243: Chapter 2 Talks 243: Chapter 2 Talks The conflict in the Endless Forest had co to a close, and Lion King Tai’e returned to the palace, his body still covered in wounds that had yet to fully heal.
“Bring the naga up here!” Tai’e shouted.
Shortly after, four orc guards carried a massive water tank into the grand hall.
The Golden Lion sat to the side, eyes closed in ditation, with anger etched across his brow.
The tank settled, and a large naga erged partially from it, bowing to Tai’e and saying, “Honored Lion King, may I ask what business you have summoned for?”
“Business?” Tai’e sneered, “What happened to your promised alliance with the sea tribes?”
“Uh…” The naga was clearly unaware of what had transpired.
Tai’e continued, “I spent great effort, hiring rcenaries from the human empire to constantly search and explore, sacrificing countless people, just to help you recover the Tide Jewel, and how did you repay ?
With betrayal?!”
“Li…
Lion King, what do you an by this?” Faced with Tai’e’s accusations, the naga was in a panic.
“Contact the Naga Queen imdiately!
I want to see what explanation she has for !” Tai’e wasted no words.
This hostage from the sea tribe held a noble status, but whether he lived or died made no difference to the political landscape.
His only use was as a ans to communicate with the queen.
“Yes, yes, I’ll contact her right away.”
Such long-distance communication inflicted serious harm on a naga, yet in this case, his life was on the line.
He slit his wrist, and the naga’s blood floated into the air, transforming into a mist.
Soon, the shadowy figure of the Naga Queen erged within the hazy mist.
“Tai’e, what is the purpose of this summons?” The Naga Queen got straight to the point, knowing full well that if this dragged on, the naga casting the spell would die from excessive blood loss.
“You dare ask ?” Tai’e raised an eyebrow, “I should be the one asking you!”
After a mont of silence, the Naga Queen explained, “The human empire has spies within our race.”
“That’s bullshit!” Only a fool would believe such an excuse.
Tai’e exclaid angrily, “Your sea tribe resides in the Sea of Void.
Humans can’t even enter, let alone survive underwater for extended periods.
How could they possibly steal your secrets?!”
“Yet when Natias went ashore for reconnaissance years ago, he encountered an enemy who accurately described the current state of our sea tribe, which the council had to take seriously.”
“Who was it?” Tai’e demanded.
He knew he needed to investigate thoroughly.
The sea tribe was supposed to seize the opportunity during the conflict in the Endless Forest to lead an army ashore and attack the Sacred Empire.
In such a scenario, the Sacred Empire—seeking to avoid annihilation by the sea tribe—would be forced to withdraw from the Endless Forest, leaving the Divine Blood as Tai’e’s for the taking.
Unfortunately, the sea tribe failed to act according to plan, resulting in the Divine Blood being lost and years of effort by the Beastman Empire going to waste.
“Natias called him Baron Yitian, of only the Second Transition Late Stage, yet possessing a divine artifact.
Had I not appeared in ti, Natias would likely have died at his hands.”
At the ntion of Baron Yitian, the Golden Lion suddenly opened his eyes, “Father, there’s sothing suspicious about this.”
“Suspicious?” Tai’e sneered, “Perhaps my son is just spewing nonsense and happened to guess correctly.”
“Your son?” The Naga Queen tilted her head, not understanding Tai’e’s words.
If it was his son, how could he have beco a baron of the empire?
“Never mind,” the Lion King waved his hand, a wry smile on his face, “Clearly the boy was speaking thoughtlessly and unknowingly got it right.
And you believed him—I’m genuinely impressed by the fearlessness of your sea tribe.”
“Fearlessness?” Ignoring the matter at hand, the Naga Queen found herself irked by Tai’e’s mockery, “My children are brave and fearless warriors.
Even without your orc restraint, the sea tribe could still conquer and crush the Sacred Empire!”
“Is that so?” Tai’e sneered, “Then let witness the true strength of your sea tribe.”
“Fine!” With a grand gesture, the Naga Queen dispersed the blood mist, returning life to the dying naga.
Tai’e waved his hand, “Take him away.”
After speaking, he looked at the Golden Lion and asked, “How are you now?”
“Reporting to Father, my condition is fine.
I should be fully recovered in three months.”
Tai’e was filled with disappointnt, “It’s a pity that I couldn’t retrieve the Divine Blood for you.”
“Father, does lacking the Divine Blood make our Lionheart Royalty any lesser than others?” The Golden Lion expressed slight dissatisfaction, speaking defiantly to Tai’e.
Tai’e was taken aback, then laughed heartily, “Good, good, good!”
At that mont, Baray entered the grand hall with nurous herbs and healing items, smiling as he said, “You’ve truly fathered a fine son.”
“That’s natural,” Tai’e replied, brimming with pride, “But you, old bachelor, when will you have a child to keep Eferot company?”
“?” Baray shook his head, “Such things can’t be forced.”
Indeed, the strength of the Lionheart Royalty ca with a downside—low fertility rates were their limitation.
Stung by Tai’e’s mockery, the Naga Queen strode into the sea tribe’s council hall.
The hall was already a chaotic ss, filled with all manner of strange creatures.
The naga, the largest and strongest of the sea tribe factions, was not the entirety of the sea tribes.
Countless sea beasts had their own factions, numbering in the tens of thousands, too many to list.
Among these, the more formidable tribes included two—the Shark Tribe and the Whale Tribe.
Naturally, these tribes interbred as well, with the Whale Shark Tribe trailing slightly behind the naga.
“Your Majesty, have you gathered us because you’ve discovered sothing?” Black Tooth, the Whale Shark’s mightiest warrior, slamd the table, instantly silencing the chaotic hall.
In this chamber, without the presence of a naga, the queen represented the entire naga faction, thus needing no other representatives.
Absent the naga, the word of the Whale Shark was law.
“I just communicated with Tai’e,” the Naga Queen inford them with kindness, “The issues that have plagued us may have just been wild guesses by others.”
“If that’s the case, can we summon the tides and conquer the mainland?!” Sneering wildly, the Shark Tribe Clan Leader cackled, “I’ve waited ages for this day!”
“Indeed, three months from now, I will activate the Tide Jewel.
The sea will rise, and our forces will advance inland with the tides, leading the sea tribe’s sons to wage war on all fronts, establishing an unparalleled legacy.”
The Naga Queen’s declaration incited fervor throughout the council.
A few years ago, her statent would have been t with skepticism, but the continued absence of any traitor made the council’s lack of resolution appear to be the best outco.
Admitting their failure publicly would be embarrassing.
The decision to activate the Tide Jewel received unanimous approval from the council.
As the eting concluded, the entire sea tribe stirred to action.
Countless tribe mbers assembled, the vast ocean churned with magical creatures, stretching beyond the horizon.
The true number of sea creatures born from the depths over endless centuries was nearly uncountable.
One simple reason existed for why they could not co ashore—they needed water.
Naga could reach the coasts but could not remain long.
This ti, the Tide Jewel had been found by Tai’e, or more aptly, by Lansa.
With the Tide Jewel, the sea tribe could flood the land, transforming the entire continent into the sea tribe’s playground.
In three months, the Sacred Empire would face its disastrous day.
Alas, the empire suspected nothing as they continued bickering with the Eagle Empire.
The conflict in the Endless Forest had severely damaged the Eagle Alliance; tens of thousands of powerful Third Transition beings had fallen without achieving anything.
Suffering such losses without reward, the Eagle Alliance was naturally unwilling to concede, prompting endless negotiations with the Sacred Empire.
“Have they gone?” Konstantin slumped on the throne, as a maid massaged and relaxed him.
“Your Majesty, Count Sina has just departed Shen’en,” Questasa replied.
“Good.” Konstantin had expended a considerable amount, offering resources from two dinsional planes to rid himself of this scourge.
“By the way, has Baron Yitian been found?” Konstantin asked.
“I’m afraid not, Your Majesty,” Questasa continued, “Since the northern frontier battle, the baron has vanished, and it seems several major factions are aiding in concealing his whereabouts.
Additionally, in the northern war, we identified so traces of a force…”
“Let’s hear it,” Konstantin longed for details on the organization that had suddenly erged in his dominion in such numbers.
Despite aiding his nephew, it left him uneasy.
“They are a group called the Black-Eyed Organization.
Our investigations revealed its traces in every dinsional plane under the empire, even participating in the Yu’n Flower battlefield years ago,” Questasa, as leader of the Black Guard, was indeed exceptional.
“The Black-Eyed Organization?” Konstantin tapped his fingers on the table, eyes clouded with uncertainty.
“If I tasked you with handling them, would it be difficult?” Konstantin’s voice dripped with intent to kill.
“Sowhat difficult.
Their numbers and power likely exceed our expectations, and they’ve existed for an extrely long ti.
However, they harbor goodwill toward the empire, often assisting by quietly resolving predicants across various dinsional planes.”
Listening to Questasa’s assessnt, Konstantin nodded, “What do you suggest?”
“We could perhaps communicate with the leaders of the Black-Eyed Organization and integrate them into the empire as an additional Black Guard force.”
“Very well, proceed with this plan.”
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