Snap!
Click!
Her slender, fair hand slammed heavily onto the solid wood table in front of her.
After a crisp sound, it shattered into more than a dozen pieces.
Ariel's cold face was expressionless, her long black hair was loose, and her phoenix eyes were filled with murderous intent.
"This is outrageous!"
Su Qing was gnawing on a freshly grilled beef leg.
The food was tender and juicy; the chef here is quite skilled.
Hearing the woman's cold voice beside him, he couldn't help but glance to the side, lower his head to think for a moment, and then took a step forward.
"I wonder what troubles the lord, my lord? Could you tell me? I am willing to help you."
As he spoke, Su Qing pulled out a feather fan and gently fanned himself, adopting the posture of a strategist...
Ariel saw the black dragon's demeanor change drastically; the anger in its eyes subsided slightly, and it became somewhat surprised and intrigued.
He reached out and grabbed the dog's head, giving it a good rub.
Su Qing: ...I'll endure it!
After finishing off the dragon, Ariel felt refreshed as she directed her anger at a black dragon that wished to remain anonymous.
He then looked at the black dragon in front of him with great interest: "Regarding the alliance, both the Stan family and the White Bull Society have made demands that I cannot accept. What can you do?"
Su Qing was taken aback for a moment, then pursed his lips. He thought it was something serious, but it turned out to be such a trivial matter.
Ariel noticed the dismissive look on his face.
A dangerous glint flashed in her phoenix eyes, and her tone turned unfriendly: "You seem to have some ideas. Why don't you tell me?"
The voice was icy cold, and Su Qing shuddered. She looked at Ariel and saw the hostility on her face.
What can he do?
They're clearly trying to take advantage of your misfortune, taking advantage of your need for help to cut a huge chunk out of you!
However, if she answered like that, Su Qing felt she might end up being made into dragon-shaped char siu.
He lowered his head in thought, then spoke with an air of confidence: "May I ask if Your Excellency could explain in detail what conditions those two forces proposed, and what their specific circumstances are?"
Ariel gave him a meaningful look, then turned her gaze to the corner, where a girl emerged from a shadow. She was about 1.56 meters tall, with a cold expression, and began to explain to Su Qing.
The Stan family, the Purple Fire Mercenary Group, the White Bull Society, and the Lily Territory.
These four major forces are the rulers of this region of Chaos Territory. They are all high-level forces and possess brilliant peak combat power.
The most powerful among them is undoubtedly the Lily Clan, followed by the Purple Fire Mercenary Group, while the White Bull Society and the Stan Family are roughly equal in strength.
Meanwhile, the Purple Fire Mercenary Group has always harbored ambitions; their leader wants to marry Ariel and legally annex Lily Territory.
The inherent contradictions between the two sides have eliminated the possibility of an alliance. If Lily Territory wants to deal with the encirclement and suppression by the Central Army of the Continent, the only targets it can unite with are the White Bull Society and the Stan family.
These two families are not fools, of course. They would never agree to a free alliance and would definitely make their own demands.
After all, when facing the Central Army, Lily Territory will definitely be the first target of attack, which gives these two places the opportunity to hold out for a higher price.
The Stan family has demanded ownership of a fire-type magic stone mine within the Lily Territory.
The white bull would simply demand the territory of ten cities.
Both of these demands were unacceptable to the proud and arrogant Ariel.
As for the specifics of those two major forces, the Stan family has two glorious peaks, namely the patriarch and the elder, and the White Bull Society also has two, the president and the vice president.
...
After listening to the Shadow Guard's description, Su Qing nodded and inquired about the situation of the Central Army of the Mainland. He immediately felt more confident.
"Well? Can you tell me now?"
Ariel spoke with a half-smile.
Su Qing remained calm and composed, waving the feather fan in her hand: "My lord, please allow me to explain slowly..."
It sounds complicated that the other party is unwilling to form an alliance with you, but in reality, it's quite simple if you analyze the situation.
Six months later, the Central Army will launch an encirclement and suppression campaign, which will be faced by all four major forces.
Lily is a key target and will face the greatest pressure, so she wants to seek allies.
It was precisely because of Lily's initiative that other forces had the opportunity to extort money from her.
Su Qing's words caused Ariel's expression to shift slightly; it seemed that things were indeed as they appeared.
"so……"
Su Qing grinned: "Let's overturn the table. Aren't those two unwilling to form an alliance? Lily Territory can create the illusion of temporarily withdrawing from this area, leaving their other three forces to face the central coalition."
"We can also attack them and do things to weaken their strength. Once they realize what's good for them, forming an alliance will be much easier."
"Of course, I prefer that we swallow up these three forces and face the Central Alliance ourselves."
Su Qing's words resolved the current predicament facing Lily Territory, and made Ariel look at this black dragon with new respect.
"Report!"
A series of footsteps sounded, and a man walked in from outside the hall, bowing slightly to report: "My lord, someone outside requests an audience."
Who is it?
Ariel was in a good mood and spoke up when she heard this.
"They seem to be from the Gustavo family; I heard they've come to deliver this year's tribute!"
Upon hearing this, Ariel showed no reaction, but Su Qing's face instead displayed a strange expression.
It seems the Gustavo family has sent Chris!
I felt somewhat relieved that he had come to inquire about the situation; my love for him hadn't been in vain!
Although Ariel felt there was absolutely no need to meet a complete stranger, she was in a good mood and didn't refuse.
Have the guards bring the people up.
Soon, a young man was brought up; it was Chris.
Normally, the Gustavo family would send a few stewards to deliver their annual tribute, so Chris's volunteering this time surprised his father.
Thinking that his son had changed his mind and wanted to take over the business, he readily agreed.
As Chris entered the hall, he immediately saw Ariel sitting in the main seat, and then he saw Su Qing having his head rubbed by Ariel.
Even when it shrunk to the size of a cat, he could still recognize the black dragon at a glance.
After a brief moment of surprise, Chris's mood instantly improved.
Well, you've finally met your match!
"Greetings, Your Lordship!"
Coming to his senses, Chris bowed slightly to Ariel, who was seated at the head of the table.
After that, Chris didn't say anything more. He explained the tribute that had been delivered, and Ariel nodded in response.
After a brief exchange, Ariel asked Chris to leave.
Chris left to tidy up the carriages that had brought the annual tribute.
After being thoroughly humiliated, Su Qing finally found an opportunity to come out, and the two sides met.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
