Caelus slowly walked onto the stage, followed by Cocolia, Bronya, March 7th, and Dan Heng. He stood at the very front of the stage, while the others fanned out in a line beside him.
Bronya, who had been considered by everyone in Belobog to be the prime candidate for the next Supreme Guardian, was now dressed in a black formal gown, standing beside Caelus like an attendant. She and March 7th, in her white dress, were a study in contrast on either side of him.
"Why isn't Lady Bronya the one succeeding the Supreme Guardian?"
"Who is this man? The Nameless Caelus… Never heard of him."
The whispers from the crowd made Bronya's face flush. It wasn't that she was desperate to become the Supreme Guardian, but the stares from the crowd made her feel incredibly embarrassed…
Cocolia scanned the crowd below and spoke in a clear, resonant voice.
"Quiet!"
The murmuring from below instantly vanished. Caelus then took a step forward, raised his left hand, and held up three fingers.
"I won't say much. Everyone must be curious as to why I am the one taking over as Supreme Guardian. What can I bring to Belobog? I will tell you now, I am taking on the position of Supreme Guardian for only three things!"
"Development, development, and more f*cking development!"
The crowd below was dead silent. No one spoke; they just stared at Caelus.
Cocolia felt the atmosphere was a bit off and couldn't help but frown.
It seemed Caelus's succession was too sudden. It would be very difficult for these people to accept him.
Just as Cocolia was about to say something to help salvage the situation, Caelus suddenly pulled out wooden blocks and began building something on the stage. This scene immediately piqued everyone's curiosity.
The people below had originally been thinking, Who is this young man? What gives him the right to become the Supreme Guardian?
Now, seeing Caelus's actions, their thoughts shifted to, Alright, kid, let's see what you're trying to pull!
The thing Caelus was building was very simple. He finished in under three minutes. Its form resembled a wooden fountain, enclosed on three sides, with the only opening facing the crowd. The middle was filled with water. Strangely, besides the water, a nearly invisible string connected two hooks on either side.
"Open your eyes and watch closely. Now is the time to witness a miracle!"
Caelus took out a pair of shears, snipped the string in the middle, and then quickly pulled a lever installed at the top. A series of clicking sounds echoed as a continuous stream of string was launched into the air, landing on the stage.
Everyone who saw this was stunned.
Is this some kind of magic trick? Why is string continuously appearing?
In less than a minute, the area in front of the string farm was covered by a massive pile of string. Strands began to be pushed off the stage, falling in front of the crowd. Many people immediately bent down to pick it up and examine it closely.
"This string is so tough! It won't break even when I pull it!"
A more knowledgeable person in the crowd examined the string and his face paled with shock. "This string… this is good stuff! The things you could make with this are endless!"
Whether it was for weapons, miscellaneous items, or even knitting sweaters like wool, it was all perfectly feasible!
On the stage, Cocolia and Bronya also looked at Caelus with surprise. The former had only heard Caelus mention the concept of a string farm, but she never imagined it was real. To think that such a simple-looking machine could produce a ceaseless supply of string!
Caelus deliberately let the machine run for five minutes, to show the people below that this was no magic trick. Only after waiting for five minutes did he raise his hand to quiet the clamoring crowd.
Seeing his gesture, the people immediately fell silent. Their compliance was on a whole other level compared to before.
"Everyone, this object is called a string farm. Its effect is simple: to provide a limitless supply of string for Belobog. To convince you all, I will leave this string farm here. Anyone who needs some, feel free to take it. And I have several more machines like this. I guarantee to all of you that soon, we in Belobog will live good lives. The Eternal Freeze outside will also stop soon, and then it will be our turn to reclaim our lost lands!"
After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted in cheers. Everyone raised their hands high in praise of Caelus.
Cocolia and Bronya watched this scene, both feeling a bit strange. In past succession ceremonies for Supreme Guardians, the citizens of Belobog would only ever offer polite applause. They would never praise someone from the bottom of their hearts like this.
But on second thought, it made sense. When Cocolia took office in the past, she had only made some empty, grandiose promises. She had never produced something as tangible and beneficial as Caelus had. No wonder the people's reactions were worlds apart.
Seeing that the time was right, Caelus had Cocolia bring out the signs she had prepared beforehand.
Cocolia gave a signal to the Silvermane Guards waiting at the side. Immediately, several guards carried a number of signs onto the stage and set them up, facing the crowd. The signs were covered in recruitment information.
[Recruiting Fishermen, Farmers…]
The crowd, who had been expecting Caelus to pull out another spectacle, were all stunned when they saw the call for fishermen.
"Recruiting… fishermen?"
Seriously, this place is covered in ice and snow. Even the bears that could adapt to the extreme cold are considered extinct by the researchers. How could there possibly be any fish?
The few fish that existed in Belobog were all raised by the nobility for their own consumption. Ordinary people had only ever seen them in books.
Caelus noticed the crowd's reaction and had already guessed what they were thinking. He simply took out a bucket of water, dug a hole in the stage, and, in front of everyone, poured the water into it. He then took out a fishing rod and started fishing in the small pool.
Everyone saw this and thought he must have gone mad.
And never mind how this new Supreme Guardian managed to break through the stage in an instant. That pool of water was dug by him just now. There are no fish fry in it. Even if there were, they would need time to grow, wouldn't they?
He just started fishing like that? Is he putting on a show to entertain everyone?
Bronya couldn't help but frown at this scene and said coldly, "Caelus, are you crazy? You're disgracing the Supreme Guardian!"
She had just finished speaking when Cocolia, standing beside her, couldn't help but reprimand her.
"Bronya, be polite. You are not to speak to your Uncle Caelus like that!"
---o---