It is not without a reason that I would choose to conduct the auction 30 days later.
There is still 2 weeks more before the Underground Alliance’s biannual Alliance Meeting. All of the top brass of the alliance should be on their way and it is better to have fun together as a group than as an individual. Tripping an entire nest is much better than tripping an individual, so let’s get everyone to jump into the hole happily.
TL: Just means pulling everyone down into the mud, the more the merrier.
TL: The word used is ? -> Hole, Pit. Sort of means to lay a trap then harm someone (could be playful, could be malicious) Can’t find a single adjective in English that encompass it.
Following the procession of the Underground Alliance, entering the Alliance is actually pretty easy, requiring only the approval of any 2 Underground Autarchs. But apparently, just entering the Alliance isn’t sufficient for my goals.
A chance to showcase my might in front of the top brass is required.
An international law, a new Autarch must step on the old Autarch to get in place (defeat or a draw). Perhaps, a long-established Autarch like the Dragon Empress would be the ideal stepping stone.
After all, even though her individual strength is the strongest among the Autarch and the Dragon Cities under her are full of experts, but her total military might and influence is definitely the weakest in the underground world.
It is the weakest, not one of the weakest, and this is a problem that arises from the core.
There are no other reasons and it is totally unrelated to her scheming and strength. It is just purely a reality check on how the races of the underground world affects the political situation.
The current Underground Autarchs in power, while their individual might cannot be underestimated, but what that truly makes one unable to underestimate them are the underground cities supporting them.
Take for example, Ainsterna. His individual strength is said to be Saint-rank rookie, while Kajah is Saint-rank intermediate and the old Lion is Saint-rank pinnacle. The Dragon Empress’s total fighting strength is on the line of the SemiGod, triumphing over the other Autarchs by more than a rank. Despite Ainsterna being the weakest among the Autarchs, but he is vaguely becoming the centerpiece of the Alliance.
TL: Rookie -> Just entered the rank/ Intermediate -> Halfway there/ Pinnacle -> Peak of the rank
In ‘history’, he is the final head of command of the Alliance to bring about the invasion to the surface, which means that he is the last one standing then. The underground world is always a place where fist speaks the loudest. He might be the weakest individually but he has the strongest influence. Having 50 underground cities directly under him is already very scary, but there are at least 400 underground city lords who support him secretly in the shadow.
The reason? He is a human, at least on the surface. That’s why the other human underground city lords support him. It is that simple.
The old Lion and Kajah is also the same. As an underground Beastman Sovereign and a High Priestess of the Dark Elves, their potential supporters are a strength that cannot be estimated. From a certain perspective, they are the highest leader that represents the benefits of their race. Of course, a large portion of the underground city lords will not admit to it but their private inclinations are quite obvious.
This was also the reason why when Shou attacked Sulfur Mountain City, he was able to get City Lord Hng Hng who doesn’t fall within his command to act as cannon fodder. When an alliance works together towards a single goal, in order to not become cannon fodder, in order to earn more benefits and for a plot of land with better sunshine, many underground city lords will look for an Underground Autarch to support and join. Shou, Ainsterna and Kajah’s army will grow stronger like a rolling snowball and become an Underground Autarch true to its title.
Underground Dragon Tribe? The young dragons who are willing to listen to commands are already serving under the Dragon Empress. Certainly, there are many hidden Ancient Dragons and even Immemorial Dragons, but are they people that Molly, who is only an Ancient Dragon, is able to command?
At that time, when the boat of the other Autarchs float up, the only one that remains in its original position, Dragon Empress Molly’s, would lack behind and probably end up as a high-tier fighter. So, her pursuit for strength is much more intense than the other Underground Autarchs and thus, the Eternal Night Scepter is much more attractive to her.
Fights have never stopped in the underground world. Normally, people will still leave a line of morality against people of the same tribe whereas a war between foreign races will be extremely violent and bloody. There are more than a few that have grudges against other races and it is said that even the old Lion had once been enslaved as a coliseum gladiator by a human underground city lord. That’s why, the Beastman Sovereign treats the underground Beastmen relatively well and is unforgiving towards humans.
As for Sulfur Mountain City, due to its diverse population base, even though it won’t be seen as an enemy by the other underground city lords, but it will never receive the goodwill of any other underground cities other than the human’s. But due to the city lord being Adam.Han, who in the eyes of the grandchildren of those who were exiled and the exiled, a hero who has saved the world is too radiant, making it difficult for them to walk together. Thus, perhaps it would be much better if Annie, who was also born in the underground world, to take over.
Then, even if Sulfur Mountain City were to join the Underground Alliance and gain a seat as one of the Underground Autarch, it is destined to be sidelined. From the very start, I gave Sulfur Mountain City a fixed role…
The stick that creates problem, the smelly rocks in the toilet…
Yes, since we are unable to join the core group, then we should just create trouble for the core group. There are minorities and those who were sidelined everywhere. I will gather and unite all of these minorities and form quite a sizable power. If you want to strike the east, I will intentionally go for the west. When you want to attack the city, I will deliberately vote for protecting our homes.
This way, the bloody war with the surface could at least be dragged by a few years. When the invasion of the Undead Calamity and Demons starts, then it would be time for this group who are skilled in internal conflict to hug together for warmth.
TL: Skilled in internal conflict -> Good at internal conflicts but bad in dealing with external threats
It is like that in the ‘history’ too. The reason why it was getting harder and harder to deal with the calamities afterwards is because the Eich continent’s losses were too great from the first few calamities. Especially for the dominant Human Empires who despite having the most population and strongest overall strength, but the constant war among kingdoms, internal conflict among cult teachings, the invasion by the underground world, the invasion by the undead and the invasion of demons… They totally failed as a pillar to prop up the entire Eich continent. They were totally destroyed in the course of these few wars. Of course, one of the reason is because there were quite a few races who view humans, who were populous and take up the most land, as an eyesore.
In the original ‘history’, when the underground world and human kingdom is done with their bloody war on the plains and each of their population has been cut by 30%, the timely arrival of the Undead Calamity (in the original history, Xiluo Empire doesn’t exist, only the Undead Lich Council. They opened the gates leading to the Undead Dimensions) converted the 2 of the sides who were still fighting passionately into an ant on a noose.
In the more difficult days ahead, countless people conjectured that if the human kingdoms and the underground world didn’t fight to such an extent and instead, retained over half of their fighting power, perhaps the situation wouldn’t end up like that.
At that time, in order to deepen the friendship and trust of both sides, one of the few remaining heads of the Underground Alliance, Queen of Dark Elf Victoria.Syfan, even had a political marriage with the Auland Empire’s King of the Winter Wolves, and they fell in love from there on, making quite the talk in history.
“It is a pity. It is said that Victoria.Syfan, even within the Elves who were filled with beauties, is a rarely seen cream of the crop. Hehe, perhaps that is the reason why the King of Winter Wolves left behind his famous last words ‘You resent that I was born late, I resent that you were born early. Throughout my life, the thing that I hate the most is even before my death, I was unable to forget you.’ However, being able to marry an unforgettable beauty back to his home and still die with resentment, he really should learn to be satisfied, or else what are we bachelors supposed to with ourselves.”
“Hehe, Master, how can you be a bachelor when you are so popular?” Even though the misunderstanding was dispelled, but the frost on Elisa’s face didn’t have the trace of melting, so it was a little mystifying.
“…Weird, you should have known from the start that it was a misunderstanding. Let’s not talk about the centaur, even if it is a beauty, what can this sack of old bones do? You are intending to make use of the situation to commit a coup d’etat!!”
My angry roar didn’t cause the cold eyes that seemed to be looking at trash waver… Normally in this kind of situations, I probably would have really done something wrong but I obviously didn’t do anything wrong recently.
“Under the cover of the «46 Skills of Black Magic» on your shelves…”
“No wonder, no wonder, no wonder, you are the one who changed my drawings of Elves on the beach into drawings of the male goblin body. Those green naked goblins, I almost puked on the spot. When I was sharing it with Adam, the eyes that he looked at me with is even colder than yours. The message he was expressing was obvious. ‘So you are actually a pervert with a fetish for goblins, stay away from me’. At that moment, I even had the thought of crashing my head onto the wall and just fall dead!!”
“Oh, so Lord Adam also played a part. Looks like I must tell Lord Margaret. It is time to clean away illegal magazines in the city.”
“I… I need to clean up my family today.”
TL: The phrase is used normally used when you rid disgraces within your family.
“«The Little Tips from the Enchantress»?«Mage Carl’s Hunting Compass»?«Hehe, You Did Well. But, Fire Explosion is already Here!»…”
I felt a shiver running down my back as each and every one of these book names were called. Those ‘artwork’ that were under the cover of seemingly proper books… They are my life, they are precious treasures that took me much effort to collect in this ‘resource’-lacking world.
“Master Elisa, please spare those children. If anything, please direct them to this pile of old bones.” With hostages in her hand, I had no choice but to lower my head.
“Hehe, you should be well aware of what you did. Take care.” After finishing her piece, Elisa bows and leaves. On other days, after making me surrender, she would be extremely overjoyed but now, looking at the drooping tail, she seems to not only be angry, but her mood is very down.
Looking at this situation, Annie comes bumping over with a playful smile and whispers in my ear.
“Uncle Bones, the reason why big sister Elisa is angry is because of the present sent over from Morsblight City. It is a very pretty Dark Elf big sister, you know.”
“Present? What?” I didn’t know how to react to this sudden catastrophe. It is normal for the Dark Elves to send a present to tighten our relationship but I didn’t expect them to send over a living person.
“Un, it is a humongous beautiful big sister. Annie has never seen such a beautiful big sister. Un, she seems to be called Victoria.”
“WHAT!!! VICTORIA? VICTORIA.SYFAN?”
“Ah, you also know her, Uncle Bones? So, she is very famous. But I guess it is to be expected, such a beautiful big sister. However, Annie will try hard and drink more milk. Big sister Margaret has said that men like big chests. Even though that big sister is very beautiful, but she doesn’t have breast at all…”
I totally ignored what Annie was saying. After hearing the match in names, 10,000 mud horses (Cao ni ma) whistles through my mind. What exactly is this situation, why is the future Queen of Dark Elf sent over to me? Without her taking over as the Queen, how can the situation with the surface powers be resolved? Is the butterfly effect that exaggerated?
TL: A homophone for screw your mum.
I hurriedly rushed over and saw a beauty being surrounded by a bunch of Dark Elf Knights.
Fine eyebrows with warm eyes. Facial features like a painting. Seductive red lips coupled with some blush brings out the image of a fairy descending. She doesn’t have the sharp heroic spirit and domineering personality commonly seen in Dark Elves, but she has a kind of warmth and disposition similar to a jade, making one feel at ease. It is a kind of beauty that makes one’s eyes want to linger the more they stare at her.
From the perspective of a man, this kind of virtuous wife and kind mother type of women is the hardest to resist. Also, if you must compare her outer appearances and disposition with the others, she is even above that of Margaret and Elisa, who are also rarely seen beauties themselves. It is no wonder she left her mark in history for her looks.
TL: Virtuous wife and kind mother -> A common phrase used to describe ladies
No wonder the King of Winter Wolves couldn’t forget the image of her and no wonder Elisa would vent her anger on me. This is an extremely beautiful person with the personality of a virtuous wife and kind mother. Exactly my dish… But why is it that I instinctively felt that something was amiss.
“This is weird, I don’t get the impulse I get when I see beautiful ladies. On the contrary, my instinct is telling me that she is a trouble, a gigantic trouble.”
Afterwards, Diana’s fierce roar made me understand where the problem arose from.
“Vicadore.Syfan! Why are you here, and why are you dressed like this?”
“Diana.Syfan, please call me Victoria.Syfan now. Currently, I am a female Priestess of Lorci. Due to your irresponsible betrayal, Lorci’s wrath came falling on me and as your only kin, I suffered the God’s punishment of being transmogrified permanently. But fortunately, Lorci found that the female me had extremely high aptitude for the Divine Arts and allowed me to serve as her Priestess, sparing my life. This is all thanks to you, my beloved sister!!”
Facing the seemingly calm but in reality, full of reproach reply of her brother, Diana’s face immediately tightens as her hand trembles. The sacred sword Silver Avenger suddenly falls to the floor and the helpless and troubled face of the female knight seems to be thinking about where did she go wrong.
“I… I X. So she is actually a boy, or rather, used to be a boy!!” No wonder I instinctively felt that something was amiss. So, hidden behind this body of a world-class beauty is the soul of a male.
“Wait, if I didn’t create Sulfur Mountain City, then Diana might not have escaped in betrayal, or at least, would not have escaped for so long to cause Lorci to deliver a God’s punishment personally in anger. Then, could it be possible that the Queen Victoria in history is a male!!”
This is totally possible. In the female-dominated Dark Elf society, it is impossible for a male to strike it big. If you want to climb up the ladder, faking your gender is an obvious thing to do. Furthermore, the natural beauty of the Elves makes them androgynous and hard to tell apart…
Alright, my face ?-ed. This time, the mud horses (cao ni ma) that whistles through is twice in number than the previous.
“You resent that I was born late, I resent that I was born early… No wonder he used the masculine term. Maybe, it is the servants who heard it wrongly. It should be ‘you resent that I was born female, I resent you for the same (You hate that I wasn’t born a female, actually, I so hate you equally for not being a female), no wonder the King of Winter Wolves hated himself for being unable to forget Queen Victoria. He picked up a male who cannot be refunded for a political marriage and what’s worse is that he fell in love, being unable to forget him even on the verge of death. If I were to be in his shoes, don’t just talk about the regret of my life, I would even have the intention to destroy the whole world!”
TL: The poem is a homophone as well.
I noticed Victoria’s gaze on me. She places her hand on her forehead, seeming to want to say something…
Ignoring Diana’s pleading eyes, I turned around to leave… Let the truth of the history be buried within history. An existence that can twist the Emperor of Auland, too fearsome!!