Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 465 - 458

Chapter 465: 458

While they were discussing, Nina appeared beneath the treehouse with a pale face in no time. Seeing the elf guards, she immediately broke out into a tirade, but the elf soldiers were unmoved, standing emotionlessly in their places, utterly disregarding her as a princess.

Nina, angered to the point of trembling, pushed aside the elf guard at the door and slowly made her way up the spiral staircase to the treehouse.

She entered the treehouse where Luo’er was, looking forsaken at him lying on the bed. Suddenly, she lost control of her emotions, collapsed to the ground, and her tears flowed incessantly, accompanied by sobs.

Seeing her like this, Tangmo and Baiyue rushed over to comfort her, while Luoya stood not far away, her face full of guilt.

Seeing her state, Cheng Ziang knew without a doubt that she had been rejected. It was also within his expectations. Nina may be a princess, but precisely because she is a princess, she must lead by example. If the queen approves of Nina’s demands, it would set a bad precedent, with other elves attempting to bring their descendants back to Ilanadale to appeal to the queen.

The best solution to such a problem is justice over personal relationships. Even if Luo’er was her great-grandchild, or even if he were the queen’s own son, as long as he is a half-elf, he should never expect any assistance from Ilanadale.

Feelings can’t move the queen, and Cheng Ziang anticipated this from the start. Although Ilanadale is isolated, if the queen is a queen, she should be a competent politician. Attempting to persuade a politician with emotions is a fool’s dream; politicians don’t believe in tears, and only interest can win her over.

So once Cheng Ziang foresaw Nina’s failure, he wasn’t as flustered as they were. In fact, after Nina left, he already had an idea of how to persuade the queen.

Nina cried harder and harder, her eyes red from crying, and the tears splattered onto the wooden floor, soaking it. Despite Tangmo and Baiyue’s consolation, it didn’t help much.

Luoya nearby was trembling all over and couldn’t help but kneel in front of Nina, begging for her forgiveness. As she spoke, she too couldn’t help but burst into tears. Seeing her start crying as well, Tangmo left Baiyue to console Nina and turned around to console Luoya instead.

"Old Hu, watch your wife and younger aunt. Don’t let them join the drama. It’s already messy enough." Faced with this scene, Cheng Ziang instructed calmly.

"What nonsense!" Hu Daoke’s old face blushed. He turned around to find Olavia.

"Aunt Nina, can you control yourself a bit? I need to ask you something." Cheng Ziang crouched in front of Nina, and then took out a tissue from his pocket and gave it to Nina.

"Thank you!" Upon seeing Cheng Ziang, Nina choked back her sobs. She sniffled and wiped her tears.

"The queen rejected it, didn’t she?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"Yes!" Nina nodded while looking aggrieved, on the verge of bursting into tears again.

"It’s understandable, Aunt Nina. You’ve lived for so many years, but you’re still lacking in political acumen." Cheng Ziang bowed his head, shaking it as he spoke.

"What does this have to do with politics?" Nina looked up at him and asked.

"The queen is a politician. Trying to move her with feelings is a naive action. To politicians, feelings are the least necessary thing, only interests can attract them." Cheng Ziang did not mince his words with Nina, he criticized her approach sternly.

"Interests?" Nina stared blankly at him, she found his words very confusing.

"Yes, interests!" Cheng Ziang nodded, "The reason why the queen is the queen is that she has to consider the interests of all of Ilanadale, not just her own interests."

"But what benefits can I provide her with?" Nina lowered her head and murmured.

"Have you forgotten Luo’er’s identity?" Cheng Ziang grinned, expressing his thoughts.

"His identity," Nina widened her eyes, then realized what he meant. "Right, Luo’er is, he’s from some Headquarters."

"Aunt Nina, could you introduce me? I’d like to discuss a few things with the queen. Unless something unexpected happens, I believe that I should be able to persuade her." Cheng Ziang confidently suggested.

"But..." Nina remained hesitant.

Cheng Ziang helped Nina up from the ground, and slowly said, "Despite Luo’er only being the captain of the Advance Team, his influence at the Headquarters is profound. The Chief of the Headquarters owes Luo’er’s father a favor, so they should be more than willing to offer benefits to help Luo’er."

With that, he turned his attention to Tangmo, saying, "Moumou, appeal to the Headquarters now. Request for the Advance Team to be in contact with the upper ranks of Ilanadale!"

"I understand!" Tangmo nodded, got up from the ground, and began drafting a letter.

In a short while, she sent off the magic message. After waiting for about half an hour, she received a reply from the Headquarters. Likely due to the experiences dealing with Shariya previously, the Headquarters quite quickly agreed to the idea of the Advance Team connecting with the elites of Ilanadale as Tangmo’s message impressed them.

The content of Tangmo’s letter was straightforward. Firstly, Luo’er found his mother, Nina, who was to be the next queen of Ilanadale. Secondly, Luo’er needed Ilanadale’s aid, presenting a chance to establish contact with Ilanadale.

For the Headquarters, this mission was essentially just to accompany the Judgement Legion and, in the process, they unexpectedly discovered this vital information. Such news had invigorated everyone at the Headquarters.

Luo’er had long-established ties with the Headquarters. Now that his mother was the princess of Ilanadale, the Headquarters should technically be considered as relatives to Ilanadale in a certain sense. With this relationship established, setting influence in the south would be much simpler.

This was why Wang Xu approved the Advance Team’s request to contact Ilanadale directly, without reporting to the higher officials on Earth.

After receiving the green light from Headquarters, Cheng Ziang was filled with confidence towards what was coming next. Nina wiped away her tears, and waited until her eyes were less red, then walked Cheng Ziang to the bottom of the treehouse.

Upon seeing Cheng Ziang, the elf soldiers immediately stopped him, but they quickly withdrew after being scolded by Nina. This time, Nina’s momentum was forceful, scaring the elf soldiers back into position.

It’s worth noting that after dozens of years of hardship in the outside world, Nina now exhibited a stronger worldly air. While she remained beautiful, her aura was no longer as ethereal.

After shooing away the elf soldiers, Nina led Cheng Ziang down the street, into the palace of Divine Wood Town. All the buildings were made of cobalt stone, nicely adorned with exquisite Kedal metal, giving the impression of a shining glow.

Ilanadale, unlike other Otherworld nations, had limited reserves of gold. As such, silver coins were more commonly used in trade here. This was also common in the southern regions where gold reserves were scarce.

The Otherworld’s gold culminated mainly in the north of the continent. In the early stages of inter-realm contact, Earthlings sought gold and had close relations with the northern nations, neglecting the south. As the two dominant powers clashed in the north, their focus started to shift towards the south.

Ilanadale had abundant reserves of Kedal metal. If this metal could be utilized on Earth, it would potentially replace depleted uranium in armor-penetrating bullets, becoming the strongest armor-piercing weapon. This was why Cheng Ziang was confident about cooperating with Ilanadale.