Sovereign of the Ashes

Chapter 1733: Bold Invitation

In this world, what truly mattered was strength, not eloquence.

Because the Magus Civilization was stronger and held the upper hand on the battlefield, mages like Potsdam and Sein could afford to take such an aggressive stance at the negotiating table.

The Gallant Federation, by contrast, could only argue its case through logic.

They could not possibly flip the table and walk out.

After all, it was the Gallant Federation that had initiated the request for an information exchange.

This meant that only the Magus Civilization could afford to flip the table if the talks did not go the way they wanted.

Although Potsdam was a well-read Rank Five mage, his behavior at the negotiating table was closer to that of a domineering, boorish knight.

Still, one had to admit—it was a rather exhilarating sight.

While Potsdam continued to drone on about how absurdly powerful the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s “Infinite Energy Device” supposedly was, and how disadvantageous this exchange was for the Magus Civilization, Sein turned his gaze toward Bond across the long table.

With a smile, he asked, “Marshal Rommel, the one who strongly pushed for this information exchange with our Magus Civilization... Is he not afraid of facing impeachment back home?”

“Especially with information technologies like these, if they end up being misused, someone might very well be held accountable,” Sein added with a chuckle.

Sein’s question drew a cold snort from Bond. “Such matters are none of your concern.”

He then shot back sharply, “Mage Sein, it seems you learned quite a bit about our Gallant Federation during your infiltration of our star domain.”

“Well, my understanding of your federation is fairly superficial. To be honest, I feel no deep animosity toward federal humans like you,” Sein said with a faint smile.

The two spoke openly, unconcerned with the audience around them.

As a result, many nearby turned their attention toward them, quietly recording the exchange.

Bond furrowed his brow slightly, as though analyzing the deeper meaning behind Sein’s words.

Within the Gallant Federation’s recording devices, Sein appeared shrouded in a hazy blur, thanks to the Faceless Mask he wore.

Under the scrutiny of Bond and the other federal representatives, Sein smiled and elaborated on his earlier remarks.

“Our Magus Civilization warmly welcomes, and places great value on, pragmatic talents like you, and Marshal Rommel as well. If a day ever comes when you can no longer remain within the Gallant Federation, or if you find yourselves ostracized, perhaps you might consider joining our Magus Civilization instead,” he said.

“I can assure you that within the Magus Alliance, a place would undoubtedly be reserved for you,” Sein concluded with a smile.

It was a bold invitation—extended straight into enemy ranks.

Not only were the federation’s representatives at the table stunned, but many of the Magus Civilization’s powerhouses were as well.

Master Potsdam’s tirade was abruptly cut short.

The Rank Five mage reacted the fastest, slamming his palm onto the table as he barked, “Exactly! Why not just join the Magus Alliance? What future do you think you have opposing our Magus Civilization?”

The farce, however, did not last long.

The federation’s personnel present were certainly not about to defect to the Magus Alliance on the spot.

Bond’s expression darkened.

He now understood the truly sinister intent behind Sein’s move. This meeting was being recorded, and Sein’s open attempt to recruit both Bond and Marshal Rommel would inevitably make its way to the upper echelons of the Gallant Federation.

Just as Sein had implied, Marshal Rommel had strongly pushed for this information exchange with the Magus Civilization. Did he really not fear impeachment once he returned?

That single decision had already become a liability for the marshal upon arriving at this subspace battlefield.

Marshal Rommel had never wanted this meaningless warfare in this subspace to begin with. His stance inevitably clashed with the ambitions of certain politicians and high-ranking figures within the Gallant Federation.

Bond was not about to be outmaneuvered so easily. He shot back, “Did your Magus Civilization not also provide technology from the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization? On top of that, it even involves a civilizational treasure. Does Mage Feylis not fear censure from the Magus Alliance’s soul overmages?”

Bond sneered and continued, “If your faction ever finds itself unable to survive within the Magus Civilization, I could also recommend your admission into the Gallant Federation. Rest assured, we’ll report your subversion of the Nexon robots and the damage inflicted across our federation’s other star domains to our higher-ups. We won’t hold past transgressions against you.”

Sein merely smiled in response to Bond’s counter-recruitment attempt.

“You don’t have to worry about us. Our Magus World is an exceptionally united and transparent civilization. The high-level scandals so common within your Gallant Federation simply do not occur here,” he replied with a chuckle.

The decision to exchange information with the Gallant Federation had only been made after Feylis consulted with the Magus Civilization’s leadership.

At its core, this situation was fundamentally different from Marshal Rommel’s predicament.

And so, Sein had nothing to worry about.

When words failed to connect, continuing the conversation was a waste of breath. For the remainder of the negotiations, Sein did not speak another word to Bond.

In truth, he was quite intrigued by the world-class secret treasure around Bond’s wrist.

But clearly, Bond would never remove it just to let him examine it.

The most likely way for Sein to obtain that bangle was to defeat Bond on a future battlefield and claim it as his spoils of war.

Even though Sein held Bond in high regard, viewing him as a peer to Grimm and Angreas, he would show no mercy when the moment came.

Bond, he believed, would do the same.

***

The negotiations lasted nearly five days.

When they finally concluded, both sides walked away with results they found either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

In the end, the Gallant Federation refused to formally commit in writing to ceding or returning the planes it occupied around the Shadowbat Civilization, Arid Expanse World, and Planet Aquaria.

Instead, one of the federation’s negotiators verbally agreed to return two strategically insignificant low-level worlds that the Magus Civilization had lost within the Shadowbat Star Domain.

Furthermore, as the weaker party that had initiated the negotiations, the Gallant Federation offered additional compensation of roughly thirteen million neutral energy blocks to the Magus Civilization for providing intelligence related to the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization.

Those thirteen million cubic units of neutral energy blocks were delivered on the spot.

In monetary terms, that amounted to roughly two hundred million magicoins.

While the figure sounded impressive, it was trivial compared to the vast quantities of energy consumed each day across the current subspace battlefields.

In fact, the Gallant Federation likely spent more than that every single day on this one front.