Chapter 406 - 300: Four-Way Melee (1)

Xiao Ning called over the Clan Leaders of the four families.

Across from them, Li Xun also brought the three Lords of Nanlin Village forward.

Including the trusted confidants from both sides, a group of over ten people began to negotiate.

"I really hope the talks go well. It’s best if we don’t have to fight."

Su Qin murmured beside him.

Although Zhao Chi understood her feelings, he felt incredibly restless, hoping the war would start as soon as possible.

"What’s wrong, Zhao Chi? Why the frown? Are you feeling unwell?"

Su Qin’s eyes had been lingering on Zhao Chi’s face, and she quickly noticed the change in his expression.

Zhao Chi shook his head. "I’m fine. I guess I’m just a little worried about the war."

"Me too," Su Qin nodded in sympathy. "But you shouldn’t worry too much. After all, they only have three families, and we have four."

Zhao Chi said, "The numbers don’t mean anything. Their three families might be stronger than our four."

Su Qin smiled. "How could that be possible? Zhao Chi, you don’t get out much, so you probably don’t know much about Nanlin Village, do you?"

"You do?"

"Of course. Your sister and I used to go shopping all the time. Whenever we went to town, we’d come to Nanlin Village and ask our classmate to join us. Unfortunately... that classmate didn’t make it a few days ago."

A sad look crossed Su Qin’s face.

Zhao Chi wasn’t great at comforting people, so he just patted her gently on the shoulder.

Su Qin’s expression instantly shifted from sad to... shy and overjoyed?

Su Qin continued, "So, I do know a thing or two about Nanlin Village. See that big-bearded man to Li Xun’s left?"

"Yeah, I see him. With that brutish face, his personality must be pretty aggressive, right?"

"I’m not sure about that, but he’s the Clan Leader of the Kong Family, Kong Mushan. His Power should be about the same as our eldest uncle’s."

"Then he’s very powerful."

"Yeah. Now look at the white-haired old man to Li Xun’s right. That’s the Clan Leader of the Lin Family, Lin Wujiu. He’s incredibly strong, probably the strongest in their village. I reckon his Power is on par with our own Clan Leader."

Zhao Chi nodded again.

An older Lord might see their personal Combat Power decline.

But with a domain built up over many years, they may have a vast army and powerful commanders, allowing them to win by relying on their subordinates.

Typically, no one dares to underestimate an older Lord.

"Now look at the woman who’s speaking. She’s the Clan Leader of the Jin Family, Jin Qianliu. I heard the Genes of the Beastmen in her domain have been fully improved through Genetic Improvement, and they’ve all undergone Enhancement. Their Combat Power is off the charts."

’Fully completing Genetic Improvement isn’t that hard.’

’After all, every time you break down a Racial Bloodline, you can get one to three Genes.’

’The hard part is getting good Genes.’

’And they need to have a high compatibility rate.’

’Racial Bloodlines are expensive, after all. If the compatibility is low, the risk is just too high.’

’After all, good Racial Bloodlines are priceless.’

’And even those that cost a thousand Gold Coins are just the most Ordinary kind.’

’If you fail, you also waste precious Racial Improvement Points.’

’After all, other Lords can’t transfer data.’

’Even if you manage to successfully apply Genetic Improvement to three Genes under these conditions, there’s still a long road to achieving full Genetic Enhancement.’

’First, you have to break down identical Genes.’

’That step alone isn’t easy.’

’The extracted Genes are completely random. Even Zhao Chi has no control over it.’

’If you don’t get the Gene you want, it’s a wash, and you have to keep trying.’

’Only after spending a fortune and finally extracting identical Genes do you have the basic materials.’

’The next step is to stack the identical Genes for an Improvement.’

’The success rate for this kind of stacked Improvement is even lower.’

’It relies even more heavily on luck and wealth.’

’Only when all of this is done can you achieve a full slate of Genetic Improvements and then move on to Enhancement.’

’Zhao Chi had no idea how much money Jin Qianliu had spent, but he knew it must have been a worthwhile investment.’

Her Beastmen were now far beyond the level of Ordinary Beastmen.

Their Combat Power had to be incredibly high.

Zhao Chi took a longer look at Jin Qianliu.

She was a woman in her thirties.

She wore heavy, garish makeup, like a Qi Yue that had just fed on blood.

Her Appearance was quite good, but her expression was frigid.

Zhao Chi looked away. "How many Lords are there in Nanlin Village altogether?"

Su Qin shook her head. "That I don’t know. But Xiao Ning just said that the enemy, including those bandits, has 253 Lords. I’d guess their village only has about 100 of them."

Zhao Chi nodded. "A hundred Lords... That’s only half as many as we have."

Su Qin said, "Mhm, there must have been more before. I bet they tried to resist Li Xun and his people, and a lot of Lords died. Otherwise, their numbers wouldn’t be so low."

"That’s possible."

While Zhao Chi and Su Qin murmured in the back, Xiao Ning, Li Xun, and the others were at the front, hurling insults at each other.

The negotiations had broken down.

After all, both sides had made demands the other could never accept.

Xiao Ning demanded that Li Xun cede control of Nanlin Village. In exchange, she offered not to attack Li Xun’s army and allow them a safe retreat.

Li Xun might have seemed arrogant, but he wasn’t a fool.

He had assessed the situation and knew this would be a difficult fight.

But retreating was also out of the question.

So, his counteroffer was to provide 20,000 Gold Coins and demand that Xiao Ning leave.

But naturally, Xiao Ning refused.

"Hmph. Then we’ll have to fight. I thought you might have a clearer head on your shoulders, but it turns out you’re just another fool." Xiao Ning looked disappointed.

Li Xun said, "Xiao Ning, your Alien Race may be powerful, but don’t forget the nobles could break out at any moment. When that time comes, who else will be there to help you fight them?"

"Heh." Xiao Ning laughed. "The nobles are a thing of the past. They’ve suffered heavy Losses. Even if they get out now, they won’t be able to stir up any real trouble. I’ll ask you one last time: are you leaving or not?"

Li Xun laughed. "You really do underestimate me. An Alien Race is an Alien Race, after all. So short-sighted."

Xiao Ning sneered, "You’re the one who’s short-sighted, aren’t you? Can’t you see that you’re going to lose? I really don’t get it. You clearly can’t beat us, so why are you so determined to fight, even if it means death? Is it about saving face?"