Chapter 83: Ambition and Patience (Part 2)

  Here is the translation:

  As Croak King was lost in thought, Liu Yu didn't disturb him and just quietly waited for him to come back to reality. "Alas, I'm old, and my mind wanders," Croak King said with a self-deprecating smile after a while. "It's okay, I think you must have had some remarkable achievements when you were young, tell me about them!" Liu Yu knew that Croak King was also a legendary figure in his youth. He had won many battles and achieved countless military merits, not only leading tens of thousands of beastmen to roam freely within the borders of the Fandor Empire but also traveling around the continent to make a name for himself as a member of the Willin family. Later, at the age of 40, he defeated the previous king's son and became the Beast King, and has been in power for over 40 years. Whether in public or private life, Croak King was considered very successful. In private: As the only Golden Bloodline among his four brothers, Croak King did not disappoint, bringing their branch to the forefront of the Willin family and snatching the throne from the Dira family. In public: During these 40 years, the Beast Kingdom had repeatedly defeated the Fandor Empire, maintaining its national strength without any decline despite numerous famines and external pressures from the Fandor army. Therefore, Croak King's prestige among the common people of the Beast Kingdom was extremely high. "You don't have to flatter me, kid, what I've done is nothing special, and there aren't many kings in history who are worse than me." Facing Liu Yu, who wanted to hear stories, Croak King just chuckled and passed it off. "Hehe..." The old man didn't want to talk, and Liu Yu couldn't force him. "Where were we? Ah yes, your age, I think you understand that what you've done is already very good, don't be too impatient. To achieve great things, you need to have sufficient accumulation, and the time required for this accumulation depends on your strength and how big you want to achieve. The bigger your goal, the longer it takes to prepare and accumulate. If you try without preparation, there's little chance of success, and if you're unlucky, you'll waste years of hard work. Even if you're lucky and succeed once, will the Beast God always bless you?" Croak King quickly returned to the topic. "'A small accumulation of water cannot support a large ship.' 'A small accumulation of wind cannot support a large wing.'" Before Croak King finished speaking, Liu Yu thought of two sentences from the Taoist sage Zhuangzi, which conveyed the same idea as what Croak King was saying. Liu Yu also agreed with the old man's words.

  Here is the translation:

  "You started learning about state affairs at my side when you were 13 years old, and you also know a lot about our greatest enemy, Fanord. Now I'm asking you, what makes Fanord Empire, which has been the strongest empire on the continent for thousands of years, so powerful?"

  This time, when mentioning Fanord Empire, King Koro didn't have his usual serious expression, but instead had a smile on his face and asked Liu Yu in a relaxed tone.

  "Fanord Empire, with its vast territory of tens of thousands of miles in the central and southern regions of the continent, has the largest population, the powerful Wind and Thunder Dou Qi of the Piping family, and the support of the seven major Dou Qi public houses. These are all their strong points, but they are just external things. Their strongest point is actually the wisdom of the Piping family. They can establish and control the seven major Dou Qi public houses, help them maintain their military strength, cultivate and select talents like Hadrian as the crown prince, and basically keep the vast territory stable. All these show the terrifying wisdom of this family."

  Liu Yu's expression became excited when he heard about Fanord Empire, and he sat up straight and thought for a while before answering King Koro's question.

  King Koro seemed surprised by Liu Yu's words, and his smile gradually disappeared as he listened to him. When Liu Yu finished speaking, King Koro slowly stood up and walked to the edge of the city wall, stroking the black stone wall with his hand.

  Liu Yu thought that maybe King Koro was going to scold him, but fortunately, nothing like that happened. Instead, Elder Mikel spoke up again.

  "Let me continue, old man!" he said.

  King Koro looked at Mikel for a moment, and then his cold expression suddenly disappeared, replaced by a smile.

  "Hehe, Alexander, listen carefully. There are three answers to your grandfather's question. The worst one is to think that Fanord Empire's large population and vast territory are advantages. Your father, Gaiya, and my useless nephew, Kain, all thought this way."

  Liu Yu thought to himself that Mikel was actually scolding his father for being incompetent, but he didn't dare say anything.

  "The second one is like you, who saw the outstanding governance wisdom of Fanord Empire's imperial family. I admit that the Piping family is indeed very remarkable, and their system is really good, making this empire strong. You're already quite impressive to think of this."

  However, before Liu Yu could feel happy, Mikel continued.

  "But this is still not enough. These are not the most outstanding aspects of the Piping family."

  Liu Yu wondered what Mikel thought was the third answer, but instead, he asked another question.

  "Have you been to Wenspring Pass? Do you know the history of our kingdom?"

  King Koro interrupted before Liu Yu could respond.

  "You underestimate my grandson. This kid knows the history of all the tribes on the continent like the back of his hand. You can speak freely."

  Mikel's expression changed from surprise to a smile when he heard King Koro's words.

  "Ah, no wonder you have such insight. Good, very good indeed."

  When Mikel spoke about the history of the beastman empire, Liu Yu had already heard it many times before, but today, listening to Mikel say it out loud made him feel different, as if there was more to the story than what was written in the history books.

  Mikel's eyes gleamed with a fierce light when he spoke about the grudge between the beastman empire and the other tribes, and Liu Yu felt that his guess was correct.

  Welcome to vote for recommendations, your support is Liu Yu's greatest motivation to become stronger.