Chapter 796: Section 584: Setting a Trap for Hun Tong
“It is difficult,” the Royal Mage said frankly. “Your Majesty, you must also be aware of the chaos within the Ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake.”
“Before the founding of our nation, there were many alchemy laboratories, Lake Temples, and even Mage Towers built within the lake.”
“Because the flow of time in the Ice Lake is different, and with the concentration of ice elements and the prevalence of Magic Beasts, it is difficult for us to fully investigate the entirety of the lake.”
“In fact, the fact that we were able to investigate so much this time is already quite lucky.”
The King sighed, “The national policy regarding the Ice Lake has brought us too many hidden troubles. As the ruler of a nation, it is ridiculous that I cannot even control the situation in the Royal Capital. For so many years, this threat has not been resolved and has grown even stronger with time.”
“What should we do, Teacher?”
The Royal Mage responded indifferently, “Your Majesty, the Ice Lake national policy is fundamental to our country. Without it, our nation would not have its world-leading alchemy technique.”
“It is a strong nation’s strategy, a good strategy.”
“Any system will have its pros and cons. As rulers, we need to consider the benefits and drawbacks in their entirety.”
“For now, the upcoming National Ceremony is the most important matter, determining the future direction of our nation.”
“Your grandfather also thought about resolving this threat during his reign. But after careful deliberation, he worried about destabilizing the foundation of the state and thus abandoned the idea.”
The grandfather of the Snow Elf King was the previous Snow Elf King, possessing Legendary Level strength.
“Alas!” Speaking of his grandfather, the Snow Elf King sighed deeply, his expression bleak, “Let’s leave it at that for now.”
“Teacher, after you return, please make an effort to reach out to this power.”
The Royal Mage nodded, “This old servant will give it my all!”
Watching the Mage’s retreating figure, the gaze of the Snow Elf King deepened.
The probing just now yielded results; the Royal Mage’s response was not unexpected, yet it also sent a chill through the Snow Elf King.
Changing the Ice Lake national policy would meet immense resistance!
It involves the interests of too many people, including the Royal Mage.
Although the Mage was the Snow Elf King’s teacher, he was also the Clan Leader of the Han Jade family, a noble family second only to the Ice Sculpture Royal Family.
By incomplete counts, they owned as many as 280 alchemy laboratories in the Ten-thousand-year-old Ice Lake.
The previous Snow Elf King, who was a Legendary Level Mage, had failed to resolve this matter. Not to mention the current Snow Elf King, with only Holy Domain Level strength.
Changing the Ice Lake national policy was simply impossible!
Twin Eyes Island.
“Do you think he alone can overthrow me? Impossible, absolutely impossible!” Hun Tong shouted in front of Tan Mo.
Hun Tong possessed the demeanor of a Lord unfazed by the collapse of a mountain, yet now he was uncharacteristically agitated.
But this was understandable.
Because the situation at hand was very special. Hun Tong was under investigation by the Empire, and Tan Mo suddenly ordered the arrest of Hu Tong, announcing him as a traitor and a seller of national secrets.
This was a very serious accusation!
“Why would I collaborate with the enemy? How could I, Hun Tong, possibly become a traitor?” Hun Tong shouted.
Tan Mo sneered coldly, “Of course, for your own benefits.”
“Twin Eyes Island is in a strategic location that will become one of the Empire’s naval transportation hubs. But you, Hun Tong, have signed contracts with many Guilds much earlier.”
“If it were transformed into a military transportation hub, you would be in significant breach of contract and required to pay a massive amount of Gold Coins.”
“But you didn’t want to pay a single coin, so you took advantage of your skirmishes with the Fishman, pretending to be under the control of the Devil’s Coin, and ruthlessly turned on the merchants.”
“That wasn’t enough. After the battle, you gave the merchants a hard time, claiming they broke through their own defences first and were deserters during the attack, forcing them to amend the commercial contracts.”
Hun Tong countered, “This is a dispute between me and the Guilds. How does that translate into treason?”
Tan Mo laughed heartily, “Because you have connections with a part of the Fishman Tribe, reaching agreements in secret!”
“What?” Hun Tong widened his eyes, “That’s a blatant smear.”
“I have a witness!” Tan Mo waved his hand vigorously in the interrogation room, calling out assertively, “Bring him out.”
The next moment, two expressionless Navy soldiers escorted a Silver Level Fishman forward.
This was a silver-scaled Fishman.
His figure was slender, with fins on the outside of his forearms, the backs of his legs, and over his entire fish head and back. These fins were dark silver, with very sharp edges, like blades.
He was Dao Hen of the Blade Fin Fishman!
During the great chaos on Twin Eyes Island, he was invited by the Blue-Green Coral Tribe to join the battle and performed quite impressively.
Even Ku Feng, in better condition, was defeated by him.
Undoubtedly, he was a strong fighter among the Fishman, but ultimately he fell on Twin Eyes Island and became a captive.
Of course, Hun Tong knew about Dao Hen. In fact, he almost executed Dao Hen publicly after the battle to boost morale. But after some thought, he kept him alive as evidence to deal with the Empire’s investigation and also to apply for a meritorious Empire Lord’s border defence record.
Hun Tong was about to speak, but Dao Hen pre-empted him, pointing at Hun Tong, “It’s you. You traitor, a despicable and shameless villain.”
“You feigned cooperation with us, but it was all for yourself. You even thought about double-crossing…”
This speech was clearly rehearsed, logically consistent, and delivered so rapidly that Hun Tong had no chance to interject.
Not until the end did Hun Tong wait with his bloodshot eyes, fixing his gaze on Dao Hen: “I truly regret not having beheaded you to display to the public from the start!”
He immediately glared at Tan Mo, “You don’t really think that by stealing a prisoner from my cell and convincing him to bear false witness against me, you can slander a true Lord, do you?”
Tan Mo smiled, “Still so defiant? Give it up. Besides the witness, I’ve also gathered plenty of evidence.”
“Open your eyes and take a good look!”
Tan Mo tossed a pile of documents to Hun Tong.
Hun Tong picked them up and quickly flipped through them, his anger boiling: “Clever move, these documents are the correspondence I used to coordinate with the Shadow and contact the Vinegar Pot pirate group. You’ve altered some details, and now they serve as evidence against me!”
“How dare you, aren’t you afraid of the empire’s investigation?!”
Just as Hun Tong raised his question, the door to the interrogation room was suddenly pushed open, and Yan Yi burst in.
Both Tan Mo and Tu Ji frowned deeply at once.
Yan Yi, with a face full of panic, quickly scanned the interrogation room before regaining some composure with difficulty. Forcing a smile, he said to Tan Mo, “Lord Tan Mo, you really shouldn’t be doing this.”
“I am absolutely loyal to the Empire. I have been eagerly anticipating your arrival, and the members of this imperial investigation team. My faith is utmost.”
“You can’t mess around, these pieces of evidence shouldn’t be tampered with…”
“Insolence!” Tan Mo shouted with thinly veiled anger, cutting off Yan Yi’s words, “Shadow, mind your language!”
“I hope you realize what you have just been saying.”
Hun Tong’s eyes brightened, thinking to himself: “Yes, if these falsified pieces of evidence were investigated, Yan Yi, being involved, won’t be able to escape it!”
Hun Tong also spoke up, “Yan Yi, be aware of your situation. If I were taken down by Tan Mo, would you be spared?”
Tan Mo addressed Yan Yi by the code name of the empire’s spy, intending to intimidate with the backing of the organization.
Hun Tong, on the other hand, called out Yan Yi’s name directly, to remind him that they were both from the multi-eyed family, of the same clan.
Caught in the middle, Yan Yi quickly broke out in sweat, and the panic on his face grew even more apparent.
His glance darted between Hun Tong and Tan Mo. He opened his mouth to speak but repeatedly failed to do so.
“Coward!” Hun Tong cursed silently upon seeing this.
Tan Mo, however, soothingly and threateningly said, “Shadow, look carefully, these pieces of evidence have nothing to do with you.”
“So, don’t make trouble out of nothing.”
“You, a mere Bronze Level, what can you do?”
“There was nothing about you, but if you meddle, you’ll be involved!”
“Hmph, a Bronze Level, with your scrawny arms and legs, who would care? Get lost now.”
Yan Yi trembled, his face not only showing panic but also struggling with a glimmer of hope.
Observing the expressions, Hun Tong mentally exclaimed in alarm and quickly spoke up to protect Yan Yi.
Tan Mo surrounded Yan Yi, exchanging verbal blows with Hun Tong, the two evenly matched for the moment.
Fishman Dao Hen, witnessing all this, was filled with gratification.
Without a doubt, Hun Tong was his sworn enemy for it was Hun Tong who had occupied Twin Eyes Island, leading to the Blue Green Coral Clan paying a hefty sum to invite Dao Hen to battle.
Besides Hun Tong, Tan Mo, Tu Ji, and others from the Holy Bright Empire were definitely no good either.
With its vast influence and formidable power, the Holy Bright Empire was the dominant force in the Main Plane for over a century, constantly proactive in its foreign affairs. Along the empire’s coastline, countless Fishman Tribes had been annihilated and expelled. Numerous fishman warriors were targeted, suppressed, many mysteriously disappearing or dying inexplicably.
The hatred between the two sides had long been deeply entrenched.
As a member of the Fishman, Dao Hen’s stance towards the Holy Bright Empire was one of enmity.
“To think before my death, I’d see such a spectacle.”
“A dog-eat-dog world, ha ha ha.”
“And to have me falsify evidence against Hun Tong, the Holy Bright Empire is just as decrepit internally. Good, very good indeed!”
Weakened and powerless, Dao Hen was closely guarded by the navy on both sides, yet, he felt bursts of schadenfreude.
The only downside was, this was a squabble within the Human Race. If it were him exacting revenge on his enemies, the pleasure of vengeance would undoubtedly be more intense.
But witnessing this scene, Dao Hen was satisfied.
Therefore, even though he knew he was being used by Tan Mo, he willingly and happily went along with it.
Hun Tong stared venomously at Tan Mo, his hatred and anger clear as day.
He had gone to great lengths to satisfy Tan Mo’s greed. In the end, he hadn’t expected Tan Mo to suddenly turn on him so viciously, even though the two had previously been haggling.
At most, the tension between them had simply been accumulating.
Honestly, Tan Mo’s sudden ruthlessness caught Hun Tong off guard, and he continued to be at a disadvantage up to now.
“Lord Tu Ji, you are the trustworthy investigator,” Hun Tong then turned to Tu Ji, intending to enlist his help, “You have personally visited and investigated. Surely you don’t believe that I, Hun Tong, would commit treason?”