Chapter 49 - Holy War

The sea breeze was gentle and the sky was clear. The Holy Seal Islands had always been windy and sunny for many years.

Until today.

The continuous landing of the Goethe people and elves on the island broke the usual silence, but the true turmoil still happened here. After Kang De entered the Fire Thief Altar, the number of black beasts on the island increased abnormally, and a rift valley emitting a strange aura appeared on the North Island.

The group waited near the rift valley.

In Kang De’s plan, he had to use all kinds of things from Earth and the magical power of fantasy enchantment to fake an “ancient ruin” and lure the elves into it. While they were fighting the things inside, he would learn all the good traditions of tactical assault and directly attack the elf battleship.

Now, it was already the most critical moment of the plan.

“Kang De.”

The princess came to his side and asked, “Is it about to begin?”

Kang De thought for a moment, “There’s no hurry. Let’s wait a little longer. When the sky is a little darker, the effect of the gift won’t be too obvious… I originally wanted to attack as soon as possible, but the seabird monitoring the elf battleship discovered something amiss. It said that there was a relatively violent explosion and vibration on that ship. I’m afraid it won’t be able to sail for a while.”

Tina said in surprise, “Really? That’s great!”

Kang De nodded with a smile, but he was muttering in his mind. The pigeon had said that the parrot had followed an elf to the ship. He was 80% sure that the predicament of the elves was caused by the parrot…

This was because this fellow was a destructive maniac. Moreover, it was extremely curious and very interested in mechanical structures. As long as it was placed outside, most of the things Kang De brought from Earth had been dismantled by the parrot.

Considering that the parrot had learned the use of tools like a screwdriver and a wrench at an extremely fast speed and could put everything back intact, Kang De did not mind too much.

Of course, there were many things that could not be seen with the naked eye. Kang De had once been pestered by it. He opened his phone and computer for it to see. After the parrot saw this, it was extremely stunned. It thought in a daze for two to three days before flapping its wings and roaring at the sky, “D*mn, why!”

He had to admit that this bird was indeed extremely talented in destruction and dismantling…

However, he did not say this out loud and continued, “This is indeed good news. It means that we have more time to prepare and… wait.”

The princess nodded. “Then, we’ll capture that ship, right?”

Kang De smiled and said, “It’s not us… You can’t go. That’s too dangerous.”

Tina puffed up her cheeks and looked at Kang De unhappily.

The beautiful girl’s accusing gaze was difficult to resist. Kang De was defeated and raised his hands high. “Alright, alright. Even if we—even if Princess Tina can’t board the ship and fight with us, your wisdom and courage will guide us forward bravely. From this perspective, we’re still fighting side by side.”

—So you still won’t let me go?

However, it had to be said that it was indeed much easier to say the same thing.

Tina did not throw a tantrum. She was silent for a moment before saying softly, “The Wayne Wings… I didn’t expect the Goethe Navy to actually attack an elf main ship with confidence. If we win, even in the entire Goethe-Twilight War, it can be called a great victory…”

She looked at Kang De and said seriously, “It’s impossible to do this with just the Penguin. Without you, Kang De, it would be very difficult for us to survive the pursuit of the elves. I have to thank you for all of this.”

Kang De was stunned for a moment before habitually being humble, “I’m only protecting myself.”

“However, you’ve also heard the so-called ruthless and unreasonable words of the elves from our mouths. We’re the irreconcilable enemies of the elves, so we naturally won’t say good things about the elves. Perhaps the truth is not as we say. Perhaps the elves are also a kind and reasonable race and are willing to treat the Cathayans well and only attack us Goethe people… This possibility exists.”

Tina said, “But you still believed our story. This trust is very meaningful.”

—I’m just unwilling to bet.

Helping the Goethe people was the wisest choice. After all, in the past two days, this group of humans could be said to be friendly and reasonable and could be cooperated with. As for the elves, they were powerful foreign races.

There was no doubt that there was so-called racism in the other world. He did not expect the elves who built a huge empire and threatened the human countries to treat a Cathayan politely.

Moreover, because of his good family education, Kang De also had a clear nationalist tendency. With his mother teaching him all day, he did not have a good impression of the Western countries. Or rather, he was vigilant and wary of almost all foreign countries and felt that there were always unruly people who wanted to harm his country.

It was already like this to the other countries on Earth, let alone the foreign races of the other world.

In the end, helping the Goethe people deal with the elves was only a choice he made after weighing the pros and cons.

The proportion of trust that Tina spoke of was actually not large.

He smiled. “Why are you suddenly talking about this? You said that the elves might be friendly and you might be lying… Is it really good to tell me this?”

Tina said seriously, “Personally, I think it’s very necessary. Our friendship with Kang De starts from a misunderstanding and continues in friendliness. Perhaps both of us have doubts and are holding back, but at the very least, I don’t want to be vague on the key question… I want to respond to your trust.”

“Even if I can’t produce any powerful evidence now, at the very least, I want to tell you.”

“I’ve never lied to you about elves.”

“We’re fighting the elves. Countless citizens of Goethe are using their lives to defend their freedom and land, but the entire human world is watching from the sidelines. We’ve thought of everything. Everyone is fighting for Goethe. I was ordered to go to the capital and lobby the Empire to provide more support. On the way, I was intercepted and many people lost their lives to protect me…”

At this point, her tone was already a little choked, but the girl still looked at Kang De stubbornly, ignoring the fact that she was losing her ladylike bearing. She did not lower her head or show weakness, because she was talking about the soul and will of a country, those people who were fighting, suffering, and even sacrificing for the country.

She said, “History is filled with sin. A country has both light and darkness. Goethe has once done something wrong. Even now, Goethe still has its despised ugliness, but we have a clear conscience about this. Every Goethe person who has fought until now can hold his head high and welcome the judgment of the gods.”

Kang De looked at her.

He did not know what to say.

It was not shocking… because he did not empathize.

After all, the war was already too far away from him.

He could only read about the bloody battle of the previous century’s world war. He had once felt honored and sighed, but that was already history.

They had built an unprecedented regime in blood and fire. They had broken the heavy shackles of two thousand years and reformed the mountains and rivers from dilapidation. They had held the hearts of the people of the world and done upright things. Under the opposition of the entire world and the counterattack of the old forces, they had built the first true “people’s regime” in thousands of years. The founders of the Republic should be the most open and proud group of people in the world.

Only they could raise their eyebrows and roar at all the opponents and critics.

—Idiot, our cause is righteous!

Unfortunately, time had passed and people had already passed away. Now that the world was peaceful, the commoners were too far away from heroes. The heroic aspirations of the past could not be touched. The new generation could not even imagine how serious and terrible the situation was decades ago because they were born in an increasingly powerful country.

Just like how Kang De could not completely understand Tina’s sadness and pride now, he could not empathize.

If it was a hero and veteran from that era, they would probably resonate…

Tina noticed his embarrassment.

“I’m sorry… I said strange things again.”

Her previous cold and proud aura disappeared without a trace. She began to wipe her tears clumsily, “I’m sorry, I’m always like this. I always say something inappropriate, regardless of whether the other party understands…”

…It was indeed a little strange.

Kang De touched his head. “However… how should I put it? I roughly understand what you mean and can understand. You want to say that the war between Goethe and the elves is not a battle of interests or a conspiracy. Instead, it’s a righteous war against invasion.”

“I don’t have to worry about whether my choice is right, let alone be fooled. My actions of helping the Goethe people won’t shame my soul and dignity… Is that what you mean?”

Tina covered her face.

She was almost suffocating.

—Why did I say these stupid things to myself?

—Moreover, Mr. Kang De understood it very smoothly?

This was not a good thing at all!

She clearly wanted to ask what Kang De planned to do after dealing with the elves. She clearly wanted to probe and invite him to leave the Holy Seal Islands and go to the continent together. She clearly wanted to propose cooperation and say such a thing. Why did she mention war again?

Moreover, she made the war sound so cruel and even took the initiative to confess Goethe’s disadvantage. How could she invite Kang De to take the risk to return to the continent with them…

However, she still said that.

This was because she had always felt that it was much better to confess everything from the beginning than to be discovered by the other party in the future.

However, would Kang De be willing to take the risk to join them if she was honest from the beginning?

Tina’s mood was very complicated.

There was no perfect solution in this world.

She valued Kang De very much and hoped to obtain his help.

It was not only because Kang De had accepted the ritual she led, nor was it because of the mysterious and vast Fire Thief Altar… She only instinctively felt that there was a power in Kang De that could change everything.

She had a weak personality, was not good at military matters, and did not have any powerful strength. She could not fight for Goethe head-on, so she thought of ways to increase the strength of the country.

However, she did not want to use trickery to lure Kang De into joining.

Although she understood the principle of not caring about trifles when doing great things… she felt that something was wrong.

She felt that deceiving and coaxing would only cause estrangement and cracks. Only kindness and openness could be exchanged for sincerity… Of course, the maintenance of benefits was also very important.

“Although historical examples tell me that the former is more effective, and the latter will be mocked as an idiot… Sigh, I’m indeed not suitable to be the person in charge. It’s great that I’m the youngest sister…”

Tina lamented in her mind.

She had already wasted the opportunity to talk today. It would be too deliberate to mention the invitation now… When the princess thought of this, she felt even more resentful.

Kang De could not read such a complicated woman’s heart.

He had no idea what Tina was thinking.

“Don’t worry,” he comforted. “Although I can’t trust one-sided words, I believe my eyes. After interacting with you for the past two days, you’ve given me a good impression… Therefore, I’m willing to help you, which is to help myself. After all, we’re considered friends, right?”

—Friend… Ah.

For some reason, Tina was inexplicably unhappy to hear this word.

Moreover, she felt that when Kang De communicated with her… he was always a little polite and distant.

At this moment, Cleveland’s voice sounded, “The two of you are here… What’s wrong with Her Highness?”

The princess immediately said, “It’s fine, it’s fine. It’s just that I’m a little…”

She was afraid that the knight would misunderstand something if he saw her tears.

Unexpectedly, before she could finish, Kang De said, “Ah, it’s like this. When the princess thinks that she’ll never see Miss Fran again, she’s very sad, as if she’s lost a good friend forever. If Miss Fran can appear in front of her again, Tina will definitely be very happy.”

Cleveland had already changed out of that terrifying female outfit.

Kang De very kindly suggested that he could keep the clothes, high heels and stockings, but the knight firmly refused because he felt that Kang De was up to no good.

However, on the other hand, those stockings were indeed very comfortable to wear. He had never worn such an exquisite fabric. In comparison, the stockings of the human nobles were simply worse than burlap.

…But it was still strange.

He was now anxious to escape the nightmare of dressing up as a woman and wished he could completely delete this memory from his mind. He hated the name “Miss Fran” the most. Now that he heard Kang De mention it again, he exploded.

“Nonsense!”

He said angrily, “Her Highness won’t say such a thing! Kang De, you’re up to no good again!”

Kang De smiled and replied, “No, after all, Miss Fran is so beautiful…”

The knight shouted, “Shut up! Forget everything!”

Tina watched Kang De and the knight communicate smoothly in a slightly lonely manner.

Her eyes were even a little sad.

Why was he so distant and even nervous when talking to me? Why was he so fluent when talking to the knight?

Moreover, he would joke naturally?

—Just because he wore that outfit for you to see? I… I…

Also, why did Knight Cleveland directly call him “Kang De”?

Tina had a strange feeling.

The knight noticed her expression. “Your Highness, are you alright?”

The princess snorted softly, “It’s nothing.”

Even the knight could not guess what Her Highness was thinking.

Compared to the princess’s mood, Cleveland was more concerned about the plan that was about to begin.

That concerned everyone’s safety.

“Then…” He looked at Kang De, “Is the plan about to begin?”

Kang De nodded. “Yes, if it’s a little darker, we’ll greet the elves.”

The knight said, “I’ll board the ship with you.”

Kang De thought for a moment. “We’ll talk about it when the time comes.”

Cleveland reached out and patted Kang De’s shoulder. “I have to admit, Kang De, although you occasionally have unacceptable bad taste and evil intentions, it’s really reassuring and exciting to be able to fight alongside you. You must be an impressive person in your country… Of course, it’s the same now.”

Kang De only smiled.

The princess turned her head to the side.

As the sun set, time passed. The kangaroo had returned to the team. The elves’ investigation was fruitless. An even more intense argument erupted in the temporary command post on the beach. The master and the marine captain glared at each other.

Suddenly, a blazing light rushed into the sky and suddenly exploded.

One after another, like pillars of light rising into the sky, the fireworks that were injected with elements were even more dazzling than before. Even in the sunset, they were so dazzling and shocking.

It could simply be summarized as a “phenomenon”.

The elves looked at all of this in a daze. This was the Holy Seal Islands that suppressed all supernatural powers.

However, such light exploded.

The master smashed his fist on the table and roared, “Answer me now. Do you still want to wait two days?!”

Sir Taize gritted his teeth and glanced at the captain. “Gather the troops and prepare to set off!”

…