“I understand that, Respected Lord Shen Mu, but my suggestion is, shouldn't we dispatch troops to try and clear out those Undead Monsters?”
Fatis said, “It’s also for verification. If we can clear more Undead Monsters, will it not have a certain impact on the death spirit rules in this area, weakening them, and thus making it more convenient for Deherim’s development?”
“Clearing Undead Monsters? That is certainly possible.” Shen Mu stroked his chin, nodding thoughtfully, “Clearing Undead Monsters itself can bring combat experience to our straw soldiers, which is good. And after it’s over, the Ten-Man Commanders appointed by the Blue Star Humans should also be ready to start work.”
Fatis’s suggestion happened to coincide with his previous appointment of Ten-Man Commanders, cleverly combining the two.
However, after thinking about the deceased middle-level managers, Shen Mu also shook his head regretfully: “If only I had made arrangements earlier and not let those middle-level managers die. Now, thinking about their deaths, not only did we lose so many Blue Star Humans, but we also lost the dinar and Faith Power invested in the early stages. It’s truly regrettable.”
“But that couldn’t be helped. If those middle-level managers hadn’t died, then your plan, Respected Lord Shen Mu, wouldn’t have been able to proceed as usual.” Fatis, of course, understood the reason, so he just smiled and comforted Shen Mu: “Everything is worth it.”
Anyway, Shen Mu wasn't a Blue Star Human from the Blue Star World, so he had no feelings for the Blue Star Humans of this world. If they died, they died; he didn't care at all.
Moreover, in Fatis’s view, these were all internal struggles of the Blue Star Humans themselves, completely unrelated to their mount & blade human race. Even if he felt pity, considering how serious the power struggles were among the Blue Star Humans in their homeland, he understood that he shouldn't place his pity on these Blue Star Humans.
After all, everything was for the Mount & Blade World, everything was for the mount & blade human race. Fatis’s pity did not extend to everyone.
“Someone!” Fatis, seeing that it was already midday, turned to the Holy Tree Knight beside him and called out, “Notify the mess hall to start preparing lunch. Respected Lord Shen Mu will be dining at our temporary camp, so prepare something substantial.”
“I understand.” The Holy Tree Knight nodded, turning without hesitation and leaving the tent to inform the mess hall to start cooking.
Not long after, the chefs in the mess hall finished preparing today’s lunch and brought it into the tent.
“Respected Lord Shen Mu, Respected Knight Fatis, today’s lunch consists of toasted bread slices, roasted dried meat, roasted sausages, and roasted smoked fish, plus a bowl of wheat porridge and a bowl of boiled vegetables for everyone.” The Holy Tree Knight, acting as a chef, respectfully placed the wooden tray in front of Shen Mu and Fatis.
As the steaming aroma began to spread, Shen Mu nodded with satisfaction: “Mm, very good.”
These were standardized foods, provisions prepared by the Swadia Kingdom during field marches.
Whether it was bread, dried meat, sausages, smoked fish, wheat, or cabbage, they were all long-lasting foods.
As long as there was water, a decent meal could be quickly prepared at any time.
Whether it was carbohydrates, fats, proteins, salt, or vegetable fiber, everything was complete.
Of course, as the highest lord and Fatis, the knight, they also had an extra pot of honey beer as a drink to accompany their meal.
“How are the other soldiers eating?” Although the delicious food was in front of him, Shen Mu did not feast immediately. Instead, he turned to Fatis: “How are their meals arranged?”
“Don’t worry, Respected Lord Shen Mu, because tonight is when we will launch our attack, I have arranged for today’s food to be the highest ration and quite substantial.”
Fatis replied, “Here, apart from not having as much food quantity and this pot of honey beer, our soldiers can all eat bread and dried meat, as well as sausages and smoked fish. They also have wheat and boiled vegetables like cabbage, pumpkin, and onion.”
“Excellent.” Shen Mu nodded reassuringly at this, then gestured for Fatis to start eating together.
The food tasted quite good.
The bread slices were black bread, but compared to the initial poor-quality black bread, this black bread was whole wheat bread, mixed with some nuts and bean flour, so it had a special aroma after baking.
Of course, this special aroma would turn into a strange smell once it cooled, but it still had a nutty fragrance when eaten hot.
It felt slightly sour in the mouth and had a somewhat coarse texture, but it was tolerable with the help of vegetable soup.
“Respected Lord Shen Mu, white bread should have been prepared for you this time. We didn’t expect you to dine with us, so we were negligent.” However, when Fatis saw that Shen Mu was holding black bread, he bowed his head in apology: “We should have prepared some white bread.”
“Fatis, don’t treat me like a court noble who can’t eat without white bread. That would disappoint me too much.”
Shen Mu continued to eat the black bread in his hand, and seeing Fatis bowing his head in apology, he couldn't help but smile and wave his hand, saying, “The storage time for white bread is too short, not as long as black bread. Although I like to eat white bread in Deherim, during wartime, one should act like it’s wartime. It doesn’t matter whether you eat white bread or not; can’t black bread also fill your stomach?”
Shen Mu did not continue the topic, instead chatting about lighter subjects.
Making the lunch quite relaxed and pleasant.
However, Shen Mu’s relaxed and pleasant mood did not mean the Green Leaf Group was also relaxed and pleasant, because the Negotiation Experts had already conducted the first round of discussions with the Green Leaf Group.
Although they had already reached a preliminary agreement, confirming that the Green Leaf Group would submit to Deherim.
However, on more detailed matters, the two sides became entangled endlessly, especially regarding how many troops to retain, how many items to send, how much supplies to provide weekly, and even what sacrifices the Green Leaf Group would have to make at critical moments, and so on. There were many clauses.
After all, negotiation is negotiation, and since they had come here, Green Leaf Group and Deherim needed to reach an agreement.
Furthermore, in order to reach an agreement with Deherim, Green Leaf Group also put forward some of its own conditions, such as how many supplies Deherim needed to provide them in the initial stage, how much Faith Power to provide to help the Wood Elf Village with reconstruction, and re-establishing contact with the Wood Elf Plane in exchange for some precious resources from the Wood Elves.
All of these needed to be discussed.
The negotiation lasted the entire morning, and over some minor details, both sides hadn't even had lunch, only engaging in a fierce debate to unify the terms little by little.
Finally, around two o'clock in the afternoon, both sides' stomachs began to rumble, indicating that both were quite hungry.
Yang Di noticed the fatigue on both sides' faces at this point, so he smiled proactively.
He put down his notebook, which was already full of notes, and said to Zhang Bo, who was in front of him, "We have unified some consensuses, which is very good, and we also believe that Deherim indeed has sincerity in negotiating.
Now, if possible, I think we can have lunch together, eat something first, and then continue our discussion."
"Of course, it's already very good now.
Since everyone is hungry, we should indeed eat something," Zhang Bo also nodded, agreeing with his suggestion.
Soon, new food was served.
It was all food from the Wood Elf Village, mostly pastries and desserts made from fruit, looking quite exquisite.
They were rich in fats and sugars, indeed capable of quickly replenishing energy.
There were also fresh fruits, such as apples, pears, peaches, and apricots.
Zhang Bo, Sun Zhiru, and the Negotiation Experts, who rarely had the chance to eat fruit, were particularly surprised by these fresh fruits and gave very high praise to the desserts made from them.
These fresh fruits and desserts were foods imbued with spirit world rules, so eating them would enhance their bodies.
And they were also quite delicious.
"These are desserts handmade by our Wood Elves, and these fruits are also some that we planted ourselves.
If Respected Lord Shen Mu likes them, then he will be able to enjoy these desserts and fresh fruits in the future," Zhang Song said with a slight smile, seeing the satisfied expressions on Zhang Bo and the Negotiation Experts' faces, and boasted, "Moreover, our Wood Elf Village also has an orchard that can continuously produce many fresh fruits.
I imagine that before, none of you had eaten so many fresh fruits, right?"
"That's true, we haven't eaten so many fruits before," Sun Zhiru answered truthfully at this time, including the Negotiation Experts behind him.
Just as Zhang Song, Yang Di, and the Green Leaf Group's department managers were smiling, Sun Zhiru shrugged and continued, "However, in Deherim, we can eat bread, dried meat, sausages, and smoked fish, including pumpkins, cabbage, onions, celery, and other fresh vegetables.
Of course, there's also an extra ration of fresh apples."
"That's right, if we earn a certain amount of merit, we can even get cheese, honey, beer, and dates," another negotiator shrugged and spoke again.
"Of course, these are also foods with spirit world rules, grown by Deherim itself," another negotiation expert added with a smile, "And my favorite is the sticky gruel in Deherim, fresh wheat kernels, shelled and cooked in a large pot until thick, then emitting a fresh, clean scent of wheat.
If you add some honey, it becomes sweet wheat porridge, and if you add chopped dates and pumpkin, it becomes the best food for us to replenish energy at night."
"Yes, whenever we want to eat more at night, this sweet, thick wheat porridge is our favorite food," other Negotiation Experts echoed.
Moreover, this statement made the smiles that had appeared on the faces of Yang Di, Zhang Song, and the department managers of Green Leaf Group now disappear.
This was clearly a counterattack to their boast that Green Leaf Group could produce many fresh fruits and excellent desserts.
And it subtly gained the upper hand.
After all, although the Wood Elf Village owned by Green Leaf Group could also grow some wheat, the yield was really small, and as for meat like livestock, the Wood Elves also needed to eat it, but because the Wood Elves did not have enough grain to feed the livestock, meat products were very scarce.
Now, these guys from Deherim were boasting that they could not only eat enough staple food but also enough side dishes, including meat, vegetables, fruits, and evening snacks.
What else could this be but a counterattack against them?
Moreover, both Yang Di and Zhang Song understood at this moment that their Green Leaf Group really had no way to contend with these guys in front of them.
The other side's food production had already surpassed that of the Wood Elf Village.
This meant that the strength of both sides was waxing and waning.
Even if both sides made progress together, Deherim could gain 80 points each time, while they could at most gain 30 points.
Such a comparison and such a result made them feel a sense of despair just by thinking about it.
However, Yang Di still looked at Zhang Bo, who was eating something in front of him, as if he had no thoughts about this verbal interaction.
And Zhang Song also saw Yang Di's gaze towards Zhang Bo.
So he picked up the cup in his hand and instructed the Wood Elf next to him, "Get some more fruit juice, fill up our friends' cups, and then let's all raise a toast to celebrate and pay tribute to Respected Lord Shen Mu and celebrate peace.
What do you think?"
"Of course, that's no problem," Zhang Bo smiled at this moment and also raised his cup, after the Wood Elf next to him poured juice into all their cups.
Everyone raised their cups together, completing a true toast to each other.
But in reality, this was not an ordinary toast.
It was a hint.
Only Zhang Bo, Zhang Song, and Yang Di could understand it. (End of Chapter)
