Chapter 249

However, on the internet you can choose to block the opponent and hide like a turtle when you're overwhelmed, but in the real world you can't.

Especially in this situation, the side that loses the debate will have to take all the blame and become the tribe's sole traitor.

Thus she let out an extremely anguished wail, and Bolina raised the staff in her hand.

"Tribesmen, they actually slandered me, this hero who saved the tribe—do you agree?"

"If I can't outtalk you, can I still not beat you? Just a few hundred humans mixed with orcs—watch me…"

???

"Why isn't anyone speaking?"

"I've clearly done so much; even if it's not a unanimous response, at least there should be some gathering and echo, right?"

"As a result, only a few idiots I painstakingly cultivated for loyalty spoke up, while the rest kept their heads down, and there were even those looking to freeload."

"The players were all amused by this scene worthy of being called 'Sheldon 2.0,' and only a lone infantryman stepped forward."

"Since the traitor of your tribe has been exposed, as defenders of the underground plain's peace, we Pioneers Council are willing to help you sweep away these scum."

"But this situation is complex and significant; we also don't want to harm innocents and cause secondary damage to the Fang Tribe, so…"

He first conjured a food sack in his left hand.

"We are willing to provide a certain amount of food as free aid to help you get through this turbulent period, and afterward we will give you channels to obtain more food."

Then he picked up a flintlock gun in his right hand.

"But I need you to hand over all traitors secretly communicating with mercenaries; anyone who tries to obstruct or interfere, no matter who, we will show no mercy!"

"Between saving face and yielding, between threats and inducements, it seems the bat people would be ungrateful if they didn't comply."

"Thus, although no one spoke, Bolina could feel the people around her quietly distancing themselves."

——Who the hell is this woman? I don't know her, cut her off.

"But as I said before, the side that loses the debate will have to bear all the blame and be thoroughly settled."

"So even if the odds are low, Bolina will take her few remaining subordinates and give it a shot!"

"You're still spreading rumors—what does our Fang Tribe's business have to do with you humans?"

"After a furious shout, she brandished her staff to begin preparing magic, posing as if she'd fight the Pioneers to the death."

"Tribesmen, kill this group of outsiders who want to enslave us!"

"Yet after issuing such a declaration of war, the magic she unleashed was purely a non‑offensive speed‑boosting 'Wind Rush Technique.'"

——Fight? Pfft! If it's going to blow up, better to run away quick!

"Watching the high priest fly off toward the mercenary camp without looking back, the few die‑hards who had already rushed out hovered in midair."

"Then, because he provoked armed resistance, the players shot him down with bows, crossbows, and cannons, killing him on the spot."

"And the priest's shocking flight essentially proved all of Prince Ashley's earlier accusations true."

"Even the vested interests who had originally sided with her could only shut their mouths, let the deals they'd negotiated rot in their stomachs, put on smiling faces, and welcome the royal troops."

"Thus the Pioneers quelled the Fang Tribe's internal strife without losing a single soldier."

"Even logically speaking, they merely brought a few hundred people over for a casual chat, and the bat people all turned traitor, discarded their arms, and were slain on the spot."

"There's no way—if they defy the Pioneers again, the latter will just set up cannons to blast the gates; can you outrun the bats and still outrun the cave?"

"Unfortunately, the players' technology has only just climbed to the Industrial Revolution, still far from the birth of aircraft."

"Thus they lack any decent anti‑air capability; they can only watch as Bolina, having escaped the range of various weapons, disappears into the darkness on the horizon."

"But can she really get away?"

"Just as she was swiftly flying through the air, still shaken, a blinding light suddenly flared up on the ground."

"Then a scorching, searing sweep came at an angle and sliced her wing."

"How could mere mortal flesh withstand the power of laser counter‑measure?"

"Naturally, over half her wing was cut off, she lost all flight ability, and could only scream as she fell."

"Flying this high, it won't be smashed to death, will it…"

"Knocking her down was to capture her alive for interrogation; Ji Ming didn't dare bet she was the Fang Tribe's indestructible king."

"Fortunately, although our own troops lack such units, there are flying units among the heroes."

"Thus Sylvia caught her in mid‑air, lowered her a bit, then dropped her."

"After such an ordeal, Bolina was so frightened she couldn't even crawl, just lying limp on the ground."

"Who are you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter; what matters is who they are."

"What?"

"Releasing a 【Suggestion Technique】, Ji Ming asked softly."

"Who was it that discussed this cooperation with you?"

"While Bolina confessed like spilling beans, the mercenary camp was nevertheless immersed in revelry."

"Dozens of mercenary corps leaders, big and small, had gathered together, using the New Year as an excuse to raise cups and exchange drinks."

"As the overall commander of so many troops, Andrew, seated in the main seat, felt rather elated."

"After all, he could now rely on these thousands of able‑bodied warriors to breach any bordering small state around the kingdom and make himself king."

"... Don't even think about it—after the Holy Tree Kingdom collapsed five hundred years ago, the elf population plummeted, and there is currently no kingdom ruled by dark elves."

"And what I want now is merely to control a single underground plain; it's no great feat, and I will surely succeed."

"Especially, his opening move is practically perfect—the greedy foolish woman named Bolina has completely seized all power of the Fang Tribe."

"So all that remains is to secretly nurture them, then, after the dust settles, act as his claws to plunder the underground plain for him."

"But before that, there are two important matters that need to be handled."

"First, bring the mage I found who excels at breaking defensive formations, and take down the inverted castle in the middle of the underground plain."

In fact, the only reason he could bring so many 'aid forces' on this trip was by fooling them with this big promise.

Only with this large sum of money could he shut them up, preventing this bunch of short-sighted, greedy little squad leaders from making trouble.

The second matter is to talk again with the chief of the Demon Spirit Tribe, trying to persuade them to make up their minds and launch a war as soon as possible.

Once the underground plain is utterly chaotic, a mess like porridge, and all the major tribes are defeated and wounded, he can then step in with absolute advantage to reap the harvest and thoroughly proclaim his sovereignty over this land.

Governor of the Plains, Lord An De Lu… Hmm, that sounds not bad!

The only unexpected factor is probably the Pioneers of the underground city deep in the plain.

These people are no pushovers; they are both treacherous and cunning, and they still possess some military strength.

But this is also the fundamental reason why An De Lu strains to tie more people to his war chariot, even unwilling to spare sharing the profits.

— Now I have more people under my command; can you little fleas still overturn the heavens?

Thus the banquet's atmosphere gradually rose, and the most sycophantic of the little squad leaders raised his cup.

"Friends, let's have another drink for the health of the Alliance Leader!"

Whether intentional or not, everyone overlooked that omitted 'deputy' character, merely raising their cups toward An De Lu.

"Hahaha, drink!"

An De Lu gave a hehe smile and drained the wine in his cup in one gulp.

But just as he was about to savor what it felt like to be called Alliance Leader, a huge roar suddenly came from the sky.

The wooden building's ceiling was smashed open, a dark object fell straight down and landed right in the center of the table's platter.

"What is it?"

The bleary-eyed little squad leaders were instantly startled awake, all retreating warily, while one bold one stared intently.

"It's… it's a bat-person's head!"

But before others could get a clear look, that mysterious object was directly snatched by Sheldon into his spatial ring.

"What bat-person's head? It's just a chunk of rock that fell from the sky; we're underground, look at how you've all been scared."

"Really?"

The little squad leaders were half-believing, half-doubting, but now Captain Sheldon had regained An De Lu's trust, so they dared not act rashly and could only grit their teeth and move on.

Regardless, the banquet's harmonious atmosphere had been ruined; after just a few rounds of drinks, everyone scattered.

After the guests had left, the ever-silent An De Lu grabbed Sheldon.

"That head…"

Sheldon's face turned extremely grim.

"That head belongs to the Sharp-Tooth Tribe's priestess; she failed."

Gritting his teeth, An De Lu immediately sent scouts to scout near the Sharp-Tooth Tribe, only to see the players transporting grain into the tribe.

Even in a fantasy world, plants have a growing season; with the closed beta just starting over a month ago, how could the players possibly have "grown" grain?

The so‑called "grain available after a month" is merely because they spent a lot of money buying Grersen's growth‑acceleration service, and they just can't pull out the funds right now.

Now is the perfect moment to demonstrate their status as a great power; whether they can become the big brother who resounds across the underground plain hinges on this move.

Thus, even without going all‑out like the hundred‑billion‑subsidy Xunduoduo, making a modest investment in the Sharp-Tooth Tribe's tyrants is still feasible.

Therefore the players bought growth‑acceleration services for a few plots of land and hastily gathered a batch of grain as goodwill aid.

Of course, there's no such thing as free goodwill in this world; in return, the Sharp-Tooth Tribe must start working for the players from today.

And although the players' maneuver was somewhat underhanded, at least its purpose and outcome were good, fully conforming to the judgment of the "Positive Nourishing Vitality Technique".

Thus, one operation brought attribute points and productivity, and added to that, the long‑craved air combat units were all in place.

The smile didn't disappear; it merely shifted from An De Lu to the players' faces.

"Ugh ah ah ah!"

Director An flew into a rage, turning on the spot into a desk‑cleaning master, shaking loose a few strands of hair from under his hat.

"Sheldon! What kind of person did you find for me? How could you turn a sure‑win situation into this mess?"

Sheldon: "Embarrassed, is this your first time?"

"Cough, my lord, I warned you earlier: these Pioneers absolutely cannot be thought of like ordinary natives."

To bolster the persuasiveness of his failure, he took a deep breath.

"If I must say, I feel their cohesion and combat strength can be compared to that of the Iron‑Clad Marquis eighteen years ago…"

Crack!

Who would have thought that uttering that term would cause An De Lu to accidentally snap the pen in his hand.

After all, the so‑called Iron‑Clad Marquis is actually a hardline noble of the Hui Guang Kingdom.

With the aid of the Holy Light Divine Church, back then he nearly managed to unite everyone in the kingdom's western border to jointly resist the plundering of the Shen Lin Wang Guo.

Well, nearly.

Although the eventual outcome was a victory for the Deep Forest, the western border of the Hui Guang Kingdom again became a feeding table for the northern nobles to bleed.

But the northern nobles, accustomed to force of arms, were in fact never able to defeat the opponent by military means until the very end.

Because what defeated the Iron‑Clad Marquis was that… those knives from behind; they finally employed the very conspiracies and tricks they once despised.

Shame, for the northern nobles accustomed to violence and "open and aboveboard" conduct, this victory was a disgrace.

Therefore, although he was not an eyewitness, as a descendant who shares in the glory, An De Lu still couldn't help trembling a little.

"Then they absolutely cannot continue to exist…… absolutely cannot!"

"Sheldon, don't waste any more time; we'll go tomorrow to the Inverted Castle to get the money—quick, we must be quick!"

Good news, An De Lu was really fooled by his own fabricated lie into coming to the underground plain!

Using a bat's head as a host's gift, Ji Ming could hardly restrain himself from rushing in to ask An De Lu for a "return present."

But…

Great news, not only did he come, he also brought along several thousand merit experience packs!

From the standpoint of his savior and his post-transmigration identity, players are natural allies, while Deep Forest is an outright enemy.

If he wanted, he could certainly use a generous bounty to have the players clear out his enemies, but why spend money on something that can be gotten for free?

Now only one step away, and he could make the closed-beta players, mountain mercenaries, and even the Shen Lin Wang Guo become mortal enemies.

Considering the influence of closed-test players' emotions and style on the open test, this idea can definitely spread after the public launch.

By then, he won't need to guide them himself; whether for merit or for his own fun, players wholeheartedly devoted to messing around will naturally go look for trouble with the Deep Forest people.

As for where this final step should be……

【Main Quest: Yield No Ground!】

【Quest Introduction: The cunning, deceitful mercenary, after tasting defeat at the Sharp Fang Tribe, decided to switch from offense to defense and seize the players' Upside-down Castle.】

【Quest Objective: Crush the mercenaries' plot and drive them completely out of the Underground Plain.】

【Quest Rewards:】

Delete it.

Weird, why do you want me to give rewards for protecting your own stuff……