Chapter 154: Triumph

Sure enough, after tossing around for a few months, facing the coming winter, the Elves could not stand it anymore and finally had to withdraw helplessly.

Although the Elves left, the Demons were not happy either, because when they looked at it at the end, this group of damned Elves was even more like bandits than bandits. Not only were the best docks bombed by Spells into a horrible state, but the shipbuilding factories were almost all destroyed without exception. And the Elves upheld the essence of the “Three Alls Policy” (burn all, kill all, loot all), burning all the sea ships they couldn’t take with them. As a result, the number of sea ships in the hands of the Demons was directly reduced by more than half. The ones that remained were also hidden by the Pirates with great difficulty, and they were all small boats. The big ships were too slow and had big targets, so they were almost all scrapped.

Such a huge loss made all the Pirates on the Demon Archipelago have the urge to go crazy. If they wanted to recover their strength, it would probably take at least decades. In addition, the foundation of the City of Chaos was almost completely finished. It would not be easy to gain a foothold again, and it would definitely cost a lot. In a word, the loss this time was huge! Anyway, all the Pirates were cursing the guy who caused such a big trouble in their hearts. The Black Dragon Society was also under tremendous pressure, so much so that it had to come out to apologize, stating that Tianfeng Fourteen Lang’s actions were done by himself alone and had nothing to do with the Black Dragon Society. The pitiful Tianfeng Fourteen Lang was sold out by his boss just like that!

…

Let’s talk about Old Xie and his group. Because the Pirates were all busy fighting for the Black Dragon Society’s territory and no one paid attention to them, plus the strength of this group of people was strong enough, the journey was naturally without surprise or danger. After a month of trekking, they safely returned to the capital of the Griffin Kingdom.

Although they returned slowly, the news had long since arrived. As a result, when Old Xie’s convoy came to the capital, they were almost stunned by the scene before them. It turned out that almost everyone in the city came out to welcome them. It was truly a huge crowd, and even the Emperor sent a minister to welcome the heroes who had returned from afar.

Looking at the enthusiastic citizens constantly shouting his and Constantine’s names, Old Xie felt a little feverish on his face. In his previous life, he was a Great Demon Lord. Scenes of ten thousand people gathering to curse him had happened, but a scene like this where they genuinely welcomed him had never appeared before. Although he thought in his heart to be calm and composed, he did not know why, but he could clearly feel a trace of heat flowing continuously in his body, giving him a floating feeling. Old Xie could not help but smile bitterly in his heart, ‘Is this the feeling of being a hero? Seems not bad!’

Constantine was obviously receiving this kind of treatment for the first time too. Her little face was flushed with excitement, and she kept waving to the citizens who were welcoming them from outside the carriage.

Finally arriving at the city gate, the minister of etiquette sent by the Emperor walked over and smiled warmly: “May I ask, which one is Your Excellency Stephen?”

“I am!” Old Xie said carelessly in the carriage.

“Oh~” The etiquette minister was stunned when he heard this. He didn’t expect this man to be so tough, not even getting off the carriage.

“Go down quickly!” Constantine said with a mixture of laughter and tears: “They obviously want to announce the Emperor’s reward to you. How can you listen while sitting in the carriage?”

“What a trouble!” Old Xie frowned, but in the end, he got off the carriage under Constantine’s pulling.

Looking at Old Xie who didn’t care in front of him, the etiquette minister didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. If it were anyone else at this time, they would probably be so excited they couldn’t stand steadily. But Old Xie, with that reluctant look, was simply as if he was suffering.

However, the etiquette minister did not dare to say anything. After all, Old Xie’s identity was there. The direct heir of the Stephen Family was not someone he could provoke. So he directly ignored Old Xie’s rude behavior and said: “Respected Your Excellency Stephen, I am entrusted by His Majesty the Emperor to read out the reward for you. Please listen!”

Next, the etiquette minister began to read out the commendation order at length. First, he praised Old Xie’s deeds of bravely rescuing Constantine and the Elf Prince, destroying the Black Dragon Society’s lair, and capturing the Red-Haired Demon Tianfeng Fourteen Lang alive. Then came a lot of praise and exaltation. Finally came the so-called reward, an Earl title, plus a small piece of Territory.

For others, this would definitely be a step to the sky. But for Old Xie, it was nothing at all. Because he was the direct heir of the Stephen Family, he would definitely inherit the Grand Duke title in the future. Having an Earl title or not now was the same. As for that piece of Territory, it probably couldn’t be sold for even 3,000 Gold Coin. The annual tax was only a few hundred Gold Coin. For the current Old Xie, that wasn’t even enough for a few meals.

However, even a mosquito’s leg is still meat. Since it was delivered to his door, Old Xie accepted it without politeness. After accepting the land deed, Old Xie did not say a word of thanks and directly climbed back into the carriage. He left the Minister of Etiquette standing there, feeling extremely awkward. Fortunately, Constantine was sensible and followed the rules to complete the process step by step. Seeing this situation, the Minister of Etiquette was shocked in his heart, and his gaze towards Constantine changed.

One had to know, if Old Xie did not show up, then only the closest people could represent him. Since Constantine showed up, it meant that her relationship with Old Xie was already extraordinary! This was big news. As the candidate for the concubine of the legendary Elf Prince, Constantine held a transcendent status in the Griffin Kingdom. Even the Third Prince of the Kingdom did not dare to have designs on her, yet unexpectedly, this fellow got the advantage. And the most crucial point was, this fellow was actually the fiancé of the Eldest Princess. Did he want both? This was interesting!

After sending away the Minister of Etiquette who had a look of amusement on his face, Constantine returned to the carriage with a wry smile. She could not help but complain: “Why were you so rude? You wouldn’t happen to be ignorant of this, would you?”

“Is there a need for me to learn that?” Old Xie said nonchalantly.

“Of course! Etiquette is something everyone must learn, otherwise you will make a fool of yourself in occasions like today!” Constantine said with a bitter smile. “I can’t clean up your mess every time!”

“Why can’t you?” Old Xie laughed. “This is your duty as the hostess!”

“Who is the hostess of your family?” Constantine said shyly and angrily. “Eldest Princess Catherine is, not me!”

“Both, both!” Old Xie giggled foolishly.

“You are so greedy!” Constantine said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“Hehe!” Old Xie giggled twice. Afraid that Constantine would continue to pester him, he quickly changed the subject: “I say, didn’t I just slaughter a Tianfeng Fourteen Lang? Why is the Emperor’s reaction so intense? Giving a title and land, and making such a big scene, is it necessary?”

At this time, Old Xie’s carriage had already entered the city, only to find that both sides of the road were guarded by soldiers. There was even a Royal Guard clearing the way in front of the carriage, which could be said to be extremely grand. So Old Xie was very puzzled.

“You don’t understand!” Constantine laughed. “The problem does not lie with Tianfeng Fourteen Lang, but with Arthas. Capturing a Tianfeng Fourteen Lang alive does not have such great merit, but saving the Elf Prince is different. This is a major event affecting the relationship between the two countries. If something happened to Arthas because of me, a noble of the Griffin Kingdom, it might have triggered a huge diplomatic storm. Now, because of your appearance, not only has the storm calmed down, but the Griffin Kingdom has also won the gratitude of the Elves. Of course, His Majesty the Emperor will reward you heavily!”

“Che!” Old Xie could not help but curl his lips, his face full of disdain. “What kind of crap did he give? An empty title, and a remote wasteland worth only a few thousand Gold Coins. My loot from robbing the Black Dragon Society once is who knows how much more than this? And he has the nerve to bring it out!”

“The title of Earl is very high, okay?” Constantine said with a bitter smile. “Moreover, this is not an empty title. With it, doing many things will be much more convenient for you. It also means you have ended your student days early and officially entered the noble circle of the Imperial Capital. This is something many people dream of!”

“What’s the use of the noble circle?” Old Xie sneered. “I don’t care to enter it! I’d rather practice in my little dark room than spend time dealing with those disgusting guys!”

“How is your head made?” Constantine said very speechlessly. “I really don’t know what’s stuffed inside.”

“Hehe!” Old Xie laughed. “How can swallows and sparrows know the ambitions of a swan?”

“What?” Constantine asked puzzledly. “What does that mean?”

“With your IQ, it’s hard for me to explain it clearly to you!” Old Xie pretended to be troubled.

“Despicable, you dare to say that about me, do you want to die?” Constantine heard this and immediately shouted in anger. As she spoke, she went to twist Old Xie’s flesh. Unfortunately, she seriously underestimated the toughness of Old Xie’s skin. She used a lot of strength, even twisting her fingers sore, but she could not do anything to Old Xie. In the end, she could only give up helplessly, then said with a bitter smile: “Why is your skin so hard? It’s just like cowhide!”