Chapter 1034: Negotiation
Jorre was an elder of the Illuminati. Actually, his status was even more prestigious than that of Nasry, the commander-in-chief of the Third Fleet. Hence, when Nasry directed the topic to Elder Jorre, he was hoping that it would restrain Cantory and prevent him from creating trouble.
Upon hearing Nasry mention the Ashen Warlock, there was a slight change in Jorre’s expression, and even Cantory fell silent. Previously, they did not witness the consequences born by the messengers with their own eyes, but when they saw the messenger who seemed to be on the verge of a mental breakdown, they could imagine how terrifying it was.
Generally speaking, to Sanctuary powerhouses, those below the Sanctuary-realm were insignificant minions, and thus they would not hold anything against them. However, the Ashen Warlock was completely different from other Sanctuary powerhouses. Not only did he hold it against the insignificant, he even dealt with them harshly, leaving them with no means to survive after offending him.
The Ashen Warlock killed them just for offending him, and that was simply an insult to the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. However, after being humiliated, the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati had no choice but to grit their teeth and suck it up, not daring to think of revenge at all.
Although the Illuminati was also helmed by a Sanctuary powerhouse, the elders of the Illuminati dared not mention revenge after checking the ancient literature and learning that even Highlord Osric had been rather afraid of the Ashen Warlock during the Dark Age.
However, Cantory was not a fan of history, so he naturally did not know that the Ashen Warlock was a famous figure in history. Hence, after staying silent for a while, his arrogant expression returned, and he nonchalantly said, “There’s only one Sanctuary powerhouse in the entire Breezy Plains. At most, we’ll get Teacher to step in and restrain him. Let’s see what he can do after we kick him out of the Breezy Plains.”
After hearing Cantory’s words, the expressions of Elder Jorre and Nasry turned sullen, as if they were afraid that the Ashen Warlock would hear their words from far away.
“Cantory, keep this between us. We’ll be in great trouble if the Ashen Warlock hears this. Think about it, even if we get your teacher involved and wipe out the Breezy Plains, won’t the Ashen Warlock take revenge on the Gilded Kingdom?” Jorre said to Cantory with a stern expression.
“Yeah, judging from the way the Ashen Warlock acts, he’s really capable of doing anything,” Nasry chimed in. Regardless of the methods he used, he would be given huge credit as long as he could get enough ores from the Breezy Plains. He did not want to create unnecessary trouble.
“The Ashen Warlock has already made his stand clear. The president of the Tower of Dusk will be talking to us about the matters regarding the Breezy Plains. I think this is a form of compromise, and there’s no need for us to continue provoking him,” Elder Jorre said righteously. He did not know that the president of the Tower of Dusk was not any less ruthless than the Ashen Warlock, and thus thought that the Ashen Warlock was giving him an out.
“I hope so.” Although Nasry agreed with Elder Jorre’s words, he vaguely felt that it was a little inappropriate. He had heard that the Ashen Warlock would never leave Gran Town where he had lived for thousands of years. In that case, was the Ashen Warlock really the one who took the battleship away from the Gilded Kingdom? If it wasn’t the Ashen Warlock, wouldn’t it mean that there was another Sanctuary powerhouse in the Breezy Plains that he didn’t know of!?
However, the Gilded Kingdom’s plan was fortunately fully supported by the Illuminati this time. Even though Nasry could not figure out what the Illuminati wanted from the Breezy Plains, he just had to complete the mission.
10 days passed in a flash, and the various forces of the Breezy Plains had also arrived at Calon City one after another within this period of time. If possible, none of them wanted to provoke a major enemy like the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati. Hence, they were already prepared to fulfill the requests of the Gilded Kingdom and the Illuminati as long as they were not too absurd.
As the owner of Calon City, the Malfa Family became a participant of the negotiation even though they had yet to reach the standards of a top force. They were in charge of preparing everything that was needed for the negotiation and entertaining the representatives of the Breezy Plains.
On the other hand, Lin Li and the rest arrived in Calon City on the 10th day. Since they had become allies with the Malfa Family a long time ago, the latter welcomed and entertained them enthusiastically. Cheyenne’s disciple, Hutton, had also joined in to entertain Lin Li. Although Hutton had already stepped into the Legendary-realm, he was still far inferior to Lin Li. Cheyenne requested Lin Li to take Hutton under his wing and allow Hutton to learn and train in the Tower of Dusk because there was nothing else he could teach Hutton.
Hutton was actually rather talented, and if not for the incredibly elite Lin Li, he would have been a top prodigy of his generation. Hence, Lin Li did not decline, and agreed to Cheyenne’s request readily. After this matter ended, Hutton would follow him to the Tower of Dusk to become a student.
On the second day that Lin Li and the members of the Tower of Dusk arrived in Calon City, the negotiation initiated by the Gilded Kingdom began in the City Council Hall in the city center of Calon City. The dozens of representatives of forces from the Breezy Plains walked into the conference hall one after another, each with a stern expression. Even those who were close to each other did not hold much of a conversation.
Even though the negotiation had yet to officially begin, they could still vaguely guess the intentions of the Gilded Kingdom. Clearly, the Gilded Kingdom was intending to encroach on the Breezy Plains. If it was just the Gilded Kingdom, the forces of the Breezy Plains would not have much scruple about it. After all, the Felan Kingdom failed to subdue the Breezy Plains back then, not to mention the Gilded Kingdom which was situated in the sea. However, the Gilded Kingdom was supported by the Illuminati, which was an ancient force that was not inferior to the Brilliance Shrine.
The Breezy Plains was of a limited size, and the forces there had already distributed all of the local resources evenly. The Gilded Kingdom, which was a foreign force, was obviously trying to snatch away some benefits from each of the forces, and that was something that no other force was willing to accept. Back when the Tower of Dusk had risen, it had already taken away a huge portion of benefits from each of the forces. The Gilded Kingdom definitely had a greater appetite than the Tower of Dusk.
Although some members of a few forces in the Breezy Plains had become Sanctuary powerhouses thanks to the magic tides, they were all well aware that those who entered the Sanctuary-realm using the power of the magic tides could never be compared to true Sanctuary powerhouses. Hence, none of them had the courage to go against the Gilded Kingdom. If they were to provoke the true Sanctuary powerhouses of the Illuminati, it would be too late to regret.
The representatives of the many powers entered the conference hall and took their seats, each looking as if they were about to be sent to the torture chamber. In fact, it was quite the case. They waited for more than half an hour before the envoys of the Gilded Kingdom entered the conference hall. The one who took the lead was Cantory the son of the chancellor of the Gilded Kingdom, followed by Elder Jorre of the Illuminati, Nasry the commander-in-chief of the Third Fleet, and a few administrative staff who were holding several documents.
After sitting in the main seat of the conference hall, Cantory looked up at the crowd, and cleared his throat gently with his chin raised before saying, “Everyone is present, right? In this case, let’s move on to the main topic of the conference.”
Deep down, Cantory did not think much of these local forces. Even though they were the so-called top forces, they could not compare to the mighty Gilded Kingdom and the ancient force, the Illuminati! Hence, he did not take the negotiation seriously, either, and simply felt that it was redundant. He felt that the forces would never dare to defy him once he raised his conditions!
“Envoy Cantory, the members of the Tower of Dusk have yet to arrive. Should we wait a little?” the representative of a certain force reminded cautiously.
Hearing that the people from the Tower of Dusk actually hadn’t arrived yet, Cantory’s face turned sullen immediately. He deliberately decided to be late for more than half an hour all because he wanted to show his dominance. However, he did not expect the Tower of Dusk to make him wait.
“The Tower of Dusk? Aren’t they just one of the forces of the Breezy Plains? Since they’re not taking this conference seriously, we don’t have to wait for them,” Cantory said with a hostile expression. In his opinion, there were many forces in the Breezy Plains, and the Tower of Dusk did not matter at all. Since they were late, he would make them bear the consequences for their unpunctuality later.
However, Elder Jorre stopped Cantory at this moment, and said, “We’d better wait a little longer. After all, they are also a force of the Breezy Plains. Let’s discuss when everyone is present.”
Elder Jorre did not say that because he had a good temper, but because he had recalled the words of the messenger whose life was spared by the Ashen Warlock. He did not think that the Ashen Warlock would appoint a random person to represent him. Clearly, the president of the Tower of Dusk was valued highly by the Ashen Warlock.
Cantory frowned, and was about to say something to Elder Jorre, but he suddenly heard footsteps approaching outside the door. However, the footsteps were not hurried, and the newcomers finally appeared in the conference hall only after a few minutes.
The people who arrived were Lin Li followed by Basel and Alan. Despite arriving late at the conference hall, the trio entered without explaining anything to anyone, went straight to the end of the hall, and sat down at the exact spot facing Cantory and the others.