But in the eyes of insiders, this is a naked and unabashed attempt to scare the monkeys, warning all ambitious guys who want to cause trouble in the Trade Alliance to be careful.
In short, Zuo Si is quite good at manipulating people's mentality.
After all, when he was an ordinary person before igniting the spark, he had deeply studied games like Darkest Dungeon and Souls games that could make players "pleased physically and mentally", "sunny and cheerful", and "peaceful".
Understand what it takes to mentally torture a person crazy.
In the next few days, many people in the coalition forces found that representatives from many towns looked nervous and started their return journey one after another.
They didn't tell anyone what happened, but judging from the ugly faces, it was definitely not a good thing.
However, since it was only a small part, it did not cause any waves.
On the contrary, it was the arrival of the envoy from the Kingdom of Cormyr that allowed these bumpkins from the North to see what true nobility and royal style meant.
Whether it's the accompanying band, the gorgeous armor, and the uniform movements, it's obvious that a lot of time has been spent on rigorous training.
Feeding so many retired honor guards is almost unimaginable in the North, where the population is relatively sparse and the living environment is harsher.
This also proves the stability, prosperity and wealth of the Kingdom of Cormyr.
Only Amn and the Calimshirts showed disdain.
After all, the former is the richest country in the entire Faerun continent. If it shows off its wealth and luxury, it can throw the Cormyr royal family several blocks away.
The latter is one of the true birthplaces of human civilization in Faerûn, with a history of civilization spanning thousands of years.
The Shane Empire had already established a huge empire before the emergence of Cormyr, and it was far superior to the latter in terms of economy and culture.
Compared with the pompous Emperor Xia En VII, he could push Assan IV to the ground and rub him repeatedly.
Therefore, this grand mission of the Cormyr royal family, apart from opening the eyes of those representatives from the North who have never seen the world, did not have even the slightest effect.
However, Zuo Si still received the other party according to the corresponding etiquette, and agreed to Assan IV's proposal to form a delegation to negotiate.
About two or three days later, each side sent twenty people along the road eastward and entered Ximen's sphere of influence.
Fuzuoer Qianberry personally led the team to greet them at the gate of the city, showing a warm and hospitable appearance.
"Ah! Welcome all of you to come from afar. You know, I have been looking forward to it for many days."
"Where is Her Royal Highness the Princess and the captured knights? Are they okay?"
Shafa, who came to negotiate on behalf of the Cormyr royal family, stared at the other party with two sharp eyes, and his attitude was obviously very unfriendly.
He is the lord of Susar City, the capital of the Kingdom of Cormyr, and the supreme commander of the Purple Dragon Legion. He can be said to be the nobleman most trusted by the royal family.
He was also the teacher who watched Yalusel grow up and personally taught him swordsmanship.
To be precise, every one of the three hundred noble knights is a reserve officer of the Purple Dragon Legion, and most of them were trained by this man himself.
Therefore, it is normal not to give Fu Zouer Chambery a good look.
After all, Fuzor Chambery massacred Shafa's students and subordinates, ruining his ten years of hard work.
The Tyrant of the Moon Sea was obviously very aware of this, and he raised his hand and snapped his fingers without any nonsense.
Snap!
With a crisp sound, a young woman with a well-proportioned figure wearing a long white dress was pushed out.
In particular, the looming thighs and round buttocks under the silk dress clearly show the developed muscles that can only be obtained through long-term exercise.
The exposed arms are a bit thicker than those of men who have been engaged in physical labor for a long time, and the palms of the hands have thick calluses from using weapons for a long time.
Without asking, he knew that she was the captured Yalusel. She didn't know whether it was because of shame or anger, or a combination of both. There was a very obvious blush on her face, and she didn't dare to raise her head to look at the envoys.
Among the people you know well.
The most important thing is that Her Royal Highness the Princess has long been accustomed to wearing convenient clothes and armor for long periods of time like men.
The long banquet dress she was wearing now, which was specially designed to highlight a woman's sexy figure, made her feel very insecure, as if she was naked and exposed in full view of the public.
Shafa was keenly aware of Yalusel's nervousness and uneasiness, so he did not immediately come forward to say hello. He just roughly confirmed that she had not been abused or violated, and immediately secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and continued to ask: "Others
Where are the remains of the knights and the fallen? Don't tell me you desecrated the corpses with necromancy."
Fuzoul Chamberry responded with a smile: "Don't worry, I understand the rules and didn't do anything to them.
The captured knights were all imprisoned in the dungeon, and their bodies were placed in coffins waiting to be transported away.
As long as you agree to my request, you can send a boat or carriage to pick up the living and the dead before dark.
But if the negotiation fails, I may do some more extreme things."
"What do you want to get from this negotiation?"
Zuo Si interrupted with a smile.
"I'm not greedy. I just want to take the share that should belong to me, and then evacuate the Dragon Coast and return to Zhentil Castle in a dignified way."
Fuzoul Chamberlain gave a hint.
Obviously, he has only one purpose, and that is to safely transport all the materials and wealth he currently has on hand back, and at the same time, bite a piece of fat from the Kingdom of Cormyr.
"It's very reasonable. I think today's negotiation should get a result that everyone is satisfied with."
Zuo Si nodded slightly and chose the default.
Anyway, it is the Kingdom of Cormyr that is going to bleed a lot, and it has nothing to do with it.
As for whether the legendary King Asan IV will find an opportunity to retaliate after the incident, or simply lead his troops to the Moon Sea to attack Zhentil Keep's lair, only God knows.
In Zuo Si's impression, high-level warriors, especially legendary warriors, generally don't have very good tempers.
Because strong anger in battle can often trigger a violent effect, allowing one to gain far greater power than usual in a short period of time.
Therefore, the more powerful a warrior is, the more he will channel this anger for his own use instead of suppressing it.
This also leads to the general temper of senior soldiers.
But overall, the possibility of a full-scale war between the Kingdom of Cormyr and Zhentil Castle is not high.
In this way, under the leadership of Fu Zouer Chamberry, the envoy finally entered the most important and prosperous city on the Dragon Coast-Ximen.
As the third largest trading power in the west of the Sea of ​​Fallen Stars after Cormyr and Sembia, the secret of this city's success is that it has everything and sells everything.
People generally believe that morality may be reflected in private matters, but it should never appear in business, otherwise it will be a dead end.
In addition, Ximen is also a trading city-state that practices slavery. Slavery here is not only reasonable and legal, but will also be strictly protected like other private property.
Look at the people in the streets with marks on their faces, necks, and shoulders, or the guys with chains around their ankles. Without exception, they are all members of the slave army.
They originally belonged to nobles and wealthy merchants, but now they are owned by Zhentil Castle and are busy carrying all kinds of things to the ship.
The previously bustling "Trembling Thumb" Arena had to change its business model due to a lack of slaves, offering high-priced bounties to attract adventurers and mercenaries to join.
As you can tell from the name, this is an entertainment venue that specializes in providing guests with bloody slave wrestling.
However, unlike slave wrestling in other places, "Trembling Thumb" pursues absolute fairness and prohibits all behind-the-scenes operations.
This means that even the organizers themselves do not know who of the two parties participating in the battle will win.
It is this uncertainty that makes everyone flock to it.
Whether they are local businessmen, nobles, guests from Unther or Tumis, civilians or even the slaves themselves, they are all excited by the brutal killings that take place every day.
It seems incredible at first that slaves who have to pay the price with their lives also like this sport.
But as long as you have a deeper understanding, you will find that for slaves, this is one of the few opportunities to make a lot of money and even gain freedom.
Because here, the identity between the slave and the master is not simply that of master and servant, but closer to that of sports stars and their agents.
In order for slaves to have enough motivation to work hard, there is usually a sharing agreement between them.
For example, for every game won, the master can get 50% to 60% from bonuses and gambling, while the slave will get 30%, 40% or even more.
This mainly depends on the slave's performance in battle, fame and audience love.
Slaves can use this money to buy their favorite food, drinks, massage services, or even call in a few women engaged in special service industries to vent their strong energy and desires.
In addition, as long as the slave survives for one year in the arena, he will receive freedom and an additional reward of one thousand gold coins.
Therefore, Ximen's "trembling thumb" gladiatorial competition did not force slaves to participate through threats, intimidation, beatings, etc., but the slaves themselves rushed to participate enthusiastically, hoping to complete the transformation of status and class jump through fighting.
As we all know, human beings' desire for violence is engraved in their bones.
Even in the modern society on earth where violence is forcibly suppressed, there are still violent physical confrontation sports such as football, basketball, boxing, rugby, wrestling, and mixed martial arts, so that people can have a channel to vent.
To be continued...