In the majestic imperial palace, an old man and a young man were playing chess.

"I lost..."

Dean shook his head helplessly. He had never won a single game of chess against his father.

Logically speaking, it would be boring to win all the time, right? After all, there is no challenge at all.

But unfortunately, his father loved to play chess with him whenever he had nothing to do, and he would not stop until he defeated him completely.

This made Dean very depressed, but since the other person was his father, he had to hold back his depression.

"Ha ha!"

White seemed very happy having won another game against his son.

"Father, the ranking battle is almost over."

Now that the game of chess is over, it’s time to get down to business.

“It’s almost over!”

When White heard Dean's words, there was a moment of trance in his eyes.

If I remember correctly, this should be the twelfth ranking war since he ascended the throne. It has been so many years! "Yes, but because of the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce, this ranking war is more intense than ever before. In the end, there are less than a hundred kingdoms left, only eighty-seven left..."

Dean spoke with a headache.

Although he said it was because of the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce, he knew that the ultimate reason was because of the support from the Sirius Empire behind the scenes.

The intensity of this world was far beyond his imagination.

He vaguely remembered that at the end of the last ranking battle, which was ten years ago, there were still 106 kingdoms left. At that time, the Flying Wolf Riders were dispatched to eliminate the remaining six kingdoms.

This time, there were only eighty-seven kingdoms left, not even a hundred.

Of course, this does not mean that those countries were completely destroyed. Some orcs chose to join other kingdoms.

But no matter what, this ranking battle should be the one with the heaviest casualties in the last few hundred years.

So many people died in the war, it was impossible to say that he was not touched at all, but Dean also knew that this rule passed down from ancestors must have its reasons. After he takes over his father's position, he will know the reason.

“So many people died…”

After hearing what Dean said, White was also a little hesitant.

He hasn't paid much attention to the situation in the outside world these days. He remembered that the last time he learned about it, there were still 110 countries. In just a few days, the number has decreased by so much.

But compared to Dean, White did not have much sympathy for these disappeared countries and dead orcs. After all, he had seen too many such things.

"Have there been any changes in the top ten kingdoms?"

White has been slowly handing over recent matters to Dean, so there are many things he has not taken the initiative to learn about.

"There are only two left, the first and fourth place, and the rest... have all been replaced!"

Speaking of this, Dean still felt it was a little unreal.

Which of these top ten kingdoms is not deeply rooted and has many years of accumulation?

Theoretically speaking, as long as they don't fight among themselves, even if there are a few more ranking battles, it will be impossible for the kingdom to shake their position. However, unexpectedly, the emergence of the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce instantly broke this balance.

The food, weapons, etc. sold by the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce not only greatly improved the combat power of the countries outside the top ten, but also gave the top ten kingdoms some different ideas.

After all, they didn't fight before because they knew they couldn't win. Now they have a chance, why not give it a try? Therefore, these top ten kingdoms not only have to face external challenges, but also have to guard against being stabbed in the back by "their own people"! In such an environment, eight of the top ten were eliminated!

The first and fourth places also had a hard time defending, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that they were seriously injured. If they had not had a deep foundation and bought equipment from the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce at a critical moment, they might have been besieged and killed by other countries! It must be said that the kingdoms in this ranking battle were too united!

There was almost no cooperation in the past, and the few times it happened, we were stabbed in the back without exception.

If we have to say whether there are positive examples of cooperation, there are some, such as the alliance formed by their top ten kingdoms.

But their cooperation has only one condition, that is, not to attack each other, that's all.

But in this ranking war, the situation was different. The kingdoms that purchased the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce, especially those that obtained star-level membership, called themselves the Red Leaf faction and regarded the kings who also obtained star-level membership as their own.

Since we are one of us, let’s cooperate!

So, when these "insiders" united together, these top ten kingdoms could not bear it.

In the end, among the top ten, only the first and fourth place persisted to the end.

The first one persisted thanks to his profound foundation, while the fourth one was much smarter. Since he couldn't beat them, he decided to join them!

After paying a sky-high price for an order to the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce, the fourth kingdom finally got a star membership badge as he wished. From now on, he is also "one of us"!

The other kingdoms were unhappy when they saw this, but they had agreed not to attack their own people, so they had no choice but to give up attacking the fourth place.

Of course, there are only ten places in the top ten. Excluding the first, fourth and the original tenth and now third place, the Kingdom of Hobro, there are only seven places left.

As a result, some countries merged together to form a republican kingdom, which brought an imperfect end to this ranking battle.

“This result is not bad.”

White nodded with satisfaction.

So many people died, but he didn't seem to care at all.

After all, his purpose is to consume part of the population.

"By the way, father, what do you think of the steam car I gave you?"

Dean asked suddenly.

He bought a lot of things from the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce, including many steam cars. Among them, there was a particularly gorgeous steam car that he customized specially for White.

"Haha, that's quite interesting!"

When it comes to steam cars, White's face showed interest, as if he had seen a big toy.

Although this thing is much weaker than their Flying Wolf Cavalry in terms of mobility and combat effectiveness, the fact that it can be purchased with gold coins is an advantage. After all, their Flying Wolves are very precious.

"We can buy more and equip ordinary soldiers with them. It can increase the marching speed to a certain extent."

Dean said.

"Well, you can buy whatever you like, but have you ever thought of making some copies?"

White looked at Dean with interest.

"This... To be honest, I have tried it, but... I can't copy it!"

Dean shook his head with a wry smile.

"Oh? What's the problem?"

White asked curiously.

"The main problem is something called a 'spring' in the steam car. It looks very simple, but our blacksmiths can't make it no matter what. At most, it looks similar, but the actual function is far from it... I guess this is why the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce can sell the steam car with confidence, just like our secret stone equipment, we don't have to worry about people imitating it..."

Dean said helplessly.

"That's normal. After all, anyone who does business must have one or two unique skills. But it's just a steam car. Just go buy it. We don't need that little money."

White nodded, and then spoke in a somewhat domineering tone.

"Father, I always think that the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce is not that simple. There must be a huge force behind them, which is not even weaker than our Sirius Empire. For example, these steam cars may look simple, but we can't even imitate this small spring..."

Since we are talking about the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce, Dean brought up the matter about the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce again.

Although Dean has not had any contact with the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce since he came back last time, he knows from the big businessman Zhang Feng that this Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce is definitely not simple, and there is definitely a huge hidden force behind them!

But when he told his father about his inferences, his father looked at him as if he were a fool.

Dean knew that his father still didn't believe it, but he had seen it with his own eyes. He would never believe that there was no power behind this mysterious Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce.

Moreover, Zhang Feng vaguely said that he was doing business somewhere else and had only been in the Orc Continent for a short time. Isn’t this evidence obvious enough!

However, his father, Emperor White of the Sirius Empire, still shook his head with a smile.

"Dean, I believe you when you say that there is a force behind the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce, but I don't believe you when you say that the force behind it is comparable to our Sirius Empire, or even stronger than the Sirius Empire. This is not arrogance. You will understand after you take over my position."

White looked at Dean and said with a smile. Facing Dean who had been trying to convince him, he showed no sign of being angry.

Because many years ago, he told his father the same thing. His father told him that the world is big, but it is small compared to the Sirius Empire.

He didn't believe it until he inherited the throne, then he realized it was true.

"Okay, the ranking battle is almost over, so we should distribute the rewards, right?"

Seeing that he couldn't convince his father of the importance of the Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce, Dean had to give up for the time being and discuss business.

"Well, this year's rewards will be distributed by you. Can you complete the task?"

King White asked, looking at Dean.

"Don't worry, Dad. Of course it's no problem!"

Dean was a little excited. Distributing rewards has always been something that only the emperor was qualified to do. Now that his father asked him to go, the purpose was self-evident.

"Well, and then—"

"Report! Your Majesty, urgent report!"

Before White could finish his words, he was interrupted by the voice of the messenger outside.

This tea room was White's private resting place, and most ministers did not dare to disturb it casually. But this time a messenger broke in, which showed that something was unusual.

White frowned and said, "Come in and talk."

Dean was a little curious. Obviously, something big had happened, and he needed to see the emperor directly! Could it be that something happened in the ranking battle again? A Tianlang orc wearing a golden-patterned secret stone armor and looking exhausted strode in. Dean also vaguely heard the low roar of a flying wolf.

Dean's eyes suddenly focused. The Flying Wolf Rider Messenger was the highest-level messenger in their Sirius Empire!

Things seemed to be more serious than he thought! "Speak."

White doesn’t have any bullshit either.

"Your Majesty, something unexpected has happened in the East Sea!"

As soon as the word "East China Sea" was mentioned, Dean found that the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

"Dean, it seems that there is no need to wait until later. You can know some things now..."

…

Red Leaf City.

"Zhang Feng, I like it so much! Mu!"

Zhang Xiaotang hugged Zhang Feng and started biting him.

"Alright, that's enough, it's all saliva!"

Zhang Feng wiped his face with pretended disgust and took Zhang Xiaotang off himself.

At this time, next to Zhang Xiaotang was a set of exquisite golden armor 2.0, which was made for her overnight by Zhang Feng.

"hey-hey!"

Zhang Xiaotang naively let go of Zhang Feng, and now he had time to study the new armor.

I haven't even seen it yet, and you're already saying you like it? Zhang Feng always felt that she was taking advantage of him, but he had no evidence.

Zhang Xiaotang put on the golden armor in no time, and then posed in a few ways in a conceited manner.

"Zhang Feng, does it look good?"

"Looks good... No, this isn't for looks. How about its practicality?"

Zhang Feng tapped her.

"oh."

Zhang Xiaotang rolled her eyes.

Then I tried it out.

“The improvement is basically at least five times!”

After the exercise, Zhang Xiaotang said in surprise.

Although she already knew about this set of golden armor, she still found it hard to believe after experiencing it herself.

After all, she is different from Abe, she is much better than Abe!

Abei's combat power in the golden armor is almost catching up with her, so if she puts on the golden armor, can she shake her wrist with Hill? "Then there will be no problem, except for the consumption..."

Zhang Feng looked at Zhang Xiaotang's collar and felt a toothache.

The energy in the armor is fixed, but Zhang Xiaotang is very powerful, and the amplification given to her consumes much more energy than the amplification given to Abei.

Just this simple experiment consumed a scale of energy. I guess it would be gone after one or two high-intensity battles.

Zhang Feng originally thought that if this set of armor was given to Hill or Nora, wouldn’t they be invincible?

But now it seems that the 300-level energy of this set of armor is still far from enough! It might be destroyed by one move on Hill, not to mention Nora who is stronger than her...

But no matter what, the practicality of this golden armor is still quite high. Apart from this problem, the only drawback is the problem of energy replenishment. For the time being, only Bernice can replenish it. Although the energy consumption is not large for her, it is still a bit inconvenient. It would be great if a simpler method could be found...

"Owner!"

At this time, Windsor trotted in front of Zhang Feng.

"What's wrong?"

Looking at Windsor's happy face, Zhang Feng knew it must be a good thing.

"That kind of deep-sea fish is the deep-sea fish we eat in the Orc Continent. It has also appeared in Yunhai City. There are so many of them! I heard that our Red Leaf Chamber of Commerce is buying them. Now many fishermen have gone to catch them, and some are already on their way back. We have deep-sea fish to eat again!"

Speaking of food, the cat-eared girl's saliva is almost flowing out.

She still couldn't forget the deliciousness of deep-sea fish. Last time, because she entertained Dean, she ate too much and didn't bring back much. It was gone in two meals.

Windsor thought he would never be able to eat them again, but he didn't expect that deep-sea fish would appear in the shallow sea near Yunhai City! "Deep-sea fish... lots and lots of them..."

Zhang Feng frowned, he always felt that something was not right.