Chapter 259 “hot potato” (part two)
The priority now was that Du Wei needs to figure out whether or not will the Third Prince come making trouble for him after the death of the second brother.
Fortunately, the problem quickly solved itself out.
On the second day after Gandalf and Joanna’s arrival, Du Wei had anxiously sent the twenty six magic apprentices away with their new “mentor” in tag to Anglia City.
Reason why it’s “lucky” was because a very special guest arrived right after Joanna left.
If not for this, Du Wei feared that Loulan would otherwise become a battlefield engulfed in flames.
When afternoon first rolled around that day, a deafening roar came from the sky and caused panic to run rampant throughout the city streets. Fortunately, the situation quickly came under control through the efforts of the experienced soldiers of the Tulip Army.
Everyone saw it that day. The massive black object in the sky with its long wings, long tail, gigantic body, and a hulking big head…..
“Dragon!! A real Dragon!!!!”
After the first shout exploded, numerous responses followed suit.
A great Black Dragon. After circling over the city sky, this massive being gradually lowered its altitude and began to speak in a humanistic tongue after making sure the soldiers weren’t shooting at him.
“Duke Tulip! I want to see the Duke!”
As result of this declaration, Du Wei could only brace himself and meet this dragon warrior atop of the highest tower in his castle.
“How are you … …” Even though there were still some distance between him and this black guy, Du Wei’s face felt like it was being scraped at by blades every time this behemoth flapped its wing.
But compared to the previous two Dragon Princes, this Black Dragon was an old acquaintance.
“Oh … … Du Wei! You hateful man.” Black Dragon reduced his altitude even more to get a closer look at Du Wei.
Reacting with little care for his nickname, Du Wei shrugs his shoulder: “Oh honorable captain of the dragon guard, distinguished dragon warrior, and wise.…. It can’t be that you are here to raise another question right?”
Just recalling how he used a simple math question to trick this stupid dragon was enough to make Du Wei want to giggle.
Talking about his own embarrassment, this Dragon captain also became angry: “Oh cunning man! Even now I still couldn’t figure out whether or not your answer is correct. Damn it! There are not enough fingers atop of the Holy Mountain, let alone that many room!”
“You can take your time calculating.” Du Wei curls his mouth into a grin: “Alright then honorable captain. Could it be your arrival today is to declare war on me? Oh … … I almost forgot to thank you for your information; otherwise I might have died at the hands of the previous two princes. So, are you here to represent the youngest prince?”
“Third Prince is dissatisfied with your methods.” The stupid Dragon sighed, though it was only a sigh, it still sounded like thunder.
“Dissatisfied?” Du Wei smiled: “But the Second Prince wasn’t killed by me.”
“As if I would care about who killed that weakling. Being a mighty gold dragon, king of our race, that weakling can’t even beat me. A weakling like that can just die!” Black Dragon appears to be very proud of his own strength: “The reason Third Prince is displeased with you is because you only killed one. Why did you kill only one and not the other?!”
“Uhh … … If I also killed the elder one then there wouldn’t be anyone left to compete for the position of chief right?” Du Wei chuckles.
Humph, the wisdom of these large reptiles really are limited. Such clumsy schemes, how can they compete with us humans?
“That’s why Third Prince is displeased.” The Black Dragon snorts and ended up spraying a gush of flame directly at Du Wei. Fortunately Du Wei was able to resolve the situation with a simple barrier: “Honorable Guard Captain, please tell me what else does the Third Prince wish for me?”
“Peace.” The Black Dragon seems be dissatisfied with his own answer: “His highness ordered me to tell you this. No matter what, you still made some contribution, thought small, it’s still something. His highness is a merciful leader. For this reason, he decided to reward you with something.”
A warm smile immediately surfaced from Du Wei’s face, “Oh? Then may I know what the Third Prince intends reward me with?”
Black Dragon stretches out its massive claws and then gently opens it up. From his palm, a round crystal like bead rolled out.
“What is this?”
Du Wei clearly sensed a glimmer of magic fluctuating from it.
“This is a fire repellant bead.” The Black Dragon continues in an arrogant tone: “This kind of thing is useless for us powerful dragons. But for you mere humans, this is more than adequate for a reward. In addition, the Third Prince said he is satisfied with your achievement thus far. Next time when he has something for you to do, you must comply.”
Du Wei didn’t care about the other sides’ arrogant tone….. Facing these simple minded fools, what’s there to mind about in the first place?
Cautiously accepting the “gift”, Du Wei suddenly gave a crafty smile at the Black Dragon.
Hmm, from the guy’s tone, Du Wei can guess the Third Prince likely won’t be coming back to make trouble for him anytime soon.
“What a shame … … I wanted a dragon pet.”
“Oh, the Third Prince should have returned to the Holy Mountain by now right.” Du Wei’s sudden question surprised Black Dragon, especially that disturbing chuckle: “Are the exiled races coming from the North again? Oh, don’t get me wrong. I only wish to express my most sincere concern for the great dragon tribe. If it’s alright with you, I’m willing to offer my pitiful amount of assistance if needed.”
“Humph, the great dragon race does not need any help!” Black Dragon outright refused Du Wei, but the brainless guy did reveal some information: “Those guys would organize an invasion every couple of decades, but every time we would crush them in the end. Therefore, you don’t need to care about this! For us, they are merely there for the sake of filling the abyss! I wish there would be more of them. The more heads there are, the faster the dragon race can fill up the abyss and be free!”
“Just worry about your own concerns!” The Black Dragon chuckles in a condescending way: “The Third Prince and the Eldest Prince have already returned to the Holy Mountain. As for you… His highness tells me he’s quite fond of you after seeing your work. If you continue to work hard for his greatness, he might even degrade himself and consider you a friend.”
Humph, be friends? More like I’d love to be his owner.
Du Wei chuckles inside: “Then….. Is there anything more?”
“No!” The Black Dragon roars and began to flap his wing. Before the big loaf disappeared into the sky, he left behind this sentence: “…… Next time we meet, can you teach me the calculation method to that question?”
Looking at that huge figure gradually disappear from his view, Du Wei sighed a breath of relief.
Truth be told, he wasn’t the slightest bit afraid of this Black Dragon. Considering his current strength, downing this big guy was no problem with the help of his companions. And….. Let’s not forget about that Green Hat lurking in his castle cellar.
As luck would have it, that old grandpa just so happens to be fuming over the dragon race and it’s majorly clear who slayed the Second Prince.
But unlike the previous encounters, Du Wei doesn’t want anyone to kill this stupid dragon. After all, he just learned about the exiled races and their invasion plan……
Better off leaving the dragon race with more manpower then to waste his own.
Looking at it now, it appears the trouble with the Dragon Princes are temporarily solved. Du Wei wasn’t afraid of the Dragons, but having these monsters constantly coming to harass him wasn’t something he’s fond of. Moreover, compared to the elegant Elder Prince, this Third Prince doesn’t seem to be a good guy at all. Facing a strong foe wasn’t so terrible, facing a foe with bad character that likes to hide in the shadow was, and troublesome at that.
Now, he can take it easy for the next while and focus on the Northwest Corridor.
How to guard a stretch of land spanning 10 kilometers in width……
But at this time, another matter found its way into Du Wei’s hand.
This time, the trouble was from the capital regarding the invasion of the Desa Province.
No matter what, Regent Son cannot ignore such a flagrant violation of territorial sovereignty.
Even if Du Wei knew the empire wasn’t prepared to wage a full out war with the prairie natives, things cannot remain silent. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be any way to salvage the dignity of the empire.
Even if this charade was just to save face, they still had to put up a tough stance.
Likewise, the royal court in the prairie seems to be putting up a conciliatory attitude and sent an envoy to the imperial capital.
According to rumors, the commanders in chiefs back in the capital had already blown their heads out over this matter and smashed dozens of tables in the process as protest. For some of the younger generals, these people even wrote to the Regent for war……
Also, the negotiations with the prairie natives didn’t yield good results either.
In the end, both sides couldn’t come to an agreement.
The prairie natives don’t want to fight and the empire didn’t want to fight even more. So from their initial talks, things geared up into a cat fight between their mouths.
From beginning till now, the negotiations have lasted well over a month long by now, yet nothing was achieved.
Of course, in order to match the negotiation, some symbolic gestures were made. For example: ordering the Northwest Army to be ready for battle and to organize small scale military exercises throughout the Northwest……
And Du Wei knew better than anyone else that these orders were no better than dog farts that held no weight.
Make the Northwest Army go into combat? Are you kidding?! The Northwest Army’s been combat ready for the past decade!
And, once war breaks out, numerous supplies and money are going to be sent to the Northwest….. Who are they going to send it to? The Northwest Army? Help the Northwest Army supply their troops? Regent Son’s not that stupid!
One thing’s certain though: until the problem known as the Northwest Army is solved, the empire will not go to war with the prairie natives, hence the reason why the negotiation table had become a place for politicians to show off their amazing verbal skills. While the pro-war faction was busy trying to persuade everyone to go war, the anti-war faction kept bringing up the financial strain on the empire……
This whole thing was a total farce, but such farce just so happens to be the most popular gossip news in the capital. It can’t be helped. The capital’s been at peace for a very long time that left its residence with little awareness for horror of war.
Back in the capital, Du Wei’s business manager, little Zack, had been passing him all kinds of messages. At the beginning Du Wei was somewhat pleased to see the whole thing flop, but his positive attitude quickly changed when Regent Son got nosy and dumped the whole problem on his head!
Accurately speaking, it was eighty days after the battle in the Desa Province where an envoy from the capital arrived at Du Wei’s doorstep.
Bringing with him a band of royal guards, this pest also brought with him an appointment order from the Regent.
“Duke Tulip of the Roland Empire, Imperial scholar, court magician, Palace Astrology teacher, member of the Imperial Academy of Magic., Governor of the Desa Province, you are hereby appointed the mediator between the empire and the royal court of the prairie!”
(Signed) Emperor of the Roland Empire, Augustine the 6th. The order takes effect immediately according to the year 961, 8th month, day 16 of the Imperial calendar!
The one to bring this dreaded order was none other than an old acquaintance of Du Wei’s.
Earl Biliaibuer faintly laughs at Du Wei’s unsightly expression: “Duke, bestowing upon you this important task shows how much the Regent trusts you. Now the well-being of the empire and the prairie people lies with you!”
Du Wei jaw droppingly held onto the appointment order, unsure whether to rip it to shreds or to force it down the bastard’s throat.
Damn you Son! You actually tossed this hot potato into my hands……
Forcefully suppressing his urge to rage rip this order and yell at this smug villain before him, Du Wei dragged this unwanted guest into his study room.
After closing the door behind him: “Earl Biliaibuer, last I recalled you never got involved in these types of things. Why did you come to the Northwest?”
“Due to the ties I have with the people of the prairie from my family business, his highness wishes for to assist with the negotiation.”
“HAHA … …” Du Wei laughed a few times: “Is that so? Then I’m the main negotiator and you are the sub negotiator?”
Earl Biliaibuer wipes some of the sweat from his bitter face: “Isn’t it….. I also got caught up in this hard job. Your Dukeship, you are the most trusted person of his highness, I will definitely follow your lead.”
“Humph, you bastard trying to push all the responsibility to me……” Du Wei blasts the guy in his mind: “Fine, now’s not the time to get a headache. Since the Regent sent you to me, there should be a message too.”
Biliaibuer turned sullenly dark, “When I came, the Regent only left me with these words for you.”
“Oh? What did his highness say?”
Earl Biliaibuer’s face suddenly took on a strange look.
“His highness said: “Do as you see fit.”
This finally made Du Wei lose it:
“Fuck!”
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