637 Misunderstanding (1/2)
”...then, this will start another War of the Roses!” His roar was like that of a pitch-black iron whale. His voice reverberated through the heavens and echoed in everyone's ears like thunder. ”I will pay any price, bring all of my strength to bear in this battle. I will not stop until the Pure White Flag disappears from the sea forever!”
”Ignore him! He's bluffing.” Raymond's face went pale, but immediately after a wave of either so powerful that even an amateur could sense it came down from the sky.
”The Petitioner's main gun is warming up!”
He stood there stiffly with sweat dripping down from his face. Within moments, he was soaked.
No, this wasn't right…
Their negotiations had fallen apart!
They had been aborted before they even began.
Ye Qingxuan had never intended to come to the negotiating table!
B*stard! B*stard! B*stard! B*stard!
All was chaos on the bridge. The commander was crazily shouting something about his collar, but Raymond could not hear him at all.
What was going to happen next? Would he really dare to attack? Was he bluffing? Yes, he must be bluffing. He didn't have the guts, he wouldn't dare!
But if… if he attacked, what could they do?
The Burgundians would not just let this go. Ye Qingxuan's attitude had already been revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt. The Sacred City had already expended so much effort to restart the War of the Roses, which had finally ended after 100 years… and the war had been facilitated by the Church... Once this got out, the Sacred City would go crazy and lose all their prestige. And the King of Red would personally turn him into a broken corpse. And then...
”Report! A massive wave of aether has appeared in the middle of the Royal Navy!” shouted the spotter. ”I bet they've put their engines into overdrive!”
”Then counterattack! What are you standing there for?” shouted the commander. ”Counterattack!”
A bone-chilling cold rose up from under their feet, chilling them from head to toe, making Raymond feel as if he was lost in an icy cave.
That was the final straw.
Looking at the crimson blood smeared all around, he finally understood why Ye Qingxuan was so uncompromising. He could do nothing else but call out, ”Wait! Mr. Ye, please wait a moment...”
The emotionless countdown stopped at his voice.
A cold laugh rang out. ”So, can we talk now?”
Talk? How could he talk? Raymond could feel nothing but the cold running through his body. He felt like a child who had been slapped to teach him a lesson. Even though he held a powerful borrowed weapon, in Ye Qingxuan's eyes it was nothing but a joke.
And the fact that all he had to do was harden his heart, use the Royal Navy as a pawn and self-destruct it in order to annihilate the Phantom Fleet was no joke.
The three sides had now fallen into an awkward situation.
Ye Qingxuan was sitting on an engine that was about to explode, and he held the self-destruct button in his hand.
Either Raymond and the Burgundian commander would back down or battle could break out at any moment. In such a short time, this two-sided conflict had spread to all the nations at a frightening speed. At the moment, the bridges of both sides were filled with the ear-piercing sound of message notifications. The Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Anglo Privy Council, the Burgundian Witenagemot, the Asgardian Hall of Elders...
”I just got back to the capital and saw the mess you made of things.” A sigh rang out on the bridge. ”I don't remember the Witenagemot giving you the right to declare war, admiral.”
”Your Majesty, Don Juan!” The commander's face changed. He lowered his head, looking frightened. ”I've neglected my duties. I will immediately...”
”No, I regret to say that you've been relieved of your duties.” The regretful voice went cold. ”From this point forward I will take full command of the Phantom Fleet. And moreover, acting on behalf of the Royal Family, I will speak with the Anglo Royal Admiral myself. This has all been a misunderstanding.”
”A misunderstanding?” Ye Qingxuan's voice was still cold.
Raymond paled. Without question, he had been abandoned. The Burgundians had cast him aside.
”Yes, that's right. A misunderstanding.” The young man named Don Juan sighed. ”We were hoodwinked by Bishop Raymond, and so we took hasty countermeasures against your fleet, which led to the present situation. Let's just take this as an awkward joke, we can all pretend to laugh, and then forget all about it. If we can do this, I'd be most grateful to you, oh excellent Grand Inquisitor.”
On the bridge of the Mountain of Nomadism, Ye Qingxuan drummed his fingers on his armrest. He frowned, although he didn't know why.
That flippant voice sounded kind of familiar. Even though the situation was so tense, with a battle ready to break out at any moment, he still carelessly ridiculed Ye Qingxuan's position, as if he did not care at all about who he was.
Ye Qingxuan was silent for a while, then grinned and said, ”Very well, it looks like there's no need to talk to you after all, Bishop Raymond.”
Raymond's face went livid. He glared at the shadows in the sky with red eyes. He gritted his teeth but said nothing.