Ch. 421The Starfall Empire Diplomatic Envoys' Plan Backfires
Plot points and events
- The Starfall Empire’s envoys use a clause in the peace treaty to move the compensation handover from the Blue Star Continent to their own distant starfield. They assume this will deter the Shang Tang court and let them avoid paying.
- Shang Tang’s public reply accepts the invitation—by sending a top-tier Golden Immortal to the Starfall Empire.
- News spreads rapidly online. People on the Blue Star Continent and Central Continent celebrate Shang Tang’s bold response and mock the envoys’ failed scheme.
- At their lodgings, the envoys initially congratulate their lead Foreign Minister for supposedly outmaneuvering Shang Tang. A guard then brings news of the planned visit, leaving the delegation stunned.
- The envoys recognize that their treaty wording has given a formidable opponent a legitimate reason to enter their territory. Their attempt to avoid compensation has created a dangerous diplomatic problem.
Character developments and interactions
- Lead Foreign Minister: Begins smug and proud of his strategy, but his confidence collapses when he learns Shang Tang has accepted the invitation.
- Starfall nobles: Praise the minister’s supposed cleverness, then share his shock and anxiety when the plan backfires.
- Guard: Delivers the news that overturns the delegation’s expectations.
- Shang Tang: Though represented only through the public notice, the king is portrayed as decisive and unafraid to take the treaty’s wording literally.
- The public: Celebrates Shang Tang’s response and expresses anger at the Starfall envoys’ perceived bad faith.
Significant themes
- Schemes can backfire: The envoys’ attempt to exploit ambiguous treaty wording gives their opponent an opening instead.
- Words and obligations: Shang Tang treats the invitation as binding, showing how formal language can carry consequences its authors did not intend.
- Power as leverage: The Golden Immortal’s strength transforms what the envoys expected to be a safe diplomatic maneuver into a serious threat.
- Public reputation: The swift online reaction frames the dispute as a matter of honor and exposes the envoys to ridicule.