Chapter 385: Methods to Dilute Hatred
General Sulla did not bring anyone with him on this visit; he came alone.
This was also the first time that Leon met this general from the Ash Empire face to face.
If one did not look into Sulla's eyes, everyone would probably think that he was an ordinary civil servant, like the kind of polite scholar or clerk that could be seen in all courts.
Only those bloodshot pupils indicated that this was a warrior who had been walking in the darkness for a long time.
"General Sulla, nice to meet you... Are you here to discuss business? But I don't know what else to discuss now - Kairos and his son Antonius must die! I think His Majesty Marius should also be aware of this!"
Leon was very courteous in receiving Sulla. Regardless of the fact that Sulla now represented Emperor Marius, Leon would respect this general simply because he came all the way from another continent to deal with the Snake Cult.
But Li Ang really didn't know what kind of deal he could discuss under the current circumstances.
"Sir Leon, His Majesty Marius and I both think that the death of Kairos and his son is not a pity. But there is no need for the warriors of the Shadow Legion to die with them..."
Sulla took out a small paper roll from his bosom and handed it to him: "This is a handwritten letter from His Majesty. You may wish to take a look at it first."
Li Ang unfolded the paper scroll. The handwriting on it was sloppy, with dots of ink scattered all over. Many of the characters were bent and deformed.
It seems that Marius was in a very bad condition when he wrote the letter, and his hands must have been shaking the whole time.
There were only two sentences in the letter.
The first sentence is: "Friend, you know better than I what will happen if the Noldor become mortal enemies with all humans."
The second sentence is: 'Within a month, I will send Antonius' body to White Hart Castle.'
Leon sighed and silently crumpled the paper into a ball, but then unfolded it and handed it to Wendatil beside him.
"Mr. Leon, you can see that I am not good at negotiation, so I came here just to convey the intention of His Majesty Marius. I will go there and wait for your reply..."
General Sura pointed to the hill where Kairos and the Shadow Legion were.
After saying that, he went straight up the mountain .
"grown ups……"
Lisadiran looked at General Sura who was alone, not knowing whether he should stop him.
"Let him go up."
Li Ang waved his hand to let Sura go, and watched Sura's figure gradually disappear on the mountain.
Then, he turned to Vendatil and asked, "If we can bring back the bodies of Kairos and his son, will your tribe be able to calm down?"
He was not asking about the two thousand Noldor here, but about those Noldor elves who did not follow him and were fighting on their own.
"As long as the culprit is eliminated, everyone except Aldarian's tribe will probably calm down. However... at least let the elders of the tribe see the culprit's body first."
Wendatil also knew what Leon meant. If most of the Noldor elves were still trapped in hatred, it would be a real disaster for the entire race.
Fortunately, Wendy had personally dealt with Gauls, who started the fire, and calmed down a little. Otherwise, it would have been difficult for Wendy and Lisadiran to remain rational.
These days, Leon has been dissuading the Noldor from being impulsive, and to first ensure the sustainable development of the entire ethnic group before slowly considering revenge.
If Leon had not tried his best to dissuade them, by now, except for Leon's territory, the eastern part of the continent would probably have been filled with the Noldor's vengeful arrows.
But only a few people listened to the advice, namely the two thousand people around Li Ang.
Most of the other Noldor elves are gathering separately, and some of the more impulsive ones have already poured into various parts of the Bacchus Empire.
Even the always cautious Islandil led his troops to attack the Fort of Almera.
This impulsive revenge might cause great losses to the Bacchus Empire, but the Noldor elves themselves would also suffer heavy losses.
If this matter cannot be settled quickly, the hatred between the Noldor elves and humans will become irreparable - only a few Noldor elves around Leon and the elders of each tribe know clearly that it was Antonius who ordered the burning of the forest, and it was Kylos who made the plan. They, father and son, are the culprits.
But most of the other Noldor elves would certainly not distinguish so much when they were furious. They only knew that this was a disaster brought to them by humans. Driven by hatred, they would most likely create massacres in some human villages and towns.
Once a massacre occurs, it will be difficult to resolve this cycle of revenge, and the Noldor elves may gradually become the public enemy of mankind.
If the situation turns into a war between two races, then it is definitely not humans who will be killed to extinction...
"We must find a way to persuade the other tribes to recall their people as much as possible and wait patiently for a month. If Antonius's body is not delivered to White Hart Castle in a month, I will do my best to launch a full-scale attack on the Bacchus Empire with you."
Leon said to Wendatil.
Wendatil nodded, then suddenly turned and looked towards the hill.
On the mountain, General Sura appeared again.
There was a splatter of blood on Sura's face, his face was expressionless, and his eyes were red, like a demon.
Behind him, a large group of Shadow Legion soldiers followed him down the mountain, each of them staggering, and many of them had tears in their eyes.
Sura did not look back. He held a sharp blade in his right hand and a human head in his left hand.
After walking down the mountain, Sura threw the head in his hand at Leon's feet.
That is Kairos' head.
"…Sir Leon, there are 1,512 members of the Shadow Legion left. We all surrender to you."
General Sulla dropped his dagger and asked Leon, "Do you accept their surrender?"
"...General Sulla, I know that the Shadow Legion and His Majesty Marius have different ideas. Why would they obey your orders and surrender to me?"
Leon looked at the soldiers of the Shadow Legion who were covered in mud and dying, and asked with some confusion.
"They followed Kairos' orders, not mine... Kairos committed suicide. He asked the Shadow Legion to surrender before he died. Otherwise, do you think I really have the ability to get Kairos' head under the protection of thousands of soldiers?"
Sulla said softly, "I lied to Kairos. I told him that his son had died in my hands... and then he drew his sword and committed suicide."
Li Ang was silent for a while, then nodded: "I understand. I accept their surrender and guarantee that they will not be abused."
"Okay, in a month, I'll come back with 20,000 bushels of grain and Antonius to redeem them. Deal?"
Sura wiped the blood off his face and looked up at Leon.
The dou was a unit of measurement used in the old Bacchus era. The Ashborn Empire continued to use this volume measurement method, with one dou being equivalent to fifty liters.
If calculated based on the wheat variety of Pandor, a bushel of wheat weighs nearly 80 pounds.
Twenty thousand bushels of wheat is nearly 1.6 million pounds of grain.
The price is actually very cheap - if it is a good year with no food shortage, it is only worth tens of thousands of dinars.
But now, the value of grain can no longer be measured by common sense. Emperor Marius used grain instead of denarius to redeem people, which was obviously a well-thought-out . He knew what Leon needed.
"…Deal. Just one month. I'll wait for you in Changhe Town."
Li Ang nodded and agreed.
"Okay, goodbye."
Sura nodded and turned away.
"Sir...we..."
Lisadiran looked at Kairos' head on the ground, then looked at Leon, probably not knowing what to do.
"Take the body of Kyros to the White Hart Keep and ask His Majesty Felgus Anr to try to appease the tribes of the Noldor. Tell them that they need to practice the battle formation for at least one month. There are not so many trees outside to protect their bodies. A group of rabble seeking blind revenge will only lead to their death."
Leon said to Risadiran and Vendatil.
Then, he turned around and signaled Wendy: "Order the troops to withdraw and bring all the prisoners back to Changhe Town... Inform all places and prepare for war for a month."
…
Three days later, in the Lord's Hall of Changhe Town.
Lisadiran has returned from White Hart Keep and brought Felghath'an with him.
"Sir Leon, we have received your kindness. But at this moment, it is difficult for me to persuade the people to remain rational... They are not just impulsive because of hatred, but more importantly, they have no home..."
Felgus'an shook his head at Leon and said helplessly.
"I have no place to go, and I feel uneasy and I won't listen to advice..."
Lisa Dilan also sighed nearby.
It is indeed difficult to communicate with rootless duckweed, just like Lisa Dilan back then.
During the years he was exiled from the Forest of Noldor, he had been working as a killer in a daze, suspicious of everyone like a trapped beast.
"Is there no other way? If we cannot recall them, the war will probably turn into racial hatred again, and it will be more serious than before... If we lose the war, there will be no forest big enough to shelter the Noldor!"
Li Ang asked with a frown.
Just like what Lisadiran said, without a home, the heart is uneasy. If the fire in the forest is extinguished, the Noldor can be called upon to go back and rebuild their homes first, and revenge can be taken later - they have a long enough life span and can afford to wait. As long as the home is still there, everything else can be taken slowly.
However, the fire in the Noldor Forest had been burning for more than twenty days and still had not been extinguished. The elves could not return to the forest, so they could only go to the territory of Bacchus to kill people.
God is not very kind to us. There has not been a single heavy rain in the past 20 days. When a large-scale wildfire occurs, the sporadic rain cannot fall to the ground at all and will be evaporated at a height of several hundred meters. Moreover, the thinner clouds will be directly dispersed by the rising heat, making it difficult for them to form cumulonimbus clouds.
Only when the monsoon arrives and the ocean monsoon forms strong convective weather, will it be possible for a large area of cumulonimbus clouds to form over the Noldor Forest, and only a heavy rain can stop the fire.
But that would probably take more than half a month. It is only the end of June now, and the monsoon usually arrives in the central part of the continent in mid-July - the last time Li Ang used a giant tree to attract lightning was in mid-July.
And now, how can we divert the attention of the Noldor?
"It's not that there is no way... Sir Leon, do you remember what I told you before..."
Felgas Aner looked at Wendy behind Leon and said, "You should marry Wendy."
"Marriage? Will this make the Noldor stop paying attention to hatred?"
Li Ang sighed: "They don't even listen to Wendy. Even if I marry Wendy, they still won't listen to my advice."
"Of course, they didn't listen to me. But Leon, you said it yourself, you want to establish a country - I think now is the time, whether it is called the Kingdom of Pendor or another name, most countries should recognize your status. And I will let Wendy become the Elf King, no one will object to me at this time - as long as you, the king, marry the Elf King, it means that all the Noldor elves are your people, and humans in all other countries can understand this..."
Felgoth'an said slowly: "In this way, there will be no racial struggle between humans and elves. As long as most people recognize your kingdom and your throne, they will all think that the elves are marching towards the Bacchus Empire under your orders, rather than against all humans."
Leon now understood what Felgus'an meant.
This is to use the name of marriage to transfer the hatred of the elves to Leon's will - if Leon becomes king, he will inevitably aim to unify the continent, and the elves' attacks caused by hatred can be regarded as military actions, and will not be regarded as racial hatred.
"My lord, I think His Majesty Felgoth'an is right... Moreover, if you hold a grand coronation ceremony and wedding ceremony consecutively, it will also attract the attention of most people and dilute the impact of the fire."
Lisa Dilan knelt on one knee towards Leon and added.
"…This…Wendy, what do you think?"
Li Ang thought about it, then turned around and asked Wendy, the person involved, with some embarrassment.
"Me? I don't know... I think you should ask Amy's opinion first..."
Wendy turned away and lowered her head.
That's true. I just got engaged to Amy not long ago...
Li Ang sighed, frowned and went to the inner castle of Changhe Town.
…
"Master Leon, Miss Amy and Miss Alina want to see you."
As soon as he entered the inner castle, Leon met Alina's nominal maid Luha - the daughter of Bahaman, the former lord of Ashcoman. She left Desha in the name of Alina's maid, and was then brought to Changhe Town by Leon to live.
Later, Alina stayed in Sarleon, and Luha kept her company. She was called a maid, but in fact she was a friend.
Although they are now enemies of Bacchus, Alina was not confined to the castle. Only Governor Justus was left in the White Hart Keep and his access was restricted. He dared not go out either. The Noldor elves might kill any Bacchus they met...
"Where are they?"
Li Ang looked around but didn't see Amy or Alina.
"They have been waiting for you upstairs."
Luha took Leon upstairs to the top floor of the inner castle and pointed at a half-open door.
This was once the room where Duke Alma was assassinated by Milgan, but now, it is Amy's study - Amy has seen too many deaths and injuries, and she doesn't care about these things.
Li Ang pushed the door open and the two girls in the room turned their heads at the same time.
"Leon, you should marry Wendy."
Amy's first sentence shocked Leon, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.
Leon looked at Alina and realized that Alina must have said something to Amy.
Alina smiled at Leon and said, "I planned your coronation ceremony and your wedding with Amy a few months ago. At that time, I wanted to tell you that if we want the Noldor elves to fully integrate into the human world, the best way is to marry Wendy at the same time as Amy's wedding."
"Ah? Ah! This... is happening at the same time?!"
Li Ang swallowed, thinking this was ridiculous.
"Yes, marry both at the same time. You establish the Kingdom of Pendor as the Son of Prophecy, divide the Noldor Forest and White Hart Keep into the Noldor Territory, establish the Duchy of Noldor, and let Wendy become the Elf King of the Duchy of Noldor. Divide the entire Sarleon Territory into the Duchy Territory, and let Amy be crowned as the Grand Duke of Sarleon ( Queen of the Duchy). You marry the queens of Sarleon and Noldor at the same time."
Alina smiled unnaturally. "It is because this kind of thing has never happened before, so the marriage between the Son of Prophecy and the two queens will definitely attract the attention of the entire continent and even the world. Ramon and I can make everyone in the continent talk about the story of you and the two queens. People will ignore the hatred between the Noldor elves and humans... This may seem ridiculous, but it will satisfy everyone."
