Chapter 699.3: "These Guys Are Pretty Good At Stacking Buffs On Themselves"
Alliance Tower, in the Foreign Affaris Department. Staring at the documents projected on the holographic screen, Cheng Yan tapped his index finger on the desk repeatedly, a headache evident on his face.
The chain of evidence was already quite complete.
Out of dissatisfaction with French Fry Harbor sheltering Moonfolk refugees, the Xilande Empire had launched a covert military operation against French Fry Harbor. Since the unit that carried out the attack belonged to the Xilande Empire’s ace Gray Wolf Army, and reliable intelligence indicated that only their emperor himself could command that force, it could be inferred that the operation had been authorized or tacitly approved by the emperor.
Cheng Yan had no idea what that emperor was thinking, but treating such a serious matter like a game made them seem recklessly irresponsible.
Of course, the Burning Corps stationed at French Fry Harbor weren’t pushovers either. They had actually landed at the enemy’s port and gone ashore to capture those involved.
What was even more absurd, they had succeeded in taking over the entire settlement.
To be honest, Cheng Yan felt that their actions were somewhat excessive. In his view, sealing off the port and issuing a warning would have been enough.
But since things had already reached that point, he could only accept the situation and, from the New Alliance’s standpoint, do his utmost to shift the blame onto the other side.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from the corridor outside.
Seeing the secretary’s subtle signal, Cheng Yan understood, cleared his throat, and put on a stern expression.
At the same time, Duke Garawa stepped through the office door, wearing a relaxed smile. “Long time no see, Mr. Cheng. What’s so urgent that you needed to see me? By the way, your desk looks nice, maybe I’ll get one like it myself someday...”
“Duke Garawa, find yourself a different job.”
Garawa froze. Not only did his step halt at the doorway, but the relaxed smile also froze on his face.
Thinking he had misheard, he subconsciously repeated the words. “A different job...”
“That’s right!” Suppressing the twitching at his brow and his rising anger, Cheng Yan stared at him unceremoniously and continued, “How about a job babysitting? I don’t know if you’re good at it, but it would certainly suit you better than your current position. Or go back to your hometown and be a landlord. Send someone over who can actually solve problems instead of creating them, and turning themselves into a joke. That would be better for everyone, both for you and the rest of the wasteland.”
To be honest, before the duke walked in, Cheng Yan had been thinking about how to communicate with him like a normal person. However, he realized this man simply wasn’t normal.
New Alliance troops had already landed at Port Gallon, and the guy could still smile. Was his only source of information reading newspapers in bed?!
Duke Garawa’s face turned the color of pig liver. His murderous gaze locked onto Cheng Yan, his lips trembling with rage. “What do you mean? You...”
This man dared to insult him again and again!
How dare he!
Fury clogged his throat, and in his agitation Duke Garawa couldn’t even think of how to retaliate with elegance.
Ignoring the twisted expression, Cheng Yan pointed at the holographic screen and read coldly, “Three days ago, at midnight, an unidentified armed force landed on the coast five kilometers north of French Fry Harbor and launched an unannounced attack on our settlement.”
Duke Garawa suddenly felt a surge of joy. The anger in his chest vanished, and he narrowed his beady eyes like a victor.
That was close.
He had almost forgotten, the New Alliance was testing him.
“So what?” he said. “What does that have to do with us?”
“What does it have to do with you?” Cheng Yan sneered. “A battalion of the Gray Wolf Army appeared near French Fry Harbor. Are you going to deny that your empire has nothing to do with this?”
“That’s shameless slander,” Duke Garawa replied without hesitation. “The Gray Wolf Army is the elite of our Empire, directly under His Majesty. No one but the Emperor himself can command them.”
Cheng Yan frowned. “So this was your emperor’s will?”
Duke Garawa lifted his chin slightly. “I never said that. I’m only telling you that whatever happened to your port, cough, whatever incidents occurred there, have absolutely nothing to do with us. If anything truly tragic happened, we express our deepest sympathies.”
Looking at this man who wouldn’t admit guilt, Cheng Yan stopped wasting words and tossed a still-warm newspaper onto the desk in front of him.
Duke Garawa instinctively reached out and took it, glancing down casually, only to freeze the moment his eyes met the first line of the headline.
[Gray Wolf Army Commander Dilrang of the Xilande Empire: I cried, damn it, I only touched you a little, and you chased me for 2,000 kilometers?!]
Dilrang...
Wait! How did they know that guy’s name?!
Can it be...
For an instant, Duke Garawa felt his heart seize, as if it had stopped beating, and the world before his eyes began to spin.
While Cheng Yan and the secretary hurried to call for an ambulance, the newsstand in the outskirts of Dawn City was already surrounded by a dense crowd.
Staring at the sensational headline of The Goblin Observation, the people gathered around the stand wore expressions of disbelief.
“This is way too fake!”
“2,000 kilometers?! Even an airship would take two days to drift that far!”
“Poro Province... isn’t that where they raise two-headed cattle?”
“Why would they provoke us?”
“The logic doesn’t add up.”
“What’s the Council doing?! Where’s the promised news accreditation? Where’s the fact-checking? This kind of garbage can be sold on shelves?!”
“Bro, look carefully, this isn’t news. It’s labeled entertainment. That checks out!”
“Interesting. I’ll take one.”
Amid the chatter, people bought copies with the mindset of treating it as a joke, reading as they walked to work.
Finally squeezing to the front, the ratfolk youth Niyan also pulled out a coin and bought a copy, flipping it open for a quick look.
When he saw the first line of the headline, that sharp, mean face showed not the slightest sadness, instead, he laughed so hard snot sprayed from his nose.
“Hahahaha! Serves those bastards right!”
So it’s finally started!
The duke was an idiot, and the emperor who entrusted such an idiot with responsibility was even worse. He was clueless yet eager to meddle. Just as he had expected, they had poked a gigantic hornet’s nest in the most inexplicable way.
Did they really think no one would notice as long as it was done quietly?
What a joke!
Even more ridiculous was that the New Alliance had so many exoskeletons they could equip brick-carrying laborers, their military strength strong enough to defeat the Mutant Slime Mold that even the Post-War Reconstruction Committee couldn’t handle, yet these fools still dreamed of teaching these monsters a profound lesson with the army’s discarded junk.
The only pity was that the piece was published as a joke in the Goblin Observation, rather than splashed across the front page of Survivor’s Daily.
Otherwise, the spectacle would have been even greater.
After finishing the humor-laden article, Niyan sighed with regret.
If nothing unexpected happened, the dear duke would probably try to plead the Xilande Empire’s case at the Mutant Slime Mold Research Committee under the pretext of discussing the issue of Slime Mold, putting on another farcical performance that would further disgrace the Xilande Empire, and perhaps even make the Army itself start to despise this useless ally.
He sincerely hoped the dear duke wouldn’t do that. When he got back, he felt that he better persuade his lord properly.
Niyan replayed every sad thing he had experienced in his life, just to suppress the inappropriate grin on his face.
Only then did he notice the snot stuck to the newspaper. Embarrassed, he paid again for a fresh copy and tossed the dirty one into the trash.
The bad news was already bad enough. Hopefully, a clean, tidy newspaper could at least bring that lord a full day of good mood.
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