Mr. Yu's gaze once again landed on the girl's pale fingers. He waited for her to finish speaking before smiling and asking, "Even though Youdan is a vassal state of Infernia, whether it's in terrain or resources, it doesn't compare to Qian'an Ridge. How can you be sure that such a small place like Youdan could shake Infernia?"
The people of Infernia have been able to hold their ground against him for so many years. They're certainly no fools.
But this time, the girl across from him didn't even bother with the fading watermark on the table. She simply picked up her cup and took a sip of tea, then smiled at him and said, "It's simple. If it ignores me, then I'll keep conquering from the tail end until it can't ignore me anymore."
Mr. Yu blinked. After realizing what Elara meant, he was genuinely surprised for once. "You not only want to take Youdan, you even want to strike at Infernia too?"
He had already been surprised several times today by the girl in front of him. Yet even now, he couldn't help being shocked again.
Infernia was only slightly weaker than him, a strong third-tier state. Even the Gold Nation didn't dare face it alone. Yet the girl in front of him, with such a calm tone, was planning to confront Infernia directly while Plumera was still in ruins? Where did she get that kind of courage?
Seeing the surprise in Mr. Yu's eyes, Elara just smiled and said, "What are you surprised about, Your Highness? I dare to go after Infernia only because I believe you will too. That's the price you have to pay in this deal, which, frankly, benefits you almost entirely."
"As long as you decide not to waste this rare opportunity and attack Infernia while it's isolated, then with your power and momentum, I'll just be causing minor disturbances in the rear. Even if Infernia gets angry, it won't be able to focus on me because of you."
"I'm definitely weak now. I'm not even half the strength of an average third-tier state. But at least I still have one hundred thousand of the Qi family's soldiers, don't I? When you've got Infernia pinned, I'm confident I can survive the battle and occasionally do things that are helpful to you. Like burning one of Infernia's granaries, or cutting off their intelligence network. Confusing their view of the battlefield so they can't fully concentrate on fighting you. That would give you an easier shot at finding the right moment to crush them."
As she spoke, a smile appeared on Elara's face. This time the smile carried a rare trace of wild aggression and bloodlust. Mr. Yu's breath caught for a moment.
"With you conquering from the front and me disrupting from the back, Infernia won't be able to handle both ends. Eventually, you'll land a heavy blow on them."
"At that point, Infernia, a once-powerful third-tier state, will be reduced to a feast on your table. Once you seize their lands, your strength and territory will double. Then even when facing the strong third-tier states backed by second-tier overlords, you'll finally have your rightful place."
"And I'll take Youdan, and at the same time help you bite off another chunk of Infernia from the other side. With us attacking from both ends, it'll be a complete win-win. What do you think?"
This was the counterattack plan Elara had been thinking of ever since she learned Youdan might invade.
No, not just a counterattack. She wanted to retake Youdan all at once, then tear off a piece of Infernia too.
Though she had no direct grudge with Infernia, once she moved on Youdan, Infernia would eventually strike back.
So instead of waiting for the knife, why not strike first? With Mr. Yu's power, they could smash Infernia together.
Only by doing this could she securely take Youdan and the land she stole from Infernia.
And Plumera's small territory would expand greatly after this war.
Of course, all that expansion would belong to her alone.
Even before she knew that Mu Yu was actually Mr. Yu, this had always been Elara's plan.
The only difference was that in her original plan, it was a little more complicated. She'd go through Leif, use the deep ties between Shu and Mr. Yu to get connected, and then negotiate a deal with him from there.
But now that Mr. Yu was right in front of her, there was no need for a middleman. She could speak to him directly.
After she finished, Elara fixed her gaze on Mr. Yu.
He looked back at her. In her eyes, which no longer hid her hunger to conquer and devour, he clearly saw his own reflection.
Mr. Yu's fingers gently rubbed the folding fan in his hand. Suddenly, he realized that the aggressive, predatory feeling he used to only see in men's eyes, when appearing in a woman's eyes like this, could be so breathtakingly beautiful.
He leaned forward slightly, his gaze locked on Elara's eyes, as if wanting to see that thrilling beauty even more clearly.
"It's an excellent plan, no doubt. But all of this depends on you taking Youdan first. You might have one hundred thousand Qi troops, but as far as I know, Youdan has at least two hundred thousand soldiers. That's a hundred thousand more than you. Are you sure you can win with fewer numbers?"
Elara, with the same glint of conquest in her eyes, smiled at him again and said, "You don't have to worry about that, Your Highness. I've already said everything just now on the assumption that I can take Youdan. So I definitely have a way to make it happen."
"If you're still unsure, then how about this? In no more than one and a half months, I'll take Youdan first to show you I'm serious and give you peace of mind. How about that?"
"But..." Elara spread her arms slightly, bracing them on the edge of the tea table as she leaned forward, looking down at the man opposite her. "Once I take Youdan, it means this war of conquest has officially begun."
"From then on, you must participate. Only then can all the things I just said actually come true."
"So now I'll ask you again. This deal, will you accept it?"
Mr. Yu looked at the determined expression on the girl's face. His fingers slowly turned the teacup in his hand. His eyes never left Elara.
"Elara, I have two final questions. First, the princess has generously explained all the pros and cons of this war to me. Is she not afraid that I might turn around and look for a better partner, like Leif, who has a stronger backing both personally and nationally?"
"Second, by helping me like this, isn't the princess worried that once I take over the Infernal Lands, I might turn against Plumera?"
After hearing these two questions, Elara slightly lifted her chin and smiled at Mr. Yu again. "You really do enjoy testing people. But aren't the answers to these two questions already obvious?"
"First, everything I just said, I don't believe someone as intelligent as you hasn't already thought of. The reason you've been stuck in a standoff with Dahlia and Golden Flame for so long is because you simply had no suitable partner."
"Leif may be close to you and does hold a higher status than I do. But no matter how strong Leif is, he is still just the heir of Sargassum, with royal blood from another country. He didn't even grow up in Sargassum. The emperor of Sargassum is wary of his mother's connection to a second-tier matriarchal state and will never let him get close to the Sargassum military."
"Leif may have great influence, but it is mostly in commerce, centered around Zhaiyun Guild. He can support Dahlia financially, but he cannot help you militarily."
"As for the other small nations, some are useless to you, some don't dare join the war, and some fear your strength too much to get involved."
"But me, a princess who has nothing to begin with, has nothing to fear."
Elara paused to take a sip of tea from the table, then continued, "As for your second question. Once you take Dryridge Peak and seize the Infernal Lands, such a big move will definitely shake the southwestern corner of the continent. Many nations will be on alert, especially those strong third-tier nations that are under second-tier suzerain states. They will definitely turn their attention to you."
"Your real opposition will become those nations. They will require your focus and energy to deal with, not a broken little Plumera that has nothing left."
"Attacking me would gain you nothing. On the contrary, it would make those already wary of you believe that you are bent on expansion. That fear would push them to unite again and attack you, which would hurt your gains."
"But if you take the Infernal Lands and then stop for a while, you could rest and recover your strength while easing their vigilance."
"The difference between these two outcomes is clear. Would you really ignore all that and choose the worse one?"
Elara looked back at Mr. Yu. "So I've answered your two questions. Do you have anything else to ask?"
Mr. Yu looked at her, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "Princess, I truly feel regret. Why are you not one of my Dahlia people? If you were, I would welcome you with the highest ceremony, placing you above all others in Dahlia."
The girl across from him set down her teacup. Her beautiful eyes curved as she smiled. "Above all others? That still means someone is above me. I've grown used to being unruly. I can't accept anyone standing over my head."
Mr. Yu's smile froze slightly, but the girl had already moved past the topic and asked again, "So, are you going to accept this 'deal' now?"
Mr. Yu blinked slowly, and his folding fan began to move in his hand again.
He saw that Elara's face remained calm the entire time. It was as if, whether he accepted or not, she already had another way to deal with it.
His smile deepened slightly. With a crisp snap, he folded his fan and looked at Elara seriously. "Alright. Then just as the princess said, I will wait and see you take the whole Youdan region in one and a half months with a force of one hundred thousand. When that happens, I will join you in this conquest and wipe the Infernal Lands off the map of strong third-tier nations."
At last, Elara smiled and raised a teacup from the table. "Then, I drink to you and Dahlia."
Mr. Yu also raised his cup with a bright smile. "And I drink to you and Plumera."