BXBX NOVEL Chapter 204: Conference 204_1
Troll King City.
The gentle light of dawn slowly penetrated from the east, tenderly tearing the darkness of the earth apart.
The hazy light reflected off the snow on the ground, sparkling with a cold radiance.
Clip-clop, clip-clop
The crisp sound of a horse’s hooves quickly broke the tranquil and beautiful scene as numerous dark figures suddenly appeared on the horizon, steadily approaching the Troll King City.
But about ten kilometers from the royal city, the Dark Cavalry halted.
Nevertheless, the tangible pressure still left the troll defenders on the city’s walls gasping for breath.
It was the first time an enemy had come so close to the heart of the Troll Empire since the imperial relocation.
Not to mention, it was the Dark Cavalry that had caused countless trolls to lose heart.
Shortly after the Dark Cavalry arrived, the south gate of Troll King City slowly opened.
Modo the Second and Prince Meruvi stepped out.
Behind them, a squadron of wolf riders were on standby inside the city gate. If any mishap occurred, they would swiftly rush out of the gate to escort their emperor back into the city.
Meanwhile, two figures also emerged from the Dark Cavalry.
The two sides slowly approached one another.
After a short distance, Modo the Second recognized Colin, but the guard beside Colin made him slightly furrow his brows.
“Meruvi, is that Charles St. Hilde next to Colin?”
Prince Meruvi squinted his eyes for a while and nodded, “Your Majesty, I believe it is.”
The troll prince then revealed a bloodthirsty smile, “I heard that it was this young man who leaked our plans. Well, this will be a good opportunity to slaughter him as well!”
Modo the Second, however, gently shook his head and whispered, “No, we can kill Colin, but Charles, we better capture alive. We can use him as a bargaining chip to negotiate with Duke St. Hilde.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Prince Meruvi nodded, then reminded him, “Your Majesty, when the fighting starts, you should immediately run back. Don’t worry about your subjects.”
Modo the Second gently nodded, offering no rebuttal.
This Troll Emperor was not known for his martial might, being only of the third tier.
In fact, this was rather peculiar in the Troll Empire, where power was held in high esteem.
But there was a reason for this.
Unlike the inheritance law of the Empire of Glory, the succession of the throne in the Troll Empire wasn’t based on primogeniture.
The successive Troll Emperors were usually from the most powerful members of the Troll Royal Family – the Volkin Family.
In this generation of the Volkin Family, the most powerful member was undoubtedly the Northern Prince who was a Holy Warrior – Otto Volkin.
But this Prince Otto was a renowned martial maniac who had no interest in becoming the Emperor of the Empire.
Moreover, when he refused the throne, Prince Otto said something that profoundly affected the troll empire’s throne’s sucession –
“What the empire needs now is an emperor with political wisdom, not a warrior with brute strength.”
At that time, the Troll Empire was under pressure from the Dark Cavalry, and the previous Troll Emperor had been decapitated in a duel with Duke St. Hilde, a blow that gradually led many troll nobles to reconsider
Was martial power really a necessary condition for becoming the Troll Emperor?
Under such circumstances, the words of Otto, the strongest Prince of the Troll Empire, had the effect of making a final decision, so the succession to the throne of the Troll Empire no longer took power into consideration.
It was because of this that Modo the Second, who had demonstrated exceptional political skills, stood out and ascended to the throne.
After his ascension to the throne, this emperor indeed worked diligently and promoted many reforms, which for a time revitalized the Troll Empire.
If it were not for the drama staged by the St. Hilde brothers last year, which resulted in the complete destruction of the Troll Empire’s most elite army of 300,000, the North Territory would surely have been facing a steadily emerging Troll Empire.
Soon, the two parties met in the center between the Dark Cavalry and the Troll King City.
“Your Majesty Modo the Second, Lord Meruvi, may I bring Duke St Hilde’s cordial greetings to you!” Colin bowed slightly with a beaming smile, offering a salute.
Modo the Second’s lips twitched, unclear if he objected to Colin’s “warm welcome”, but in such circumstances, he maintained his demeanor, returned the courtesy, and laughed:
“Viscount Angler, welcome to the Royal City, and please extend my greetings to Duke St. Hilde.”
Then, he turned to Charles, greeted him: “Sir Charles, I didn’t expect such deep affection for the North Territory, for your father, what a surprise!”
Modo the Second assumed Charles was playing “Infernal Affairs,” clearly mocking his previous betrayal.
But facing Modo the Second’s ridicule, Charles gave no response, his face was completely unmoved, as if he didn’t hear anything at all.
Colin smiled, and took over the conversation: “Your Majesty, let’s talk about serious matters.”
“Good.” Modo the Second did not entangle Charles, and nodded: “What is the reason for Viscount Angler to see me?”
Looking into Modo the Second’s eyes, Colin smiled and said: “Firstly, as a token of gratitude for your agreement to meet, I present to you a generous gift.”
“What kind of gift?” Modo the Second curiously asked.
Colin turned around and waved his hand to the rear.
Subsequently, over a hundred troll prisoners were pushed out, heading towards the Royal City.
“Your Majesty, these troll prisoners are my gift to you. They are all professionals from the southern army, I presume you wouldn’t want them to become victims under Dark Cavalry.”
Modo the Second carefully observed and seeing that slowly approaching figures indeed were trolls, he was relieved and asked, “So, you don’t want a ransom?”
Colin shrugged, generously said: “Since it is a gift, why would I require a ransom?”
“Then I thank you for your generosity!” Modo the Second finally showed a sincere smile, then asked “What about the rest of the troll prisoners?”
“All killed.” Colin nonchalantly stated.
Prince Meruvi’s eyes popped out, unable to suppress his murderous intent.
Modo the Second was bleeding in his heart, but kept his cool and continued: “Alright, Viscount Angler, I accept your gift. Now let’s get to business.”
Colin nodded while grinning, “Good. Your Majesty, I am here to negotiate peace with you.”
“Peace?”
“Yes. Continuing the fight benefits no one, so we might as well negotiate peace.” Colin paused and added, “Of course, there are conditions to the peace.”
“Speak.” Modo the Second also turned cold.
Colin remained unfazed, casually continued: “Your Majesty, as long as you accept the following conditions, I will immediately withdraw my troops.
First, you must publicly apologize for this attempted invasion of the North Territory;
Second, to compensate the Angler family for our losses in this war, the Troll Empire must pay 18 million gold coins, which can be paid over five years;
Third, the Troll Empire promises to never again become enemies with North Territory and disarm its forces, only retaining a maximum of 30,000 regular army;
Fourth, the Troll Empire will have to deliver 200,000 strong young slaves to North Territory;
Fifth? ”
Upon hearing Colin’s first condition, Modo the Second’s face turned ashen.
And after more outrageous conditions uttered from Colin’s mouth, Modo the Second was silent.
Only a hint of a cold smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, his gaze at Colin seemed to be looking at a clown.
When Colin finally finished detailing all his conditions, Modo the Second chuckled, and said:
“Viscount Angler, for this negotiation, our side also has a condition.”
“Oh? Your Majesty, please speak.”
“Our condition is ” Modo The Second turned to Prince Meruvi, who was already seething with anger, “You must die!”
Boom!
The moment he finished speaking, Prince Meruvi charged towards Colin like a sharp arrow released from its string.