Chapter 216 215. Special Envoy
In the ice and snow, a hunting puff was lying quietly on the ground, its body covered in the white snow.
Under the erosion of extreme cold, even the tough mycelium in its body was frozen stiff, and dense ice crystals covered the surface of the mushroom cap.
A heavy boot covered with thick fur stepped mercilessly on Puji's body, which was half covered by snow.
The owner of the boots casually rolled his ankle, roughly sweeping away the snow on the surface, revealing the hardened flesh underneath.
The man bent down halfway, and the breath he exhaled condensed into white mist in the cold wind.
He was wrapped in a dark coat with the emblem of the Empire's reverse-winged two-headed bat, and his eyes under the brim of his hat carefully looked at the strange corpse on the ground.
"Strange," he said in a puzzled voice that seemed a little vague in the wind and snow, "I've never seen a monster like this before."
"Whatever the hell it is!" urged another companion who was equally tightly wrapped but with obvious impatience in his voice, "It's freezing in this damn place! Can't we hurry on?"
"Is the thermostatic pendant sent to you just for decoration?" The observer asked without even turning his head, his tone carrying a barely perceptible contempt.
"How can it maintain without consuming mana?!" the companion's voice rose a little, with resentment, "Keeping the mana output in a state of minimal, isn't it tiring to be so tense? It's just a frozen unknown monster, what's there to study?"
Although he looked down on the opponent's weakness, there was really no need to waste time on a monster corpse.
He exerted a little force with his feet, and with a crisp sound, Puji's body broke into pieces on the ground.
The two continued to move forward, heading directly for the demon tribe.
…
"An envoy from the Empire?"
Shou, who was counting the few remaining supplies of the tribe with the help of his fellow tribesmen, frowned when he heard Xinghuo's report.
Will the Empire send someone to contact them?
This is the first time he has encountered this since he was born, which is obviously abnormal.
But... we have to meet each other.
Besides, he did intend to move south, and dealings with the empire would be unavoidable sooner or later.
He signaled to Starfire to lead the messenger to the main tent.
"Tsk... This place is not even warm inside the tent." The guy with the constant temperature pendant around his neck complained as he came in.
His exposed pale skin easily made people think of him as a vampire.
However, Shou just stared at the other figure. He felt a strange and bizarre sense of blood kinship in him.
The man seemed to have no intention of concealing it. He rolled up his sleeves and revealed the magic pattern on his arm.
"Demon descendant!" Shou's pupils shrank slightly.
However, unlike the uniform dark blue magic patterns in the tribe, the magic patterns on the arms of this fellow from the empire were actually a fiery red like lava!
As the lines flow, an invisible burning breath is emitted.
"In the name of the Red Moon and the laws of the Empire!" The vampire raised his chin proudly, his voice filled with unquestionable authority, "I am the emperor of the Hermit Empire, the protector of the demons, the lord of the continent, the northern envoy appointed by His Majesty Mortis Drakorn - Viscount Hao Henderson! The one next to you is Gray. We are here to bestow grace on His Majesty's orders. Where is your clan leader?"
His eyes swept across the sleeves of the broken arm of the hunter, and finally fell on Xinghuo with obvious confusion. He didn't understand why they were brought to see a disabled person?
"Hunting, the current clan leader." Hunting's voice was calm and calm.
The one-word name made Gray slightly stunned.
"You?" Viscount Hao looked at Shou again in disbelief, his expression slightly changed. "As far as I know, the leader of this unit should be an elderly demon. And... where are the other diamond-level members?"
Shou did not directly respond to his question, but only looked at the other party steadily: "Now I am the clan leader, two special envoys, please explain your purpose."
Viscount Hao took two steps back and came to Gray: "Gray, this doesn't match the description of those snake people at all! Just two diamond-level ones? One of them is... disabled, it looks worthless!"
Although his voice was not loud, he did not try to make it inaudible.
"You--!" Xinghuo's eyes widened with anger and his fists clenched instantly, but the vampire opposite him completely ignored his anger.
"Leave it to me if you don't mind." Gray said.
Viscount Hao shrugged and took a few steps back indifferently. The intelligence was wrong and this tribe was no longer of any value to him.
Gray looked directly at Shou and said, "Chief Shou, the Empire has prepared a rich land for you. It has a mild climate, abundant resources, and is far away from the bitter cold and threats of the North. The Empire is willing to open its doors and accept you as its people."
Viscount Hao interrupted sarcastically, flicking the non-existent dust with his fingertips elegantly: "Viscount Henderson reminds you that this 'grace' is based on the intelligence provided by the snake people that they have several diamond-level combat forces."
He looked around the tent, which seemed particularly empty at the moment, with a meaningful look.
Gray nodded slightly: "The Empire has seen your current situation. However, His Majesty Mortis's kindness remains unchanged. The Empire is still willing to accept you. Even if the land is not as fertile as originally said, it is definitely better than this barren ice field."
"So, what's the price?" Without paying attention to their promise, Shou directly asked the key question.
Gray met Shou's gaze and spoke in a resounding voice: "There are two conditions. First, all the tribe's combat forces must immediately join the Empire's war and obey orders until victory! Second, your 'cradle' must be handed over to us. The Empire's demon descendants only need a 'cradle'."
"Please go back, two special envoys." Shou's voice was firm and decisive. He didn't even ask what war it was about. When he heard the second point, rejection was inevitable.
Viscount Hao on the side sneered loudly: "You don't know what's good for you!"
Gray's eyes stayed on Hunter's face for a moment, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.
He stood up and paused before stepping out of the tent. He did not turn around, but his deep voice was clearly heard back in the tent: "Chief Hunter, the gate of the empire will remain open to you within three months. If you change your mind, just send someone to inform us. We are all from the same clan, and we will eventually be united."
After saying that, the two of them walked out of the tribe without hesitation.
Parted on bad terms.
Watching the two figures disappear outside the tent in the snow, Xinghuo turned to Shou and said, "Why did you reject me so straightforwardly? Even if the conditions are harsh, maybe... we can still talk about it?"
"No matter what their original purpose was, it seems that what they want now is not us, but the Cradle, the magic core..."
Xinghuo nodded. The "Cradle" is the foundation of the tribe. If it is handed over, the tribe will no longer exist.
And Shou was thinking more, when the strength of the two sides is so unequal, if they covet the magic core, will they encounter a situation where their clansmen are deliberately sent to die and the magic core is taken back?
This was just his worst guess, but when it really came to that, it would be just as difficult to escape from the empire as it was easy to enter!
"Then...what about our plan to move south?" Xinghuo's voice was a little confused.
Shou sighed deeply. He was also thinking about this difficult problem.
Originally, if the empire continued to ignore the northern border as in the past, the main consideration for migrating south would be the location and friction between other tribes.
But now, they suddenly discovered that the demons in the empire seemed to have ideas about them, and they dared not migrate south at will.
What happened that made the empire that had previously ignored them suddenly pay attention to them?
Unfortunately, the tribe was too isolated from the outside world, and there was not enough information for the hunters to make a judgment.
"Come to think of it..." Shou forced himself to suppress his chaotic thoughts and changed the subject, "Where's Qiong? I haven't seen him all day."
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
