"You said yourself just now that what you joined was the Hundred Beasts Alliance. And not my Owl Dragon Legion. My Owl Dragon Legion's military deployments there is no need to tell you."
Zhao Chen shrugged, serene as a light cloud in a calm wind, and then said with a faint smile, "As for the Dragon-folk tribe's cooperation with the Holy Radiance Empire. A pair of beaten opponents, no more. If I can settle them once, I can settle them twice. If I can destroy 50 or 60,000 of their interstellar warships, I can destroy 500,000 of them."
Chieftain Drake did not take offense at this; he understood clearly that his question had indeed overstepped, though at the same time he had some doubt of this man's words.
Strong though his Owl Dragon Legion might be, where on earth did he get the confidence to face an enemy fleet group of near 500,000 warships!
"Very well; the business is all discussed. Let everyone go on eating and drinking as they please." Zhao Chen took up his chopsticks and set to enjoying this fine food.
The mermaid chieftainess Haina and Chieftain Drake exchanged a glance; seeing everyone else sit down to enjoy the food, they stood on no ceremony either.
Chiefly because food of this kind, chieftains though they were, they could very rarely enjoy in the ordinary way.
"That's right — we have besides some plans and suggestions here concerning your future development, which you may look over. None of it is compulsory, of course; everything rests upon your own free will." Zhao Chen said it while chewing at a leg of mutton, and signed to Chieftainess Hu Ya beside him to give the two of them a file.
Chieftainess Hu Ya had by now been settling by degrees into this identity of secretary; in future, most of the internal affairs on the Warhammer side would be given over to her.
And so over this stretch she stayed at Zhao Chen's side.
Chieftainess Hu Ya soon sent the two files, prepared long since, to the two opposite.
Both files were very simple: certain talent-recruitment plans.
Recruitment aimed particularly at these two tribes' several gifts — including, among them, that matter Zhao Chen had thought of a moment ago, of recruiting female Frost-Wolf tribespeople into the Owl Dragon Legion and male Frost-Wolf tribespeople into the Dragon-Tiger Legion.
The moment Drake saw this, he marveled.
He had only just joined the Hundred Beasts Alliance, and the most elite force under General Charlotte's hand, the Dragon-Tiger Legion, had thrown its doors open to them.
It even stated outright that if Drake himself were willing, he might enter it directly and hold the post of a legion fleet's commander, with 3,000 T2-grade interstellar warships to command and a T4-grade flagship of his own!
And that after a period of assessment there was even a chance of entering the Dragon-Tiger Legion's leadership.
And the benefits and treatment set out might be said to surpass the best in the Warhammer — the Dragon-folk tribe's own fleet groups!
The treatment for other auxiliary technical trades was exceedingly high as well.
And among them were certain particular clauses that stirred the two chieftains past all bearing.
For instance, should a tribe's contribution value be very high, it might be rewarded with a T4-grade interstellar warship!
Or with a habitable planet — and the planet could be remade to requirement besides!
That last struck straight at the mermaid chieftainess Haina's heart.
Thereafter they all ate and talked together, and before they knew it every matter of business had been talked through.
During this, Chieftain Drake sidled up beside his own niece, watched her eating and drinking her fill, and asked in a low voice, "Does this lord of yours like to discuss business on occasions of this kind?"
By Chieftain Drake's way of thinking, a formal meeting of this sort ought surely to be held in a conference room, some place of consequence.
When they had been brought here earlier, they had been greatly startled.
They had supposed the meal would come first, and the other matters be discussed afterward.
But by the look of it now, the business had been discussed at the dining table outright.
The wolf-girl Baixue swallowed the food in her mouth and said straight out, "He does; this is our Owl Dragon custom. Our lord says that talking business with outsiders is done at a negotiating table. But talking business with our brothers and friends is done at the dinner table. Fine food is the finest weapon in this world for drawing two parties closer!"
What a strange culture.
Chieftain Drake looked at the abundant food upon the table; but he rather liked this custom all the same — chiefly because this food truly was very good!
————
The seventh day since Leona and Zhao Chen settled the terms of the ransom.
At the star gate in the Black Tiger Star Region's First Star System.
Under the Owl Dragon Legion's 'escort,' the Dragon-folk Tenth Fleet Group's 30,000 interstellar warships had arrived here.
As for the Dragon-folk fleet group's abandonment of their comrades, those 20,000 tribal interstellar warships remained under the Owl Dragon Legion's control, of course.
Zhao Chen permitted the tribal powers behind these warships to ransom them as well.
But set beside the wealthy and open-handed Dragon-folk tribe, those small and middling tribes could hardly produce so much money at one stroke, and could only go on attempting to negotiate with the Owl Dragon Legion.
Within the hangar of one of the Owl Dragon Legion's T3 Great White Whale-class Heavy Interstellar Transports.
Zhao Chen looked at the Dragon-folk princess Leona, come down from the shuttle before him.
He looked with some surprise at this Dragon-folk princess, so full of hostility, and said teasingly, "I never thought you would truly come to the meeting in person. Have you no fear that I might detain you?"
"We warriors of the Dragon-folk tribe do not shrink and cower. If you are the sort of man who does not keep his promises, then you may perfectly well detain me now. But I shall despise you." Leona said it with pride enough and to spare, her eyes nothing but provocation.
"Then why were you so set upon seeing me? Can it be that you have fallen in love with me?" Zhao Chen teased.
The next second, the wings behind this Dragon-folk princess Leona beat, and she shot toward Zhao Chen at exceeding speed.
Boom.
"Do not fire."
Zhao Chen spoke.
At this moment every motion upon the scene seemed to freeze.
Zhao Chen's personal-guard panther-girl stood before him holding an energy shield; opposite was Leona, her fist driven home.
One could see that the small energy shield in the panther-girl's hand was already flashing a red warning light, which meant that the attack it had just borne had left it unable to hold much longer.
And at the same time, the laser guns in the hands of the guards all around were trained upon Leona.
Had Zhao Chen not spoken a moment ago, Leona would have been fired upon already, and left dead or crippled.
There is truly no telling what this dragon-woman is playing at.
"Well? Is the Owl Dragon lord a fellow who likes to hide behind women?" Leona drew her fist back, twisted her neck about, and looked at Zhao Chen in provocation.
Without the least fear of the threat from those Owl Dragon soldiers around her.
"So you have come to pick a fight with me?" Zhao Chen looked at the panther-girl before him, so careful in her stance — the arm holding the energy shield was trembling, and the two feet planted on the floor were trembling too.
Though the energy shield had held off Leona's attack a moment ago, that terrible force of impact had put great pressure upon the panther-girl's body all the same.
"I hear you launched a Sacred War Duel against the Holy Radiance Empire before. I am a person very fond of dueling myself; and in our Warhammer there is a culture of dueling too — not a duel of interstellar warships, but a duel between two individual creatures. Well then — do you dare fight me?" Leona looked at Zhao Chen in provocation, taking no thought whatever for the danger she stood in.
Over this stretch she had dreamed of thrashing this man soundly — and above all that face of his when he smiled.
"And if I fight you, what do I get?" Zhao Chen asked, serene as a light cloud in a calm wind.
Leona thought a moment; perhaps unable to come up with anything, she said outright, "If I lose, I shall be your prisoner."
Zhao Chen smiled faintly; he thrust both hands into his pockets and said, "Let us do it this way. That uncle of yours — his ransom is 5 billion star coins, yes? You, being the Dragon-folk tribe's princess, must be worth 20 or 30 billion at the least. If I lose, I waive that portion of the ransom; if you lose, you pay this ransom of your own at once. I have no wish to keep prisoners; by the look of you, you would cost a good deal in provisions."
"Then let us wager 10 billion star coins."
"What? Do you reckon yourself worth only 10 billion star coins?"
"I have only 10 billion star coins."
"…"
Looking at this somewhat blunt Dragon-folk princess before him, he agreed to this duel worth 10 billion star coins.