Karl had long seen through Leon's true purpose in coming here: peace talks. And he himself did indeed need a precious period of peaceful development.
Yet the desire for peace talks could never be voiced by him first.
At this moment, Carnford soldiers and officers stood all around him, countless eyes fixed upon him. He had to display bone-deep hatred for the Saurons and absolute loyalty to the Goldflower Kingdom.
Any hint of weakness or compromise could shake the morale of both the army and the people, perhaps even hand others a weapon against him.
So when Leon spoke of "maintaining peace in the Northern Territory," Karl slammed his palm against the armrest. His voice abruptly rose, brimming with undisguised fury. "Maintaining peace in the Northern Territory? Avoiding needless bloodshed? You think you deserve to say such things?"
He sprang to his feet and looked down at Leon from above, rousing every soldier around him. They all straightened their backs.
"You butchers, your hands drenched in blood! Since your rebellion in the late Emperor's reign, how many millions of civilians in Goldflower's Northern Territory have you slaughtered? Villages burned, cities reduced to ruins, piles upon piles of white bones carpeting the roads you marched south!"
"Is this the 'peace' you keep prattling about? This is plainly a 'peace' built atop the corpses of countless Goldspurs!"
His words were like a heavy hammer, smashing fiercely into the heart of every person present—and into Leon's face.
Leon's expression turned rather ugly. He tried to speak in defense, only to be cut off by Karl's even fiercer words.
"In my eyes, your lot are nothing but savages who gather in the mountains and forests, dragging along bandits and brigands! And you dare call yourselves a kingdom? What a colossal joke!"
"Let me tell