Necromancer, summoning 055? What the heck?

Chapter 306 From the Card Table to the Meeting Venue: The First HanHai Conference
This first experience of playing mahjong that day left the Elf Queen and Elder questioning their very existence.

The two wise and experienced elf leaders, with the insight accumulated from their long lives, quickly gained a profound understanding of mahjong after a brief familiarization with the rules.

They even keenly realized that the young princess Liushuang, who was excitedly organizing the card game—now she should be respectfully addressed as Your Highness—was actually the one at the table who knew the least about playing cards.

However, understanding is one thing, insight is another, and results are yet another.

The old guys were utterly routed and suffered a crushing defeat.

To be honest, using the "Knowledge Bird" to cheat at mahjong is like using a 10,000-ton destroyer to haul coal—a complete waste. However, Princess Liushuang used the pretext of verifying the "Knowledge Bird's" abilities, and the elves had no way to refute it.

Normally, the proud "Zhiwei Bird" wouldn't do such a job that lacks technical skill.

unless……

Back in her dormitory, Her Majesty looked quite unwell. After hesitating for a long time, she finally asked, "What lineage of beastman blood does my newly recognized little prince belong to?"

Ysera frowned and recalled, "It should be a distant branch of the cat race. You may not have noticed, but the tips of Frost Stream's ears are a bit different from our elves'; the curve is larger and rounder..."

Okay, with the addition of warrior and cat blood, "Zhiwei Bird" is definitely going to be completely dominated. No wonder it does whatever it's told.

"I need to find an excuse to not go to that mahjong game again tomorrow!"

"If I lose again, Iona will come after me!"

After a pause, she added, "Oh right, do you remember the style and quantity of mahjong tiles? Let's make a set ourselves and practice in the embassy!"

However, Her Majesty Queen Vera Moonshadow soon realized that she had been worrying unnecessarily.

That evening, Liu Shuang presented the "Zhiwei Bird" to Chen Mo as if it were a treasure, ready to show the lord the amazing little bird.

The little owl was still firmly perched on Liu Shuang's arm, tilting its head and glancing at Chen Mo with one eye for a few seconds. Then, it silently spread its wings, glided lightly to Chen Mo's shoulder, and refused to come down.

The elves breathed a huge sigh of relief when they found out.

Without the "cheat code," the little girl is still easy to manipulate!

As for the "Knowledge Bird's" betrayal of its family, the elves quickly determined the reason after a little observation and thought.

Chen Mo carries a "Seed of the Tree of Life" containing a powerful natural aura, giving him a strong affinity with plants and animals. Although Chen Mo's professional level is not high, he is, after all, the supreme leader of the Vast Ocean!
Predicting the future is like fortune telling; a fundamental skill is reading between the lines, and without a doubt, the little owl is an absolute master in this regard.

The moment they met, they knew who was in charge of this land! If they didn't have this ability, how could the "Wise Bird" predict danger?

Choosing the wrong side is the most dangerous thing!
Without the blessing of the "Knowing Bird", Liu Shuang was quickly brought back to reality when it came to mahjong. Her beastly intuition seemed to be useless in this game, and she was no match for the old guys who had spent a lot of time studying in the house.

However, Her Majesty's victory was meaningless.

Just yesterday, when Chen Mo received the little owl, he heard Liu Shuang smugly recounting her huge wins at the card room, and immediately sent someone to the embassy district.

Lord Chen Mo said that the little princess was mischievous and thanked the elf lords for entertaining her. He also said that the chips that Liu Shuang won yesterday would be returned to her through other channels, so the elves should not worry.

While experiencing the grandeur and magnificence of the Lord of the Vast Ocean, the Queen also faced a slightly awkward situation.

If the other party, Han Hai Ling, explicitly refuses to take the portion they lose, then if they win, can they take it?

Definitely not!
As a result, the mahjong game became rather dull. What was originally an exciting game of chips turned into a pure skill exchange without any real benefit, and to make matters worse, the girl on the other side had no skill whatsoever.

One of the elven elders couldn't help but mutter to himself, "It would be better to just stick some paper on their faces; at least then there would be a winner and a loser..."

Over the next period of time, the relationship between the two sides grew closer, and in the second week after the Queen arrived in Hanhai, Chen Mo once again arranged a high-profile banquet.

The elves were dressed in their finest attire, and the Vast Ocean Territory warmly welcomed them. During the meal, Chen Mo asked a series of specific questions.

"Your Majesty, Elders!"

Chen Mo's voice clearly echoed throughout the banquet hall, "Please allow me to ask, what is the ultimate outcome that the elves seek to achieve in this war of 'reclaiming their homeland'?"

"Is it to pursue complete territorial recovery, relying on absolute military force to occupy and defend every inch of land? Or to partially recover the land and then obtain legal occupation of it through peace negotiations?"

"What are the elves' strategic intentions toward those nations that occupy the elven homeland, such as the Stream Moon Federation, the Green Pine Kingdom, and even the more distant Mirror Lake Kingdom? Do they intend to crush them to death and annihilate them completely? Or do they want to stop while they're ahead and use war to force peace?"

"Have the Elven race carefully calculated how large a population and how large a territory you can effectively control, given your current population size, management talent pool, and overall strength?"

"How do you plan to treat the tens of millions of human inhabitants living in the elven homeland? Will you take extreme measures to execute them? Or will you drive them away on a large scale? Or will you try to bring them under your control?"

"If you choose to govern, what kind of system do you plan to adopt? Will you distinguish between humans and elves as different classes within the nation and treat them differently? Or will you strive for equality and try to include capable humans in the elven governance system to jointly manage this land?"

As he spoke, Chen Mo's voice grew deeper and deeper, while the elves' expressions became increasingly solemn.

“Previously, our relationship wasn’t that deep; it was more of an exchange of interests based on limited acquaintance, each getting what they needed. So we couldn’t discuss many things in such depth!”

"Now that you are Liushuang's elder, and we are family, there are some things I have to say and some things I have to mention!"

Chen Mo turned to the side, pointing the laser pointer in his hand behind him, where a huge, detailed map of the central territory of the continent had been hanging down at some point.

"The more I interact with the elves, the more I realize that their ambitious plan to 'reclaim their homeland' is essentially more like a battle waged for the sake of battle."

"The vast majority of our energy was focused on how to win this battle, and there was almost no attention paid to the arrangements after the 'liberation'!"

“Sometimes I even have a rather unsettling thought,” Chen Mo’s gaze deepened, “If my Vast Ocean Territory hadn’t intervened, after the elves seized the land by force, wouldn’t they have chosen the simplest method—to execute or expel all the humans living on the land—to avoid the hassle of management? That way, they wouldn’t have to worry about any administrative issues!”

Queen Vera's face paled slightly. She quickly clasped her hands together and explained, "This will never happen! It's just that our elven race is used to a lax management style, so we haven't given these matters much thought..."

"When the warm spring breeze arrives, the petals will open; when the autumn frost falls, the fruit will naturally ripen. We... we just feel that some things, when the time comes, will naturally find a solution."

Chen Mo smiled and said, "It was okay to be rough in the past, but the situation is different now. We can't be that rough anymore!"

“We haven’t conducted an accurate population census, but in this ‘homeland’ of the elves, there are at least tens of millions of humans living there who have forgotten the existence of the elves. This is completely different from the situation back then!”

"Whether the elves can control them, and what the cost and sacrifice would be to do so, are all things that must be considered in advance!"

"Otherwise, if a problem occurs, it could be a human tragedy!"

"Furthermore, have the elves considered that these lands have been under human control for hundreds of years, with generations of people born, raised, and buried here, making them the 'homeland' of the human race?"

"Today, the elves have reclaimed their 'homeland' by force. Tomorrow, should we prepare to face a war in which the humans reclaim their 'homeland'?"

"If another brilliant and ambitious monarch or a general of extraordinary talent emerges in a human nation, will the elves have to retreat back to Silvermoon Forest again? How many people will be left when they retreat?"

"These are all issues we need to consider in advance!" In the springtime of the vast sea, the temperature had warmed up, and sunlight streamed gently through the windows of the city lord's reception hall, casting a soft glow on the walls. However, in the elves' eyes, the enormous and detailed map seemed to emanate a deep, blood-red hue from every single color block.

Do the elves have a plan? Of course they do! But after the Lord of the Vast Ocean asked them this question, they found that it was not much different from not having one.

Only a very few countries and political groups are able to clearly and accurately assess the current situation and make effective advance plans. For the vast majority of countries, plans are truly just guesswork and wishful thinking! The reality is that they take things one step at a time, and if things get too difficult, they simply give up!
For example, wars are happening on Earth every moment, many of which are initiated by major powers and strong nations, but the wars never go in the direction they expect.

They promised to bring democracy and freedom to this land, but instead brought endless conflict and attacks; the plan was to achieve a swift passage in one hour and twenty-two minutes, but year after year, day after day, the war still shows no end in sight…

Chen Mo has now clearly raised this issue: the Elven race should make a clear strategic decision from the beginning—whether to fight until the enemy is destroyed, or to prepare for negotiations, whether to leave the land but not the people, or to promote ethnic integration.

Chen Mo concluded by emphasizing, "The questions I raised may seem 'sharp,' but in essence, it stems from my genuine belief that the elves are one of our own. That's why I hope the elven race can have a peaceful, stable, and sustainable future. I hope the elves won't mind!"

Of course, the reality is that the sincerity expressed by the elves in this round not only moved Lord Chen Mo, but also the bigwigs behind the lord. The Dongxia team began to make detailed strategic plans for the elves, which led to this series of problems.

"No, no, thank you for the reminder, Lord!"

"Many thanks!"

The Elf Queen and several elders rose and bowed respectfully to express their gratitude.

Soon, Ysera headed south and Eona went north. The Queen of the Elves and the Chief Elder, two leaders of their respective races who, by all accounts, should never have entered human territory at the same time, appeared together in the conference hall of the Vast Ocean.

After two rounds of communication with the elves, the Vast Ocean Territory invited Elder Zegen, the representative of the Stream Moon, to a secret tripartite meeting.

At this meeting, the Lord of the Vast Ocean put forward a series of far-reaching political programs, such as sovereignty here, governance there, setting aside disputes and pursuing common development, which were unanimously highly praised by all parties present.

The meeting, due to its extremely important strategic significance, was hailed by bards as the "First Great Dialogue of the Vast Ocean."

The name sounds like a vast ocean.

The situation in the south then began to spiral out of control. The many measures taken by the Xiyue royal family to restrict the elves turned into giant boomerangs, piercing their own backside.

The North Wind Legion repeatedly plundered the people and dispersed the refugees. With the elves withdrawing after the previous phase of peace talks, the dam was closed, and the floodwaters receded, these poor refugees were finally able to head to more distant places to find a way to survive.

With the intentional or unintentional guidance of certain local forces in Xiyue, the news spread throughout all the cities of Xiyue.

Inside the Creek Moon Council, Lucius of the Spear Tribe, who had just returned from his mission to the Vast Sea, slammed a whole stack of reports down in front of Clotilde Hein, the leader of the royalists.

"Is this the mess your Royal Army has made?"

"They suffered a crushing defeat against the elves, but were adept at slaughtering their own people. After a series of great battles, they killed a thousand enemies but lost ten thousand of their own, slaughtered a million civilians, and caused widespread devastation!"

"I would like to ask Your Highness, is it possible that your 'North Wind' Legion was planted in our country by the Elves from the very beginning? How could you do something so foolish?"

Beside him, Eri, the leader of the Black Forest tribe, was equally enraged.

The Black Forest tribe's territory was located in the western part of Xiyue. In this war, it suffered the most damage. If it hadn't managed to hold onto Shicui City, the tribe would probably have been wiped out.

The leader of the Elves, who should have been mortal enemies, said something completely unexpected.

"The foundation of my tribe consists of one in a hundred commoners and ninety-nine in ten noble clans!"

"As a result, many outstanding descendants of families did not die on the battlefield fighting the elves, but died by the swords of their own people."

"For example, Vincent of the Wen family rescued many young men from various clans in Qingze City, only to be beheaded by Linde, the commander of the North Wind Legion. Is there anything more absurd than this?"

"Linde first killed the righteous men, then sent the army. I have the same feeling. Could it be that you royalists are actually traitors among the elves!"

The elder of the Ice Needle tribe, who had temporarily taken over as the representative after Zegen's departure, spoke in a sarcastic and ambiguous manner.

"I suspect that in the heart of this royalist leader, we, the council faction, are the real mortal enemies. Whether the elves live or die is irrelevant; the real strategy he has been planning for a long time is to take this opportunity to wipe out our tribes!"

Clotty Hysen's face turned ashen, but she couldn't refute him.

He knew very well that these people were right. The Royal Legion's westward advance was intended to weaken the autonomy of local tribes through this war. However, the elves, overconfident due to their temporary retreat, went too far.

There's no way to wash it off; I just have to tough it out.

"What nonsense!"

"Our soldiers are fighting valiantly on the front lines, and His Majesty is working tirelessly in the palace. This is a time when we should be united in overcoming the national crisis. Are you here making sarcastic remarks because you want to betray His Majesty and the Federation?"

Facing Clott's crazed, bloodshot eyes, Blackwood leader Eri snorted and displayed a magical image on the magic platform in the council hall.

It was Lind Carson, the commander of the "North Wind" Legion who had been captured by the elves.

The scene appears to be a small interrogation room, dimly lit with fluorescent lights and dark walls overhead.

Linde's voice was hoarse, but the words were clearly audible: "Yes, I was acting on His Majesty the Emperor's secret orders! Local tribes should not exist."

"We lost Baishi in one day and Qingze in two. What's the use of keeping these good-for-nothings who only know how to make money and squander the national treasury?"

"If it weren't for these local tribes dragging us down, how could the Xiyue Federation be so weak and helpless that it can't even beat you testicle-less women who have been holed up in the forest for hundreds of years?"

Inside the interrogation room, it was clear that Linde was completely at ease, answering ten questions for every one asked, talking non-stop, laughing and joking, his spirits high, and every word he uttered struck a chord with the thirteen tribal councilors present.

Finally, the elf in charge of the interrogation asked one last question: "Is everything you said true? Do you dare swear in the name of the gods?"

Lin De spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground, then composed himself slightly: "What's there to be afraid of?"

“By the name of the Seven-Eyed God, I, Lind Carson, swear that every word I have spoken is true. My lifelong wishes are twofold: first, to drive you maggots back to the gutter, never to see the light of day again; and second, to exterminate all the useless parasites of those tribes, and to uphold the prestige of the Creek Moon royal family…”

Trembling all over, Clotti suddenly charged into the council hall, breaking through the cover of several elders, and slammed her fist into the magic marble. The huge silver-white stone slab cracked inch by inch and shattered on the ground.

"They forced him to confess, the elves forced him. He's lying, it's absolutely not true, it's absolutely not true!"

But what's the use of breaking the tripod? We've already seen everything we needed to see.

As we all know, videos cannot be faked.

So no matter how much Clotti shouted, none of the tribal councilors who usually loved to argue and bicker with him made a sound; they just looked at him with an indescribable, strange gaze.

They also looked behind him at the five-colored flag representing the Xiyue royal family.

(End of this chapter)