Chapter 390: Compromise Only Leads One Step After Another

Ji Ming could not possibly know how Wendygo would react, so he merely wrote the name of the venomous snake on the Deep Forest Church's camp map with a pen.

"Bai Li Xiang, actually it's not just you and White Wax; she's also one of ours, and it started back at Jueqiao Pass."

"Jueqiao Pass… huh!"

Bai Li Xiang suddenly understood; no wonder the venomous snake, famed for steadfast faith, madness, and impatience, began to make plans after launching its first assassination.

—So it was the deity who patched its brain!

No wonder the deity can even smooth out such a low‑IQ dip; truly stronger than that old thing in the Deep Forest (thumbs up).

After that, Bai Li Xiang, whose research urge was sparked, originally wanted to linger longer in the Underground World, since the library there held knowledge the Deep Forest Church lacked.

But Ji Ming could not guarantee there wouldn't be another accident tomorrow, so he had to move the once‑a‑day teleportation array to another spot, and let it return quickly to Vine Valley.

Reuniting with Cloi outside the valley, Ji Ming walked a few steps along the creek and summed up the current results.

In the Deep Forest Church side, the people doing the work must listen to him, and the overseers must listen to him; over at the Northward Squad, he can also take part in key decisions.

Moreover, the Holy Light Church, Soul Spirit Throne, Shadow Church, Pioneers, and all the various little insects and beasts who believe or don't believe in the deity, he also holds varying degrees of influence over.

In other words, on this arena, whether referee or players on either side, they all now seem to be his people.

…Wow, what's with playing chess against oneself, and it's a Four Nations military chess game at that.

Still, being ten‑out‑of‑nine solid is a good thing; the layout is finished, and now just follow the steps to completely eradicate the Deep Forest Church's entire setup in the Hui Guang Kingdom and let the Northward Squad safely return to the Royal Capital.

Yet we finally arrived at what should be relatively safer central parts of the kingdom; the terrain shifted from hills to plains, making roads much easier, but the squad's movement speed actually slowed.

Because they began selectively taking detours, lingering briefly in some nobles' territories, apparently to pull some trick; Ji Ming observed for two days and asked Bai Li Xiang about these nobles.

One can only say a hero is a hero; even the most shady enemy must be faced with a straightened expression.

"Their ancestors were all martial merit men; a decade ago they didn't openly pick sides, but secretly supplied people and money to support the Changge Marquis's cause."

So this wave counts as… old court officials escorting the prince's orphaned daughter to pay respects at a mountain?

Unfortunately, back then everyone supported the Marquis because they still held a breath of hope, and the sky still shed a little light onto the ancestors' graves without a wisp of smoke.

Yet the humiliation of more than ten years ago…

Tsk.

Therefore, even though Te Nisi and Ai Linuo enjoyed green lights all the way and were welcomed by the local nobles with the highest‑grade hospitality,

regarding actual support…

Sorry, even though Te Nisi almost made it clear, they still beat around the bush; in short, they could only provide everything except direct support.

Only one elderly noble, who had once been a regional commander, said at the end of the conversation,

"Give up, let the future little princess live a peaceful life, okay?"

Te Nisi furrowed his brows.

"Brother, do you think I'm talking to you about her personal matters?"

The old guy looked odd at being called 'bro', but could only respond vaguely as he did in his youth.

"She… isn't that so? I think actually it is."

"Don't pretend you don't understand! It's not just this superficial triviality; haven't you grasped the Deep Forest people's meaning?"

"I…"

The old noble was cornered by her words, sighed deeply for a long while, then closed his eyes.

"I know, and not only me—everyone knows!"

Te Nisi immediately pressed,

"If you know, then why still…"

"Because there's no way!"

The old noble, his face reddening, muttered that line, trembling as he leaned on his cane and stood.

"That battle back then… was too painful! Everyone's morale is gone… at most we can just replace it… that's it!"

Watching him flee like a ghost from the secret room, Te Nisi slowly chewed over the words and gradually understood what all the nobles had been trying to convey all along.

Compromise.

Just another recurrence of history…

Since five hundred years ago Deep Forest and Hui Guang could still join forces to carve up the civilized world as brothers, the fact that it has become this subtle situation now naturally has very complex reasons.

In the end, it boils down to two points.

—As a Yanhuang transmigrator, Deep Forest was built by Little Lion according to otherworldly Han‑Tang standards, but plans can never keep up with change; many things aren't solved by one or two heaven‑sent strong men.

Thus the prematurely deceased him only had time to teach Deep Forest what pacifying barbarians and resisting aggression meant, what "barbarism" was, but not what "cease war for martial" or "civilization" meant, leaving Deep Forest, lacking a foundational root, gradually turning into a pure war machine.

Over a hundred years ago the entire Deep Forest suffered disaster, and the starving northern nomads brazenly moved south; amid nationwide chaos, the Eastern border troops, unpaid for months, simply sent troops to become bandits, stormed into Hui Guang, and ravaged eighteen villages in succession.

Under such reckless acts, the second reason began to show.

—Suffering such a humiliating disgrace, the Hui Guang court, though furiously angry, when everyone was waiting to see a two‑nation war, they… only got angry for a moment.

The core noble faction, cautious and all‑seeing, never dispatched troops; instead they announced they had already sent people to negotiate with Deep Forest, demanding they restrain their sub‑troops and stop the raids.

Reasoning with Deep Forest people was useless; having tasted the sweet, they could not stop, only mocking "they're just border bandits, what do they have to do with us Deep Forest? If you're not happy, you can also send troops to suppress bandits."

"Damn, that's insulting us!"

At that point the Hui Guang nobles still had some backbone; under the leadership of the Northeast noble group they pooled money and people, actually raising an anti‑bandit army.

The long‑peace Hui Guang Marshal was no longer the iron‑blooded elite who once wielded the Sun King banner to break eighteen elf formations; now even petty bandits who just dabble sweat profusely.

After inadvertently stepping into the Deep Forest bandits' encirclement they collapsed in a thousand‑mile rout, instantly counter‑charging as if reborn; the army fell like a mountain, like Kaishen reborn, a total mess, chaos.

That exhilarating, thorough victory even left the Deep Forest people stunned.

"Here I am… please, I was just being politely grossed out at you, why did you lose so badly?"

Snatching so many Hui Guang nobles at once was quite a hot potato, so Deep Forest quickly contacted the Hui Guang royal family.

"We've already redeemed the people for you; if you can provide the principal, we'll return them to you exactly as they were, so hurry!"

But this great defeat has already torn away the last veil of modesty between the major noble factions within the Hui Guang Kingdom, so that the dominant Northeastern faction only ransomed its own batch of people, and the rest—no matter how the Deep Forest folk hinted—were about to shout a buy‑one‑get‑one slogan, regardless.

It was the minor nobles from various regions who smashed pots and buried iron, and with the help of the then‑generation Absolute Duke, gathered some money and grain, even issuing IOUs, to ransom their own relatives back home.

And after all that, those who could return home were still only the nobles who served as the backbone of the squad.

As for the battle‑hardened veterans, the knights who have painstakingly honed their martial skills…

The nobles' advantage is exactly this: when they pretend to be blind, they truly see nothing.

But the Deep Forest folk collect the money with eyes wide open; everything that falls into their sight is—

"Hehe, I was thinking nobody wants the western lands any more."

After that, the Deep Forest people became even more reckless—if something was missing or lacking, they would simply rush down the mountain and demand it from the Hui Guang folk.

It was precisely this mindset that allowed both sides to "coexist peacefully," maintaining a decades‑long predator‑prey relationship until twenty years ago.

At that time, the lion from the steppe had already founded the Beimosi Khanate, unifying the steppe tribes with absolute force and royal virtue, so the nomadic southward march that year was especially vigorous.

The Northern nobles, already accustomed to playing PvE tower‑defense games and perhaps hoping to raid in reverse, cranked the difficulty to the max, and a retaliatory punch pierced their defenses.

Even after expending great effort to finally drive out all invaders, the sight of the north‑border towns stripped bare meant losses that were astronomically high.

So…

This time they were truly rampant; many soldiers were too lazy to even remove their Deep Forest insignia and rushed straight into Hui Guang villages to loot.

And it wasn't just looting; after their defeat they poured their fury onto innocent civilians, countless settlements were massacred, and the western Hui Guang region was filled with wailing.

The Deep Forest folk, reeling from massive losses, became unusually greedy, venturing deeper into Hui Guang territory than ever before; after meeting local resistance they launched a massacre in Liuli City, countless civilians were slaughtered, and even the Viscount who was a lord "disappeared" amid the chaos.

Friends familiar with 'Mount & Blade' know that in a medieval setting, even within the same army, a noble‑born lord and a common foot‑soldier are worlds apart.

Soldiers, or rather common folk, whether killed or sold, are ignored; but nobles are different—you must be fed and pampered, waiting for ransom from their families. If you kill them, you lose all the favor of every lord on the map, friend or foe!

After all, this is the Lord, the Lord… can the Lord even be killed!?

If you dare kill the little lord today, I can't even imagine what you'd dare kill tomorrow!

Thus the Hui Guang court erupted in an uproar, everyone from top to bottom waiting for the great nobles' decision.

—If they stay silent again, they'll truly lose face!

Great noble: Ha ha, it doesn't matter, I don't need a face.

It was under exactly this situation, after repeated concessions, that finally someone willing to resist stepped forward.

But.

This is the Changge Marquis, the brightest star of the young generation in the Hui Guang Kingdom; from lineage to strength to ability, even old veterans would be impressed, let alone peers.

This is Princess Dream Spring, the youngest ever to receive a princess title; her domestic and strategic intellect is top‑tier, and she has forced her way into being the group's favorite within the royal circle that longs to clash at first sight.

These two alone could fill a fresh, sweet CP‑locked career story, and the subsequent wars proceeded smoothly, truly defying fate.

But just this.

It's already like this!

In the end they both died, which was the only way to save the orphan girl's life.

So, we still…

"Forget it!"

When the Northward Squad was preparing to leave this noble's domain, the old noble looked into Te Nisi's eyes, shook his head, and repeated the sentence.

Te Nisi said nothing, but silently slipped into the carriage.

The old lady was probably truly broken; thereafter the Northward Squad never visited a noble's castle again, even for supplies they went to roadside towns and villages, avoiding any contact with local nobles.

Moreover, although the overall direction stayed the same, many mid‑journey detours were cancelled, so now the squad proceeds along an almost straight line toward the Royal Capital.

Ai Li Nuo didn't take part the whole time, but could probably guess the negotiation's outcome; however, due to her upbringing, the expectation wasn't that obsessive, so she tacitly accepted Te Nisi's temporary withdrawal.

As for Little Lion… he has a strong sense of captivity, knowing he is a prisoner, so he offered no opinion the whole time, just caring about being fed and watered.

But!

Ji Ming: I have an opinion!

I've been running around tirelessly, just to overturn the Dense Forest Church along with all the vermin, and now I'm only one breath away… you guys are letting me down, thinking only of yourselves!

So the next day, the convoy traveling through a forest was surprised to find a huge wolf lying across the road ahead, and it didn't move when people approached.

"What! Even a dog dares to bully me?"

Cloi's arrival became the final straw that broke the Archbishop's reason; upon hearing it, she grabbed a lance and rushed out.

Cloi: I'm testing.

Seeing a shot about to kill her, she spurred her horse to a thunderous sprint, darting through the mountains, and "accidentally" lured Te Nisi to discover a cave bearing scorch marks.

"Wait, there's an aura of a dark‑god sacrifice here!"

Te Nisi had to abandon his plan to give that big dog a friendly kick, stayed to examine the cave carefully, and indeed, thanks to his keen perception, discovered something.

"…this damaged insignia is… the Deep Moon Clan?"