Chapter 930: Adhere
The Brilliance Shrine was not too hard to handle. After all, they had already forged some relations with the Brilliance Shrine a long time ago. There was also a drastic change in the attitudes of the people from the Rotterdam who had always been haughty and arrogant. Archbishop Martin and Prince Jeremiah were secretly astonished as well.
Lin Li did not put on any airs, and he simply brought them to the spot outside the camp before leading them into the tent in the center. He smiled and gestured for the four of them to take a seat, seemingly having already forgotten about everything that had happened the day before. Lin Li’s behavior seemed to have made the four of them feel a little more relaxed, especially Prince Jeremiah who had made a fool out of himself yesterday. His discomfort seemed to have also faded.
Apart from Lin Li, the Tower of Dusk was also supported by Master Basel. There were a total of six people from the three forces in the tent, making it look extremely simple at a glance. After the six of them sat down, none of them spoke first. There was a somber mood in the tent.
After a moment of silence, Lin Li looked at the four people who were seated on both his sides. He smilingly said, “Why did you all come to look for me at this time? What’s the matter?”
Of course, Lin Li knew that the four of them intended to talk to him about cooperation during the exploration. However, the meaning would obviously be different depending on the person who brought it up.
“I heard that you have explored this Sky Castle before. Let me ask you, do you know anything about the Sky Castle?” Prince Kanber of the Rotterdam Kingdom asked in a hostile manner. He did not mention anything about the cooperation, and simply asked what Lin Li knew about the Sky Castle.
As for the cooperation, Prince Kanber did not believe that the Tower of Dusk was fit to cooperate with him. He was speaking on behalf of the Rotterdam Kingdom, and if there were any cooperation, it ought to be between nations. For example, a cooperation with Prince Jeremiah of the Ledin Kingdom.
After gaining some understanding yesterday, Kanber finally knew that the Tower of Dusk was just a local force from the Breezy Plains. He was a prince of a nation who represented the noble Rotterdam Kingdom. Cooperating with a small local force would be stooping below his level.
Upon hearing that rude question from Kanber, Donald could not help but secretly lament in his heart. All the reminders and instructions he had given before they arrived had clearly been useless. Regardless of the cooperation, Kanber’s condescending and bossy attitude alone might cause him to be chased out.
Looking at Prince Kanber who was holding his chin high and waiting for Lin Li to answer the question, Donald felt a strong urge to hold his forehead and sigh. In reality, he understood Prince Kanber well, and should have expected that long ago. However, they were both leaders of the team, and he couldn’t just leave Prince Kanber out of the discussion about the cooperation, which was an important matter.
Lin Li was also shocked to hear Kanber’s question, but he did not get angry at all. He simply smiled and calmly said, “What does this have to do with me?”
They were not in a cooperative relationship anyway. In fact, they could be considered competitors. Lin Li really could not figure out where the other party’s sense of superiority came from. Does he really think everyone in Anril has to submit to the Rotterdam Kingdom?
If it had been in the past, Lin Li might have thrown him out. However, with his current realm, he no longer bothered to argue with an insignificant small fry. It was just like a young child crying and throwing a tantrum in front of an adult. Perhaps a child would be worth reprimanding, but an insignificant small fry who was getting up to those things would not be taken seriously at all.
When Archbishop Martin saw that scene, he was rather joyous instead of feeling surprised. Even though he was the one who had revealed to the people of the Rotterdam Kingdom that Lin Li had explored the Sky Castle, and was the reason they wanted to cooperate, he did not wish to see the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom getting too close to the Tower of Dusk out of consideration for interests.
A cooperation was inevitable, especially for the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom. After all, they did not have deep ties with either side. Donald was clear that if the attitude of his team did not change, it would merely cause the Brilliance Shrine and the Tower of Dusk to form a closer alliance.
Therefore, after hearing Lin Li’s rhetorical question, Donald pressed his hand on Kanber’s shoulder without waiting for the latter to speak again. He looked at Lin Li, and said, “President Felic, we are all aware of the current situation, so there is no need to say anything meaningless. I, Prince Kanber, Archbishop Martin, and Prince Jeremiah have all come here with the purpose of discussing cooperation with the Tower of Dusk regarding the exploration of the Sky Castle.”
Although Donald was the one who first proposed a cooperation, he also latched onto the Brilliance Shrine. In other words, he was trying to say that the cooperation was proposed by both parties. Hence, in the upcoming discussions, the Rotterdam Kingdom would not be in too passive of a position, because they were tied together with the Brilliance Shrine.
Actually, Donald was not wrong when he said that. After all, before the arrival of the Tower of Dusk’s team, the teams from the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine had already reached a cooperation agreement. However, the relationship between the Tower of Dusk and the Brilliance Shrine was clearly not something that could be compared to a temporary partnership between the Brilliance Shrine and the Rotterdam Kingdom.
Of course, Donald’s compelling negotiation method immediately made Archbishop Martin feel rather displeased. If he hadn’t been worried about the hidden dangers in the Sky Castle, he wouldn’t have taken the initiative to seek out the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom to talk about cooperation. In fact, they might have even joined forces with the Tower of Dusk to annihilate the people from the Rotterdam Kingdom. Anyway, for over 1,300 years, the Rotterdam Kingdom seemed to have strayed away from Anril, and almost had no ties with any other nations, let alone any ties and connections with the Ledin Kingdom and the Brilliance Shrine.
However, they were in the Sky Castle which was once possessed by the Immortal King himself. No one knew what kind of dangers were hidden there. The Immortal King was the one who helped the High Elves establish their dynasty during their heyday, and could be considered an unparalleled powerhouse in the history of Anril. No one knew what kind of terrifying existences there were in the Sky Castle.
Hence, although he did not wish to see the people from the Rotterdam, the archbishop nonetheless suppressed his anger, and sincerely said to Lin Li, “Master Felic, this may be our first time here, and we haven’t encountered much trouble so far, but we can also feel that there are definitely great dangers hidden in this Sky Castle. Hence, I managed to convince the two representatives of the Rotterdam Kingdom to come together. I hope we, the three forces, can establish cooperation in this exploration.”
“Are you kidding? How is his experience useful at all? If we explore according to his experience, then I’m afraid we’ll end up with nothing. Archbishop Martin, the cooperation between us can be described as a cooperation between the Rotterdam Kingdom and the Ledin Kingdom. Does the Tower of Dusk represent the Felan Kingdom?”
Prince Kanber was filled with disdain towards Martin for stooping low. Ignoring Donald’s repeated hints, he continued, “Of course, the Tower of Dusk can join us in the exploration. However, they’re a small local force which should only be able to adhere to either of our teams. What do you think, Prince Jeremiah?”
Prince Kanber’s words were undeniably more or less true. In anyone’s mind, the so-called experience of previous exploration was nothing more than just having experienced some obstacles and gained some benefits. However, that experience could not be replicated. So what if they walked through it again? The treasures would not grow again anyway.
However, after hearing Prince Kanber ask for his opinion, Prince Jeremiah couldn’t help but shiver. The effects of the fact that he had turned himself into a laughing stock had yet to subside. He was too embarrassed to say anything now. Worried that he would embarrass himself again, he did not know how to react all of a sudden. He subconsciously said, “Is that so? What? Um…”
Seeing Jeremiah’s behavior, Prince Kanber could no longer hide the contempt on his face. Not waiting for Jeremiah to answer him, he turned to Lin Li and arrogantly said, “I’ll give you a chance, you can now join us as a condition for participating in the exploration of the Sky Castle. If we gain anything during the exploration, we won’t shortchange you. Also, after we leave, you will enjoy the support of the Rotterdam Kingdom. I believe the Tower of Dusk will have a place in the Breezy Plains.”
Looking at Prince Kanber who was speaking nonchalantly, Archbishop Martin was completely stunned. He had always thought that Prince Jeremiah who often tagged along beside him was already arrogant and cocky enough. To his surprise, Kanber, the prince of the Rotterdam, was much worse. He actually asked Lin Li to submit to them without bothering about the Tower of Dusk’s background. It was as if he had become the king of the world. Indeed, he lived up to his name of being someone with the blood of the High Elves.
However, the arrogance of the High Elves was justified by their impeccable competency. They had dominated Anril and created an unprecedented prosperous dynasty, all with their own strength. Meanwhile, Prince Kanber was incompetent, and so was his team. Did he really think that this kind of strength would be enough to steadily suppress the Tower of Dusk?
“In that case, there’s nothing more to talk about. Please leave,” said Lin Li who could not be bothered to fight back, because he was giving Archbishop Martin some face. However, there was no need for him to be nice to Prince Kanber who had a sense of superiority. It was nice enough of him not to throw him out of the Sky Castle.
Prince Kanber could obviously tell what Lin Li meant. He stood up in exasperation and looked at Lin Li. He sneered, and said, “Great, great, one day you will realize that you’ve made a wrong decision!”
After saying that, he actually left his seat and strode out of the tent.
At the sight of that, Donald panicked and frantically stood up as well. He said to Lin Li and Archbishop Martin, “Don’t worry, the cooperation is in the best interest of us, the three parties. He just couldn’t figure it out at the moment. I’ll go persuade him, and we’ll discuss the details of the cooperation when we return.” After saying that, he quickly chased after Kanber without waiting for them to respond.
Donald finally managed to catch up with Prince Kanber who had left in anger. However, before Donald could say anything to persuade him, Prince Kanber angrily said, “Master Donald, as you just saw, it wasn’t that I didn’t give them a chance, but that Felic is just too ungrateful. They’re just an insignificant local force. Let’s just go back, reorganize our team, and annihilate them.”
“Annihilate them? Didn’t you see that they have an ambiguous relationship with the Brilliance Shrine? Do you think the Brilliance Shrine will sit back and watch us take action against them!?” Donald was filled with fury when he heard Kanber’s words.
However, Donald did not really see the Tower of Dusk as a threat, either. He was just worried about the Brilliance Shrine. The dwarf yesterday had merely surprised him with alchemical ability. That did not mean that the Tower of Dusk was extremely competent at large.
“So what if it’s the Brilliance Shrine? Aren’t they scared of starting a war between the two nations?” Kanber questioned self-righteously. He represented the Rotterdam Kingdom, while the Brilliance Shrine represented the Ledin Kingdom. If they really got into a fight, it was bound to cause a conflict between the two nations. Besides, Kanber was not entirely clueless about the border tensions between the Ledin Kingdom and Felan Kingdom throughout all these years. How could the Ledin Kingdom dare to take the risk to offend the Rotterdam Kingdom in such circumstances?
“If you don’t do anything, will that make you end up with nothing!? What are we here for? Without enough effort and credit, how could His Majesty hand over the throne to you? Do you think those brothers of yours are willing to see you inherit the throne!?” Donald barked in infuriation. He could no longer be bothered to consider Kanber’s identity. He’d simply expected better from him.
Upon hearing the matter regarding the succession of the throne, Kanber had no choice but to mellow out. However, he refused to speak in a better tone. “What rights do those pieces of trash have to vie with me?”
“You should know that very well. In order to prevent any accidents from happening during this operation, we must establish cooperation. Forget about the cooperation, just remember, whatever we do back there, it’s all for the sake of letting you inherit the throne successfully. This is above everything else. Go back first, I’ll talk to them about the details of the cooperation.” Donald initially still planned to pull Kanber back, but at the thought of Prince Kanber’s character, he thought that the latter might cause some issues in the following discussion.
Kanber now knew that Donald was right, but he could not bring himself to go back again after coming out. Hence, he did not say anything, and simply headed towards the camp of his team.