Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

197 This Is How Liu Bang Won

A strong wind mixed with fine sand blew from afar. The flag of the Dusk Legion fluttered. Black clouds pressed down on the city, and the army outside the city was serious. The commander stood with his sword and looked in Valentine’s direction.

“The Goethe people are powerful and worship warriors. We invite him with courtesy. If he doesn’t dare to come, he’ll be a coward and will definitely be despised and mocked by the people of our country.”

The ruler of the Dusk Legion slowly said, “If he abandons the city and escapes, without Valentine guarding it, he won’t be able to deal with our many methods. At that time, after we capture the city, we’ll kill two people in the city. Then, we’ll tell them that it was Kang De who abandoned the city and fled that attracted Valentine’s bloodshed and let them spread this tragic matter and let Kang De carry this taint and blood debt that can’t be washed away.”

Hearing this, the adjutant was stunned and hesitated.

The commander turned to look at him and sneered, “Do you want to say that we’re the ones who slaughtered the city? How can the Goethe people hate him? Wrong. You have to know that most humans don’t dare to hate the people they really should hate. They’ll only hate those who won’t attract evil consequences. How can they dare to hate us? We’ll really kill them, city by city.”

“There are two types of people in that small group. The first are the true patriots. They know that they should hate us, and there’s another portion. They know Kang De’s innocence and that we’re hateful, but they won’t hate us. They’ll still be happy because we handed them a knife to use.”

The adjutant lowered his head. “Yes.”

The commander said indifferently, “Therefore, he’ll definitely come and stay.”

The adjutant echoed, “Then, he’ll definitely fall into our hands in the end.”

The commander glanced at him again and smiled faintly, but he did not speak.

He waved.

The foot soldiers of a military formation spoke in unison and issued an invitation to the Dusk Legion to invite Princess Tina’s husband, Prince Kang De, from Cathay, out of the city.

He swore on the honor and dignity of the elves that he would not set up any traps.

The mages swept up a violent wind and blew at the shouts. The wandering knights drew their bows and nocked arrows, throwing soft arrows with arrows and letters tied to them into the city. Not only did they want Kang De to know about this, but they also wanted everyone in the city to know… be it soldiers, nobles, or commoners.

The members of the palace of the country they served and protected were in this city.

Vidal Chamber of Commerce.

After Preston conveyed the elf’s invitation, Leona immediately said, “You can’t go! The elves don’t keep their promises. They’re good at stirring up trouble and pretending to be trustworthy. They can’t be trusted! Since they already know your identity, they will capture you alive to threaten Tina, so you should leave Valentine immediately!”

When Preston heard this, he subconsciously glared at Leona, a citizen of the Empire.

“My brother said that the Second Prince’s reinforcements will arrive in three to five days,” he said. “If you leave, Valentine will definitely not be able to defend it. This is one of the reasons. Secondly, if you run away at a time like this, won’t your reputation be ruined? The elves are the best at stirring up trouble. As long as they announce it wantonly, your reputation will be ruined!”

He took a step forward and lowered his head sincerely, “I have selfish motives. Without you, Valentine City might have been broken yesterday. Many people would have died. Therefore, emotionally speaking, I don’t want you to leave, but this is not the entire reason. I’m not lying. If you leave, the elves won’t give up the chance to defame you! Why don’t you stay and wait for the reinforcements to arrive to work together to repel the elves? This is the best outcome!”

At this moment, Leona pulled Kang De back and said seriously, “Reputation is very important, but life is more important than reputation. Even if your reputation is smeared for a moment, you can clear it sooner or later if you’re alive. If you flatten Twilight City one day, you don’t have to do anything at all. There’ll naturally be a group of people fighting to help you cleanse your reputation…”

Worry appeared on the girl’s face, “Do you understand what I mean? Since the elves know your identity, they must be determined to obtain you because you’re the only chance to deter Tina’s northern operation. Strategically speaking, the elves have a reason to obtain you at all costs. It’s too dangerous to stay! They keep saying that reinforcements can’t come. What if it’s the elves’ reinforcements?”

Preston was furious when he heard this and suddenly pulled out his sword. “You Empire b*tch…”

Kang De pulled Leona behind him, his eyes cold. “What do you want?”

Preston was first stunned by his gaze, then said angrily, “She’s from the Empire and can’t be trusted. Why are you on her side?”

“I don’t trust any country, but I trust an individual. Even if she’s an elf, as long as I judge that I can trust her, I can. You can’t insult and hurt my friend!”

Kang De said coldly, “She got involved in this mess for Tina and me. I understand your vigilance and hostility towards the Empire, but watch your mouth!”

Preston’s face flushed red. He could not draw his sword or put it away. He panted with anger.

Fortunately, a moment later, another team of riders ran over. The soldiers outside greeted them one after another. The person who had smoothed things over had arrived. Mayor Nick walked into the courtyard and glanced at the embarrassed and helpless Preston. Although he did not know what had happened, he knew what to do.

“Soldier Preston, please return to your war zone immediately and monitor the movements of the elves.”

Preston put away his sword and agreed. He looked at Kang De one last time and strode away.

Only Mayor Nick was left in the courtyard. The others who had followed him were waiting outside.

The ruler of Valentine looked energetic, and his eyes were sharp and lively as if the weakness and madness revealed yesterday was only a dream… However, there were some gray spots at his temples.

The first thing he did was apologize.

“I apologize on his behalf,” Nick said, looking down. “He must have said something unseemly.”

Kang De said indifferently, “Mr. Mayor, are you going to apologize for your brother without distinguishing right from wrong?”

“There’s no need to distinguish. Just think about it and you’ll know the reason for the argument.” Nick smiled. “You turned the situation around and saved the entire city yesterday. He already admires you very much. How could he have a conflict with you? The argument today must be because of something new that happened today.”

Kang De was curious. “Please continue.”

“It’s not something that needs a long speech.” Nick sighed. “The common problem of humans… When he knew your identity and admired your actions and ability, he treated you as a compatriot and a member of the Goethe people. This is a form of approval. It’s originally a good thing, but it sometimes becomes a bad thing.”

“Because he acknowledges you and treats you as a member of Goethe, he’ll ask you to stand on our side and be like them. The worst thing is that he confused the concept of the Goethe people with his own perception and asked you to maintain the same thoughts and positions as him. This is simply asking for trouble.”

When Kang De heard this, he smiled. “Then what does the mayor think?”

Nick said softly, “I think you don’t care very much about the noble status you obtained from marrying Princess Tina. It can even be said that marrying Princess Tina doesn’t mean that you’ve become a Goethe person. Instead, Princess Tina became a Cathayan because of this.”

—I’m not even very concerned about marrying Tina.

However, he could not say this. Be it in front of Nick or anywhere, it was difficult to say.

What if he fell for her later?

Nick continued, “Nine out of ten men who live on this continent who have some knowledge have dreamed of marrying a princess. Apart from women, what they want to obtain more is the status and power that will follow. After all, on this continent, marrying a good wife can be worth 20 years of hard work.”

“However, I think that you’re in love with Princess Tina and definitely don’t fancy Tedrell’s power and status.”

“Because the elves invaded Goethe, the outcome is obvious at a glance. Princess Tina declared that you’ve already passed away. If you’re a greedy person who covets power and wealth, you’ll definitely not want to get involved in this mess. However, you’re here after all and hid your identity. You willingly protected this city and turned the tide several times.”

At this point, the mayor looked at Kang De and said sincerely, “Therefore, I think you chose to fight for Goethe at a time like this for love and responsibility, not for power and status. If an impressive person like you wants those things, you can completely get them yourself.”

“…”

D*mn, it felt so good.

—That’s right, it’s me. You’re right, say more.

Kang De smiled and said, “Mr. Mayor, you’re flattering me. However, you’ve already said good things… If you have any thoughts, why don’t you just say them?”

“I’m not here to talk,” Nick replied. “I’m here to listen.”

Kang De raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”

The mayor glanced at Leona, who looked wary behind Kang De, and slowly said, “I can roughly guess the conflict just now. Preston asked you to stay. Miss Leona asked you to leave. There was a conflict, so I came. I think Miss Leona and Preston are both wrong about something. How can a person like you listen to the opinions and suggestions of others? You want to hold your fate in your hands, just like me.”

He paused for a moment, then said softly, “No matter the outcome, I can accept it calmly.”

When Kang De heard this, his heart stirred slightly. He looked at the tall and elegant noble mayor opposite him.

The other party bowed slightly with a perfect etiquette that could not be picked out.

“Greetings, Your Highness Kang De. As you can see, the elves have issued an invitation. How should we deal with it and make a decision? I’m waiting for your answer and will cooperate with you fully. Regardless of whether you stay or leave, whether you attend the appointment or reject it… Please make a decision.” He said calmly.

“It doesn’t matter what happens?” Kang De said. “Even if I embarrass Tedrell?”

“Yes.” Nick straightened up and said seriously, “There’s no Tedrell in this city, only Valentine. I don’t care about what you said.”

Leona seemed to think of something and her expression turned strange and subtle. She desperately poked Kang De’s back with her finger from behind with a shocked expression.

Embarrass Tedrell.

—Could it be that it’s what I think? Hey! It’s more than embarrassing! If you do this, the Tedrell family will be destroyed on the mental and reputation level today!

At this moment, her mood was really indescribable, and her actions became larger and larger. She heard Kang De say, “Alright, I happen to have an idea…”

—No, ahhhhhhh!

She could not care less and grabbed Kang De’s arm. “Hey, hey, hey, this…”

Unexpectedly, Kang De turned to look at her and said with disdain, “You want to do that again? No, you can’t do anything rash this time. No matter what, the idea of throwing feces on the elf officers is too…”

Leona’s eyes widened. “You…”

Mayor Nick frowned. “What’s the point? It’ll only anger the elves. It’s useless. Instead, it’ll make Prince Kang De and Valentine a laughingstock. It’s better to avoid them.”

Kang De nodded and echoed, “That’s right, that’s right. I’ve been talking about her. A big girl actually likes to play with poop. It’s really too bad. Be more reserved…”

Leona flew into a rage. “You, you, you, you…”

—D*mn, who asked you to joke? I’m not a pervert. How can I play with feces? How disgusting.

“Alright, let’s not talk about this. I plan to meet the elves.”

Kang De said indifferently, “They shouted my identity because they wanted to force me to leave but could not. I can only stay in the city and wait for death. I’m the person who hates these schemes the most. Since they’re playing such a trick, I can only stay here and kill them all before leaving. It’s more carefree.”

“Since they’re so dirty, we don’t have to talk about morals.”

He turned to ask his iron son, “How’s the high-speed shell?”

The Autobot asked, “Father, what do you mean?”

Kang De waved his hand and slashed in the air. He said firmly, “I plan to imitate the story of the Hongmen Banquet and pretend to attend the banquet to feign civility with the other party. When all the important figures of the other party are here, I’ll secretly give the order to summon long-range artillery fire and plow the area around the banquet inside and out. I’ll kill as many as I can. At that time, Liu Bang won the battle between the Chu and Han dynasties like this.”

Everyone present looked at each other and was speechless for a moment. No one jumped out to say that this plan was great.

Nick barely understood Kang De’s plan. The other party planned to use his strange alchemy methods to blow up the banquet. It would be best if he could kill all the elves participating.

He asked directly, “How can I guarantee your safety?”

Kang De waved his hand and said, “I have my own way to escape. Don’t worry about this.”

The ability he had obtained from the crimson scroll was the greatest guarantee of this trip. Time acceleration was secondary. The most useful thing was the spatial anchor. As long as he set the spatial coordinates in the city, he would activate his ability to return to the white fog world and transmigrate again. He would directly appear in the city. At that time, he could take the opportunity to trick these sons of b*tches.

—You didn’t expect me to teleport, right? You can’t catch me at all.

If not for this ability, he would not have gone even if he was beaten to death.

He thought for a moment and said, “Right, do you have any powerful poison? Seizure drugs or something… It’s very poisonous and strange. Anything is fine. Take as much as you have and send it to me.”

“…”

Nick’s mouth opened.

He had just planned to say that he had to be careful of the elves poisoning him.

—You actually planned to do it yourself.

He thought for a moment and advised, “I’m afraid your plan won’t work because the elves will definitely be wary. The mages are on standby. Your methods might not be effective.”

“If I don’t try, I’ll never know if it’s effective. Even if I can’t kill the elves, it’s fine to shock them,” Kang De said. “There’s no good banquet for the elves. They already have ill intentions by calling out my whereabouts and name, so there must be a need to fight back. We have to go with the mentality of killing.”

He said to Mayor Nick, “Negotiate with the elves and discuss the banquet venue. Then, prepare for defense…”

“As for me…”

He stretched his neck and sneered, “I want to prepare a huge surprise for them.”

Outside the city, in front of the elf military camp, the commander stared at Valentine for a long time. He turned around and said, “Order the various departments to start mobilizing. If we can take down Kang De later, we’ll take the opportunity to attack the city!”

The adjutant revealed a strange expression, but he still lowered his head and replied, “Yes.”

“Elras, let me teach you something,” the commander said indifferently. “Elves are born noble and have their own beliefs and persistence. However, those so-called promises, so-called trustworthiness, so-called dignity, and so-called pride are all fake disguises that are used to deceive outsiders… The reason why they did not tear off the disguise is that the price is not enough after all. Now, it’s time to do it.”

“If we can capture Kang De alive later, there’s no need to keep the people of this city alive. After tomorrow, the elves will still be a noble race that keeps their promises and is proud. They’ll stand above despicable humans.”

…