Imperial Crown.

Chapter 512 No, it's my head
"Alas!"

"Uncle Link, do we really need to check so thoroughly every time?"

Outside Bloodstone Castle, Thor stood with his legs spread apart and arms outstretched, in an awkward, duck-like position. Link's large hand was vigorously groping (kneading) something in his crotch. Thor's face flushed red, and he complained with extreme embarrassment, "Do you think Hoyaz and I would harm the patriarch?"

"Shut up! How can the safety of the patriarch be treated so lightly?!" Eric shouted from the side.

After Link checked and found nothing wrong, he went to Heyaz and gestured for him to begin examining him. While examining Heyaz, he said without looking up, "What's wrong with touching him? Do you know that during the months your mother Romi was giving birth to your sister, you had no one to take care of you at home? Your father Eric carried you to the military camp every day. If I hadn't played with you every day when you were little, would you be as big as a donkey now?"

"Oh dear!" Thor sighed with a bitter face. He had heard this sentence countless times and it had become a laughing stock among his peers.

After letting the two of them in, Link approached Eric. Naturally, Link didn't dare to examine Eric in that way, so he casually touched Eric's lower back and nodded, saying there was no problem.

"The child is all grown up now, so let's cut back on saying all that nonsense," Eric said with some dissatisfaction before leaving.

Link clicked his tongue, touched his cheek, and muttered softly, "I'm just telling the truth. What's wrong with telling the truth?"

Inside the castle, Raven was sipping Angel's Tears while looking at a map.

"Master of the family." "Father."

Thor and Hoaz bowed in accordance with the proper etiquette.

“Here it comes,” Raven nodded, and without much further ado, tossed the map over. “Prepare for tonight, a night raid on Sliver.”

"A night raid on Sliver?" Thor was taken aback. "Master, isn't Sliver our ally?"

“Yes.” Raven nodded expressionlessly.

After glancing at the map, Heaz reminded him with a hint of doubt, "Father, the Wolf King Sliver just came to our aid in the final battle."

“That’s right!” Raven nodded without changing his expression.

"So we're still going to launch a surprise attack? That's... not a good idea, is it?" Thor said hesitantly.

Eric stood to the side, saying nothing.

Unlike the two young lads, Eric always knew his place. He understood that he was merely a tool in the hands of Patriarch Raven, and all he needed to do was follow his orders. There was no need for confusion or hesitation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have so ruthlessly severed Gul'dan's head and personally brought it back to the Patriarch! Let alone fighting Sliver, even if Raven ordered him to kill Savannah, Eric wouldn't hesitate for a second!
Raven remained calm and said, "All's fair in war! Don't you understand this principle?" Then, Raven looked at Thor and said, "I didn't have time to teach you a lesson during the last negotiation. You better remember this: never, ever, ever let any outsider know what you're thinking, Thor. Otherwise, you'll get yourself killed sooner or later."

As he spoke, Raven suddenly whistled, and a small bird with a long tail, golden feathers all over its body, and a snow-white beak suddenly flew out from the dark corner and landed on Raven's finger.

Thor and the others looked closely and recognized it as the Bird of Paradise that Bishop Thomas of the Holy See had sent back then!

Since arriving in the Orc Empire, Thor had never seen any trace of these birds again and had almost forgotten about them!
"How do you think I, dozens of miles away from the battlefield, knew that Mupe had his wing cut off by Heyaz?" Raven's tone was somewhat deep, mixed with a deliberately revealed dissatisfaction. "And do you know that Sliver has already amassed nearly 50 werewolves on our border? They could attack at any moment?"

"Do you even know that it was because you impatiently interrupted during the negotiations that Wolf King Sliver saw through our true strength, leading to this predicament?!"

Raven's words struck Thor's heart like a steel sledgehammer.

His handsome face had turned completely liver-colored, and he couldn't utter a single word, his face filled with shame.

Seeing that the time was right, Raven's tone softened a bit as he said, "But you don't need to blame yourself too much! We're bound to have a battle with Sliver sooner or later."

"The saying goes, 'Strike first, strike hard; strike later, suffer the consequences!' No more waiting, let's do it tonight!" Raven slowly sat down, took a sip of his drink, and raised his index finger, saying, "Today, I'll teach you two more truths—'The one beside your bed,'"

……

"How can I tolerate someone else snoring?!"

Inside Moonrock Fortress, the newly brought-in stone table was once again smashed to pieces by Wolf King Sliver with his only right hand as he roared in a hoarse voice!

"Fight! We must fight Raven! Otherwise, once the charge of betraying the orcs is proven, there will be no place for our werewolf race in the entire orc empire!" Wolf King Sliver said without room for argument. "Paine, if you still consider me your benefactor and remember the bond between us, then don't try to persuade me anymore!"

"Ugh"

Pan sighed softly, "Think twice! Be cautious! The shortest route from Nightthroat Province to the Imperial Capital and Sea Court is separated by the entire Frostclaw Province! This is a frontier! Besides, Raven is on the border of Nightthroat Province, a place where he won't be easily detected. Wouldn't it be better to use them as bases for human caravans? With them, trade in Nightthroat Province will soon flourish. We need to think long-term, Lord Wolf King!"

"You're still trying to persuade me?" Sliver looked at Paine with disbelief mixed with sadness.

Pan shook his head and remained silent. He knew that the so-called "betrayal of the orcs" was merely an excuse used by Sliver. With only twenty or thirty thousand men like Raven, the Mountain and Sea Court wouldn't even notice, and even if someone reported it, the Titans and Dragons probably wouldn't care. Sliver simply couldn't swallow this insult! He wanted to prove his superiority over Silvermane by conquering Raven!

"Then why didn't you act on the night of the final battle? They had just finished the final battle and were exhausted. Wouldn't it have been more effective to launch a backstab then?" Pan suddenly asked.

"You don't need to beat around the bush!" Sliver scoffed. "I am an orc, that's true, but I'm not a fool like Broken Tooth! Although Raven's soldiers suffered heavy casualties, with the necromancer and dragons present, even if we had acted then, we probably would have been the ones wiped out, right?" Sliver knew what Pain was trying to do—he wanted to remind him to be wary of Raven's various trump cards and backup plans!
Sliver walked to the side, sat down angrily, and swallowed the entire bottle of Angel's Tears. He continued, "I'm going to create a false sense of peace to deceive Raven into believing I'm willing to abide by the contract! They're currently desperately repairing the Bloodstone Wall. If I launch another surprise attack, I can definitely annihilate Raven's Eagle Army in one fell swoop! Moreover, I've received definite news that the Magic Crystal Cannon was destroyed by Silvermane, and their soldiers have been reduced to just over 2. Raven has used every trick in the book to deal with Silvermane! He only has one hidden Tier 5 expert, which I can easily handle! Raven has absolutely no other backup plans!!!"

"So you're not worried about the dragons now?" Paine continued. "Tch," Sliver scoffed. "A night raid, a surprise attack, and we can quickly surround Raven and the Eagle Army. Then, a chaotic battle will ensue. So what if there are dragons? Unless Raven doesn't care about the lives and deaths of his men, he'll never let the dragons breathe fire!"

Seeing that Sliver answered fluently, Paine knew that the other party had made up his mind and thought things through. He did not try to persuade him any further, but instead put his hands into his sleeves and said, "I have one more request."

“You say it,” Sliver said, rolling his wolf eyes.

“I hope I can stay in Moonrock Fortress,” Pain said calmly.

"what"

Sliver couldn't help but laugh out loud. "That's perfect! To be honest, after I leave tonight, I can't trust anyone but you!"

Pain opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing. He bowed slightly and walked towards the door. Some things, hidden beneath the surface, weigh only four pounds, but once laid bare, even forty thousand pounds couldn't hold them back! Like what Wolf King Sliver had just said—the reason he wanted Pain to stay wasn't because he lacked trustworthy people! It was because he feared Pain would inform Raven!
That's why Pan En volunteered to stay behind.

Seeing Pan leave, Zuma quickly whispered, "Master, should we send someone to follow him?!"

Sliver hesitated for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "I still want to believe him."

Sliver didn't delay; he donned his armor and set off as soon as it got slightly dark, since Moonrock Keep was still some distance from Raven's Bloodstone Castle. Fortunately, the army was already assembled! No matter what, 50 against 2, the advantage was in his hands!

After watching Sliver leave from the third floor of the castle, Pain went downstairs. He could not leave the castle until Sliver the Wolf King returned in triumph. Although Sliver did not arrange for any werewolves to watch over him, it was almost an unspoken and subtle understanding between them!

tuk tuk tuk

Arriving at a room on the second floor, Pan tidied his appearance slightly before gently knocking on the door.

The door was quickly opened, revealing a wolf's face as white as a fox and with ears curved like a folded-ear cat. "Uncle Pan, please come in."

Pan quickly slipped inside, as if afraid someone would see him.

The room was decorated in a very cute and cozy pink color. Even Bai Yue was wearing a pink dress. She had almost no werewolf characteristics and was very short, not even as tall as Pan En, a human.

"Uncle Pan, please sit down. I'll get you some potato chips." With that, Bai Yue ran towards her personal little cabinet.

Pan coughed lightly, feeling somewhat uneasy. Although he was a eunuch, it still didn't sound good if word got out that he was entering Bai Yue's room. Even the Wolf King Sliffer wasn't allowed into this room.

"Don't bother, Bai Yue. I'll just say a few words and then leave."

However, this matter was too important, and could very well concern Bai Yue's life, so Pan En had no choice but to come and find Bai Yue himself.

Bai Yue took out her treasured potato chips, unpacked them without a word, and placed them on the small round table in front of the two of them. Then she sat down opposite them, her two slender legs, clad in white stockings, slightly parted and turned slightly inward as she placed them on the carpet. Her thighs, hidden beneath her skirt, were tightly closed. With a voice as melodious as a jade bell, she said with a laugh, "Try Uncle Pan's, this is my favorite honey flavor! I usually can't bear to eat it!"

"Cough." Pan En picked up a chip and put it in his mouth. It was crunchy and the rich aroma filled his mouth. It was indeed delicious, but Pan En had no time to savor it. After swallowing the chip, his face darkened slightly and he said, "Bai Yue, do you know that your father is going to launch a night raid on Raven tonight?"

"Night Raven?!" Bai Yue was clearly surprised. "Why? Isn't he my father's ally?"

"Sigh," Pan sighed, unsure how to begin.

Bai Yue seemed to have figured something out. "Uncle Pan En, do you think my father is doomed to lose this battle, and that's why you can't persuade him and want me to talk to him?" As she spoke, Bai Yue began to complain, "My father is a stubborn man. He lost his left arm back then because he wouldn't listen to advice! And now he's still so headstrong! Raven may be a bad guy, but we still have a contract. He can launch a surprise attack just like that! He has no integrity whatsoever! Besides, he's probably no match for that cunning Raven! Even a sixth-tier Silver Mane was defeated by Raven's schemes. Can't he see through this?!"

With that, Bai Yue stood up. "Come on, I'll take you to stop him right now!"

These words made Pan shake his head and sigh even more. If only the leader of the werewolf clan was White Moon instead of Sliver.

“It’s too late to say anything now!” Pan sighed. “Your father set off half an hour ago! To be honest, I sincerely hope he can succeed! But since he left, my unease has only grown stronger! I’ve come here now in the hope that I can save you and the werewolf clan!”

"Uncle Pan!" Bai Yue said anxiously, pacing back and forth. "Please, for the sake of our many years of friendship, help my father! He's so foolish and reckless!"

“I do have a plan,” Paine stood up as well. “It can save your life! As for your father, we can only leave it to fate! Your father thinks he has thought things through and won’t listen to me at all.”

"What plan?" Bai Yue asked in surprise, "Uncle Pan En, please be frank. As long as my father can be saved, I'm willing to give up my position as clan chief! I have a way to make him agree!"

“But… this scheme…” Paine hesitated for a moment, “requires someone to make a sacrifice, to offer their own head.”

"Huh?" Bai Yue was startled, and her expression dimmed, but her gaze quickly hardened as if she had made a decision. "Is it my head?! No problem! As long as it can save my father, I'm willing to let Uncle Pan take my head to apologize to Raven! As long as he spares my father's life!"

After a long silence, Pan En finally spoke with a grim expression:

"No, it's my head."

……

(End of this chapter)