The Mortal World, the Enemy, Stop

Some say that diplomacy is about using the most elegant words to express the most vile thoughts.

If that's the case, then in these past few days of negotiations, the Arcane Council has been thoroughly humiliated by Distant Harbor's elegant diplomatic rhetoric.

This is probably the most humiliating negotiation this country has ever experienced since its Jianguo.

This naturally enraged the members of the Starry Sky Council, who were furious and cursing.

Even if they couldn't be at the negotiating table in person, the councilors could still keep track of the progress of the negotiations in real time through expensive magical communication methods. Everyone who tried to observe the negotiation process was on edge.

The attitude from the Distant Harbor was arrogant and lazy.

When greedy, they act like hyenas, selling extraterrestrial matter by the gram, offering ransoms for captives at prices comparable to their weight in gold, and Council's core technology with an attitude of "take it or leave it."

Not only that, they actually said to my face, "If you don't buy it, Twilight Moon and the Empire will. Is it really okay to fall behind in such an important research and development field?"

The elegant and dignified diplomatic rules that were customary on the mainland, and the aristocratic honors that Goth had established since the time of Pirate King, were all completely ruined by that damned Princess Tina.

Moreover, when implementing the terms of the agreement, they are as lazy as sloths, scrutinizing and studying even the smallest clause repeatedly. Don't ask questions, because if you do, it's because they don't trust you and want to see if any rhetorical traps have been laid.

If they felt the other party was delaying, a slight urging would earn them an innocent look and a question like, "Are you in a hurry?" which would send chills down the spines of the councilors.

This is absolutely intolerable.

The Starry Sky Council was still filled with profanity and insults. Anyone who had watched the negotiations for three days would have their patience worn thin, no matter how good they were. But...

"What is that Aokexindun guy good for?!"

"Is there nothing else he's good at besides selling weapons and spreading death?"

"Our allies in Yilan-Tai'er are anxiously awaiting our rescue. To delay too long and be demoted by our future allies—can he bear that responsibility?!"

"He mustn't have made some secret agreement with Kang De, helping the Cathayan buy time!"

The factions supporting Aokexindun and the opposition were locked in a fierce battle, and negotiations at the front were progressing very slowly. Yet, the Starry Sky Council still sparked the flames of freedom, and the great system radiated vitality.

The Grand Speaker swept his gaze across the chamber with a sinister expression. Like his predecessors, he had questioned the necessity and legitimacy of the parliament countless times, wishing he could exterminate all these selfish idiots. But sometimes legitimacy is meaningless, because whether legitimacy is right or wrong, they are all here, deeply rooted, closely bound to the country, with countless ties, too big to fail, too big to fall.

He sighed silently, then said, "In any case, we must expedite the negotiation process."

The councilors also noticed that the Grand Speaker was in a bad mood. Even though they all had extraordinary backgrounds and immense power, they still had to respect this de facto supreme ruler. If they, the core councilors, were the nobles of this country, then the Speaker was undoubtedly the greatest noble... a duke or a king.

At least the foolish Aokexindun offended the Grand Speaker and was banished to Distant Harbor to preside over negotiations, suffering humiliation at the hands of the Cathayan without any recourse. To avoid becoming the second Aokexindun, the members of parliament don't mind maintaining a facade of respect and obedience, especially at this crucial moment.

They stopped arguing, fell silent, and returned to the topic of negotiation.

In response to the Speaker's proposal, one member of parliament said, "But frustratingly, the success of the negotiations depends not on us, but on the attitude of Distant Harbor."

The speaker snorted, "Cathayan Kang De, a greedy hyena, swaggering and arrogant. He wants to take this opportunity to humiliate and blackmail us. He's enjoying the glory and joy of victory. He wants to see us bow down and give in. No, he's an extreme utilitarian and pragmatic person. He'd rather gain more benefits from us than see us make a fool of ourselves..."

The lawmakers nodded in agreement.

In recent days, the dissemination of Kant's theories within the Arcane Council has been very successful. Think tanks are constantly updating their data, attempting to delineate the character traits of the Dragon of Cathay from Kang De's words and actions.

Recent conclusions suggest they are hypocritical and adept at concealing their true intentions, and greedy and unscrupulous in their pursuit of profit.

He likes to use the banner of morality to achieve his nefarious goals. Under the guise of upholding justice, he completed the purge of the Distant Harbor aristocracy and gained the approval of the foolish commoners with small favors. In order to restore Distant Harbor's status as the commercial center of the West Coast, he even orchestrated the great catastrophe of the Broken Isles.

--Yes, the idea that "Kang De is responsible for the destruction of the Broken Isles" is very popular within the Council, and many conspiracy theorists believe it was a conspiracy by the Cathayan, and their arguments are well-founded.

The sea monsters awakened and devoured everything. The Broken Isles, which had been an enemy of Kang De and had seized the status of the Distant Harbor's commercial hub, collapsed with a deafening roar. Even with the strength and resources of the Council, the horrific disaster could not be dealt with calmly.

However, Kang De, with only a small city, launched an unprecedented rescue operation, mobilizing manpower and resources, initiating rescue efforts, and killing sea monsters. The series of actions were carried out in one go, and things were done quickly and well. In the end, he became the only beneficiary of this disaster.

--What the Council struggled to do quickly, you accomplished with ease, Kang De. And you still claim you were unaware? You clearly planned this all along and did it intentionally!

Driven by these conspiracy theories, so-called think tanks have increasingly darkened their portrayals of Kang De's character, and even rational dissenting voices have been drowned out by the tide of political correctness.

Yes, opposing Kang De was the most politically correct thing to Council at that time.

Because everyone knows that the councilors of the Starry Sky Council are extremely hostile to the Cathayan; because everyone knows that Kang De has repeatedly rejected the Council's goodwill and harmed the interests of the Mage Kingdom; and most importantly, if Kang De is kind, upright, and responsible, then what are we?

Do you dare say that Kang De saved the civilians on the Broken Isles purely out of a belief in goodness and integrity?

The lawmakers want to fire you, so why don't you quickly list this as evidence? Trying to rescue useless, low-value civilians who are everywhere is just overacting and going too far. This shows that Kang De has something to hide, so he uses this method to prove his justice and goodness.

Therefore, he was mostly responsible for the events in the Broken Isles.

The think tanks picked out the arguments the congressmen wanted to hear, and when the congressmen saw that the think tanks had reached the same conclusions as they had, their own ideas and impressions became even more solidified, and they came to think of Kang De as a despicable villain.

Based on the idea that "there is no need to follow the code of chivalry when dealing with demonic cult members," they also considered using underhanded tactics during this negotiation.

The core objective of the negotiations was to quickly acquire a sufficient amount of relic materials.

So the councilors' initial plan was to give Kang De a blank check, and then use the excuse of "long preparation time and slow transportation" to get Kang De to agree to deliver the Yilan-Tai'er substance ahead of schedule. Once they received it, the Council could immediately begin the rescue plan.

We'll discuss other matters after rescuing the remnants of the Yilan-Tai'er and bringing them back to their homeland.

If the remnants of the era have other channels and methods to obtain these three substances, then Kang De can go to hell with them. What agreements, what treaties, to hell with them! We don't recognize them, we've never heard of them.

It must be said that this method is extremely effective and has a high success rate. This is because the Council a world power, and its national strength, financial resources, and prestige are a great guarantee of credibility. If it were a small country, it would most likely have been fooled without even realizing it.

As for the subsequent Council tearing up the agreement and acting as if nothing happened... what can a small country like yours do about it?

Is it economic sanctions or military retaliation? I'll give you a chance to rephrase your question.

Are they spreading rumors that I have broken my promises and that my country's credibility and diplomatic reputation will be damaged?

What a joke! As long as the Arcane Council continues to recruit and train more than half of the spellcasters from around the world, as long as this country firmly holds the colonies of the southern island city-states, and as long as this country still possesses one of the top three most powerful military forces on the continent, then the country's credibility will always be at its maximum!

Even if you know I'm a bastard, even if you know I'm just blackmailing and messing with you, even if you know I have bad intentions, whatever I say goes, and you have no choice but to obey.

The legislators knew that might was the only rule, and they were used to playing this game, often doing so. This tactic of bullying smaller countries was always effective, so much so that they instinctively applied this strategy to Distant Harbor, or rather, to Kang De.

Then the Cathayan slapped them across the face.

The proposal to take the goods first and pay later was brutally rejected; Distant Harbor said no.

You can only take delivery of the goods once the money is in place.

No matter how much the negotiating ministers pleaded and discussed the matter, Distant Harbor simply wouldn't budge.

When pressed, he snapped at her and said something like, "I'll just give you a piece of my mind."

His Highness Kang De did not believe that bandits who, having failed to seize the goods by force, were now sheepishly trying to pay for them, would obediently hand over the money after receiving the goods.

These words were so harsh that they were not even recorded in the negotiation documents.

When the message was relayed back to the Starry Sky Council, it unsurprisingly garnered a barrage of angry and furious insults.

"We must obtain the three relics as soon as possible... Kang De was a utilitarian, greedy animal; he valued profit over reputation, so we can make appropriate concessions."

The speaker announced his proposal.

One lawmaker questioned, "Refund? The current price is already outrageous enough!"

"But it's ultimately a barter system, isn't it? At least the Alchemical Ordnance Center and the Rune Workshop can receive new orders. The craftsmen and slaves he wants—the colonies have plenty of those. Kang De is very interested in our magical patents and enchanting technology; giving him a portion of those wouldn't be a problem..."

The Grand Speaker said calmly, "After all, we can get something better from Yilan-Tai'er."

"That being said..." another legislator said, "But the attitude of the Distant Harbor Port is lazy, and Kang De insists on payment before taking delivery. I'm worried they'll drag this out for a month..."

"Then let's raise the stakes to something that will make Kang De happy to agree."

The Grand Speaker's eyes flickered. "At this stage, we only need to obtain two tons of relic materials. In my opinion, we can negotiate with Kang De to turn the relic material trade into a steady monthly transaction. Tell him that we are willing to import three tons of extraterrestrial materials from the Distant Harbor every month, and we can even pay in advance and pay a high deposit, so that this trade becomes a continuous and large business..."

He sneered, "In short, let's get our hands on the first batch of goods first, and use it to rescue Yilan-Tai'er. Once we succeed, we'll find a way to make Kang De pay back all the costs of this big deal... After all, agreements can be torn up at any time!"

The councilors exchanged glances, pondered for a moment, and felt that there seemed to be nothing wrong with it.

The speaker looked around. "Let's begin the vote."

Arms rose one by one.

The plan has been approved.

"Send this proposal to Aokexindun and ask him to make a suggestion."

The council documents were obeyed, the crystal panel emitted a brilliant glow, and the councilors discussed among themselves. One said, "This is probably still too slow... loading and transporting will take time."

The speaker sighed, "There's no other way but to resolve this through negotiation—the first batch of barter items should ideally focus on small goods or even patented technologies..."

After a short while, the council clerk said with a strange expression, "Speaker, Your Excellencies, the negotiating mission has sent word that Distant Harbor has responded to our proposal."

Everyone perked up. "What's the response?"

"Theoretically, I agree, but the goods for the first month's trade need to be specified by the Distant Harbor, focusing on various types of military magical devices, magical tactical equipment, and high-level magical supplies, as well as patented technology knowledge..."

The lawmakers frowned. "It will probably take quite a while to gather, load, and transport these goods to Distant Harbor."

"Regarding this, the Distant Harbor can utilize His Highness Kang De's spatial teleportation ability to retrieve the goods themselves..."

The clerk's voice was like heavenly music, soothing the members' worries and turning their sorrow into joy. However, the next moment, their joyful expressions froze on their faces.

"But the Council to pay for this, and the price is extremely high, because it requires the Dragon of Cathay to personally transport the goods. The project is called 'Kang Express,' the top-tier exclusive service in West Goth Company's logistics business..."

After a brief silence, the lawmakers resumed their grumbling.

"... I agree."

After several days of clashes and protracted negotiations, the talks between Distant Harbor and the Arcane Council finally made substantial progress. Although both sides claimed that this was only a small part of the negotiations, and that further negotiations on the return of prisoners, responsibility for the conflict, and even research cooperation still needed to continue.

But secretly they knew very well that extraterrestrial trade, especially the first month's trade, was very likely the only part of the negotiations that could be successful; as for the rest, it was uncertain.

What's interesting is that the Council unaware that Distant Harbor knew, but Distant Harbor had already seen through everything. Just as Anthony thought the Council was unaware of his secret agreement with Kang De, Aokexindun already knew perfectly well and decided to take advantage of it.

Everyone has their own plans, and everyone has their own stance.

Schemes, betrayals, conspiracies, deception.

Only the remnants of the Yilan-Tai'er remain in their sealed cages, waiting for a second chance for their race, and for an unknown future and tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Azure Fleet Commander Nixiyasi, hid in her room, refusing to come out, lost in utter chaos and confusion. For the past three days, she had not visited the Broken Isles again.

The remnants of the previous era, and the naval commanders of the Council of the Mortal World in this generation, their fates were originally unrelated, but they had a subtle similarity—powerless to control their own destiny, they could only passively face the future, waiting in bewilderment, fear mixed with an inexplicable expectation.

And high above, in the starry sky, a bewildered waiter encountered his destiny.

Apophis, the Star of Divine Destruction, is the guardian of the Star Palace.

In the past few days, he has overseen the repair work, dealt with the damage caused by the Nuclear Light Lance, assessed the damage to the Starry Firmament Bridge, and begun to formulate several plans to gradually unseal the technology and weaponry confiscated from previous eras, while also sending a call to return to the explorers of the Great Land.

A few days ago, the blow from the Mortal World filled him with shock and anger. The Starry Firmament Bridge shattered, and the passage for the army to descend into the Mortal World was destroyed. He felt uneasy that the Mortal World was gradually slipping out of his control, and he needed more guidance.

Because he didn't even know who was behind it.

So, as always, the Star of Divine Destruction knelt silently before the Star String of the Holy Church, trying to search for traces of his master in the endless void and the dark universe. He had been doing this for a very long time, as had everyone else, but to no avail.

They didn't even know if their master was still in this galaxy.

But who can reach even further afield?

Apophis, kneeling devoutly, once again received a disappointing prayer—no response, no reaction. He opened his radiant holy eyes and sighed silently.

But the next moment, the Star of Divine Destruction's expression changed drastically.

He abruptly rose to his feet, his magnificent armor clanging and clashing with a soft, resonant sound. His face was filled with excitement, for in the depths of his being, he heard a call that transcended an immeasurable distance—a region from which even light would have to travel for a long time. He could tell that his master had awakened from his slumber; his master was very weak, his voice so faint and almost inaudible that it was barely audible. Yet, he still heard that supreme divine decree.

"The Mortal World..."

"Enemy..."

"Prevent..."

Does the master actually know about the events and threats happening in the Mortal World? Who is the enemy?

Apophis was filled with mixed emotions of surprise and awe, but also with profound reverence for his master's great power. He could sense that his master was very, very far away, but even so, could he perceive the threats of the Mortal World?

So, who is the enemy?

He held his breath, focusing all his senses, and the voice he had followed for thousands of years guided him to the name of the enemy, just like all battles, all enemies, and all... Fire Thief from ancient times to the present.

The master revealed the name of the new enemy.

"... Kang De."

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PS1: If I were in charge of propaganda, I'd have CCTV go to London right now, find two United Kingdom women, pay them to record a program, and have them apologize to the world, especially Europe, on behalf of all United Kingdom. It would probably get the Europe media crazy about it and go wild. I don't know how useful it would be, but just spending some money, even if it's just to annoy the United Kingdom, I think it would be worth it.

PS2: To be even more ruthless, don't find a native white person, find an immigrant with a strong aura of being an African American lesbian, a devout follower of a particular faith, or a vegetarian to apologize. Regardless of whether it's newspapers or netizens, anyone who opposes her is considered discriminatory and politically incorrect. I think that scene would be incredibly beautiful and risqué.