Chapter 816

Zhuge Lanqi could not help but ask.

"Hahahahaha!"

The one-legged doll soldier burst into wild laughter upon hearing this question.

"My identity? I am nothing more than a failed father and husband! I could not save my wife's life from the enemy, nor could I change my daughter's fate!"

"But I cannot let these people continue to harm my daughter! So, even if I have to give my life, it is worth it!"

"So that means you are King Riku's son-in-law? Holy crap!"

After hearing the doll soldier's words, Zhuge Lanqi could not help but blurt out a curse.

"What on earth happened here? Why would the people be so hateful toward the beloved King Riku family?"

Luo Bin Ke asked with confusion.

The doll soldier looked at Luo Bin Ke and the others and began to explain earnestly.

Ever since the King Riku family began ruling Desa City, there had not been a war for nearly five hundred years.

For any city, this was a very rare thing.

A stable environment also had huge benefits for the residents.

But since one night ten years ago, all of this changed.

Tang Mingge appeared directly in King Riku's bedchamber.

"Good evening, King Riku! Your family's elegance is truly admirable!"

"Who are you?"

"Me? Could it be that you have never seen the Imperial Court's decree? I am the trusted Seven Warlord, Tang Mingge!"

Tang Mingge revealed a smile.

"I don't care who you are! Leave my bedchamber immediately, or I will make you regret it!"

Seeing this scene, King Riku's expression turned gloomy.

"Is that so? Don't be so agitated! I came here to make a deal; I have taken a liking to your Desa City!"

Tang Mingge put forward his conditions without any courtesy.

"What do you mean?"

King Riku frowned.

"I want you to give up control of Desa City and hand it over to me."

Upon hearing this, King Riku snorted coldly and said, "Delusional! Even if you are a Seven Warlord recognized by the Imperial Court, you cannot do such an overbearing thing!"

"Overbearing? This is just the beginning! If you don't agree, I will have my brothers enter Desa City and begin a massacre. Aren't you a peace-loving person?

You wouldn't want your own people to be slaughtered, would you?"

King Riku was stunned after hearing Tang Mingge's words!

Afterward, he shouted, "Bastard! This is simply lawless!"

"Hahaha! You are wrong!"

Tang Mingge laughed, "In this world, it is always the one with the biggest fist whose words are the truth. If my fist weren't hard enough, how would I dare to stand before you?

Don't say so much nonsense! You should know that the Tang Mingge family has a very large army!"

Tang Mingge's mouth was full of smiles, yet he made people feel fear.

"No! I absolutely cannot agree! I would rather sacrifice myself than allow you to harm our Desa City like this!"

King Riku refused Tang Mingge with ironclad certainty.

Tang Mingge was not angry upon hearing this.

Instead, he revealed a strange smile.

"Since that is the case, let our negotiation end here. Prepare to go to war with the Tang Mingge family!" After saying this, Tang Mingge turned around, ready to leave.

"Wait! There are so many towns nearby, why have you set your sights on my Desa City? The people here haven't experienced war for many years! What you are doing is too cruel!"

King Riku asked through gritted teeth!

"Because... I like it here. How about this! It's fine if you don't hand over Desa City; if you can come up with one hundred million taels of gold, I will spare your lives. How about that?"

Tang Mingge suddenly stopped and revealed a cunning look, "Of course! If you are unwilling, then we can only go to war~"

"You!"

King Riku almost spat out blood after hearing this, "Fine! I agree to your terms, give me a few days to raise the money!"

King Riku had no choice; after all, Desa City was his most precious treasure, and he could not hand it over to others.

"Three days? That won't do. I'll only give you one night! Also, you cannot tell the people that you were coerced into doing this. Do you understand?"

After saying these words, Tang Mingge turned and left.

Leaving King Riku standing there in a daze!

"What kind of enemy have I provoked!"

King Riku shook his head and sighed helplessly.

One hundred million taels of gold—even if all the assets of Desa City were sold, it would not be enough to gather such a massive fortune.

Furthermore, having to hide it from the people made it truly difficult!

"Sigh! I can only try!" Having said that, King Riku walked out of the bedchamber and found the Vanguard Battalion's Deputy Commander, Jia.

"Lord City Master, is there something you need to order since you are out so late?"

Jia said respectfully upon seeing King Riku.

"Jia, gather the troops immediately!"

King Riku said solemnly.

"Ah?"

Jia opened his mouth wide in surprise! He did not understand why King Riku would suddenly gather troops at such a time; could it be that a war had broken out?

However, King Riku was his direct superior, so he could only carry out the order.

Half an hour later, the elites of the Vanguard Battalion had all arrived at the command post.

"City Master, do you have something important for us?"

Deputy Commander Jia asked respectfully.

King Riku nodded and then told everyone about Tang Mingge coming to attack him today.

"What?"

After hearing this, everyone was extremely surprised.

"City Master! Let's just pick up our weapons and fight these guys!"

"That's right! City Master! Although they are very strong, there is no such thing as defending against thieves for a thousand days! And this time they actually dared to rob you, City Master; it is simply outrageous! I suggest we must resist!"

"Resist!"

"Resist!"

"Resist!"

The soldiers of the Vanguard Battalion responded one after another!

These soldiers were the powerful armed forces trained by King Riku, usually under his command... They were truly loyal to King Riku!

King Riku took a deep breath, "No! The people of our Desa City cannot withstand a round of slaughter, so I have to ask you all to raise the money. If we can collect everyone's money, plus some of my private savings, we should be able to gather this one hundred million taels of gold!"

"What?"

Upon hearing this news, the other generals suddenly exclaimed.

This was the foundation of a city; were they really going to hand it over to Tang Mingge?

"City Master, are you sure this can be done? What if we hand over all the money to Tang Mingge and he still occupies our Desa City?"

"That's right!"

Everyone discussed it heatedly.

King Riku also fell into silence, his expression shifting.

"Everyone, this is just a delaying tactic!"

King Riku clenched his fists, "The people of the Tang Mingge family will definitely be watching us from the shadows. We are only doing this to show them. During this time, we will secretly transfer the people to other cities to hide, and then we can come back after the storm passes."

Hearing this, the other generals nodded one after another, agreeing with King Riku's point of view!

Now they could only think this way!

"Since that's the case, City Master, hurry and mobilize the men! I'm afraid that delay will lead to changes!"

After saying this, everyone dispersed.

King Riku's expression was very solemn; he did not know if he could successfully transfer all the people.