Packing Up

The atmosphere in the study was somber and cold.

Kang De remained calm, reached out and gripped Qiaobu's neck, looking directly into his eyes.

No force was used.

But the messenger from the Broken Isles felt his breath catch in his throat, enveloped in an indescribable terror, as if everything he had was under the control of the other side.

Past, present, future.

Life, death, soul.

He felt a sense of fear, followed by shame.

How could you do this!

Shame, frustration, fear, disgrace... a whole host of emotions welled up inside me.

The human named Qiaobu was born into a noble family in the Broken Isles. They control the trade and economy of the western seas, using money as leverage to influence the national economy and people's livelihood. They believe that everything in the world can be sold, and that the power of wealth is supreme. They have woven a vast network of interests with friends all over the world and profited from it, maintaining the independence of the Broken Isles despite the covetousness of other nations.

In such circumstances, a kind of illusion called arrogance will always permeate people's hearts.

They were accustomed to trading, disregarding so-called morality, following their own laws, and selling everything of value, whether it was grain, cloth, contraband, or even living intelligent beings.

They had become accustomed to the power of money; wealth could corrupt loyalty, erode steadfastness, make humanity ugly, cause living beings to abandon their dignity, make kings bow their heads, and make beggars noble. Thus, they believed that money could do everything, and that those who controlled money were the most powerful.

Following this idea, Qiaobu came to the Distant Harbor as an envoy.

They were going to use a magic spell called money on Kang De.

Luste and others were detained? They were ransomed with money and benefits.

Kang De was angered by the food price war? He tried to appease it with more money and benefits.

This is the creed of the Broken Isles: everything in the world can be bought with money.

If it can't be resolved, there are only two reasons.

Either you don't have enough money, or you're buying it the wrong way.

Therefore, they have already formulated a strategy to quell Kang De's anger and plan for the future. In fact, Kang De's use of spatial magic to transport a huge amount of food has made the merchants of these Broken Isles smell a huge business opportunity. They even plan to modify their previous diplomatic strategy and try to ease the relationship with Kang De.

This level of material delivery surpasses all the carts, horses, and cargo ships in the world.

Yes, the greedy merchants have found something new they want.

They want to buy Kang De's spatial teleportation ability.

And Kang De's... Forbidden Spell.

They are already preparing their chips and capital.

This negotiation was only the first step in easing tensions—using the Broken Isles' enormous commercial advantages to help Kang De control the country, absorbing him into the Broken Isles, and providing him with massive material, human, and financial support to dispel previous unpleasantness and hostility.

Then, Kang De can be woven into a vast net.

After all, according to their calculations, the nations would develop special offensive spells that could restrict large-scale spatial teleportation and resist Forbidden Spell as quickly as possible. Once these projects were successful, Kang De's threat level would decrease dramatically, and at that time, the plan to capture Kang De and use him for their own purposes would reach its final stage.

However, these island lords with their keen business sense, having been in business for so long, have completely transformed their thinking into that of merchants. They believe that everything in the world can be resolved through transactions—perhaps this is indeed the case in another world, after all, even a noble Phoenix King is subject to the Silver Moon Council, the emperors of the human world need the support of the electors, and the monarchs of nations can hardly act based on their own whims.

But Kang De was clearly different.

All he wants to do is kill and rob, just like the green-skinned thugs from the north.

A sense of incomprehensible absurdity, mixed with fear and unease, erupted in Qiaobu's heart.

He both envied and despised Kang De.

He possesses unparalleled Forbidden Spell power, enabling him to stand shoulder to shoulder with other nations. Yet, his behavior is arrogant like a nouveau riche and rude like a barbarian. He has no army, no foundation, no wealth, and no territory. He has achieved such status and accomplishments in just a few months since appearing before the world—how did he do it?

Looking directly into Kang De's eyes, Qiaobu suddenly let out a contemptuous laugh.

He's going to use the negotiation tactics of the Broken Isles.

Simply laugh in front of your opponent and get them to ask, "What are you laughing at?" to get into your own rhythm.

Kang De frowned.

Then he raised his hand and slapped her across the face. "Are you laughing at your mother, you stupid idiot?"

Qiaobu's cheek swelled up visibly, but his body reacted much faster than his brain; he hadn't even realized what had just happened.

Three seconds later, he finally erupted in rage, wanting to retaliate but daring not to. He could only instinctively cover his face, shouting fiercely, "What are you doing! Kang De! What's the difference between you and a bandit!"

Kang De explained reservedly, "I possess weapons of mass destruction."

Qiaobu yelled in frustration, "Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you have Forbidden Spell?"

"Otherwise what?" Kang De asked in surprise, "Otherwise why didn't you dare to fight back?"

" --Kang De!" Qiaobu shouted sternly, "You have used Forbidden Spell and force to bully and coerce the Broken Isles, and the whole world will know your infamy! The righteous will stand up against you!"

Kang De sighed, "How did I become the villain? You all seem quite innocent?"

Qiaobu covered his face, his voice filled with pain. "I don't believe that righteous people would wantonly humiliate the messenger, nor do I believe that righteous people would recklessly use force to oppress the weak!"

Kang De clicked his tongue and said, "Then why did you, our envoy, come here?"

"Because you detained our people and confiscated our property and funds in the Azure Waves Province!"

"Then why were they detained?" Kang De asked coldly. "Your people are using money to stir up trouble in the Azure Waves Province, driving up grain prices, destabilizing the social foundations, and neglecting the starving people..."

Qiaobu argued, "We are businessmen! Businessmen pursue profit, buying low and selling high—it's always been this way! What happened before was just normal business behavior; your brutal vigilante justice is interfering with our right to free trade!"

"No, this is called hoarding and speculation, this is a crime, it's my law."

Kang De met Qiaobu's defiant gaze with a smile.

"Fine, you want to reason things out, then I'll talk to you about reason today."

"Broken Isles, I didn't even know where you were before. We could say we had no past grudges, so how did we become enemies recently? After the Paradox Element was made public, fools all over the world wanted a piece of the pie. Apart from the three kingdoms, you Broken Isles were the most excited. You organized fleets of all sizes, dreaming of sailing into Goth territory and making a fortune..."

Upon hearing this, Qiaobu said, "We admit that this approach wasn't very appropriate, but didn't you also cast Forbidden Spell, preventing the fleet from setting sail? And we did afterwards..."

"Oh," Kang De said, "Okay, I'll remember that. You wanted to harm me, but when you got close, I swung my stick at you. You were in so much pain and scared that you had no choice but to give up and slink away. So your logic is—although I wanted to harm you, because you were prepared and hit me with your stick, I failed. Seeing that I couldn't gain anything, I left, so that's the end of it. If I pursue it further, it's bullying, it's being unreasonable, is that how you put it?"

Qiaobu was speechless.

"Don't feel embarrassed. I've seen the world. Your shameless double standards aren't unprecedented, or rather, most of the world is full of people like you."

Kang De waved his hand. "Alright, let's leave this matter here for now—you said that after I threw away the Forbidden Spell, we were even, but what about your subsequent attempt to manipulate grain prices?"

Since things had come to this point, Qiaobu decided to stop hiding anything.

Besides, the Broken Isles are in the right in this matter.

"Does Your Highness feel you bear no responsibility whatsoever?" he gritted his teeth. "What did you say to the nobles of Distant Harbor the other day? That you wanted to make Distant Harbor great again, to reclaim its position as a trading hub... Since you've already shown this hostile attitude, why can't we take action?"

"Oh, I understand now."

Kang De, his face expressionless, nodded. "When we say we want to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, you think we want to destroy you, you think we want to replace you, so you don't allow it, and when you hear that you take the initiative to bully us, wanting us to be forever groveling on the ground—is that what you mean?"

Qiaobu asked blankly, "What?"

"Learn from history," Kang De sighed. "You see, I knew all along how to deal with you."

The envoy's heart skipped a beat.

"You came here to talk, right? We can talk, but I only have three requirements."

Kang De held up three fingers in sequence.

"First, in this economic war in the Azure Waves Province, all those involved with foreign funds from the Broken Isles, at every stage—including those who made the decisions, mobilized the funds, and expressed support—must be arrested and executed by the Broken Isles. This process must be conducted under the supervision of the special envoys of the Inquisition, and all the property of all prisoners shall be paid to the West Goth Company as compensation."

"Secondly, the Azure Waves Province Broken Isles should unconditionally provide the Distant Harbor authorities with a complete list of all Goth nobles, officials, military personnel, and other individuals with whom you have interests in recent years, and unconditionally transfer all your related industries in Goth to Goth West Goth Company."

"Third, the Broken Isles have pledged allegiance to me, and I will take 50% of all businesses and shares. From today onward, you must fully cooperate in relocating the western sea commercial center back to the Distant Harbor, and play your role and contribute to the upcoming new city construction and large-scale development strategy, proving yourselves worthy of my forgiveness and tolerance—if you do well, perhaps you will have a place in my future Shogunate."

Upon hearing the latter part of the first point, Qiaobu's expression completely changed.

He forced himself to listen to the last sentence, his face contorted with extreme anger and a forced smile.

"This is absolutely unacceptable..."

"Shh."

Kang De shook his finger. "It's not up to you. Take this to your island lords."

"The island owners will certainly not agree to such a request!"

Qiaobu retorted angrily, "Your Highness Kang De, this is not how you negotiate. If you are dissatisfied, you can make your demands, and we will appease your anger with sufficient sincerity. You should propose constructive conditions, instead of venting your frustration by offering an exorbitant price that is impossible to fulfill..."

How is this not constructive?

Kang De spread his hands and said, "If I were to conquer the Broken Isles, I could take your lives, the lives of your families, and all your possessions. Your businesses would all be mine, and I could get my hands on your lists. But now I'm allowing you to surrender voluntarily, leaving you half as a reward for being sensible. Isn't that fair?"

The envoy scoffed, "To surrender voluntarily and still retain half your wealth? It seems that His Highness Kang De, with his well-trained and well-supplied troops, doesn't need to send a large army; he can make you pay half your stake."

Kang De seemed oblivious to the sarcasm, nodding and saying, "You're right, I should indeed take more; after all, even without war, I would still suffer losses."

Qiaobu asked in confusion, "What loss?"

Kang De looked at him and slowly smiled, "If I don't fight against you, a bunch of weaklings with practically no strategic depth, where else can I find a whetstone to train my troops?"

The man in purple looked surprised. He wanted to say something, but at that moment, Kang De shouted, "Guards!"

The door was flung open, and two Suppressors of Rebellion black robes billowing, strode in!

Kang De said calmly, "Take him away."

Judging from their physiques, Suppressors of Rebellion of the elves. They extended their large, fan-like hands, each pressing down on one of Qiaobu's shoulders. The iron grip and battle-hardened killing intent instantly shattered any will to resist. The messengers of the Broken Isles finally felt a sense of unease—what was Kang De planning?

He proclaimed, "I am an envoy! I am an envoy from the Broken Isles! Your Highness Kang De! This concerns your reputation and honor! And it will surely bring you..."

Kang De ignored him and walked straight out of the study.

Two Suppressors of Rebellion followed behind, carrying Qiaobu on their backs.

Descending from the third floor and stepping out the gate, the guards on both sides stood at attention and saluted. Qiaobu's mouth was gagged with a rag, and he was whimpering and looking around. Then, in a corner of the front garden, he saw his entourage and companions. Luer's thick, dark body was struggling helplessly.

That scene was bloody and horrific.

The cruel elf crushed Luer's jaw and plunged a long iron nail into his tongue, while two spellcasters waved magical beams beside him, one with Life Healing and the other with Awakening Wisdom.

He was then pinned down, his dying, desperate power being suppressed by the even stronger elves. One of the Suppressors of Rebellion raised his mace, aimed it at the strong man's groin, and swung it down hard.

Seeing this, Qiaobu didn't even rebuke or berate Kang De, nor did he have any thought of standing up for his companion. An overwhelming fear suddenly surged into his heart, and he realized something terrible.

Kang De overheard their earlier conversation inside the carriage!

He looked at Kang De, his eyes filled with extreme fear.

A jeep was parked in front of the manor villa.

Kang De sat in the passenger seat, driven by Hong San. The two Suppressors of Rebellion pushed Qiaobu into the back seat, one on each side, sandwiching him in the middle and restricting all his movements.

Let's go.

The car started moving slowly.

Qiaobu first rode in Kang De's alchemical vehicle, under normal circumstances, he would have quickly realized its convenience and business opportunities, and would have tried every means to obtain exclusive sales rights.

But now, he no longer has that feeling.

The scenery on both sides kept receding as they left the manor and drove along the wide, flat road toward the Distant Harbor. Qiaobu tried to say something, but his mouth was gagged, and he could only make muffled noises. Then even that right was taken away as the elf beside him grabbed his neck as a warning.

He could only keep his mouth shut to show he understood. The elf released his iron grip, and Qiaobu heard Kang De, sitting in the front row, exchange a few words with the person next to him in Zhendan Language.

Then he saw Kang De reach out and press a few times on a panel in the center of the vehicle that resembled an alchemy control panel, seemingly activating some kind of button.

"We are ordered to create chaos in the Azure Waves Province..."

He heard a familiar voice.

Luste!

Qiaobu looked horrified, but when he looked around, Luste wasn't in the car. The voice came from a strange device in the center of the vehicle, and the owner of the voice was someone he knew, Luste, the young master of the Broken Isles Weideng Chamber of Commerce. One of his missions this time was to redeem him.

At that moment, his voice emanated from the alchemical device.

"Driving up grain prices..."

"Large numbers of civilians starved to death..."

His voice was filled with extreme weakness, fear, and collapse, as if he were confessing after being subjected to cruel torture. He spoke in great detail, completely lacking the composure and demeanor of an elegant young nobleman.

"Inciting riots..."

"Spreading rumors..."

Qiaobu looked blankly out the window, because he heard the same voice outside, overlapping with the conversation inside the car, seemingly both near and far, like a hallucination.

He looked out the window. Among the bright and beautiful buildings of Saint Francis in the Distant Harbor, Zhuzi stood tall, Zhuzi topped with a morning glory-like magical device that amplified tremendous sounds. Flying alchemical golems wandered around, also equipped with amplifying magical devices...

The enormous roar grew ever closer.

That was the angry cry of the people.

"Criminal! Criminal! Criminal!"

Punish them! Punish them!

Through the car window, Qiaobu saw angry crowds on the street, waving their fists, cursing and hurling insults at the cold-blooded people of the Broken Isles, and shouting for revenge and war.

They were like a herd of bloodthirsty cattle and sheep.

He saw corpses hanging from long Zhuzi, swaying gently in the sea breeze. Revenge and punishment had been the main themes of the city recently. Intelligence indicated that Kang De had been executing the key participants in this food price war, regardless of whether they were nobles or how high their titles were.

He heard voices other than repentance coming from the loudspeaker.

The voice belonged to an old man.

"It's time to show our true strength. The Broken Isles underestimated our resolve..."

The vehicle passed angry crowds, displayed corpses, and waves of angry shouts and the voices of criminals confessing, until it reached the southeast corner of the city and slowly came to a stop next to an arena.

Someone opened the car door outside, and Qiaobu felt an unprecedented terror.

He struggled, trying to express something to His Highness Kang De in the front row, but the Suppressors of Rebellion only gave him a light tug, and he fell out of the carriage like a chick. Outside the carriage, mutated hunting dogs were barking wildly, and black-robed figures stood all around. He was picked up and dragged towards the entrance of the arena.

A frenzied roar emanated from it, all of it the violent howls of men.

They clamor for death, punishment, and revenge.

He was dragged into the arena like a dead dog. He looked around in terror and found it full of people, all of them looking panicked and fearful, some crying loudly, others howling in agony.

The stands were filled with ragged, lowly people, each dressed in such shabby and simple clothes, yet each with a bloodthirsty, mad expression on their face.

A big shot like Qiaobu usually sat in the best box in the arena of the Broken Isles, watching the rough and savage fighters below fight to the death, while he, his friends and companions chatted and commented—but now, everything has been turned upside down.

He saw Luste of the Weyden family, his obsequious henchman Aona, many familiar faces, the observers sent to the Azure Waves Province, and employees of numerous merchant guilds.

"Luste!"

He rushed up to the heir of the Weyden family, shouting, "What are you doing! We..."

The other person's handsome face was covered in blood and grime, and he was just smiling foolishly.

The people around them had also completely lost their minds and were just wailing.

They were once powerful figures in the business world, wielding enormous sums of money and resources to stir up trouble, but now they have collapsed like pigs and dogs, excrement and urine flowing freely, weeping and begging loudly.

Like the lowest of maggots.

Meanwhile, the commoners in the audience were laughing wildly, mocking, and ridiculing.

The food chain has been reversed, and this sense of identity dislocation feels absurd, like a monkey wearing a crown or a farmer sitting on a throne.

Clearly, no one holds these important figures in awe anymore.

The people at the bottom of society, who had long suffered from bullying and contempt, now revealed their bloodthirsty malice.

From the highest platform, Kang De gazed at this scene and sighed silently.

Hong San, standing to the side, said, "Your Highness, perhaps..."

Kang De shook his head and said, "No need... It's better to be ugly and aggressive than to remain subservient."

He glanced at Hong San as he said this, then added, "I wasn't talking about you."

Hong San smiled and said, "I know."

"Having broken their sense of awe and dispelled their fear of the nobility, today's matter is considered settled," Kang De said. "Now it's time to temper them... If they want a good life, they have to earn it with their lives. Waiting for my charity? There's no such thing as a free lunch."

"Yes."

"Then..." Kang De said, "Kill them."

The clang of metal on metal, the lever turning, the gun in place, the ammunition belt spinning.

The turrets on the high platform above the arena suddenly turned with a hum.

In the center of the arena, Qiaobu finally ripped the rag from his mouth and cried out, "Your Highness Kang De! I was wrong! Please don't do this! I'm willing to..."

The next moment, his shouts were drowned out by the violent roar.

Flames erupted, and gunpowder exploded.

A sudden burst of intense light and smoke erupted as large-caliber ammunition streaked through the air like lightning, and tracer rounds pierced the sky like arrows of light. In an instant, as if the scythe of death had swept across the crowd, the speculators and economic criminals from the Broken Isles were instantly torn apart. Their severed bodies were crisscrossed with blood, and the intense heat of the fire sealed the broken limbs. Explosion, cutting, separation.

In an instant, the two-hundred-year-old arena witnessed its bloodiest moment.

Heads exploded like watermelons, bodies shattered and torn apart. Amidst countless deaths and screams, a purple figure helplessly dodged, fell, and crawled.

Qiaobu witnessed this most brutal death up close.

The familiar figure shattered and tore apart. He saw Luste's handsome face explode and twist. He screamed and crawled, but the deadly bullets seemed to deliberately avoid him. Under the flashing tracer bullets, the rays of death began to outline Qiaobu's body.

He listened to the whooshing wind and explosions around him, watched the blood flow like a river and flesh burst open. He rolled and ran among the blood and gore, and collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. From beginning to end, he was not harmed at all.

Meanwhile, in the audience, the able-bodied men who had signed up after hearing His Highness Kang De's recruitment notice were vomiting uncontrollably, their fear and nausea creating a scene reminiscent of hell.

Life is so fragile.

So fragile.

The flower of death eventually withers, light and shadow fade, and silence descends.

Kang De gazed at the bloody execution ground and said calmly, "Check the quality of the applicants, record their reactions and demeanor, and pack up the prisoners."

Qiaobu sat amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, laughing foolishly.

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PS1: Ah, I'll find some time to play Rance 10 these next couple of days... I have to say, in these past few years, amidst the various political correctness trends among Westerners, the Japan are truly a beacon of humanity, Kannako.