Yun Zhe ignored Gao, his attention focused entirely on his dream. Yun Zhe didn't believe in prophetic dreams, preferring that he'd been thinking too much about these things lately—what he thought about during the day, he dreamt about at night. What drew Yun Zhe's intense investigation into the dream was a vague feeling that it revealed something he'd never considered before.
That is, the encounter between this vampire and that Taoist priest from the Eastern Continent was not accidental.
Of course, even the vampire himself might not know this. Because Yun Zhe clearly sensed that, in recalling this failed chess game, the vampire showed little emotion beyond shyness.
From the sparse records, Yun Zhe could only piece together a general idea: after this game of chess was finished, and even after all six games were finished, a war between humans and elves did indeed take place in the Western Continent.
Yun Zhe could only confirm the chronological order; he couldn't pinpoint the specific year. However, this confirmation of the chronological order clearly solidified Yun Zhe's suspicions.
All the encounters and games of chess may have been preordained, but the vampire himself was completely unaware of it. Moreover, it seems that precisely because he failed to grasp this, he was unable to accomplish what the Eastern Continent person had hoped for.
Of course, this is just speculation.
However, Yun Zhe felt it wasn't impossible. People from his generation had experienced too many wars in history, and history had taught Yun Zhe that wars were often not as simple as they appeared on the surface, especially large-scale global wars.
The key factors that drive human wars are mostly driven by self-interest, with religious beliefs being less relevant.
Yun Zhe is currently confronting a force that could potentially trigger a war.
Perhaps they have already started a war.
Yun Zhe dared not think any further. He put away all the books, leaned against a big tree with a headache, and closed his eyes to rest.
Ellie wondered what Yunzhe was worried about. But clearly, the dream wasn't as simple as he described. What was even harder for her to accept was that Yunzhe obviously didn't want to tell her about these things.
"Could it be that he would rather tell these things to that elven vampire?" The thought of these things made Ellie's already unsettled state of mind even more turbulent.
Meanwhile, Gao was negotiating with the craftsmen, and the price of the leather armor and crossbow was finally settled at eight silver coins each. However, the price of the shield and the corresponding crossbow bolts would not be discounted in any way.
So when you calculate it this way, it doesn't seem like it's reduced by much.
Gao awkwardly told Yun Zhe the result. He had thought Yun Zhe would personally go and negotiate again. Unexpectedly, Yun Zhe waved his hand and approved it directly. Moreover, Yun Zhe even used the remaining half of the money to buy food for the elves. However, this time it wasn't ordinary food, but military rations.
Yun Zhe's actions startled Gao. "My lord, are you going to start a war? But wasn't the war over?"
"So-called peace is just a period in between two wars." Yun Zhe looked at Gao. "Notify everyone, including Brad and Gidding. We may be facing an extremely bad situation, and I want to hear everyone's thoughts."
Yun Zhe rarely assigns tasks so seriously, and today, Yun Zhe is not only serious, but also has a rare deep worry between his brows.
Gao recalled the first time he followed Yun Zhe on a campaign—a bet, a reluctant follower. But back then, Yun Zhe hadn't been this worried. Could things be even worse than that time?
As someone who had always followed Yun Zhe, Gao clearly realized the seriousness of the matter. He said nothing more and silently withdrew.
Seeing Gao's expression, Yun Zhe suddenly realized that he might have been too pessimistic, and that he seemed to have already come to believe his own deduction.
Yun Zhe shook his head with a wry smile, feeling that he had been making some assumptions. Of course, he should prepare for the worst, but it seemed too early to draw conclusions now.
Watching Gao's departing figure, and the surrounding soldiers and refugees, Yun Zhe realized that he could no longer easily draw conclusions or issue orders. His every move affected more and more people. From Ellie and his adopted child, to Gao, the poet, Brad, Morrison, and other close advisors, to the refugees around him, and even to Serena and the elves in the distance…
Yun Zhe felt that the burden on his shoulders was getting heavier and heavier, and the chance for him to give up was getting smaller and smaller.
The atmosphere at the first meeting after the Winter Solstice was somewhat somber and oppressive. Yun Zhe raised a question that was difficult for everyone to answer: whether the recent wars were related.
"Relevance?!" Apart from Morrison, everyone present was completely baffled.
Yun Zhe sighed, "Then let me put it another way. Why did the Lunlang family attack the Donic family? Why did the elves wage war against us? Why did Belvaldo attack us? And now, why hasn't all this war ended yet?"
Yun Zhe paused, then looked at Gao, "Gao, regarding Stone's rebellion, which is also one of them, do you have any thoughts?"
Gao's eyes widened suddenly, inwardly marveling at Yun Zhe's audacity in discussing this matter. Stone's rebellion was clearly instigated by external forces, which had been identified as the Lunlang family. What did this mean?
Brad fell silent. Recalling this period of time brought back some unpleasant memories. Even now, looking back and recognizing the reality that he was merely a subordinate of a traitor, he still couldn't shake the sadness and anger in his heart.
Giding looked around and suddenly said, "Shouldn't we also add the matter of our Aruru people establishing a nation?" Giding wasn't interested in human wars, but since Yun Zhe had suggested making contact, Giding voiced his biggest concern. He had always felt that his nation had been established too easily, which worried him greatly.
Yun Zhe was taken aback; Gidding's words had reminded him. Of the three Western Continent nations, Belvaldo remained indifferent to the Aluru people's establishment of a nation, Galicia welcomed it, and the Saint Peter Federation strictly forbade it. Thinking of this, Yun Zhe suddenly had a bold guess: the Aluru people's new nation was established on that unclaimed land between the Elves, Galicia, and the Saint Peter Federation, clearly not simply because that area was large.
The very act of determining this location sowed the seeds of future conflict between the two countries. Two diametrically opposed attitudes were bound to escalate into conflict at some point.
"If this counts as a move, then what will his next move be?" Yun Zhe muttered to himself. By now, he had basically pieced together a hidden thread—a thread concerning Omar's underground organization. If he could unravel this thread that Gidding had mentioned, Yun Zhe felt that he might truly be able to see the whole game clearly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
