You're Stronger Now After All

Believe it or not.

The Phoenix King's voice was calm and casual.

It was as if she truly didn't care what Kang De thought.

The rebellious son, clinging to Kang De's left arm, delivered a perfectly timed stab.

Or rather, I did a small amount of work.

"In fact, ma'am."

A huge red electronic eye lit up on Kang De's shoulder, making his old father look like he had transformed from the Winter Soldier into a G-Virus infected being.

Horus said in a gruff voice, "If you don't care, why explain, and why bother saying 'believe it or not,' and why stay here waiting for Father? I don't understand."

"... Shut up!"

Kang De and Dairila shouted at the same time.

But clearly, humans and elves are thinking two different things.

After speaking in unison, Kang De and the Phoenix King exchanged a glance, then simultaneously looked away.

"... Anyway," Kang De said, "Are you alright?"

He only realized he'd asked a stupid question after he said it. Seriously? That was the Phoenix King, one of the strongest beings in the world. And the battle ended so quickly; it was definitely a crushing defeat.

Sure enough, Dairila scoffed and said stiffly, "It's nothing."

"Then..." Kang De's gaze swept around, "Where is the intruder?"

"Of course I arrested him."

"... Where is it?"

The Phoenix King said calmly, "What's it to you?"

Kang De paused for a moment, then clasped his hands together, bowed his head, and said, "Kind, benevolent, righteous, beautiful, and lovely Phoenix King, please grant this mere captive as a reward."

The Iron Son on his left arm trembled slightly.

--You're something else, Father.

At the same time, there was the sound of armor rubbing together. The Phoenix King even subconsciously took two steps back, his voice filled with astonishment and hesitation, before shouting, "Flirtatious words! Disrespectful! Insolent!"

Then her voice trailed off, and her head, clad in a full-face phoenix-winged battle helmet, swayed slightly from side to side. "I... my mercy and kindness can only be bestowed upon my people!"

The crimson electronic eyes opened again. "As everyone knows, Father, marriage is the highest form of loyalty."

"--Shut up!"

"Yes."

By the way, the two precise jump shots by the Iron Son washed away the awkwardness, embarrassment, and hostility that Kang De and Dairila felt during their first reunion since the Battle of Danfeng Lucerne.

"In short... in short!"

After a moment of silence, the Phoenix King forced his voice to harden again. "Until the peace treaty is signed, we are still enemies! As the king of the elves, I cannot aid the enemy! But an exchange is possible! Those I have captured cannot be handed over to you for nothing!"

I understand.

Kang De understood.

Then he held up one finger and gave the price. "Ten cases of Sprite."

"Okay... I don't want this!"

"Add five more cases of Lay's Fresh."

"... Do you think you can fob me off with such a childish suggestion?"

"Ten boxes of pork cracklings."

"... Hello!"

"White Rabbit milk candy that can drown you."

"Gurgle..."

The sound of swallowing saliva was barely perceptible.

"Okay, enough joking around."

Kang De, seeing that the time was right, stopped joking.

He had a pretty good grasp of this measure back in Valentan. Given the current awkward and hostile relationship between the two, Targ... Dairila's tolerance limit has to be reduced by twenty percent. She has abandoned her disguise and shown her true self, making the mindset of female elves even more difficult to grasp and more difficult to get along with, leaving a chaotic and unpredictable margin. The current Dairila can probably tolerate about sixty percent of the teasing she experienced in Valentan —but why am I even calculating this?

He said solemnly, "Then, Your Majesty, please state your terms of exchange."

Upon hearing this, the Phoenix King stared at him silently. The pressure from his gaze was immense. Most importantly, the other's face was hidden within his helmet; not only was his expression obscured, but his eyes were also hidden from view. Unable to discern the other's demeanor, it was impossible to judge his thoughts and intentions.

After all, she is now the Phoenix King, and we can't treat her the same way we treated "Tagelise".

Just as she was pondering this, Dairila asked, "Did you... do 'that' with Princess Tina?"

Kang De's expression turned strange.

What kind of stupid question is this?

But he still answered honestly, "No."

After all, Phoenix Vision has a keen eye for people's hearts; lying is pointless and would only invite ridicule.

The Phoenix King remained silent upon hearing this, her expression obscured by her helmet.

"Father, her body has undergone a subtle change. The reason is that her tense body has begun to relax, and, about the center line of her body, her body has swayed with an amplitude of no more than one degree..."

Driven by Iron Son, his left arm flipped over, and the five fingers of his left hand came together, revealing words that flashed with red light in his palm, appearing one after another and then disappearing in turn.

Kang De glanced at it, and before he could think of anything, the Phoenix King asked, "Why don't you do it? Doesn't she want to? You saved Goth, and she doesn't even intend to express this kind of gratitude?"

The words clearly expressed indignation on Kang De's behalf—but what was with that faint, almost imperceptible smile?

Before he could speak, the Phoenix King continued, "Tell the truth! No lying! From this moment on, I will be watching you. You must be completely honest. If you utter even half a lie, I will leave immediately. You will never see the criminal who attacked Maple Leaf Palace again in your lifetime."

Kang De sighed, "Well... I don't know Tina's plans, but if it were up to me, I wouldn't have such intentions. I'm not helping Goth for reasons like Tina's health; my motivation stems from the sacrifice of a friend, and the more intense emotions and will of a brave person, not from simple love, pursuit, or a sycophantic mentality..."

The Phoenix King merely listened to the sacrifice of her friend, the Goth People's resistance and will—these motives and reasons—she grasped the most crucial information. "You don't Tina?"

"If it's the kind of love where you'd sacrifice everything for her, be with her for life, have many children, and feel you can't live without her, then I don't have that kind of love yet."

--temporary.

The Phoenix King then asked, "So, do you plan to marry Tina?"

In the eyes of the king, or most people in this world, marriage and love are not necessarily connected.

Kang De shrugged. "Not yet."

"Why not?" Dairila said. "Princess Tina's beauty is something even I admire. She seems like a good woman, and she's grateful to you enough. There's also enough goodwill between you. Love can be nurtured after marriage. Marrying Princess Goth will solidify your alliance, and it will also..."

Kang De interrupted her, sighing, "I'm not used to making my marriage a purely utilitarian affair. I don't plan to get married for the time being, and there's only one reason..."

"Why? I need to know."

Wow, you're such a gossip!

As the other party scrutinized his lies, Kang De sighed. To make it clearer for the Phoenix King that he wasn't lying, he looked up into the other's eyes, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to the side as he softly said, "Because... I haven't decided yet."

Tina, Xiaoman, A Xing, and even other women... These beautiful faces floated into his mind, one after another. He wasn't stupid; he knew Tina's deep affection and A Xing's attachment to him. In Japanese manga, gentle boys don't choose any of them, preferring to drag things out, because once they make a choice, all the old relationships will immediately deteriorate and collapse, leading to a chaotic future.

Escaping is shameful but useful, so the lighthearted romantic comedy can continue. We'll deal with tomorrow's problems tomorrow. And, men are all big jerks; only children make choices. Kang De considered himself a mature adult, but deep down he harbored a foolish, naive, and greedy ambition—that is...

"--wishful thinking!"

The Phoenix King's sharp shout resounded in his mind, shattering his naive delusions.

Kang De snapped out of his daze and met Dairila's gaze, only to see two blazing phoenix flames emanating from the T-shaped opening of the Phoenix Wing Helmet. It was the Phoenix King condemning and judging him with an unprecedentedly stern look.

The gaze evoked his shame, making him feel like a shameful leech on a Chinese internet social media platform, surrounded by boxers from all sides, being beaten with lightning-fast punches, leaving him trembling, cold-handed, and sweating profusely in the sweltering heat.

He lowered his head in shame, apologizing for his greed, delusions, and objectification of women. "I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have had such shameful and greedy thoughts, deluding myself into things I shouldn't have..."

At least at this moment, Kang De's guilt and shame were more genuine than ever before. His sincere tone and humble demeanor were all from the heart, and this sincerity was reflected in the Phoenix King's vision that reached straight to the soul.

Then Kang De heard Dairila's hesitant voice.

"I... I was a bit harsh. Actually... it's not like there's absolutely no chance... no... I mean... never mind! What you think is none of my business!"

Her voice rose, tinged with impatience. "Do whatever you want! It's none of my business!"

Kang De saw the firelight inside the helmet grow even brighter, almost filling the entire helmet. The Phoenix King's voice rang out again. "Then... I'll state my conditions!"

"... Please speak."

"There is only one condition for taking the prisoner from me!" the Phoenix King declared, "And that is you, Kang De: you are not allowed to marry Tina-Taidariel!"

Ah?

Kang De looked bewildered—"Are you some Zhou Zhiruo from somewhere?"

He asked in astonishment, "Why?"

"There's no reason why!"

Dairila first spoke with an air of regal authority, then, feeling the need to explain, she sneered, "If you don't marry Tina, your relationship with Goth cannot be truly solidified and bound together. Your righteous deeds cannot continue, your alliance has no foundation, and sooner or later there will be ways to divide and dismantle you... Hmph hmph hmph..."

But the Grand Duke has two daughters and a younger sister.

Of course, he shouldn't say such things in front of her. Kang De shook his head. The idea was good, but not very meaningful. After all, not being able to get married didn't mean he couldn't [beep--]. Besides, whether or not he got married had no necessary connection with whether or not he helped Goth. This condition wasn't too harsh.

He asked, "What about the time limit?"

Dairila replied without hesitation, "Permanent, of course!"

"That won't do," Kang De said, looking at the Phoenix King. "Trading this eternal promise for a prisoner is a losing proposition for me; it's not a fair trade."

The flames inside the Phoenix King's helmet burned even brighter. "What are you dreaming about now?"

After a moment, she snorted, "Fine, then here's the timeframe: you can't marry Tina until everything is resolved this time—is that alright?"

Kang De frowned and asked, "This time? Are you referring to Goth's war with the elves?"

"Of course not... Kang De, the Parliament has reopened the war behind my back. Where does their audacity come from? Who orchestrated tonight's attack? Kang De, although I don't have absolute certainty, I can sense an underlying malice. The last operation was unintentionally thwarted, but those enemies won't let it go. As you help Goth and demonstrate increasing influence and deterrence, the potential threats you face also grow. You'd better figure out who the enemy is and who the friend is."

Kang De felt a slight jolt in his heart.

An enemy from outer space.

That was one of the main reasons Dairila came to Valentan. The attack on him was unintentionally thwarted by the Sword Saint Cascading Snow, but according to Hilmeria, he was a formidable enemy she would never encounter in her life. Moreover, before the battle even began, the enemy had already expended considerable energy and suffered serious injuries; otherwise, she might not have survived.

He asked, "Was tonight's attack... related to them?"

"I don't know, and I won't interfere with your judgment. As far as I know, they not only send out their henchmen directly, but they also have hidden servants in the Mortal World. As for whether the one plotting tonight's events is an enemy from beyond the heavens or an enemy from the Mortal World, I'll leave that to you to decide."

The Phoenix King said, "Then, do you agree?"

Kang De confirmed, "So, you mean we should wait until our car overturns and those extraterrestrial visitors..."

"How long-winded! Then it will end when I've eliminated the internal strife among the elves and ended the conflict with Song Moon!" she said impatiently. "If you try to bargain any further, I'm leaving!"

"Good, good, good!" Kang De exclaimed, "Deal! Deal!"

The Phoenix King snorted again, brandishing his King's Sword. The sword parted the void, and a blood-soaked figure fell out. "I'm also including the forbidden secrets of the Twilight Moon Royal Family. You don't need to worry about what will happen to him."

She glanced outside. "The Goth People, who can't be your wife, aunt, father-in-law, or sister-in-law for the time being, is coming back. I don't want to see them. I'm leaving. Oh, right, this..."

She seemed to be trying to take something out when Kang De called out, "Wait!"

Dairila stopped in her tracks.

Kang De said, "That move just now... you can hide things in some kind of space?"

The Phoenix King said, "This is a bit troublesome to teach... No, I don't want to teach you!"

Who needs your instruction? I have my own personal storage space too; I'll show it to you and scare you to death.

Kang De shook his head and said, "Wait a moment."

Breaking through the dim light and returning to the White Mist World, he headed straight for a certain spot in the neighborhood. In less than a minute, he reappeared carrying large and small boxes, which he had prepared in advance.

"Take these, they're all your favorite foods."

Kang De, carrying a box twice his height, walked up to Dairila: "Is there room for it? Otherwise, you'll have to carry it like this all the way out of Danfeng Lucerne."

Dairila silently took the box, and a space opened up, causing the items to vanish instantly.

Before leaving, she roughly shoved what she was holding into Kang De's pocket.

"Take it, you weakling," she said gruffly. "A return gift, or throw it away if you have any doubts."

Before Kang De could even pull it out, the other person vanished in a flash.

Kang De took out the item, a simple ring engraved with sacred symbols. Its design was not elven, but it shone with a very familiar light... That's right!

Kang De immediately recalled that this fluctuation of power was exactly the same as the Crimson Scroll that the Great Bus had given him.

This is...

He looked up, Phoenix King had already disappeared. Clearly, Dairila shared the same bad habit as the gods—not providing instructions.

"Father."

Iron Son spoke again.

"Um?"

Horus's voice was solemn, admiring, and sincerely convinced. "I admit that you are stronger now. I have lost, and I still have a lot to learn."

"Um????"

Anyway, tonight's efforts weren't in vain.

Kang De looked at the prisoner who had been brutally beaten by the Phoenix King; the prisoner lay on the ground like a dead pig.

It cost me over a thousand yuan to buy this.

We need to get closer.

￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥￥

PS1: Jumping around a bit... but I had a pretty good time writing tonight. Goodnight.