Chapter 14: Yale's Visit
In June of the year 10,034 of the Yulan calendar, the flames of war once again blazed across the Yulan continent.
The Yulan Empire, the O'Brien Empire, and the Baruch Empire formed an alliance, launching the largest-scale war in several millennia against the weaker Rohault Empire, the Rhine Empire, the Sacred Alliance, the Dark Alliance, and the Far East Prairie.
The spiritual leader of the Far East Prairie, the War Saint 'Tulily', had long received warnings from the War God and the High Priest, and knew that this tide of events was irreversible.
Furthermore, Linley had shown kindness to him, Tulily. And Tulily also did not want the warriors of the Far East Prairie to throw their lives away in vain before the forbidden destructive magic of Saint-level magi. Therefore, Tulily had long since dispatched his Saint-domain disciples to hold discussions with the kings of the three prairie kingdoms.
Although the three prairie kingdom kings had not agreed to submit to the Baruch Empire, they had not yet issued a strong refusal either.
...
The highest echelons of the Sacred Alliance and the Dark Alliance had already been eliminated, their Saint-domain experts nearly wiped out, leaving both alliances as scattered as a tray of loose sand.
The O'Brien Empire's army, passing through the northern passage of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, marched into the Sacred Alliance. The well-informed kings and grand dukes of the Sacred Alliance, upon learning that the Sacred Island had been destroyed and the high-ranking members of the Church of Light were nearly all dead or injured, some chose to secretly meet with representatives of the O'Brien Empire.
In fact, the news of the destruction of the Church of Light's high-ranking members was actively spread by the O'Brien Empire itself.
Since it was true, any surviving members of the Church of Light in various regions could not conceal it no matter how hard they tried. Clearly... the Sacred Alliance was about to become a historical term, completely conquered by the O'Brien Empire; it was only a matter of time.
At least, from the current perspective, it was just a matter of time.
And the situation of the Dark Alliance was not much better than that of the Sacred Alliance.
Of course, the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness originally had many members scattered outside. Although their headquarters were destroyed and few Saint-domain experts remained, the management of worldly affairs was primarily handled by those personnel still active in the secular world.
After thousands of years of rule, the influence of these two churches remained very strong.
The remnants of the Church of Light and the Church of Darkness, especially some fanatical believers, were unwilling to give up.
Religious faith was truly powerful.
Through various means—some gentle, some bloody—the two churches relied on their accumulated power of over ten thousand years to stabilize the situation in their respective alliances. They were determined to fight the Yulan Empire and the O'Brien Empire, unwilling to surrender until the very last moment.
...
At the foot of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, on a desolate road in the southeastern province of the O'Brien Empire.
A strange figure, completely shrouded in a green robe, stood on this desolate road, looking around. Only his withered fingers, resembling chicken claws, protruding from the long sleeves, could barely indicate that this strange figure should be an emaciated old man.
But...
His eyes were a gleaming green, like the eyes of a wolf in the dead of night.
Behind him stood nine humanoid figures, each completely covered in silver robes. These nine humanoid figures, shrouded in silver robes, stood respectfully behind the green-robed, emaciated old man, like servants, extremely deferential.
"Yulan continent, this is the Yulan continent..." A hoarse, low voice came from the green-robed, emaciated old man.
"Cough, cough..." A coughing sound arose, and the green-robed, emaciated old man seemed somewhat weak and feeble.
Suddenly, two young men appeared ahead, riding fine horses side by side on this desolate road. As they looked at the green-robed, emaciated old man and the nine mysterious silver-robed figures standing on the road ahead, an inexplicable chill rose in their hearts.
The two young men instinctively controlled their horses, intending to quickly leave via the edge of the road.
They did not want to get involved with these seemingly mysterious figures.
"Humans..." Seeing the two young men, the green-robed, emaciated old man's green eyes lit up. His two hands, as thin as a layer of skin over bones, resembling chicken claws, stretched out flatly. Instantly, a strange, invisible force controlled the two young men.
"Ah!" "Ah!"
The two young men felt themselves unable to move, and then, against their will, they flew up, shooting like arrows towards the green-robed, emaciated old man. This caused both young men to let out terrified, low screams.
"Puchi!" "Puchi!"
Each hand grabbed a young man's head. Immediately, the two young men's faces contorted in pain, twitching continuously, as if having a seizure.
"Oh, the War God, the High Priest? And that legendary Dragonblood Warrior?" The emaciated old man murmured softly, then his green eyes glanced at the two twitching young men, whose eyes were rolling back. "Poor children, I grant you eternal release."
Then, the bodies of the two young men fell to the ground, but there was no trace of life left in them. They were dead.
"Pity, these souls are too weak; devouring them won't help me much." The emaciated old man let out a comfortable, long sigh.
Devouring souls?
If anyone heard this, it would be utterly horrifying.
But the nine silver-robed mysterious figures behind him remained silent, respectfully standing behind.
"Now that the Yulan continent has erupted into a large-scale war covering the entire continent, this is your best chance. Go, children, don't disappoint me." The green-robed, emaciated old man's hoarse voice sounded. The nine silver-robed mysterious figures all knelt respectfully on one knee: "Yes, Great Witch!"
Then, "Swoosh, swoosh..."
The nine silver-robed mysterious figures transformed into nine streaks of silver light, instantly becoming specks of light that disappeared into the sky. Their speed was so fast that even if Linley or Desri had seen it, they would have been shocked.
"The Yulan continent, after ten thousand years, it has changed so much." The green-robed, emaciated old man sighed softly. "First, recover my strength. When the time is right, I will go and pay a visit to Lord Beirut." Then, the green-robed, emaciated old man moved, turning into a blur that vanished instantly.
In the Baruch Empire, the Dragonblood Castle main hall.
"Big brother Yale, you've come at an unlucky time. A few months ago, my brother went into seclusion for cultivation." Wharton said helplessly to Yale, who was visiting.
"Third brother is in seclusion?" Yale frowned.
"What's wrong? Is there some trouble? Why don't you tell me about it? Maybe I can help solve it." Wharton said with a smile. He also knew how close Yale and Linley were, so naturally, he wanted to help with Yale's matters.
Yale pondered for a moment, then said, "Wharton, can't he come out to see me for a bit? This matter is really important to me."
Wharton apologized, "Big brother Yale, I'm really sorry. My brother's current seclusion is different from before. It's quite important. Before going into seclusion, he gave orders that unless there is something extremely, extremely important, no one is to disturb him. In fact, even if I agree to let you see my brother, I still need the consent of Mr. Sessler and the others."
The Dragonblood Castle placed great importance on Linley's seclusion. No matter how good the relationship was, unless it was absolutely necessary, no one was allowed to disturb Linley.
"I see..." Yale pondered for a moment.
"Well, Wharton, I won't disturb third brother then. Hmm, I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be going now." Yale said.
...
Yale's visit was considered a minor matter at Dragonblood Castle, and no one paid much attention to it.
The next day.
At the Imperial Palace of the Baruch Empire.
Sini strode into the rear garden, smiling at Yale, who was waiting there. "President Yale, I'm really sorry to keep you waiting. Please, have a seat." Upon receiving the news of Yale's visit, Sini had immediately set aside his work to meet him. After all, Sini knew about Yale's relationship with Linley.
"Your Majesty Sini, there's no rush. Your affairs are more important." Yale was very humble.
Although when Sini was young, Yale had played with him when visiting Linley, Sini was now the emperor of an empire. In the palace, Yale maintained a very humble attitude.
"President Yale, don't be so formal! Why are you being so polite with me?" Sini said cheerfully. "Tell me, what's the matter? If I can help, I definitely will."
Yale said, "Then, Your Majesty Sini, I'll be direct. This time, I've come to ask for your help. Your Majesty, you are currently engaged in a great war with the Rohault Empire, and you are winning battle after battle."
"Hmm, yes." Sini nodded slightly.
He was puzzled as to why Yale was bringing this up.
"I have a request that might be a bit excessive." Yale said.
"Oh?" Sini looked at him.
Yale smiled and continued, "It's like this. I know that this time, the three empires have allied to completely conquer the other side. This war will certainly be brutal. And I believe that the Baruch Empire has already captured quite a few enemy soldiers."
"Yes, so what?" Sini looked at him.
During war, capturing enemy soldiers was normal.
Moreover, the goal of this war was to completely conquer the Rohault Empire. How could the Rohault imperial family agree to that? Naturally, they would resist hysterically.
"Your Majesty Sini, after you capture these enemy soldiers, most of them will eventually become slaves. I was wondering, Your Majesty, if you could sell all these captured soldiers to our Dawson Conglomerate?" Yale spoke for a while before finally stating his request.
Sini immediately frowned.
Sell the captured enemy soldiers to the Dawson Conglomerate?
Generally, empires would use captured enemy soldiers as cannon fodder in war, or have them build bridges, pave roads, mine, dredge rivers, and do other hard labor. Perhaps a small number of captured soldiers might be sold.
But selling all captured soldiers to a single chamber of commerce...
This was very rare.
Because this was a life-or-death war between empires. A typical empire might have two to three million soldiers, and with reserves, perhaps several million. In a war of annihilation, the number of captured soldiers could be very large. For example, wiping out a large legion could result in capturing a hundred thousand men.
After conquering the Rohault Empire, the number of captured soldiers would be at least several hundred thousand, possibly even more.
Several hundred thousand soldiers, though captured, were still seasoned warriors. Giving so many men to a chamber of commerce?
"Well..." Sini hesitated.
Although the other party was Yale, Linley's big brother, Yale's request was too large—he wanted the Baruch Empire to sell all its captured soldiers to the Dawson Conglomerate.
"Your Majesty Sini, what are you worried about? Our Dawson Conglomerate has no large territory, nor Saint-domain experts like third brother. They are just captured slaves." Yale persuaded. "Your Majesty Sini, please help me out."
Yale spoke very sincerely.
"President Yale, your Dawson Conglomerate hasn't been involved in the slave market much in the past. Why do you need so many captured soldiers now?" Sini asked in return.
Yale laughed and said, "It's just an internal discussion within the chamber of commerce, finally formulating a development plan."
Sini pondered for a moment, then looked at Yale twice.
In truth, captured soldiers were of little use to the Baruch Empire. Their goal was to destroy the Rohault Empire, and they certainly wouldn't exchange captured soldiers for money after the war. Secondly... in Sini's view, what harm could giving these slaves to the Dawson Conglomerate do?
Could the Dawson Conglomerate also want to become a king or hegemon?
Ridiculous!
After all, the true foundation of a great empire was its peak-level experts!
"Alright, I agree." Sini said.
"Your Majesty Sini, I am truly grateful." A smile immediately appeared on Yale's face. "You've helped me a great deal. Thank you so much."
Sini and Yale talked for a long time. After sharing lunch, Yale left.
After Yale left, Sini thought carefully about the matter and felt puzzled: "Why would the Dawson Conglomerate suddenly get involved in the slave trade? And, as far as I know, Yale has a good relationship with Uncle. Yale is also a very straightforward person, rarely asking for favors that put others in a difficult position. But this time..."