Next, Ellie ordered Bell to go to another cabin and drag the other elves over, and she specifically told her to drag them directly! Don't be soft-hearted! This action was for the Slane Theocracy's guards to see!
Of course, it was also for the other elves present to see. After all, they now knew Ellie's true identity, so she had to make them understand that she was not allied with Theocracy.
After Bell left, Ellie briefly explained to Ti Du why she was in Theocracy, though it was still a fabricated story.
She claimed that the Ainz Ooal Gown Magic Kingdom's ideals were incompatible with Theocracy's human-supremacy doctrine, so Theocracy had already become their biggest enemy. Although they were currently at peace, a conflict would inevitably arise one day. Therefore, to be prepared and avoid being passive when war broke out, she, as a Princess, disguised herself and infiltrated Theocracy.
Ti Du listened to this explanation, completely stunned, while Tilly maintained her dismissive attitude. As a result, she received two more kicks from Ti Du.
"But... to have a Princess personally act as a spy... I just feel..." Ti Du finally raised her doubts, as it was indeed hard to believe.
For people of this world, a Princess should be like the Golden Princess, spending her days admiring flowers, tending to plants, and sipping tea! Or perhaps teasing Climb. Directly infiltrating enemy territory was unheard of!
"There's no other way, I volunteered to come. After all, my father, Ainz Ooal Gown, personally goes to the battlefield. As his daughter, I naturally cannot bring shame upon my father, unlike a certain young lady struggling while tied to the ground," Ellie said, glancing at Tilly.
"You scoundrel!! I don't care if you're a Princess or not! Release me at once!" Tilly shouted. After Bell dragged the other elves over, Tilly was the only one still tied up. Everyone else had long been untied. She was, after all, a young lady, and it was quite embarrassing for her to remain bound while her attendants were free.
"Um... Princess, could you please untie the young lady?" Ti Du also looked very troubled.
"You can call me Clementine here. As for whether to release her? Sister Ti Du, can you guarantee she won't bite me after I let her go?" Ellie also feigned a troubled expression.
"What do you take me for! Release me quickly!" Tilly continued to yell.
"Still... keep her tied!" Ti Du understood Tilly's personality perfectly. If she were released now, a furious Tilly would definitely pounce on this Princess who had thoroughly humiliated her.
"Ti Du, you!" Tilly hadn't expected Ti Du not to help her this time. She immediately wilted and quieted down.
"Then why have you come here?" Ti Du, seeing Tilly calm, continued to ask Ellie the question in her heart.
"Have you ever heard the saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'? You and the Slane Theocracy are enemies, just like our Magic Kingdom. We share a common enemy. However, this time the Slane Theocracy has sent more troops, and it seems they want to destroy your Elf Kingdom quickly. So, I've come to help you," Ellie said.
"Help us? If you're truly looking at it from a national perspective, wouldn't a prolonged stalemate between the Slane Theocracy and the Elf Kingdom be more beneficial to your Magic Kingdom? Isn't your real goal just to keep the Elf Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy fighting? In the end, aren't you just trying to make the Elf Kingdom continue to fight the Slane Theocracy?" Tilly became agitated again as soon as she heard Ellie's words.
"Hmph! Shallow. Would you rather see your country swallowed by the Slane Theocracy and all your compatriots enslaved, or continue this mutual containment and struggle?!" Ellie scoffed.
Indeed, proposing to help the Elf Kingdom at this moment, from the Magic Kingdom's perspective, it would be better for the two countries to remain in a prolonged struggle. However, this was not a good idea for the Elf Kingdom.
After all, the elves had been trapped in this inexplicable quagmire of war for too long. If it weren't for the mist and Theocracy always reserving troops to guard against an impending crisis, the Elf Kingdom would have been beyond saving long ago.
"There's no need for your Magic Kingdom to worry about it! Even if all of Theocracy's immediate forces came, they might not be able to conquer the Elf Kingdom! There's absolutely no need for other countries to worry," Tilly said.
"Oh? Is that so? You should know that this time, the reinforcements include not only the entire Fire Extinguishing Scripture unit, which is highly skilled in guerrilla warfare within Theocracy, but more importantly... my participation. I forgot to tell you, my identity in Theocracy is a seat in the Black Scripture, and during a meeting, the Black Scripture team was also supposed to be dispatched, but I vetoed it. The reason Theocracy is so eager to take you down is because they feel the pressure from the Magic Kingdom, so they must deal with you quickly to avoid being attacked from both front and back. However... those big words you just spoke, let me tell you the truth! What I'm about to say might be a bit of a blow to you, but I'm not targeting you, rather, I'm saying that those people in your Elf Kingdom are all trash!" Ellie declared bluntly.
Ellie's words not only provoked strong dissatisfaction from Tilly, but even those who had been revived by Ellie showed expressions of disgust.
"Actually, for Theocracy to destroy you, they don't even need the Fire Extinguishing Scripture to come. I alone would be enough. You could say you're lucky that I didn't intend to destroy you. Of course... I also have another option, which is to have my subordinates come and destroy your country before Theocracy, to occupy your Elf Kingdom first. The effect would actually be the same, but I just don't want to do that," Ellie continued, intending to provoke these people and make them face reality.
"There's a limit to bragging. Just you? Don't make me laugh. You can only show off now. Oh, oh! So that's why you've been unwilling to untie me all along, are you afraid you can't beat me? I understand." Tilly completely refused to accept it, which was within Ellie's expectations.
"Is that so! Believe it or not, I'll tear you apart right now!" Ellie feigned anger, wanting to kick Tilly. Bell and Ti Du quickly restrained Ellie.
"Clementine is not joking with you. If she really wanted to attack you, you wouldn't be able to stop her. A few days ago, when the Dragon Kingdom was invaded by the Beast Kingdom, Clementine alone repelled the Beast Kingdom's army of nearly 100,000 within three days. If Clementine truly wanted to attack your Elf Kingdom, you probably wouldn't last even a day," Bell said while holding Ellie back.
Bell rarely provided such good assistance. After they returned, Ellie thought, she would buy her some Sticky Rice Cake from that village!
"That incredible feat was done by you, a shorty? That's the funniest joke I've heard in my life." However, Tilly didn't believe it and continued to mock Ellie.
From Tilly's words, it was clear that the Elf Kingdom also seemed to know about the Dragon Kingdom repelling the Beastmen army. After all, a part of the Elf Kingdom's territory bordered the Beast Kingdom and the Dragon Kingdom, so it was normal to know about their neighbors' affairs. That made it even better.
"Oh! It seems you really want to experience death once." Ellie decisively rolled up her sleeves, feigning an attempt to teach Tilly a lesson, but was once again stopped by Bell and Ti Du.
"Tilly, you really are something! Would it kill you to say less?!" Ti Du also scolded Tilly helplessly.
"Hmph!" Tilly turned her head, showing no gratitude. "Clementine, please don't take it to heart. The young lady just has a bit of a bad mouth." Ti Du, seeing Ellie who looked furious, quickly apologized.
However, Ellie wasn't angry. Although being called a'shorty' made Ellie a bit uncomfortable, she could get revenge for that 'later.' For now, she could only reluctantly cooperate with Tilly's act.
That's right, Ellie had already noticed something was off when Tilly tried every means to mock her. In their previous conversation, Ellie had realized that this young lady was not just any ordinary spoiled young lady.
After all, she had played such a role herself for a period in the Empire, so the words meant to deliberately provoke felt too intentional. Although she didn't know Tilly's purpose in intentionally annoying her, she decided to play along first and see what she was trying to achieve!
"If it weren't for Ti Du's sake! I'd tear your mouth apart!" Ellie said, feigning extreme displeasure.
Sure enough, Tilly continued to utter unpleasant words, deliberately provoking Ellie. Ellie had already seen through her little trick, but... she just didn't understand her purpose in doing so yet.
"So, Clementine, how will you help us?" Ti Du managed to silence Tilly with great difficulty, then, to divert the Princess's attention and perhaps also fearing she might go back on her word, Ti Du quickly questioned Ellie.
"That depends on yourselves. Although I don't know why you're being hunted by your own kind, and I don't want to know, if you want to return to the Elf Kingdom, I can help you. Of course... in return, you must also assist me," Ellie said.
"Although it's a bit presumptuous, but... what do you want to see our King for?" Ti Du asked somewhat awkwardly. Judging by Ti Du's expression, she seemed to be aware of the Elf King's character.
"That depends on his performance then!" Ellie said, revealing a smile laced with killing intent.
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