740 Trade (1/2)

Then, after a few trivial matters, Shi Dong finished his medicinal tea and the topic shifted to work.

”So, my dear consul, these days we've already talked about everything that we should talk about, and we've started talking about things we shouldn't talk about. So when will you let me present myself before Her Majesty?”

Caligula looked reluctant. ”That, I'm afraid that's very difficult.” He sighed. ”Her Majesty has been very busy lately.”

”There's always time.” Shi Dong picked up the small box next to him and smiled at him. ”Just let me present a small gift on behalf of my family.”

”And then make a 'small' request?” Caligula smirked at him.

”Of course.” Shi Dong nodded and looked him in the eye.

The two of them were silent for a moment, and then Caligula couldn't help but sigh. ”Do you really have to make things so difficult for us, Bishop Shi Dong?” He tapped the teacup in his hand and said softly, ”We were abandoned by this world, so we left the ground. We were no longer were Romulus's sinners. All that was left were the winged people. Human wars have nothing to do with us. Everything that happens on the ground can stay on the ground. Now we stand on our own in the world of dark, bettering ourselves. Why would we need to talk about something so ridiculous as an alliance?”

”Because you owe us,” Shi Dong answered indifferently.

The sound of an ”eternal friendship” breaking rang out.

Caligula's eyes went cold, and his smile disappeared. He just looked at the old man and said, ”We don't owe anyone.”

”No?” Shi Dong smiled and reached for the small box next to him but grasped only air. He was stunned. He turned around in shock and saw that a slender figure had appeared behind him at some point.

Flames. She was like flames…

The young girl looked to be even younger than his granddaughter, but gave him a painful sensation like flames, like if he got too close he would get burned.

His skin tingled.

He winced involuntarily.

It was like a fierce flame had suddenly ignited in the darkness.

The case was in her hands. She was fiddling with it.

”Is this a present for me?” The young girl played with the box happily. ”Can I open it?”

Shi Dong looked away to hide his discomfort. He bowed to her and said, ”This is for you, Your Majesty. Naturally, it's at your disposal.”

She opened the case.

There was a moment of silence.

The Queen seemed shocked.

”It's him. Didn't I say you were hiding something from me granddad?” She took the straw doll that was about to fall apart out of the box. She held it in her hands, touched its button eyes, then asked, ”Is my friend still alright?”

Shi Dong smiled.

…

Above the ruins, Ye Qingxuan stared at the divine armor before him.

”Long time no see.”

”Yes, long time no see.” The old musician's regretful voice came out from the steel. ”You truly are the Hand of God. Even though I knew the Saints couldn't stop you, now it seems I missed the best chance.”

Ye Qingxuan knew what he meant.

He knew more than anyone how powerful the old musician's Scepter could be if used correctly.

Observing everything through a lens that could nearly stop time, he would never be so careless as to give his enemy a chance. When dealing with such an opponent, you could never expect him to make any mistakes. This was because he always had enough time to consider, to observe, and to find the best solution.

Now the old musician was regretting having made the safest choice when the Saints had Ye Qingxuan surrounded, rather than the riskiest one...

He had predicted that the four Saints' attack would have left Ye Qingxuan wounded if not dead. Instead of rushing in and giving Leviathan an opening, why not let the Sacred City waste Ye Qinguxuan's power? After he had used his superior power to absolutely crush Mary, the mortally wounded Ye Qingxuan would have to face the combined might of all of Asgard in the divinity armor.

Unfortunately, the Saints' enemy had not been Ye Qingxuan, but Hermes, who had already died, or rather, the countermeasures he had left behind to protect his work.

Under Hermes's calculations, the four Saints were disposed of easily. Ye Qingxuan had not only not been wounded but had wasted four of his precious weapons.

It had been a mistake.

This was probably the old musician's biggest weakness.

He was old.

Old people had too much, they carried too many burdens, so they would play everything safe. They could not be careless like young people, nor gamble everything on a single move like them.

If he had not cared about the risk of him and Leviathan perishing together at that time, he could have killed Ye Qingxuan with Gungnir at the moment that he was trapped.

Unfortunately, he had chosen safety.

In this way, he was afraid that even the power of the Sacred City had been wasted on Ye Qingxuan.