Chapter 440
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Chapter 440: Sneering of the Monster Emperor
Chao Lu has entered the cage.
Although it’s a cage, the treatment is actually quite good.
This is a harbor controlled by the Xiangliu family. Although she is not locked in a prison cell, she still has to wear handcuffs and leg shackles. However, the living environment at least has doors, windows, and a fireplace, so she doesn’t have to suffer from the smoke.
She still has some understanding of the situation and can guess who the ambushers were before.
The Xiangliu family controls almost all the southern ports, so it is almost impossible for them to secretly enter.
Originally, she planned to persuade the Xiangliu family to release her, but she underestimated the chaos of the current situation.
The vassals are rising and even the Xiangliu family is not united.
Princess Bai Ze of the Bai Ze small country can still play a certain role, even if she is captured or not, the fate of the Bai Ze small country is already determined.
The mercenary group of American lions couldn’t resist the 1,500 guarding soldiers at the harbor, so they had to surrender and hand over Chao Lu.
Whether she can escape next depends on her ability and her skill in negotiation.
She has always had the gift of gab and plenty of courage.
But the problem is, she doesn’t have any cards to play.
Negotiation is like playing a card game, whoever has more cards in their hand can make enough combinations.
If you only have the King and the Queen of Spades, the opponent can slowly play consecutive pairs and wear you down.
She doesn’t have any cards at all. The Kingdom of Bai Ze is doomed, and her return is just seeking death… There’s only death as the outcome. She might as well find a suitable grave to bury herself.
Being foolish is foolish, but what else can be done?
A knock on the door came from outside, and Chao Lu’s expression turned serious, "Please come in."
The door was pushed open and a man walked in. Inside the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, there were thousands of different kinds of demons, with all sorts of strange and unique features. They had adopted the style of the Great Wilderness, and it was normal for new races to emerge every few generations due to unpredictable mutations. It was only through these unreasonable changes that the population and diversity of the races were maintained.
The man who entered had snake-like eyes. Most of the demons who took human form had cultivation levels of over a hundred years. The person who could enter should be the second-in-command or even the leader of the garrison stationed at the port.
The port was a crucial location for the Xiangliu family. Supplies came in and out from here, and those in charge of management were the direct descendants of the Xiangliu family. Bai Ze didn’t know this by birth, but she had exceptional talents and knowledge in divine arts. From the scales on his neck and his eyes, she could tell that he must be of Xiangliu bloodline. Perhaps he was a close relative of the current Xiangliu family within three generations, which was why he was assigned to this position.
"Hello, Princess Chao Lu."
"Nice to meet you…"
"This is not our first meeting. In fact, five months ago, I was also in Europa, and we had met before."
"I’m sorry, I don’t remember." Chao Lu shook her head, feeling that his statement was false.
"I wasn’t going to study abroad, but I made a hasty trip. The goal was Xiangliu Street, passing through Gaodeng City. I had a longing for the Golden Tree and couldn’t help but take a look at the Tulip Academy."
"The Golden Tree is indeed the most mysterious in Europa."
"Yes, unfortunately it’s no longer transplantable. Otherwise, it would be so good if it could end up in my the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom."
Chao Lu stayed silent, she couldn’t understand what this person was trying to say.
"I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Qisui, I am a Xiangliu. However, my bloodline is from outside the third generation. I came here to oversee the harbor and do odd jobs. I didn’t expect to meet Princess Bai Ze here, it’s quite unexpected."
"Xiangliu family hasn’t attacked Bai Ze Kingdom, I don’t understand why you’re stopping me," Chao Lu frowned.
"Don’t you really understand?" Qisui smiled faintly, "Now Lord Qiongqi is intensifying the attack on Bai Ze Kingdom. In less than a month, Yunmeng City will be captured. Even if you go back now, you’ll only meet death."
"This is my business," Chao Lu stared at Qisui, "I don’t need outsiders meddling."
"I’m sorry, but you’re my captive now," Qisui looked up, "The fate of a small kingdom has already been determined. You should stay here in Europa, at least you can hold onto Bai Ze’s bloodline. Returning to the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom, you can only become a prisoner."
"Let me go back to Bai Ze Kingdom, I have a way to defend the city," Chao Lu’s tone was determined, "Do you think I came back just to die? I understand these things better than you. I have a way to delay Lord Qiongqi’s attack and hold onto Yunmeng City."
"Just relying on the twenty-something mercenaries outside?" Qisui couldn’t help but show a hint of sarcasm on his face, "My people have already asked them. These people were hired by the dragon race to bring you to Yunmeng City. They can help defend the city for at most a month, but once their hired military is defeated, they’ll scatter on their own. They’re a group of war profiteers, without any sense of loyalty or reputation."
"Mercenaries are useless, but am I here to die?" Chao Lu questioned.
Qisui sat down and raised his hand to gesture for her to continue speaking.
Chao Lu continued to strengthen her bluff, saying, "You know, it’s not easy to return to the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom during the Gray Tide. I came from the South Sea, not the West Sea. You know the difference between these two routes."
"So what?"
"I didn’t arrive at the West Sea’s Frozen Port in the Ten Thousand Demon Kingdom from the East Coast of Europa. Instead, I arrived through the South Sea’s southern port," Chao Lu confidently explained. "I crossed the endless sea and arrived here in the shortest time. The Four Seas Group provided support and even sent mercenaries… If I really had no value and no cards to play, what could a princess in a kingdom on the verge of collapse like me do? Would the Dragon Clan be willing to do business with me?"
As Qisui pondered, he realized there was some truth to her words. The Four Seas Group chased after profits and never engaged in losing deals. Now that the Bai Ze Kingdom was a mess, no matter how much investment they made, it would all go down the drain unless they defended the city and Lord Qiongqi retreated.
Xiangliu certainly couldn’t guess that there was a kind-hearted person from the Ming Country, who had no connection to her, assisting her generously. They wanted nothing and took nothing from her, not even coveting her body. The East Sea Dragon Clan owed a huge favor and reluctantly provided her with mercenaries, offering the highest level of treatment.
This was completely unimaginable and defied all logic.
This was also the only card Chao Lu could play by borrowing false information. She could only pretend to be confident and act as if she had cards to play.
She continued speaking, "Let me return to Bai Ze Kingdom. Protecting Yunmeng City will only benefit the Xiangliu family. Lord Qiongqi’s aggressive actions will only burden his own military and government. He won’t be able to gain access to the gate leading to the Ming Country. It will only drag him down. You know our interests align in this matter."
Qisui took a deep breath and said, "You make a good point, Princess Chao Lu. I underestimated you."
"Well…"
"Unfortunately, I can’t trust what you’re saying." Qisui got up and walked away. "Please stay here for a few more days. I’ll report your claims to the higher-ups once the arrangements are made. I will consider your statements."
The door closed. Chao Lu sat down, feeling a cold sweat behind her. She didn’t know if she had successfully bluffed or not.
The appearance of Liu State, the downfall of Bi Fang Country, and the chaos of millions of refugees from Liu State made the situation between Xiangliu and Qiongqi more complicated.
Old Xiangliu seemed to have become content after experiencing multiple losses of his children, while Lord Qiongqi, in his prime, had ambitious plans to conquer all.
She was very worried about becoming a sacrificial pawn in the trade between the two sides.
…No, she couldn’t just sit and wait for her doom.
She urged herself to do something, the shackles on her hands didn’t hold her back much. There is a magic trick called "unlocking spell" in sorcery, as long as she understood the structural mechanism of the lock, she could manipulate the air to unlock it. And this kind of lock is very simple in her understanding, the problem is how to leave, she must leave tonight!
Chao Lu was anxiously pondering, without noticing that under the willow tree in her conscious space, a beautiful and elegant woman was chuckling slightly.
…
"Captain, how do you plan to deal with her?"
"Put her on ice, ignore her."
"No need to report?"
"No need to report, just keep her… If she really has any fortress defense methods, it won’t be too late for the Bai Ze Kingdom to be broken. By then, for the sake of revenge against Lord Qiongqi, she will naturally choose Xiangliu. If she really has this ability, it’s best to keep her as a hidden card. If not… it doesn’t matter." Qisui said, "Bai Ze is also a great wilderness beast bloodline, it would be a pity to cut it off completely. It’s better to keep her. She looks good, and we can find many uses for her. At worst, we can exchange some things with Qiongqi."
"Captain, you are wise."
…
Tanis asked, "What’s the situation?"
"Almost half of our equipment has been confiscated, so the next dragon boat will have to wait twenty days."
"Did I ask you about the retreat route? How can we just let it go if any of our people get killed! What did I ask you to prepare? Are you deaf or something?"
"Boss, there are twenty enemies against a thousand five. Either way, it’s a suicide mission!"
"Do you think staying here means we won’t die? Do you have any idea what Xiangliu is? In just three days, we’ll be split into different teams, then gradually divided and forced to work as laborers without being paid. We’ll unknowingly become pawns in the hands of the enemy, waiting to die as cannon fodder!" Tanis sneered, "I’ve seen the tricks of these bastards before, back in the kingdom… We have to leave tonight. Luckily, we’ve already dropped off our manpower and other equipment along the way. We’ll go and retrieve them when it’s late at night, then set fire and escape. Remember to bring the young princess along."