CHAPTER 318: CHAPTER 16 DWARF AND VASSAL KING_1

"HEH." Prince Fu chuckled, seemingly to break the awkwardness, and said, "Can we do this again?"

Xue Three squinted at Prince Fu. "I’ve noticed that you people of Qian State seem to love theatrics."

Prince Fu nodded. "In this world, the best actors aren’t in opera troupes, but in the imperial court."

"Well said. That’s quite profound, almost fifty percent of my lord’s own skill."

"Your lord... no, who is The main general leading your army this time?"

"Zheng Fan."

Prince Fu frowned slightly.

"Have you heard of him?"

"I have."

"That’s good. It proves my lord is quite famous in your Qian State."

"He’s come to attack Mianzhou City again?"

"Ah, the people of Mianzhou City are so hospitable. We just have to come back often, don’t we?"

It’s like grinding for materials and gear in an online game; you instinctively go to familiar monster zones.

"But this time, you might not get in."

"It doesn’t matter." Xue Three shook his head, not worried at all. "You’re worth far more than a city."

At the start of a war, killing or capturing an enemy Prince is a great merit. This merit should be enough for my lord to be promoted to field commander, shouldn’t it? Besides, this troublesome Mianzhou City... it’s probably like last time. You can break in, but you can’t actually hold it. It’s just for farming some military merits and prestige, with no way to gain actual territory. So, relatively speaking, a Prince is much more valuable.

"I admit you have some skill, but are you so sure you can defeat me?"

"Don’t try to act tough. I may be short, but I’ve eaten more rice than you’ve eaten salt."

Prince Fu fell silent.

"You have too many openings, Prince."

Hearing Xue Three’s assessment, Prince Fu leaned back slightly. "I’m very curious. You clearly know martial arts, so why are you cowering here instead of helping defend the city walls?"

"I am a Prince."

"True, you’re a man of noble birth. But I doubt you’re still holding anything back at a time like this. Once the city falls, no matter how good your martial arts are, you’ll die unless you’re truly some peerless, hidden master."

When the iron cavalry charges and the masses surge, even a master will fall.

Earlier, when the Wolf Land Soldiers suddenly appeared at the city gate, even the Demon Kings faced extreme danger. If Liang Cheng hadn’t ordered a timely retreat, they might very well have perished right there.

To die before achieving victory, to perish amidst a pile of soldiers before even reaching the pinnacle of one’s life.

Suddenly, Xue Three laughed.

"What are you laughing about?" Prince Fu asked.

"I just think this world is very interesting. Anyone can die. Enough ants can actually kill an elephant."

What Xue Three didn’t know was that, at this very moment, he and Liang Cheng, who was outside the city, had voiced the exact same sentiment.

"I don’t understand."

"It’s fine if you don’t."

"Weren’t we supposed to be chatting?"

"Oh, right. Let’s put it this way: as a Prince, you should know more secrets than most. Tell me, how strong is a Second Rank expert?"

"A Second Rank expert?"

"Yes."

"I’ve never seen one."

"What about any you’ve heard of?"

"I haven’t heard of any either."

"Huh? So Third Rank is the highest level?"

"Third Rank is a major realm, full of profound mysteries."

"So you’re saying that even within Third Rank, strength can vary greatly?"

"That should be the case."

"You’ve really never heard of Second Rank?"

"No."

"Then how can there be a Third Rank?" If there’s no first or second, where did third come from?

"There should be, or should have been. But that must have been a very long time ago. For at least the last hundred years, there has only been speculation that some beings might have reached Second Rank, but no one knows for sure."

"In short, they’re extremely rare, aren’t they?"

"It’s unknown if any even exist in the current age."

"Then don’t you find that interesting too?"

"What I don’t understand is what exactly you mean by ’interesting’."

"My ’interesting’ means that it can make our lives, our struggles, more interesting. It allows ordinary people to participate in these interesting things. Do you understand what I mean by ’interesting’ now?"

"You’re doing this deliberately."

"HEH HEH."

"I can’t see through you."

"Because I have depth."

"When you killed Man Le earlier, there was no flash of vital energy around you, yet you should be a martial artist."

"I’ve always found it absurd that martial artists have to glow. It makes things so difficult for us assassins in this world."

In Xue Three’s view, assassination should be a profession brimming with artistic flair. It’s elegant, cultured, and discreet. But most assassins have a martial arts foundation. If you have to glow like a firefly when you’re trying to assassinate someone, it’s simply a desecration of aesthetic beauty!

"I still don’t quite get it. Are you an assassin?"

"Yes. An assassin who doesn’t glow."

"Oh."

"What’s with the ’oh’?"

"Nothing."

"Weren’t we supposed to be chatting?"

"Oh. I was just trying to gauge your strength."

"You’d just say that out loud?"

"It’s just the two of us. Whether the city falls or not, we’re bound to fight, aren’t we?"

"True enough."

"Can I buy you off?"

"That’s a very foolish question."

"In this world, there’s no one who can’t be bought."

"But you’re just a vassal prince. Besides money, what else could you possibly use to buy me?"