Chapter 138: When Little Sakura Steps In, One Counts for Two
Smiling, the officer ushered Kurozawa Ranzi into the military headquarters.
The moment he stepped inside, Kurozawa Ranzi could not help looking around, inwardly astonished.
These people of the Divine Elephant Nation were truly extravagant to an absurd degree!
This was only a military headquarters, and one located in the Abyss at that, a place that could be overrun by monsters at any moment.
And yet they had decorated it as lavishly as the imperial palace of the Little Sakura Nation’s Emperor.
Still, once the initial shock passed, he accepted it quickly enough.
As a diplomat stationed at the Little Sakura Embassy in the Divine Elephant Nation, he had already spent more than three years here.
By now, he was long accustomed to the Divine Elephant Nation’s bizarre class system.
The poor were truly destitute, their status not even equal to a noble’s dog.
And the wealthy lived in a degree of luxury far beyond anything he had imagined, yet it all carried an indescribably vulgar taste.
It was a very strange feeling.
Humanity had spent many years driving the Abyss monsters back into the Abyss.
Then it had spent many more years developing its own strength, gradually establishing fortresses in the Abyss before beginning the slow exploration of its depths.
Only in recent years, as humanity’s overall strength increased and its understanding of the Abyss deepened, had that exploration begun to expand faster and farther.
Yet the nobles of the Divine Elephant Nation had never been shaken, nor had they ever stopped indulging themselves.
The group led Kurozawa Ranzi into an exceptionally luxurious dining hall.
A massive crystal chandelier stretched from the entrance all the way to the far end of the room, and the long dining table was covered with food.
There were fruits of every color, richly colored red wine, pastries, sashimi, sushi, and fine curry...“Mr. Kurozawa, let us talk while we eat,” the officer said.
“Very well.”
After taking his seat, Kurozawa’s assistant presented him with the tableware they had brought themselves.
Kurozawa set aside the tableware Kapil had prepared for him, though he did not bother explaining his germophobia.
Instead, he simply looked at Kapil with a smiling expression.
The attendants below began pouring wine. Kapil sat opposite Kurozawa, while several noble officers took their seats farther down the table.
Kapil went straight to the point.
“Mr. Kurozawa, I have already told you the general outline of what happened.”
“Huaxia’s border army clashed with our men, slaughtered many of them, and occupied the Vacuum Zone we discovered.”
“They have now stationed troops and established a camp in that Vacuum Zone, and we have already issued them a warning.”
“But those damned Huaxia border troops actually sent someone into our camp and stole a batch of extremely important supplies!”
By the time he reached the end, Kapil had clenched his fist, his brows slightly furrowed.
Kurozawa Ranzi, however, asked in puzzlement, “They stole them from your camp? General, how could you have been so careless?”
“Did you show the evidence to the Huaxia people? What did they say?”
Kapil hesitated slightly before gritting out, “We also cannot understand how they managed it. They did not leave any evidence behind.”
“But I know very well that they are the ones who did it!”
Kurozawa looked at him, his eyes shifting slightly as his expression turned strange.
“Then... did you show them proof that you were the first to discover the Vacuum Zone?”
What he was really asking, of course, was whether they had evidence on that front at all.
“That requires no evidence. That region is ours.”
Kapil spoke as though it were only natural.
Kurozawa pressed his lips together.
“Then what exactly does General Kapil want my help with?”
“After the Huaxia border forces stole from us, we sent a formal condemnation as well. But Huaxia’s attitude has been extremely hard-line.”
“So we want Mr. Kurozawa to step forward, accompany us to the Huaxia border camp, and help us recover both the supplies and the Vacuum Zone.”
Kapil said it directly.
Kurozawa Ranzi smiled, with a trace of smugness in that smile.
Of course he knew that the one with real face was not himself, but the Little Sakura Nation standing behind him.
Among the signatory states of the Never-Setting Moon Treaty, the Little Sakura Nation was the one closest to the Divine Elephant Nation.
Compared with the Divine Elephant Nation, which merely sought opportunities to carve off pieces of Huaxia’s borderlands, the Little Sakura Nation had once, for a time, actually held the upper hand against Huaxia.
So there was no doubt that Huaxia feared the Little Sakura Nation.
If he stepped forward personally, then Huaxia’s border troops would naturally not dare refuse.
But he was not about to help the Divine Elephant Nation for nothing.
This time, he had accepted Kapil’s invitation in a private capacity.
And Kapil, being quite tactful, had already hinted that this matter would not be allowed to reach the ears of the Little Sakura Nation.
In other words, Kurozawa Ranzi would apply pressure in the name of the Little Sakura Nation.
After helping the Divine Elephant Nation obtain its benefits, the Divine Elephant Nation would reward Kurozawa Ranzi personally with an extremely generous fortune.
It would be enough to leave Kurozawa Ranzi without a care for the rest of his life.
Only, this matter absolutely could not be discovered by the upper ranks of the Little Sakura Nation.
That was why they could not go through the surface route. If they sent an official note to Huaxia’s border through the embassy aboveground, then the Little Sakura Nation would find out.
This matter could only be handled through the Abyss, with Kurozawa Ranzi making the trip in person.
Kurozawa Ranzi immediately put on a deeply troubled expression and shook his head.
“General Kapil, I would like to know something. Since you have already invoked the Never-Setting Moon Treaty, why not simply continue fighting them?”
“As far as I know, the combat strength of Divine Elephant Nation soldiers is in no way inferior to that of Huaxia’s border army.”
Kurozawa deliberately flattered them a little, and several Divine Elephant Nation officers immediately showed pleased looks, inwardly delighted.
Kapil shook his head.
“We already occupied that Vacuum Zone once before. Huaxia reacted very forcefully and drove us out.”
“If we occupy it again, then it will only lead to endless repeated fighting.”
“And if this campaign drags on too long, then occupying that Vacuum Zone loses its meaning.”
Kurozawa Ranzi was extremely sharp.
“That should not be the real reason, should it?”
“The number of Divine Elephant Nation soldiers must far exceed that of Huaxia’s border troops. If you keep taking and retaking that place,”
“then they should be the ones worrying about that problem.”
“There is no way Huaxia could outlast you.”
“General Kapil, if you do not intend to speak honestly to me, then there is no need for me to remain here any longer.”
Kapil immediately exchanged glances with the other officers.
This Kurozawa Ranzi did not seem so easy to fool.
But by now, the Divine Elephant Nation’s threats held no deterrent value at all on Huaxia’s border.
They could only rely on the deterrent power of the Little Sakura Nation to get this done.
One of the officers gave Kapil a slight nod.
Kapil took a deep breath and said, “Truly, nothing can be hidden from Mr. Kurozawa.”
“Then I will speak plainly.”
“A little over a thousand li southeast of this Vacuum Zone, there is a mysterious resource site. As for exactly what it is, please allow me to keep that confidential.”
“We need to truly seize this Vacuum Zone as quickly as possible so that we can develop that area from nearby.”
“If we attack the Vacuum Zone and get bogged down in repeated attrition against Huaxia’s border troops,” “then not only will it delay the development of that area, it will also consume a large amount of military strength.”
“That is because our current camp is very far from both the resource area and this new Vacuum Zone.”
“And once Huaxia’s border forces discover that place, they will be even less willing to let go of the Vacuum Zone.”
“This Vacuum Zone offers a tremendous strategic advantage in developing that resource.”
“We must take it as soon as possible.”
After hearing that, Kurozawa Ranzi was overjoyed inwardly. So he really had guessed right. That meant he could begin raising the price.
His expression became even more troubled.
“To be honest, Mr. Kapil, you have neither proof that you discovered the Vacuum Zone first, nor proof that they stole your things.”
“And in the message you sent me last time, you also mentioned that Huaxia kept evidence of your slaughter of their border troops.”
“Under those circumstances,” “while I certainly could demand that Huaxia’s border army return everything, they would inevitably complain and harbor resentment.”
“Why should I go out of my way to play the villain here? I truly cannot think of a reason why I absolutely must step in.”
Kapil sneered inwardly.
Crafty little thing. I knew you were digging for the real reason we need that Vacuum Zone just so you could ask for more money.
“I can double the compensation we previously promised you,” Kapil said calmly.
Kurozawa Ranzi touched his nose, smiling faintly, but said nothing.
“Four times. Mr. Kurozawa, that is my final limit.”
Kapil spoke flatly. He was too lazy to waste time haggling back and forth.
“Done.”
Kurozawa Ranzi agreed at once.
A bright smile finally appeared on his face.
But immediately afterward, he added, “However, General Kapil, I have one small request.”
“Please, speak.”
Kurozawa Ranzi smiled.
“You are aware of what happened to our embassy’s Consul General.”
“Matsushita Tano and I are currently competing for the post of Consul General at the embassy in the Divine Elephant Nation.”
“Matsushita has already returned home to lobby for it.”
“You, after all, are the people with the greatest voice in Balibali City.”
“Once I help you recover the Vacuum Zone from Huaxia’s border troops, I hope you will also support my rise to the position of Consul General.”
“That would make our future cooperation much easier as well, would it not?”
As Kurozawa spoke, his eyes were filled with hunger for power.
It was as though, so long as Kapil agreed, his ascent to the post of Consul General was already within reach.
As for taking back the Vacuum Zone, it did not even seem worth considering. To him, it appeared to be nothing more than a trivial task that was certain to succeed.
Kapil smiled. “Of course.”
Then the two men laughed heartily and exchanged the words, “A happy cooperation.”