"Hey!"
"Quickly contact the people dispatched on the assassination mission. Anyone who claims to be Chen Batian inside the City Lord's Mansion, treat them with utmost care and respect them as honored guests, understand?!"
"What are you saying? What if he gets beheaded before he can even say it?"
"Then you can bring your own head to me!"
"Did you understand?"
The unrestrained roar echoed endlessly across the Eternal Ice Plains.
If only they had said so earlier!
If Jiang Yaqing had told him sooner that the person trapped was their patron, the equipment merchant of the Batu Federation, he wouldn't have had the time to spout all that nonsense just now.
Don't be fooled by the fact that he was the Chief of the Batu Free Federation.
Holding great power.
Possessing considerable strength.
Even so, he wouldn't dare offend an equipment merchant.
Who in the underground world didn't know that there were two types of people who absolutely could not be offended? One was equipment merchants, and the other was grain merchants. Both types of people held the lifelines of all the underground nations.
In the barren underground, everyone relied on grain merchants to survive.
Even though the Human Empire possessed relatively fertile land, due to the unique environment of the underground, the yield and harvest of grain were not very good.
The growth cycle was also outrageously long.
If humans were already short on food, let alone the Orc Empire.
Then there was the scarcity of equipment.
Anyone who was a blacksmith in the underground was treated as an honored guest by all countries, let alone the elites among those blacksmiths, whom even royalty would respectfully yield to.
Masters?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say royalty would grovel.
To produce equipment in the underground, one had to be a blacksmith recognized by the God of Crafts, or possess a crafting diagram bestowed by a deity.
Others simply could not forge.
This was why equipment was scarce in the underground, yet the various kingdoms had not focused on cultivating blacksmiths.
They would have liked to.
The problem was that such blacksmiths could be considered divinely chosen.
They were rare and hard to come by!
Those who could be equipment merchants in the underground were very powerful, and equipment merchants were very close-knit. Offending any one of them would lead to other equipment merchants abandoning that country's market.
As a result, no one would do business with that country anymore.
Equipment would be scarce.
Ultimately, it would lead to the nation's destruction.
As for the kingdoms allowing equipment merchants and grain merchants to control their lifelines, wouldn't they want to resist?
Or perhaps, assassinate them?!
Hundreds of years ago, the king of a certain kingdom did exactly that. The result was the annihilation of the entire kingdom in less than three months. At that time, that kingdom was considered a formidable power in the underground.
If even such a kingdom met such a fate, what about the recently established Free Federation of Atoks?
They weren't even a kingdom!
It was a federal system!
Internally, numerous factions had come together, united by roughly the same goals. Although he was the Chief, he didn't truly hold absolute power.
If their federation had actually killed an equipment merchant.
He would have to atone with his life.
"Sister Yaqing, why didn't you say so earlier?" Atoks' anxiety was evident on his face. "No, have you asked him yet? In which main city is that Mr. Chen? The current range is too vast to pinpoint. If it can be confirmed, I can go personally."
"No reply."
Jiang Yaqing shrugged, looking at Atoks with a touch of amusement.
It seemed equipment merchants held a prestigious position in the underground.
Chen Yu truly had incredible luck, obtaining a mythical item and crafting diagrams in the underground, earning such regard from the kingdom's ruler.
This level of attention wasn't even shown when Atoks came to see her during her ascent of the snow mountain.
Alas!
She had thought that by becoming the Ice and Snow Lord, she could roughly catch up to Chen Yu's footsteps. It seemed there was still a long way to go, and the gap remained significant.
"Don't be too anxious."
Seeing Atoks' expression, Jiang Yaqing gently comforted him.
"I know him well. He should be able to handle minor troubles like these. Didn't you say yourself that if your subordinates couldn't handle it, then he wouldn't be worthy of being in our circle?"
"How can that be the same?!" Atoks' eyes widened in urgency.
???
To think this underground monarch was also a hypocrite.
"This is truly perplexing," Jiang Yaqing shook her head and shrugged. "Anyway, I'm going to rest. I still have great confidence in him. As for you, do as you please. I'm not staying overnight; men and women should not mix. You can either stay here and continue scolding your subordinates or go back to your Batu Federation. Friendly reminder, the nights on the Eternal Ice Plains are very cold, to the point where water freezes. Take care of yourself."
Waving goodbye with a smile, Jiang Yaqing turned and walked towards the majestic ice city in the distance.
She wasn't putting on a show!
She always had an inexplicable confidence in Chen Yu.
Although he appeared anxious during their video call, from his demeanor, she could tell that everything was still within his control.
At most, it was a difficult situation, and he was trying to find a simpler way to resolve it.
If he were truly pushed to the brink, he wouldn't have the leisure to video call.
Atoks' words were actually correct. If Chen Yu couldn't even handle such a minor issue, then why... could he hold such a position in the underground?
"Hey, hey..."
Atoks, with his bull-like eyes, watched Jiang Yaqing's retreating figure disappear from his sight, waving his arms frantically.
"I say, you're really not going to let me stay!"
"The nights in your Eternal Ice Plains can freeze a King-level being to death. I'm not as strong as you think, Sister Snow Lord, hey!!!"
No matter how loudly Atoks shouted, he received no response from Jiang Yaqing.
"Why are all the Snow Lords so heartless?" Atoks grumbled with a pained expression. "Do their hearts freeze in this land of ice and snow? They should really spend a few years in our Batu Desert to know that blood is warm and hearts should be warm, hiss..."
The biting cold wind howled, making Atoks involuntarily shrink his neck.
Suddenly—
A Yang Stone was extended from Atoks' shoulder. The warmth of the Yang Stone instantly made his entire body feel much warmer.
"Thanks, man~"
Catching the Yang Stone, Atoks smiled and turned around, only to see a giant ape over six meters tall and an Emperor Penguin over three meters tall. Behind them, a snow wolf with silver-white fur was glaring at him.
"Everyone, did you hear that?"
"Please, listen to my explanation. I wasn't actually talking about your Snow Lord. I was talking about my subordinates, really... I was genuinely talking about them." Atoks tried his best to explain, then tightly gripped the Yang Stone. "I'll leave now. Thank you all for seeing me off. Please stay, I can go out by myself."
With a fawning smile, Atoks walked towards the exit, grinning, while shouting into his wristband.
"Did you find him?!"
"His surname is Chen. How many times do I have to tell you? You're such a useless person. How could I let you be my assistant? Ah, I shouldn't have listened to Mom. Look at the people from our Niu Village, not a single one of them has a good brain!"
"The words that followed were me talking to myself. Yes, I'm scolding you!"
"Ah?!"
"What are you talking about? You're my second uncle? I'm the Chief of the Batu Free Federation. It's working hours now. What second uncle, no second uncle, you, even if you were my father, I'd scold you if I had to, so what?"
"Dad, you're here too. It wasn't me, and it wasn't my second uncle, I..."
The clear voice echoed in the snow-capped mountains. The Emperor Penguin standing by also couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.
"This beastman monarch is truly unreliable."
"Perhaps, times have changed," the giant ape yawned. "Let's go back and rest too. Snow Wolf, it's your turn on duty tonight."
"Hmph~"
The Snow Wolf let out a cold snort, and the giant ape frowned. Read.
"Hey, you grumpy fellow."