“What exactly is going on with the Great Xia Alliance? Do they not understand the concept of ‘if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold’?”
“Envoy, I seriously doubt you conveyed the message properly. This is a matter of life and death; I hope you are not letting personal emotions interfere with diplomacy.”
“Indeed…”
Facing the Human Kingdom ministers’ doubts, the envoy stamped his feet in frustration. “I have repeatedly stated to you that all messages have been conveyed. If you doubt my ability, I hope you will volunteer to complete this task yourselves.”
“Impossible. If you conveyed it properly, how could they sit idly by and wait for danger to arrive?”
“Could it be that the people of this Alliance haven’t realized this point?”
“Or perhaps…”
“They realized it, but they believe they can solve this crisis on their own?”
Below,
A sound of dispute arose, as if trying to determine who was right.
But the border was still in crisis.
Facing the enemies at the border, the Human King felt a headache coming on. One bad piece of news after another kept coming back. He estimated that in less than two days, his kingdom would fall.
Seeing this,
The Human King could no longer care about his ‘diplomatic status’ and quickly stopped the argument.
He was no longer in the mood to discern right from wrong. He immediately dispatched his most capable minister to continue on to the troll pass to negotiate.
This minister indeed had some ability.
After receiving authorization from the Human King, he quickly passed through the Troll Superintendent’s blockade, expressed full sincerity, and met Zhang Tianle, the lord of the mountain territory.
After a conversation,
He brought a message back to the Human King.
Hearing this news, the Human King suddenly stood up and said angrily, “What? They actually want to marry my youngest daughter? This is outrageous!”
The minister remained silent.
The Human King stood there for a moment, then sat down helplessly. “Just tell me, what are their demands?”
The minister took a deep breath.
He slowly said, “They are willing to help us repel the enemy, but on the condition that we permanently submit and become their vassals. After that, all of our villages and territories will belong to them, but the kingdom’s territory will be reserved for us. Your Majesty, you will still be the King here, but you will only have to obey them…”
After hearing this demand,
The Human King gave a bitter laugh. “It sounds like I have no choice.” He trusted this minister; if there had been a better option, he would not have brought such news.
The minister nodded.
He said, “Your Majesty, you might not know what I saw on my way there this time. Earlier, I was a bit confused, thinking that if this Alliance understood the meaning of ‘if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold,’ they shouldn’t have refused our plea for help.”
“But…”
The minister said bitterly, “On my way to the Black Rock Mountains, I saw countless defense towers, war fortresses, and a large number of defensive structures. Originally, we thought the troll pass was the most treacherous checkpoint they had built, but after entering, I discovered… there are many more such passes.”
“What?”
The Human King’s pupils widened, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Impossible! These defensive structures consume the most resources. Where on earth do they get so many resources?”
As a native kingdom, their resource acquisition efficiency was already much higher than that of ordinary lords, but even so, it couldn’t reach this level.
Hearing the minister’s description, the other party could no longer be described as merely wealthy.
It was simply…
The Human King thought for a long time, not knowing how to describe it. After all, if he had so many resources and could build so many defensive structures, he wouldn’t need to worry about how to fight these invaders.
No wonder.
No wonder the other party wasn't worried at all.
There was no such thing as ‘if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.’
It was just his own baseless speculation.
The only ones who would truly perish were them…
The Human King sat down weakly, his eyes filled with deep frustration.
Seeing this,
The minister stepped forward and whispered, “Your Majesty, we should actually feel fortunate. The Great Xia Alliance is very strong. If we become dependent on them, we will actually be able to survive better in this world, which is why your humble servant proposed the marriage alliance.”
The Human King was stunned.
Huh?
So, the marriage alliance was your idea, young man? The other party never even mentioned it…
The Human King was not foolish.
He quickly understood the stakes involved.
If sacrificing a princess could bring stability to the kingdom, many kingdoms would surely do the same.
Moreover, this was not a sacrifice. The Eastern Alliance’s territory was much richer and safer than their kingdom.
The Human King immediately agreed to these terms.
After receiving the reply, the minister immediately rushed back to the East, arriving once again before the troll pass, where he spoke with the Troll Superintendent.
Soon, a troll army was assembled from the troll pass.
They advanced grandly towards the West.
This troll army numbered a full thirty thousand, with a particularly large number of Troll Wolf Riders. They were highly mobile, and their equipment generally reached blue quality or higher.
In terms of numbers, such a troll army already exceeded the number of invaders.
In terms of combat quality, the troll army was much stronger than the human army.
Seeing the appearance of such an army, the Human Envoy’s heart immediately relaxed.
He thought to himself that the Great Xia Alliance was indeed powerful, to have such a strong military force.
With such an army, plus their Human Kingdom’s frontline troops, if they combined, resisting the invasion of this mixed army of over ten thousand should not be a problem.
However,
No sooner had this thought arisen than streaks of white shadows flashed across the sky.
The minister looked up and saw an army of tens of thousands of Feather Clan members soaring past the troll pass, following the troll army.
Not only that…
The minister also felt the mountains shaking.
When he turned around,
He saw mighty and imposing Golden Holy Lions, tall and powerful, charging forward.
They were all clad in blue-quality equipment.
Some even had purple-quality equipment…
The aura emanating from these Golden Holy Lions was much stronger than that of the trolls and Feather Clan members. The minister’s eyes widened in horror. Perhaps only the top warriors in their kingdom could possibly contend with these powerful Golden Holy Lions.
And there were a full ten thousand of these powerful Golden Holy Lion troops moving through the troll pass.
Making the earth tremble…