Chapter 009: Dragon

Wang Bo was somewhat surprised to hear that the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom had been defeated, but he was not shocked.

On the battlefield, things change in an instant; whether the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom lost or the Shuna Kingdom lost was perfectly normal.

What surprised him was that the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom had been defeated so quickly.

Logically, the two kingdoms were roughly equal in strength, so a war between them would likely be a protracted one, lasting a month or two as a matter of course.

This was especially true for a war between two kingdoms.

For instance, when Qin Shi Huang unified the realm, it took him about ten years to successively destroy the six states of Yan and Zhao in the north, Han and Wei in the central plains, Qi in the east, and Chu in the south, ending the over five hundred years of feudal strife and division that had persisted since the Spring and Autumn period, and establishing the first centralized unified state in Chinese history.

At the end of the Qin dynasty, Liu Bang took a full seven years to unify the realm.

Cao Cao, however, took as long as thirty-four years to stabilize the north.

At the end of the Yuan dynasty, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang took about fifteen years from rising as a cavalryman to becoming emperor and unifying the realm.

This was just in the East; the West was even more so.

For example, the Hundred Years' War between England and France, arguably the most famous war, lasted a full century, hence its name.

Even the brilliant Alexander the Great spent several years stabilizing Greece before embarking on his legendary campaign, sweeping through the Middle East, occupying all of Egypt without losing a single soldier, crushing the Persian Empire, and advancing his army to the Indus River valley, conquering three of the four great ancient civilizations of the world.

All of this took a full thirteen years.

Thus, it was clear that wars between nations lasting several months were perfectly normal.

So Wang Bo figured that the war between the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom and the Shuna Kingdom lasting several months or even years would not be unusual. Because wars between nations involved not only military strength but also generals, logistics, and many other factors.

Defeating another country was no easy task.

And yet?

Wang Bo had just brought back the residents of White Flower Town, and the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom was already defeated?

That was too fast.

Wang Bo was so surprised, let alone the young Prince Kitt. Upon hearing of the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom's defeat, he cried out in shock, "How is that possible? The White Chrysanthemum Kingdom is powerful, with over fifty thousand infantry alone, ten thousand cavalry, twenty thousand archers, and other troops totaling a full hundred thousand soldiers, Father."

He said incredulously, "How could a hundred thousand troops be defeated in such a short time?"

The King said, "Logically, the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom's strength is formidable, and it should not have been defeated so quickly. But according to the intelligence I received, the Shuna Empire deployed a secret weapon on the battlefield, won a decisive victory, and completely routed the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom."

Prince Kitt couldn't help asking, "What secret weapon?"

The King said, "A dragon—a dragon!"

Prince Kitt couldn't help but gasp, "A dragon? The Shuna Kingdom actually has a dragon? Isn't that a legendary creature? Why would a creature that only exists in legends appear?"

The King shook his head, "I don't know either."

Wang Bo was not surprised at all. After all, this was another world; it was perfectly normal to have dragons.

What he didn't understand was that if the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom was defeated, the trouble should be for the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom. Why would his own country also be in trouble?

And judging by the King's expression, it was no small trouble. So Wang Bo couldn't help asking.

The King said gloomily, "A day ago, an envoy from the Shuna Kingdom came to our country and issued an ultimatum: submit to the Shuna Kingdom immediately, or a dragon will descend upon the capital."

Prince Kitt was both shocked and angry, anxious and impatient, and couldn't help shouting, "How dare they do that!"

The Captain of the Guard said helplessly, "Forgive my bluntness, Your Highness, but if the Shuna Kingdom truly possesses a dragon capable of defeating a hundred thousand troops, they indeed dare to do so."

Prince Kitt was furious but helpless.

Wang Bo was not surprised at all. Any country that obtained a legendary dragon would inevitably become arrogant, especially one as powerful as this dragon that could defeat a hundred thousand troops.

Whether this dragon single-handedly defeated a hundred thousand troops or assisted the Shuna Kingdom in doing so, it could be considered an extremely powerful dragon.

With such a dragon as a backing, it would not be strange for the Shuna Kingdom to become so arrogant as to want to conquer the world.

Let alone demanding that their small country submit.

After all, given the Shuna Kingdom's own strength, it could already defeat this country. Now, with the help of a dragon and the momentum of defeating the White Chrysanthemum Kingdom,

it was utterly unrealistic for this small country to resist the Shuna Kingdom.

Wang Bo asked, "Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"

The King said, "I hope you can go as my envoy to the Kingdom of Zaragoza, taking my worthless son with you, to propose marriage to Princess Selena of the Kingdom of Zaragoza."

"Father?" Prince Kitt was bewildered.

The Captain of the Guard's eyes lit up.

Wang Bo immediately understood, "Your Majesty, you want to use marriage to seek the protection of the Kingdom of Zaragoza?"

"This is the only way for us to maintain our independence," the King said helplessly. This was a plan he had pondered for a long time. Only through marriage could he induce the Kingdom of Zaragoza to send troops to protect his country.

Wang Bo said, "The Kingdom of Zaragoza may not be willing to help us, facing a dragon that dominates the battlefield."

The King said confidently, "Don't worry, I've already thought it through, Srant." He led Wang Bo to the desk and opened a map.

This map clearly marked all the countries near the kingdom.

The King pointed to the south and said, "Here is the Kingdom of Zaragoza."

Then he pointed to the north and said, "Here is the Shuna Kingdom."

Finally, he pointed to a small kingdom between the two and said, "This is our kingdom."

"The Kingdom of Zaragoza and the Shuna Kingdom have our country as a buffer and have no direct conflict. Once we submit to the Shuna Kingdom, the Shuna Kingdom can directly invade the Kingdom of Zaragoza through our territory."

"The monarch of the Kingdom of Zaragoza is a wise ruler. I believe he will surely help us."

Wang Bo immediately understood the King's meaning.

In essence, it was a threat.

Through Wang Bo, the King wanted to make it clear to the monarch of the Kingdom of Zaragoza: If you don't help us, we will side with the Shuna Kingdom and join forces to attack you. Are you afraid or not?

If the Kingdom of Zaragoza did not want to face the armies of two kingdoms plus a terrifying dragon, it would have to send troops to help them resist the Shuna Kingdom.