Chapter 47: The "Welcome Ceremony" Prepared for Feishi
Inside the camp tent before High Mountain City, King Peru and his younger brother, Spring Iron Ram, were both present. A metal round table stood at the center. King Peru sat across from it, his seat covered with bearskin, while Spring Steel Ram stood diagonally behind him. On King Peru’s other side was a slender female dwarf, lacking the typical dwarven sturdiness, around 30 years old, with a few shallow scars on her face.
Behind and to the sides of these three stood dozens of Royal Guard soldiers, motionless as statues, barely blinking.
The tent flap was pushed open as Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Baha, Kaisa, and Oss walked in, with Su Xiao at the front.
Su Xiao took a seat opposite King Peru. Bubu Wang crouched by his leg, while Baha perched on the back of the chair behind him.
“Welcome to the heart of the Peru Kingdom, High Mountain City.”
King Peru across the round table spoke. Noticing Su Xiao had brought no guards, he raised his hand, and the dozens of Royal Guards retreated from the tent.
What was about to take place was a ceasefire negotiation, concerning the border defenses of both nations, the duration of the truce, and so on. A permanent ceasefire was too fantastical; mentioning it in such talks would signal insincerity.
A pale golden parchment lay at the center of the round table—the medium for signing the truce treaty. For now, it was merely valuable, but soon, it would be imbued with extraordinary significance. If the ceasefire agreement was signed, items like this metal table and chairs would become historical artifacts years later, prohibited from sale, collectible only by the Flame Sand or Peru Kingdoms.
“The scenery of High Mountain City is quite impressive.”
Su Xiao didn’t really care much about the ceasefire agreement. His goal was to capture the God of Verdant Growth alive.
“Continuing the war would only increase deaths in both our nations. Let Flame Sand and Peru cease fire for a hundred years. The territories belonging to the Flame Sand Kingdom will be returned to Flame Sand.”
King Peru offered this as the most basic concession. Regardless, Su Xiao had led his army to High Mountain City in the Peru Kingdom. If a full-scale war broke out, whether High Mountain City would fall aside, the chances of King Peru dying here were very low.
On the central battlefield, the Flame Sand Kingdom could hardly break through; years of defeat had already shown the gap between the two nations.
“Where is the God of Verdant Growth?”
Su Xiao cut straight to the point. He wouldn’t exert much effort on how much profit Flame Sand City could gain. His relationship with Flame Sand City was one of mutual exploitation: he won battles, and they provided soldiers. That was it. Initially, when he left Flame Sand City with 20,000 troops, Uno and Carros had intended to eliminate him this way.
However, many soldiers died for Su Xiao, and he had conquered the entire central battlefield, reclaiming all territories, including large oases, and compressing Peru’s front lines to the border. A hundred-year truce was achieved, but beyond that, other matters had little to do with him.
“Iron Ram, bring the Verdant God here.”
Hearing this, Spring Iron Ram turned and walked out of the tent. Soon, several soldiers carried in a large iron cage containing a tangled ball of branches.
“This is the God of Verdant Growth?”
Su Xiao looked at the spherical branches inside the cage, unable to connect this thing with a neutral deity.
“Spring, you’ve compromised? But it no longer matters. I won’t live much longer.”
The spherical branches inside the cage unfurled, forming a three-meter-tall humanoid figure—this was the God of Verdant Growth.
“Kukulin, how you deal with this traitor is none of my concern.”
King Peru didn’t even glance at the God of Verdant Growth. He had fulfilled his promises to it, only to be betrayed in return.
“Dwarf, the world is larger than you imagine.”
The God of Verdant Growth stopped addressing King Peru and turned to Su Xiao.
“You are a Law Destroyer? Law Destroyers actually exist. Since they do, the Void must also exist. I truly wish I could go there and take a look. This world is too small, and too dangerous.”
The God of Verdant Growth stood up inside the cage, its two branch-formed arms stretching horizontally upward.
“You will all be devoured too. No one can escape.”
The God of Verdant Growth laughed, tilting its head back, having completely given up struggling.
Crack!
A chunk suddenly disappeared from the God of Verdant Growth’s shoulder. Royal Guards rushed into the tent.
Crack, crack…
Bite marks appeared one after another on the God of Verdant Growth’s body. It slowly closed its eyes, and finally, its head vanished, as if swallowed by something.
From start to finish, Su Xiao didn’t act, yet a smile spread across his face.
“Finally showed up, huh. To you, the Verdant God was just a bonus.”
Su Xiao muttered under his breath. Killing the God of Verdant Growth did yield rewards, but compared to a certain big fish and a certain item, the rewards from this weakling deity were negligible.
With a clang, the front half of a long halberd fell to the ground. Bubu Wang’s dog paw reached into the cage and dragged it out.
[You have completed Main Quest: Second Ring.]
[You have obtained Golden Skill Points ×5.]
[Due to changing circumstances, Main Quest: Third Ring has been altered.]
[Main Quest: The Final Victor (Third Ring)]
Difficulty Level: Lv.67
Quest Info: Obtain the Fragment of Darnes’ Halberd (80% or more).
Tip: Fragment of Darnes’ Halberd obtained (51%).
Quest Time Limit: 10 natural days.
Quest Reward: Identification Rune (Special Item).
Quest Penalty: This is a special circumstance-triggered main quest; failure will reduce all attributes by 30%.
…
The penalty for the main quest was still harsh, but fortunately, Su Xiao already had a rough idea of how to proceed. The remaining fragments of Darnes’ Halberd were likely in Flame Sand City.
Su Xiao had gotten what he wanted. The remaining negotiations were handed directly to Kaisa.
Kaisa was first incredulous, then ecstatic. When he turned to look at King Peru and Spring Iron Ram, his eyes practically gleamed green.
Sensing Kaisa’s gaze, for some reason, both King Peru and Spring Iron Ram felt a chill in their hearts.
The negotiations continued, and the ceasefire treaty was soon signed. The two nations would not invade each other for a hundred years. All territories within the central battlefield belonged to Flame Sand, and dwarf troops were not to set foot there.
Beyond these terms, Su Xiao also received 40 Soul Crystals (Complete), 2 Holy Spirit Rank Gems, and 2 Holy Spirit Rank Long Blades.
There were also many “special items.” These “special items” would soon be used by Su Xiao to deal with Feishi.
According to Kaisa’s intention, he wanted to empty Peru’s national treasury. In reality, Kaisa was overthinking it. Based on Su Xiao’s estimation, if it came to a real fight, Peru wouldn’t necessarily fear Flame Sand. Peru could sustain a prolonged war, but Flame Sand could not.
The reason King Peru agreed to a ceasefire was that no dwarf legion could stop Su Xiao’s forces, hence today’s scene.
Su Xiao couldn’t continue fighting Peru; he still had to deal with Feishi. Moreover, the situation in Flame Sand City was growing increasingly dire. If he truly flattened High Mountain City, before he could confront Feishi, something might go wrong in Flame Sand City. High Mountain City served as a deterrent to Flame Sand, preventing someone there from acting rashly.
After the ceasefire agreement was successfully signed, King Peru’s expression softened considerably.
“The situation in your Flame Sand City—is it serious?”
King Peru suddenly said something seemingly out of context. Spring Iron Ram and the Dwarf Holy Soul on either side of him looked puzzled but dared not ask.
Su Xiao looked up at King Peru. After a moment of eye contact, he said, “Very serious. Over there, they’ve been using me to attack Peru, to tie you down—or rather, to take revenge on you through me.”
“Indeed. You didn’t fight for Flame Sand City. You came to sign the ceasefire because of the soldiers who followed you? Kukulin Bai Ye, as long as you’re here, this treaty is valid. If you’re not, it’s void. Peru is not just a dwarf kingdom. The original Peru Kingdom had three races: the Flame People farmed, the Mountain People roamed, and the Dwarves preferred forging—crafting tools and weapons for friends in exchange for mellow grain wine and rich meat.”
King Peru left these meaningful words and walked out of the tent.
Su Xiao placed his hand on the large wooden crate beside him. It was time to withdraw from the Peru Kingdom. He needed to lead his troops to a place and wait for Feishi to enter this world.
Then would come the “welcome ceremony”—a “welcome ceremony” of 270,000 beast cavalry. He wondered if Feishi, the strongest Seventh Rank violator, would be satisfied.
Su Xiao wanted to see just how strong the strongest Seventh Rank violator could be—whether she could even reach him.
There was no helping it. With 270,000 beast cavalry, if Feishi didn’t charge to Su Xiao’s front, it would be hard to spot her in the chaotic crowd. If they couldn’t even meet face to face, that would be too disappointing. Su Xiao had been waiting for Feishi in this world for many days.