Rebirth of the Prime Dragon Master

"Because of the severity of the previous fire that scorched the valley, I can say that almost all the soldiers suffered from injured throats, lungs and spleens. Moreover, the damage to their throats could not be cured in such a short period of time. Hence, I guess that they just have an illusion that they feel thirsty,” Rocky explained.

"Ha! How do I know that you're not making this thing up? Do you have any evidence to support your claim?" Zain felt very suspicious and didn't take Rocky's words seriously.

"Not a problem. You can ask several medics to examine the throats of the soldiers. I'm sure that after they checked their condition, we shall see whether I'm telling the truth or not," Rocky said confidently.

Hearing this, Zain's brows raised, and he quickly signaled Adrian to let the medics examine the soldiers. Immediately after, Adrian walked out of the camp to do what he was told.

Then, about fifteen minutes later, Adrian came back. He directly walked towards the prince and whispered something in his ear.

After hearing Adrian's report, Zain revealed a frown. It seemed that Rocky was telling the truth. They random checked a few soldiers and all their throats were indeed injured to some degree. Moreover, according to the medics, the hot weather also contributed to the illusion that made the soldiers desperately yearn for water.

"Fine. Since there is no problem with the water, I will let this matter go." Although Zain was quite disappointed, he had to stop blaming Rocky without any clear evidence against him. After all, he could not make trouble for Rocky and Gilbert if they were really innocent. Most importantly, the army of the royal family had suffered heavy casualties this time, so he was in dire need of military support. The prince knew that the army of the Ghost Fief was powerful enough to subjugate Enoch's soldiers before, so he needed them all the more right now.

"Prince Zain, our defeat in this battle made a huge blow to the morale of our army. I think it's necessary for us to reconsider some of our strategies and plans,” Adrian proposed thoughtfully.

"I know. Does any commander here have a brilliant idea?" Zain immediately looked around, still feeling a bit irritated

However, at this time, all the commanders suddenly lowered their heads. It was obvious that they were afraid to take on such a huge responsibility. After all, there was a great chance of them dying in the battlefield.

"Nobody? Good-for-nothing bums! You should be ashamed of yourselves!" Zain snapped when no one dared to speak a word.

"Calm down, Your Royal Highness. I might have an idea.” Finally, Gilbert spoke up.

"What is it?" Seeing that Gilbert was about to offer a suggestion, Zain became curious.

"Since Prince Enoch thought that he has already won the battle, he will definitely become arrogant. I think we can take advantage of this and cajole him into having a negotiation with us. At the same time, we can use that chance to make our next move," Gilbert replied in a low voice.

"Hmm, I see. That plan might work. Prince Enoch has two high-level Spiritual Emperors, but we have three high-level Spiritual Emperors on our side. In addition, we have more than ten middle-level and low-level Shura Realm masters. With our strength, we just need a proper timing to defeat Prince Enoch. Once we succeed, Your Royal Highness, you will be able to regain control of the situation,” Adrian reiterated, agreeing to Gilbert's plan.

Since no one had any other idea, the other commanders also nodded in support of Gilbert's proposal.

"It sounds feasible. However, how can we guarantee that my uncle will take the bait? Everything rides on the assumption that he will negotiate with us. What if he refused?” Zain squinted his eyes. "That should be quite easy, Your Royal Highness. If we use the Purgatorial Tripod as bait, Prince Enoch will surely fall for it. He probably doesn't know that the Purgatorial Tripod is no longer in my hands, so I can still persuade him. I just need someone who can represent you to go with me,” Rocky instantly volunteered.

Zain hesitated for a second before he finally agreed. He thought that among anyone else, Rocky had the best chance of completing the mission. After all, the young man was right when he said that Enoch would likely take the bait if the Purgatorial Tripod was involved. Then, Zain turned to Adrian and said, "Adrian, go with Odin and act as my representative.”

"Yes, Your Royal Highness," Adrian replied, bowing towards Zain as he took the order.

Eventually, Rocky and Adrian left the tent.

"I didn’t expect that everything will go as you predicted. This defeat is going to be a great humiliation to Zain and the royal family!" As they got farther from the tent, Adrian couldn't hide his mocking smile.

"This is just the beginning. Although Enoch won this time, the royal family's strength is still greater than what we can actually see. We still need to be cautious in our next steps.” Of course, Rocky wouldn't let his guard down just because his plan was working rather smoothly. He knew that there was still quite a long way to go before he could complete his goal.

"But Zain is right. This plan will only work if Enoch would negotiate with us. Do you really think Enoch will do it?” Adrian asked seriously.

"Well, we know that he doesn't want anything to do with us. But he can pretend that he’s willing,” Rocky said with an insinuating tone.

"Are you saying that Enoch will only agree on the surface, but he will actually set up a trap for Zain?" Adrian asked, vaguely understanding what Rocky meant.

"That's right. In fact, I want to see Enoch capture Zain and take him as hostage,” Rocky said with a faint smile.

"What? I'm afraid it's hard to do that! Zain has three high-level Spiritual Emperors that will guard him with their lives.” Adrian furrowed his brows, thinking that what Rocky said would be very difficult to carry out.

"Of course, when they agreed to negotiate with each other, both sides can only have one high-level Spiritual Emperor present. That would be the condition,” Rocky answered, easily finding a solution to the problem.

"Oh, right! Why didn't I think of that? However, once a fight broke out, it would inevitably create a noticeable noise. How are we going to control that?" Adrian asked further.

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure everything goes well.”

Afterward, Rocky summoned Rubygon to take them to Enoch's base camp. Meanwhile, Enoch's soldiers were building fortifications in the Red River Valley.

Naturally, with the appearance of Rocky and Adrian, it stirred quite a commotion. In an instant, they were surrounded by a large group of soldiers.

"Don't be too alarmed. We are just here to deliver a message from Prince Zain. Please report to your superiors that Odin the Godly Genius of the Ghost Fief, and Adrian of the Genie Fief have something important to relay to Prince Enoch," Rocky said as he calmly revealed their identities.

Soon enough, a commander left to report to his superior.

Before long, Enoch received the report and sent someone to lead Rocky and Adrian into his camp. Eventually, the two reached Enoch’s tent.

Upon seeing the two enter, Enoch pretended to be rather calm. Then, he went and mocked them with a sneer, "Why are you here, losers?"

"Your Highness, don't be so harsh. We use to be friends, right?" Adrian responded with a bitter smile.

"Yeah, of course. That's the only reason why I didn't have both of you captured,” Enoch snorted. "Get straight to the point. What is it that you want from me?" Enoch asked haughtily.

"Prince Zain believes that if we continue to fight with you, it will just make both sides suffer a lot. Thus, he wants to have a talk with you,” Adrian replied straightforwardly.

"Ha-ha! What a joke! Where did his arrogance go? Wasn't he so sure that he could defeat me? Why is he suddenly begging for mercy? Well, I assume that he is afraid of humiliating the royal family further. That's why he wants to save his reputation through a negotiation,” Enoch mocked loudly. "Are you saying that negotiating with Prince Zain is off the table?" Adrian asked without further ado. "Humph! I have to think this over. Moreover, I had some issues with Godly Genius Odin before, so I want to talk privately with him first. After that, I will give you my reply!" Obviously, Enoch just wanted to make an excuse to get rid of Adrian.

"I understand. I'll wait outside.” Adrian immediately understood what Enoch wanted, so he quickly got outside the tent to let Rocky and Enoch talk.