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### Chapter 35: The Departure of Posing Beauty from Gu Xing

In the spring of the year 1400 of the War God Era, in the northern part of the human world, the Duchy of Langton and the Orc Alliance's Fontainebleau territory engaged in a fierce battle over control of the swamp trade route. The result was a decisive victory for the orcs, with the Duchy of Langton's thirty-thousand-strong army being completely annihilated. The first heir, Basten, was killed, and the second and third heirs were captured. This also offended the Radiant Temple and the four countries upstream of the Red River. With enemies on three fronts, the Duchy of Langton lost all chance to contest the control of the trade route again and had to accept the orc conditions and reach an agreement.

The news of victory spread within the alliance, and the combined forces of Red Wolves, Gray Wolves, and Black Wolves gathered on the Snow Wolf Plains slowly withdrew. After all, watching their kin be defeated by humans and then taking over their territory is fundamentally different from directly seizing it. The former is a tacitly accepted method among various factions, while the latter challenges the laws and authority of the War God.

Despite their reluctance, I still sent envoys to negotiate with the three tribes, offering them substantial gifts and signing treaties to ensure they would not pose a threat to my trade routes. At the same time, I could recruit warriors from these tribes since they controlled most of the Snow Wolf Plains. If they decided to oppose me, it would be quite troublesome. Additionally, although I couldn't give them shares, I still had to offer gifts or tributes to the War God Temple, the orc king, and the Sky Wolf Clan. Fortunately, after the war ended, many merchants rushed into Fontainebleau without waiting for further negotiations between me and the Duchy of Langton, starting to develop the alliance's market. Combined with the spoils of war, this was enough to temporarily satisfy those greedy individuals until my power grew, at which point I wouldn't have to tolerate their arrogance anymore.

Soon after, Count Xilin led another delegation to Fontainebleau to discuss the terms for redeeming other prisoners of war and jointly developing the trade route. On my side, Catherine and old Hake handled the negotiations, ensuring we didn't lose out. It took half a month of discussions to finally sign the treaty.

I wasn't overly concerned about the details of the treaty, as in my previous life during the Song Dynasty, merchants were looked down upon. My master, Huang Yaoshi, was a refined man of the Wei-Jin era who treated wealth as worthless. He believed in taking what he wanted directly rather than haggling over profits. This attitude was passed down to us disciples, making me focus only on the results of business matters, leaving the process to experts. Besides, with everyone speaking the language of strength, the distribution of benefits wouldn't differ much. If circumstances changed in the future, I didn't believe a piece of paper could bind human greed.

However, two other individuals accompanying the delegation caught my attention.

One was a high-ranking priest from the Radiant Temple, responsible for overseeing the entire diocese including the Duchy of Langton and surrounding countries. He was also the mentor of the goddess priestess Bai Lanling, who now serves me. His purpose here was naturally to take Bai Lanling back. Although vows made in the name of the Radiant God cannot be broken, there are still ways to handle the situation. If I ordered Bai Lanling to return to the Radiant Temple for continued training until I summoned her, she could go back to the human world. As long as she never met me again, the vow would become void. Of course, this required my consent.

The other visitor was none other than the elven father of the half-elf Evie. This seemingly twenty-something-year-old man, actually six hundred years old, came for his daughter. To my surprise, this elf named Alvinde was a prince of the Wood Elves. After Evie's mother died, he returned to the Lost Forest and became the husband of the current Elven Queen.

Elves have a longer history than orcs, with their empire dating back over one hundred thousand years. It is said that if not for the internal divisions among the elves—Dark Elves, Blood Elves, Night Elves, Wood Elves, and High Elves—they might not have given the orcs the opportunity to dominate the Mainland. Today, Dark Elves live underground, Blood Elves have established a nation on the southwestern Roland Peninsula, Night Elves and Wood Elves reside in the Dark Night Forest and Lost Forest respectively, while the largest group, the High Elves, have built their kingdom on the island of Frel. These places are guarded by massive barriers formed by "Golden Trees," which can only be breached by forbidden spells. Thus, even without the Twelve Sages, humans acknowledge their existence.

Although elves were once a race that lost their lands to humans, in reality, before humans established their nations, the elves were already retreating due to internal divisions and orc attacks. Only the High Elves suffered heavy casualties from the Three Forbidden Spells cast by the Twelve Sages, leading to deep-seated hatred. Other elven groups, having retreated long ago, may not hold significant grudges against humans. Instead, the cruel, bloodthirsty, and shameless orcs are more despised by the elves, as these long-lived beings remember their grudges well. For humans, aggressive orcs are far more dangerous and brutal than elegant and beautiful elves. The orcs' reproductive capabilities have made them humanity's primary enemy, leading to constant wars over the past four centuries. Meanwhile, humans have had more interactions with elves, except for the underground Dark Elves and the traditionalist High Elves, who remain hostile. Night Elves maintain a policy of non-aggression and seclusion, while Wood Elves allow trade as long as humans do not invade the Lost Forest. Blood Elves are even showing signs of integrating with humans, creating a stark contrast to the ongoing conflicts with the orc alliance in the north.

This time, the Wood Elf Prince came to Fontainebleau for his daughter, requesting that I release her from her slave contract and grant her freedom. In truth, despite my brutal nature, I don't share the human nobles' penchant for keeping female slaves. Initially, detaining Bai Lanling and Evie was mainly to provoke Lanster and gain some followers. However, it's clear that I lack the so-called "aura of a king." Apart from Hai Ruo, who inexplicably chose to stay, Bai Lanling and Evie clearly have no interest in remaining. Therefore, I don't mind letting them go, as I've already gained enough from them.

Releasing the half-elf's magical contract can include certain clauses. For instance, I imposed a restriction that neither she nor Bai Lanling can reveal any secrets learned in Fontainebleau. Any attempt to disclose such information will be forcibly halted by the residual contract. In exchange, the Wood Elf Prince allowed me to hire one hundred elven craftsmen for three years, while the Radiant Temple offered a "Divine Blessing Emblem." Wearing this emblem in the human world signifies being a guest invited by the Temple, ensuring safe passage regardless of race. Although these items aren't particularly rare, considering the girls have served me for a long time, I would have let them go even without any compensation.