Chapter 699.2: "These Guys Are Pretty Good At Stacking Buffs On Themselves"
Chu Guang opened it and glanced at the summary, then shook his head with a laugh.
These guys are pretty good at stacking buffs on themselves.
Interesting.
Guessing that the illustrated second half would probably arrive via the airship, Chu Guang set the report aside in his memo for the time being. As for the first report he hadn’t opened, Duke Garawa, currently visiting Dawn City, might find it interesting.
After thinking for a moment, Chu Guang turned to Little Seven and gave his instructions. “Contact Cheng Yan for me. Tell him to wait in my office at the Alliance Tower. I should arrive in about half an hour.”
Hearing it had a task, Little Seven, with its chin in its hands, stopped swinging its legs and perked up. It straightened its chest with enthusiasm and snapped a crisp New Alliance salute.
“Roger, roger!”
...
Early the next morning, at a hotel on the outskirts of Dawn City not far from the Army’s camp.
Duke Garawa was enjoying breakfast when he accepted the freshly printed Survivor’s Daily from the hands of his humble and loyal ratfolk servant, Niyan.
Ever since receiving Captain Achim’s telegram, he had been waking up earlier than a rooster every day, just to see the Survivor’s Daily headlines before anyone else.
By then, the battalion led by Dilrang should have reached French Fry Harbor.
If nothing went wrong, the airship that docked at Dawn City’s skyport the night before should have brought news of French Fry Harbor’s tragedy.
If the Survivor’s Daily reporters were fast enough, the French Fry Harbor massacre should already be on the front page.
In fact, compared to the headline itself, he was even more curious about the expressions of Dawn City’s survivors when they heard this devastating news.
A settlement of over 1,000 people reduced to ashes overnight, all because the Xilande Empire had been slightly displeased.
There was no better lesson for those arrogant, weak, and impudent fools.
Thinking about the possibility, Duke Garawa felt a surge of satisfaction, as if old grudges had finally been avenged, even if the revenge wasn’t obvious.
After all, for the sake of the Xilande Empire’s diplomatic image, he couldn’t openly admit their involvement, but those who understood would understand.
Opening the newspaper, he looked at the headline, and froze.
[New Crab-class Underwater Engineering Exoskeleton Successfully Launched at French Fry Harbor. Seabed Freshwater Pipeline Extended into Deep Waters!]
What the hell?!
Regaining his composure, Duke Garawa frowned and looked at Niyan, who stood respectfully to the side. “Did you buy yesterday’s paper by mistake?”
He felt like he had seen something like that before.
And who cared about this stuff?! He wanted explosions!
Niyan froze, then said with a wry smile, “My lord, please check the date. This is today’s latest issue. I wouldn’t dare fool you...”
And besides, you already read yesterday’s paper.
Of course, the last thought stayed firmly inside his head.
Realizing he had asked a stupid question, Duke Garawa coughed and pretended nothing had happened as he flipped to the second page. But whether it was the third page, the fourth, or the last, he still couldn’t find what he wanted.
That can’t be right...
Growing anxious, Duke Garawa flipped through the paper from start to finish again. Still nothing. He looked up at Niyan and ordered, “Go buy some more papers... Oh, and which one was that paper that first exposed the scandal of the administrator of Shelter 70?”
Niyan answered immediately, “The Goblin Observation!”
“Yes! That’s the one!” Duke Garawa said hurriedly. “Don’t forget to buy a copy of that paper as well!”
Watching Niyan leave, Duke Garawa felt something was off no matter how he thought about it. Suddenly, realization struck him. He slapped his thigh hard. “Well played, Chu Guang, ruthless enough!”
The hotel owner behind the counter glanced at him with an annoyed expression but said nothing, simply lowering his head and continuing his work.
Barblu, the guard captain standing behind Duke Garawa, froze for a moment and asked hesitantly, “My lord?”
“It’s nothing.” Duke Garawa narrowed his eyes slightly. His face remained unreadable, but his mind was as clear as a mirror.
French Fry Harbor had unquestionably been destroyed. The New Alliance definitely already received the news, yet they deliberately kept it under wraps, refusing to announce the death, clearly waiting for him to lose patience and expose himself first.
If he showed any sign of knowing the truth, it would be tantamount to a confession that the French Fry Harbor tragedy had something to do with him.
“Impressive... truly impressive,” Duke Garawa murmured in admiration as he stroked his beard. “I underestimated these people.”
It turned out the New Alliance’s upper echelons did have some schemes. Unfortunately for them, they had run into an old fox like him. In his eyes, they were still a little too young.
Watching the duke mutter to himself, Barblu felt completely lost. But seeing that inscrutable smile, he assumed his lord had just played a brilliant move.
These big shots always fought in roundabout ways. Barblu’s mind wasn’t as sharp as Niyan’s, so all he could do was stand aside in admiration.
Before Niyan returned from buying the newspapers, and while Barblu was still debating whether to flatter his master, a servant entering from outside resolved the dilemma.
“My lord, Mr. Cheng Yan has sent you an invitation. He hopes you can spare an hour before this evening to meet him at the Alliance Tower. He wishes to exchange views with you regarding recent events at French Fry Harbor.”
Hearing this, Duke Garawa immediately narrowed his eyes, a barely contained glint of excitement and delight flashing within them. “Tell him I’m busy today. If he truly wishes to see me, he can come to the hotel where I’m staying. I’ll be waiting here.”
The servant hesitated at the response, but still forced himself to speak. “... Mr. Cheng Yan specifically stated that if you cannot make time before this evening, he will consider you unfit to serve as an envoy and will revoke your diplomatic immunity and status, ordering you to leave Dawn City.”
To be precise without offending the duke, the servant had softened his wording as much as possible. In truth, the New Alliance foreign minister’s message was far harsher, and it had been a summons, not an invitation.
Even so, the words were still piercing to Duke Garawa’s ears.
“Outrageous!” Barblu’s eyes bulged as he shouted, startling the servant into silence.
Duke Garawa also narrowed his eyes, a dangerous light flickering within. “Interesting. Threatening me?”
Barblu leaned in closer and whispered, “My lord, this could be a trap.”
Duke Garawa smiled faintly and replied unhurriedly, “That possibility exists. But no matter what, I am still the Xilande Empire’s representative in the Mutant Slime Mold Research Committee. If the New Alliance wants the meetings to continue, they won’t dare do anything to me directly. In any case, their loss of composure only proves that they’re anxious.”
“Since that’s so, I’ll go meet them.”
He wanted to see what methods the New Alliance had to force a confession out of him when he refused to admit anything.
At that moment, he wasn’t standing alone. Behind him stood a vast empire.
With that, Duke Garawa turned to the servant standing respectfully nearby and commanded with authority, “Prepare the car!”
The servant nodded quickly. “Yes, my lord!”
...
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