Suddenly, the hall fell into silence.

Although Naven lowered his head, his face was full of confidence.

No matter how special dragons are, they are always greedy. This is their eternal nature.

And he believed that no dragon could resist the price offered by the Kingdom of Cassander: millions of square kilometers of territory and mountains of gold coins. This was enough to drive any human ruler crazy, let alone a greedy dragon?

Therefore, he just waited quietly, waiting for the consent of the "Red Emperor" in front of him, waiting to report the good news of gaining strong support to His Majesty.

Sure enough, Cassius’ voice echoed in the empty hall, but that voice made Naven’s expression stagnate.

"No."

"I cannot agree to your request. Please thank His Majesty Otis for his kindness."

Naven stepped forward and persuaded anxiously: “Your Majesty, why?”

"This is a great opportunity! As long as you cooperate with our Kingdom of Cassander, you will not only be able to earn millions of gold coins, but your empire will also gain countless benefits and even expand your territory to the south."

"I have said that I have always been a peace-loving monarch who puts his people first."

Cassius had a half-smile on his face, and he slowly explained:

"My country has just recovered from the war, and my people have just been liberated from the oppression of the northern nobles. The most important thing for the empire now is to recuperate rather than to fight wars everywhere."

"Go back and tell your Majesty Otis that I bring you my blessing. I hope he can recover his homeland as soon as possible and restore the glory of Holy Fadlan."

"And I am just a mediocre monarch who wants to develop peacefully."

How can it be?

Naven’s pupils shrank sharply, his face full of disbelief.

He really couldn't imagine that a greedy red dragon would give up the benefits that were within his grasp.

Could it be that Naven was really lucky and met a dragon who was diligent in government affairs and put the people first?

What a joke!
Who would have thought that these words could be used to describe a red dragon?
He would rather believe that the sun would rise from the west because of His Majesty Amaunator's laxity than believe that a red dragon would give up the benefits that were within his grasp - for such a ridiculous reason as "putting the people first"!

Maybe the price tag just isn’t enough.

You still have to pay extra.

Thinking of this, Naven gritted his teeth and said in a sonorous voice: “As long as you can help, His Majesty Otis is willing to donate another 5 million gold coins to the empire and share a lot of magic knowledge with the empire!”

Sure enough, the red dragon seemed to waver.

"I can see the sincerity of His Majesty Otis. He is worthy of being the eldest son of that person."

Naven’s face suddenly showed joy.

This is a necessary price.

Five million gold coins is still within the pre-given consumption range, so it is barely acceptable if I return to report successfully to His Majesty.

Unexpectedly, Cassius' tone paused.

"However, this matter concerns the livelihood of the people of the empire, so we need to consider it carefully."

"But Your Majesty."

Naven wanted to lobby again.

However, Cassius's expression turned cold and he interrupted him: "Let's stop here. Don't challenge my patience or try to guide my decision."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then we will take our leave and not disturb your rest. May Amaunator protect you."

Naven answered with a sullen gesture.

"Maybe."

"Does this red dragon really care about his people?" Naven sighed helplessly and thought to himself.

However, he didn't know that his previous guess was actually correct.

But on the contrary, Naven still greatly underestimated the greed of the red dragon.

It was not that Cassius had no desire for the Thracian Kingdom, but that he was even more greedy.

What he coveted was not only these millions of gold coins, but also far more than two-thirds of the territory of the Thracian Kingdom.

What he wanted was the entire Fadlan Empire, the entire Feanso continent, and even the entire Erezega world.

Allowing the Kingdom of Cassander to gain an advantage in the Battle of the Three Emperors did not fit in with his plans, nor was it worthy of his ambition to annex the entire Fadlan Empire.

Soon, under the guard and protection of the tiefling soldiers, the envoys from the Kingdom of Cassander left in a hurry.

They came with boxes of financial reports, but left empty-handed, full of disappointment.

Inside the palace, Cassius did not rest, but grinned.

"Cassander's men are gone."

"Come in, guest from the Kingdom of Thrace."

The secret envoy from the Thracian Kingdom, Dayev Marshall, nervously entered the palace from the side hall under the supervision of the ogre.

It turned out that the envoy from Cassander's palace had just arrived, and he followed him to the palace gate, but was asked to wait in the side hall.

At this moment, his expression was particularly ugly.

And just now, he heard that the Kingdom of Cassander was planning to join forces with the Burning Empire to besiege the Kingdom of Thrace, which would be an absolute geopolitical disaster for the Kingdom of Thrace.

The Cassander Empire even offered extremely tempting conditions, which made Dayev tremble with fear.

Fortunately, the emperor did not agree.

But Dayev did not relax because of this, and he never believed the rhetoric of "putting the people first".

The refusal of the "Red Emperor" can only mean one thing - the Burning Empire wants to gain some kind of benefit from the Thracian Kingdom.

Thinking of this, Dayev took a deep breath, walked to the steps with inexplicable determination, and bowed.

"Good day, Your Majesty Cassius."

Cassius did not greet him, but just looked down at him with his pale golden eyes.

"Did you hear what the envoy from the Kingdom of Cassander said just now?"

Daev's forehead was immediately covered with sweat. He whispered, "I am just an envoy from the south. How dare I eavesdrop on your conversation?"

"hehe."

Cassius sneered.

"Don't worry, I let you hear that on purpose - whenever I want."

But instead of feeling relieved, Dayev became even more nervous.

Because he knew that the real test had just begun.

"So. Give me a reason."

Sure enough, when Cassius spoke again, there seemed to be an invisible pressure descending, pressing heavily on his shoulders, making him almost unable to breathe.

"Reasons for not attacking Thrace."

"Five million gold coins, a large amount of magical knowledge, and the occupation of two-thirds of the territory of the Kingdom of Thrace. This is the price the Kingdom of Cassander offered me."

"And what kind of price can you offer me?"

Under the shadow of the giant dragon, Dayev raised his head tremblingly. He saw endless greed in his deep golden pupils. (End of this chapter)