The Stalemate Begins (3)

Led by Xizhalansa, Arthur and the rest of the comfort party left the medical tent and headed towards the center of the camp. After walking for a while, a noisy commotion began to reach their Arthur, and the noise grew louder as they approached the center of the camp. When they reached the vicinity of the central tent, bonfires came into view, and around each bonfire sat three to five dragons drinking and frolicking.

At this moment, Xizhalansa said to Arthur, "Commander Arthur, what do you think? Should we let the members of the delegation stay here and have some fun with these guys?"

Upon hearing Xizhalansa's question, Arthur understood that the Wise Dragon Belserion wanted to meet him alone, so he went along with it and said, "Hmm! Xizhalansa's suggestion is excellent. Let them have some fun with the frontline warriors. I will accompany you to meet the Sage Dragon alone."

Seeing that Arthur was so cooperative, Sizalansa didn't waste any words. He simply waved to the dragons by the campfire, signaling them to lead their respective groups of comforters away. After the comforters were distributed, Xizhalansa then led Arthur to the central tent to meet Belserion and the others.

A moment later, Arthur and his companion arrived at the central tent. It was then that Arthur discovered that Belserion was not the only one waiting for him inside!

"Sage Dragon, esteemed leaders, Xizhalansa has successfully delivered on his mission and brought Commander Arthur of the condolence delegation!"

Xizhalansa's crisp and clear reply brought Arthur back to his senses, and he hurriedly stepped forward to bow to the various leaders in the tent.

"Arthur Gebilie, Commander the delegation from the Kingdom of Tsuyioru Xiu, greets Sage Dragon and all the leaders!"

After Arthur spoke, all the bigwigs in the tent put down their food and wine barrels and stared at Arthur and his companion at the tent entrance. Instantly, a tremendous sense of oppression rushed out of the tent and landed on Arthur.

"Call"

A gentle breeze swept by, turning Arthur's gray hair into a tangled mess, but his clothes clung tightly to his body, and he remained motionless! (It was just a little chilly.)

Just as his spirit reached its limit and he could no longer support his body, Belserion, sitting in the main seat, spoke up, "Xizhalansa, you did very well, go and rest!"

"Yes!"

Only after Xizhalansa left did Belserion discover the 'new continent' standing outside the camp.

"Um... you're the head of that comfort mission Belmod sent?"

"Exactly!"

As soon as Arthur finished speaking, the red dragon sitting at the lower left said sarcastically, "A delegation of condolences? I think it's more like a delegation of Delia!"

Immediately afterward, the Black Great Dragon sitting next to the red dragon asked in confusion, "Igneel, they are clearly a delegation of comforters, why are you calling them Delia?"

"A delegation for comforting others? Humph! Metalicana, have you ever seen a delegation that goes to comfort others empty-handed?"

"This... perhaps there were too many gifts, making them difficult to transport, so they were delayed on the way!"

"Did it get delayed on the way? That makes sense. The people delivering the relief supplies all came here to eat, so the supplies were delayed on the way!"

Having heard Igneel and the others put it so clearly, Arthur understood immediately that the dragons were giving him this show of force because they had arrived empty-handed. Seeing the long faces of the powerful figures, Arthur quickly stepped forward, bowed, and explained, "My lords, please calm your anger and allow me to explain in detail!"

Igneel was about to say something when Sage Dragon stopped him in time.

"Fire Dragon King, Arthur and the others have gone to great lengths to visit us. This gesture alone is the best reward we can receive. Why are you still fixated on whether they brought gifts or not? Besides, Arthur and the others may have brought gifts as well. Why not listen to their explanation?"

"I..."

Faced with Belserion's impassioned speech, Igneel was rendered speechless. Finally, he lowered his head in shame and remained silent. With the awkward atmosphere at the table extinguished, Belserion gave Arthur a smile and said calmly, "Alright, Arthur, you may continue now!"

Arthur nodded to Belserion and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Lord Sage Dragon. I will now explain to the leaders why we did not bring any gifts with us."

"Actually, when we left Philiers, His Majesty the King prepared a lot of gifts for us, so much that it was impossible to transport them by vehicle. Helplessly, the King had to store most of the gifts in his Space Item, leaving only a small portion for us to transport by vehicle."

"Previously, when we used the Teleportation Array, we found that the supplies transported by vehicles were extremely difficult to move, so we left them in the Kingdom of Donagunov and entrusted them to Prince Sordil for safekeeping. We, on the other hand, took our Space Item to the front lines to comfort the troops, so we did not have any relief supplies with us."

After Arthur finished explaining, all the bigwigs in the tent showed expressions of "I see," um... sorry, I miscounted, there's still one person who didn't say "I see." The arrogant Fire Dragon King, after hearing Arthur's words, still didn't think his judgment was wrong, so he raised his doubts once again.

"Hmph! Since you say you stored the relief supplies in some kind of Space Item, then show them to us!"

Faced with Igneel's provocation, Arthur smiled slightly, then reached out and retrieved a small, dark box from the rift in space. Without waiting for Igneel to speak, he opened the box and took out crates of supplies. Soon, a neat, square mountain of supplies had formed outside the tent, and this artificial mountain continued to grow.

After being thoroughly humiliated, Igneel had nothing more to say. He obediently returned to his seat and began drinking with Metalicana and the others.

Just as the mountain of supplies was about to block the camp gate, Belserion spoke up, "Arthur, stop now, or we won't be able to get out!"

Since the Sage Dragon had spoken, Arthur naturally dared not disobey, so he put the mountain of supplies back into the small box. Half an hour later, the mountain of supplies that had suddenly appeared vanished just as suddenly, as if it had never existed at all. Having proven himself, Arthur was invited by the Sage Dragon into the tent to begin today's main event—a welcome dinner.

Amidst the clinking of glasses and the passing of pleasant moments, the once hazy sky has been transformed into night.

After drinking several barrels of liquor with the bigwigs, Arthur's head began to spin, his limbs started to feel weak, and even the things around him began to appear in pairs. He immediately realized that his alcohol storage tank had reached its limit, so he hurriedly stood up unsteadily and asked to leave Belserion and the others.

"Sage Dragon, I am not a good drinker and need to return to camp to rest. I hope that Sage Dragon and all the leaders, will grant me permission!"

After swallowing the stomach acid that surged up his throat, Belserion slurred, "Since... siren... rutsu, then you should go back... go back to K!"

"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Sage Dragon!"

After thanking him, Arthur stood up unsteadily and walked toward his tent.

Just as he stepped out of the central tent, a cold wind blew by, dispersing the heat and alcohol from his body, causing a glint of rationality to flash in his eyes.