Volume 5 Chapter 25

Volume 5 + Chapter 25: The Dragon Clan’s Hegemony

“I’ll go!!”

Xia Yi replied immediately.

Her thinking was very simple, rather than staying in the Dragon Royal Palace and enduring punishment, it was far better to go out and work.

At the very least, she wouldn’t have to eat broccoli while she was away, and on top of that, going out on assignment meant she wouldn’t have to attend classes at all.

Besides, she had been forbidden from leaving for quite some time and was practically suffocating from boredom.

This was simply killing multiple birds with one stone, nothing but benefits, no downsides whatsoever!

“Are you sure?”

Xia Lulu was still a little surprised by Xia Yi’s unusually enthusiastic response.

“This mission involves representing the dragon clan in a diplomatic visit to Fox Hill. The fox clan has never been on good terms with us and has always regarded the dragon clan as a rival.”

“Then doesn’t that make it even more suitable to hand it to me?”

Xia Yi confidently patted her chest.

“Among the dragon clan, who understands the fox clan better than I do? The fox clan’s princess has been saying she wants to… get entangled with me and all that!”

“…That’s true.”

Xia Lulu thought about it for a moment.

In fact, entrusting it to Xia Yi was probably the best choice. Throughout the entire Dragon Kingdom, interactions between dragons and foxes were extremely rare. Most encounters consisted of friction and conflicts along borders or within vassal states.

They could almost be said to view each other as enemies, with virtually no history of formal diplomatic relations.

Xia Yi, however, was an exception. Among all past dragon royals, she was the only one to have established close ties with the fox royal family, nothing short of remarkable.

Now that the fox clan had suddenly changed its stance, seeking contact with the dragon clan and even expressing a willingness to establish diplomatic relations, it was something worth considering.

“My daughter, then I’ll leave this to you. Afterward, I’ll arrange for officials to brief you on the details,” Xia Lulu said.

……

……

“Greetings, Princess. My name is Karami.”

An elderly official wearing glasses met with Xia Yi. He was considered a highly senior and respected minister within the dragon clan.

“Karami, I know you. You’re an outstanding minister,” Xia Yi said, nodding.

“You flatter me, Princess. I’ve already heard that you intend to represent our dragon clan on a mission to Fox Hill, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Princess, you’ve truly helped us immensely, this is nothing short of solving an urgent crisis!” Karami said, deeply moved. “There are already very few dragons who understand the fox clan, and given the past friction between foxes and dragons, most of our officials have never interacted with them. At a time when we lack a suitable diplomatic candidate, you voluntarily stepped forward! Even knowing there is inherent risk, you still chose to stand up for the sake of our dragon clan!”

“It’s my duty.”

That was what Xia Yi said on the surface, though in reality, she just didn’t want to eat broccoli anymore.

“Let’s talk in detail about the current situation with the fox clan.”

“Of course.”

Karami nodded.

Much of what he was about to explain was already familiar to Xia Yi.

Fox Hill was the nation of the fox clan.

Among all the races on this continent, the fox clan was a rather peculiar one.

Ordinary fox folk were not considered an upper-tier race, but within the fox clan existed an extremely special bloodline, the Nine-Tailed Fox clan.

The Nine-Tailed Fox clan could awaken the power of their bloodline. Once awakened, they could step into the realm of kings among upper-tier species and were fully qualified to be regarded as an upper-tier race.

However, the Nine-Tailed Fox clan was extremely rare among foxes, with most belonging to the royal bloodline.

That the Nine-Tailed Fox clan equaled the fox royal family was practically common knowledge.

The fox clan was, in essence, an awkwardly positioned race.

Looking upward, there were races like the dragon clan, top-tier species where everyone possessed upper-tier bloodlines. Internally, the fox clan simply didn’t have enough upper-tier individuals to compete head-on.

Looking downward, there were races like humans, who didn’t have a single upper-tier species among them. Compared to such ordinary races, the fox clan felt quite superior.

Thus, the fox clan was stuck in an in-between position, unable to rise higher, unwilling to sink lower.

As a result, the fox clan did not rely on overwhelming brute force like the dragon clan to crush everything in its path. Instead, they depended on cunning intellect, operating behind the scenes to stir up various schemes in order to strengthen their race.

Because they were adept at balancing relationships and knowing when to advance or retreat, the fox clan had rarely suffered major catastrophes throughout history.

Historically, the fox clan could hardly be said to hold any goodwill toward the dragon clan. More often than not, they treated dragons as a supreme demon king to challenge, let alone cooperate with or establish diplomatic relations.

For example, secretly fanning the flames in the Blackstone Kingdom to fracture the lizard clan from within was a routine fox clan tactic.

Yet this time, things were different.

“…Princess, this time the fox clan has expressed a certain degree of willingness to engage with our dragon clan,” Karami said. “This is exceedingly rare in history.”

“Mm. I more or less understand the current situation now.”

“Princess, I’ve heard that you’ve had contact with the fox princess, Yue Liu. From what you know of her attitude, how does the fox clan seem to be positioning itself?”

“Yue Liu, huh…”

Xia Yi thought for a moment.

Although that fox carrot was always Chuunibyou and utterly inexplicable, her stance had hardly ever changed. She consistently acted in the fox clan’s interests, actively striving to challenge the dragon clan and push the fox clan onto the crest of the era’s wave.

Her attitude essentially represented the fox clan’s internal stance.

“I think the fox clan is actually plotting something far more sinister,” Xia Yi replied. “They’ve always regarded our dragon clan as a formidable enemy. I’ve never seen them show this level of fixation toward any race other than dragons.”

“So it really is as we feared, another fox clan scheme in the making?”

Karami was clearly worried.

“We already had our suspicions toward the fox clan. In that case, Princess, perhaps I should advise Her Majesty to cancel this diplomatic trip. We can’t let you take such a risk, ”

“Wait.”

Xia Yi interrupted Karami.

“For a long time, the dragon clan has existed in isolation on this continent. We’ve been excluded and shunned by other races. But now, the balance of the era is changing. Dragon clan troops will soon be stationed in the Crimson Empire, which means we can exert military pressure on any nation at any time.”

“Princess, what do you mean by that…?”

Karami was shocked by Xia Yi’s sudden statement.

“If that’s the case, then if a powerful race truly wishes to cooperate with the dragon clan, what do you think the future direction of this continent will be like?” Xia Yi asked. “Do you think fear necessarily equals rejection?”

“The future world… will only have two camps, the dragon clan, and those who oppose the dragon clan!” Karami answered under Xia Yi’s guidance. “While other races fear the dragon clan, they must also be yearning for the dragon clan’s power!”

“Exactly, that’s the opportunity!” Xia Yi’s voice rang out with icy clarity. “The vampire clan is already under our dragon clan’s control. If the fox clan chooses to join us as well, then an alliance of dragon hegemony will be born, one that will shake the world!”

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