Adding One More

After seeing the two elves off, Kang De returned to the banquet hall.

He summoned the steward and ordered, "Cook me some porridge."

Those junk foods, if someone who's never tried them before, will definitely be unable to stop eating them the first time, like they've taken a dose of magic pills. But for Kang De, they're meaningless.

Eating a little bit occasionally is fine, but snacks are still just snacks and can't be eaten as a meal.

The person in charge should arrange the catering himself.

The head chefs in the kitchen were still from the Vidal Chamber of Commerce. Although the nobles who were trying to curry favor with Kang De wanted to find a few chefs from Cathay to serve as tribute, it was difficult to find them, and the matter was also very sensitive.

After all, it was a position in charge of food and drink, and the benefits of currying favor were not worth the consequences of any mishap. The shrewd nobles were unwilling to invite trouble upon themselves.

But the chefs in the Chamber of Commerce are skilled; even if they can't cook Cathay dishes, they can still cook rice porridge.

Twenty or thirty minutes later, steaming hot rice porridge was served. A Xing mainly ate fruit and snacks and wasn't interested in rice porridge, which was tasteless, took up a lot of space, and was too hot. Leona was already full; the little girl didn't eat much. Only Hong San ate some with Kang De.

Kang De gestured for the steward to leave, stirred the bowl of rice porridge with a spoon, picked out a little, Extraction, and found nothing unusual. Hong San took the spoon, smelled it, tasted a little, and nodded.

So we started eating, with Ma Deuce chili sauce, beef jerky, and pickled chicken feet—it was incredibly delicious with rice.

Kang De slurped down about half a bowl, exhaled, and smiled, "I didn't expect that."

With the annoying elf gone, Leona squeezed to Kang De's left.

Eldest Miss Vidar, being a lady, had already eaten her fill, but her girlish side was still staring at the snacks on the table, especially the transparent, heart-shaped jelly. It was crystal clear, cute, trembling, and reflected an intoxicating glow under the light. It was sweet, tender, and smooth.

It's delicious.

I want to eat it.

As she slowly reached for the plate of jelly, she casually remarked, "Didn't expect that?"

Kang De noticed Eldest Miss Vidar's subtle movements and chuckled inwardly, but didn't expose her. Seeing Hong San also looking up at him, he said, "This was supposed to be a very important negotiation, at least from the outside. Perhaps to the world, the negotiation started from the very first meeting, full of verbal sparring and sharp confrontation..."

I never imagined it would turn out like this.

It's a mess.

Not only is everything in disarray, but the elf messengers are also in disarray.

If the parties involved hadn't made a statement, neither those currently observing nor later historians could have imagined how bizarre this negotiation was...

Hong San smiled and said, "That's how it is. My master once said that most of the dramatic changes and major events recorded in history books were accomplished by a group of ruthless people who risked their lives without a clear understanding of the situation, yet they still managed to do so with great trepidation. Later historians only wrote a few words about it, leaving future generations with endless imagination and reflection, but for the people involved, it was a life-or-death struggle, a gamble of fear and courage."

He paused and then smiled, "It was a thrilling day that made me deeply emotional decades later, but in retrospect, it was full of flaws and imperfections."

Kang De pursed his lips. "This isn't gambling."

Hong San paused for a moment, then revealed a very mysterious smile, "That's not necessarily true."

Kang De arrogantly replied, "How can my well-planned actions be considered gambling? If it were gambling, I secretly peeked at the other person's cards first, so how could I have lost?"

Hong San took a sip of porridge and said slowly, "But, Your Highness..."

Kang De raised an eyebrow and said, "Hmm?"

Hong San glanced at him and said in a subtle tone, "This is gambling."

"Master often said that man proposes, God disposes, and that is absolutely true. For example, in a battle between two equally matched hundred-man formations, one side might be defeated because one of its soldiers ate an extra fried dough stick for breakfast, causing him to be bloated and slow to dodge a spear thrust, thus getting stabbed to death."

"He was a respected and capable warrior. His death caused fear and trembling among his comrades, which in turn affected their fighting, leading to more and more deaths and injuries. Then came the continuous collapse, defeat, and retreat of the entire army. The reason for the defeat was simply because one soldier ate an extra fried dough stick—something that no strategist could have foreseen, not even a god could have predicted."

"So-called ingenious strategies are merely ways to boost our morale, make our troops more elite, and improve our training. They can only increase our chances of victory on a general scale. However, the many unexpected events and variables that constantly arise are beyond the control of strategists; that's what we call fate."

Kang De frowned and asked, "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"... It's all fate," Hong San muttered under his breath. "Didn't you consider that if our 70-80% chance of success turns out to be wrong, and Duke Tagelise isn't what you think, but just a somewhat effeminate, effeminate elf, then what you've done today, and even what you plan to do later..."

Kang De's face changed drastically. "Bullshit!"

Although he said that, he couldn't help but fall into deep thought, looking somewhat shocked and even flustered, so much so that he kept thinking and thinking in his mind.

After thinking it over, he still felt there was no problem, so he glared at Hong San and said, "Disrupting morale!"

Hong San chuckled dryly, "It's all up to fate... What if something goes wrong?"

"There's no 'what if'!"

Kang De retorted angrily, "Besides, I didn't intend to do anything. What if something happens? What loss would I suffer? What if I... what if I kill him!"

"... Hello!"

Just then, Leona's angry shout rang out. Eldest Miss Vidar's sinful hand reaching for the sweets was intercepted by the A Xing —the wicked gorilla had been watching her all along, and just as the silver-haired girl was about to succeed, he snatched the jelly with lightning speed. With the A Xing's skills, snatching Leona was child's play.

But an ape is still an ape.

Leona's eyes lit up, and she snuggled into Kang De's arms, feigning tears as she cried, "Kang De, look at him!"

Right in front of Leona A Xing slowly forked the jelly and bit into it. Seeing this, his mouth slightly opened, and the transparent jelly slid down his lips—because she was a beautiful girl, it didn't look disgusting.

But he's mentally challenged.

Yes, beautiful girls can do nothing disgusting, but they can be incredibly idiotic.

Then she lunged at Kang De, yelling, "Get off me!"

The two began to fight across Kang De, but in terms of their fighting abilities, A Xing was like a cat toying with.

Having two women on either side—the bliss of having multiple wives—sounds wonderful, but in reality, Kang De had to hold his rice bowl high to prevent the porridge from spilling and splashing on someone, repeatedly coaxing, "Stop it, stop it..."

Hong San, watching the show from the sidelines, added fuel to the fire, "Look, Your Highness, do you really want to add another one?"

"Roll!"

Kang De glared angrily. "This is just a scheme, a mere tactic! And to add to that, I recently turned tens of thousands of elves into peanut butter. It's impossible, isn't it?"

Hong San gave Kang De a strange look, shook his head, and sighed.

Kang De's extremely sensitive pride kicked in, and he snapped, "What are you sighing about!"

"My master said that no one is perfect, and I believe him."

"... What do you mean?"

"Let's put that aside for now, Your Highness. Were you trying to take a picture of me just now?"

"So what if I am? Good luck you dodged it. Don't let me catch you next time."

A Xing and Leona continued their subtle confrontation, while Kang De and Hong San had a conversation across the distance. The Cathayan, holding a bowl of porridge, stood up and solemnly said, "Your Highness, your subject is not to be trifled with either."

"Oh my? You think you're so capable?" Kang De raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

Hong San took a few steps back, opened the door, and whispered, "Your letter should have reached Princess Tina by now, right?"

Then he turned and ran, all in one swift motion, using his light-footed skill.

A Xing and Leona's movements seemed to freeze, the two of them standing still. Then, the two beautiful girls, each with their own unique charm, turned their sharp gazes to him and said in unison, "Tina?"

--Damn you, Hong San!

The next day, Hong San regretted it.

It's true that no one is perfect.

While His Highness Kang De is an excellent person to serve in many respects, it doesn't mean he's without flaws. He does have quite a few shortcomings, for example...

--Extremely vengeful.

Hong San finally experienced the fear of the people at Glimmering Sand Castle, because from early morning, Prince Kang De stared at him with a sinister smile, without hitting or scolding him, and without making any hostile moves.

She would often give him a meaningful look, then smile slyly, and would frequently whisper instructions to someone while staring at him.

Hong San was filled with anxiety and regret. He couldn't help but reflect on why he had been so reckless last night. It seemed that after the transformation he experienced in the Battle of Valentan, he was slowly becoming more lively.

Before he could even find a chance to back down, the elf arrived uninvited.

Kang De went out to greet them, and was taken aback by what he saw. The visitors included not only Tagelise and Elandil, but also several middle-aged elves he had seen outside the city the day before, as well as six young elves.

There are ten in total.

They definitely didn't come here to eat, chat, or drink until they got drunk.

As expected, Tagelise's expression was serious and solemn. He bowed to Kang De and calmly said, "Following the instructions of His Majesty the Phoenix King and the Council, I am contacting you in a private capacity to welcome the fallen soldiers Homecoming."

It felt like everything from last night was a dream.

But it wasn't a dream.

After he finished speaking, Tagelise gave him a calm smile, "Let's talk."

Talk.

We need to call in more people to make up the numbers.

Hong San discussed with Kang De: "This is the elves' scheme. If only our people are present at the meeting, they can spread rumors and fabricate the outcome of the talks at will, saying that you disregarded Goth's interests, and so on... Your Highness has already witnessed the elves' divisive tactics; they are very clever. They have a whole set of tricks up their sleeves."

Kang De frowned and said, "Bringing in representatives of nobles and officials will make it difficult to distinguish between the loyal and the treacherous."

News will still leak out, and their loyalty cannot be guaranteed.

Hong San shrugged and said, "Weighing the pros and cons, this is the only way. Fortunately, Your Highness has a clear conscience, which is something the elves could not have foreseen. You don't have much desire for wealth and power."

Let's talk then.

The newly renovated city hall, with its spacious meeting room, was where Nick had once convened a meeting of representatives from all walks of life in the city, where he roughly and forcefully assigned tasks. That was the first time Kang De met Leona, and also the first time he met Nick; neither of their first impressions was very good.

But now, Kang De sits at the head of the table.

On the left and right rows, humans and elves stared at each other, but no one spoke, for everyone knew that they were merely there to observe this conversation.

The talks began.

Sitting opposite him, Tagelise delivered a speech, explained his purpose, and, in the spirit of benevolence and peace, pleaded with Kang De to allow the remains of the soldiers who had been left to rot in the wilderness to return to the great forest.

Kang De said calmly, "In principle, there is no problem. Goth was a responsible great power; he would not do anything to desecrate the corpses of his enemies. We defend our homeland with courage and honor, and we will kill any enemy who dares to invade our territory, but we will not take pleasure in humiliating and trampling on corpses. But as you know, we are the victims..."

An elf looked at Kang De, wanting to speak, but Kang De raised his hand and calmly said, "Alright, my friend, let's not engage in academic debate about the right and wrong of this war. If you disagree, let me put it another way—but as you know, we are the victors."

The humans let out a smug chuckle.

Kang De slowly said, "As the victors, we allow you to retrieve the remains of your comrades. This is an act of mercy, not an obligation. At the same time, we have suffered the wounds of war, countless brave men have died or lost their families, and we have been greatly depleted. We have endured the ravages of war, and all of this must be borne by the defeated. In other words, if you want to retrieve the remains, you must make an exchange."

He leaned forward and asked, "So, what does your country intend to offer in return?"

Tagelise made the same gesture and calmly said, "We are willing to release the prisoners, what do you say?"

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PS1: Second update! This one's already 4,000 words! Almost 7,000 words today! Time for bed, need to catch my flight tomorrow.

PS2: So, I've been planting foreshadowing from the very beginning, hinting at it in almost every chapter... Never mind, you wouldn't understand anyway, so let me put it another way—want to bet, bro?