Helen’s big eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.
"Do you think I don’t want these Shieldaxe Dwarves?" Rommel sighed deeply. "The Fallen Elves are an exiled tribe, and as for me, I am still nominally part of Lusen’s forces. How could these proud pure-blooded Duergar possibly endure being subordinate to the vassals of the fallen tribes? They don’t hold the same faith as the Berserkers! Your reputation is so great, with the Golden Dwarves serving in Feilengcui, who on the Aegean Continent doesn’t know? Now there’s even a rumor in the Dorott Duchy that the Saint Francisco Empire has sent Silver Dwarves to serve in your Feilengcui as well!"
"That’s true." Liu Shock nodded. Not only Silver Dwarves but also Wild Dwarves are here.
"If it weren’t for Moore and Drow constantly offering good wine, these Shieldaxe Dwarves would have flown to Feilengcui from Dorott to join you and your kind long ago! The Shieldaxe Dwarves are now obliged, having agreed to enter Donau with the Berserkers. When the Berserkers head to Lusen City, they will come to Feilengcui." Rommel shrugged. "That’s how it is. Even if I didn’t ’give’ the Shieldaxe Dwarves to you, they would come on their own."
"The higher-ups of the Fallen Elves indeed have some brains, first using fine wine to placate the Shieldaxe Dwarves, gaining some precious time, then sending a smooth-talking envoy to exchange these Shieldaxe Dwarves who are sure to serve at Feilengcui for my Red Earth Highland? It’s really a sleight of hand! This play with timing is indeed somewhat creative!" Liu Shock wasn’t angry at all. In fact, he couldn’t help but be pleased, as his great reputation overshadowed the prestige of any Thunder God emissary under the Fallen Tribe.
"The Red Earth Highland is a strategic key point that is easy to defend and hard to attack. As long as the Fallen Elves occupy it, whether to use it as their territory later or to offer it to the Demon Clan as a gift, it’s an excellent choice!" Rommel confirmed old Liu’s earlier suspicion.
"My dear brother-in-law, why are you telling me all these secrets?" Liu Shock emptied his glass of red wine in one gulp, belching and squinting at Rommel. "Maybe if you’d dared to gamble, I might really have fallen for it!"
"Who could this childish ruse fool? Who in Beamon would believe in me? Who would trust the Fallen Elves? Once suspicion arises and upon closer thought, it becomes clear immediately. The intentions are too obvious!" Rommel chuckled bitterly. "Having doubt isn’t a bad thing; I’m the same. Why didn’t I dare to tell your wife and the elders? Because you’re the one in charge!"
"Indeed, an interesting answer."
"There are no eternal enemies nor eternal friends in this world; interest is the real key." Rommel laid bare his intention. "The main purpose of my honesty today is to exchange for a ’temporary’ friendship with you! No matter how many grudges and enmities there were between us in the past, today I have shown my sincerity hoping to gain yours in return! Perhaps in the near future, we can join forces to resist the Demon Clan!"
"The Fallen Elves don’t even dare to fight the Demon Clan, yet you dare?" Liu Shock doubted Rommel could have such resolve.
"From today on, I’m fighting for myself. Since I’m starting with nothing, what am I to fear?" Rommel laughed. "But it doesn’t rule out the possibility of one day relying on the Demon Clan! However, by then my power will surely be great enough to not be ignored by others, or else I would never rely on anyone, becoming an unnoticed minion!"
Helen watched Old Liu with anticipation. Latest content published on NoveI-Fire.ɴet
"For your frankness, from today on, let’s stay out of each other’s way." Liu Shock pointed at Rommel with his finger, his gaze sharp. "If we survive the World War, we’ll talk more about this!"
If Rommel’s situation is as described, rejecting an alliance would naturally offend the Fallen Elves.
However, Beamon also holds past grudges against him, and deep ones at that.
In the Donau Wasteland, only Beamon and the Fallen Elves are major powers. If Rommel offends both sides at once as a newcomer, he truly would have no place to stand.
Offering a gift to Beamon Kingdom at this moment to gain short-term friendship and bilateral relations is certainly a correct approach.
Liu Shock found this "friendship" acceptable. The truth is, Beamon currently has no time to settle old accounts with Rommel, chaos has arrived, and everyone has more than enough to handle. As for later when the situation stabilizes, whether Rommel rises or not, Beamon will surely not let him go, and everyone is tacitly aware of this."
"Actually, there’s another crucial reason why the Fallen Elves are so eager for the Red Earth Highland." Seeing the Feilengcui Lord give his promise, Rommel presented a hefty gift: "The Fallen Elves are very afraid that the Red Earth Highland might be razed to the ground!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Even from the viewpoint of city defense rather than strategy, Red Earth Highland is a rare fortified city on the wasteland, one that both Moore and Drow dream of!" Rommel emphasized each word deliberately. "Note my wording: the Fallen Elves are very afraid it might be ’razed to the ground’! I know you’re surely puzzled about why the Fallen Elves are so arrogant, because in a few days, the opponent you’ll be facing, the super ally of the Fallen Elves, is a terrifyingly powerful force!"