# Chapter 38: Winds Rising and Clouds Surging
In the early morning, the sunlight was bright. Under this bright sunlight, 500,000 wolf cavalry had already assembled outside Crescent Fortress, ready to march into the Aier Great Forest at any moment.
The army had been assembled for half an hour, yet the orc hero Warbol, serving as the vanguard commander, had still not received the order to advance. This filled his heart with anxiety, even a hint of irritation.
The reason was that this morning, problems had arisen at the main defensive line of the Chaos Legion in the rear. The dwarves and barbarians had launched an attack on their main defensive line as if possessed, causing extremely heavy losses on their side, though the other two factions hadn't fared much better either.
What was surprising was that after completing a full-scale assault, the dwarven and barbarian forces immediately withdrew. After pulling back from the frontline war zone, they retreated to the Eastern Marsh, the Eastern Border.
The dwarves, barbarians, and lizardmen had now shown their stance—they would no longer participate in the frontline war. This full-scale assault was their final battle.
Even more astonishing was that at seven o'clock this morning, the dwarves, barbarians, and lizardmen all announced to the outside world that they were withdrawing from the Six-Tribe Alliance, reducing it to a Three-Tribe Alliance.
This somewhat abrupt full-scale assault, combined with the news of the three tribes withdrawing from the alliance, made some sharp-eyed individuals sense that something major was about to happen on the Canglong Continent.
The reason Su Xiao hadn't ordered the army to move was that an hour ago, several special "guests" had arrived at Crescent Fortress.
These people had been escorted into the fortress by wolf cavalry, nearly killed along the way, and it was only thanks to Baha's timely intervention that they survived.
They weren't a diplomatic delegation from the elves, but diplomats from the Duoyin Empire, along with two accompanying soldier-captains.
It could be said that the Southern War Zone was now Su Xiao's territory. Any troops from the Six-Tribe Alliance entering this war zone would soon be surrounded and annihilated by the wolf cavalry.
Inside the stone building where Su Xiao resided, the fragrance of black tea wafted through the air. A female soldier-captain was holding a teapot, pouring tea for Su Xiao and a smiling middle-aged man.
"Lord White Night, don't be polite. This is a specialty of the Mipo Manor—only one harvest every five years, the finest of the fine."
The diplomat named Difton made a gesture of invitation, then picked up the black tea cup in front of him, took a light sip, and his brow relaxed.
Su Xiao glanced at the black tea cup before him, then at the diplomat across from him. He hadn't expected Duoyin to send someone; logically speaking, the Duoyin Empire shouldn't be intervening now.
"We two sides have far too many misunderstandings—years of war, racial differences, cultural conflicts. But ah, Lord White Night, we Duoyin people and grey orcs both have two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. The staple food of our common people is grain. We both know how to farm and harvest. In truth... there is no essential difference between Duoyin people and grey orcs, don't you agree?"
Diplomat Difton set down his teacup, exhaling warm breath.
"..."
Su Xiao couldn't quite grasp the Duoyin Empire's attitude. Judging by the diplomat's tone, this seemed very much like a peace negotiation.
"The reason for war is nothing more than that this continent's resources aren't enough to distribute among ten races. The elves occupy the Southern Border, the Ice Descendants occupy the Northern Border. My country, Duoyin, is squeezed in the middle—what a terrible position."
Diplomat Difton let out a long sigh. From his tone, it sounded as if Duoyin could be invaded by the elves and Ice Descendants at any moment.
"Suppose... I'm just supposing, please don't misunderstand—suppose Duoyin were to possess the Central Region and Northern Border, while the Chaos Legion occupied most of the Southern Border and Western Border. Wouldn't that mean the Canglong Continent would finally see rare peace? Resources determine everything."
Diplomat Difton traced a circle on the table with his finger, then continued:
"Of course, this is just my personal fantasy. The Aier Great Forest belongs to the elves, but then again, this forest doesn't represent the entire Southern Border. It's a remote, barren place—nothing worth envying except trees and gems. The Southern War Zone we're in occupies most of the Southern Border's territory. Add the Western Border to that, and the breadth of this land already covers a third of the continent."
Diplomat Difton drew on the circular shape on the table, separating a third of it, representing the entire Western Border and most of the Southern Border.
"Lord White Night, what do you think of this territory covering a third of the continent? The land here is fertile, and there's a river spanning the entire map. In a few decades, the Chaos Legion's population could be several times, even a dozen times, what it is now."
Hearing this, Su Xiao understood the purpose of Diplomat Difton's visit. The Duoyin Empire had grown impatient and was clearly preparing to ally with him to attack the Extreme Ice Lord of the Northern Border.
Of course, this had a prerequisite—first dealing with the elves of the Aier Great Forest, at least beating them down. As for the Aier Great Forest, aside from the elves treating it as a treasure, none of the other factions valued it.
Trees were certainly a resource, but for development, large tracts of flat, fertile land were the foundation of growth—at least for the Duoyin people and grey orcs.
Despite the grey orcs' haphazard appearance, they could grow crops in the Western Border where temperatures dropped below zero. Their farming level actually surpassed that of the Duoyin people.
"The Ice Descendants of the Northern Border are fundamentally different from us. They are strong 'beasts.' They... it keeps the Northern Border frozen year-round. Haven't you noticed, Lord White Night? After the dire wolves left the Northern Border, they experienced no discomfort and quickly adapted to the Southern Border's temperature and climate. This isn't because of their powerful bodies, but because their ancestors didn't live in cold regions.
It was the Ice Descendants who made the Northern Border cold. And now, those 'beasts' calling themselves Ice Descendants have gathered their strength. A few days ago, you breached the 'Yatade Wall'—you angered them. At this very moment, Duoyin's army is positioned at the Northern Border's boundary line. We are about to go to war with the Northern Border!"
Difton dropped a bombshell. Before Duoyin and the Northern Border completely fell out, this information was absolute top secret. The Duoyin Empire was going to war with the Northern Border.
From the very beginning, Su Xiao had noticed that the Extreme Ice Lord of the Northern Border was supposedly one of the three major powers, but judging from the war zone situation, the Northern Border wasn't particularly strong. This was very unusual.
When Su Xiao had attacked the Ice Hoof Fortress, the grey orc forces had suffered 60,000 casualties—the bloodiest battle in history. And this was with the grey orc army benefiting from War Lord bonuses. One could imagine the combat effectiveness of the Ice Descendant warriors.
Even so, the Northern Border's performance on the frontline wasn't impressive. Now it seemed they had also been accumulating strength, to the point where they could now contend with the Duoyin Empire.
The three major powers—Duoyin, the Northern Border, and the elves. The first two were genuinely powerful, while the last, the elves, appeared relatively strong on the surface but often whimpered when facing a tough battle.
This was actually why Su Xiao had come to beat up the elves. He didn't have many troops, so of course he needed to find the easiest opponent first, thereby accumulating the secondary titles needed for the War Lord.
Now that the Chaos Legion's momentum had waned, population determined many things. More importantly, the two things Su Xiao had done had caused the Northern Border and Duoyin to completely fall out.
First, Su Xiao had shattered the "Yatade Wall" with a few sword strikes. For the Northern Border, that was a natural barrier—a barrier blocking Duoyin.
When Su Xiao had first led his troops into the Northern Border, the Northern Border hadn't been intimidated, hadn't even cared much. Their foundation was there—a few hundred thousand grey orcs couldn't shake the Northern Border. But after Su Xiao shattered the "Yatade Wall," the Northern Border became enraged.
Second, Su Xiao had beaten the elves badly. Among the three major powers, the elves had previously served as a balancing force, allowing Duoyin and the Northern Border, both accumulating troops, to coexist in uneasy peace.
Now the elves could no longer maintain this balance. Duoyin and the Northern Border, both developed behemoths, were beginning to show their claws.
The Northern Border had always known about Duoyin's ambitions, but what the outside world didn't know was that the Northern Border had quietly grown stronger. Their previous fear of Duoyin had been a facade.
"Lord White Night, please consider it."
Diplomat Difton sat across from Su Xiao with a beaming smile, changing his address from "Great Lord" to "Lord." This was a private discussion, and Difton wasn't worried about the title damaging the Duoyin Empire's dignity.
Just as Difton sat there with a full smile, awaiting Su Xiao's response, a female wolf cavalry soldier quickly approached. Among the female orc soldiers, this one was definitely well-proportioned and attractive.
The downside was that she was quite violent. Two days ago, she had beaten a suitor half to death with her bare hands, after which Su Xiao had ordered her hung from the city wall for a night. If not for Warbol pleading on her behalf, this female orc soldier would have been executed by Amu under military law, her head chopped off with the Dragonheart Axe.
"Lord, three Ice Descendants wish to see you."
The female wolf cavalry soldier spoke in a low voice, then stood behind Su Xiao, her light red eyes glaring unkindly at Difton.
"Oh?"
A smile appeared on Su Xiao's face. Things were more interesting than expected. Duoyin and the Northern Border had fallen out, and he, commanding the wolf cavalry legion, had become the target of both sides' courtship.
Before long, an Ice Descendant with a single horn on his head and transparent tentacle-like whiskers on his chin entered the room. Behind him followed two Ice Descendant maidens with pointed ears covered in fine fur.
"Honorable Lord White Night, I am Simon of the Ice Descendants. To receive your personal audience is my honor."
Simon of the Ice Descendants bowed slightly. He raised his hand, and the Ice Descendant maiden behind him presented an ice box.
"At our first meeting, this is a small gift for you. Please don't refuse. Allow me to add—this is merely a greeting gift. Compared to the gifts that will follow, this is nothing. Our Northern Border's leader, the Extreme Ice Lord, is generous and won't, like some king, send an envoy to meet you empty-handed."
Simon of the Ice Descendants placed the ice box on the table before Su Xiao. He shifted his gaze to the diplomat Difton sitting opposite Su Xiao, and his expression immediately turned cold.
Both were diplomats, and their purpose here was exactly the same—to form a temporary alliance with Su Xiao. How powerful the wolf cavalry legion was could be seen from the "bruised and battered" elves.
Su Xiao's finger tapped the ice box on the table, and a prompt appeared.
[You have obtained Ice Heart (Holy Spirit Rank Equipment).]