Chapter 51: The Ever-Expanding Desires
Looking at his blissfully unaware son, Alexander sighed inwardly and said, “Victor, you can go now. There’s no need to bring up the withdrawal—we still have hope.”
“Yes, sir!”
Victor walked out, looking dazed.
He completely didn’t grasp the meaning of his father’s words.
Especially the last sentence.
What did it even mean to have hope?
At this point, could they really still have hope?
After Victor left, Alexander wearily returned to his seat.
Now, even his son was starting to doubt him.
Let alone everyone else!
Oh teachers, I hope you bring good news!
Alexander murmured to himself.
Then he turned to look out the window.
The world outside was a beautiful blue.
The ocean was blue, and so was the sky.
This was the world he aimed to conquer.
And this battle would determine whether his path to conquest could continue.
If he won, he could certainly keep going;
If he lost, his path to conquest would end here.
As he anxiously waited, the afternoon rolled by.
Alexander’s teacher, Suratu, navigated his small wooden boat through the human warships and finally docked at the ship where Alexander himself was.
With the sailors’ assistance above, Suratu boarded the warship and hurried towards Alexander’s room.
In his rush, Suratu forgot all formal courtesies and burst through the door.
This startled Alexander.
However, upon recognizing the visitor, his heart calmed, but then anxiety crept back in.
The teacher had returned, but what kind of news had he brought—good or bad?
Seeing the tense expression on Alexander’s face, the hurried look on Suratu’s face faded, replaced by a warm smile.
Seeing the smile on his teacher’s face made Alexander ecstatic, and he stammered, “T-teacher! Did you succeed?”
His excitement rendered him somewhat tongue-tied.
But at that moment, Alexander didn’t care at all.
All he wanted was to hear the affirmative answer from Suratu’s lips.
“Your Majesty, I am pleased to report that I successfully persuaded the Sea Tribe, but—”
Suratu’s face took on a look of worry at this point.
“But what?”
Alexander was beside himself with excitement upon hearing the confirmation.
Even Suratu’s last twist didn’t dampen his enthusiasm in the slightest; he simply didn’t care.
“The Sea Tribe wants our help to overthrow the merfolk’s rule, but they also have an additional request.”
“What additional request? As long as it’s not too excessive, I can agree to it.”
“That is, human authority cannot extend into the ocean; the sea belongs to their domain.”
This request wasn’t too outrageous.
Since humans were not marine creatures, they couldn’t survive in the ocean, so there wasn’t any irreconcilable conflict between humans and marine life.
However, Suratu was somewhat unsure about his student’s thoughts on this matter.
He knew his student was one filled with desires.
Today he might not be thinking of establishing his authority in the ocean, but what about in the future?
To that, Suratu couldn’t guarantee.
After all, human desires can be insatiable.
And his student was the most prominent example of this.
As a child, he aspired to be an excellent heir and inherit his father’s throne;
Once he ascended the throne, he dreamed of unifying the human realm and establishing a unified human empire;
And after becoming the Emperor of Humanity, he led his people on the current path of world conquest.
His internal desires expanded alongside his accomplishments.
Clearly, there were wise individuals among the Sea Tribe who understood this, which is why they proposed such a demand.
Alexander paused for a moment at Suratu’s words, then asked,
“Teacher, did they only pose this one additional request?”
“Yes! They raised just this one request.”
Suratu nodded firmly at Alexander.
“Then I can completely agree to it.”
Alexander laughed out loud.
He was beaming with joy.
To him, this additional request felt like nothing at all.
Humans are land-dwelling creatures; he never intended to establish his authority in the ocean.
“Your Majesty, since you have agreed to the request made by those races, our alliance with them is now officially established.”
At this, Alexander smiled so widely he looked like he might split his face!
He could almost envision the scene where humans and the ocean army joined forces to break through the elven defenses.
That picture was simply too beautiful!
Seeing Alexander so happy, Suratu also felt a wave of joy.
But soon he regained his composure and said, “Your Majesty, while we have indeed secured the help of the ocean tribes, we need to plan things out thoroughly next.”
“Teacher, you are absolutely right; we must indeed plan carefully from here on out.”
Alexander nodded in agreement, not letting excitement cloud his judgment.
Suratu nodded in satisfaction.
Though he knew Alexander had great capabilities, he still worried that excitement might lead him to make some irrational decisions.
It seemed, however, that he had been overly cautious.
His disciple was nothing short of a pride to him.
All the effort he had put into mentoring him was not in vain.
Suratu sighed internally, reflecting.
Thinking about it, he had been assisting him for nearly fifty years.
Fifty years, from youth to old age.
That was a significant portion of a human’s life.
Even with their longer lifespans as cultivators, it consumed a major part of one’s existence.
Of course, his unwavering support for Alexander also contained a part of himself.
With the expansion of Alexander’s empire, the knowledge he gained increased day by day.
That knowledge was absorbed and utilized.
Thus, he could ascend to the rank of Grand Mage, and Alexander’s excellence contributed significantly to that.
When one looked at their mentorship, it was indeed more of a mutual assistance relationship rather than simply a master aiding a student.
The student also repaid the teacher tremendously.
Meanwhile, on the other side, the elves dwelling on the islands had no idea of the human scheming.
Those elven soldiers stood at their posts like clockwork, waiting for the human attack to arrive, so they could joyfully chase those humans away.
For those elven soldiers on the islands, watching the human soldiers flee with their tails between their legs became one of the rare joys of their days.
So, in the future, would they still have such fun?
