An eerie silence ensued in the room as everyone without exception tried to process what they just heard. Eventually, the one who was given such an offer opened his mouth to respond.

“Family? What do you exactly mean by that?” asked Tristan in a serious tone as he tucked his hands together. “Rather, what do you have in mind?”

However, before King Vizier could elaborate about what he meant, Tristan spoke again, stopping his already half open mouth.

“I guess if you marry the Vanyar Queen, you could somehow be considered as my father. Then, we are family! Moreover, with this, the dark elves and wood elves could be united under one banner..” Tristan said relentlessly, giving the king no chance to interrupt him. “Yes, yes.. That’s indeed a good idea, Your Majesty.”

Tristan’s words could be considered as a mockery toward the king, or to the Vanyar Queen Leena if she is here. However, King Vizier of the dark elves only gave a twisted smile and said, “Please hold onto your farce, Lord Tristan. We both knew that you know what I mean exactly.” 

He then lifted his hand and gestured at his daughter, Illiana, to come and stand next to him. Next, he brought his gaze to Tristan again and said, “Take my daughter’s hand in marriage, then we will become family.”

Tristan kept his silence as he stared at the other party. This king was definitely straightforward and forceful, he couldn’t help but think that this guy and the Vanyar Queen were really meant for each other. After all, their characters were somewhat similar.

He, of course, knew what the other party was proposing and it wasn’t like Illiana was not attractive. She is, in fact. Extremely so.

Besides the dominating aura that she had, everything about the female elf was desirable.

It’s just… he didn’t like it if people forced him to do something. Especially about marriage. One crazy tradition imposed on him was enough for Tristan, personally.

Realizing Tristan’s hesitation about the matter, the confident and talkative Illiana suddenly turned quiet. She just stared at his direction without saying anything.

King Vizier, on the other hand, once again asked for confirmation. “Arcadian King, will you accept it?”

Tristan turned to Illiana for a moment before looking up at the king. “I’m grateful for your offer. It’s flattering, really.. Unfortunately, I have to say no to it.”

His answer quickly brought countless whispers and murmurs to the room. Various expressions were seen on the faces of the elders, while the expression of the king also slightly changed.

“If you refuse to marry my daughter Illiana here, let’s forget about the alliance. You can fight those space knights on your own.” He said in a stern tone, indirectly telling Tristan that he was serious.

A deep frown appeared on Tristan’s face when he heard that. He was irritated by the other party’s conduct. The latter had previously agreed that if he won the battle, they would be willing to help him. But now, the king said those words as if there was no agreement in the first place!

It seemed that the dark elves didn’t really care about honor, and were willing to go back on their promises in an instant.

Well, it was not that Tristan couldn’t understand such matters. He was just annoyed to be on the losing side of the matter, or was he?

He quickly gave the offer another thought, as he was a man driven by his logic. If he accepted it, he seemed to be getting quite a lot of benefits from this offer. However, he actually still had another option in mind that would lead to a certain scenario.

The scenario in which the Arcadian and the dark elves fought each other, allowing him to gain a substantial amount of Blood Essence. One had to remember that hundreds of Forlorn elves netted him close to a hundred thousand Blood Essence.

Hence, the complete destruction of the dark elves might be able to grant him a million Blood Essence, allowing him to do wonders in anticipation of the incoming threat. This was another, much less civil solution to his problem.

Therefore, Tristan wasn’t afraid to reject the offer the other party gave to him. In fact, it would give him the perfect reason to annihilate the other side.

Time to let them know that he wasn’t someone who could easily be trifled with.

Tristan’s expression also changed as he said, “You will not want to wage war with the Arcadian. Not with me as their new king.”

King Vizier seemed amused by his words as he could see the former’s lips curled slightly. Actually, the man was delighted by his answer.

“I like you, Tristan.” He said. “It’s a shame that things have to turn this way.”

After saying that, King Vizier looked directly at Tristan with a piercing gaze. The latter certainly didn’t want to lose as he also stared back with an intensity that was not inferior to the former’s gaze. The two were locked gazes at each other, as if the war would start at any second now. Meanwhile, the elders in the room remained still as they didn’t know what to do.

The atmosphere in the room became tense quickly, until a figure interrupted it by standing right in the middle of the gazes of the two figures. Immediately, the two turned their eyes to the figure and saw Illiana.

“Huh!” She harrumphed. “You guys really only think with your muscles. Is there no other solution but to fight for you guys? She said while glaring at the two, one by one. And her actions seemed to be effective at calming the situation down.

Illiana made sure the two had calmed down before she turned to her father and said, “My King, please give our guest here some time to think about the offer.” She then glanced at Tristan before turning back to the king. Tristan, who saw her glancing at him, noticed the expression on her face that looked as if she had something she couldn’t say.

“One day. Give the Arcadian King one day to consider; that’s what I ask of you, father.”

King Vizier saw the firm look on his daughter’s face. He sighed and sat down on his seat again. “Alright, one day. I hope you will seriously consider my offer, Lord Tristan. I expect a positive response from you, as my thoughts on this matter are final.”

Tristan nodded, though he himself had no plans to change his mind. He only thought that the given time could be used to strategize his moves for the war that would most likely break out between them.

The meeting finally came to an end, with whispers going on fiercely among the elders.

Tristan was then led to a special guest room by a female servant. Looking at the lavish room prepared for him, he couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.

An hour later, he heard a knock on the door. He opened the door and saw, as expected, Illiana standing in front of him.

Looking at the beautiful girl in a dress that showed all her good parts, Tristan’s imagination ran wild about how this female dark elf would try to convince him.