Chapter 1094: Chapter 1081: Evil? The Crimson King Chapter 1094: Chapter 1081: Evil? The Crimson King Through this envoy corps, they could estimate the approximate military strength of the nation behind them, and then calculate how many troops the Gai Nation might need to dispatch and how long it would take to flatten them.

Yes, this is the current thinking of the Gai Nation’s army; upon learning that there is another country out there, their first reaction is to determine how much power is needed to completely conquer the nation, rather than to live peacefully with it.

This mindset extends from the highest commander down to the common soldiers; it is a concept developed from Gai Nation’s twenty years of warfare.

In their eyes, nations only have the relationship of conqueror and conquered, and naturally, they, the Gai Nation, are the exalted conquerors.

Wearing black armor, the general rode his mount, accompanied by his personal guards, out of the fortress that spanned the gorge and ignored the small troop of knights beneath their fortress, charging directly to the surroundings of that distinctly armoured envoy corps and then sizing them up.

And as soon as the two sides made contact, the disdain on the faces of the commanders on both sides vanished, replaced by solemn expressions, their changes in demeanor occurring in remarkable unison.

For, as the general of the Gai Nation had a clear view of the armor worn by this mysterious envoy corps, he saw a kind of armor with white as the main color, interspersed with decorations of green, purple, and blue among other hues, looking exceptionally luxurious. At the same time, it appeared to have a fine quality to it, with quite an impressive defensive power.

In the general’s judgment, a nation capable of producing such flamboyant armor must possess considerable military strength, for without achieving a certain level of development, which country would go to the trouble of creating such armor.

Wanting to pursue art requires a certain strength; only with money can you afford to create it. A small, insignificant nation really doesn’t have the luxury to indulge in such pursuits.

And the delegation leader, who was entering the perceived Wild Land to pay a visit to the sovereign of this region, was equally shocked when he saw the Gai Nation’s general and his personal guards, because the confluence of these people made it very clear to see the vital energy swirling around them.

That was the kind of aura that only warriors who had fought countless battles and emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood could possess. This aura also shook the leader of the delegation.

Moreover, while the Gai Nation’s general was appraising the envoy corps’ equipment, the leader of the delegation was similarly evaluating the weapons and armor of the Gai Nation’s soldiers, as it was the most direct way to gauge the depth of a nation’s capabilities.

And just when both sides had set aside their mutual contempt, the leader of the incoming delegation spoke, “I am an envoy from the Stream Mountain Country, and I wish to meet with your monarch. I wonder if you could report our arrival.”

“That is possible, but you must wait here. If you dare to move about freely, we will regard you as enemies, and you can’t blame us if you’re injured afterward.”

After a moment of thought, the general nodded and decided to report this matter to the king for handling. This delegation was clearly from a powerful nation, and whether to wage war or maintain peace was naturally for the monarch to decide.

Moreover, the general estimated that a fight was unlikely at present because their potential for reform through warfare had already been depleted, and they needed to accumulate more for defense rather than offense.

“Understood,” the delegation leader responded unperturbed upon hearing the general’s words, while the knights behind him showed signs of displeasure.

They felt humiliated; in their view, this group of soldiers in black armor were merely from a weak nation of the Wild Land.

“Alright then, wait here. It may take several days,” the general noted the expressions on the faces of the envoy members and chuckled nonchalantly, having a rough idea of what they were thinking.

For he had almost witnessed Gai Nation rise from a minor power, just capable of self-preservation, to the true Overlord of the Ymir Plain.

During this process, as a member of the Gai Nation’s army, he had also faced much disdain, but he had trampled those who had once looked down on him underfoot, and now the grass over their graves was more than nine meters tall.

Soon, the information about this envoy corps and the general’s assessment of the military strength of the nation behind them was quickly delivered to Muria through a courier network.

Then the command from Muria agreeing to meet with the delegation was just as swiftly transmitted back to the general.

“Envoy corps from the Stream Mountain Country, My King has consented to grant you an audience. Prepare yourselves, only three hundred of you may pass through this fortress to have an audience with My King.”

Not even bothering to show himself this time, the general merely dispatched one of his personal guards with more than a thousand elite soldiers to surround the envoy corps and deliver Muria’s royal decree.

“Three hundred people, what about the remaining members of the delegation?”

“We can provide some food,” replied the personal guard who came to deliver the message, emotionless.

“Fine,” the delegation leader calculated the time they had been waiting and agreed to the terms, still eager to witness firsthand what the nation behind the troops stationed at this gorge fortress was really like.

“Please allow us to make preparations!”

“So do, but don’t think of playing any tricks,” warned the personal guard who had come to pass the message.

“We are an envoy corps, not an army!” the delegation leader said with a smile, then rode back to his camp to prepare the entourage for the audience.

“General, these soldiers from the small countries of the wilderness have dared to insult us time and again. Shall we just keep enduring it?” When the leader was selecting candidates to enter Gai Nation, a discontented attendant complained.

“If we do not endure, what else can we do? Shall we rush up and fight them? Don’t forget, this is someone else’s territory. Even if their country’s power is small, they can easily wipe us out,” the leader retorted.

“But our Stream Mountain Country…”

“This is not the territory of Stream Mountain Country. Our legion can’t come here right now,” the leader interrupted his attendant, and then stared at him expressionlessly, “Remember, our mission for appearing here is not to cause me trouble.”

“Understood.”

A moment later, the leader organized his troupe, and under the escort of an army of three thousand soldiers from Gai Nation, they officially entered the territory of Gai Nation.

While walking on the flat and broad thoroughfare, the leader couldn’t help but show a moved expression on his face. As a man knowledgeable in military affairs, he understood what such unobstructed traffic meant for war.

“Are these roads just as passable in the rain?” the leader, who had traveled half a day on the thoroughfare, couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course,” the junior officer charged with the escort mission, upon hearing the foreigner’s question, replied with pride.

“These roads must have cost a lot of manpower and resources to build. How many have your country constructed?”

“Where needed, they’ve been constructed,” the junior officer glanced dismissively at the leader, who was trying to glean information from him, and then replied with an obvious statement.

Seeing that the officer intentionally began to guard against him, the leader from Stream Mountain Country didn’t take offense. He started to survey the scenery on both sides of the road, and then he saw the fertile land deserted and commoners with hungry, gaunt faces.

As he watched, the leader’s face broke into a smile because these were precisely what he wanted to see. He didn’t hope for the existence of overly strong nations in this part of the wilderness, which Stream Mountain Country had not fully explored.

“What are you looking at?” asked the escort general, noticing the smiling leader trying, but failing, to conceal his amusement.

“I’m just curious, why are those commoners tilling the fields? Yet, their faces are so thin and wizened. Can’t they even eat their fill?”

“Oh, this situation is only temporary. This area has only just been conquered by Gai Nation; it was always in chaos before, and these commoners had no time to grow food,” explained the general.

Upon hearing this, the leader’s smile froze on his face. And then, the more he saw on his journey, the more silent and reticent he became.

But when he finally saw the Capital City of Gai Nation, he completely abandoned his original plan.

“From now on, I am truly the leader of the envoy, here for the sake of peace,” he resolved as he entered the bustling Capital City of Gai Nation, cementing his identity.

…

“Greetings to the Monarch of Gai Nation!”

When Stream Mountain Country’s three hundred-person envoy passed through the court, dominated by black and red tones, to meet Muria in the grandest palace, they all bowed deeply and showed extraordinary respect.

“Hmm, introduce your identities!” Muria said indifferently upon seeing this group of envoys, whose armor and decorations differed vastly from those of Ymir Plain. However, he felt an inexplicable sense of anticipation.

“My King, we come from…”

“Stream Mountain Country,” Muria nodded noncommittally after hearing the simple self-introduction of the delegation, “So, what’s the purpose of your visit? It can’t possibly be that your country paid money for you to come sightseeing here!”

“My King, we are here for an alliance; to unite all forces in opposition to the evil Crimson King.”

“Alliance?” Muria’s face remained expressionless. Who were they trying to fool? What was their behavior when they first saw Gai Nation’s army? His general had reported everything clearly. They didn’t even know about Gai Nation’s existence prior to this.

“Yes.”

“Oh? Then tell me, who is this Crimson King?” Muria was already feeling a strange premonition at this point.

“My King, the Crimson King is a supremely powerful and evil entity. She delights in…” As the leader of the envoy spoke, he vividly described to Muria the bloodthirsty saga of a mighty and malevolent queen. The more Muria listened, the stranger his expression became.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read