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Chapter 1027 - 1027 138 The Change in the South Continent

1027: Chapter 138: The Change in the South Continent 1027: Chapter 138: The Change in the South Continent After witnessing the contents of the letter, everyone’s complexion turned sour.

It was only at this moment that they understood why the Minister of Foreign Affairs insisted they see it personally, rather than just relay the message.

“Territorial exchange” was just one of the conditions.

Aside from this most intolerable demand, there was a series of attached conditions.

These included war reparations, military restrictions, opening up the weapons trade embargo, and many other demands, each of which was a degradation and insult to the nation.

In principle, given such egregious demands by the Elf Race, everyone should have rejected them outright.

The reality was quite the opposite; the higher the enemy’s asking price, the more people hesitated.

There was no choice, the Elf Race was too confident.

If they refused, the Black Forest Kingdom would immediately face a war of annihilation.

With the existence of the Kingdom and the fates of the Clans at stake, no one dared to decide hastily.

“If we become the primary target of the Elf Race’s offensive, how long can the Kingdom hold on, and is there a possibility of enduring until the Alliance’s reinforcements arrive?”

The whole Elf Army had been pushing against all the nations of the Central Continent together; they had just borne a quarter of the firepower, and their front line had already collapsed.

If the enemy adjusted their offensive strategy, switching from an all-out assault to a focused attack, pouring most of their forces into the Black Forest Kingdom, the situation would change immediately.

“Your Majesty, if it weren’t for being dragged down by the Stone People Race, perhaps we could give it a try.

Even if the enemy doesn’t send reinforcements, I fear the Kingdom may not last much longer.”

Count Nicholas’s responsible words shattered all of Alexander V’s illusions, and the atmosphere in the great hall grew even more oppressive.

According to the universally recognized power hierarchy of the Continent, the Elf Race’s strength was comparable to that of the Clergy and the Frank Kingdom.

The Orc Empire used to be at this tier as well, but after being overly active and receiving a severe beating, it fell to the second tier.

At this level were the Iberia Kingdom, Dwarf Kingdom, and the Alpha Kingdom before they were unharmed.

The Black Forest Kingdom, including another seven Great Kingdoms of the Human Race and several Different Races powers, all belonged to the third tier.

Of course, this was merely a classification based on previous battle records and everyone’s theoretical strength.

Within the same tier, there was also a massive gap in strength, and it was constantly changing.

For instance, after the last invasion by the Orcs, the Alpha Kingdom fell to the third tier, and the Warhammer Kingdom even slipped to the fourth tier.

Ouprus Kingdom, Avarat Kingdom, Kingdom of Rusenia had declined, and despite their large size, they were placed in the third tier purely based on their comprehensive strength.

In terms of military strength alone, they had long since fallen.

The Black Forest Kingdom was now in a very awkward position, or rather, the Three Great Kingdoms of the Central Continent were all quite awkward.

From their battle records, they didn’t just fall short of the neighbouring Alpha Kingdom, but they couldn’t even compare to the other nations at the third tier.

Take Black Forest Kingdom as an example; during the previous offensive against the Stone People Race, playing gang fights with a group of minions, they still lost more than they won.

Those who knew the inside story realized this was taken advantage of to consume vassal forces; those unaware thought they had fallen.

Now, having been severely beaten by the Ancient Remnant Allied Army, the outside world became even more doubtful of their strength.

The Elf Race made such excessive demands because of their poor performance on the battlefield.

The weak performance of the Cannon Fodder Troops could be overlooked, but the succession of more than a dozen Main Army Corps had also failed to achieve the expected results.

Blaming a demoralized team for being ruined by incompetent allies could serve as an excuse for a defeat, but it wouldn’t earn the enemy’s recognition of their strength.

Respect is only built on the foundation of strength; had they performed better on the battlefield, the Elf Race would not have made so many unreasonable demands.

“Your Majesty, let the Department of Foreign Affairs make contact with the Elf Race first.

It would be best if we could come to an agreement, and if not, at least we could delay some time.

Under no circumstances can the Kingdom act rashly at this time and become the primary target of the Alien Race Army.

If possible, we should try to coordinate relations to keep both Dante Kingdom and South Coast Kingdom in line with us.

If necessary, we can leak the news to the Frank Kingdom and the Clergy to urge them to send reinforcements more quickly!”

Duke Milton, the Chancellor, spoke with a grave expression.

It was impossible to accept all the enemy’s demands; no one dared to sign such a treaty that would entail such national humiliation and loss of sovereignty.

Direct refusal was even worse; that would be more severe than national humiliation and loss of sovereignty.

In this context, using negotiation as a pretext to buy time became the best option.

If negotiations truly failed, then it would involve dragging the allies into the mess.

No single nation could bear the political consequences of compromising with the Alien Races alone, so the more feasible strategy was to share the burden.

As for using compromise with the Alien Races as leverage to press the Clergy and the Frank Kingdom for rescue, Duke Milton was not optimistic.

The risk was simply too great; while applying pressure, they could also be sending themselves on a path of no return.

After all, the times had changed; with the nail that was the Half-Orcs pulled out, both the Frank Kingdom and a re-energized Clergy were sharpening their knives, eager to expand their power.

Striking at the Alien Races was one thing; merging within the Human World was quite another.

Without an appropriate excuse, this could lead to intervention by various nations at any moment.

Using compromise with the Alien Races as a bargaining chip to threaten might well backfire.

It’s very likely that what the Frank Kingdom and the Clergy most wanted to see now was them compromising with the Alien Races.