Your Choice

Entering the king's study, Li Lin sensed nothing amiss. The death of the young mage the previous night seemed like nothing more than a dream, and no one took it to heart. When he entered the room, the king was chatting idly with his ministers, appearing perfectly normal and without the slightest affectation.

"Mr. Li Lin, you've finally arrived. Please have a seat."

Upon seeing Li Lin enter the room, the king waved his hand, and soon the ministers and servants who had been surrounding him left the room and closed the door. At the king's signal, Li Lin sat down in the chair opposite him and gazed at the monarch.

I heard you wanted to talk to me about something.

"Of course, Mr. Li Lin."

At this moment, the king's expression finally turned serious. He sat down at the table and, without the slightest hesitation, asked the following question.

"What price do you want in exchange for opening up the Black Road to us?"

Having witnessed Li Lin's power last night, the king was now convinced that he had the means to suppress the Dark Elf. Moreover, he was beginning to believe his son's words. Because of Li Lin's threat, the prince had revealed everything without any concealment. The king naturally knew of Li Lin's feat of destroying an entire Dark Elf city and the book; initially, he had thought his son was exaggerating, but now it seemed more likely that much of it was true.

Having confirmed this, the king intended to immediately implement his plan. He understood that Li Lin's blatant appearance, if discovered by Lalia, would only worsen the situation. He had already paid a heavy price for this day, even bribing influential members of the other three nations in the Five-Nation Alliance to mitigate the potential damage from the attack. All strategic deployments were now in place, but if Li Lin disagreed with his use of the Black Road, these arrangements would be meaningless.

"It's very simple."

Li Lin raised an eyebrow. He liked this kind of direct dialogue, or rather, the current situation was urgent, forcing the king to do so.

You can hire us.

"What... does this mean?"

Faced with Li Lin's answer, the king was somewhat puzzled; he didn't know what Li Lin was thinking. Hire?

"Certainly."

As Li Lin spoke, he casually picked up a teacup from the table, and while sipping the delicious tea, he answered the king's questions.

"Hiring mercenaries, I imagine you're no stranger to this kind of thing. And now, what I need you to do is just this: hire Dark Elf to protect your army through the Black Road, it's that simple."

"Hire?"

The king frowned slightly.

"So, what kind of reward do you want?"

"When I came out, I saw that the woods on both sides of the mountain were very nice. The scenery was beautiful and the landscape was lovely. Please give it to me."

Li Lin spoke in a relaxed tone, showing no sign that he intended to seize territory. The king, of course, understood his intentions; he frowned, his expression turning somewhat unfriendly.

"You..."

You have nothing to lose.

Before the other party could object, Li Lin interrupted.

"As king, I think you know better than I that no one dared to venture into that land because of the Dark Elf's rampage. Once you get what you want, the Black Road will be meaningless to you. But it's different for me and the Dark Elf. Although the Dark Elf have indeed controlled the Black Road, the Underdark, and that entire mountain range, they are not the recognized occupants. But now, times have changed. The Dark Elf have changed; they need to be recognized."

"..."

"A contract."

Li Lin flicked his finger on the desk, and soon a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air and landed in front of the king.

"Once you sign it, everything will be fine."

As Li Lin effortlessly presented his seemingly unimaginable proposal, the King was also pondering. After all, while the Dark Elf were feared, they were still a different race. For a nation within the Five-Nation Alliance to ally with an outsider was not a good thing. However, it seemed the die was cast, and there was no turning back. According to the intelligence he had received that morning, besides Lalia, the other three kingdoms had also learned of the Dark Elf' presence in Kudel. It was impossible for them not to pay attention, but...

Without further hesitation, the king grabbed the parchment from the table, examined it carefully three times, and then took out his quill pen. Clearly, making this decision was an adventure and a gamble for him.

"Hire."

The king repeated the words on the parchment. His gaze was involuntarily drawn to the complex, beautiful, and elegant magical script, and he even found himself reluctant to look away. His eyes were involuntarily fixed on each word, as if he could understand its meaning. Li Lin had indeed prepared this contract well in advance, including the circumstances and consequences of success and failure, as well as the compensation requirements. It was truly a mystery when he, who spent his days wandering around, had managed to handle such a troublesome matter.

"That's right, hire."

Li Lin shrugged, watching the king's breathing grow heavier, and watching with smug satisfaction as his gaze began to glaze over. It was just a fairly common illusion, only Li Lin had amplified its effects. While, theoretically, such a spell would be almost impossible to succeed in a palace under a spell-suppressing barrier, unfortunately, such a barrier only worked against mages of this era; it was meaningless against mages from the Magic Empire period. Li Lin had even easily bypassed its suppression, maximizing its effectiveness.

"Besides, you're dealing with me, a human being."

As if those words had become his final motivation, the king finally gritted his teeth and took a deep breath.

Then, he signed his name on the contract.

"Is this alright?"

After signing his name, the king pushed the contract back to Li Lin took one of the copies and put it in his pocket without even glancing at it.

"Thank you for your generosity, Your Majesty. From this moment forward, you may freely deploy your troops to the Black Road. I guarantee that all the Dark Elf there will allow you passage and will protect you. As per the agreement, we can also provide your army with a limited supply of provisions. Although the food in the Underdark may not suit human tastes, it will at least fill your stomachs—if you need it, of course."

I'll consider it.

Faced with Li Lin's words, the king responded, only then realizing that he had made a very serious decision, but it seemed there was no turning back. Normally, he wouldn't want to resolve the issue so hastily. But the situation was different. A brilliant strategy is brilliant precisely because it is unknown and unthinkable. If the enemy discovers it, then the so-called brilliant strategy will become a stumbling block that leads to his downfall.

In fact, there was something Li Lin didn't know: after his return, the prince criticized this rash battle plan. Unlike his ministers, who were easily swayed by the king's words, the prince opposed it in a methodical way, trying to dissuade his father and resolve the dispute through diplomacy. Unfortunately, telling a gambler who had staked everything on a stock market boom was tantamount to making him uncomfortable. Therefore, the king, confident in his plan, naturally wouldn't listen to the prince's seemingly rational analysis and advice. His current imprisonment of the prince was mostly because he didn't want to see him appear at this time, and the swift negotiation and signing with Li Lin was also a subtle way of showing his son how decisive and efficient he was.

Of course, Li Lin was unaware of all this. Although he was quite thoughtful, he was not omniscient. To be honest, he was slightly surprised when the king agreed to sign the contract so easily, as such a rash and hasty action was not the behavior of a monarch.

Perhaps he planned to discard and kill the Dark Elf after using them. After all, making a deal with the Dark Elf was extremely dangerous, and whoever emerged victorious would be praised by their own people regardless of the means they used. Dealing with the Dark Elf through treachery and deceit would not only go unchallenged but would be celebrated. If this king, after achieving his goals, turned around and slaughtered Dark Elf in the Underdark, then his stance would naturally be without issue.

Although he couldn't fully understand the king's thoughts, Li Lin had his own plans. His current task was complete, but what he needed to do next was clearly not simple.

I hope we can have a pleasant collaboration.

Li Lin stood up and looked at the king.

"I never imagined I would encounter such a wise and enlightened ruler as you; it is truly a rare opportunity."

"I wish us a pleasant cooperation, Mr. Li Lin."

The king also stood up.

"Furthermore, if there's nothing else, would you gentlemen be able to stay at the palace a little longer, so that I can extend my hospitality?"

I knew it would be like this. It would be strange if this guy let us leave so easily, but it's fine this way... After all, we haven't been able to find an effective target to sabotage them from within yet.

"Certainly."

Li Lin sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm.

"Since His Majesty the King has been so hospitable, we will naturally comply."

With that, he nodded slightly to the king and then left the study.

Arriving in the quiet, deserted corridor, Li Lin quietly cast a spell. After confirming that no one was eavesdropping, he activated the magic, and soon, Maya's image appeared before him.

"Respected Master."

"Everything is ready, we can begin."

Li Lin said in a deep voice, and Maya nodded.

"Understood, we will arrange it."

"By the way, where are the two little guests?"

"They've arrived. I'm keeping a close watch on them. May I ask...?"

"After Kudel's army crosses the Black Road, let them go without letting anyone find out—you should understand what I mean. Make your own time to prepare."

"Yes."

The Maya image began to shake again, then vanished into thin air.

Li Lin said nothing more, and with a meaningful smile, turned and left.