A Small, Insignificant Sacrifice

"I have a plan."

When those words came from Mr. Dutch van der Linde, they were usually the beginning of something disastrous.

But Kang De was the one who said them.

That made them rather more convincing.

At least, as far as the knight was concerned.

Knight Cleveland considered himself well-traveled and knowledgeable, but he could not see through the Cathayan before him. The man seemed shrouded in layers of fog: his origins were a mystery, his actions were a mystery, everything about him was a mystery.

They had spent too little time together for him to discern anything.

For the knight could sense that Kang De was still wary and guarded, and behind that wariness lay tremendous confusion... and even madness.

But beyond that, he also had to admit that Mr. Kang De was a very charismatic man.

That charisma came not only from his looks, conversation, strength, and wealth, but even more from his bearing: a distinctive confidence tinged with melancholy. It was not the affectation of those so-called poets and wanderers, but something born of genuine experience and sorrow.

He was willing to place some trust in a man like that.

Besides, though he had resolved to die, who would want to die if they could live?

There was no harm in hearing him out.

So the knight nodded. "I would be glad to hear your plan."

Kang De thought for a moment, then asked, "Is the elven captain over there stupid?"

"Not at all," the knight replied. "Our earlier naval battle proved just how cunning and ruthless their captain is. He is a formidable opponent, calm and deadly. In fact, anyone who can captain a capital ship in the highly competitive Elven Royal Navy is no nobody. He must have fought many battles, accumulating experience and merit before finally earning that distinction."

Kang De nodded. "Then that raises a question."

He said, "If I were the elven captain and my goal was to capture you, the first thing I'd do on reaching these waters would be to sail around every island. Once I spotted the Goth People's ship, I'd know where they were. Then, whether I sent in troops or bombarded them, I could win however I pleased. Isn't that right?"

"By comparison, isn't it rather stupid to stop at sea and send troops to search the islands one by one?"

Cleveland suddenly understood. "...Indeed!"

"Since the elven captain isn't an idiot, there's only one possibility."

Kang De looked at the ship at sea, its sails lowered and its anchor dropped. "Their ship probably took quite a beating too, just as yours was damaged when you ran into the storm..."

"That's good news!"

Cleveland exclaimed in delight, "That means we have more time to escape! The farther we get, the farther we can draw the elves away, and the safer you and the princess will be!"

"..."

Kang De waved a hand. "Don't be so quick to die. I told you I have a plan."

The knight obediently shut his mouth.

"I just sent Pigeon to contact Second Senior Brother... the boss of North Island. I wanted to find out whether there had been any strange Black Beast activity on the island, and it turned out there had."

Kang De said pensively, "Second Senior Brother said a huge opening had appeared in a canyon on the western side of North Island. There's a dangerous aura coming from deep inside that doesn't seem good, but he hasn't had a chance to go down and take a look."

Cleveland looked thoughtful. "You mean..."

"Since these elves are looking for you Goth People..." Kang De said, his eyes flickering, "why not make that place the Goth People's base? And take it a step further: what if it were the ruins of some god-surpassing race, and the Goth People had found the legacy of a prehistoric civilization's power inside? If the elves discovered that and believed the Goth People were pressing ever deeper underground, just one step away from the god-surpassing legacy..."

"Then what would they do?"

Once Cleveland understood, he shuddered.

This plan... was rather vicious.

But as long as it was used against elves, it was just.

"I understand what you mean..."

He hesitated. "How do we make the elves believe all of it? They're knowledgeable and experienced. How can we fake the ruins of a god-surpassing race's civilization? They'll see through it."

Kang De smiled. "That's something I'm rather good at."

The knight looked bewildered. "I don't understand."

"It would be hard to explain in a short time. Just trust me."

Kang De looked at the hesitant Cleveland, then said, "Let's leave the decision to Tina."

The two came to an agreement and slowly withdrew.

They returned the way they had come.

Tina was sitting where they had left her, waiting. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them return.

"Why were you gone so long?"

She had been worried the whole time, and had not dared wander off.

The knight bowed. "Sorry, we were delayed for quite a while."

"Never mind that for now..." the princess said softly. "The elves... have they really come?"

Cleveland nodded gravely.

Tina had already suspected as much, but even so, the confirmation left her somewhat distraught. She stood there in a daze for a moment, then turned to Kang De and bowed solemnly. "I'm sorry. We've dragged you into this... I think it's time for us to leave. If we take the ship and flee immediately, the elves will surely pursue us and have no time to come ashore and trouble you."

Kang De laughed. "Is that how all Goth People think?"

The princess stared at him.

Kang De then gave her a brief explanation of the knight's plan.

It was much the same, except that it protected two people.

"Absolutely not!"

The princess looked very angry. "I am a descendant of Teldrassil. How could I let my subjects give their lives while I cling to life?"

The knight lowered his head and said nothing, showing no sign of remorse whatsoever.

"All right, stop arguing," Kang De said. "Things haven't gotten that bad. I have a plan, and if it works... we might not have any casualties at all."

He told the princess the plan he had just discussed.

The princess paid no attention to the plan's feasibility or details. She simply looked at Kang De and, after a while, said softly, "You really don't have to get involved... this was never your war."

"I know, I know. Honestly, I don't want to get dragged into this inexplicable racial hatred and war," Kang De said with a sigh. "But the elves seem so vicious. If they kill all of you and then decide to kill me while they're at it, what am I supposed to do? Helping you is helping myself."

"Besides..."

Kang De thought for a moment, then said slowly, "That magic array the other day seemed to be something very, very valuable. You used it on me, and I benefited from it, so I want to thank you. Besides, spending these past few days together has been pretty nice... I can't just watch you all go off and die, can I?"

At that, he added, "Also, although I'm helping you, if the plan fails and you're about to die, don't blame me if I simply leave."

After all, Kang De had his ultimate trump card.

With his ability to cross between two worlds, he could return to Earth and hide at any time. It was an excellent way to save his life, unexpected and impossible to guard against.

The princess nodded vigorously, gratitude and joy showing in her eyes. The girl said softly, "That you're willing to fight alongside us at a time like this is already an enormous kindness. I won't forget everything you've done... I truly don't know how to repay you."

Actually, offering yourself in marriage would be enough.

Of course, with Kang De's level of skill, he could not say something like that as if it were nothing.

After all, he was a kind, upright, and pure-hearted young man.

So Kang De waved a hand. "We can talk about repayment later."

The princess nodded earnestly. "Yes, I will repay you."

She looked completely serious, and it did not seem in the least like she was merely being polite.

Kang De did not take it to heart. He snapped his fingers. "Now, let's talk about my plan again... I have some idea how to fake the ruins of a prehistoric civilization, but that isn't the most crucial problem."

The princess asked, "What is?"

Kang De pointed into the distance. "That ship. We don't know when it will be ready to sail. Once it gets moving and discovers the Penguin, it'll all be over, and we'll be at a serious disadvantage."

"So what we need to do is pull a few little tricks to draw all the elves' attention to this island and make them believe the Goth People are all hiding here, until they search carefully and cautiously and find the prehistoric ruins we've prepared for them."

The knight asked, "How do we do that?"

Kang De answered, "We ambush them, mislead them, make them suspicious, and make them angry. If I'm right, they should split into many squads to search different areas. If we can take out one of those squads, the other elves will surely become very wary and draw the wrong conclusion."

Cleveland looked at the magical animals around them. "Like last time?"

"Not quite... the elves are stronger, after all, aren't they?"

Kang De said seriously, "We need bait to lure the elves into our trap... You said the Goths and elves have a blood feud, so if they see a Goth man, there's a good chance these elves will be very wary or even attack. But if they see a beautiful, noble lady in distress..."

The princess said firmly, "I understand... I'm willing to be the bait."

The knight said urgently, "No! Your Highness must not put yourself in danger!"

Tina said, "No, knight, I'm a Goth too. If I can be of use..."

"I agree. Tina is frail and can't handle unexpected situations. The person acting as bait must not only look beautiful and delicate, but also be highly skilled and capable of launching a surprise attack, and be willing to make one small, insignificant sacrifice..."

Kang De looked at Cleveland and gave him a meaningful smile.

Goth's most promising knight captain suddenly felt the most intense chill of his life.

It was as though malice as deep as the abyss were bearing down on him.

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Second update... Ah, it's a new week. For the sake of what Mr. Knight is about to go through, please cast a vote. (Evil grin)