Chapter 13: Lower your head

"Put the hat around you." The girl reminded. The legend about vampires is circulating everywhere, and there are many stories about his domineering, arrogant and cruelty. According to legend, an envoy met with a vampire and did not take off his hat and salute. The vampire said, "It seems that you will not take off your hat." Then he ordered his subordinates to nail the hat to the messenger's head with nails.

The young man did as he said, but this did not change his uneasiness. The table beside him was a drink - according to the tradition of the nobles, it was a glass of red wine. His hands kept reaching towards the cup, but the moment he grabbed the cup, he retracted like something biting his hand.

The sound of footsteps came, which was a kind of tiny footsteps. Although the young man tried his best to stagger his eyes and pretended to be calm, his eyes were still looking at the entrance as if they were caught by a magnet.

A young woman came out from there.

She wore a pale white dress, and the dress had no other decoration except the lilies embroidered on the neckline and cuffs. A long light blonde hair was draped over her shoulders, and a light blonde belt on her waist was the same color as her hair. She looked young, even young, but the smile at the corner of her mouth seemed to contain a kind of perseverance that she should not have at this age.

Behind her was a female guard. There was nothing special about it except the fiery red hair. Several guests had seen many guards before, so they did not express any surprise. The girl sat directly opposite them.

However, this mysterious girl made the guests confused for a moment. The vampire is a male, which is undoubtedly a matter of no doubt. But from the girl's expression, posture, and attitude, it is obvious that she regards herself as the master.

"We are here to meet... Lord Bloody Duke." The young man couldn't help but speak first. The middle-aged man next to him quietly poked his ribs with his elbow, but he had no time to stop him from speaking.

"I am his agent." The light-blonde haired girl replied. Her eyes were circling on the four guests, very natural. It was obvious that this was not the first time she received a visitor, nor was it the last time. "Everyone called me Leya."

"You should be Lord O'Connor..." She said halfway, obviously asking the origins of several guests.

"We are the messengers of Lord O'Connor." A middle-aged man stood up and bowed. The other party was not a vampire. Although they didn't know why this was the case, they at least felt relieved. "This is Lord O'Connor's eldest son, Lulin. This is her sister..."

"My name is Liz." The female guest answered actively.

"I wonder what you are here? If what I said before is to form an alliance to deal with Ryan, then I am afraid that the Duke's reply was exactly the same as the last time. Sivania has no power to engage in a war beyond self-defense. Our land is also under construction, and there is a shortage of funds and materials. I am afraid that there is no help in Lord O'Connor's war against Ryan." Leya said without hesitation, and the meaning of keeping people from thousands of miles in his voice was very obvious.

Ashu Rufate stood in his study and looked at the wall in front. At this time, the wall seemed to have turned into a transparent glass, and through the wall, you can see clearly what happened in the living room downstairs.

Carrie has explained various details to him. O'Connor was the leader of the Portians and one of the many rebels who took advantage of the opportunity of the Ryans being defeated by vampires. Of course, because the Ryans decisively and secretly reached an agreement to redeem prisoners with Asu Ruffatt, O'Connor's rebellion quickly fell into trouble.

It should be said that as a rebel force with poor strength, it is a miracle that he can maintain until now. This rebellion seems to be quite large on the surface, but now it has been basically pacified. In addition to the largest rebel forces still lingering, other rebels have been basically eliminated. O'Connor was able to maintain until now, on the one hand, he is indeed a very capable leader, and on the other hand, it is also because the Portians are a nomadic people, with a high degree of mobility because of their large number of horses, which is very suitable for guerrilla warfare.

"Master, a good opportunity to let Leya train." Carrie explained in her mind. "You are not suitable for going out in this kind of scene. You should know that if you are gamblers who are fond of losing money in the casino, you are sorry for not lending money to make money. " Her voice seemed very happy.

The envoys were still making desperate efforts. But their efforts were destined to be meaningless. Through merchants, rumors and spies sent out to inquire about the news, Carrie already knew O'Connor's recent situation. To put it bluntly, it was "there was not much future". Since the defeat at the Purple Stone, the Ryans have learned the lesson. They fought steadily, gradually eroded with their superior forces, divided the rebels, and at the same time tried their best to bribe the traitors and promote civil strife. Although this strategy was slow to work, there was absolutely no possibility of losing. As time went by, O'Connor's situation became increasingly unfair and could no longer hold on.

In a blink of an eye, the negotiations in the living room were in a deadlock.

"If all you want to say is, then let's stop here. I will tell the Duke that I can't guarantee anything other than that." Leya replied coldly. Although she used to be a fortune teller, she was a blind man before and didn't know anything. However, after several years of training (it should be Carrie's teaching), she has also developed a bit of arrogance and awesomeness.

"I heard that Portians are naturally free and refuse to lower their noble heads to anyone easily." Carrie said in a playful voice in his mind. "But when they reach the fork, one leads to destruction and the other leads to kneeling, what will they choose? I believe they will not choose the former, because no matter who they are, they will not want to die."

Intelligence was sent from some foreign travelers. Legend has it that the Ryans suffered a lot of small losses in the previous battle, which led to their anger. They had even rejected O'Connor's "conditional surrender" and intended to uproot the rebel force. Except for the very few Portians who have surrendered to the Ryans (and acted as their pioneers and guides), after the war, the nation should completely disappear.

If this rumor is credible, then the Portians have no second choice. Of course, even if it is not credible, Ashu Rufate will not lose anything.

"... Our humblest attitude pleads with the Duke, hoping to get a place in Sivania. We will fully comply with the Duke's laws and be his loyal subjects..."

The facts seemed to prove Carrie's judgment. Leya's attitude was tough and did not give in at all, while the conditions provided by O'Connor's messenger were retreating step by step. From the beginning of the alliance to the vassals, and then to the subjects.

"If you are just ordinary travelers, then I can completely accept it on behalf of the Duke." Leya's voice was very strong. "But the problem is that you are not. Behind you, you are still following the army of the Ryans. Providing you with shelter is equivalent to fighting with the Ryans."

She said it was righteous, but fools knew that vampires were never good neighbors of Ryans. Not to mention anything else, Syvania itself was Ryan's territory and was occupied by vampires by force. The two sides had a big fight before, and it was the victory of that war that consolidated Syvania's rule. The reason for the current peace was entirely because the Ryans had not yet recovered their strength and the vampires did not expand outward. Everyone knew that when the Ryans licked their wounds, they would definitely fight against Syvania again.

But the question is what is the use of knowing? The thing now is that they have to ask for vampires, not vampires have to ask for them. So vampires can naturally ask for a price everywhere. This time, O'Connor was forced to do so, so even his son and daughter came together to show his importance to this negotiation.

"Based on this, I'm sorry, I must reject your request. Everyone, I'm so sorry, please come back." Leya said calmly.

Even Ashu Rufate, who was watching all this in the study, had to admit that Leya did a good job. No matter what he said and acted, there was nothing worth picking about.

"We have no way out." Liz suddenly interrupted. The two middle-aged men looked at her with surprise, but now it is time to showdown. All diplomatic negotiations ultimately depend on strength and general trend. Everyone knows that vampires are selfish and domineering, and the Portians do not have the capital to negotiate with vampires.

"I want to ask what conditions are required, and the Duke is willing to accept us."

Leya looked at the other person. Judging from her appearance, Leya was actually younger, but she was at a high position. The words Leya spit out of her mouth actually determined the life and death of the other person's clan.

"The Duke's request is very simple. The Portians must hand over all weapons. All Portian nobles, including O'Connor, must swear allegiance to the Duke. The Duke will have the right to deal with everything about the Portians! Finally, as a proof of allegiance, all Portian girls over thirteen years of age must be sent to the castle to accept the Duke's choice."

"Hey... Carrie... this..." Ashu Rufate didn't know what to say for a moment. This requirement, even from his perspective, felt that it was too harsh. This was a complete requirement for the other party to surrender completely and accept his enslavement. Especially the last one. "What does this mean?"

"Leya is a very suitable side room." In my mind, Carrie seemed to be muttering to herself. "She seems to be able to accept everything, including other women. Among humans, there are not many people with this kind of awareness. Fei will definitely not mention the last one. I believe that what she saw in the past is not that simple..."

When Leya was still a blind man, she had a certain ability to predict the future. She did do divination for Ashu Rufate. Perhaps in those "future clips", she saw some signs.

Leya's attitude towards this "future" is acceptance, not confrontation. It is precisely because of this that she can get along well with Fei, because she has accepted all this in her heart and taken it for granted.

However, Ashu Rufate has always been a self-disciplined person. This is not so much a limitation of acquired conditions, but rather a nature, and the last spiritual imprint left by his past as a human being. He has already felt very satisfied with having two people. In terms of women, he does not want more.

Ashu Rufate looked at the negotiations in the study in confusion. It must be pointed out that after Leya made this request, almost all the four messengers were stunned. No one expected that the vampire would put forward such harsh conditions. In a blunt sentence, this is a typical robbery. Or the kind of complete robbery.

"But..." an envoy spoke hesitantly.

"There is a vast grassland in the west of Sivania." Leya continued. "The Duke can promise to give you that land as your new home. In addition, we will provide you with fair and reasonable terms of trade..." Leya paused. "The Duke said that all conditions cannot be changed, and you can choose to accept it, or not."
Chapter completed!