Accompanied by Qiaolin and the others, Aurora arrived at the Black Fang Legion’s station.
She also brought along a middle-aged man with a kind face.
She mentioned that he possessed excellent diplomatic skills and extensive experience, having previously served as the City Lord’s advisor for a large city-state in the Kingdom of Nolan.
Now, he served as Aurora’s counselor and was essentially the second-in-command of Lin City.
The group arrived in front of the General’s main tent. After the guards allowed Aurora through, they blocked Qiaolin and the rest of the group.
“Please let my counselor accompany me,” Aurora said indifferently.
The guards glanced at each other, and seeing that the middle-aged man did not appear to have any martial prowess, they let him inside.
“Wait a minute, I’m considered clerical staff too. Let me in as well,” Qiaolin said, stepping forward.
A guard pushed him back immediately.
“Get lost!”
As he spoke, the guard raised his fist and swung it toward Qiaolin’s face.
*Slap!*
Suddenly, a crisp, loud slap exploded across the soldier’s face. Loki had appeared in front of Qiaolin at some unknown moment.
Her slap sent the soldier who had tried to strike Qiaolin spinning in place.
The crowd froze for a moment, only reacting once they saw the soldier collapse to the ground, groaning.
“You dare to act wild on our turf? Are you looking for death!”
The soldiers unsheathed their blades one after another, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.
“Loki, don’t cause trouble!”
Lockes said in a heavy voice.
Although he also wanted to harshly punish these scoundrels from the Balta Kingdom, this was a negotiation, after all.
They couldn’t cause trouble for Aurora and her companion.
“My protected target was threatened. This was self-defense. If the one being hit just now had been Miss Aurora, would you have just stood by and watched?”
Lockes fell silent. If it had been as Loki described, the soldier who had tried to hurt her would have met a much worse fate at his hands.
“Alright, alright. Lockes is right; we have to behave ourselves on someone else’s territory.”
Qiaolin chuckled. As he spoke, he used Healing Magic to mend the soldier’s injuries.
He raised a palm to show he was harmless. The Black Fang Legion was a well-trained unit, and after seeing them calm down, their emotions settled significantly.
“But still, thank you for earlier,” Qiaolin said to Loki.
“Then you’ll have to pay me a reward.”
“What? A reward?”
Loki’s words caught Qiaolin by surprise. He had only been speaking out of politeness.
That soldier couldn’t have actually hit him; otherwise, if a dignified Celestial Hero were punched in the face by a soldier with the strength of only one or two Crowns, he would become a laughingstock.
“Haha, I’m joking. Protecting you is my mission.”
***
Aurora took a small sip of the milk tea in her cup. A unique, salty fragrance swirled on the tip of her tongue for a long time before she finally swallowed.
She really did not like this style of drink.
However, her counselor had told her that for the Barta people, who were once nomads, anything could be discussed at the table once a guest drank the milk tea carefully prepared by the host.
“Regarding the issue Miss Aurora raised, I have discussed it with Counselor Wiggins. Sending troops to search for slaves in the city would indeed disturb the residents of Lin City,” Mode began slowly.
“So, how about your side helps us find them? What do you think of this proposal?”
When Mode made this suggestion, Aurora’s eyes instantly lit up. This meant Lin City would not be in danger.
As expected, negotiations were useful sometimes. At least there was a chance to avoid bloodshed and sacrifice.
No one wanted to resolve problems through war.
“We will do our best to help you search.”
“How long?”
“Wh… what?”
“As you just said, you will help us search for the missing slaves, but I want to know the specific time by which they can be found.”
“We aren’t sure about that. If there is any news, we will inform you immediately.”
“Is that so?”
Mode leaned back in his seat, his fingers tapping the armrest rhythmically as if he were thinking.
“We can wait. We can wait until you find their whereabouts, but…”
Mode’s tone shifted as he smiled.
“Before then, my soldiers will continue their cleanup of the Magic Beasts in the Celtic Forest. I heard that because of my hunting operations, it seems to have caused a Magic Beast riot that accidentally injured many citizens. I wonder if they will get agitated and destroy Lin City in the next step?”
Aurora’s eyes widened instantly.
“Are you threatening me?!”
“Please choose your words carefully, Miss Aurora. Although you are a guest of my Black Fang Legion today, you shouldn’t frame me like that. This is just a friendly reminder. Of course, you could also hire my men to serve as the city’s guards. As for the price, we can talk.”
“Don’t joke around! You guys are still after Lin City! I will absolutely not—absolutely not make a concession this time! Absolutely not!”
Seeing Aurora’s agitation, the counselor beside her quickly patted her shoulder to calm her down.
This was an unsolvable situation.
The Black Fang Legion had not invaded Lin City, but their activities in the Celtic Forest would incite Magic Beast riots, which in turn posed a danger to Lin City.
Moreover, they had obtained many supplies through trade. At least for a short time, the Black Fang Legion would no longer have problems with food or fodder.
But the residents of Lin City could not wait that long, and Aurora would not gamble with their safety.
“I hope you consider it carefully. Our soldiers are extremely skilled at searching; they should be much more efficient than your side. As they say, speed is the soul of war. Neither of us wants to be stuck here.”
Aurora slowly stood up. She scanned the people in the room, and her fantasies of shaking hands and making peace gradually turned into bubbles.
A trace of coldness flashed in the young girl’s eyes, and the atmosphere in the room changed abruptly.
The guards around Mode became alert. They could all feel the change in the girl’s emotions.
‘Perhaps Lockes was right. For these barbaric, despicable fellows, one should not meet them with a smile. Constant concessions only lead to the other party’s bottomless demands.’
Aurora thought this to herself.
She was even considering whether she should lower herself and beg the Demon King to send powerful experts to wipe these people out.
But those thoughts were ultimately suppressed deep in her heart.
“Since General Mode insists on this, I wonder if we can follow your traditions and initiate a Three Flag Challenge?”
Just then, the counselor beside Aurora spoke.
When the term “Three Flag Challenge” appeared, everyone was jolted.
Even Mode raised his eyes to look at the bearded counselor.
On the surface, this man looked weak and frail, but who would have thought he actually knew about this?
“Three Flag Challenge? What is that?”
Although Aurora had lived for 300 years, she had almost never traveled outside the Demon Realm.
Naturally, she did not understand the traditions and customs of the Human Race.
“Interesting… Wiggins, go ahead and explain it to Miss Aurora.”
Wiggins smiled and then said, “This is a tradition passed down from the old tribes. Anyone can initiate a challenge against another. There are three rounds in total, best two out of three. The loser will unconditionally obey one request from the winner. Of course, the person receiving the challenge also has the right to refuse.”
“Originally, the Great Khan used this tradition to win over the major tribes and establish today’s Barta Kingdom,” Mode said.
“You can challenge me, but can you afford to pay the price of defeat?”
Aurora hesitated.
“Lady Aurora?”
The counselor looked at the girl.
Facing Mode’s questioning, she hesitated. Just as the other party had said, she could not afford the price of defeat.
“If it’s truly difficult for you to choose, I am also happy to resolve the problem in this simple and clear way. We Barta people only respect the strong. This is an eternal tradition.”
“I will give you an answer before sunset.”
“Very well.”
Mode smiled slightly and waved his hand, signaling the guards to see Aurora out.
After they left, Mode finally couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Haha, they finally fell for it! This is the result I was waiting for. Our efforts to set this trap and waste so much time with them haven’t been in vain. Now, even if they lose and want to go back on their word, we have a perfectly good reason to occupy this place.”
“But what if they win? After all, regarding the Demon Race…”
Mode glanced at Wiggins with dissatisfaction.
“Are you saying we’ll lose? My dignified Black Fang Legion would lose to those old, weak, and sick people?”
Mode curled his lip and said, “If we truly lose, then it’s because our skills are inferior, and we still need to temper ourselves.”
“Since the General is so confident, I am relieved,” Wiggins said with a smile.
“But we still need to be careful. By rights, only people from Lin City should be allowed to participate in this challenge. I’m afraid they might involve the Demon Race. How about I arrange for soldiers to stand by behind Lin City? If they dare to break the rules, we will invade the city-state directly!”
Mode thought for a moment and felt that Wiggins’s suggestion made sense.
“Then do as you say.”