Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 567 Hostages
Emilia's dagger did not pierce the flesh as expected.

Just as the blade was about to touch her gorgeous dress, a strong and powerful hand firmly grasped her wrist, the movement precise and ruthless, preventing this self-sacrifice.

With a gentle effort, Li Zhongren caused the dagger to clatter to the cold stone ground.

Emilia looked up in astonishment, meeting Li Zhongren's deep, unfathomable eyes. There was no murderous intent in them; instead, there was a hint of amusement and scrutiny.

"What a moving realization, Your Majesty."

Li Zhongren's steady voice broke the deathly silence.

"For your regent, you are willing to give up your life. This 'value' far exceeds my expectations."

His gaze turned to Saruman.

At this moment, Saruman's paleness was no longer due to the depletion of his magic, but rather a deeper, more profound shock from within.

He watched helplessly as Emilia pointed the dagger at him without hesitation, and in that instant, the cold memories of twenty years ago surged back like a tidal wave.

The little girl with the same bright smile, who passed away quietly amidst the turmoil he couldn't protect, is an unhealed scar in his heart, and the root of his coldness and his trust only in power and rules.

He had thought that tenderness had been buried along with his daughter, but Emilia's resolute gaze was like a heavy hammer, shattering his frozen heart.

The ecstasy of regaining what was lost was intertwined with the fear of losing it again, almost suffocating him.

It wasn't that he didn't believe in feelings, but rather that he dared not believe in them. Until this moment, this "feeling" so pure that he was willing to exchange his life for it had brutally pried open the deepest part of his heart, leaving this seasoned political creature feeling bewildered for the first time. What followed was an unprecedented surge of cherishing and protectiveness.

Li Zhongren took in the reactions of the two men, which was the perfect result he had been waiting for through long-term observation and even secretly manipulating the situation.

He knew that while force might win over someone like Saruman, the only way to gain his loyalty was to win his heart and soul.

"Your Excellency Saruman."

Li Zhongren walked up to Saruman with a smile.

"You seem quite happy?"

Saruman's face was cold. He wanted to refuse, after all, no one would expose their weakness, but seeing Li Zhongren's ambiguous smile, he lowered his head.
Considering the instability of the Spider Territory Duchy, I have decided to invite the Queen to visit my territory in the name of the Fifth Princess, and you...

Li Zhongren paused, his voice carrying absolute control.

"You will remain in Spider Territory as Regent to ensure the 'stability' and 'order' of the Duchy. You need to pledge your loyalty to me, but in return, you will receive her safety and a stage to realize your ambitions. What do you say?"

Saruman breathed heavily, his gaze never leaving the terrified, tearful Emilia.

Throughout his life, he calculated interests, weighed gains and losses, and even boasted of "treating everyone equally" to exploit everyone in order to enrich the country's strength. He never believed in unconditional loyalty and dedication.

But at this moment, his weakness was precisely grasped, and the conditions offered by the person who grasped this weakness strangely ignited the longing for "governing the world" that had not been completely extinguished deep within him.

He was indeed a capable minister and a ruthless hero. Li Zhongren saw this and gave him an irresistible choice that even subtly aligned with his ambitions: to pledge allegiance and protect the treasure he regarded as "lost and found again."

"...I...accept."

Saruman's voice was hoarse, yet exceptionally clear; each word seemed to carry a heavy burden, yet also carried a sense of relief.

“I will ensure a smooth transition for Spider Clan and remain loyal to you, but please make sure… she is safe.”

"Emilia is the fifth princess's niece."

Li Zhongren reached out and helped Saruman, who was somewhat exhausted, to his feet.
-
Dividing line

As dawn broke and the smoke cleared, the devastation of Lionheart Castle stood out starkly in the morning light, but the chaos was gradually subsiding.

With Saruman's iron-fisted coordination and the cooperation of the remaining loyal nobles, the surviving soldiers began clearing the ruins and aiding the wounded, and order was gradually being restored.

Soon, a carefully crafted message spread rapidly through various channels, reaching neighboring countries.

The core of this message is not concealment, but rather a clever exploitation of the outside world's preconceived notions of Saruman: a ruthless and calculating political creature who would never sacrifice his power and interests for a puppet queen.

Therefore, the news admitted that Queen Emilia had been "invited" away by "Duke of the Mist" Li Zhongren, but this was portrayed as Li Zhongren's despicable act of taking advantage of the situation, and as a great humiliation that Saruman had to accept in order to preserve the country.

The news reports that a tremendous upheaval occurred in the Spider Territory last night.

When Prince Cairns was vying for the throne with his daughter, he summoned a super monster.

Queen Emilia Spider-Leader bravely resisted and defeated her father. The backlash from the monster killed her father on the spot, but unfortunately, he was kidnapped by Duke Li Zhongren of the Mist during the chaos.

Faced with the Duke's military threat and the Queen's safety, Regent Saruman endured humiliation and was forced to reach a secret agreement with the Duke of the Mist, temporarily obtaining a promise that the Duke would not harm the Queen. He would continue to govern the country as regent and vowed that if anything happened to the Queen, he would use all the power of the nation to avenge her.

This "half-true, half-false" propaganda strategy is extremely clever.

It explains the Queen's whereabouts, places Li Zhongren in the position of a "greedy opportunist," and portrays Saruman as a tragic hero who endures humiliation for the sake of the royal bloodline and national stability.

But in reality, everyone knows that this was probably a deal between Saruman and the Mist Lord, for Saruman to further his power. It's just that the Mist Lord is now taking the blame, and no one can find fault with Saruman.

A few days later, in the luxurious carriage that Li Zhongren was traveling back to his territory, Emilia was leaning against the window, curiously watching the scenery rushing past outside, a landscape completely different from her own country.

She shed some of the heavy shackles of royalty. Although her future was uncertain, she had temporarily escaped that suffocating political vortex, revealing some of her girlish nature, like a fledgling bird exploring the world for the first time.

"So, Your Excellency."

She turned her head, her eyes sparkling with a hint of cunning and inquiry. "Aren't you really planning to turn Spider Territory into one of your provinces right now? Grandpa Saruman shouldn't be able to resist you right now."

Li Zhongren watched with interest as the young queen quickly recovered from her shock and began to contemplate the political situation. He smiled and was generous with his guidance.

“Emilia, annexing a country is not simply a matter of military conquest. What I will gain from annexing it now is a mess filled with devastation, fear, and lurking hatred. The cost of governing it will be extremely high, and moreover…”

He paused, admiring Emilia's focused expression as she listened.

"More importantly, there's the issue of 'balance.' As you know, all the duchies around here, including the Spider Territory, used to belong to the Baikal Empire. You're all related, though. I'm not talking about that. What I mean is that the current balance is stable but fragile. If I were to annex the Spider Territory, the other countries would band together and quickly unite to strangle us before we can grow stronger. What we need now is time and development, not to become the target of everyone's attacks."

Emilia nodded thoughtfully, her fingers unconsciously twirling the ends of her hair.

“I understand… Let Grandpa Saruman continue to govern in the name of regent, maintaining the Spider Territory’s independence on the surface. This will stabilize the internal situation and lull the outside world into a false sense of security. In reality, the Spider Territory is already providing you with resources and strategic depth, but it won’t immediately alarm other major powers… It’s like… like hiding sugar in medicine and feeding it to someone?”

Upon hearing this, a genuine hint of appreciation flashed in Li Zhongren's eyes.

"A good analogy, Emilia. You have certainly not disgraced your bloodline. Remember, politics sometimes requires direct force, but more often it requires patience and strategy. What you are seeing now is part of that strategy."

Emilia nodded seriously, turning her gaze back to the window, but her eyes no longer held simple curiosity; instead, they held a deeper level of contemplation.
-
Dividing line

The Spider Territory's two near-collapse civil wars, especially the earth-shattering "Meteor Summoning" forbidden spell in the second battle and the Mist Duke's earlier astonishing ability to manipulate ley line energy, stirred up huge waves among the major kingdoms and magical organizations across the continent like a boulder thrown into a calm lake.

The concept of "the power of the earth's veins"—which had never appeared before—has finally come to the attention of all magical organizations.

Royal families, magic towers, and secret organizations from all countries are frantically investing resources in an attempt to unravel the mysteries of ley line power and build their own ley line legions.

However, no matter how they tried, they didn't even know what the power of the earth veins was. Earth magic could control the earth, but there was only earth in the earth. Where exactly was the so-called power of the earth veins?

Just as this global anxiety and desire reached its peak, a piece of news spread like wildfire.

The Duchy of the Mist has announced the successful development of the "Earth Vein Power Alchemy Conversion Core," which will be available for limited public sale!
The mainland was shaken!
All countries and organizations interested in this matter could no longer remain idle.

Envoy groups, purchasing groups, scholar groups, and a large number of intelligence agents disguised in various identities, like sharks smelling blood, swarmed into Li Zhongren's territory, Xifeng City, a port city located by the sea, from all directions.

Because an exhibition will be held here.

Although the exhibition has not officially started yet.

But the entire city of Xifeng was already bustling with people.

People from all corners of the mainland, dressed in different clothes and speaking in a variety of accents, filled the streets and alleys. Of course, the most crowded place was the exhibition booth, which was not officially open to the public but was already open for people to visit.

The most discussed topic is why this thing should be made into a farm tool for tilling the land; such a terrible thing should be made into a machine.

However, after witnessing its efficiency, many people objected, feeling that this method of growing food was too efficient.
But some people say, "You hoard grain, I hoard guns; your house is my granary."
In an instant, the noise and clamor intensified.
However, once night falls and the exhibition area is under lockdown, the real "undercurrents" begin to surge.

The lure of profit is enough to make many people take risks.

Some mercenary groups, overconfident in their skills and blinded by greed, as well as "white glove" teams secretly dispatched by certain major powers that were unable to act openly, infiltrated the martial law area like rats in the night, their target being the tightly guarded core exhibition hall.

"Black Wolf" Barton, an A-rank mercenary notorious in the northern countries for demanding exorbitant commissions for completing impossible missions, is leading his elite squad to silently eliminate three waves of sentries and checkpoints, and approaching the flank of the exhibition hall.

His face was contorted with bloodthirsty excitement, as if he could already see mountains of gold coins.

"Hurry up! Smash that damn farm tool's outer shell, get the core inside, and you'll be set for life!"

He urged them in a low voice, but just as they were trying to cut the reinforced glass with a special tool, something unexpected happened!

Without warning, the surrounding ground lit up with complex, eerie blue patterns, instantly forming a massive alchemical matrix! A heavy, mountain-like pressure suddenly descended, making all the infiltrators feel as if they were sinking into a sticky quagmire, their movements instantly becoming incredibly sluggish!

From the shadows, a squad of soldiers, their bodies covered in dark metallic armor and their eyes flashing with a cold blue light, emerged like ghosts.

They remained silent, their steps perfectly synchronized.

The brave wins when we meet on a narrow road.

Barton stopped wasting words, directly unleashed his battle aura, and charged towards the Earth Vein Army.

He leaped high into the air with his longsword, then slashed down with unparalleled power. This strike would kill even a terrain dragon known for its defense.

However, an invisible force dispersed Barton's attack.

The Earth Vein Army's signature formation: a united army.
When Patton saw this thing for the first time, his heart sank to the bottom.
The same is true.

The battle, or rather the crushing defeat, was over in just a few minutes.

These powerful mercenaries and elite spies, renowned in the outside world and capable of silencing even the most nagging children, are like toddlers learning to walk before the Earth Vein Army. Their martial arts, magic, and stealth skills appear utterly pale and laughable in the face of the Earth Vein Army's special abilities.

The soldiers of the Earth Vein Army calmly finished off the remaining enemies and cleaned up the scene, as if they were simply completing a routine cleaning task.

In the distance, behind a window of a tall tower, Li Zhongren stood with his hands behind his back, coldly looking down at the exhibition area below, which had quickly returned to silence.

This "performance" was part of his plan from the beginning.

This serves as both a warning to those who seek to undermine us and a way to flex our muscles against powerful nations behind the scenes: those who covet our technology should be prepared to pay a heavy price.

Even before the expo officially entered the negotiation stage, the air was already filled with the silent smoke and blood, clearly conveying a message: the power of the earth's veins is not a power that can be easily stolen.

(End of this chapter)