Two beautiful young women nodded to them with smiles. An invisible spiritual shockwave burst forth, causing the two girls to groan softly before slumping backward. Gu Xichen's spiritual shock was enough to keep them asleep for three days and nights. Along the way, he also knocked Hu Kan and Ducat to the ground, but even as the little one fell, he instinctively protected the wine bottle strapped to his body—a testament to the powerful instincts of a smuggler that Gu Xichen couldn't help but admire! "Them!" Fuya, Ming jumped up fiercely, looking at Gu Xichen in disbelief: "You are... a Nengzhe?"

Nengzhe $&m;$, the term the Star Alliance used for various individuals with special abilities. Gu Xichen nodded: "I suppose Liang Qiang counts as one?" The former Gu Xichen could be considered a half-ice-element Nengzhe, but now, he was a cultivator practicing the Taiyin Zhenjing, not a Nengzhe in the purest sense. "Why did you knock them out?" Fuya, Ming frowned: "They are my personal maids; they have followed me for ten years!"

"A good personal maid would never just stand by and watch her master!" Gu Xichen stated calmly: "Unless she has ulterior motives, there are occasions when their gaze should not be fixed upon their master."

Fuya, Ming’s face turned slightly pale again. She grit her teeth fiercely and slowly sat back down in her original spot. As a royal princess, Fuya, Ming understood more than Gu Xichen, but she simply refused to believe certain things.

After a moment of silence, she pulled a transparent crystal, about the size of a child's palm, from her pocket. She pressed the four corners of the rhombic crystal, and a milky white light screen shot up nearly a meter high from the crystal. Within it appeared a man who was handsome and elegant, possessing the air of an artist, but a pair of slightly drooping triangular eyes completely ruined that aura, instantly transforming him from a graceful artist into a pervert dissecting wild boar carcasses in a basement late at night. "Dao Gen, Dao Gen—Prince, the sole hereditary Prince of the Yafike Kingdom, the military and political leader of the Kingdom—"

Fuya, Ming spoke softly: "Among the four Dukes of the Yafike Kingdom, only Duke Jinpolohua supports him, but Duke Jinpolohua $\{$ is the commander of that Rapid Mobile Unit."

Her finger tapped the chip, and a middle-aged man with pale hair and delicate features appeared in the light screen. The man’s front profile was quite handsome, but the skin on the side of his cheek sagged like melted ice cream, with large patches of dull, dead skin hanging down, giving him the ferocious look of a mummy or zombie from an ancient tomb.

"He is Duke Jinpolohua; he commands the five thousand most elite soldiers in the Kingdom," Fuya, Ming ground out.

Picking up a teacup and taking a sip of fruit tea, Gu Xichen very politely pushed the natural crystal cup filled with liquor away from him. He said lightly: "Mm, thank you, I don't drink... What is the combat strength of those fifty thousand men? Compared to your own soldiers?"

Hu Kan and Ducat stared dumbfounded at Gu Xichen. "He doesn't drink?"

Fuya, Ming raised her eyebrows in surprise. She sighed and shook her head: "The Rapid Mobile Unit is the only decent force our Kingdom possesses. According to the Star Alliance's combat power assessment standards, they are at least a Third-Tier Main Force. To be precise, the other soldiers under me and Dao Gen are merely armed civilians."

After chuckling bitterly a few times, Fuya, Ming said helplessly: "Although I hate to admit it, they are just armed civilians; their combat effectiveness is not much better than common citizens."

Tapping the crystal repeatedly, Fuya, Ming introduced all the important figures under Prince Dao Gen to Gu Xichen, including one Duke, three Marquises, and over fifty nobles of varying ranks. The noble circle in the Yafike Kingdom was not extensive; including the noble leaders on Fuya, Ming’s side, the entire noble class of the Kingdom comprised only about two hundred families, large and small.

Next, she introduced the commanders under Prince Dao Gen who were considered relatively capable, whom Fuya, Ming judged to be somewhat like capable generals.

However, in Gu Xichen's estimation, these so-called capable generals wouldn't even qualify for entry into the Earth Federation Army. In the Earth Federation Army, even a private had cultivated Federal Martial Arts for at least a decade; even if they couldn't manifest True Qi, their physique would be as sturdy as a bear. These more than three hundred individuals under Dao Gen, whom Fuya, Ming described as capable generals, if sent to the Earth Federation, would only be fit to hold batons and swagger while on patrol, constantly worrying about being beaten up by overly tough local thugs.

Exchanging a look with Hu Kan, Hu Kan secretly made a gesture indicating severe beating and domination. Fuya, Ming was an incoming sucker—a rare target for someone who controlled an entire country!

Soon, the introduction of the more than three hundred commanders of various ranks was finished. Fuya, Ming's expression became extremely serious, and she said in a low voice: "The people introduced after this are members of the diplomatic mission from Doko Federation, the neighboring country to the Yafike Kingdom. However, in reality, they are the Doko Federation's military advisory group, directly interfering in our Yafike Kingdom's internal affairs." Fuya, Ming straightened up and stared directly at Gu Xichen: "The Doko Federation possesses two primary administrative planets, four and a half million regular ground troops, three hundred thousand special forces, and they also command a super unit composed of five hundred Nengzhes."

A silence fell over the bar. Hu Kan and Ducat wore grim expressions, 'frightened' by the scale of the Doko Federation's military force described by Fuya, Ming. Such a small army seemed utterly defenseless! How many troops had the Earth Federation deployed to the front lines of Paradise Star? Over twenty million in total, right? And that didn't even count the forces currently locked in brutal combat on the Thirteenth Conjunction Star!

As for the number of warships—one hundred and fifty? That was less than the total number of warships commanded by a single Selekt family of the Romans. Of course, given the difference in technological levels, the Doko Federation's warships might possess superior combat capability, but the sheer numbers suggested that the Doko Federation was truly a 'peace-loving $&m;$' nation!

As for Gu Xichen, his eyebrows didn't even twitch. He looked at Fuya, Ming nonchalantly: "Your Highness, what are you trying to imply?"

Fuya, Ming frowned: "As far as I know, no mercenary group is willing to get involved in a conflict with an entire nation! Even if... your mercenary group possessed three hundred thousand troops..."

Gu Xichen understood—Fuya, Ming didn't believe he commanded three hundred thousand mercenaries! Of course, Gu Xichen didn't currently have three hundred thousand mercenaries on hand, but the strength he currently possessed was not much weaker than that of thirty thousand regular soldiers. Instinctively, he reached out, grabbed the wine bottle Fuya, Ming had set aside earlier, and downed two huge gulps, cleanly swallowing nearly one and a half liters of the liquid.

Vigorously wiping his mouth, Gu Xichen finally noticed Fuya, Ming's shocked gaze. He awkwardly set the bottle down and gave a dry laugh: "Apologies, I don't drink; I just grabbed the wrong cup... Well, let's put it this way: we don't care about the pressure from the Doko Federation. As long as Your Highness signs the employment agreement with us, we wouldn't even mind going to war with the Doko Federation!"

Fuya, Ming's face lit up with joy. She couldn't bother arguing with Gu Xichen about whether he drank or not. Indeed, in the entire Yafike Kingdom, no one could down one and a half liters of this 'highly distilled spirit' called 'Sun’s Blush' $&m;$ in one go. Although it was only a distilled liquor of under thirty proof, for the Yafike people, three or four cups were enough to get drunk. A person like Gu Xichen, who could finish one and a half liters without even blushing, could not be found anywhere in the Yafike Kingdom. The delighted Princess immediately pressed the crystal again, and the image in the light screen shifted.

It was a middle-aged man, slightly darker skinned, lean, and tall. His facial contours were as straight as if carved by a knife. Just looking at the image on the screen gave one an overwhelming sense of murderous intent. Gu Xichen nodded; this fellow was acceptable, barely worthy of his notice. He appeared to be a decent professional soldier.

"General Binkel, Military Exchange Officer at the Doko Federation Embassy in the Yafike Kingdom, and Prince Dao Gen's private military advisor. He directly commands a Doko Federation unit, ranging in size from five hundred to fifteen hundred soldiers, directly involved in our resistance. In the past six months, over eight hundred and ninety of my resistance fighters have been killed, and over two thousand seven hundred captured. It's highly likely he was personally responsible," Fuya, Ming said through gritted teeth. "If possible, I hope your people can eliminate Binkel and his troops at the first opportunity. If you succeed, I can officially hire you!"

Gu Xichen extended his hand, smiling and nodding: "Then it's settled. You provide the intelligence, I take him out, and then we discuss the compensation you will pay us. How about that?"

Fuya, Ming paused for a moment before hesitantly extending her hand, letting her fingers briefly brush against Gu Xichen's in a touch as light as a dragonfly skimming water.

Her fingers were cool and smooth, feeling almost like they carried a strange current, leaving Gu Xichen's palm slightly numb.

"A very strange feeling!" Gu Xichen confessed to himself: "This woman's skin is very good." He didn't know that the customs in the Yafike Kingdom were extremely conservative; a royal princess like Fuya, Ming was forbidden from letting any strange man approach within three meters, let alone shake hands with one. Gu Xichen smiled, and Fuya, Ming returned a slightly unsettled smile.

Just then, the door to the command hall suddenly burst open. O'Dohr, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably, rushed in wielding a curved amphibious saber.

As if he hadn't seen Fuya, Ming, he casually hurled an exquisitely crafted saber with a gold-inlaid and jade-encrusted scabbard toward Hu Kan. "You despicable, shameless coward who resorts to sneak attacks! Duel like a true nobleman!" "I, O'Dohr, son of Duke Jinlihua, challenge you to a fight to the death!" "Duel like a true nobleman!"

Gu Xichen exchanged a surprised glance with Ducat; their spiritual sense and mental power simultaneously scanned O'Dohr's body.

"Such courage! With that physique, challenging Hu Kan! Truly an act of immense bravery!"