Louis said, "Mr. Long, do you think it's fun?"

Male Dragon: “Fun!”

Louis added: "I heard that you Sapphire Dragons have always produced military experts. What do you think of our Go?"

Xiong Long sighed: "Infinite mysteries!"

Louis nodded and said, "Before the emperor ascended the throne, the son of the Duke of Argyle was ordered to come to the palace to pay homage."

"In their spare time, the young emperor invited them to play chess together."

"Both of them are from noble families and have been deeply influenced by the culture of chess. They are equally matched in their back-and-forth."

"In addition, the Duke of Argyle is too powerful and has a tendency to turn the tables. Naturally, his son does not have much respect for the emperor, and his tone is a bit frivolous."

"Do you know how the emperor handled this matter back then?"

Seeing the two ancient dragons looking at him, even the cloaked man and the royal guards behind him became curious.

Louis then said calmly: "Although the emperor was still very young at the time, he was full of vigor and could not stand provocation. He practiced the Nine Swords since he was a child and was not inferior to an adult."

"The enraged emperor simply stopped playing with him and lifted up the chessboard and smashed it hard on the head of the son of Argyle. Ordinary chessboards are not light to begin with, and the royal chessboard is even heavier."

"And so, the son of Argyle fell in a pool of blood, and there was no sound."

Louis said calmly: "There are basic moves, brilliant moves, and vulgar moves in Go. If someone insults the power of the empire, we will overturn the chessboard and let them see what a dirty move is."

The two dragons were shocked and angry, and the female dragon next to them let out a series of low growls.

The blood of the dragon gave them power and glory, and even prolonged their lifespans. But when they heard Louis' verdict, they seemed to hear the footsteps of death.

This is not telling the story of the Emperor, it is clearly telling the two dragons the attitude of the Enther Empire towards this matter.

What’s even worse is that the two cloaked men standing behind Louis took off their hats.

One of them had a white beard. He was the white-robed wizard Gandalf who had communicated with Louis before.

The other man was wearing armor and just standing there with a solemn look on his face, like a moving city wall.

Louis looked at the heavy sword on Gandalf's back in silence and said:

"Sir Gandalf, I told you that 'having a sword but not using it is different from having no sword at all', but I didn't tell you to just equip yourself with a heavy sword."

Gandalf stroked his beard and said with satisfaction: "With all kinds of magic to strengthen the body, the mage is not inferior to others in close combat."

William looked at the other knight in armor hesitantly and whispered, "Grandpa?"

Louis: ??? Okay, William, you have such a family background?

But Louis still has work to do.

He looked at the two dragons with a burning gaze, and saw that the two dragons had begun to hold their tails, as if they were about to run away if the situation was not right.

Louis saw that the strategy of first courtesy and then force was effective, so he stopped threatening and said slowly:

"Don't be nervous. As long as you don't act recklessly, we Ense can communicate well."

"Playing Go or something like that is too high-end. Let's just play Gobang."

——The implication is, say something simple, stop talking nonsense, what can you do if you want the corpse.

The two dragons looked at each other, and finally the female dragon sighed: "That makes sense. If we need to retrieve the remains of our compatriots, what price will we have to pay?"

Louis smiled.

Isn't the core purpose of doing so much to seize the initiative? Dragons are very proud creatures.

Even though the two dragons look "very weak" now, they are just frightened by the emperor back then.

If you really think these two dragons have no temper at all, then you are stupid.

Louis' intuition told him that the emperor couldn't act rashly now.

Otherwise, Beatrice would not be allowed to be regent now.

Therefore, Louis did not want to really fight with them when he could not guarantee to crush the two dragons.

——But they are also not allowed to take the initiative.

If you want the bones back, you have to pay a price.

As for the price? We decide!

This is the purpose of using courtesy before force.

Obviously, now that the two dragons realized that humans had no intention of backing down, they finally chose to give in.

This time, the two dragons' eyes finally did not hide a lion, but Lu Mingfei.

Louis nodded.

Everything went smoothly. What to discuss with the dragons next was Beatrice's business.

Huh? That's not right!

It's not entirely his business.

Louis' eyes became sharp, and he looked the two dragons up and down, making their scalps tingle, and then he said, "Mr. Long, Ms. Long, is Go fun?"

The two dragons nodded frequently.

Even if they were intimidated, it did not hinder their love for Go.

To them, this new toy is like a fisherman's croaker, a wizard's Gwent card, or a Yasuo player's five knockback lines.

It's simply a temptation! Louis smiled and said, "I want to give my fiancée a gift. If you don't mind, I can exchange some chess records of national chess masters with you."

He pointed to the dragon horn on the female dragon: "Whatever the price, you can have your dragon horn."

The two dragons looked at each other.

Turn around and communicate with mental power.

Xiong Long: "Is he trying to intimidate us?"

Female Dragon: "Perhaps it is the Emperor's will?"

Male Dragon: "Why do I not believe it? Including what he just said about the emperor's actions when he was young, I have never heard of it in the Dragon Empire."

Female Dragon: "Just tell me if this is something an emperor would do, right?"

Male Dragon: "...That's true. If someone else did this, I would be suspicious, but the Emperor is a peerless macho man."

Female dragon: "That's it. I don't care if he wants to use this opportunity to bully me or if he really wants a gift. I'll just give him a dragon horn."

Xiong Long: "I'm sorry for wronging you. It's all because of the king's recklessness back then that we are still suffering here."

After some final discussion, they turned to Louis and nodded.

The female dragon's eyes turned fierce, and she broke off the dragon's horn and handed it to Louis.

Louis stared at the dragon horn intently, with a hint of desire in his eyes, but he suppressed it in the end.

This was his gift to Beatrice.

…

After Louis and the two dragons agreed to talk again on another day, they left the Smoky Mountains.

On the way back, the atmosphere among everyone was much more relaxed.

William, who was standing by, rode his horse closer to Louis and asked curiously:

"Your Highness, is what you just said about the Emperor true?"

Louis said solemnly: "Of course..."

William's eyes straightened.

“…It can’t be true!”

This was just a joke he made up based on the story of Emperor Jing, the chess master of the Han Dynasty.

Louis rolled his eyes: "This time we arranged a wave of emperors, and we got permission from the higher-ups."

William nodded and believed what Louis said.

What Louis didn't notice was that behind him, two old men on horses were whispering.

"Where did he hear about the old story of the Emperor beating the son of Argyle to death? Wasn't this matter kept secret?"

"You ask me, how should I know? I'm just an iron guard."

"So the emperor really played Go back then?"

"Who knows? I don't pay attention to their daily entertainment."

In the sky, a dragon flaps its wings and flies high.

Underground, the backs of the people walking away merged with the bloody setting sun.

(End of this chapter)