Persuasion

Immediately, the hall fell silent.

Although Naven kept his head down, his face was full of confidence.

No matter how extraordinary a creature is, dragons are inherently greedy; this is their eternal and unchanging nature.

He believed that no dragon could resist the price offered by the Kassand Kingdom: millions of square kilometers of territory and mountains of Gold Coin, enough to drive any human ruler mad, let alone a greedy dragon.

Therefore, he simply waited quietly, waiting for the "Red Emperor" before him to agree, and waiting to report the good news of gaining strong support to His Majesty.

Sure enough, Keosius's voice echoed in the empty hall, but it made Naven pause for a moment.

"No."

"I cannot grant your request. Please Otis His Majesty Otis for his kindness."

Naven stepped forward, somewhat anxiously asking, "Your Majesty, why?"

"This is a golden opportunity! By cooperating with our Kassand Kingdom, you will not only gain millions of Gold Coin, but your empire will also reap countless benefits, and you can even expand your territory southward."

"I have always been a peace-loving monarch who puts his people first."

A half-smile played on Keosius's face as he slowly began to explain:

"My country has just recovered from the war, and my people have just been liberated from the oppression of the Northern Nobles. For the empire now, the most important thing is to recuperate and rebuild, not to wage war everywhere."

"Go back and tell your King Otis that I bring you my blessing, wishing him a speedy recovery of his homeland and the restoration of the glory of Holy Fadlan."

"But I am just an ordinary monarch who wants peaceful development."

How is that possible?

Naven's pupils constricted sharply, his face filled with disbelief.

He simply couldn't imagine that a greedy Red Dragon would give up such readily available benefits.

Could it be that Naven really struck it lucky and encountered a dragon who was diligent in politics and put the people first?

What a joke! Who would have thought these words could be used to describe Red Dragon? He would rather believe that the sun rose in the west due to His Majesty Amanata's laxity than believe that a Red Dragon would give up readily available benefits—especially for such an absurd reason as "putting the people first"!

Perhaps the price wasn't high enough.

You still have to pay more.

Thinking of this, Naven gritted his teeth and said firmly, "If you can lend a hand, His Majesty Otis is willing to donate another five million Gold Coin to the Empire and share a great deal of magical knowledge with the Empire!"

Sure enough, the Red Dragon seemed to waver.

"I can see His Majesty Otis's sincerity. He is indeed worthy of being the eldest son of that person."

Naven's face immediately lit up with joy.

This is the necessary price to pay.

Five million Gold Coin is still within the pre-defined spending limit, so returning to His Majesty and successfully reporting back is barely acceptable.

Unexpectedly, Keosius paused in his speech.

"However, this matter concerns the livelihood of the people of the empire, and it requires careful consideration."

"But Your Majesty."

Naven wanted to lobby again.

However, Keosius's expression turned cold, and he interrupted him, "That's enough. Don't test my patience or try to dictate my decisions."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then we will take our leave without disturbing your rest. May Amanata protect you."

Naven replied with a sullen bow.

"Maybe."

"Does this Red Dragon really care about his people?"

Naven sighed helplessly, thinking to himself.

However, he was unaware that his earlier guess was actually correct.

On the contrary, Naven still greatly underestimated the Red Dragon's greed.

Keosius was not without covetousness for the Thrace Kingdom; rather, he harbored a greater greed.

He coveted not only the few million Gold Coin, but also far more than two-thirds of the Thrace Kingdom's territory.

What he wants is the entire Fadlan Empire, the entire Feanso Continent, and even the entire world of Erezege.

However, allowing the Kassand Kingdom to gain an advantage in the Three Emperors' War was neither in line with his plan nor worthy of his ambition to annex the entire Fadlan Empire.

Soon, under the guard and protection of the Tiefling, the delegation from the Kassand Kingdom left in haste.

They arrived with several boxes of financial reports, but left empty-handed, filled with disappointment.

Inside the palace, Keosius did not rest, but instead grinned.

"Kassand's men have left."

"Please come in, guests from the Thrace Kingdom."

The secret envoy from the Thrace Kingdom, Dayev Marshall, nervously entered the palace from the secondary hall under the guard of Ogre.

It turned out that the envoys from the Kassand Palace had just arrived, and he followed them to the palace gate, only to be asked to wait in the side hall.

At that moment, his expression was particularly unpleasant.

Just now, he overheard the Kassand Kingdom's attempt to join forces with the Embers of the Burned Empire to besiege the Thrace Kingdom, which would be an absolute geopolitical disaster for the Thrace Kingdom.

The Kassand Empire even offered extremely tempting conditions, which made Dayev tremble with fear.

Fortunately, the emperor did not agree.

But Dayev did not relax his efforts because of this, and he absolutely did not believe in the rhetoric of "putting the people first".

The "Red Emperor's" refusal can only mean one thing— the Embers of the Burned Empire wants to gain some benefit from the Thrace Kingdom.

Thinking of this, Dayev took a deep breath, and with a strange determination, came to the steps and bowed.

"Good day, Your Majesty Keosius."

Keosius did not exchange pleasantries, but simply looked down at him with his pale golden eyes.

"You heard what the envoy from the Kassand Kingdom said just now, didn't you?"

Sweat beaded on Dayev's forehead. He replied in a low voice, "I am merely an envoy from the south. How could I dare to eavesdrop on your conversation?"

"Hehe."

Keosius scoffed.

"Don't worry, I made sure you heard those things on purpose—if I wanted to."

But Dayev did not feel relieved; instead, he became even more anxious.

Because he knew that the real test had only just begun.

"So, give me a reason."

Sure enough, Keosius spoke again, and it seemed as if an invisible pressure descended, pressing heavily on his shoulders, making it hard for him to breathe.

"The reason for not attacking Thrace."

"Five million Gold Coin, a large amount of magical knowledge, and the occupation of two-thirds of the Thrace Kingdom's territory—this is the price the Kassand Kingdom offered me."

"And what price can you offer me?"

Beneath the dragon's shadow, Dayev trembled as he raised his head, seeing endless greed in those deep, pale gold eyes.