Chapter 1409 - 1323: Self-Serving Interests

Chapter 1409: Chapter 1323: Self-Serving Interests

When Lakunio returned to Tielu Castle, Sanruan was already waiting at the gate.

Seeing the dusty and disheveled Lakunio returning, Sanruan approached angrily, but didn’t know what to say.

"I didn’t know the Holy Alliance would take Golden Soup Castle. It’s my fault, and I will plead guilty to His Majesty Serafe," Lakunio calmly said.

Sanruan was first astonished, and then all his pent-up anger, confusion, and frustration disappeared.

He stood stiffly for a moment before speaking, "Walk?"

"Let’s go." Lakunio nodded, and the two abandoned the weary army and began walking along the moat of Tielu Castle.

"Now that the army has contracted, our forces are more concentrated. Despite the cost of fifty thousand soldiers, at least your wish is fulfilled."

Your wish fulfilled? Lakunio didn’t understand for a moment. Could it be... he guessed?

No, if he had guessed, he definitely wouldn’t say the cost of fifty thousand soldiers; it’s his achievement.

Just as Lakunio was doubting, Sanruan smiled wryly, "You really are as flawless as ever."

Originally, the relationship between Sanruan and Lakunio wasn’t particularly good or particularly bad. This ogre was a staunch supporter of Serafe, so part of his task was to supervise Lakunio.

The heart-wall between this ogre and vampire was indeed quite thick.

Yet at this moment, Lakunio could feel that Sanruan seemed to have inexplicably opened his heart to him.

"After this battle, I will take all the blame, and soon return to the royal court for a sinecure or to recuperate at home..."

"What?!"

Lakunio’s reaction was bigger than Sanruan imagined, and the ogre felt somewhat confused and touched.

"Such a big defeat needs someone to take responsibility, either you or me, you’re more valuable than I am," Sanruan explained. "Besides, I don’t want to stay in the Eastern Continent."

"Why?"

"Is Serafe really the savior of us mutants?" Sanruan laughed till crow’s feet appeared at his eyes. "I’ve pondered this question for ten years and finally understood."

"What have you understood?"

"There’s no savior in the world; it’s all for selfish interest."

Lakunio fell silent and didn’t speak.

He knew this reflected the inner thoughts of many vampires and ogres.

When Serafe rose, many factions dissatisfied with the royal court joined in, with a large number of ogres and middle-ranking vampires joining as well.

They were united around Serafe not just because she controlled the minds of key-position vampires.

They all hoped Serafe would offer all vampires and ogres a better future.

With humans enslaved like livestock, ogres could eat humans freely without starving, granting equal advancement opportunities to all vampire clans.

Don’t think it’s cruel; mutants are akin to animals in human eyes, and aren’t humans the same in mutants’ eyes?

Look at the witch’s previous treatment to know the cruelty and execution humans show towards mutants.

Moreover, human civilization is more glamorous, with higher living standards. On this performance hierarchy, ogres were at the bottom.

Not only discriminated by vampires but also by humans.

Sanruan, as an ogre, also wanted his species to rise in reputation and gain a foothold.

But after ten years, all has become empty.

Lakunio wasn’t unwilling to part with Sanruan; their relationship wasn’t that close.

It’s just that Sanruan was at that stage of understanding military strategy, not quite getting it. If Serafe replaced him with a vampire who truly understood, some operations would be hard to carry out.

"Why do you think that way?"

"What other way is there to think?" Sanruan shrugged. "Clearly we could recuperate, didn’t need to fight, could have been more stable, but she chose to gamble this time. She truly doesn’t care about us; we’ve been deluding ourselves."

"Where did you see that from?" Lakunio frowned.

"The negotiations in Changge City; don’t you read the papers?"

The negotiations in Changge City concerned everyone, not only the Imperial people on this side but also the vampires in the royal court.

With the massive benefits secured and external expansion growing harder, an anti-war sentiment began brewing within the vampires.

The war was devastating the Eastern Continent’s economy and life, as well as the Western Continent’s.

From the initial low price, spices and white sugar had skyrocketed in recent years. The promised enough human blood had turned into sheep and chicken blood.

Initially, lower-ranking vampires hoped to gain military achievements for promotion.

After all, older vampires’ sensory faculties degrade, and even young vampires have extremes in desires.

So suppressing their greed, motivating them, was only through promotion—from soldier to general, from unaligned clan to high clan to nobility.

Though the clan army might be reluctant to open promotion to non-native vampires, Serafe’s royal palace guards were willing.

The royal palace guards essentially siphoned off elite soldiers from various clan armies because Serafe herself monopolized Lilith’s blood, or the source of Lilith’s blood.

The normal promotion process was clan armies absorbing elite soldiers from the servant army, with the royal palace army absorbing from the clan army.

Initially, there were mostly victories, the spoils widespread, promotion wasn’t hard, and expectations for the future were high.

But the emergence of the Holy Alliance and the gradual rise of Falanon shattered this expectation.

The promotion process remained unchanged, just became far harder than before.

With internal anti-war sentiments and external encircled armies, under dual pressures, even if Serafe lowered her head, what could be done?

Even if the royal court side’s newspapers covered up, it couldn’t hide the fact that Serafe didn’t want to cease fire for a few years.

Even if not permanent ceasefire, only a few years to alleviate internal and external conflicts.

Yet she still refused, stubborn like a stone.

Remember, the northern army’s northern clans around No Light City were her base.

Though the southern clans later contributed significantly, they didn’t fully turn to Serafe and could only be considered vassals.

Thus the Holy Alliance proposed a second condition—release them all at once but the royal court’s army must withdraw from White Sand Land.

To northern clans, southern clans weren’t on their side but were rather former enemies.

For Serafe, giving up southern clan interests for her northern clans’ base could be acceptable.

Yet Serafe still refused!

The northern clans were truly disheartened. Genuine disheartenment isn’t loud shouting, but silently packing and leaving.

Sanruan was among them.

Numerous migrating northern clans requested transfer back home, taking turns and changing positions; some even went back without notifying anyone.

The royal court, like the Holy Alliance, had mechanisms to catch deserters, but it depended on large clans’ willingness to cooperate.

Now northern large clans’ territories were disheartened, practicing non-violent non-cooperation, naturally, they couldn’t catch deserters.

"Just because of this negotiation?" Lakunio countered.

Sanruan shook his head, "Not just that, it was all pent-up inside before, this incident just ignited it."

Lakunio stopped in his tracks, the sunset like blood, dyeing half the river red: "Then we don’t know when we’ll meet again; take care."

Sanruan, as an ogre, his face full of muscle, rarely showed a smile: "Take care, Lakunio, my friend, I heard..."

"Heard what?"

"Her Majesty seems to be preparing to recall the troops suppressing the uprising and the two great ogre generals, maybe this ceasefire isn’t a ceasefire, but a decisive battle!"