Lord of the Truth

Chapter 1880 Bizarre negotiating- 1

Somewhere in the Young Sector 100-

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

”Let me understand this properly...” The Prime Minister of the True Beginning Empire, Kristan, forcefully raked his thick hair as if he were trying to shake off a nest of rats clinging to his head. He then flicked his hand away with clear irritation, straightened himself, and turned his gaze once more toward the person seated on the opposite side of the round negotiation table. His voice was cold and sharp as he asked, ”You are asking for death?”

”What kind of question is that, for hellʼs sake?!” The man sitting across from him-a brown-skinned figure with three eyes embedded prominently in his face-slammed his palm hard against the table. The sound echoed as he pointed directly at Krstan, his three eyes darting around the hall in disbelief. ”How do you expect me to negotiate with this lunatic?!”

”This lunatic can erase the ruin you dare to call an empire with a single gesture from me, you dog!!” Kristan snapped back. He rose to his feet and placed one leg atop the negotiation table in a blatantly disrespectful stance. ”We came here to hear your surrender and your apology for attacking us first, not to listen to demands or conditions. Who do you people think you are?!”

”This behavior is completely unacceptable!” The man on the other side of the table roared in rage. ”I am a respected planetary emperor who has ruled for hundreds of thousands of years. The day you were born, you human child, feels like yesterday to me!” His fury was so intense that the grinding of his teeth rang clearly throughout the vast, open hall.

If any other entity in the entire Young Belt had called him a dog, he would have risen instantly and killed them without the slightest hesitation. Yet, when it came to the True Beginning Empire, he had no such freedom. He was forced to restrain himself. He did not dare to release his energy, nor did he attempt to intimidate Kristan in any way-despite the fact that, in terms of raw personal strength, he far surpassed him.

This restraint was not due to the overwhelming military might of the True Beginning Empire. It was not because his own supreme lord had pressured him to halt the war. And it was certainly not because he was a coward or lacked confidence in himself...

It was because of the five individuals standing silently behind Kristan.

They were clad in armor of absolute blackness, their posture relaxed, almost casual. Faint, indifferent smiles rested on their faces as they looked past the negotiation hall toward the magnificent scenery stretching across the distant horizon, as though the tense confrontation before them was of no consequence at all.

They were the Imperial Guards.

The planetary emperor of the Shining Torrent Empire sat there alongside several high-ranking officials of his government, with a number of princes standing behind him-the strongest entities in his empire aside from himself. And yet, deep in his heart, he felt with chilling clarity that any single one of those five guards could slaughter everyone present without effort.

Unwilling to further escalate the situation by clashing again with that madman, the planetary emperor chose not to pull the rope any tighter. Instead, he turned his head toward the human woman seated beside Kristan. ”Do you truly intend for this man to continue the negotiations?” he demanded. ”Do you wish to return to war? Is there not a single reasonable man among you at all?!”

”...” Emily met the emperorʼs gaze, a clear trace of irritation flickering in her eyes. After a brief pause, she reached out and tugged firmly at Kristanʼs shirt, forcing him to sit back down. ”Let us listen a little more, Mr. Prime Minister,” she said calmly. ”Perhaps the gentleman here means something else.”

”What is there to reinterpret?!” Kristan shouted as he dropped back into his seat. ”Yes, we came prepared to discuss some light trade to ease the atmosphere, but that bastard is demanding that we purchase goods worth ten million Pearls every single year. We are a vast industrial and innovative empire with thousands of planets under our control-what could we possibly lack that would justify buying such quantities from them? Heʼs officially insane!”

”Watch your tone, mister!!” the planetary emperor said sharply, his voice carrying clear authority. ”The alliance led by my Overlord consists of sixteen empires, clans, and commercial entities. Every single one of them has seen their interests damaged by this war, and every single one of them demands compensation for those losses. We, too, seek to rebuild our empire after you stripped us of so many planets and after more than half of our military forces were annihilated!”

”.....” Kristan knit his brows in obvious disbelief, then slowly turned his head toward Emily. ”Do I look like some kind of wish-granting genie because of my hairstyle?” he asked dryly. ”Is that where the misunderstanding comes from?” ”You are completely unreasonable!!” the planetary emperor roared, before shifting his gaze back to Emily. ”Madam, you at least appear somewhat rational. With all those frozen interests and all that devastation, do we not have the right to demand compensation? We didnʼt even ask for every planet you seized from us. All we want is to compensate the supreme lordʼs alliance before a catastrophe inevitably descends.”

”And what exactly do they have in their hands to make anything happen?” Emily asked coolly, her tone utterly devoid of concern.

They had already declared war on Caesar once before, right in the middle of a grand banquet. In response, the Marshal had dispatched a Note Armada, with Peon and Renara at its head, unleashing every heavy weapon at their disposal. The blow had been decisive enough to silence them completely and force them back to the negotiation table. Attempting to threaten them again now was

nothing short of insanity.

”Madam,” the planetary emperor said, knitting his three brows together, ”things are changing rapidly in the Middle Belt, and alliances form far more easily than before. Perhaps my Overlordʼs alliance alone is... weak, to some extent.” He spoke with bitterness. ”But they are not the only enemies of the Cradle Empire. Many forces are seeking to unite against it. There is a certain millennial power that has been harassing them for some time, gathering allies as it goes-and my supreme lord has already received an invitation.”

”Oh,” Emily replied with a faint smile, ”that sounds promising. Perhaps you should join them.”

”.....” The planetary emperor stared at her for a long, heavy moment. ”Are all of you in the True Beginning Empire insane?” he asked slowly. ”Iʼm asking this in

all seriousness...”

”The insane one,” Emily replied calmly, ”is the one who boasts about having the advantage while being the party that actually needs negotiations and an end to the war, sir.” It was clear from her eyes that exhaustion weighed on her. ”If you wish to preserve the Shining Torrent Empire to see another day, you must negotiate in good faith.”

”I am negotiating in good faith!” the planetary emperor raised his voice again. ”The sixteen powers under my lord are either major economic giants that depend heavily on raw material sales from the Young Belt, or impoverished forces that cling to anything they can obtain from the Young Belt. All of them want this war to end so they can simply continue their lives-but they will not hesitate for a second to ally with that millennial empire if you attempt to cut off their supply lines!”

”And now we must find solution to all these losses,” he continued, his words coming faster, ”or we will remain trapped in this endless spiral! Yes, you might swallow us whole here and now, but what about the Cradle Empire? The alliance will not remain silent if we fail to reach an agreement that properly compensates their losses!”

”....” Kristan stared into the planetary emperorʼs eyes for several long moments, then silently sent a telepathic message to Emily: Leave him to me. Iʼll cap the trade exchange at a maximum of one million pearls per year- a perfectly reasonable figure that cannot realistically be refused. Theyʼll accept it whether they like it or not. Just choose what the empire needs, and Iʼll squeeze him dry.

”... Very well. Let us allow this discussion to move forward,” Emily said after receiving the message. She then addressed the planetary emperor directly. ”Bring us a list of what you intend to sell, along with the prices you are

demanding.”

”Now this is much better,” the planetary emperor said, passing a small crystal

orb into Emilyʼs hand.

”Hmm?” Emily sent her spiritual sense flowing into the orb. Almost

immediately, her brow furrowed slightly. ”What exactly is this!?”