Extraordinary Rise: Starting Contract with the Silver Dragon Countess

Chapter 344 They'll thank us even if we sell them out!

(Thanks to readers "欣欣之火", "量北斗", and "比奇堡三大酱" for their generous donations! Thank you, boss!)
The process of receiving weapons, equipment, and prisoners of war continued, but Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun suddenly approached Cohen.

Joren glanced at Cohen, who was taking inventory of weapons and equipment, and said casually:
“We’ve dealt with all the prisoners of war. You can finish up the rest.”

"Let's go and discuss the ransom with the special envoy from the Southern Empire first."

Cohen's face remained expressionless as he smiled faintly and said:

"Please go ahead, you two. I'll take care of things here."

As the two left, Cohen watched their retreating figures, a playful smile curving his lips.

……

Lance Cooper stared at the two people who appeared before him, his mouth agape in astonishment. He quickly realized something was wrong and desperately tried to suppress his fear, his facial muscles contorting as he tried to suppress his expression.

Sitting opposite him were not outsiders, but Prince Xiazuo and Young Master Qiaolun, who had just surrounded them and forced them to surrender.

Cooper's behavior only deepened their suspicions.

The fact that the other party was a senior staff officer made them extremely cautious.

Regarding the main purpose and work of Prince Greg of the Southern Empire in coming to Ceylon, all they got from Greg was a series of things: supporting the Lorthermar family, undermining the princess, and taking control of the Crown City.

There is no clue as to why they were vying for the favor of the gods.

Both Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun knew that the main purpose of the important figures sent by the various empires to Ceylon was to compete for the divine favor bestowed upon King Efein.

Greg definitely has a more detailed plan for King Effie, but since the other party is adamant about not saying anything, they can't press him too hard. What if Greg makes up a few things? Will they believe him or not?
Soon they would be facing King Efein and his orc army. Xia Zuo and his companion wanted to know how the Crown Prince of the Southern Empire planned to deal with King Efein, and it would be even better if they could obtain some information that they did not know.

Greg refused to say, but the two had other options.

Such a large plan could not have been completed by Greg alone; he must have had someone in the know.

This is why Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun took the initiative to deal with the high-ranking officers in the Southern Empire's army.

As it turned out, they actually found someone: Gregor's chief military officer, Lance Cooper. The moment they saw him, Shazo and Joren judged that there was something fishy about him.

An extraordinary individual who doesn't even reach the Gold rank actually possesses a legendary-rank magical accessory. More importantly, this magical accessory is also a spatial storage device.

Combined with the other party's obviously unusual behavior, the two made the same deduction: this person must possess important military secrets.

After greeting each other, Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun remained silent, their gazes fixed on Lance, making the latter feel an immense pressure that almost suffocated him.

As time passed, Lance became restless. His eyes darted around, his breathing became rapid, and sweat streamed down his face.

Seeing that Xia Zuo and the other two still didn't speak, Lance pursed his dry lips and asked in a low voice:
"My lords, is there anything I can help you with?"

Xia Zuo smiled faintly and said:

"The Cooper family of the Aiser Province of the Southern Empire, is that right?"

Lance trembled slightly, then slowly nodded after a moment and said:
"I've made a fool of myself in front of His Highness the Prince."

Xia Zuo's voice softened considerably as he said:
"Don't be nervous. I have no ill intentions toward your Southern Empire. If I remember correctly, the first Viscount Cooper was married to a member of the royal family of our Eastern Empire."

So, in that sense, we're relatives.

Who can remember things so clearly from thousands of years ago?

Lance could vaguely guess the other party's intention in trying to establish a kinship, but his voice still carried a hint of trepidation:

"Your Highness, please speak freely if you have any instructions."

Xia Zuo smiled casually and said:
"There were no instructions, I'm just curious what Prince Gregor is doing in coming all this way to the Kingdom of Ceylon?"

Lance swallowed hard, feeling a burning sensation in his throat. He loosened his collar and tentatively replied:

"Didn't our Prince tell the two officials?"

At this moment, Qiao Lun spoke up:
"I told you, you're planning to sideline Guimian City and use the princess's faction's power to unify Ceylon."

And...dealing with King Efein and his orcish minions.

A fleeting look of surprise crossed Lance's face, but he quickly composed himself, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Xia Zuo's voice rang in his ears:

"You should have a legendary-level spatial storage device on you, that should be Greg's, right?"

What's inside?

Upon hearing Xia Zuo's words, Lance shuddered, and his expression immediately turned panicked.

Joren's voice suddenly turned cold:
"You should know why His Highness the Prince and I have been here with you for so long."

Your princes have all been captured. What's the point of you, a mere advisor, keeping their secrets?

Take the things out yourself to avoid suffering.

Xia Zuo's voice remained gentle:

"Generally, spatial storage devices of legendary rank or above are equipped with self-destruct arrays. Violently breaking them will activate the arrays, and everything inside will be pulverized by spatial turbulence."

We don't want things to get out of control. Hand over your things, we'll take them, and we'll pretend tonight's events never happened.

When you return home, just say we took everything. No one will blame you—after all, even your own lord was captured. Reprimanding your subordinates would only make Greg look more incompetent.

Lance was caught in a great struggle, and after a long and intense internal debate, he reluctantly spoke:
"It contains our entire battle plan after entering the Kingdom of Ceylon, as well as some important military intelligence."

Joren immediately asked:

"What kind of military intelligence is it?"

Having decided to cooperate, Lance gradually adjusted his mindset, and his voice became much more fluent:

"Most of it is about the troop deployment in the various war zones of Ceylon, and some intelligence about Efein."

A meaningful look appeared in Prince Xiazuo's eyes as he said, with a profound expression:

"It seems that the Southern Empire also has many intelligence sources in the Northwest Continent."

Lance quickly explained:
“Your Highness, all of this intelligence is in the hands of Prince Greg, and none of us subordinates know anything about it.”

Xia Zuo smiled and said:

"Don't be nervous, I don't mean to force you to reveal your source of information."

"Now that we've said that, take out your things. I want to see if there's anything valuable inside."

At this point, Lance saw no need to continue resisting. He took out an exquisite brooch from his pocket, and after chanting a few incantations, ripples appeared in the surrounding air, as if someone had stirred up an inky lake with an invisible hand.

The space in front of the three began to distort and deform. Before long, a semi-transparent diamond-shaped light gate extended from the surface of the brooch.

Lance reached out and took out a thick stack of documents from the portal, handing them to Xia Zuo.

Xia Zuo gave half to Qiao Lun, and the two of them started looking through it on the spot, focusing on the three words "Aifeiyin".

Soon, Joren found a name on a document that stuck with him—King Alfiein, Cohen Corleone.

Qiao Lun took out the document and read it with Xia Zuo. After reading the contents, both of them showed expressions of surprise and delight.

Xia Zuo gestured for Qiao Lun to put the documents away, then looked at Lance, who was standing to the side with a dejected expression, and asked gently:

"Did Greg plant a spy next to King Effie?"

Lance hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded:
"There is such a person, but I don't know exactly who it is."

This top-secret intelligence and personnel were all under Greg's personal control.

Xia Zuo then asked:
"According to the intelligence above, King Efein is currently near the City of Crowns, is that right?"

Lance replied:

"Yes, he also has a portion of orc troops under his command, waiting to join forces with Arnold's army to attack the border legions of Ceylon."

His Highness's plan is to launch a surprise attack on the enemy while they are attacking the Ceylon border legions.

Upon hearing Lance's answer, a glint flashed in Xia Zuo's eyes.

Although Greg is a bit dim-witted, his plan is still somewhat feasible.

He collected his thoughts and said to Lance:

"Just stay here and rest for the next few days. Remember, don't tell anyone about what we talked about tonight."

After giving their instructions, Xia Zuo and the other man left the camp.

Once they reached a secluded spot, Xia Zuo's voice became much colder:
"how do you say?
After the last Northwest China exchange meeting, your situation back in China wasn't very good, was it?

I heard that your uncle can't even bring himself to recommend you to His Majesty Klein as his consort anymore.

Although he knew that Prince Xia Zuo was deliberately provoking him, Qiao Lun couldn't help but feel an invisible anger rising in his chest.

As the nephew of the most powerful empire in human history, Joren had never experienced the humiliation and defeat he suffered in Florence.

His voice turned much colder, and he began to mercilessly rub salt into Xia Zuo's wounds:
"Your Highness, there's no need to provoke me."

Your dream girl was stolen away, and you've lost the backing of the richest family on the mainland. You probably hate him more than I do.

Xia Zuo's face darkened, and he said coldly:

"Alright, since we have a common enemy, let's continue to cooperate, just like we did in Florence, and teach this King Efein a painful lesson."

Joren asked:

"how do you want to do it?"

Xia Zuo's voice was filled with a chilling killing intent:
"It's rare that he's not protected by his queen, so let's take this opportunity to put an end to all his legends here!"

Qiao Lun nodded and said:
"The simplest way is to lure him out and behead him directly."

Xia Zuo said, seemingly with a hidden meaning:

"However, be careful, this kid has the ability to escape into a sub-plane. If things go wrong, he can run away at any time."

Qiao Lun snorted coldly and said:

"Why are you still testing me at this point?"
I refuse to believe you came here without magical equipment capable of blocking dimensional portals.

Xia Zuo's eyes flickered, and he said:
"It does exist, but you can only use it when you see someone, and there are also limitations on the range of the spell."

With so many troops protecting him, it's impossible to get close. How can we use him?

Joren continued, "Then let's follow Greg's plan and launch a surprise attack from behind when Cohen and Arnold attack the Border Legion?"

Xia Zuo shook his head and said:

"No, as long as they know that our people are here, they will be on guard. Once we let him escape into the next dimension, we still won't be able to catch him."

Qiao Lun pursed his lips and thought for a while, then suddenly said:

"Then let him not be able to tell who we are."

Wasn't he planning to attack the Ceylon Border Legion?
"What if we were reinforcements sent by Quessarion to support the Ceylon border legions?"

A thoughtful look appeared in Xia Zuo's eyes as he slowly said:

"This method is feasible."

With the help of that Saxon prince, disguising themselves as Ceylon reinforcements will be no problem.

Joren's mind raced, and he quickly refined the plan to perfection:
"Didn't Commander Yaen have spies planted in Arnold's camp?"
We had this man spread the word while Arnold attacked the Ceylon Border Legion that Gaius had sent reinforcements to support the Border Legion.

Given King Effie's personality, he would definitely come to rescue his marshal in this situation!
I will disguise myself as reinforcements to attack Arnold, while Your Highness will lead another army to intercept Cohen.

Prince Xia Zuo suddenly realized that this young master Qiao Lun's brain could be quite useful at times, and this method was indeed good.

Qiao Lun got more and more excited as he spoke, and even came up with plans for what would happen next:

"When the attack is launched, Your Highness can feign defeat and flee, and Cohen will definitely lead his troops in pursuit."

"As soon as he shows his face, there will be an opportunity to get close to him. Then, we can block his interdimensional connections and have a legendary-level character make a move; wouldn't he then become a lamb to the slaughter?"

Xia Zuo narrowed his eyes, carefully considering Qiao Lun's suggestion, and after a long silence, raised a crucial question:

"We have no way of knowing which route Cohen will take to rescue Arnold."

After thinking for a moment, Qiao Lun said:

“Then let Cohen come to us, and have your brother-in-law, that intelligence agent, reveal the reinforcements’ route to lure Cohen into making the first move.”

Prince Xia Zuo nodded slowly and said:
"That's one way, but it requires Yann's full cooperation."

Qiao Lun said in a deep voice:

"I believe Commander Ya'en will make the right choice!"

……

After Lance Cooper and the other two left, a sinister smile crept onto his lips, and he couldn't help but mutter in a low voice:

"Foolish humans, daring to call yourselves the number one prince on the continent! My lord could easily lure you into a trap with a mere trick. How laughable!"

A ghostly figure emerged from Lance's body; it was none other than the dreaded demon Akdemon.

Akdemon took out his communication stone and reported his conversation with Shazo to Cohen word for word.

Cohen's lips curled slightly, and he murmured softly, finally unable to resist taking the bait.

He was now just waiting for them to come to him. Although Cohen didn't know what plan Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun would come up with to ambush him, he would definitely need "Yan Hughes's" help.

Only "Yan" can help them monitor Arnold's movements in real time.

Sure enough, not long after, Cohen received a message from Shazo requesting a meeting.

Cohen arrived at the meeting place and said:
"The captured weapons have all been inventoried. Here is a detailed list. Please take a look. If there are no problems, we will begin the distribution."

Xia Zuo smiled and waved his hand, saying:
"Brother-in-law, no rush. We don't need these things right now anyway, so we'll just leave them with you and take them back with us on our way back to China."

It was rare for Prince Xia Zuo to use the term "brother-in-law".

Cohen smiled gently at Shazo's obvious attempt to ingratiate himself.

"Do the Prince and Young Master Joren have something else to discuss?"

Joren said with a smile:

"There's a small matter I'd like to discuss with the team leader: our previous plans might need some minor adjustments!"

Cohen stared at the two of them without changing his expression and said softly:
"What adjustment?"

Joren briefly explained his idea to Cohen:
"...A real king is worth far more than a marshal."

"Commander Ya'en, what do you say?"

Xia Zuo also cast an expectant glance at Cohen.

The key to the whole plan lies in the infiltrator that Cohen planted next to Arnold. If Arnold does not agree, the whole plan will not be able to be carried out.

Cohen feigned silence for a long time before slowly speaking:
"Do you mean I should cooperate with you to lure King Efein into making a move, and then take the opportunity to assassinate him?"

The two nodded in agreement.

Cohen suddenly chuckled and said:

"I'd like to ask you both a sensitive question, and I hope you won't mind."

Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun looked slightly taken aback, but still replied:

"Please say."

Cohen asked slowly and deliberately:
"Do either of you, or the forces behind you, possess fragments of the Charter of Gods and Demons?"

Upon hearing Cohen's question, a strange light flashed in both of their eyes, and they roughly understood what the other wanted to say.

Cohen didn't wait for their reply and continued:

"Gentlemen, the person you want me to deal with is the king of the God-Demon Charter Covenant Kingdom, the son of the gods, an epic figure who once performed the feat of summoning the gods."

He is still favored by the gods. You have powerful backers who can act recklessly, but I don't have that ability.

Both men fell silent. Cohen's words made a lot of sense. When they dealt with Effie before, it was precisely because they were mindful of his status as the Son of the Gods that they did not directly attack him.

They racked their brains trying to instigate a rebellion and strip Queen Effie of her title, but in the end, they still had to resort to real fighting.

They are now prepared to fight to the death regardless of the consequences. If the curse of the gods comes true, they can simply take the torn pages of the charter from their homes to carry it out.

The newly crowned Pirate King, Yann Hughes, has no obligation to risk his life with the two of them, nor does he have any fragments of the charter to withstand a backlash.

If you take down a marshal, no one will say anything on the battlefield where swords and spears have no eyes.

But overthrowing a king, especially one who is the son of the gods and whose ancestors shed blood and made contributions in the wars for the gods, is a completely different matter.

Xia Zuo carefully considered his tone and said:
“Brother-in-law, you are also a citizen of our Eastern Region Empire. We are family.”

Cohen stared intently at Xia Zuo, who remained motionless, and slowly said:

"Putting aside the fact that Grace and I are not married yet, even if we were, does the Eastern Empire have a second charter fragment to protect me?"

Xia Zuo is the first in line to the throne, so he will definitely be the priority for protection.

In theory, each country has only one fragment, unless the Eastern Empire has more than two.

This question was too sensitive, and Xia Zuo was so provoked that he froze on the spot, unable to utter a word.

The situation reached a stalemate.

After waiting for a long time, Cohen finally spoke slowly and deliberately:
"However, there is a workaround for this."

Their eyes lit up, and Qiao Lun asked:

"What method?"

Cohen said slowly:

"You two are aware of my background. My ancestors left me some life-saving measures, which have a certain probability of preventing backlash."

It just comes at a cost.

Xia Zuo and Qiao Lun then remembered that the other party was not only the successor of the ancient pirate king, but also the son of the demon god. How could the bloodline of the ancient demon god be so easily backfired by the curse of the gods?

At some cost?
Upon hearing this, Xia Zuo and the other person immediately understood what Cohen meant.

To put it bluntly, they still wanted to take the opportunity to extort money from them.

Since things had come to this point, the two of them couldn't say much more, after all, they were the ones who had been eagerly asking for favors.

Xia Zuo composed himself and asked in a deep voice:
"Commander Yaen, how high will the price be?"

Cohen said with a smile:

"I'm a bit short on cash lately because I'm working with King Gaius on the construction of the ghost ship, and I have almost no working capital."

There's such a large pirate crew to maintain at home... How about you two give me something?"

Joren's lips twitched slightly. After dealing with Cohen for so many days, he had somewhat overlooked the other man's identity.

Only then did he realize that the man in front of him was a former pirate captain, exuding greed and desire.

I really don't know why the eldest princess of the Eastern Region Empire would fall for this kind of man.

Xia Zuo's eyes narrowed slightly, suppressing his displeasure, and he asked:
"Just tell me a number, how much would be appropriate?"

Cohen smiled and said to the two of them:

"Not many. After the ghost ship is built, I plan to form a marine corps, which will also facilitate future amphibious operations."

I'm supposed to be the son-in-law of the Eastern Empire, so if I'm going to build an army, it can't be too shabby. It has to be an 'elite' army.

"Alright, just give me the budget for building an elite army of three thousand."

As soon as Cohen finished speaking, the two of them almost jumped up in anxiety.

Military expenses for a 3,000-strong elite force?
How dare he ask such a question?

Suppressing his anger, Xia Zuo said in a deep voice:
"Commander Yaen, please don't joke around. Let's change the terms. This one is too harsh. Neither Qiao Lun nor I can agree to it."

Cohen said with a faint smile:

"The person I'm going to fight alongside you is the infamous King Efein, and by his side is the youngest legendary-level queen on the continent, who is destined to become a saint and has a high probability of reaching the pinnacle of the human transcendent sequence."

For the sake of offending such a perverted couple, my price is not high at all!

(End of this chapter)