Disney

The elves had excellent eyesight and spotted the group's attire from afar.

"There's no need to act as if facing a formidable enemy, no need to be on the verge of battle, and even more importantly, don't let hatred and anger show on your face."

"Because the powerless rage of the defeated only increases the elation of the victors."

"Therefore, suppress your anger."

Duke of Tiling's calm words caused the hot-blooded young elves to slowly lower their weapons.

The lean member of the royal family, draped in a cloak, watched the approaching cavalry and smiled. "You see," he said, "I told you, Kang De of Cathayan a clever man. He knows we value face, so he gave us face by sending someone to invite us and make contact, instead of putting on airs and putting up a stalemate. He wants the benefits that come with saving face—so let's each get what we need."

As the cavalry approached, Tagelise saw them clearly and nodded repeatedly, praising, "Excellent, understated yet dignified. These knights are uniformly dressed, but not in standard armor. They must be mindful of our feelings; after all, this is an informal meeting, and an overly grand welcome and ceremony would only make us feel awkward."

Elandil gazed at him from the side, his expression gradually becoming strange.

Tagelise, oblivious to his surroundings, remarked, "Do you think he might be hiding among these riders? The Cathayan like to do that. Hmm, they're also carrying a flag with writing on it. That's Cathay custom, isn't it? They like to put the commander's surname on the flag... Hmm, so many words."

He stared at it for a moment, a look of frustration appearing on his face. He turned and said, "Is it a message welcoming us? Lord Elandil, I don't know much about the Zhendan Language. What does it say?"

Elandil, the wearer of the Dragonheart Emblem, was hailed as the most learned courtier of the Eternal Royal Court, and he certainly understood the language of Cathay.

But when he saw the line of words on the fluttering flag, he fell into deep thought.

The text resembled the language of Cathay, but he had never seen this font before. He could roughly make out what the characters were, though he didn't understand their meaning.

He squinted and read with difficulty, "Disney... tickets... patrol... inspection... team..."

Tagelise frowned and asked, "What is that?"

"I don't know..." Even the learned elven sage was bewildered. "It sounds like some kind of patrol force responsible for guarding city gates, checking passes, and maintaining order. It's just that the name 'Disney' is a bit hard to understand. Wait, I get it."

"According to the annotation of the ancient Sinian book "Jie Wen", Di means Dao Ye, Yi means Zhi Ye, Ni means He Ye."

"The name 'Disney' together means 'to govern and stabilize the region through teaching and guidance'... Your Highness, your judgment is wrong. This Kang De must have a noble lineage, from a great family in Cathay that values knowledge and power; otherwise, he wouldn't have such a name."

Elandil's words carried a hint of uncertainty, and even a touch of admiration.

He is, after all, a cultured person.

Tagelise shook his head and said, "If he were from Cathay, why would he come here to be our enemy? Wouldn't it be better for him to stay in his homeland and kill barbarians? Cathay can offer him far more than Goth could. For one thing, that empress who was put on the throne at our suggestion and instruction, she wasn't even married, was she?"

He paused, stroking his chin, and said, "This seems to be one of the bargaining chips as well."

The emperor of Cathay had died, and the resistance forces in the south each elected their own emperors to continue fighting against the invasion. One of the forces favored and invested in by the Dusk Moon Dynasty was supported by a royal princess to ascend the throne, based on reasons such as "the Dusk Moon Dynasty is ruled by an empress. If your country were also ruled by an empress, it would please His Majesty and make the two countries friendly from then on"... This was the first step in the Dusk Moon Dynasty's eastern strategy.

The second step, of course, is to provide limited support to continuously bleed this great power dry, deplete their manpower, and prevent the barbarians from unifying the East.

The third step involves gradual assimilation and infiltration in the political, economic, cultural, and military spheres, followed by a long-planned and carefully selected marriage... and a large amount of follow-up support.

For China, which was barely clinging to life, although it violated ancient Cathay, it could not care about anything else when faced with the olive branch of the world's strongest nation and the imminent crisis of national extinction. Even though wise people understood that the elves had ill intentions and that this was nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst, Divine Land was about to sink, so they could not care about anything else.

But now it seems...

Tagelise pondered to himself – perhaps the Eastern strategy could be adjusted slightly.

Just then, he heard Elandil's laughter.

Duke of Tiling raised his head, his gaze sharp as a sword, and pierced the other man. "What are you laughing at?"

The wise courtier bowed, a lingering smile on his lips, "My apologies, you mentioned the Empress of Cathay, which reminded me of our Empress."

Tagelise narrowed his eyes and snorted, "Why would I miss her? She's not getting married."

Elandil was about to say something more, but then he became serious and stopped talking.

Tagelise said, "Let's not talk about that. Kang De's messenger has arrived. We are facing a learned and cultured Civilization who has welcomed us with such courtesy, so we should..."

Before the words were finished, a loud roar suddenly erupted from afar, the sound short and powerful, rushing towards them.

"Pay up! Money! Check! Your! Bag!"

Tagelise looked bewildered. "What are they talking about?"

Elandil wore a very strange expression. Before he could answer, he saw the cavalry carrying the banner of "Disney Ticket Inspection and Enforcement Brigade" galloping towards them, heading straight into the ruins of the battlefield.

The elves turned pale with fright.

Because this human cavalry did not stop or dodge at all, their flying hooves trampled everything on the ground without hesitation—bones, banners, fragments, without any regard.

The elven servants' expressions changed because the other party's actions were undoubtedly an insult to the fallen.

Tagelise and the others realized... that the newcomers were not friendly.

Seeing that the riders did not slow down and charged straight towards them, Elandil made a gesture, and the elven servants whistled softly. Immediately, their mounts responded.

Sharp whistles and neighs filled the air as eagles flapped their wings and winged horses. A fierce wind howled, stones flew and sand swirled. High-level spirit beasts possessed an extremely strong sense of oppression and advantage in terms of bloodline, far surpassing human horses. The horses of the human cavalry neighed in panic, slowed down and stopped on their own, refusing to advance any further.

The elves showed disdain and chuckled softly.

At the cavalry leader's command, the riders dismounted. They wore only ordinary standard military uniforms, not armor. Facing the fearsome eagles and winged horses, and the fully enchanted elven warriors, they showed no fear, their eyes cold and sharp, even revealing a deep-seated hostility and hatred.

"Elf!"

The cavalry leader stepped forward, sword in hand, and demanded sharply, "Why are you here!"

Elandil stepped forward, his gaze calm and composed, neither hasty nor angry, yet an immense pressure made the humans gasp for breath. He said, "Does Valentan have no nobles left? Are there no people who understand etiquette?"

"That's right!" The cavalry leader, a Goth People, shouted sternly, "All the nobles of Valentan have died in the defense of the city, and all those who knew etiquette have taken up their swords and perished with the invaders, fulfilling the etiquette they had upheld throughout their lives. Now only we barbarians remain!"

Thus, all of Elandil's prepared sarcastic remarks became useless.

The elves' sense of superiority over humans certainly stems from their so-called nobility and etiquette, but this weapon becomes completely ineffective when humans consider themselves barbarians.

He also saw the hatred and hostility in the other person's eyes.

And I felt a pang of sadness.

There are countless people in the world who harbor deep-seated hostility towards the Dusk Moon Dynasty. They are all losers whose countries have been destroyed and whose races have been wiped out. Elandil has seen many such people and such beings, and he has seen many hateful eyes and crazy curses.

But this is the first time this has happened.

The first time... the elves didn't win, and the opponents didn't lose either, while their own side was in a situation of being evenly matched or even slightly inferior, facing the opponent's hatred and anger.

He didn't even know how to respond to the other party's provocations and words.

Tagelise reached out to stop him, then stepped forward and calmly said, "My name is Tagelise, Grand Duke of Tyrion Sanctuary. My sister is the Queen of the Dusk Moon Dynasty and its vassals and territories, blessed by the gods, the ruler of all elves, the protector of the great forest, the great Phoenix King."

"Human warriors, our nation is at war. You may be filled with hatred for the elves, but the theme of war is courage and will, and the theme of diplomacy is wisdom and grace. As a diplomatic envoy, you should show me Goth's wisdom and grace, not rudeness and brute force."

"Demonstrations and hostility will not solve the problem, and I am here precisely to solve the problem."

He said politely, "I would like to visit His Highness Kang De. Can you help me?"

The elf's voice was subtle and magnetic. His physique, which was much thinner than that of the males of his tribe due to his physical condition, appeared elegant and graceful to humans. With a polite smile, Tagelise spoke these words in a gentle and soothing tone, despite the rudeness and hostility of the humans.

Ah, that's really good.

He was inwardly basking in his own smug self-satisfaction.

That's practically a classic diplomatic statement! It's as good as any eloquent diplomat. I'm a genius; if I wanted to, I could do it too.

He smiled at the other person, waiting to see their embarrassed expression and to hear the thunderous applause from his companions—though the latter was a bit difficult.

Just then, the human on the other end said, "I don't understand any of what you're saying. Informing His Highness Kang De isn't my job. My job is to collect money."

... Um?

Tagelise repeated blankly, "Take money?"

"Yes, this battlefield, including everything here, is His Highness Kang De's spoils and property. He said this is private property and cannot be visited for free; an entrance fee must be paid. You trespassed without permission, which is a violation and will be fined. Did your pets eat or drink inside? Did you litter? Did you take anything that doesn't belong to you?"

The cavalry leader had already suppressed his anger and was speaking in a serious tone—judging from his rather awkward and unnatural voice, it was clear that someone had taught him to say it.

"..."

Tagelise was stunned.

At first, he didn't even realize what the other person was saying.

But when he came to his senses, he was filled with shock, confusion, and bewilderment.

For a moment, only one thought remained in my mind.

That Kang De guy... we might as well just let him die.

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PS1: Second update, 3,000 words. I'll write 6,000 words today. I've already paid back 2,000 words of the reward. Time to sleep early. From now on, daily updates will depend on my sleep. If I sleep well, I'll update more... Goodnight.