The Dragon Demands a King's Ransom

Captive.

The human representatives seated in attendance exchanged glances, their expressions subtly shifting.

That's a brilliant move, truly the work of an elf.

Exchanging living prisoners for dead skeletons is, from a moral standpoint, undoubtedly a worthwhile deal.

If Kang De agreed, the spirit would essentially have traded a group of Goth captives, whose relative value was not so high, for the greatest possible pacification of the turmoil.

If Kang De doesn't agree, all the better—in His Highness Kang De's eyes, the safety of Goth's comrades, who fought bravely and were captured, is less important than a few measly gold coins. Goth People, what do you think?

Kang De remained unmoved and calmly said, "Oh, you still keep prisoners? This is the first time I've heard of that. I thought that the first thing you did after winning a battle was to massacre the city and kill prisoners."

He glanced at Tagelise and the wise man Elandil beside him, and said casually, "Then the lower-ranking officers and nobles of the elves went around the city to snatch children to eat, while the higher-ranking officers and nobles went around to snatch strong or ugly inferior males to take back to their wives for artistic performances."

Hong San immediately bit his hand. Leona, however, was a bit less skilled; although she managed to shut her mouth, she still managed to stifle a fart-like laugh.

The other humans and elves exchanged bewildered glances; only those who had attended the banquet the previous night would understand this joke.

Elandil's face instantly turned a deep purplish-red. He stared at Kang De, his eyes filled with intense grief and indignation, as if to say, "I didn't do it, I didn't do it." Tagelise's expression remained unchanged, but he casually removed his right hand from the table and moved it to his thigh, his shoulder twitching slightly as if he were pinching the flesh on his thigh.

After a moment, the wise man could no longer contain himself and protested in a low voice, "Your Highness Kang De, please do not arbitrarily slander and fabricate rumors to defame the Dusk Moon Dynasty!"

Kang De's eyes widened. "How dare you slander me out of thin air? Where have I spread rumors?"

Elandil retorted angrily, "Elves are not a barbaric and bloodthirsty race. We are the leaders of the Civilization world and will not allow any act that violates justice and righteousness to occur within our sacred royal army..."

Before he could finish speaking, Kang De raised his hand with a strange expression and said, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, I swear to God, I have never spread this rumor!"

The humans present were taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. Whether they found it funny or not, they all cooperated perfectly.

People slammed their fists on the table, stomped their feet, and laughed wildly, tears streaming down their faces.

On the one hand, it was to save face for Kang De; on the other hand, the opportunity to mock the elf didn't come every day.

The elves all paled.

Even though I had been mentally preparing myself and was aware of the situation, when I actually faced it, I still felt an indescribable anger and humiliation.

When had the elves ever been so mocked, ridiculed, humiliated, and made amusement of by their enemies at the negotiating table?

How many years has it been since something like this last happened? Or has it ever happened even once?

For a moment, they glared at Kang De, their eyes like sharp knives, as if they wanted to tear this despicable Cathayan to pieces.

Elandil should have been able to handle this situation with ease, but the elven sage had just been outmaneuvered by Kang De, and the effects of last night's banquet and subsequent conversation had not yet dissipated. One wrong move and he was on the defensive everywhere, a truly humiliating disgrace.

Amidst the laughter and jeers of the humans, Tagelise remained unmoved.

He said slowly, "Lord Elandil is right. The Dusk Moon Dynasty will never allow any brutal or barbaric acts to appear in its sacred army..."

Before Kang De could answer, he stood up and said solemnly, "The army generals who commanded and orchestrated the massacres that occurred in Valentan and the surrounding villages bear undeniable responsibility."

"Former Dusk Warband Legion Commander Selendron, brutal and bloodthirsty, murdered civilians and committed unforgivable crimes. The Council has stripped him of all his ranks and honors, expelled him from the army, abolished his noble status, and given him extremely severe punishment, and his crimes have been announced throughout the kingdom."

Looking around at the people present, he said in a deep voice, "I repeat myself, the actions of a few scoundrels do not represent the entire Royal Army. We have already severely punished the officers who committed war crimes."

"The Dusk Moon Dynasty will not shy away from its mistakes, and it has the determination and ability to correct them. I advise everyone here not to make baseless accusations and frame others, and not to judge the honor of the entire Royal Army based on a single case."

The laughter gradually subsided.

The elves' morale improved slightly.

Tagelise glanced around at the crowd, then gracefully took his seat.

Regardless of the truth, his statement is beyond reproach.

Selendron's change of heart and his proposal for peace talks in the council betrayed his former interest group, enraging the leaders of the pro-war faction. As a result, he was severely punished and stripped of everything for the crime of losing the country. After being imprisoned, Selendron refused to accept the olive branch offered by the pro-peace faction and was unwilling to become a tool of the other faction's political struggle, thus extinguishing all hope of his comeback.

And now they say he was severely punished for orchestrating a massacre... typical politics.

Kang De knew that dwelling on this issue was pointless, so he simply gave a mocking smile.

Tagelise, sitting opposite him, seemed to see through his thoughts, but his expression remained unchanged.

Last night we were practically arguing intimately, and now it's turned out like this.

But a human nobleman angrily retorted, "Is simply punishing him enough?"

Having just performed poorly Elandil adjusted his mindset, his gaze sharpening as he looked over. "Not enough?"

The other side gritted their teeth and said, "Countless soldiers and civilians have died or been wounded in Valentan; the number of those who sacrificed their lives is innumerable..."

So what?

Elandil stood up, his gaze arrogant and chilling. "The Dusk Moon Dynasty punishes soldiers who commit war crimes according to justice and law, giving them lawful punishments as a warning to other officers and generals. That's all—what does it have to do with you, with Valentan, or with Goth?"

This time, it was the humans' turn to change their expressions drastically.

The other party's meaning was very clear, shrewd, and domineering.

Selendron was punished because he violated the laws of Twilight Moon, not because he massacred you Goth People. This was the Elven justice, not justice served on behalf of you Goth People.

--Otherwise, do you even deserve it?

Before the humans could answer, Elandil sneered, exuding an aura of dominance. He was now middle-aged, past the age of being sharp and outspoken, but he had been in a bad mood these past two days.

"My lord, do you perhaps wish for the Dusk Moon Dynasty to compensate Valentan for any incidental losses?"

He asked the question knowingly, placing his hands on the table, lowering his body, and staring at the other person with a commanding gaze. He smiled and said, "It's not impossible, but let's wait until the treaty is signed when your Goth's army storms into Twilight Moon, conquers more than half of our territory in three months, and your forces are poised to strike our capital."

The elves all let out disdainful sneers.

The faces of the Goth People were all flushed red.

There could be no more contemptible insult than this.

The continuous projection of power by the elves onto this continent has imprinted the national strength, history, and culture of the Dusk Moon Dynasty onto the people of all races, creating impressions that are subtle, indelible, and irreversible.

The Dusk Moon Dynasty, like the largest and most terrifying monster, lurked on this continent, casting Shadow that enveloped everyone. Everyone knew of the power of the elves.

With its vast territory, numerous colonies and vassals, abundant resources, immeasurable wealth, and military strength surpassing that of the world, the expeditionary force that achieved consecutive victories under Goth was merely a small part of the immense war power of the Twilight Moon.

After the outbreak of war, almost all Goth People cursed and dreamed of making the elves taste the same bitterness. However, any Goth People with a modicum of rationality would be ashamed to utter the words of Goth retaliating and conquering the elven capital... The disparity in strength between the two countries was simply too great.

Even the supreme ruler of the human world and powerful empires are extremely wary of Twilight Moon.

Moreover, this was Goth's small principality.

Faced with the elves' contempt and provocation, they felt humiliated and angry, yet also deeply powerless, like rising up against invasion while already knowing the outcome... such a desperate helplessness.

At this point, the Goth People sobered up from their previous excitement and optimism. They had been overjoyed with the negotiations, but the reality was quite different. The elves might not have viewed this setback as a dangerous defeat, and the Dusk Moon Dynasty still held an overwhelming advantage in this war.

How could this not lead to despair and discouragement?

But at that moment, Kang De raised his hand, pressed it down lightly, his expression calm, showing no anger or loss of composure.

He said kindly, "Green Elf, please sit down."

However, the wise elves obviously couldn't grasp the deeper meaning of this nickname. In fact, using the color green to represent a certain situation or state is a unique aspect of China culture, which officially took shape during the Yuan Dynasty. Even foreigners don't have this usage, let alone elves from other worlds.

But that didn't stop Elandil from seeing that mockery in Kang De's eyes.

Before he could lash out, Kang De looked at the somewhat dejected and furious Goth People and smiled, "I understand this green guy's point of view. He means that one must earn one's own face. They punished the officer because the massacre was exposed, and they felt they had lost face, so they punished the elven legion commander to save face."

"As for how many people died on Goth's side, or how many civilians were massacred in Valentan, they didn't care. Because when a country is invaded and its people are slaughtered, that's a loss of face for us, but they don't care."

"They only care about saving face, while we have to earn our own face."

Goth People understood this principle, but it was precisely because he understood it that he felt helpless and disheartened.

"Hey, hey, hey."

Kang De laughed, tapped the table to draw everyone's attention, and said, "Don't look so gloomy. I haven't finished yet. You have to earn your own dignity—and haven't I already done that?"

The elves, observing from the sidelines, reacted faster. Upon hearing this, their eyes shifted, and their arrogant, smug, and disdainful expressions froze instantly. Then, the Goth People also realized what was happening.

I earned it back.

Where?

Outside the city, five Dragon Banner Legion and 60,000 elven soldiers achieved a great victory that shocked the world.

The casualties on both sides can basically be described as one life for another.

The Goth People, having regained their senses, looked at Kang De with even more gratitude and respect. After the meeting, their exchanges and debates would be widely known.

It was even more inspiring and cathartic than Valentan Speech.

Kang De glanced at Hong San, Hong San was writing rapidly, taking shorthand notes, and there was also a voice recorder on the table.

He looked at the elves again, at their eyes filled with anger and resentment, yet utterly helpless.

What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a nuclear explosion hero before?

That's enough.

Tagelise interrupted, looking at Kang De: "Verbal sparring is pointless. Let's get back to the point, Your Highness Kang De. The elves are willing to exchange Goth's prisoners for the remains of fallen soldiers. All prisoners captured by the expeditionary force so far can be offered in exchange. What do you think?"

Kang De raised an eyebrow and said, "Wait, can prisoners be used for exchange?"

Tagelise's expression changed slightly.

"If that's the case, then we also have prisoners."

Kang De flashed his gleaming teeth. "We do not have a tradition of torturing prisoners. Not Dusk Warband who surrendered that day are dead. We are currently conducting selection and interrogation. The Elven soldiers who participated in the massacre of civilians will be tried and executed by the Valentan People..."

Duke of Tiling's expression shifted. "You're willing to exchange prisoners?"

"Yes and no."

Kang De held up one finger. "From the surrendered soldiers of the Dusk Warband, I will select one hundred severely wounded elven soldiers, and another two hundred elves whose crimes were minor, who did not participate in the massacre, and who are only children, making a total of three hundred elves..."

He smiled. "Exchanging them for all the Goth soldiers captured by the Elf Expeditionary Force so far is a very fair trade. After all, the Dusk Moon Dynasty is a responsible great power and would spare no effort to rescue innocent soldiers. They're just a group of human prisoners, how much are they worth? Even if we exchange all the prisoners for one elf, it's worth it, isn't it, Duke Tagelise?"

Elandil protested, "This is not fair!"

"Mr. Wise wants fairness? Fine, then let's exchange them one to one."

Kang De said, "Then I will carve on the face of every elven soldier exchanged, 'This elven was exchanged by Duke Tagelise and the high-ranking generals of the expeditionary force for a coarse, lowly, ugly, and stupid Goth soldier,' as a memento. Don't look at me like that; you can also tattoo on the faces of Goth prisoners, 'This Goth soldier was exchanged for a noble, elegant, pure, and honorable elven soldier.' I don't care."

"Shameless!"

"Abnormal!"

Elandil nearly coughed up blood.

Tagelise remained silent, his expression still revealing neither joy nor anger.

He asked, "Since Your Highness Kang De has made this suggestion, then I suppose you want Twilight Moon to exchange the remains of the elven soldiers for something else?"

Kang De nodded. "Yes, money. I need money. It was because you forced me to kill so many elves that my hands are stained with blood, my conscience is troubled, and my young heart has suffered immense harm. I demand compensation: damages for emotional distress, costs of spellcasting, war reparations..."

He kept listing the topics, Tagelise asked directly, "How many?"

Kang De snapped his fingers, "Hong San, give me a number."

Hong San pulled out a piece of paper, glanced at it, and said solemnly, "Your Grace, given the various unfair treatments and harms His Highness Kang De suffered from the elves, and the subsequent..."

Duke of Tiling said coldly, "Just tell me the result."

Hong San swallowed hard, trying to sound calm, and read the final conclusion.

"Therefore, based on the Sovereign Gold Coin minted during the reign of the King of Light, we demand that the Dusk Moon Dynasty pay His Highness Kang De a total compensation of eighteen million gold coins, with at least half of the amount required to be in Sovereign Gold Coin or pure gold of equivalent weight, and the other half to be compensated in the form of various materials converted to their value..."

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: That's all for today. I didn't sleep well last night, and I was rushing to catch a flight today. I was so tired when I got home. I'm going to sleep now. I'll see if I can write more tomorrow. Goodnight.