It doesn't matter what the lord is.

But the problem is that even if Lingwu Lord and Li De just have some feelings for each other, or the two of them just have a casual relationship, Xihua dare not marry her daughter to Li De as her legal wife. Otherwise, it is not for her good, but to harm her - are you kidding me, you want to snatch a man from Lingwu Lord, are you going to die? Even if you can snatch him, Lingwu Sect and Wanze Sect will probably be in a tit-for-tat situation in the future, so why bother to create such an enemy?

Thinking of this, Xihua finally sighed and said to Lid:

"In that case, let's cross out the last clause from the agreement. But I still hope that Lord Yunyang understands why I am doing this... I support the world being reunited in a relatively peaceful way, and I hope Lord Yunyang will not make things difficult for me in the future."

Lid smiled and said:

"I won't make it difficult for you. My Yunyang's technology will be promoted to the whole world and benefit everyone. I believe that everyone in Wanze Territory will feel the tangible changes in the near future."

Lid signed his name on the agreement. Although the agreement in the troubled times had no substantive effect, the process still had to be followed. Moreover, according to the current momentum, the troubled times would soon be over.

Xihua put away his copy of the agreement and said to Lid:

"Can I ask one last question?"

Lid nodded, and Xihua asked:

"Since you and that person have a child, why is the relationship between Yunyang and Lingwu always so dull?" Lid laughed and answered meaningfully:

"So, you should understand one thing. Marriage itself has no substantial effect. Apart from bringing temporary psychological comfort to the parties involved, it cannot solve the actual problem. Even a child cannot solve the problem between her and me, because she is not the kind of person who is willing to be inferior to others, and I don't think she can clean up this mess."

Lord Wanze glanced at Xihe and sighed.

Xihe smiled at Lord Wanze, and was obviously much happier.

No one wants to be a victim of a political marriage, and Xihe is no exception. Although she admires and trusts Lide, this is different from her being married off in a transactional manner. What makes her a little happy is that Lide winked at her when Lord Wanze wasn't paying attention, suggesting that she was fine.

After the discussion, Lord Wanze took the initiative to invite Lide to dinner, and the table was full of special dishes from Wanze Territory. After eating and drinking, Lide described the current situation in Yunyang to him, especially the railway that was being built in Yunyang. Lord Wanze was very interested in this and said that he would definitely go to Yunyang if he had time - of course, he didn't have time now, he had to stay in Wanze Territory to suppress those voices of opposition, just like what Honglian was doing in the capital.

Afterwards, Reed got up and said goodbye, and got on the carriage to Lingwu.

……

About a day later, Lord Lingwu, who was sitting on a high place, heard from the hidden guards what happened in Wanze Territory. Lord Wanze agreed with Lide's opinion and formed an alliance with Yunyang to share the world.

Yu Qingzhao was neither sad nor happy when he heard this. He just said coldly:

“It’s something he would do.”

I don't know whether it is a compliment or sarcasm, and I don't know whether the "he" refers to Li De or Xihua.

Her fingertips brushed across her forehead. The crown she had occasionally worn before was gone. Princess Irene of the Ocean Clan stood behind her, feeling a little uneasy for a moment. She had been in Lingwu Territory for some time. Although the woman in front of her had never made things difficult for her, just standing next to her made Irene feel suffocated. Especially when she got angry, the temperature around her suddenly rose, just like a sun setting on the ground.

"Your Majesty, Li De is coming here. What kind of preparations should we make?" A minister stepped out and asked respectfully.

The majestic voice of the Lingwu Lord echoed in the hall:

"There's no need to entertain him with any formalities. Just treat him like an ordinary person and have him come to the Council Hall to see me alone."

27. Iron and Blood

In the Council Hall, Lord Lingwu sat there alone, quietly reviewing official documents.

Compared to other territories, Lingwu is now in a relatively peaceful situation. Although the Lingwu Iron Cavalry was completely destroyed, the reserve army did not suffer heavy casualties because they stayed in Lingwu. Today, Lingwu still controls more than 300,000 elite troops. Although the proportion of cavalry has been greatly reduced, its deterrent power cannot be underestimated.

After all, Lingwu's leadership team is still there, and neither the Lingwu lord nor the core generals and backbone forces of the Sun and Moon Hidden Three Guards have suffered a devastating blow. This means that Lingwu's army has not changed much from the past, whether in daily training or in battle. Not only is the combat power the same, but the generals who know how to fight and are good at fighting can still create huge waves in the war.

Because of this, Lingwu Lord could sit back and watch Yunyang win over the royal family, Yunhai and Wanze, because in her eyes, these forces' dependence on Yunyang had little impact on her. It was impossible for the army of Wanze Territory to move away from the border of the demon clan, and other forces could only assist at most and could not play a decisive role.

If she led her army southward, she would have to face Yunyang's main force sooner or later. If she could defeat them, what would be the point of having more forces supporting Yunyang? Once Yunyang's main force collapsed, all the forces that depended on Yunyang would be scattered in an instant. If she could not defeat them, it was not a matter of how many people helped them, but simply because Lingwu herself was not strong enough.

Therefore, Lord Lingwu only asked the secret guards to inquire about the news and had no intention of intervening.

After hundreds of years of hard work and accumulation of strength, the current Lingwu Lord has a sense of stability and calmness. She handles various matters in Lingwu calmly, and gradually makes up her mind, but her face does not show any emotion. The veil covers half of her face, leaving only her bright eyes to examine everything.

……

After Lid entered Lingwu Territory, he did not encounter the same situation as in Wanze Territory.

No one greeted him, and he didn't see any strong troops. I don't think the woman would show off her military power in front of him.

Because it has no meaning.

Anyone who knows the Lingwu cavalry has seen the Lingwu cavalry fighting against the giants, and everyone has experienced the time of charging with the cavalry. How strong is the Lingwu army, how excellent is the Lingwu general, there is no need to show off, everyone will be in awe.

No one disturbed him, so Lid simply did not go to find the Lingwu Lord immediately. Anyway, he and the woman had not agreed on a time, so there was no need for him to rush to the agreed place in advance like a young boy on his first date, feeling embarrassed but pretending nothing had happened, full of expectations and anxiety at the same time.

The Lingwu lord didn't send anyone to pick him up, so he wandered around Lingwu alone. He knew that there were secret guards following him, and he even knew their number and identities - the secret guard commander was not there, but all the Ten Hells were missing. However, they did not come forward to stop Lid from wandering around. Lid guessed that they were probably just preventing him from going to some strategically important towns to spy on military intelligence, and they would not care about other things.

Li De was not interested in Lingwu's military situation. On the contrary, Li De just went to some ordinary farmers' houses to rest.

The people of Lingwu are not friendly to outsiders, but as long as they pay enough money, everyone can still live in peace.

At the moment, Lid was sitting in front of an old lady, chatting with her about family matters with a smile, and occasionally interspersed with some questions about himself: "Some time ago, the dragon tribe invaded, and I heard that this place is also on alert?"

The old lady, leaning on her cane, replied tremblingly:

"Be on guard! We must be on guard! Those beasts are killing my compatriots, how can we turn a blind eye?" Everyone in the small house had an indignant look on their faces.

Lid praised him twice and then asked:

"But I heard that the dragons fly in the sky, not like the giants running on the ground. How can ordinary people hurt them? Before the old lady could speak, the dark-faced middle-aged man beside her said:

"Flying dragons can breathe fire, but most of the time they still have to descend to kill people. When they descend, we can climb on them and use knives to dig out their scales and pierce their eyes."

Lid was silent for a while, then asked: "That would kill a lot of people."

The middle-aged man replied:

"If two or three thousand people die, we can always drag a flying beast to hell."

The old lady was also leaning on a cane, with a slightly sickly look on her face:

"The dragons came to Lingwu several times, but they always left in the end. Your Majesty is right. It's just like the giants. If you are afraid of them, they will bully you even more. If you risk your life and make them feel pain, they will naturally run away."

Lid smiled and said:

"The Lingwu Lord is truly a genius of the time." He paused, then said with regret:

"It's a pity that all the world-famous Lingwu cavalry were killed..."

The old lady laughed, pointed at the black-faced man, and said to Lid:

"Little kid, you don't understand. You only think that many of us died, but you don't see that there are still more of us alive! My eldest grandson died, but my second grandson is about to become an adult; even if the king recruits soldiers now, I can let my son take over! As long as the king decides to fight, what are the 100,000 Lingwu cavalry? With the king's order, my Lingwu will immediately have hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops, and we will be invincible!"

Lid could see from the corner of his eye that the black-faced man looked proud, and the young man standing next to him also looked full of longing. There was no trace of being forced on them, which moved Lid quite a bit.

Two or three thousand people risked their lives to exchange for a flying dragon. Perhaps it was because of this desperate fighting style that Lingwu was preserved when the dragons invaded. When Lid thought of those unarmed people fighting desperately against the invulnerable flying dragons, and defending the bitter cold territory with their flesh and blood, he could feel the tragic atmosphere coming towards him.

He stayed in this family's house for one night and left early the next morning.

Lid visited many villages along the way and asked various people. The annihilation of the Lingwu Iron Cavalry may have caused a storm, but it soon passed. The people of Lingwu not only did not feel the slightest bit of frustration, but were full of pride when talking about this matter: because our troops died on the front battlefield, the Kingdom of Eternal Heaven was preserved, and every sacrificed person was a hero.

As long as the Lingwu Lord needs them, they will stand up and become new heroes!

Lid exhaled. The weather became worse and worse as he headed north. The hot air he exhaled condensed into clouds of mist and drifted in the wind.

The Lingwu Lord's Mansion was in sight. Lid got off the carriage and walked forward. The guards at the door did not stop him, and the vermilion door slowly opened. The maid stepped forward, without looking at Lid, and said in a cold tone:

"The Lord will see you in the Council Hall."

Reed nodded and walked along the stone path into the depths of the mansion.

28. You can be on top of me

Reed met the Lingwu Lord again.

Compared to the last time they met at the bottom of the sea, the Lingwu Lord had put on her veil again. This was a signal, so Lid did not call her name, but said calmly:

"Lord Lingwu is still as busy as usual."

The Lingwu lord looked up at him, and his voice was filled with the natural majesty of an emperor without any deliberate whitewashing: "Lingwu is bitter and cold, and cannot compare to the richness of the south. The lost vitality needs someone to work hard to make up for it."

Lid stopped talking and just looked at the cushion opposite the Lingwu Lord. His meaning was self-evident. The Lingwu Lord said calmly:

"sit."

Reed sat down carelessly.

Lingwu Lord didn't have the habit of having tea served, and it seemed that she didn't intend to pay attention to Lid for the time being. But she didn't care. Lid looked at the memorial in her hand - it was a memorial requesting conscription, written in great detail, accurate to every clause. And Lingwu Lord was also reviewing those clauses one by one, drawing a circle for those who agreed, and passing by those who disagreed.

Lide looked into her eyes, a smile on his face. This woman seemed unattainable to the world, but in Lide's eyes, she looked like an older female teacher, sitting here, slowly correcting students' homework. Of course, no one other than Lide would ever have such an idea, after all, there were very few people in the world who had the courage to look at her, and everyone in the Eternal Kingdom had to bow their heads in front of her.

Lingwu Lord noticed Lid's gaze and felt a little unhappy, but he didn't show it. After dealing with the memorial in his hand, Lingwu Lord raised his head and said lightly:

"I thought you were going to bring the kid over here."

Lid chuckled and replied:

"I don't really want to play the sympathy card at this time. After all, I think when it comes to this kind of thing, your will will not be diverted by a child who is not related to you. But I am particularly

Don't remind you that we agreed to raise the child together, but Chocolate has lived in the Yunyang Lord's Mansion for a long time."

Lingwu Lord had no shame on his face, instead he said as a matter of course:

"Lingwu went south, the dragon tribe invaded, and there was unrest. I led the army to meet the enemy, so I naturally couldn't take care of it.

Lid said helplessly:

"Okay... Anyway, you are always right."

The attitude of Lingwu Lord was not much different from before, but Lid's attitude had changed a little. The Lingwu Lord's imperial majesty was still there, but Lid was still able to remain relaxed under this majesty. Perhaps it was because Lid had now reached the tenth level of the real realm, and finally opened up a little gap with the Lingwu Lord in realm; or perhaps it was because Yunyang was no longer the same as before, and Lingwu could no longer easily defeat him.

So Lid looked into the eyes of the Lingwu Lord without any hesitation. In addition to the usual gentle smile, his eyes also carried a hint of aggression. In short, he hoped to achieve some results in this negotiation, and Lid did not hide his feelings at all.

Lord Lingwu frowned slightly, because no one had ever dared to look at her in that way.

It would be disrespectful to look up at her veiled face, not to mention that Reed was staring at her.

But Lingwu Lord would not be angry because she understood a very simple truth: any anger at this moment would be meaningless and would only make people think she was guilty. Either she could hold back her anger or kill the other party. Her style of doing things was always cold-blooded and ruthless.

Lid suddenly said:

"Is Erin okay?"

Lingwu Lord replied coldly:

"Fortunately."

Lid nodded and said:

"Last time, the situation was urgent and I had to take back the crown I gave you. But I made you another one. Although the craftsmanship is not very good, the materials used are still quite expensive." Lid took out a crown from the package he was carrying. The gems on the crown emitted a dazzling light. Ordinary women would be eclipsed in front of such gems. The crown would take away the brilliance of the wearer, which is to say, it would steal the show. But the Lingwu Lord was different. Only her aura could suppress such jewels and gems, because she just sat there expressionlessly, as if she was the only one with color in the whole house.

The Lingwu Lord glanced at the crown and said indifferently, without saying whether to accept it or not:

"If you come here just to tell me these boring things, then you can go back." Lid propped up his head and said to her:

"In my opinion, this is not a boring thing. I will remember everything I owe you, and I will repay you one day." Lingwu Lord said lightly:

"The land is the throne, the sky is the crown. You don't owe me anything, and even if you do, I will get it back myself. Lid said softly:

"Like you took Irene to Lingwu?"

Lingwu Lord's face was slightly angry. She raised her head slightly, stared at Lid coldly, and said, "I didn't realize before that your mouth is so annoying."

Lid laughed, and turned to the Lingwu Lord and said:

"I never realized before that you get angry so easily."

Lingwu Lord was stunned for a moment, then narrowed his eyes slightly and turned his gaze away from Lid. If you don't care, you won't get angry. This is the most obvious truth in the world.

Lid stopped pestering and said to the Lingwu Lord:

"Zhao Zhao, I won't hide anything from you. I'll just tell you straight. Since the beginning of the Eternal Kingdom, the world has been unified in name only, but actually divided. Attacking each other and being suspicious of each other, the already weak human race has been constantly at odds with each other. Although this has also contributed to the emergence of giants like you, more power has been strangled by our own people. Now that the Eternal Kingdom is declining, alien invasions are becoming more frequent, and even the national defense formation cannot completely protect us. There is no point in continuing to fight, and you and I know this as well."

The Lingwu Lord also regained his aloof look and replied:

"I know much more than you do. But that's why I won't hand over my people to you. I've read the strategy you proposed, but in my opinion, it's no different from splitting the party. Either you start a party dispute in the center and invest a lot of resources in political infighting, or you dominate by yourself and slowly erase the existence of others."

Lord Lingwu looked at Lid, his meaning was self-evident.

Lid exhaled, looked directly into the eyes of the Lingwu Lord and said:

"You know me well. I prefer to go around to different places rather than sitting in the center. But I also know that there is always someone who has to stay in that position to intimidate the group... At present, there is no one more suitable than you in the world. If you want, you can be above me and become the 'dominant' one."

29. Win or Lose

Lord Lingwu did not comment. Although Lid's expression was sincere, Lord Lingwu had experience in this matter after all.

If she had not believed Ji Yingtian's lie of "ruling the world together", she would not have suffered hundreds of years in the bitter cold. According to the average life expectancy of 80 years, Lingwu Lord has lived at least ten lives, and the long years have made her emotions extremely thin. Hatred and resentment have forged her iron-blooded heart, just like many precious materials, once forged into sharp weapons, they will lose their original temperature, leaving only the bone-chilling coldness.

This is also why Lid chose to find Lord Lingwu in the end.