Chapter 11: Just Deliver Them Directly
“Gilbaris, do you think they’ll obediently hand them over?”
While waiting, Titan got so bored that he just linked up with Gilbaris to see what he was thinking.
“I don’t think they will. If they were that easy to yield, they wouldn’t have risked bursting into our base in the first place.”
“Then do we really need to give them some time to consider before the battle? Why don’t we just charge in and get it over with?”
This time, it was Diablo who spoke up. He couldn’t grasp why, knowing that the enemy wouldn’t hand them over, they would waste time giving them a chance to think. Just storm in and beat them up!
“You don’t understand, Diablo. This so-called persuasion actually serves a purpose. From the beginning, I never expected them to surrender fearfully to me.”
“So what’s your objective then?”
“My goal is to disperse their morale. Not everyone among them is willing to sacrifice themselves for Ailin and the others; there will definitely be some who would advocate betraying them for their own sake. But King Gaia won’t agree to that. This way, they’ll start bickering among themselves. Who knows, maybe they’ll start fighting each other before we even make a move.”
That was Gilbaris’s strategy. Even being the Ultimate Life Forms, they couldn’t unify their own ranks. Let alone those ordinary humans; how could they possibly unite to resist?
“I see! As expected of you, this tactic is indeed clever.”
“Right? It’s just as you can imagine. If I were to think of it, I couldn’t come up with anything like this at all.”
“Well, that’s because you’re all muscle, Diablo; your brain must’ve turned to mush.”
“What did you just say, Titan? Whose brain is mushy?!”
“Alright, alright, you two, can you refrain from bickering about such trivial matters? The battle is about to begin. Can you please calm down? This isn’t the time for us to squabble.”
Gilbaris looked at the night sky, calculating the sun’s rising time. In about three hours, the sun should come up. By then, it would be revealed whether they would fight or not. Although there was a 99% chance of a fight.
…
The situation in the Royal Palace indeed matched Gilbaris’s expectations. After receiving his persuasion, some within the palace wanted to hand them over.
“Lord Gaia, please reconsider. If we can hand them over, we can all be safe. This should be a worthwhile deal.”
A minister was there persuading Gaia, hoping he would hand over Ailin and the others. After all, for him, Ailin was not his family. Turning over them to exchange for his own family’s safety was quite a deal.
“I’m sorry, I can’t accept that option. Ailin is the most important person to me. You think I would hand her over personally? No way!”
“Oh, Lord Gaia, think this through. You’re a king surrounded by girls. Don’t you think those noble girls would flatter you if you showed interest? Why cling to an Ice Dragon?”
The minister was clearly getting anxious. Why was the king so stubborn? It was just the princess of the Ice Dragon Clan; what’s the big deal? Even if the Ice Dragon King wanted to attack them because of this, they could defend themselves with prepared measures.
Aierjisi and Weirafiya sat quietly in their seats, having no voice at the moment. Even if they spoke, no one would listen. The same went for Ailin.
“Then let’s decide this. Neither you nor I can back down. Since that’s the case, let’s vote on it. Those in favor of handing over Ailin, please raise your hands.”
Since neither Gaia nor the minister could compromise their opinions, a vote was the fairest choice. As soon as Gaia finished speaking, the minister proudly raised his hand, not even bothering to check the situation around him. It was obvious many would raise their hands to hand over Ailin.
“Well, it looks like you are the only one who agrees to hand her over. Your option is rejected.”
“What!”
Hearing Gaia say he was the only one who agreed to hand over Ailin, the minister turned around in disbelief to look at the others. Not a single person had raised their hand! He was furious.
“What are you morons thinking?! We could gain peace if we just hand them over! What are you waiting for, waiting to see the coffin before shedding tears?!”
The minister was so infuriated that he was stammering. Why did it turn out this way? They could secure peace just by handing these people over! Why was it like this now?! Why?!
“I’m sorry, but Lady Ailin helped me before, so I can’t just sell her out for my own safety. My conscience wouldn’t let me.”
Quickly, one of the senior officials raised his hand, explaining why he disagreed with the earlier proposal. He owed Ailin a favor, so he couldn’t just sell her out; doing so would betray his own conscience.
“I also owe a lot to Lady Ailin; I can’t just hand her over to those vile people.”
“Same here.”
“Me too.”
With the first person leading the way, many voiced their debts to Ailin. Hearing this, Ailin was a bit stunned. Had she unknowingly done something so great?
“I think you guys are all insane! You must be crazy! Now is the crucial moment for the survival of the nation, yet you’re willing to sacrifice your country for this outsider? What is going on in your heads? Are your brains connected to the sewers or what?!”
The minister’s nose almost twisted in anger, pointing at these hopeless guys while cursing. Were they all mad to be willing to die for an outsider?
“Please mind your words, Mr. Belial. If you need to vent your emotions, I recommend you do so outside before coming back in.”
Gaia could no longer stand it; this was the conference room, with so many onlookers present. He couldn’t let him keep cursing like this.
“Alright, I’m going out. I want to see what you clowns come up with in the end.”
The minister stormed out, slamming the door behind him, leaving Gaia and the others in the conference room.
“Okay, everyone, forget that unpleasant guy from just now. Let’s continue discussing the next steps in countering those Adrian People.”
