It's simple. Next time you go to Shrek Academy, take me with you

With things laid out this plainly, there was no need to continue the negotiations.

On a grand scale, this was an exchange of interests between the Star Dou Great Forest and Shrek Academy.

On a smaller scale, it was a matter between two youngsters, the Auspicious Beast and Gao Ren.

Judging by the current situation, things were clearly moving toward the smaller scale.

The two youngsters could give each other whatever they wanted, and the adults had no say in the matter.

Xuan Zi called a halt to the negotiations by asking, "Has the Scarlet King had lunch yet?"

After Gao Ren conjured up plenty of Overlord Drumsticks to entertain the Scarlet King, Mu En took him aside for a private conversation, while Xuan Zi stayed to eat with the Scarlet King.

"A-Ren, do you know why I called you out here alone?"

"Yes." Gao Ren nodded. "You want to ask why I spoke up for the Scarlet King, Granduncle."

Mu En pressed him. "Then can you tell me why you helped him?"

"Because helping the Scarlet King also means helping ourselves."

Mu En raised his eyebrows slightly, signaling for him to continue.

"The Scarlet King is one of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, and he carries considerable weight in the Star Dou Great Forest," Gao Ren continued. "The reason he dared to come to Shrek alone is that he's a ferocious beast. He believes Shrek wouldn't dare lay a hand on him.

"And that really is the case. If we killed him, the Star Dou Great Forest would probably launch a beast tide immediately.

"And it could very well become a fight to the death. After all, if we dare lay a hand on even a ferocious beast, who knows which of the remaining ferocious beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest would be next to suffer?

"Doing the Scarlet King a favor might come in handy at a critical moment."

Hearing Gao Ren's answer, Mu En could not help nodding.

"Whenever the Star Dou Great Forest launches a beast tide, Shrek City is always the first to bear the brunt.

"Among the ferocious beasts, apart from the Emerald Swan, Bi Ji-the pacifist who persuaded Di Tian to sign another peace agreement with us during the last beast tide-all the others are staunch advocates of war.

"If we can get the Scarlet King to oppose launching a beast tide, or even simply refrain from joining one, that would be a good thing for us.

"Shrek may not fear war, but we've never said we wanted one. No one knows whether someone dear to them might die in a beast tide.

"You're the Auspicious Beast's friend, and you've also done the Scarlet King a favor. Barring exceptional circumstances, those two things should be enough to keep Shrek City safe from the Star Dou Great Forest's beast tides for a very long time."

A pleased smile appeared on Mu En's face. "A-Ren, you see much farther ahead than many people do."

"You flatter me, Granduncle." Gao Ren waved a hand. "I just thought this would be a little better. I don't want the Auspicious Beast and me to go from friends to enemies someday."

What he had told Mu En was actually only the surface of it.

Gao Ren did not believe for a moment that the Scarlet King had come to Shrek Academy merely to run an errand for the Auspicious Beast.

The Scarlet King would never have entered Shrek Academy alone just for a bite to eat.

His expressions and movements during the negotiations made it clear that running an errand for the Auspicious Beast was only an excuse.

The only ones who could truly make the Scarlet King do this were Beast God Di Tian and the sovereign of all soul beasts, the Silver Dragon King, who was hiding on the Douluo Continent to secretly recover from her injuries.

Helping the Scarlet King during the negotiations was, in effect, showing consideration for Di Tian or the Silver Dragon King.

As for whether they would acknowledge the favor, that was not something Gao Ren needed to concern himself with.

In any case, as long as the Auspicious Beast did not die, the Star Dou Great Forest probably would not launch a beast tide during his lifetime.

Thanks to Mu En's instructions, the second half of the negotiations went very comfortably for the Scarlet King.

Without giving anything in return, he could obtain Overlord Drumsticks from Gao Ren on a long-term basis.

Of course, the number of Overlord Drumsticks he could receive was limited. He could not squeeze more than fifty thousand drumsticks out of Gao Ren as he had last time.

Without harming Gao Ren, the Overlord Drumsticks had to be supplied to Shrek Academy first. Only the remainder would go to the Star Dou Great Forest.

To keep Shrek Academy from growing suspicious, the Scarlet King ordered equal numbers of Overlord Drumsticks and Pure World Overlord's Legs. Ordering nothing but Pure World Overlord's Legs would make it far too easy for them to notice something. He was absolutely not doing this to line his own pockets.

Thus, the Scarlet King could receive twenty-five hundred of each kind of drumstick every day, for a total of five thousand.

That number was neither particularly large nor particularly small.

After all, the Scarlet King had said he was running an errand for the Auspicious Beast, not the Silver Dragon King.

By giving away so many for free, Gao Ren could even be said to be treating the Auspicious Beast very, very well.

At Shrek Academy, his commission alone on that many drumsticks would have amounted to at least seventy-five thousand Gold Soul Coins.

By the time the Scarlet King returned to the Star Dou Great Forest, the sky had already darkened.

He hummed a little tune all the way back, unable to keep the corners of any of his three mouths from lifting.

He could truly be said to have returned from this trip to Shrek Academy laden with spoils.

Not only had he completed the task his sovereign had assigned him, but he had also secured a long-term meal ticket for himself.

"Life is sweet, oh, so sweet." All three of the Scarlet King's heads wore expressions of bliss.

He wanted nothing more than to hurry back to the Great Ferocious Land and report the results of his negotiations.

As luck would have it, however, just as the Scarlet King passed through the core area, a golden figure darted out of the bushes.

"Uncle Scarlet King."

"L-little overlord, what are you doing here?" There was unmistakable guilt in the Scarlet King's voice, because he had never told the Auspicious Beast about his mission.

"That's what I wanted to ask you!" The Auspicious Beast marched up indignantly. "When I woke up this morning, I found you were gone.

"I searched the whole Great Ferocious Land, and even the core area, but I couldn't find you anywhere!"

"Well..."

Before the Scarlet King could invent a reasonable excuse, the Auspicious Beast had already drawn close and twitched its nose a few times like a dog.

"Uncle Scarlet King, you smell of Overlord Drumsticks all over! It's faint, but I still caught it!"

The Auspicious Beast's tone grew dangerous. "Uncle Scarlet King, did you sneak off to Shrek Academy behind my back to get food from Gao Ren?"

"Little overlord, let me explain..."

"I won't listen, I won't listen, I won't listen!" The Auspicious Beast turned away in anger, pointing its backside at the Scarlet King. "You ate Overlord Drumsticks without even inviting me! I never want to speak to you again!"

"Little overlord! Please don't be angry! Look what I've got!"

The Scarlet King hurriedly took all the Overlord Drumsticks he had brought back out of his Storage Soul Tool in one go.

In an instant, a rich aroma filled the air. The Auspicious Beast could not help twitching its nose twice, and glistening drool trickled from the corners of its mouth at a visibly growing pace.

Even so, it kept its back to the Scarlet King.

"Uncle Scarlet King, do you think this is enough to make me forgive you?"

"Little overlord, what will it take for you to forgive me?" The Scarlet King looked miserable.

"It's simple. Next time you go to Shrek Academy, take me with you."