Foreign Land Reclamation By a Vegetable-growing Skeleton
Chapter 1569 - 1130: Just Need a Good Beating

Chapter 1569: Chapter 1130: Just Need a Good Beating

Anthony let out a long sigh, feeling as if he’d just survived a life-or-death scare. Was it really necessary to pull off such a big ploy just to ask a question?

The key issue was that Anthony couldn’t discern whether what she said was true or false, which was extremely rare for him. Either the other party was shrewder and better at acting than he was, or she was genuinely telling the truth.

Was she telling the truth? Anthony’s mind raced, and he asked hesitantly, "What’s wrong with the Great Speaker? What’s he become?"

"He’s become very depressed, very sullen, very lethargic, as if he’s lost all his fighting spirit. He spends every day lying on a stone basking in the sun. When I ask him what’s wrong, he just says he’s replenishing calcium through sunbathing," Lea explained.

"Sunbathing does help with calcium absorption..." Anthony muttered vaguely, contemplating quickly how to respond. Before he could figure out an answer, Lea fixed him with an intense glare and said, "I hope you’ll spare me some honesty for the sake of the fact that I once liked you."

Anthony couldn’t help but chuckle bitterly. Why couldn’t she let that go? How was he supposed to navigate this situation?

"This involves some of the Great Speaker’s private matters. Since he doesn’t want to talk about it with you, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to say anything either. Why don’t you ask him directly?" Anthony deflected.

"Private matters? What kind of private matters? Does he have an illegitimate child?" Lea speculated.

"Pfft, what nonsense are you talking about?" Anthony said, crying and laughing at once.

"Did he fall in love with someone?" Lea guessed again.

"I told you, this is his private matter. I can’t share it with you," Anthony replied helplessly.

"You don’t need to *say* anything," Lea persisted. "Just look at me while I ask, and as a favor to me for once liking you, just give me some kind of reaction. Did he cause some trouble?"

Anthony was speechless. "What trouble could *he* possibly stir up? Anything that ends on his plate wouldn’t count as trouble."

Though the Great Speaker often suffered setbacks around Ange, he was still the Great Speaker of the Divine Light Alliance, the one who founded the entire organization. Over time, as generations of division chiefs came and went, his bonds with others gradually weakened.

Still, he remained the Alliance’s supreme figure. What kind of monumental incident would it take to actually count as trouble?

"One time, while eliminating bandits, he accidentally killed some innocent people who had been taken hostage by the group. It wasn’t until he reviewed the roster of bandits afterward that he realized it and felt guilty for several days. I thought maybe he’d made a similar mistake again," Lea remarked casually.

Anthony pressed his lips together. This time, the situation might be far worse than "a few"; it could very well be *everyone.*

Noticing his expression, Lea widened her eyes in shock. "Did he really kill the wrong people? Were there a lot of them?"

Anthony waved his hand quickly. "No, no, don’t let your imagination run wild. I told you, this is the Great Speaker’s private matter—you should ask him yourself. If he’s willing to share with you, he will. If not, it’s probably because he doesn’t want you worrying, especially since you wouldn’t be able to help with any of it."

Lea took a deep breath and said, "I understand that you must feel awkward about this. Let’s compromise, then—consider it a favor to me for once liking you. Could you try to console him for me?"

Anthony quickly agreed. "Sure, sure, I’ll go and talk to him. This was probably your main intention all along. Next time, don’t beat around the bush so much—you scared me half to death."

Lea looked at him and smiled faintly. Her smile was deeply layered, like the weathered gaze of an Elf who had lived hundreds of years and seen the world’s truths. "I really did like you. Too bad you’re not human."

"Why does that sound like an insult? *You’re* the one who’s not human! I’ll go report back and then go talk to him," Anthony said slickly as he deftly changed the subject, then floated away toward Ange.

As he floated away, Negris, who wasn’t far away, immediately darted over. As soon as Anthony arrived, Negris couldn’t hold back and blurted out, "What kind of cryptic nonsense were you two exchanging? How did it go? Did you agree?"

Anthony responded helplessly, "Agree to what? There’s nothing going on between us—stop making things up."

Negris didn’t believe him. "You two were practically flirting! ’Not human’? Isn’t that like a human saying ’You rascal’? And you claim there’s no agreement?"

Anthony was about to lose it. "You’re interpreting it *that* way?"

"Yeah, isn’t that the case?" Negris nodded firmly.

Ange glanced left and right before also nodding.

*Forget it.* No wonder this dragon had remained single its entire life. To stop her from prattling on, Anthony had to explain, "She said I wasn’t human to point out that we’re different species. Even though she likes me, the difference means we can’t be together, so it’s ’a shame.’"

"In this situation, I had two ways to respond. One option was to say, ’Who says I’m not human?’ because I do have a human life-form, and cross-species relationships with Elves are possible. But instead of following her lead, I chose the second approach—to shift the topic by jokingly saying, ’You’re the one who’s not human,’ emphasizing she’s an Elf and that even if I *were* human, it wouldn’t be okay."

Negris was stunned. "That’s what she meant? Kvada, are all you smart people this complicated when it comes to love?"

Anthony couldn’t stop laughing and crying. "Complicated? This is efficient! I sorted it out in a few lines without damaging our camaraderie. Next time we meet, there won’t be any awkwardness—unlike some fools who can’t even remain friends after failing to confess their feelings."

"I... You... You’re impressive," Negris admitted in awe.

Ange didn’t really follow the explanation and scratched his head in confusion. "Not gonna ride her?"

"Pfft... You only care about riding female dragons, don’t you? Not this time, not this time!" Negris coughed, practically spraying blood as she roared in exasperation.

This clueless Dead Skull’s understanding of romance seemed limited to that old scenario where Negris had gone to find Naeli—to "ride the female dragon."

"Oh." Bored, Ange shrugged and went back to his farming.

"Wait, wait, Lord, I think the Great Speaker is struggling with self-doubt because the one above him initiated the Light Disaster. I want to console him and see if I can find out who specifically triggered it. But since he’s such a stubborn old soul who isn’t easily swayed by others, ordinary persuasion won’t work. I might need to resort to some unconventional methods..."

Anthony laid out his game plan while Ange occasionally nodded. Eventually, the plan was finalized.

Ange, Anthony, and Lea teleported to the Zhuo Shan Dimension, where they found the Great Speaker lying lifelessly in a deep pit at the base of Table Mountain.

"Why are you here?" The Great Speaker sat up, looking both surprised and despondent as he asked.

"Ever since you returned from us, you’ve been acting incredibly downcast. Lea thought maybe something happened between us and came to interrogate me. She’s always seen you as a father or mentor figure, and your current state is worrying her," Anthony explained.

"Ah, this child..." The Great Speaker muttered, a mixture of warmth and sorrow flickering across his face. He could feel the respect and affection these youngsters held for him, yet it was precisely this emotional connection that weighed so heavily on him.

"I haven’t said anything to her, so she asked me to come persuade you. But honestly, I don’t know how to help. Do you have a Soul Contact with ’him’?" Anthony asked, gesturing upward.

Of course, "upward" didn’t refer to Table Mountain but to the figure above the Great Speaker in the hierarchical chain.

The Great Speaker shook his head.

Anthony nodded in understanding, then uttered a brief, "Apologies in advance—don’t use your coffin."

Before the Great Speaker could react, Anthony stepped back, and Ange suddenly charged forward, transforming into a tall, slender Star God and colliding directly with the Great Speaker.

*Boom!* Space shattered, and the two figures fell together into a Space Rift, disappearing entirely.

Because sometimes, when dealing with an obstinate old soul, the best persuasion is a good beating.