In novels and movies, the police and rescuers would always arrive late. But reality wasn't like novels. If people always arrived at the perfect time, that would be a huge problem.
"You guys must have had fun watching this show."
The black-haired Dragon Knight before me was quite young. He appeared to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. His face was still flushed with embarrassment and sporadic pimples. Judging from how embarrassed he was, he didn't seem like an old fox who was capable of lying in front of others without batting an eyelid.
"I actually became bait! You actually dared to use me as bait! "
This was my first thought when I saw the Dragon Knight and his Knight guards arrive late.
For example, when the five dragon knights suddenly flew overhead and chased after the fleeing undead, they left behind the weakest undead who had obviously not even reached adulthood to greet me. Not only that, this undead was the weakest and had obviously not even reached adulthood yet. Not only that, this undead undead only needed to set up a few traps to reveal most of my information.
Actually, I already knew the answer without even having to interrogate this little brat. Today's incident was far too coincidental.
I refused to believe that Orloss's control over his own capital city would be so weak. Nor did I believe that his top-secret information would be leaked so easily.
If it really was leaked to the undead so quickly, the most likely reason would be that Orloss had done it on purpose. He intentionally leaked the information that I already possessed the formula for "Aso's Gift" to the already exposed undead spies! Then, he lured the undead to ambush me.
For the undead hiding in the Bardi capital city, no matter if they killed me or obtained the formula from me, it would be a highly profitable transaction. It would be an irresistible temptation to take any risk.
And so, even though the undead knew that it was highly likely that this was a trap, they unhesitatingly took the bait since they would be able to recoup their losses.
And so, what if I died? For the Bardi Empire, there would naturally be no more threats. Wasn't that a good thing?
"It's truly a win-win situation."
This time, the Dragon Knight guards who just happened to arrive could only wait outside and wait for the undead and me to heavily injure each other so that they could take advantage of the situation. Of course, if I won, they would probably come to my rescue. Orloss truly deserved his nickname of "Venomous Scorpion" for being able to think of such a win-win situation in such a short amount of time and finish setting it up in less than two hours.
"… You must have been tricked."
I let Glina out. Even if I didn't tell her anything, she would be able to see through all of these messy plots. However, what made her even more upset was that she wasn't strong enough in battle, which was why she was a burden.
"Don't worry, I'll make that old man spit out everything he owes us. Don't think too much. You're still too young. "
Stroking the little fellow's head, Zhang Xuan looked into the distance. Even though the other party had escaped, it was clear that he hadn't cleaned up the mess yet.
I casually tossed the unconscious Snake Archduchess into my Frigidwinter Earth right in front of that little Dragon Knight. Such a spoil of war could possibly reveal information about the undead's organization in the Bardi Empire. How could I possibly leave it for the Bardi Empire?
The corpses of the undead weren't the only ones here. The human assassins who had attacked us earlier had been surrounded by the undead, and those who hadn't died hadn't managed to escape. Those who were still alive were probably the lucky ones.
As for the living assassins who had been driven here, perhaps they were related to a certain prince. I would leave that to the Bardi Empire to deal with.
Just as I was about to go to the royal palace to find that old fox to settle the score, Glina suddenly tugged on my sleeve and pointed at a nearby tree.
"… It seems that we don't need to go look for Beck's eldest daughter anymore."
Wasn't a dark-skinned half-elf assassin trembling on a nearby tree? She was surrounded by irregular shadows. If it wasn't for Glina's magical eyes, it would have been difficult for her to discover her. It would seem that she had used a dark elf racial talent to avoid danger.
"… It would seem that she's most likely relying on Mills. Since she knows my password, it seems that I'll have to kill — kill the elves to silence her. "
As I spoke, I poured Holy Light into my eyes. Killing intent flashed in my eyes as I glared at her.
"Stop scaring her. She looks like she's about to faint."
"… I'm already regretting it. I think I peed my pants already. Tsk, tsk, tsk, it's dripping down the tree. That little brat will definitely complain to me. Glina, let me discuss something with you. "
"You want me to carry her? Don't even think about it. She'll dirty my mecha. "
"No, I just want you to help her change into a new set of underwear. Here, this set should fit her quite well."
"… Why don't you first explain why you're carrying women's underwear with you? Could it be that the legendary Princess Peach … "
"It's unbearable to look back on the past. It's all the fault of being young … Hey, I'm really not a pervert! Don't run away! Your attitude really hurts your great-grandfather. "
…
"As the Mage Country's ambassador, I was actually assassinated right in front of my own residence, suffering both mental and physical torture. Not only that, your country's security guards arrived so late. I seriously suspect that they did this on purpose or not. Not only is this a personal threat to me, it's an insult and provocation to my country. "
The old man before me still had a friendly smile on his face. But no matter how ridiculous my explanation was, it seemed that he was still acting like a mascot. Meanwhile, the diplomats and Knight Guard were all furious at my rudeness.
Even though it was already late at night, the glorious guest hall was still brightly lit. Judging from the bloodshot eyes of the attendees, the footprints on the floor that hadn't been cleaned yet, and the teacups that had been refilled countless times, perhaps it should be said that the Bardi Empire's conference hadn't ended, and that these people hadn't dispersed at all.
That was indeed the case. Right after Orloss's conference with me ended, he received news that the Mills Conference had been assassinated. Another emergency conference was held, but before the conference was even over, Orloss suddenly had an emergency conference with another visitor. Then, he immediately turned around and continued with the conference. This time, he was discussing all sorts of emergency plans. He even mentioned war plans.
It could be said that these diplomats and civil officials had been busy for at least 14 hours now, dealing with the highest-level of important matters. They were so nervous that their eyes were bloodshot. And when they discovered that I was the one who had caused all this trouble, they were naturally quite displeased with me.
And right now, in their minds, I had just killed the popular Prince Mills in the middle of the street. Now, the guilty party was the first to complain and act so arrogantly in front of Emperor Orloss. In the feudal era of the Knight Society, this was already a great humiliation for the Bardi Empire.
"… Hey, old man, I've said so much already. Shouldn't you at least have some reaction? Do you really think that I'm a little white rabbit who's going to swallow my anger?"
"Impudent! Do you know who you're talking to? This is the Bardi Empire's Emperor Orloss, the Guardian of the Mantis Mountains, and the Bardi Empire's Emperor Orloss. You … "
The common characteristic of all major figures was their long list of titles. It was quite frightening to say it out loud, especially to novices. These titles were a part of their authority, but it was likely that such a trick would be useless against an old fox like me.
"Cough, this is the Law God's Envoy, the Guardian of the Seven Northlands Kingdoms' Sword, the last descendant of the Mist, the child of the Holy Light, a member of the Mage Country's Truth Symposium, the destroyer of Eternal Night, the undying …"
Glina also revealed a long list of titles. It seemed that she was quite observant. Wasn't it just a competition of titles? Who was afraid of who?
"Who are you? Do you have the right to speak here? Are you a diplomat from the Mage Country? You little brat! "
A goateed official stood up and roared angrily. If I recalled correctly, he seemed to be the Bardi Empire's prime minister, and his name seemed to be Carlo.
Indeed, this move of his was quite a clever one. Even if he lost in battle, he didn't lose in spirit. However, it seemed that the "young female attendant" he was using as an example seemed to have found the wrong person.
"Cough, this is Her Majesty the Queen of the Sleuweir Kingdom. As the Mist Alliance's full diplomatic envoy, I strongly protest against your insults towards our Queen, and request that you, Carlo, immediately apologize. Not only that, our Mist Alliance's Queen was attacked right after she arrived in your country. We need an explanation! "
This time, it was my turn to act all high and mighty.
All the officials present were surprised at first, but then came to a sudden realization. I had never intended to hide my background. Considering my relationship with the Northlands countries, it was completely understandable that the Queen of a Sleuweir Kingdom would suddenly come here.
However, my request was only natural. As a civil official, shouting angrily at a country's queen in a formal setting was a serious breach of diplomatic etiquette. Merely asking for an apology was already quite restrained.
Of course, I could also consider using force. There were plenty of examples of large countries suppressing small countries. But right now, I was in front of His Majesty, and His Majesty didn't say anything, so how could a civil official like him dare to make a decision for His Majesty?
But at a time like this, if I lowered my head, I would obviously appear weak, which would affect my future negotiations. In the current delicate situation, such psychological factors were quite important.
And not apologizing would cause serious diplomatic consequences. Just as the hesitant Carlo was about to bow down, Orloss, who had been acting like an ornament all this time, finally spoke up.
"Your Highness Roland, it's better to be honest about some things. Just what do you want?"
"Compensation, physical compensation and psychological damages! Talking about money would be too vulgar. How about a dozen or so Dragon Knights first? If that's not possible, then full information on your country's specialty Bardi Dragon Berserkers and Shield Dragon Guardians would also be fine. "
Just like the Ottoman Royal Knight's elite White Wolf Guards, Donglan's Aurora Knight, and Avalanche Defenders, Bardi also had its own mass-produced ace troop types. Dragon Berserkers were said to be killing machines that had an average power level of Silver-ranked, while Shield Dragon Guardians were said to be super defenders capable of fighting against Sword Saints. Information on these two troop types were the Bardi Empire's foundational treasures. How could Bardi casually give them to others?
"Thieves!"
"You actually dare …"
It was always hateful to open one's mouth like a lion. For a moment, angry shouts and reprimands filled my ears, but I ignored them.
Of course, I knew that Orloss wouldn't take out such an important treasure as compensation, nor would he use the Dragon Knight as compensation. But wasn't negotiation the same as haggling on the streets? Even if I knew that you wouldn't accept, I still had to lower the price by half to test my bottom line. Only when both sides faintly understood each other's bottom line would we enter the actual negotiation stage.
But to everyone's surprise, Orloss smiled and nodded.
"Alright, is that all? Sure, I'll compensate you with everything. "
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