Then let them show their loyalty!

Chapter 852 Qiu Tu's Tea-like Demeanor (Last 20 Hours of the Giveaway)
Qing'e swore to heaven that the reason she was looking at Qiu Tu like that was simply because she thought Qiu Tu's comeback against all odds today was really amazing, and she had no other intentions.

So, now that Qiu Tu has misunderstood her, her first reaction is to quickly explain and prove her innocence.

However, at that moment, she suddenly realized the enormous amount of information in Qiu Tu's words.

'Wait a minute! Qiu Tu promised His Majesty the Dark Lord and Lady Elena tonight?'

'So, even His Majesty the Dark-Haired has drunk Qiu Tu's chicken soup?'

Thinking this, Qing'e couldn't help but picture the holy face of the Ink God King as he drank chicken soup and ate chicken. For a moment, she felt a little confused.
Qiu Tu was very shrewd, so just by looking at Qing'e's dumbfounded expression, he guessed that Qing'e must have misunderstood.

Silently praying for Qing'e, praying she wouldn't do anything foolish like asking the Ink-Colored God King, Qiu Tu then spoke, saying...
"Alright, I need to go see His Majesty the Ink. You can continue with your work."

After saying that, Qiu Tu stopped chatting with Qing'e and pushed open the door to leave Qing'e's office.

As Qiu Tu walked out of Qing'e's office, he seemed to remember something, turned back to look at Qing'e, and said, "Oh, right. If Lady Elena comes back, remember to remind her to wait for me at the wine pool."

After saying that, Qiu Tu didn't pay attention to Qing'e's reaction and walked away from Elena's temporary palace, heading towards the side hall of the Ink God King.

At this moment, upon hearing his words, Qing'e, who was standing behind him, slowly came back to her senses.

Looking at Qiu Tu's somewhat dashing back, Qing'e's gaze was a little complicated.

Spending one night with two powerful figures like Qing'e makes me think Qiu Tu must have it pretty tough. How much nutrition must that take?
At this time, Qiu Tu was unaware that Qing'e was worried about his malnutrition.

As he walked toward the Ink God King, his expression became much more serious.

Compared to his recent clashes with Mitchell and Star Forger on the Divine Light Plains, meeting the Ink God King was no easy task either.

After all, just as Star Forger and Elena had thought, Qiu Tu had acted first and asked for permission later, forcing the Ink God King to help him.

Qiu Tu, being in a position of power, knew that what those in power hated most was being coerced by their subordinates.

This is because it signifies that they are losing control over those below them, who are challenging their dominance.

Although Qiu Tu used many techniques to mitigate the negative effects, the Ink God King might not necessarily be able to accept them.

In particular, Qiu Tu's fussing around wasn't just about creating trouble for himself.

He has his own plans to carry out!
Therefore, if he wants to perfectly achieve his goal, he must get past the Dark God King!
And so, while pondering how to perform in front of the Ink God King, Qiu Tu also arrived at the Ink God King's side hall.

At this moment, the maidservant who served the Dark God King was already waiting at the palace entrance.

Upon seeing Qiu Tu, the maidservant looked at him with disdain. She rolled her eyes at Qiu Tu, then turned and said, "God King Qiu Tu, this way please."

Her words were barbed, and her attitude was rather poor. Maids are usually guided by their masters' emotions, so her poor attitude clearly showed that she knew Qiu Tu had angered the Ink-Colored God King and was standing up for her master.

Qiu Tu didn't seem to mind much. He was even somewhat grateful to the maid for "tipping him off."

Therefore, when Qiu Tu arrived at the side hall and saw the black-clad God-King on the throne, he didn't even try to make excuses. He knelt on one knee and immediately apologized, "Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

Perhaps not expecting Qiu Tu to be so straightforward, the Ink God Queen paused for a moment before looking down at him with her dark eyes and coldly asking, "What crime has Lord Qiu Tu committed?"

Upon hearing the words of the Ink God King, Qiu Tu bluntly stated, "Without Your Majesty's consent, I made a decision on my own, putting Your Majesty in a difficult position."

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, the Ink God King did not respond immediately, but instead remained seated on his throne.

Today she was wearing a white gauze dress with black lines that meandered like a river, making her look like a traditional Chinese ink painting.

She looked at Qiu Tu quietly, just like that.

After a moment, she spoke.

Contrary to Qiu Tu's expectations, she didn't seem to care about his acting first and informing her later; instead, she was more curious about something else.
She said, "You seem very certain that I will definitely help you."

She rested her chin on her hand, her expression gentle, yet seemingly carrying a hint of distance.

Elena had also asked Qiu Tu this question. Qiu Tu didn't answer at the time.

But now that the Ink God King has asked, Qiu Tu can no longer pretend to be stupid or give evasive answers.

So Qiu Tu nodded honestly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

The Ink-Colored God King looked at Qiu Tu with interest, then asked, "Why?"

Qiu Tu looked up, staring directly at the holy face of the Dark God King, and said, "Because Your Majesty is wise and mighty. You will not let go of such a loyal subordinate as me."

Upon hearing this, the Ink God-King frowned slightly. She was about to tell Qiu Tu to stop joking when Qiu Tu spoke up again, "And I also know that Your Majesty is wise and mighty."

Qiu Tu's two sentences clearly had a hidden meaning. So, the Ink-Colored God-King silently pondered for a moment, and after roughly understanding Qiu Tu's meaning, she gave a soft hum and then said,

"Stop with the glib talk. I don't see any loyalty in you. If you were truly loyal, you wouldn't have acted first and informed me later."

Upon hearing the words of the Ink God King, Qiu Tu did not respond immediately. His thoughts drifted back to the time when the meeting had just taken place on the "Divine Light Plain".

In fact, Qiu Tu made the decision to act first and inform Elena later, but it was also a last-minute decision after he couldn't wait for Elena.

At first, when he was communicating with the Star Forger, he was indeed teasing the Star Forger.

He had already discovered that the Star Forger was setting a trap for him, so how could he just jump right in?

He is confident, but not stupid.

His idea that "enough resources are fine" did not mean he was satisfied with the Star Forger God King's demand for 1.5 times the resources of the Guardian God King.

Instead, he felt that 1.5 times the resources of the Guardian God King were already the limit for the Ink God King, and there was no point in asking the Star Forging God King for an exorbitant price—even if the Star Forging God King agreed, the Ink God King might not be able to agree.

Moreover, he didn't break his promise. He did agree to accept the mission from the Star Forger King, but he didn't agree to accept the Star Forger King's mission.

Since you're going to be an inside agent anyway, it's definitely better to help your own people gain merit than to help the enemy.

However, although he had already decided to break the contract, Qiu Tu was thinking of obtaining the support of the Ink God King first before doing so. After all, this would minimize the pressure.

That's why he came to the gate of Elena's palace to wait for her.

But who knew that the Star Forger would pull a fast one, having the Mitchell God-King send Elena away? This completely ruined Qiu Tu's Plan A.

Originally, Qiu Tu planned to go and talk to the Ink God King himself if he couldn't wait for Elena. However, at this moment, Qiu Tu suddenly thought of Plan B, which was to act first and inform him later.

He had this idea because he kept rehearsing the scenario of tonight's "God King Meeting" and concluded that it would be easy for information gaps to be created at tonight's "God King Meeting," making it very easy for him to take advantage of the situation.

The most typical examples are the Ink God King and the Mitchell God King.

After standing up to confront God King Mitchell, God King Mitchell could easily misunderstand that he had God King Ink standing behind him.

The Dark God King, however, had no idea what had happened.

There are also the Star Forger God King and the Ink God King.

During meetings, the Star Forger God King has no time for serious thought. Therefore, he is particularly prone to taking a God-like perspective, believing that the Ink God King will reject Qiu Tu because of Qiu Tu's preemptive action.

But he wouldn't realize that tonight, it was God-King Mitchell who launched the attack, while Qiu Tu firmly stood on God-King Ink's side. This would naturally increase his favorability.

Furthermore, under Qiu Tu's deliberate manipulation, what was actually placed in front of the Ink God King was a "prisoner's dilemma".

When God-King Mitchell launched his rebellion, God-King Ink was actually faced with only two choices:

1. He silently accepted defeat, watching helplessly as Qiu Tu was abducted by God King Mitchell, and then slapped her hard across the face several times.

2. Following Qiu Tu's words, slap God King Mitchell a few times in return.

Given that the event has already occurred, and Qiu Tu is destined to carry out the mission regardless of whether she chooses option 1 or 2: Option 2 is the worst-case scenario, where Qiu Tu is exposed and she loses face, which is the same as the best-case scenario of option 1.

Therefore, unless the Ink God Queen is stupid, she will not choose option 1. At most, she will remain silent and tacitly allow Qiu Tu to make up lies.

Moreover, when Qiu Tu spoke at the "God King Conference," he deliberately revealed some information in an ambiguous manner.

Those in the know, such as the Star Forger God King, wouldn't care about this information except that they thought Qiu Tu was being sophistical.

But the Ink God-King was different. She didn't know the whole story, and only listened to Qiu Tu's words, probably thinking Qiu Tu had suffered some injustice. Of course, she would first try to protect Qiu Tu to see how things went.

It was precisely because of this information gap that the Star Forging God King felt there was still a chance to salvage the situation, but Qiu Tu knew that the overall outcome was already decided: the Ink God King would never give up on him.

Of course, if that were all, the Ink God King would certainly not let Qiu Tu off easily after the matter was over. Therefore, Qiu Tu had already prepared an escape route when he came up with the "act first, report later" plan.

He lowered his head and said sincerely, "Your Majesty, you are truly wronged. I never intended to 'act first and report later.'"

"From the very beginning, I was prepared to tell you everything. But..."

At this point, Qiu Tu raised his head and looked at the Ink God King, saying, "However, I am Lady Elena's subordinate. When something happens, I should report to Lady Elena immediately, and then she will report everything to you."

"But when I went to find her, I found that she had gone on a mission."

"I thought she would be back soon, so I waited there. Who knew that I would end up waiting until the meeting started."

"It wasn't until the 'God-King Council' and when I met Lady Elena that I learned she had been deliberately sent away by His Majesty Mitchell."

"This is clearly a multi-pronged scheme."

At this point, Qiu Tu paused for a moment, then continued, "If Your Majesty does not believe me, you can summon Lady Elena or Goddess Qing'e to inquire. See if I really did wait all afternoon."

"And after I met Lady Elena at the 'God King Council,' I immediately reported this matter to her."

"But... who knew that His Majesty Mitchell and his men would launch an attack right after I finished reporting?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, the expression on the face of the Ink God King gradually softened.

The Ink God King was clearly not a strict person. So, although she still had doubts, she still reached out her hand first and raised it in the air, "Alright, get up and talk."

At this moment, Qiu Tu, who was kneeling on one knee, felt a gentle force supporting him, and before he could react, he stood up.

Seeing this, Qiu Tu's expression remained unchanged, but his heart skipped a beat.

'The difference between a high-level God-King and an ordinary God-King is really this great?'

At this moment, after helping Qiu Tu up, the Ink God King spoke again.

She asked, "Tell me. What exactly happened?"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Tu also snapped out of his daze.

He knew that his final chance to make the final decision had come.

Therefore, he once again told the Ink God King in detail about his experiences that day.

Of course, Qiu Tu inevitably added his own personal touches to the story.

For example, many threatening words were added when the Celestial King met with him alone.

For example, he never agreed to the Star Forger King's proposal, but only stalled for time by saying he would consider it.

As I said before: this meeting was just Qiu Tu and the Star Forging God King, so he can make up whatever he wants.
Anyway, no one is going to confront them.

In closing, Qiu Tu also expressed his attitude.

He said, "Your Majesty, after talking with the Star Forger God-King, I've come to understand something."

“I developed too fast before, and the contradictions between us are too deep. They will not allow me to become His Majesty’s seed.”

"They'll drag me to the battlefield, even if it means doing it by force."

"So, when they still dared to force me to make a choice at the 'God-King Council' even after I refused, and even tried to sow discord between me and His Majesty, I knew I couldn't escape."

"Since that's the case, and since I'm going to be risking my life to carry out the mission of 'rebuilding the intelligence network,' why shouldn't I serve Your Majesty?"

Finally, Qiu Tu bowed again and said righteously, "Although the Star Forging God King and the others gave me 1.5 times the resources of the Guardian God King, it is nothing compared to Your Majesty's kindness in recognizing and rewarding me."

Ink-Colored God King: Hmm?
To be honest, if Jasmine were here right now, having listened to the entire dialogue between Qiu Tu and the Ink-Colored God King, she would definitely exclaim in surprise: "Wait a minute, shouldn't these effeminate phrases be mine? How come Qiu Tu knows them too?"
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(End of this chapter)