Chapter 610

"……"

Looking at Li Ang, who jumped up and down alive not long after he finished speaking, middle-aged Joshua was truly numb.

This "Little Bagins," whose background was unknown, was simply sent by heaven specifically to disgust himself. He destroyed all his years of hard work in just thirty minutes.

Now, this rebel group he personally established not only had nothing to do with him from now on, but looking at the gazes of these people, he estimated that they were already considering whether to take him down. If he delayed any longer, he was afraid it would be hard to say whether he could leave.

……

"Hoo... I admit you won!"

Glaring at "Little Bagins" across the table, the middle-aged man, who had been defeated, gritted his teeth:

"But don't think it's over just like this. After these idiots follow you and hit a wall, and understand how unrealistic what you said is, they will betray you just like they betrayed me today!"

"You are wrong. Today in this room, there was no behavior related to betrayal at all."

Touching his heart, which was still in phantom pain, Li Ang resisted the urge to wince, shook his head, and continued to stab his heart seriously:

"You can't bring them the results they want, you can't make them identify with your philosophy, and you can't give them a future worth looking forward to. Of course, they won't be willing to follow you."

"Or, if you really want to talk about betrayal, then it's not that they betrayed you, but that you betrayed them first."

"……"

"I won't talk to you about this!"

Knowing that his verbal skills were not even worth carrying the other party's shoes, the middle-aged man, who knew the general trend was gone, decisively gave up continuing to debate with Li Ang, took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and tried to discuss as rationally as possible:

"Little Bagins... no matter if you are really Little Bagins or not, I'll just call you that for now."

"If you really want to save this country as you said, then you must do as I say: lead people to raid the Landing Tower, kill those sniffers of the Kroke Kingdom, and destroy all the information regarding the kingdom's mineral deposits!"

"……"

Not expecting that even at this time, middle-aged Joshua was still thinking about the attack on the Landing Tower, Li Ang, who knew he had returned from the future, couldn't help but frown and ask:

"Why?"

"I can't say!"

After hearing Li Ang's question, the middle-aged man couldn't help but say with a gloomy face:

"Regarding the situation in the future, the more content I reveal and the greater the impact I cause, the faster I will die! Understand? Also, since you are so smart, why don't you guess it yourself?"

"……"

This punchable taste... confirmed, this guy is two hundred percent Joshua.

Looking at the middle-aged man who clearly wanted to "beg for help" but had to put on a high posture and lecture him, Li Ang couldn't help but click his tongue speechlessly.

Yesterday he felt he was a bit familiar. The reason he didn't associate him with Joshua was because "Lord Nathan" looked like he had high emotional intelligence and was gentle and polite in dealing with people.

Such a person, no matter how he thought about it, could not be connected to Joshua, who had an almond-sized brain that started rolling in his skull after shaking his head slightly in the palace.

But now it seems that after personally experiencing the destruction of the country and the family, this guy seems to have grown a lot. Even if he still shows his true colors after getting anxious, he has at least learned how to pretend a bit in normal times.

Hmm... then he really needs to think carefully about these words.

After thinking about the possible situation following middle-aged Joshua's words, Li Ang narrowed his eyes and said:

"You mean, those sniffers discovered very precious mineral deposits, and the Kroke Kingdom, in order to obtain those mineral deposits, might even go to war with the kingdom in the future?"

"I don't mean that!"

The middle-aged man snorted after hearing this and denied Li Ang's guess without hesitation, but raised his hand slightly to tidy up his hair, showing Li Ang his temples, which had turned white by another point.

Suddenly aged... so the meaning is that I guessed right?

Facing the intelligence given by middle-aged Joshua at the cost of his life, Li Ang's eyebrows couldn't help but frown tightly, vaguely understanding why he suddenly wanted to attack the Landing Tower.

……

If one were to rank the twelve countries in this world according to their overall strength, the kingdom could only rank around seventh or eighth, while the Kroke Kingdom, known as the City of Machines, was firmly in the top two.

That tiny country with a population of only a few million and an area only half the size of a county in the kingdom, although its territory is very small, its level in mechanical industry is at least a hundred years ahead of other kingdoms, and the vast majority of work has already been replaced by machines.

However, high mechanization brings a near-pathological thirst for energy. Besides the most basic coal and oil, the lightning-strike ore unique to the Kingdom of Thunder, Vandastone, the concentrated whale oil refined from the whaling ships of the Kingdom of Thousand Sails, Seao, the feathers of the Sun Bird of the Kingdom of Refraction, Riffle...

Everything that can provide energy will be targeted by them at the first opportunity, and they will forcibly put forward purchase requirements. If they cannot obtain it through conventional means, they will not hesitate to go to war directly.

Even the airships traveling in the sky and the Landing Towers standing on the territories of various kingdoms are technologies that the Kroke Kingdom shared "gratuitously" in order to achieve the goal of finding energy.

And the only price for bestowing the "power to ascend to the sky" on major kingdoms is to ensure that the sniffers sent by the Kroke Kingdom can travel unimpeded, allowing it to obtain intelligence on various mineral deposits and energy at the first opportunity. This shows how great their demand for energy is.

But... this still doesn't seem right, right?

After pondering the relevant situation in his mind, Li Ang's eyebrows couldn't help but frown.

Although the Kroke Kingdom is extremely strong, because the population is too small and they can't afford to die easily, and they have mastered many high-end technologies, they are usually quite reasonable in "international trade" and will not choose to resort to force unless necessary, especially when it involves purchasing energy. They are even generously scary.

This country is not the type that is so unreasonable that it cannot cooperate at all.

So if it were ordinary energy mineral deposits, with the kingdom's usual attitude, they should choose to hand over the mining rights directly in exchange for a large amount of money and technical support from the Kroke Kingdom. How could they choose to go to war?

Or to put it more bluntly, the kingdom's muscle mass is not at the same level as the Kroke Kingdom at all. I guess they only need to show their muscles slightly, and with the kingdom's usual weak foreign policy, I guess they would immediately admit defeat. How could it reach the point of going to war?

"Are you sure?"

After secretly grabbing the horns of the Black Goat, Li Ang asked seriously:

"Will the kingdom of the future really develop to the point of having to go to war with the Kroke Kingdom because of the mineral deposit information in the hands of those sniffers?"

"I don't know anything."

Saying "I don't know" with his mouth, but raising his hand to point to his graying temples, the middle-aged man said gloomily:

"I already said just now, guess it yourself!"

"……"

No need to guess, your soul has already given me the answer...

After looking at the intense but very stable soul fire of the middle-aged man and confirming that he was not lying and had really witnessed the war from the Kroke Kingdom in the future, Li Ang couldn't help but frown:

"So why?"

Discovering that middle-aged Joshua was not shooting at random, although he did not agree with his rash attack on the Landing Tower and annoying the Kroke Kingdom, Li Ang still asked:

"What exactly did those sniffers discover? How could it cause such a big fuss?"

"You want to know?" After glancing at Li Ang's tightly furrowed brows, middle-aged Joshua, who had been defeated today, sneered and said incomparably happily:

"If you want to know, then lead people to attack the Landing Tower and grab the mineral deposit records!"

"Heh, Little Bagins, don't look at how you ruined my business now, but I believe that after reading those materials, no matter what you think in your heart, you will eventually make the same choice as me!"

While speaking, the middle-aged man raised his hand and pointed at Li Ang from afar, provoking him with hatred in his eyes:

"Just wait! Facts will prove to you who is the correct one between you and me!"

"……"

"Also, don't even think about catching me."

After looking around at the rebel members in the room who had different expressions and were vaguely surrounding him, the middle-aged man said with disgust in his eyes:

"Don't waste your efforts. As long as there is any danger, I will be moved away immediately! You damn traitors, you can only..."

"Prince Joshua."

?!!!

After hearing his name from "Little Bagins's" mouth, the middle-aged man was suddenly shocked, and the harsh words he had only said halfway were choked back. He looked at Li Ang opposite him with horror in his eyes.

And the group of rebels in the room didn't understand the meaning of this name just now, but after seeing his demeanor, the few people with quick brains suddenly reacted and looked at their former leader with shock.

……

"Looking at your expression, I should have guessed right."

Seeing that middle-aged Joshua seemed to want to run, Li Ang, who lacked the means to keep people, had to point out his identity.

And after successfully achieving his goal and dragging out Joshua, who wanted to withdraw, Li Ang secretly reached out to tap the small mirror, signaling Youha to urge Senior Ai Ma, while asking calmly:

"Prince Joshua, I am very curious, what did you experience in the future to change from an arrogant, self-important, and ignorant prince to what you are now?"

"……"

"Little Bagins... you really are a terrifying person..."

After a silent pause, middle-aged Joshua took out a silk handkerchief from his bosom, wiped away the foundation used for concealment on his cheekbones, and revealed the two small irregular freckles that were his trademark in the stunned expressions of the rebels.

"That's right, I am Joshua... but not the idiot prince of now, but the Joshua who is the last king of the kingdom!"

"This... this..."

"How is it possible!!!"

"Prince? The leader of the rebels is a prince!"

Facing middle-aged Joshua, who frankly admitted his identity, the group of rebels couldn't hold it together anymore. The bald woman, who was a staunch pro-leader faction, held her head in incomparable pain.

If the leader of the rebels was a prince, and the entire rebel group was created by him single-handedly, then what exactly had they been fighting against all these years?

A bunch of idiots!

After looking at these former subordinates with disdain, middle-aged Joshua moved his gaze away and looked at "Little Bagins" opposite him, with confusion on his face:

"Tell me, how did you discover it?"

"……"

Actually, I didn't discover it. It was the other you who had a nightmare, and Senior Ai Ma and the director put their heads together and, after excluding other possibilities, directly deduced your existence. I just borrowed the results they obtained.

Of course, these truths could not be told to middle-aged Joshua.

After curling his lips slightly and giving the middle-aged man opposite, who had a look of confusion, a mysterious smile, Li Ang spouted nonsense:

"That's naturally because the flaws you revealed were too many."

"Flaws?"

"Yes, flaws."

After secretly glancing at the middle-aged man's wristwatch and estimating the time Senior Ai Ma still needed, Li Ang slowed his speech to continue dragging out time:

"Even if you have changed a lot and can even speak gently to an ordinary person like me, that arrogance in your bones still cannot be changed."

After comparing him to others, Li Ang continued to spout nonsense seriously:

"Besides that, there is your obsession with saving the kingdom, and that inexplicable hatred for the parasites of the kingdom, all of which are very different from others."

"Others, although they also want to save the kingdom, think about making changes and moving toward a better future, while the expectations you express are more like trying to make up for regrets;"

"Others' hatred for those parasites comes from empathy for the victims' encounters, while your anger is more like someone is destroying property that belongs to you."

"Perhaps it's not obvious when viewed alone, but when you are with others and express emotions like expectations and anger at the same time, it will appear out of place."

"……"

……

Just because of a little difference in this aspect, I was directly exposed?

Not knowing that the other self had a nightmare, after listening to Li Ang's nonsense, the middle-aged man, who had been fooled, took a deep breath and gazed at Li Ang with complex eyes:

"So in your eyes, I have a family environment that can cultivate an arrogant personality, treat the entire kingdom as my property, and know what happened in the future, and I am desperately trying to save the kingdom... These are not enough!"

"Little Bagins, you were able to see through the kingdom's situation at a glance before and put forward a plan that was considered feasible, but I don't believe you could deduce my identity just by relying on these trivial things!"

"……"

Indeed, because I didn't deduce it at all.

I only mixed in yesterday. How would I know what details? These words were all finding questions with answers, purely to drag out time to bluff you. It's right that it doesn't sound reasonable!

"Of course, relying on these alone is indeed not enough. I do have other news."

After narrowing his eyes to examine the middle-aged man's expression, Li Ang, who had successfully set the trap, asked back with a smile under the "shocking" gazes of the rebels:

"Then Prince Joshua, now we both have things we want to know. I don't know if you are willing to make a trade with me? You tell me what those mineral deposits are, and I will tell you how I guessed your identity. What do you think of this trade?"

"I..."

Not knowing that Li Ang was preparing to use empty hands to catch the white wolf, facing the exchange conditions he proposed, the middle-aged man, who had a belly full of questions waiting to be answered, subconsciously clenched his fists and began a fierce psychological struggle.

After a while, his tightly clenched fists loosened slightly, and he shook his head with gritted teeth:

"You devil... I won't trade! If you want to know what it is, go see it yourself!"

Relying on his huge willpower to refuse the trade with "Little Bagins," and seemingly afraid that he would not be able to help but change his mind, the middle-aged man immediately took out a pistol, aimed it at his head, and prepared to activate the backup left by the Aquarius Director through the crisis.

However, what the middle-aged man never expected was that the moment he pulled the trigger, "Little Bagins," who claimed to only be able to make people bow, just raised his hand and squeezed it in the void, directly crushing his pistol into a ball of scrap iron!

?!!!

After seeing the toad pendant with golden arcs flashing on "Little Bagins's" collar, the middle-aged man couldn't help but tremble all over, almost popping his eyes out of their sockets!

"You... you are!!!"

(End of chapter)