Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1948: At the Venue

Ning arrived at the summit venue alongside the rest of the Conjoran delegation, traveling in one of several government vehicles that moved together through the streets of Cape Mistam under the protection of Veronoth’s royal guard.

The venue itself had been constructed on one of the broad cliffs overlooking the ocean, where an enormous white-stone complex rose above several terraced gardens and open courtyards, combining the older architecture of Veronoth with large sections of glass and reinforced metal that had clearly been added specifically for events involving awakened individuals.

Flags of all nations and alliances flapped in the ocean wind, proud and high.

Even from outside, Ning could tell that security had been taken far more seriously than it had been at the palace.

The roads leading toward the complex had been closed entirely to ordinary traffic, while soldiers stood at every intersection and barriers divided the approaching vehicles into several separate lanes depending on which country they represented.

The moment the Conjoran vehicles stopped, the delegation was met by a group of royal officials who checked their identities before allowing them to take more than a few steps toward the entrance.

Then another group checked them again.

And another.

Ning watched one of President Morstell’s security officers hand over the same identification card for the third time within less than ten minutes.

"They really don’t want anyone unexpected getting inside," Lightspeed said from beside him.

"Someone unexpected already joined their royal guard two months ago," Ning replied. "I can understand why they’re nervous."

Lightspeed gave him a brief look, clearly having heard enough about Number 4’s attack to understand the reference, before turning his attention back toward the entrance.

Every member of the delegation was scanned for weapons, hidden devices, unusual energy signatures, and active abilities that could pose a threat inside the summit hall, while personal belongings were inspected separately and compared against the list submitted by Conjora before their arrival.

The cases were checked as well, but only on the outside. Since they were considered the most important belongings of Conjora, they weren’t opened at all.

The final checkpoint was located inside the complex itself, where several awakened security officers stood alongside ordinary guards and watched everyone who entered.

Ning recognized the purpose immediately.

If someone possessed an ability capable of bypassing the machines outside, these people were meant to catch whatever the technology missed.

He found the entire process mildly amusing.

If Ning actually wanted to smuggle something dangerous inside, none of them would have known.

Still, the effort was impressive.

Once the delegation finally passed through the last checkpoint, they entered a wide central hall that connected the various sections of the summit complex.

People filled almost every part of it.

Representatives from dozens of nations moved between waiting areas, private meeting rooms, and the enormous chamber where the summit itself would eventually begin, while servants carried drinks and documents through the crowd and security officers watched everything with the uncomfortable attention of people who knew a single mistake could become an international incident.

Ning recognized several faces from the banquet.

Ambassador Edrin Vell stood with a group from the Kelmic Isles, speaking with two military officers whose uniforms were decorated with shells and polished pieces of blue stone.

Chancellor Veyra Dorn was nearby with the Restane delegation, surrounded by several silver-skinned officials who shared enough similarities with her that Ning wondered if they belonged to the same race.

There were others he had never seen before.

A delegation of enormous horned Beastmen wearing ceremonial armor stood near one side of the hall, while a group of tiny winged people occupied an elevated platform created specifically so they could speak with taller representatives without constantly flying.

Ning saw Elves, Gnomes, Orcs, Centaurs, Goblins, Fairies, Humans, Beastmen, and several races he could not immediately identify.

The summit was probably one of the few places on Hyrron where representatives from so many nations and species could gather in one location and converse.

At least, Ning assumed that was the intention.

His eyes moved through the crowd.

The prince and princess stood near the entrance to the main chamber, welcoming the arriving delegations as representatives of Veronoth’s royal family.

Prince Tarian wore a dark ceremonial uniform covered with green and silver decorations, while Princess Elowen stood beside him in a formal dress that looked far less elaborate than what she had worn during the banquet but still made her immediately recognizable as royalty.

Captain Maelis remained only a few steps behind the princess.

The horned Beastwoman noticed Ning looking toward them.

Her eyes met his briefly before she looked away.

Ning remembered the previous day, when she had exposed his lie the moment he pretended to accept Tritus’s offer.

She gave him no indication that anything unusual had happened between them.

Neither did Elowen.

The princess smiled at arriving representatives, exchanged formal greetings, and behaved exactly as Ning would have expected from someone raised to perform this role for most of her life.

If Ning had not already known that she was one of Tritus’s Numbers, he would never have suspected anything.

That thought reminded him of why this day mattered.

The promised day.

Ning still had no idea what Tritus intended to do, but the Constellation seemed convinced that something important would happen before the day ended, so he had to imagine that was true.

There might even be others who had sneaked into the venue already, waiting for the perfect moment to do whatever it was that they wanted to do.

He continued looking through the gathered delegations, studying more people.

And then he saw them.

High-Elves.

They stood apart from several of the nearby groups, their pale features, long flowing blond hair, pointed ears, and elegant clothing making them easy to recognize even among the many different races filling the hall.

The Faedrian delegation was there.

Ning’s attention sharpened immediately.

There were more than twenty people among them, including officials, guards, nobles, and attendants dressed in shades of green, gold, and white, while three men occupied the most prominent positions near the center of the group.

Ning recognized one of them as the man he had been waiting to see until now.

Leamor.