Laying All Cards on the Table

"Father, you... What did you say?"

There was no one else in the study besides the king and his father.

Rhodesney XVIII trembled all over. The news Prince Jassim had reported had dealt him a devastating blow.

As his plenipotentiary representative, Jasim Rhodesney had actually ceded all the kingdom's territory north of the Cordova River—nearly encompassing the entire Northern Region and Northeast Region—to the orcs in exchange for peace between the two sides.

It felt as though a sharp dagger had stabbed into his heart. His body swayed as he sat down.

"I had no choice."

Prince Jassim, seated across from him, spoke in an unusually calm tone.

"The kingdom's army suffered a crushing defeat. Even if we refused to make the slightest concession on paper, those lands had already fallen under the orcs' occupation in reality."

The king shot to his feet. Flames seemed to erupt from his eyes as he stared at the prince. "But if we don't sign the agreement, we can still send troops to take them back."

Jasim was startled by his son's attitude. As far as he could remember, his eldest son had never been so "defiant" toward him. Even after becoming king, he had always treated him with the utmost respect.

"Your good sister failed to turn the tide, and no one knows where she took Crystal Radiance's elite troops. The orc army has swept across the north, and now the Bountiful Plains—the kingdom's heartland—are almost facing the full assault of the orc army!"

Rhodesney XVIII raised the letter in his hand and argued forcefully, "No, she's in the northwest. Together with the army there, she defeated the orcs!"

Prince Jassim glanced disdainfully at the letter. When Rhodesney XVIII had first entered, he had excitedly shown him its contents.

"A trivial victory!"

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