son if you were to have more than twenty years?”
“You seem to have forgotten one thing.”
Wang Tianzong looked at Li Tianlan and smiled. “The thing that saved your life three years ago was from the Wang family of Beihai. Did you forget it?”
Three years ago…
There was a flash of light in Li Tianlan’s eyes.
The thing that saved his life three years ago was the dragon vein of Zhongzhou State.
But Wang Tianzong was not talking about this.
If time went back even further…
Immortality Potion!
Immortality Potion!
Li Tianlan glanced at the four young people behind Wang Tianzong and sneered slightly, “Four Immortality Potions? You’re indeed generous, Your Majesty.”
Wang Tianzong said indifferently, “One portion is enough.”
With such injuries, Song Ci would not die. Maybe she would totally lose her Martial Arts, but the chances of her dying were slim.
He now had an Immortality Potion for Wang Shengxiao.
As for Gu Hanshan and Jiang Shangyu…
What did they have to do with him?
“You can’t stop me.”
Wang Tianzong took one more step forward.
In the increasingly violent Sword Energy, Li Tianlan laughed abruptly. “Bring it on!”
Qin Weibai never talked to Lin Fengting about the content of her conversation with Summer Solstice until she came down Mount Dibing.
Lin Fengting was not so interested in this. He was more concerned about the result of the maneuver of Zhongzhou State.
“Won?” Lin Fengting asked.
“Won.”
Qin Weibai nodded. “Tianlan is very strong now, but I didn’t see the end just now.”
Lin Fengting paused and looked at Qin Weibai. “Aren’t you worried?”
“Of course, I’m worried.”
Qin Weibai smiled. “I also want to see the end. But I was afraid that Summer Solstice would have a temper and refuse to compromise in front of me. Wang Tianzong will give in, but women are often unreasonable. If I didn’t stay there, she would then have the idea of compromise. Since that’s the case, I’ll take a step back.”
Lin Fengting vaguely guessed what the information in Qin Weibai’s hand was.
So Wang Tianzong’s compromise was almost certain to him.
He just felt some pity and some joy. He was so complicated that he himself didn’t know what he was thinking.
“That information…”
Lin Fengting shook his head with regret. “I didn’t expect to use it here.”
“I didn’t expect it, either.”
Qin Weibai’s eyes glowed with thought. “But it’s fine. Just in case. It is just right here.”
She paused and said softly, “I can’t help him with everything.”
“But that piece of information can only buy him a few months, perhaps half a year at most.”
Lin Fengting looked at Qin Weibai. “Don’t you think it’s a pity? What about six months from now?”
“After six months…”
Qin Weibai stretched herself. Her absolutely perfect body proportion seemed to carry a sacred light in the sun. “Everything will be different then.”
Lin Fengting didn’t speak. He just turned quietly and looked at the Emperor Hall on the top of the mountain.
Summer Solstice appeared at the top of the Emperor Hall, quietly looking at the direction that Qin Weibai left.
There was confusion, helplessness, and even some relief in her eyes. She looked extremely complicated.
After thinking for a while, she sighed, took out her cell phone, and called Wang Tianzong.
Wang Tianzong had come to Li Tianlan.
The Sword Energy, which had covered all the nearby space, gathered together as he moved forward.
The sword intent, which had condensed into a bunch, floated above Li Tianlan’s head, with an unmistakable smell of destruction.
“I gave you a chance.”
Wang Tianzong looked into Li Tianlan’s eyes. “Don’t you regret it?”
Li Tianlan looked up at the Sword Energy above his head.
Blood was still gushing from the bodies of Wang Shengxiao and the others.
There was some regret and also unwillingness in Li Tianlan’s eyes. But, in the end, all this turned into calmness.
“If I don’t die, I’ll start all over again.”
He looked into Wang Tianzong’s eyes and said flatly, “If I were dead, there would be someone with me on the road to hell. Just do it.”
Wang Tianzong looked at Li Tianlan.
In silence, the sword intent above Li Tianlan’s head began to spin frantically.
Wang Tianzong’s phone rang suddenly.
He froze, looking soft subconsciously.
On his cell phone, only this phone number had a special ring tone.
So he knew who it was without looking.
He knew that the other party was also watching the maneuver at this point. She called him at this moment, which meant that Wang Tianzong must answer the phone.
Wang Tianzong took out his mobile phone.
The note on the screen was only one word.
“Solstice.”
Wang Tianzong pressed the answer button and said “hello” in a soft voice.
“Tianzong, you cannot harm Li Tianlan.”
Summer Solstice’s voice came from the other end of the line.
“Huh?”
Wang Tianzong uttered a short syllable.
“Fengting just came to Mount Dibing with Qin Weibai.”
Summer Solstice lowered her voice. “Qin Weibai has left behind something that concerns the entire Beihai. You really can’t harm Li Tianlan. Otherwise, the consequences would be disastrous. Tianzong, come back first.”
The consequences would be disastrous.
It was the second time Wang Tianzong had heard this sentence since he had known Summer Solstice.
Not long after he first heard this sentence, the case of treason, which had prolonged influence even to this day, took place in Zhongzhou State.
Wang Tianzong hung up the phone silently.
He didn’t know what Qin Weibai had left.
But it concerned the entire Beihai, and the consequences were unimaginable, which had given him the reason to restrain his killing intent.
“Enough,” Wang Tianzong spoke calmly.
The sword intent all over the sky disappeared without a trace in the twinkling of an eye.
Li Tianlan folded his fingers.
The four young masters behind Wang Tianzong suddenly stopped blooding and were extremely weak.
Wang Tianzong said, “I’ll keep this sword stroke first.”
There was a gust in the maneuver area.
Wang Tianzong’s figure gradually became transparent in the sudden wind, and then disappeared completely.
The figures of Wang Shengxiao, Song Ci, Jiang Shangyu, and Gu Hanshan also disappeared with Wang Tianzong.
It all happened in seconds.
The bodies of Gu Hanshan and Jiang Shangyu fell in front of Gu Xingyun.
Wang Tianzong did not appear.
The majestic and massive sword intent in the air traversed the sky and went far away.
The 40,000 troops who were about to rush into the maneuver area stopped in front of the big screen.
On the big screen, Wang Tianzong’s figure disappeared.
Li Tianlan still stood quietly.
Without that sword stroke, there would be no war.
Li Tianlan was silent for a long time before slowly moving his body.
He walked some distance ahead, dragging Cool Breeze, whose whole body was pressed into the ground, out of the ground.
“I am glad that you are fine.”
Dongcheng Wudi and Zhuang Huayang got rid of the sword intent. After moving freely, they came to Li Tianlan immediately.
Li Tianlan nodded thoughtfully.
Dongcheng Wudi said, “Go out first.”
The few of them walked along the passage that Li Tianlan created with a punch, passing blood and corpses along the way, and finally came out of this forest.
The big screen still erected.
Countless people looked at Li Tianlan on the screen with complex expressions.
Forty thousand troops had lined up neatly outside the forest.
The fighters in the air began to disperse.
But the intense killing intent pervading the air remained.
Li Tianlan looked at them, the elite troops who were the most loyal to the Dongcheng Clan, quietly.
They followed the military orders of Dongcheng Wudi.
They were willing to die for the marshal in their hearts and for him.
Li Tianlan’s mouth moved.
He took a deep breath, raised his hand, and saluted them.
The 40,000 troops were solemn, and they saluted him at the same time.
Li Tianlan, who was covered in blood from head to toe, was pale, but his spirits were high.
He bent deeply before the immense arrays of troops before him. His voice, soft but pervasive, echoed in everyone’s ears.
“Thank you.”
Major General Li Zonghu of the Blood Battalion unconsciously tried to avoid that.
He looked up at Dongcheng Wudi.
Dongcheng Wudi smiled and nodded slowly but firmly.
Li Zonghu, who was still saluting, lowered his arm.
The next second, in the appalled eyes of countless people, a total of 40,000 troops standing in front of Li Tianlan bowed deeply to the young man in front of them and got down on one knee at the same time.
The scene was completely frozen.
So agitated, so solemn, so dignified.
It was like they were taking an oath.
The neat voice of 40,000 people resounded through the sky, echoing in the Sky Academy for a long time.
“The Border Control Corps pays respects to Your Highness!”