Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

1,800.

10,000.

This number swept through the entire meeting hall like a silence spell.

Even the Goethe people present revealed disbelief and an expression that said, "You really f*cking dare to ask."

For a moment, the scene was dead silent.

Kang De looked as if nothing had happened. He took a piece of white paper in front of Hong San and wrote and drew with a pen.

18 million gold coins.

The currency values of the various countries were different, so they requested that the Sovereign gold coins issued by the Twilight Dynasty in the era of the Light King be the compensation unit. This gold coin was very colorful and beautifully designed. It also used advanced elven craftsmanship and production concepts. The edges were jagged and resistant to wear and tear. It could also prevent people from taking advantage of others. Once it was pushed out, with the continuously expanding trade influence of the elves, it traveled the continent at an extremely fast speed.

A considerable portion of the money Kang De borrowed from the Goode family's treasure room was such elf gold coins.

Previously, when he decided on this number, he specially got someone to weigh a Sovereign gold coin. It weighed about six grams. 18 million was 108 million grams.

It was 108,000 kilograms.

That was 108 tons of gold.

What was the national gold reserve of the People's Republic of China?

About 2,000 tons.

5%.

Even if he only asked for half of the compensation to be paid in gold, it would be 54 tons.

54 tons of gold was given a discount at a super high jump price. If it was sold at 400 yuan per gram, it would be f*cking more than 20 billion yuan. It was pure profit.

Apart from the illusory and heavy cost of moving forward at the time anchor, Kang De had only paid a portion of the asphalt road and a second-hand car.

This was simply robbery.

—The premise was that he could really snatch it.

However, in fact, this was a fool's dream. The sky full of openings was originally part of the negotiation. Then, the defending side sat on the ground and returned the money. The two sides continuously argued and bargained before finally finalizing a number that both sides agreed on.

Or, the negotiation would collapse.

However, this was not the main point of the problem. The main point was that the Goethe people present knew the pattern of negotiation, but they still felt that this compensation amount was really too… exaggerated.

Was it an exaggeration?

Exaggeration.

Kang De calculated a string of numbers on the paper and looked at Hong San.

The elves were the overlords of the world and had vast territories, colonies, and many people under their rule. Such land and wealth required martial strength to ensure. The annual military expenditure of the Twilight Dynasty was simply an astronomical figure to the other countries. The exact amount was a state secret, but it was not unknown.

At the very least, through ten years of continuous observation, speculation, collection, and calculation, Hong San's master had roughly calculated the financial income and military expenditure of the Twilight Dynasty in the past ten years.

The average annual military expenditure was about 60 million gold coins.

Kang De, the dragon, opened his mouth and wanted to swallow a third.

10,000 to 80,000 gold coins were enough for the Royal Navy to order ten high-level main ships, enough for the Royal Army to build five full new magic legions, and even enough for the Royal Air Force to build another dragon team!

Of course, the third choice was the most unprofitable transaction.

The huge amount of gold coins spent to order battleships and build the army legion from the shipyard would enter the huge economic system of the Twilight Dynasty and pull in employment, promoting a series of surrounding consumption and economic growth. A large portion of it would continuously flow back into the government's revenue, and the gold coins given to the dragon would only be f*cking imported and not exported. They were deeply hated by the economists, the finance minister, and the governors of the banks.

One of the economic principles of the Wind Speed Continent was—to sign a contract and hire a dragon to fight would definitely cause deflation. Any monarch with an IQ should not do such a stupid thing.

As economics continuously developed and the strength of the various countries continuously increased, the lives of the dragons became even sadder. If they worked, they would be tacitly suppressed by the monarchs of the various countries. If they robbed, they would be caught and killed. The former would be exploited miserably, and the latter would directly die without knowing why or even seeking justice.

This was the inevitable development of the era. When the machine called the country expanded into a behemoth that covered the sky, nothing under the sky could stop its footsteps.

Although the Dragon Kingdom was the Dragon Kingdom, it was far from being a country. In the era when magic had yet to flourish and the ground was filled with war, dragons soared in the sky and ruled the ground. Their powerful strength shocked the various countries and was enough to look down on all living beings. However, now, the era of dragons had already passed.

Although the dragons were still powerful, they were only a race that had more military cooperation with the elves.

As the number one power in the world, the proud elves would never bow and scrape to the dragons. They would even despise these outdated guys. They were already like this to dragons, let alone humans who were as greedy as dragons.

Elandir suddenly stood up, and then all the elves stood up.

"Wishful thinking!" The Elven Sage said sternly. "This is greedy and shameless blackmail!"

"Don't say that. This is a negotiation." Kang De sat steadily in the chair. "If you're not satisfied, you can bargain if you want too much."

Elandir said coldly, "You're insincere. This negotiation can't continue at all!"

Kang De's smile disappeared. "You don't want to talk? Then, do you want to fight? The next time you come, this price will not only double. You have to think carefully before you speak."

The Elven Sage was furious. He pressed his hands on the table and said in a sharp tone, "Your Highness Kang De, please don't think that you can wantonly blackmail us just because we're patient and magnanimous!"

At the side, Hong San said indifferently, "In that case, why did the elves come?"

He looked at Elandir. "Six legions of the elves were destroyed. The bones of at least 60,000 soldiers are exposed to the wind and sun every day. It's completely a huge humiliation. You're clearly the hegemon of the world and can advance like a hot knife through butter on the Goethe battlefield, but you have to humble yourself and pay to buy corpses. May I ask why you didn't come to snatch them?"

Killing intent surged in Elandir's tone, "The reason why we sent envoys instead of armies is that we respect the strong. Do you think we can't do it?"

Hong San looked at him and said seriously, "I thought you couldn't do it."

"What should I do?" Without waiting for the other party to speak, he said calmly, "His Highness can still use the power of destruction three times. Do you want to send a legion to harass and raid and force His Highness Kang De to attack? In any case, we've only sacrificed three legions from beginning to end. It's very worth it to kill three opportunities."

The Cathayan's eyes were like lightning as he looked at the elves. "Or do you want to destroy Goethe in one go and calmly use the method you're best at?"

At the same time, Kang De was also paying attention to the change in Tagris' expression.

However, he and Hong San did not see the reaction they wanted.

Then, Hong San shook his head and sneered, "Not a bad plan. It's very elf-like. However, if that's what you think, I think you're wrong about something. That's the meaning of strategic deterrence."

Kang De naturally continued, "The so-called strategic deterrence is that I can hit you whenever I want. I can hit you wherever I want. Moreover, I can hit you until you cry."

"Why did you come here and admit defeat and compromise? It's because you can't afford this risk."

"Send a small regiment to attack and snatch the corpses?"

He slowly stood up and looked at the elves present. He said calmly, "If you come, I'll run. You can do whatever you want here. I'll go where I belong."

"The expeditionary army's main camp, the transit hub for resources, the city of the ship heavy industry, the city of the economic center, the financial center, the industrial belt, the most densely populated metropolitan area. What do you like?"

"Your defense is tight. What about a year, three years, five years, ten years?"

"Do you elves no longer plan to hold a national celebration parade? Will the Invincible Fleet no longer rely on the port to replenish its supplies? Will the Royal Navy no longer carry out ship reading? Do you not plan to expand the size of the city? Will you not fight anymore after destroying Goethe? Aren't you afraid that I'll suddenly cause trouble for you?"

"Let me tell you, don't expect me to consider benevolence, integrity, pity, and kindness for a second. I can guarantee that I'll smash all your large toys and wonders into pieces. From now on, don't even think about having a large-scale industrial cluster or a mega-city belt. Wherever I smash, it'll hurt the most. I don't know, but the Empire will definitely know. Do you think they'll give me bomb suggestions?"

His gaze was cold and even ferocious and violent as he stared at Elandir, "Let's go? If you walk out of this door today, there's no need for us to talk. Go kill all the Goethe people. I'll make your Twilight Dynasty never have peace. Let's see who does it quickly and kills ruthlessly. Whoever admits defeat first will be the grandson. How about it?"

His thoughts were clear.

Elandir gritted his teeth, but he could not speak.

This was because the concept of strategic deterrence had never appeared in the other world. Even the peerlessly intelligent wise people could not understand its meaning for a moment…

However, the other world had studied it for decades and maintained relative peace in this mutual deterrence.

At this point, Kang De spat on the ground and sneered, "It seems that I'm still too kind. After destroying those five armies, I should immediately overturn the center of your expeditionary army. Then, you'll still come, but you won't be as arrogant and disgusting as today."

"—D*mn, even lowly businessmen and gangsters know that the trick of negotiation is to ask for a sky-high price to return the money. If I make a price, you'll turn hostile and leave. It's as if you've been greatly insulted. If you don't like it, you'll turn hostile. Do you want me to send it back for free and stick some money on you?"

Elandir had lived for hundreds of years. When had he been scolded so brazenly by a human? He was extremely angry, but he was helpless and turned around angrily.

With a bang, Kang De punched the table and said sternly, "Look at me!"

Sharp, ostentatious, crazy, ruthless, and violent.

From the day they met yesterday, Kang De had maintained extreme aggressiveness.

This was also part of deterrence.

A weapon that was enough to be called strategic deterrence would not make the enemy revere or even be meaningless if it was held by a weak person.

Only by acting crazy, cruel, and cold-blooded would this group of elves really feel afraid. They believed that this human lunatic in front of them had the ability and determination to take revenge on the elves everywhere. He would definitely not stop because of cruelty and did not mind how many living beings would die because of this.

This was the meaning of deterrence.

Kang De wanted the elves to think of this.

If he wanted the elves to think that even if the expeditionary army instantly conquered the entire Goethe and pulled all the Goethe people, including Tina, to Kang De and killed them one by one with a knife, Kang De would not hesitate to leave through his spatial ability without even looking. Then, he would sneak into the elves' territory and wait for a year, five years, and ten years. Then, he would give them the greatest surprise when the elves were caught off guard.

There was a terrifying silence in the meeting room.

The elves who stood up were furious and trembling, but no one dared to leave.

This was because no one could bear this responsibility.

In the dead silence, Tagris slowly said, "Your Highness Kang De, I've been listening to your speech. You emphasized that the price is sky high, and 18 million gold coins are really too much. Instead of bargaining in terms of numbers, I'm more interested in whether you have a better suggestion?"

This was because Kang De had emphasized his strategic deterrence ability.

This meant that even if the compensation was negotiated and the war between the two sides continued, the elves would definitely face the same deterrence… This was a threat that did not make sense.

Kang De slowly restrained his emotions and became gentle, quiet, and calm again. Such emotional control was a bonus because people were even more afraid of guys who were usually quiet and suddenly went crazy.

He said, "Yes, I can return all the corpses to you for free. Yes, it's free. I won't take a single cent. The condition is that you leave now and reorganize the delegation to go to the Goethe capital to negotiate peace. Stop the military operations, return all the occupied land, and sign a ten-year peace treaty."

"You can find the envoys of all the countries and races to notarize it."

"You have ten years to scheme against me, assassinate me, and develop a defense system to deal with my attack method. I'll promise the entire world that as long as Goethe is not invaded, I won't take the initiative to use this power."

"Once the negotiation is done, I'll exchange all the corpses for you. There's no charge."

Kang De said indifferently, "How is it?"

The elves looked at each other and suddenly felt that this suggestion… was not bad.

Elandir glanced at Tagris. Duke Tiling's expression was solemn as he said calmly, "Thank you for your suggestion, Your Highness. Since you've said it, listen to my suggestion. How about it?"

Kang De raised his hand and said, "Please."

The Duke looked at Kang De and said calmly, "We'll return all the occupied land and cover the cost of reconstruction to compensate for the losses after the war. Moreover, we'll provide an interest-free loan of no less than 30 million gold coins. We'll open up all-round communication between the culture, military, and magic between the two countries. We'll no longer seal the Goethe Sea and share all the sea, land, and trade routes with Goethe. We'll also help restore the connection between Goethe and Cathay and support the resistance activities of Cathay in more proactive and generous conditions…"

There was a commotion among the humans, but no one spoke.

Kang De looked at the other party. "What are your conditions?"

"The condition is very simple."

Tagris said firmly, "Goethe will join the Twilight Dynasty as a highly autonomous vassal country. We'll give all Cathayans the same treatment as the elven citizens and allow the Tedrell family to continue to rule, but only if you marry Princess Tina and let your bloodline extend in this country."

"All communication between the Twilight Dynasty and Goethe will be based on you. We'll invite you to join the Twilight Council and the Arcane Law Council. The titles of the two deputy speakers are empty. We'll invite you to join the Royal Army and become the first human giant in the Twilight Army. We'll give you the quota of three Phoenix Flag Corps and five Dragon Flag Corps. The authority to control people will belong to you."

"We'll communicate on your behalf and make it into a marriage between you and the Empress of the Cathay South Dynasty. We'll help you build a navy and provide you with all the help we can to return to the Cathay and expel the barbarians. We'll make you the hero of your motherland and naturally control the largest Empire in the East…"

Duke Tiling looked at Kang De and said calmly, "Your Highness Kang De, how is this condition?"

…