Volume 4 Chapter 173
by Need_More_SleepVolume 4 + Chapter 173: Moral Blackmail
Tsk!
Kennedy was extremely unwilling to accept this in his heart.
He had planned and maneuvered for so long, only for everything to turn around in the end, benefiting the Dragon Clan instead, allowing them to seize the gate he had worked so hard to take.
There was no other choice now. At the very least, he couldn’t walk away with nothing. So he decided to temporarily swallow his pride, lower his demands, and accept joint ownership of the gate with the Dragon Clan.
Kennedy felt that being able to make such a concession already showed remarkable magnanimity. There was no reason for the Dragon Clan to refuse.
But in reality, Xia Yi’s response left him frozen on the spot.
“Is it that you don’t understand, Kennedy?” Xia Yi said. “The ownership of this gate belongs to our Dragon Clan. It has absolutely nothing to do with your Elven Clan.”
Such a statement was like tossing a lit match straight into a pile of explosives, instantly igniting the emotions of every elf present.
“Silver Dragon Princess, what did you just say?! That’s going too far!!”
“Despicable! Shameless!!”
“Why should the Dragon Clan monopolize the gate?!”
The elves were on the verge of losing control, swords half-drawn, bristling with hostility as they demanded an explanation.
Even Kennedy, who had been doing his utmost to remain rational, could not accept such words.
“Silver Dragon Princess, this utterly unreasonable demand of yours is something our Elven Clan cannot possibly accept!” Kennedy roared, losing his composure. “If not for the efforts of our Elven Clan, do you Dragons really think you could have taken this gate yourselves?!”
“Efforts?” Xia Yi replied coolly. “You mean placing us at the rear of the battlefield, forcing us to block the Vampire Clan’s reinforcements so they couldn’t reach the front lines?”
Xia Yi raised her small hand and pointed straight at Kennedy, showing him not the slightest courtesy.
“Kennedy, you are an utter failure as an elven general, so much so that you’re not even as competent as Eve.”
“Not as good as… Eve?!”
To Kennedy, this was an absolute and unforgivable insult.
She was actually comparing him to that immature, decorative princess, and even saying he was worse than her?!
“From morning until night, you attacked the Vampire Clan’s gate and still couldn’t take it, despite us Dragons blocking the Vampire Clan’s rear reinforcements for you. Utter incompetence,” Xia Yi said with disdain. “If our Dragon Clan had entered the battlefield earlier, the gate would have fallen before the Vampire Clan’s reinforcements even arrived.”
“You, ”
For a moment, Kennedy was unable to refute her.
Because every single thing Xia Yi said was true.
“On what basis do you say I’m inferior to Eve?!”
“If it were Eve, she wouldn’t act like you,” Xia Yi replied. “She would have proactively sought cooperation with our Dragon Clan to jointly take the Vampire Clan’s gate. Under such circumstances, combined operations between elves and dragons could have minimized losses. But you didn’t do that. Instead, you caused the Elven Clan’s casualties to multiply. Tell me, what was all that for? As a general, you couldn’t possibly not understand this, could you?”
Each word struck straight to the heart.
Kennedy nearly bit through his own lip.
His subordinates also fell silent.
Because they all knew the real reason behind Kennedy’s actions, he wanted to monopolize the credit, to gain greater prestige and status.
If he had cooperated with the Dragon Clan, most people would attribute the victory to the dragons’ involvement, not to Kennedy alone.
“For your own selfish desires, you let countless innocent soldiers die needlessly,” Xia Yi accused coldly. “Kennedy, someone like you still has the nerve to discuss ownership of the gate with me? If not for scum like you, I might have considered sharing the gate with the Elven Clan. But with you around, next time, will you sell out your own people, us Dragons, or some other ally?”
Her voice rang out with crushing force.
“So tell me, who exactly is the incompetent, shameless degenerate here?”
This time, Kennedy was utterly condemned from every angle, left without a shred of dignity.
His subordinates remained silent.
The elven soldiers who had accompanied Kennedy here began to waver after hearing Xia Yi’s words. Where was the righteous fury they had displayed earlier?
“Silver Dragon Princess, the Elven King has granted me full authority over all decisions,” Kennedy declared desperately. “At present, I am the leader of the Anti–Vampire Clan Alliance. In my capacity as alliance leader, I demand that you share ownership of the gate with the Elven Clan!”
He had resorted to the most shameless tactic possible.
“I refuse,” Xia Yi said calmly. “The Dragon Clan joined the Anti–Vampire Clan Alliance as equals. Our relationship with any ally is one of cooperation, not hierarchy. No one has the right to command me.”
“Silver Dragon Princess, do you not want victory in the war against the Vampire Clan?” Kennedy threatened. “If I inform the other allied nations that your actions constitute betrayal of the alliance, turning you into our enemy, do you think the Dragon Clan would still stand a chance against the Vampire Clan?”
Kennedy had begun to engage in moral blackmail, attempting to force the Dragon Clan to submit.
“What you’re doing now is completely contrary to what an ally should do,” he continued. “Allied nations must cooperate with one another, otherwise, we’ll never defeat the Vampire Clan’s Ancestor God!”
The Dragon Clan members listening were all on the verge of hypertension from anger.
Even Elly felt the urge to slap him on the spot.
Sigh.
Xia Yi let out a sigh and sat back down.
“Heh heh heh.” Kennedy sneered coldly.
It worked.
He hadn’t planned to use this tactic originally, it was disdainful and shameless.
But the gate could not be lost by the Elven Clan. Otherwise, how would he explain it to the Elven King?
If the war ended and the Elven Clan gained nothing at all, accountability would come down hard, and Kennedy would be unable to escape responsibility.
After all, entering the war was never purely about justice.
It was about… profit.
“Silver Dragon Princess, I’m merely presenting a reasonable request on behalf of the Elven Clan. Both emotionally and logically, your Dragon Clan should agree, ”
“Are you dreaming?” Xia Yi interrupted. “Kennedy, you actually dare to use moral blackmail against the Dragon Clan?”
She leaned back in her seat, legs crossed, resting her cheek against one hand on the armrest. That arrogant posture made her look every bit like a Silver Dragon Queen.
“If the Anti–Vampire Clan Alliance wants to win, it should curry favor with our Dragon Clan instead. If you dare tell other allies that we’ve betrayed them, then we’ll simply do it for real, defect to the Vampire Clan. After all, that’s what you want, isn’t it?”
“What?!” Kennedy was shocked.
“Face reality, Kennedy. If you make us unhappy, we can simply leave the alliance altogether. Tell me, which is easier for Elizabeth to conquer: your Elven Kingdom, or the Dragon Kingdom in the far north, protected by natural heavenly defenses?”
“You, you…”
“You should understand which clan’s loss would have the greatest impact on the alliance.”
“……”
“You can continue your coercion. Our Dragon Clan would be more than happy to treat the Elven Clan as an enemy and formally go to war. Or is it because you believe elves are a ‘higher clan’ that you’ve gained this ridiculous confidence, enough to say such things in front of me?”
Xia Yi revealed a vicious, villain-like smile.
“Higher clan? Who exactly do you think is the higher clan here?”
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