Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

When the entire Valentine City fell into the pressure and panic brought about by the elves' siege, a carriage had already driven back to the Vidal Chamber of Commerce.

The horror and cruelty of the war seeped into every corner of this city. Dark clouds also enveloped the sky above the branch of the Vidal Chamber of Commerce. A large number of guards and employees had already formed a militia unit. At this moment, they were defending the south wall. The remaining people were also under huge pressure.

In a wide and comfortable bedroom, Kang De lay on the soft bed and smelled the faint fragrance in the room. He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, relaxing and resting.

As expected of a large Chamber of Commerce. The conditions here were much better than the Heaven and Earth Association.

The elves had attacked and were trapped in the city, but Kang De's own safety was not a problem. He was even safer than Leona. That young lady relied on the reputation of her Chamber of Commerce and the indescribable tacit understanding between the elves and the Empire, but she still had to listen to the elves after all. Her so-called life had fallen into the hands of others.

As for him, Master Kang?

He hid in the white fog world and even returned to Earth.

The time ratio of 1:7 on both sides was very inconvenient for Kang De to do things on Earth, but there were two sides to everything. When escaping, it became a very useful tool. For example, if he stayed on Earth for half a month in a row, it would take two to three months in the other world. No matter how much the elves hated Kang De and wanted to kill him, they would definitely not spend so much time searching for him in Valentine City.

However, unless he had no choice, he would not use this method.

Two to three months… It was already too late. If he returned and discovered that Goethe had been defeated or even Tina had died in battle, he would have to face even greater danger there.

Kang De, who was lying on the bed, sighed silently.

Although his personal safety was not a problem, he was still under a lot of pressure.

This was because he really could not leave.

Be it Hong San or Leona, he could not leave them here. In fact, this was Tina's country and Goethe's city. He did not want to do nothing and watch so many people die.

However, what could he do?

Today, the elves had raided the city. He had faced the Twilight army head-on and personally experienced what the war in the other world was like. Although it could not compare to modern war at all, magic rumbled and arrows flew. War was war. It was not something a mere person like him could change and stop.

He could deal with ten elves and twenty elves. He could guard a section of the city wall and make the magic of the elf mages useless, but that was all. A person's strength was limited in the end.

The technology and martial strength on Earth were his greatest reliance, but the map of the white fog world was limited. The weapons he could obtain were at most civilian equipment and a few small-caliber guns. Moreover, there was no fuel truck. Even if there was, there was no way to reproduce the power that night in Glory Sand.

As for returning to Earth and opening the map… it was completely too late.

Time was very urgent to begin with. From an accident to Valentine City, the elves had appeared like lightning. Even if he only returned to Earth for three hours, nearly a day had passed in the other world. Three hours could not do anything on Earth, and a day was enough for the elves to attack this city.

Kang De sighed again.

He appeared to be confident in front of Leona and high-spirited in front of Hong San, but he was still mostly comforted. Hong San was right. If the elves abandoned their strange plans and attacked with an upright master, they could only defend with an upright master. The two sides fought with pure hard strength.

This was Kang De's greatest shortcoming.

For example, he had shattered everything in the Goode family alone, but if he fought all the other party's strength head-on at that time, he would definitely die.

For a moment, Kang De frowned, but he could not think of any useful method to break through the enemy.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Kang De turned around and sat up. He heard someone shout outside, "Kang De!"

It was Leona's voice… and her tone was a little nervous.

With a thought, he walked over and opened the door. He saw that this young lady of the Chamber of Commerce with a fragrant mouth looked a little flustered as she whispered, "Nick is here!"

Kang De was stunned. "What's he doing here?"

"Of course he's here to find you!" After experiencing what had happened in the past two days, Leona had already treated Mayor Nick as an irreconcilable enemy. Seeing that this fellow actually dared to take the initiative to visit, it really flustered her. Apart from being nervous, she began to speak nonsense again, "This is a rare opportunity. Do you want us to take this opportunity…"

Kang De raised his hand and chopped at the girl's head.

The girl hugged her head and cried out in pain. She subconsciously said angrily, "D*mn you…"

Then, she realized that she had said something stupid in front of Kang De again, and the beeping slowly weakened.

She stopped cursing and only rolled her eyes at Kang De as she complained, "I've become stupid in the past two days! I must have been frightened by your axe! It's all your fault!"

Kang De put on his coat, packed the axes, spears, knives, and bottles, put on his coat, and walked out of the room.

Walking beside Kang De, Leona's nervousness gradually calmed down. She was relaxed and her intelligence rose. She returned to her usual calm and shrewdness. She said worriedly, "This guy looks so humble and polite as if it's real. He's putting on such an elegant appearance. He must be plotting something…"

Kang De said calmly, "We'll know when the time comes… It's a good thing that he took the initiative to look for us. After all, if we want to defend the city, we definitely can't avoid this mayor. The path of war is mainly about information. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win a hundred battles. In this city, the person who knows you and the enemy the best is definitely Nick."

When Leona heard him say this, her disgust, resistance, and even sense of escape toward Nick gradually dissipated.

She was silent for a moment before suddenly sighing, "Why are you so calm… I've been smart since I was young and was praised by my family. When I grew up, I did a lot of business and thought that I was a genius. However, I was trapped in the city this time and knew what panic was. I'm far inferior to you…"

When Kang De heard this, his gaze fell into a daze.

Calm…?

On careful thought, that was indeed the case, but this was not a natural quality. It was more like an experience the day after tomorrow. Anyone who had experienced more than a year of drifting on an island without collapsing would improve a little.

Moreover, there was also the matter of Glory Sand…

Regret and satisfaction, loss and recovery. Human growth was only between gain and loss. He smiled at Leona and explained her doubts with a sentence.

"I'm only experienced in battle and have seen many things."

However, the girl from the other world could not smile knowingly. She did not understand the deep meaning of this sentence, but she read another meaning from it. She understood what Kang De was saying.

"I'm thinking of Tina."

She said in a complicated tone, "When we met again, she had almost become another person. It was because of her experience that she grew up… When I saw her and understood that she had already grown up, this was the first time I grew up in fear. The first time I hoped that I could always be a child."

There was indeed fear in her eyes.

This was because Tina had grown up after experiencing Glory Sand's betrayal. The people closest to her had died one by one for her. Only then did she know the pain and understand the way the world was originally. Then, she decided to take on more responsibility and do what she had not thought of previously.

Now, under the city, the loyal attendants and guards who had followed her to find Kang De were forcefully recruited by Mayor Nick and were about to be involved in the millstone of war.

At this moment, Leona felt a heartfelt fear… She was afraid of losing those people and that she would grow up because of such a thing.

This was because if they died… it was undoubtedly Leona's fault.

No child yearned to grow up in this way.

Therefore, Kang De, who was beside him, said, "I'll do my best."

When Leona heard this, she suddenly looked up at him in a daze and could not speak for a moment.

The expression in his eyes was very strange.

Kang De sensed this gaze and turned around in confusion, "What's wrong?"

"…"

"…"

Leona said in a complicated tone, "I'm wondering if you did that axe attack yesterday on purpose?"

Although this question sounded very sudden, Kang De was a good man. He was upright and honest. When he heard this, he replied without hesitation, "Considering…"

Just as she said a few words, Leona raised her hand and covered Kang De's mouth.

"Alright, stop talking."

Therefore, he saw Mayor Nick in the living room.

Mr. Mayor was drinking tea. His posture was elegant, his expression was dignified, his face was handsome, and he was very noble. A few maids stood quietly at the side and looked at this noble with an extraordinary temperament. There was no admiration or respect in their eyes, but fear and even unconcealed hatred… They knew who this was.

Not to mention the figures who deliberately passed by outside the window, the guards of the Chamber of Commerce walking around outside did not hide their hostility. Everyone had their own stand. The Vidal Chamber of Commerce regarded Nick as an enemy.

Mayor Nick was alone here. Facing the hostility and malice from all directions, he only calmly drank his tea.

When he heard the door open and saw Kang De, he put down his teacup and stood up. He smiled and said, "Mr. Dong."

Kang De walked forward and shook his hand. "Mr. Mayor."

His attitude was neither hot nor cold.

He understood the mayor's actions, but understanding did not mean acceptance, and not accepting did not mean hostility and disgust. Since the other party was polite to him, he would return the courtesy for the time being. The rest would depend on the end.

Sitting facing each other, Leona naturally sat beside Kang De and glared at Nick.

Mr. Mayor looked at the shoulders of the man and woman opposite him who were a little close. A glint flashed through his eyes, then he said seriously, "Mr. Dong Zhuo, no matter what, I have to seriously thank you once. Your decisive actions prevented many casualties. I'm very grateful."

Kang De and Leona's expressions changed slightly at the same time.

Fortunately, he did not call Hong San and left him to recuperate in the room… Otherwise, when he heard this, that guy would probably be furious again.

Kang De said coldly, "May I ask whose casualties were avoided?"

The mayor said, "It's naturally the warriors who dare to draw their swords against the elves and fight to the death to protect their home."

Kang De was silent for a moment, then sneered, "In that case, if I didn't attack, the elf cavalry would have rushed to the top of the wall, and the arrow regiment would have followed up to expand their advantage, and even the mages would have advanced. Under such circumstances, does Mr. Mayor have a way to push the enemy back?"

Nick's answer was still without hesitation. "Yes."

Leona sneered, "Stubborn liar."

Kang De reached out and patted the girl's soft hand, indicating that she should be quiet.

It was a very natural action, so much so that the girl obediently shut up. Three seconds later, her eyes widened and she turned to look at Kang De. Nick, who had witnessed this action, raised his eyebrows.

Immediately after, the mayor continued, "There's no need for me to lie, and I won't be entangled with what has already happened. No matter what, your brave actions have avoided the possible casualties that will happen next. I have to thank you in person—you saved the lives of the warriors and indirectly increased the strength of the city defense next."

Kang De looked at him for a moment before saying, "Only to thank me? Since ancient times, defending a city in a desperate situation has relied on heavy rewards and punishment to boost morale, divert conflict, unite people, and make great contributions. Is there no reward?"

Mayor Nick laughed, "What do you want, Mr. Dong?"

Kang De asked, "Anything?"

The mayor said frankly, "A portion of the family's land and industries have already been sold, and the other portion has already been booked for use. The treasures in the family's treasure vault have also been given to the experts guarding the city. There's still a lot of money and resources left, but those are used to reward the soldiers. Mr. Dong doesn't fancy those things, right? I don't know what to reward for such a huge contribution. Why don't you ask?"

He said frankly, "Apart from letting people out of the city or taking my life, these two are temporarily impossible. As long as I can do the others, I definitely won't reject them."

—Don't mind me, I can still take a fancy to money. Thank you for the shiny yellow gold. It is usable as a commodity between the two worlds.

However, Kang De did not ask for money. He leaned forward with a serious expression and slowly said, "Then use this credit to exchange for the militia of the Vidal Chamber of Commerce not to go up the city to defend, okay?"

Leona looked at Kang De in surprise. She pursed her lips and said nothing.

Kang De only looked at Mayor Nick opposite him.

Breaking the silence, Nick replied, "Of course. Even the effect of the 100 or 200 Empire trash combined is inferior to Mr. Dong's contribution today. If this is your request, I'm very happy to agree."

Leona was surprised and happy. She looked at Kang De and did not know what to say.

After all, the eldest daughter of the Vidal family was clear about gratitude and grudges and was extremely opinionated. She still did not give Nick any good attitude. She knew very well that all of this did not originate from Nick's kindness, but from Kang De's hard work.

Kang De nodded and recalled Hong San's dejected appearance. Although he was extremely disappointed in the people of the Heaven and Earth Association, he thought for a moment and said, "Then…"

Without waiting for him to speak, Nick said calmly, "Even the lives of those trash from the Heaven and Earth Association can be handed over to Mr. Dong Zhuo. They're already scared out of their wits. No matter how useless they are, it's a gift. We won't mention the reserves of those 800 people again."

Kang De did not look happy, and his gaze became vigilant.

Seeing him like this, Nick nodded in relief, "It's very happy to speak to Mr. Dong Zhuo. Then I'll say it directly. Just now, on the city wall, I ordered the soldiers to collect the corpses of the elves outside the city and humiliate, destroy, and hang them on the city wall. With the arrogance and self-esteem of the elves, they'll definitely slaughter the entire city after the battle. Even if the people of the Heaven and Earth Association and the Vidal Chamber of Commerce don't have to defend the city and can stay at home, they won't be able to escape death when the city is broken. This is the reason why I'm so generous, let alone use the lives of the Heaven and Earth Association to threaten you."

Leona looked shocked and suddenly stood up.

Kang De pressed her down and said calmly, "What do you want to say? Just say it."

"200 trash can't compare to Mr. Dong Zhuo's contribution of more than ten seconds. The reason why I let go of the Vidal Chamber of Commerce and the Heaven and Earth Association is to express my sincerity and invite them. In the next siege, we need more talented people to go all out."

"No matter what you want, money, jewelry, treasures, even women, status, or anything else, it doesn't matter."

Nick said sincerely, "I'll try my best to satisfy all your needs. Then, I'll ask you and Mr. Hong San to help me defend this city!"

…