Lu Su: That’s Right, I’m a Social Butterfly

Lyon’s words immediately drew Charlotte’s displeasure. Frowning, she said, "As far as I know, that empress of Tsardom of Russia is also Hall of Fame Grade, isn’t she?"

"Besides, there isn’t much difference between those Slavs and bandits."

What the princess meant was simply that she feared asking Tsardom of Russia for aid would ultimately cost Great Britain everything.

After all, Tsardom of Russia was neither particularly close nor particularly far from them. It was nowhere near as out of reach as the Indo-American Federation.

Yet Lyon ignored Charlotte and merely looked at George VII. "If His Majesty still has concerns, then Great Ming is also worth considering."

"First, Great Ming is very far from us. Second, it currently has no Hall of Fame Grade powerhouse overseeing it. As long as we pay an appropriate price, they should be willing to act."

The moment those words were spoken, the princes and princesses present changed expression.

They were all old foxes. Of course they knew what Lyon was plotting.

But Lyon did not care what his brothers and sisters thought. After all, George VII was the one who would truly make the decision.

As he looked at the men and women wearing different expressions, disappointment flashed through George VII’s eyes.

Seeking outside help was ultimately the worst option. No matter how nicely Charlotte and Lyon put it, Great Britain’s autonomy would be greatly diminished after this.

But did they have any other choice now?

Unless Great Britain immediately produced another Master Grade powerhouse, they could only walk this path in the end.

After weighing the pros and cons, George VII knew full well that Lyon had his own selfish schemes, but he also knew that Great Ming was a good choice.

After a moment of silence, the king said to Lyon in an unreadable voice, "Lyon, contact Great Ming first and hear their terms."

Upon hearing this, Lyon’s excitement became impossible to suppress, while the other princes and princesses present gradually darkened.

But immediately afterward, Lyon was doused with cold water.

George VII turned his gaze to Charlotte and continued, "Charlotte, contact the Indo-American Federation as well."

The King of Great Britain would naturally not put all his eggs in one basket.

Though he had become king through his own strength, he still understood the most basic principles of balance.

As for Adley’s ambiguous attitude—

That did not matter.

Great Ming.

The four Master Card Masters led by Lu Su were looking strangely at the message in their hands.

After a brief silence, Bai Yueming teasingly said to his disciple, "Xiao Luo."

"If this were Great Ming in the old days, this would count as the merit of expanding the realm."

"How about it? Want us to grant you the title of a prince from a different surname?"

A bitter smile appeared on Lu Su’s face.

He had not expected his earlier conversation with Lyon aboard Ye Zhou to truly become reality. Great Britain had actually come to seek Great Ming’s help.

They had even specifically requested that he personally go to Great Britain and negotiate the relevant matters.

"Teacher, stop making fun of me." Lu Su shook his head, then his expression turned solemn. "Great Britain won’t agree to become our vassal state."

"At most, they’ll offer some materials in return."

As a nation with a Master Grade powerhouse, Great Britain was far weaker than Tsardom of Russia and the Indo-American Federation, but it could not possibly bow its head to Great Ming as easily as Goryeo had.

After all, becoming a vassal state was not like before the Secret Realms appeared, when they could settle matters by offering annual tribute and even bring back plentiful rewards from Great Ming.

In this day and age, if it truly became a vassal state, Great Britain could only let Great Ming take whatever it wanted.

Bai Yueming naturally understood this as well. He had merely been joking.

The old man shook his head slightly and said, "More materials are always good. Besides, if it’s only a Master Grade Secret Realm, it shouldn’t cause you much trouble, Xiao Luo."

"But whether you go or not still depends on what you want. If you don’t want to go, then forget it."

By now, everyone in Great Ming had reached a consensus: if it was merely a Master Grade Demon, it was simply no match for Lu Su.

That was the true value of having cheats.

At that moment, apparently to dispel Lu Su’s concerns, Fang Wenlong suddenly said, "Xiao Luo, if you’re worried about Great Ming after you leave, there’s no need to be overly concerned."

"Lady Adele contacted us over the past two days. Great Ming and the Rebel Secret Realm have basically reached an agreement."

The Rebel Secret Realm was the Secret Realm where Adele resided.

If Fang Wenlong was right, Great Ming was no longer as strapped for resources as before.

After all, the Rebel Secret Realm alone had four Master Grade powerhouses, not to mention Adele, an existence beyond the norm. Even if she was currently in poor condition, ordinary Master Grades could not hope to compare with her.

Hearing the two of them, Lu Su fell into thought.

For him, the difference between going and not going was not that great. After gaining his own Card Making Space, he was no longer so strict about the properties of his materials.

To be safe, it would be best if he did not go to Great Britain alone.

But did he truly still have enough time to develop peacefully?

Thinking of his conversation with the Blue Star World Consciousness some time ago, Lu Su could not help but sigh silently.

After a long while, he let out a breath and made his decision. "I’ll make the trip. No matter what, Great Britain did show us respect at Ye Diantang’s funeral."

"And since they’ve lasted this long, they should have some good things."

Although Great Britain’s current king, George VII, was Master Grade, that did not mean they had never produced Hall of Fame Grade powerhouses in the past.

They were only in their current state because of a gap between generations.

Rather, if Great Ming had not produced a freak like Lu Su, its current situation would not have been much better than Great Britain’s.

Seeing that he had made his decision, Bai Yueming and the other two exchanged glances and ended the discussion.

"In that case, we’ll send Great Britain a diplomatic letter to notify them. We’ll also prepare the proper retinue for you."

Although Lu Su was going as a mercenary, he could not go without attendants. They could not let Great Ming lose face.

Lu Su did not have any particular thoughts about this, but since Bai Yueming and the others had said so, he would not object.

Thus, he merely replied indifferently, "Just arrange it for me."

After they finished discussing Great Britain, Ji Weirui took the opportunity, while Great Ming’s only four Master Card Masters were all present, to bring up another matter. "We’ve basically finished negotiating the division of those northern territories with Tsardom of Russia."

"It’s time to arrange for people to migrate there."

The Mountain Lord was referring to the areas previously occupied by the Demon Army. These past days, she had been busy haggling with Tsardom of Russia over how to divide the territory.

Although Great Ming and Tsardom of Russia were currently very close, even brothers settled accounts clearly. With interests of such importance at stake, it was better to make everything clear.

Of course, Lu Su could also choose to sell his ass to Tsardom of Russia. That might convince them to yield more benefits to Great Ming.

After all, unofficial histories recorded that Great Ming’s founding emperor had become emperor by selling his ass (x).

After the negotiations were settled, that frozen land once ruled by Demons naturally needed to regain its vitality.

But because the environment was so harsh, probably not many people would be willing to migrate there.

Ji Weirui had long prepared for this. "First, have the construction Card Masters in the Shuběi Army build the cities. Then, directly assign jobs and housing to citizens willing to migrate there. Once their children reach the age at which they can make cards, the Association will additionally give them a set of Black Iron Grade materials."

With the collapse of the Imperial Court, the Great Ming Card Master Association was no longer as stingy as before. Students who met the Spiritual Power requirement would receive a batch of free Black Iron Grade materials to try making cards with. If they successfully made cards meeting the requirements, they could directly become Association Card Masters.

But if they failed, then any further attempts would require them to spend their own money on materials.

This was partly to prevent those without talent from wasting materials, and partly because Great Ming was still not wealthy enough to squander materials freely.

A set of Black Iron Grade materials was not cheap. Otherwise, Lu Su would not have needed to take out online loans to make cards when he had first arrived in this world.

Even though prices had fallen somewhat after the Imperial Court’s collapse, they still cost an ordinary family several years’ worth of savings.

Thinking of this, Lu Su had no objection to Ji Weirui’s arrangements. "Master Ji, just handle it as you see fit."

After saying this, he turned to Bai Yueming and asked solemnly, "By the way, Teacher, has there been any unusual activity in Mughal recently?"

Remembering that temperamental Golden Embryo, gloom flashed through Lu Su’s eyes.

Mughal had remained calm throughout this period, and even its conflicts with Great Ming had decreased significantly. This had once made the Youth suspect that those Indians were holding back something big.

Faced with his question, Bai Yueming first recalled the recent intelligence regarding Mughal, then said somewhat uncertainly, "It seems that quite a few Secret Realms have appeared over there as well."

"As for whether there are any Hall of Fame Grade Secret Realms, I’m not sure. But presumably there aren’t."

Lu Su’s gaze flickered.

Hall of Fame Grade Secret Realms were indeed rare. He currently knew of only three.

The Four Calamity Gods, Antarctica, and the one Ye Zhou had successfully suppressed.

But World Devourer Calamity Star could not possibly have only three Hall of Fame Grade Secret Realms under its command. Blue Star alone had four Hall of Fame Card Masters.

White Crown Adley, Golden Embryo Motiān, Empress Catherine, and Near-God Louis XXIV.

If the recently deceased Eternal Light Ye Zhou was included, Blue Star had a full five Hall of Fame Grade powerhouses.

The World Devourer Calamity Star clearly had more powerhouses under it than that. Otherwise, it could not have gained the upper hand in its struggle against the Blue Star World Consciousness.

After a brief silence, Lu Su exhaled softly. "I see."

"Then leave them alone for now. We’ll deal with them after the Great Britain matter is settled."

Upon hearing this, Bai Yueming and the other two nodded. "We’ll follow your arrangements, Xiao Luo."

"And with Lady Adele there, there shouldn’t be any major problems."

Hearing the name of one of his own kind, Lu Su felt somewhat relieved.

With her there, nothing should go wrong. He could head to Great Britain without worry.