When saying these words, Jones had been quietly observing the Queen's subtle changes in expression.

However, he saw nothing. That lack of change—even to the point of seeming calculated—suggested that the Queen already knew exactly what Jones intended to say and was deliberately presenting an emotionless reaction.

Jones seemed to realize something all at once, his eyes narrowing into thin slits.

After hearing Jones' proposal, the Queen smiled faintly and said, "That sounds like a promising idea. But... we've already abandoned the development plans for the Krimasha Relics."

Abandoned? Could that be possible?

Lightly furrowing his brows, Jones asked casually, "Why abandon it?"

"Because the Krimasha Relics don't contain what we're looking for."

"Don't contain? You've been inside the ruins?"

"No, we haven't entered. It's something we've deduced from other historical sources."

"Deduced? If the historical sources you possess can lead to such conclusions, then I suspect you wouldn't have wanted to explore the relics in the first place."

The Queen looked slightly embarrassed, coughed lightly twice, and shifted her tone: "Alright, we don't actually possess abundant information. But Luo Ge Xian Ni is vast, and we have many matters to attend to. We can't divert our attention to uncertain ideas for now. After all, venturing into the Krimasha Relics—no one knows if it would yield any benefits, right? Perhaps they'd turn out to be entirely empty? In fact, we've previously conducted excavations and found almost nothing."

The atmosphere grew strained.

Dora and Belle wore puzzled expressions as they looked toward the Queen. Cornelia's smile appeared faintly strained.

As for William, oh, William continued to stare at the flowers on his plate, as if he hadn't heard a single word.

Jones pressed further, saying, "If you're occupied, perhaps I could take over. Giant Snake City has adequate manpower. All you'd need to do is provide Giant Snake City's Mordo ore. In return, the Blood Elves would share the benefits of the excavation of the Krimasha Relics."

The tension thickened further.

The Queen's expression now seemed on the verge of breaking. Hesitating, she lightly shook her head and, her gaze flickering, said, "No, what I meant was—at present, we've lost interest in Krimasha."

"But we haven't." Jones widened his eyes and smiled, saying, "Even if you choose not to excavate, we will proceed. I have secret records from the church; I only need to flip through them to ascertain the precise location of Krimasha."

The entire atmosphere seemed to freeze in an instant. Jones and the Queen silently locked eyes, both smiling—but Jones' smile carried an edge of provocation, while the Queen's smile appeared rigid.

In the firelight, Belle could clearly see a bead of sweat slide down the Queen's forehead.

"Excuse me." After a moment of silence, the Queen suddenly stood up and said softly, "I need to step away for a moment. Please excuse me."

She slightly inclined herself in a bow, nodded briefly, and turned to leave.

Cornelia seemed restless as well. Rising quickly, she also gave Jones a slight bow before turning to leave.

On the balcony, only Jones, Belle, Dora, and William remained.

"What's going on? Why are they suddenly uninterested in Krimasha?" Dora asked in a hushed tone.

"It's not disinterest," Belle said softly, staring in the direction of the Queen and Cornelia's departure. "They've found another way to resolve this without needing us. Perhaps they've found someone else willing to work with them."

...

"Ah-choo!" Andrew, crouched near a distant campfire, sneezed heavily.

Turuk hastily shuffled closer to Andrew, then pulled two half-charred sticks from the fire and placed them in front of him.

"What are you doing?" Andrew said flatly, eyeing Turuk.

Turuk blinked and asked, "Master, aren't you cold? You've sneezed so many times today."

"I'm not cold." Andrew shot Turuk a pointed look, then resumed jotting notes in his notebook, his expression focused in thought.

The north wind howled.

Not far from him, a large group of Gustav's soldiers had already set up tents in the wilds and were noisily drinking by their campfires, their voices rising in chaotic cheer.

...

"It must be," Jones said softly, staring in the direction where the Queen and Cornelia had left. "That's why I just gave her two choices—either grant us open access so everyone can share the profits from the Krimasha excavation, or... we proceed on our own, leaving them empty-handed. Whoever they've found, it doesn't matter. Unless it's Heaven, Hell, or Richie, they won't outmatch us in excavating the relics. Clearly, it can't be Heaven or Hell assisting them; otherwise, they'd have excavated long ago, without waiting until now."

"Lord Jones, did you just threaten them?" Dora's eyes widened in surprise.

"That wasn't a threat. Just presenting her with an option—the choice is hers."

"Dora didn't hear it as anything like that..."

"No problem. Those two definitely understood it." Jones replied with a faint smile.

...

In the room, the Queen anxiously looked at Cornelia and asked, "What have you told him?"

"I haven't told him anything," Cornelia quickly explained. "Before now, he'd never mentioned Krimasha, and neither did I."

The Queen turned her face away and took a deep breath, speaking with mounting concern: "What are the chances he knows Andrew is helping us?"

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