Negotiations Begin

Four Zerglings pulled the carriage forward at a steady pace, wearing custom-fitted saddles around their necks. On either side of the carriage, Ye Meng, Ye Ci, and Ye You rode specially selected Zerglings, guarding Ye Luo closely.

"My Emperor..."

"What is it, Ye Wang?" Ye Luo had been admiring the scenery outside the window when he suddenly heard Ye Wang's voice in the air.

"I still feel this operation carries a great deal of risk..."

Ye Luo chuckled softly. "What, has Warwick set an ambush at the site of our negotiations?"

"..." Ye Wang shook his head and relayed the view before his eyes into Ye Luo's mind.

There, in the midst of a vast wilderness, a red carpet stretched out before them. At its far end stood a platform raised twenty centimeters off the ground, covering roughly five hundred square meters. White olive trees lined its edges, their clusters of cone-shaped blossoms gleaming in the sunlight, silver-white against emerald green. Though they had yet to reach the platform, Ye Luo could almost smell the olive blossoms' fragrance!

At the center of the platform stood a huge table covered with a golden-white tablecloth, lending it an air of elegance and refinement. Fresh flowers adorned the cloth, and when Ye Luo zoomed in, he immediately spotted a letter, much like a sheet of parchment, resting quietly on it...

On the other side of the platform, several burly men stood by cooking fires. The ingredients and seasonings arranged neatly before them made it clear that after the negotiations, they would be serving an elaborate lunch...

A red carpet, olive branches, Morton's chefs, and not a single large troop formation within a ten-mile radius...

"Ye Wang, you can see they've come with great sincerity..." Ye Luo felt a little excited. He was already looking forward to becoming the equivalent of a human noble: directing his armies from afar as they swept across the ocean's races and gathered vast amounts of energy, while enjoying the life of an emperor in the human world, with the power of the realm in his hands by day and beautiful women in his arms by night...

As Ye Luo drew closer, Warwick, commander of the Keren Kingdom's Third Legion, and the mage Barrit personally came out to meet him, walking three hundred meters to greet him!

Ye Luo stepped down from the carriage and onto the red carpet. Only then did he realize it was much thicker than he had imagined. It pressed the overgrown ground flat beneath it, so that walking on it felt like walking on concrete. He couldn't feel a single dead branch or fallen leaf poking at his feet.

City folk really knew how to live... Ye Luo thought with heartfelt admiration.

"Chief Ye Luo, at last, we meet..." Warwick looked to be in his thirties. His formidable strength and careful grooming kept his skin looking as youthful as a twenty-year-old's, but his eyes spoke of years on the battlefield. Young in appearance, mature in bearing—his charm would have been devastating to a girl in her teens, and Ye Luo found him just as easy to like.

Warwick opened his arms and embraced Ye Luo like a dear friend he hadn't seen in ages. Naturally, the contact sent Ye Meng and the other two behind Ye Luo into a state of readiness. After all, pressed up against their vital Overmind was a Tier 6 Diamond fighter!

Fortunately, the two separated quickly. Warwick's smile never changed, and he made no move to attack.

"Commander Warwick, you're even stronger and more handsome than I imagined!" Ye Luo offered his praise without reservation.

Warwick seemed pleased. It was clear he was in high spirits today. His gaze swept over the three behind Ye Luo and the Zerglings, then he slowly climbed onto the platform and picked up the parchment. His expression gradually grew solemn.

Ye Luo raised an eyebrow at his actions. This guy's in a hurry. Couldn't he read the kingdom's decree after lunch? Heh, I wonder what title they'll give me. Earl? Marquess? Or Duke? Ye Luo mused.

"Ye Luo, leader of the Huaxia Imperial Zerg, has led an army of Demon Beasts into the Keren Kingdom, occupied our territory, slaughtered our soldiers, and violated our sovereignty. We hereby order all soldiers of the Keren Kingdom's Third Legion to march to Morton's territory, exterminate the Demon Beasts, cow all troublemakers, and restore Keren's glory! Cleveland, King of the Keren Kingdom."

Warwick's voice rang with a murderous edge, and Ye Luo's hopes crumbled little by little!

At the same time, as Warwick read the decree, over a thousand armored soldiers suddenly appeared around the platform. Each held a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Black armor covered their torsos, and sturdy helmets protected their heads. They formed a ring like a black wall, their armor gleaming with deadly cold light beneath the sun!

"Thump!" Barrit, the mage accompanying the army, waved his right hand, and a staff as long as he was tall appeared in it. Standing beside Warwick, he tapped the platform lightly with his staff.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

The thousand soldiers struck the blades in their left hands against the shields in their right, producing a uniform clang of metal!

The peaceful atmosphere had been utterly replaced by murderous intent. Even the bright sunlight seemed to turn cold in an instant...

Ye Luo's expression darkened. "Commander Warwick, is this part of the negotiations, too?"

"Negotiations?" The mask slipped from Warwick's face. He stared coldly at Ye Luo. "Those who are not of our kind will never share our hearts. We humans are the masters of all things, the rulers of the land. Even the Elf Race, favored by forest magic; the bloodthirsty, warmongering Orc Race; and the naturally powerful Dragon Race have all been forced to retreat before our attacks. And yet you, a mere newly emerged Demon Beast, actually expect us to back down and compromise? Ye Luo, don't you think you're being a little naive?"

"So this was a trap after all?" Ye Luo's heart finally sank to the bottom.

"No, this isn't a trap!" Barrit said softly from beside Warwick. His wise gaze rested proudly on the situation, which was now entirely under their control. "Demon Beasts, this is a massacre! A massacre that will be recorded in the military textbooks of my Keren Kingdom!"

Ye Luo appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he was consumed by disappointment and rage. Betrayal and anguish coiled around his heart like a venomous snake, devouring him!

The moment those thousand soldiers appeared, he had already begun summoning the Zergling army in his mind. But the army was currently along the coastal border, and fewer than three thousand Zerglings remained at the Smoke Mine. It would take those three thousand at least ten minutes to reach them, so Ye Luo had to buy time!