Negotiation, and War

"No! Of course not, I am atoning for my sins!!!" Robert said with unusual firmness. "It was my stupidity that led to this war. Yes, I could stand here and denounce the brutality and bloodthirst of these magical beasts, or even fabricate baseless charges of slaughter to pin on them, but what then, Lord Warwick? I do not doubt your ability to lead, but even if you sacrificed the lives of hundreds or thousands of soldiers to drive these beasts from our borders, they could simply hide in the mountain forests where our main army could never pursue them. Their ability to burrow—I believe General Dieter has already reported this to you—means that if we forge such deep hatred, the ones who will suffer in the end are our own border people and soldiers!!!"

Robert's face was filled with grief and indignation. As the noble Lord of Morton and a Count, he was being interrogated like a common criminal, yet he had to rack his brains to facilitate this truce. Was he doing this for Ye Luo? Of course not! They had only met twice, and both times as enemies. The only reason he agreed to act as a peace envoy was for the sake of the people on the Morton border.

Warwick stood up and asked softly, "Will these magical beasts easily abandon the territory they have occupied?"

"Lord Warwick, I have already said that the intelligence of these magical beasts is in no way inferior to us humans. What I told you about them withdrawing from the Smoke mine was relayed to me by their leader. I once tried to persuade him to surrender, but he only smiled and spoke words that chilled me to the bone. Think about it: if we let these beasts escape during the battle, they will be like ghosts in the mountain forests, appearing and disappearing at will. They could raid our villages, towns, and even our military camps at any time. That would be a catastrophe for the border people and the army. Since they are willing to coexist peacefully, why not give it a try?"

"Coexist peacefully?" Warwick's face was full of disdain. "Setting aside the difference in species, peaceful coexistence requires at least two parties of equal strength..."

"Lord Warwick..." Suddenly, the old mage sitting beside Warwick with his eyes closed spoke up, interrupting him.

Warwick turned back in surprise, his eyes full of inquiry but devoid of any anger or dissatisfaction.

"Lord Warwick, I feel that Lord Robert's words have some merit. We soldiers do not fear battle, sacrifice, or death, but the people of the border are different. If we choose war and abandon this rare chance for peace, causing the border to become unstable, we would become the sinners of the kingdom..." The mage's voice was aged but clear, echoing in everyone's hearts as if it could be carved into their very souls. "However, our orders are to capture this magical beast tribe, because a new species of experimental subject is worth as much as one or two years of the kingdom's treasury revenue to the magic guilds of various nations! Therefore, if we want to change our strategy from combat to peace, we must obtain the approval of His Majesty..."

Robert nodded submissively. "That is only natural, Mage Barrit. The will of His Majesty the King is above all else..."

Barrit nodded and looked toward Warwick. Warwick looked at him with a puzzled expression, but Barrit's gaze remained exceptionally firm.

Warwick pondered for a few seconds, then turned to Robert and said, "In that case, Lord Robert, I will have to trouble you to make another trip... Please return to the Smoke mine and convey our decision to the beast leader. I, Warwick, will report this matter to His Majesty and suggest that he stop the war and send envoys to negotiate with them..."

Robert sighed and nodded.

Ye Luo withdrew his thoughts, wondering if this matter was going a bit too smoothly. With such an overwhelming advantage in military strength, were they really willing to set aside their intent to attack just because of his vague threats?

A day and a night later, Ye Luo returned to the Zerg Base. Robert arrived at the same time, repeating the decision he had reached with Ye Luo and requesting a five-day ceasefire... Ye Luo naturally agreed. The longer the ceasefire, the better; for every extra day, his strength would increase by thirty percent...

At this moment, the Zerg Base along the coastline had already expanded. Five hundred Drones were working at full capacity to harvest the undersea mineral veins, bringing Ye Luo an additional 5,000 in daily income. Combined with the five hundred Drones expanded at the Smoke mine, Ye Luo could obtain a full 10,000 energy points every day, which meant his Zergling army could grow by one thousand each day!

Five days was a long time to wait, but waiting was the thing Ye Luo hated most. Although, as the Zerg Emperor, the sight of Zerglings running back and forth was adorable, it was ultimately too monotonous. Just as Ye Luo was preparing to disguise himself and sneak into Morton City to enjoy the prosperity of human society once more, Ye Meng suddenly sent word from the coastline: the Iron-Claw Green-Spine Shrimp Clan had launched a surprise attack on the Stone Crab Clan, and caught off guard, the Stone Crab Clan had suffered heavy losses!

This news shocked Ye Luo. Without hesitation, he led five thousand Zerglings toward the coastline, while simultaneously ordering the Zerg Hive on the coast to immediately begin morphing into sub-hives, with the resulting Larva evolving into Zerglings instantly!

Under this order, six new Zerg Hives appeared on the coastline, and twelve hundred Zerglings joined the defense of the Stone Crab Clan, barely managing to salvage the crumbling situation!

"Boom... boom..." The ocean waves crashed against the shore, occasionally washing up the carcasses of giant crabs or lobsters, sometimes mixed with the remains of Zerglings...

At the border between the Iron-Claw Green-Spine Shrimp Clan and the Stone Crab Clan, the chaotic battle continued.

In the mottled, colorful depths of the sea, there were no longer schools of fish swimming freely, nor any of the various exotic creatures; the slaughter between the three races had turned the seabed into a scene of chaos!

"Hiss hiss!" An adult-sized Iron-Claw Green-Spine Shrimp used its two massive iron claws to clamp down hard on the arm of a Stone Crab. With a sudden burst of force, a spray of green fluid erupted as the arm was snapped clean off. The Stone Crab, in pain, retaliated with its own claws while firing a barrage of water arrows at the Green-Spine Shrimp.

The Iron-Claw Green-Spine Shrimp ignored the water arrows entirely, letting them strike its body. The hard shell on the Green-Spine Shrimp was like a suit of armor, blocking the water arrows completely. The Green-Spine Shrimp, known for its iron claws, possessed pincers far superior to those of the Stone Crab. With a violent swing, it knocked the Stone Crab's large claw aside, then seized the opportunity to grab one of the crab's legs and pulled with all its might! "Pfft..." Another spray of blood...

The Stone Crab cried out in pain, begging its companions for help, but the Stone Crabs, whose combat prowess was inferior to the Iron-Claw Green-Spine Shrimp, were also vastly outnumbered! The Green-Spine Shrimp's assault was clearly not an impulsive act; while the two races had once been equal in number, the Green-Spine Shrimp had consciously expanded their population, leaving the Stone Crab Clan far behind...

The Iron-Claw Green-Spine Shrimp cruelly snapped off the rest of the Stone Crab's limbs, then watched with detached satisfaction as the crab, unable to swim, sank to the seabed, before moving on to hunt its next target!