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Chapter 1199 - 1199 197 Being Terrible to the Extreme is Invincible

1199: Chapter 197: Being Terrible to the Extreme is Invincible 1199: Chapter 197: Being Terrible to the Extreme is Invincible “What has happened in the city?”

Derris questioned, stopping a guard.

This is the capital of Moxi Duchy, theoretically, it should be the safest place.

People were bustling about, and soldiers patrolled everywhere, filling the air with a tense atmosphere.

“Respected One, the Warhammer Restoration Organization has instigated a rebellion, attacking several key locations in the capital last night.

We are currently deploying troops to suppress the uprising.”

The guard’s response furrowed Derris’s brows.

The chaotic city, devoid of any artistic sense, was truly detestable.

“Do rebellions occur frequently within your country?”

Derris pressed on.

Despite her distaste, collecting essential information was still necessary.

In fact, the Elf Race had always gathered intelligence on Moxi Duchy, although they did not trust the Human informants they had bought.

“No!

Except for occasional rebellions in the newly acquired areas of the Warhammer Great Plains, the rest of the kingdom is very stable.

Last night’s incident was just an anomaly.

The Warhammer Restoration Organization, recently empowered by unknown forces, has been causing trouble everywhere.”

Hearing the guard’s explanation, Derris slightly nodded.

Overall, it matched what she had learned beforehand, with the Moxi Duchy being generally stable.

The only difference was: the previously inconspicuous Warhammer Restoration Organization had suddenly become active.

These were minor issues; if the Warhammer Restoration Organization truly succeeded, it would only benefit the Elf Race without any drawbacks.

If they weren’t unable to make contact with this organization, the Elf Race would have increased their support already.

As neighbors, naturally, the weaker the better.

Why would the Elf Race dirty their hands if they could exploit the Humans fighting among themselves?

Following the guard, Derris and her party smoothly arrived at the negotiation venue.

Compared to yesterday, the faces of the representatives from Moxi Duchy looked much worse today.

Derris did not take it seriously; it was understandable given a rebellion had just occurred in the capital.

As a Sanctuary Powerhouse, she had keen ears; even from a hundred meters away, she could clearly hear the private discussions of the people.

The content of their talks was peculiar; aside from discussing the attacks on the capital, they talked about uprisings here and brawls between Noble Lords there, and a slew of romantic affairs among the Nobles.

Accidentally picking up a bunch of gossip, Derris’s mood instantly improved.

Watching the misfortune of neighbors was always delightful.

Had she not come in person, she would never have known about the myriad of issues existing in Moxi Duchy.

Deep down, she felt that her race was making a mountain out of a molehill.

A Moxi Duchy fraught with internal contradictions simply needed support for the rebel faction from the shadows; there was no need for such excessive concern.

But as much as she thought about it, dismantling Moxi Duchy’s military power was still a direction the Elf Race was striving toward.

“Ha… King George, why hasn’t he arrived?”

As the words reached her lips, realizing her mistake, Derris quickly corrected her question.

The main players in this negotiation were Moxi Duchy and the Elf Race, including the Human Kingdoms like the Kingdom of Alpha, who were only witnesses to the negotiations.

Witnesses could miss the negotiations, but the main parties could not.

Without seeing King George, Derris had no interest in quibbling with subordinates.

“Respected One, please wait a moment.

His Majesty is dealing with some domestic issues and will arrive soon!”

Count Reynato said with a troubled expression.

Last night, George had convened an emergency meeting, where everyone agreed on a strategy of feigning weakness to buy time for the Duchy’s peaceful development.

This drama was not easy to play; the slightest mistake could turn the pretense into reality.

For this, they specifically studied the experiences of Human nations and the Elf Race as neighbors.

They bizarrely discovered a pattern: the best neighbors are those who are sufficiently incompetent and strictly crack down on slaving activities.

Truly incompetent won’t do, but they could pretend to be!

Let the Warhammer Restoration Organization take the blame again; just let them shoulder more blame and lead this restoration movement against Moxi Duchy.

An independence movement in newly-occupied territories attached to their old homeland had no issues at all!

Noble Lords fighting out of jealousy was a common occurrence, and quite normal in Moxi Duchy too.

…

After concocting a dozen plans, Moxi Duchy was “thrown into chaos.” The attack on the capital was just the first step; there were more chaotic schemes to be enacted.

To make it look more realistic, genuine fights were staged on the spot, a lot of buildings were damaged, and there were unfortunate victims, though the dead were just prisoners in changed clothes.

As for the domestic turmoil during the negotiation, lowering their stance at the negotiation table was a minor issue.

As long as they portrayed themselves as sufficiently incompetent, regardless of what the Elf Race proposed, the Moxi Duchy Government needed only to do one thing:

Reflect deeply and ensure there wouldn’t be a next time; they were willing to accept compensation but simply had no money.

Once the treaty was signed, violating the cessation agreement would transform it into a mutual economic issue, completely different in nature.

Because of the “violation of cessation treaty,” if the Elf Race took retaliatory actions against Moxi Duchy, that would align with continental norms, and no one could really complain.

But if it was solely because they were too poor to pay for material compensations, and the Elf Race pressured them relentlessly, other Human nations would inevitably sympathize with Moxi Duchy.

When it comes to racial disputes, such “sympathy” could then be converted into diplomatic pressure.