Negotiations (Part 2)

"Yes, you are not our subordinates whom we order around, but our companions. The moment I took you in, Uriala, I considered you my friend," Avril said with a smile, stroking Uriala's feathers.

"Hmph..." Although Uriala snorted at Avril's words, she was actually quite pleased to see Avril like this.

Stosa, seeing Issui and the others so harmonious, was even more furious. "Fine, you two traitors! I will never let you get away with this! I was blind before, even personally teaching you how to fight, and this is the result? You are so disappointing!"

Seeing Stosa trembling, Jiligao Li quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't be impulsive, Stosa. We didn't come here to fight today, and... and with Leins and Uriala as their helpers, we don't have a 100% chance of winning. Calm down. Are you a child anymore? After all these years, have you lost your composure? Even without them, so what? We can still support the future of the entire Demon Clan!"

"But... but I'm really... unwilling to accept this. I want to ask them, why did they betray the Demon Clan?" Stosa was stopped by Jiligao Li and regained his senses, but he still couldn't accept this fact.

"Alright, if you just wanted to come here to enjoy the scenery, you'd better leave. We elves don't welcome guests like you. We heard you slaughtered all the dwarfs' experts. If you don't tell us your purpose, we won't be so polite. We'll keep you here no matter the cost!" Marilyn said sternly, her tone menacing.

"Don't get too excited. We're not here to fight you. We're here to negotiate on behalf of the magical beasts," Jiligao Li said, spreading his hands. He didn't want to fight a battle he wasn't sure he could win. A human God Level expert, two elven God Level experts, plus Leins and Uriala —he and Stosa had no chance of taking them down together. They might even lose their lives.

"Is that so? Then there's no problem. Please come with us. Let's officially enter the negotiation phase. Some things should have been resolved by now..." Marilyn breathed a sigh of relief. If the two of them fought against her side, her side would definitely suffer more losses. It would be much easier if they took the initiative to negotiate.

"Alright, lead the way, Stosa, let's go..." Jiligao Li said calmly, pulling Stosa's arm and warning him again not to go too far, for impulsiveness is the devil.

Issui and his group followed Marilyn into a secret chamber alongside the two old monsters, Stosa and Jiligao Li. This chamber was exceptionally spacious and contained a miniature map of the world, which piqued Issui's interest. He examined it closely and found that the world was a nearly spherical planet with three continents on it. Issui recognized these as the Human Continent, the Elf-Dwarf Continent, and the Magic Beast Continent.

"Alright, everyone, please find a place to sit. No one will disturb us now. Let's begin the negotiations." Marilyn sat at the top of the secret chamber, signifying that she was the host of these negotiations and had the advantage. She could put pressure on the monsters to prevent them from becoming too arrogant. Sometimes, being a little tougher was a good thing and could lead to a very good outcome.

"Hehe, everyone, please sit down. Otherwise, the two of us won't be happy, after all, we initiated these negotiations." Jiligao Li, a seasoned negotiator, certainly understood Marilyn's meaning, but he wasn't intimidated. "You're tough, I'll be tougher!"

"Oh, are you inviting us to sit down? We can't possibly accept that. I didn't hear you very clearly. Could you repeat it?" Issui immediately chimed in for Marilyn. He had already sensed a hint of fear in Marilyn towards Jiligao Li. After all, years of living under the oppression of the Demon Clan had undoubtedly left her with some spiritual scars. But Issui wasn't afraid of them. He came from the Hokage World and wasn't afraid of them. Only in a real fight might Issui develop a slight fear of them, but not now.

"Haha, is my voice too soft? You human god, huh? Heh, perhaps my voice is too soft. Well then, let me say it again: please sit down, or we won't be happy!" Jiligao Li wasn't angry, but instead stared at Issui with interest. Was this kid a descendant of Argus Felia?

Suddenly, Issui felt a sensation of impending doom in his ears. A subtle yet resilient flow of air swirled within them, and he felt increasingly exhausted. What was happening?

"Stop!" Leins noticed the strange behavior in the Issui and gently called out "Stop!"

As soon as Leins' voice fell, Issui felt much better and his ears were much quieter. He gave Leins a grateful look, then stared intently at Jiligao Li's face. "Hmph, I didn't expect him to launch such a silent attack. If it weren't for Leins, he would probably have already fainted. Wouldn't that have been incredibly embarrassing?"

"Oh, I forgot you're an expert at manipulating sound, Leins..." Jiligao Li said suddenly.

"Hmph, some people's little tricks are better left alone, otherwise, if they want to cause trouble, I'll play along!" Issui said calmly, staring at Jiligao Li. He felt quite uncomfortable having been Issui without realizing it.

"Well, don't get too excited. I just wanted to say hello. I didn't expect you to be so easily 'greeted'," Jiligao Li said sinisterly. Hmph, kid, you're still too green to compete with me in terms of tactics, and your strength isn't that great either. You clearly exude the aura of Demigod, so why do other people say you're God Level powerhouse? It seems you're hiding some tricks.

"Ahem... everyone, please sit down. We're here to negotiate, not to fight. Your Highness, please have a seat. And you two envoys from the magical beasts, you'd better tone it down, otherwise..." Marilyn coughed and said. If this continues, when will the negotiations even begin?

This time, everyone finally took their seats. Leins and Uriala also transformed into human form and sat down. At the very top of the secret chamber was the Elf Queen Marilyn. To her left were Issui, Avril, Leins, and Uriala, and to her right were Stosa and Jiligao Li negotiations were about to begin.

"We, the Warcraft faction, are deeply remorseful and indignant at the massacre of our God Level warriors by the Elves, Dwarves, and Humans. We demand compensation, the surrender of the perpetrators, and submission to Warcraft. In return, we will cease our conquest of the Elves and Humans!"

Jiligao Li made an outrageous demand right from the start, and he did so with righteous indignation.

"Impossible! We absolutely will not agree!" Avril slammed her hands on the table and shouted.

"If you want war, then let's fight! We're not afraid. How about we all kill each other? You destroy humans and elves, we destroy monsters, and let the end of the world come sooner!" Issui sneered. "You want to make exorbitant demands? Fine, come on, let's all destroy each other then."

"..."

Everyone fell silent after hearing Issui's words. This guy is a little madman. Destroying the world? He really dares to think that way.

Jiligao Li had considered many possible scenarios, but he hadn't expected Issui to say this. This meant he was definitely going to disagree, leaving him with no choice but to compromise. If he said yes, everyone would be finished; if he said no, he would have to accept Issui's terms. This little fox wasn't exactly a novice negotiator.

"Well, don't be too impulsive, little guy. We're here with good intentions, not to carry out humane destruction. Wouldn't it be better if we all kept things peaceful..." Jili Gao Li a persuasive tone.

"And where is your sincerity? I haven't seen a shred of it. First, you made outrageous demands, and then you launched a covert attack on me. Is this what you call sincerity? Don't provoke me. Let me tell you, if I want to escape, you'll never catch me. If I want to kill all Advanced Stage magical beasts, you can't stop me. You can do those things to the Dwarf Clan, so I can do the same to you." Issui slammed his fist on the table and shouted.

Seeing Issui's arrogant and domineering tone, Stosa couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up, slammed his hand heavily on the table, and said fiercely, "Kid, you're too arrogant! We're not pushovers either. What do you want? I'll fight you to the end!"

Seeing this, Jiligao Li quickly pulled Stosa down to sit, saying, "I'm sorry, this guy is just a bit impulsive. Why does it have to be like this? We can all sit down and talk things over properly. Well then, since you want to be sincere, fine, I'll be sincere. Anyway, everyone has suffered some losses. We've lost several God Level magical beasts in succession, and your dwarves have almost lost their fighting power. So, you don't need to hand over the murderers who killed our God Level magical beasts. But you elves, dwarves, and humans must submit to our Demon Clan race and pay tribute with beautiful men and women every year, just like before. Is that alright now?"

Upon hearing Jiligao Li's words, Marilyn frowned slightly. It was still the same old story, nothing had changed. Offering beautiful men and women as tribute—wasn't that the fate of elves and humans completely altered? Wasn't our efforts to actively eliminate your God Level magical beasts utterly pointless? Besides, the two sides were now evenly matched. Shouldn't you consider your own strength before making such demands?

"Hmph, may I say something?" Marilyn said to Jiligao Li.

"Of course, Your Majesty, please feel free to ask any questions..." Jiligao Li gestured for her to proceed.

"Hmm, I find your conditions really unacceptable. I'd like to ask, do you have the strength to completely suppress us? To become someone of high status, you must have the strength to be someone of high status," Marilyn said calmly.

"This? Do you really think any one of you can defeat both of us?" Jiligao Li said.

"You're talking about individuals. I'd like to ask you, can the two of you beat the five of us?" Marilyn retorted. "Hmph, in terms of individual strength, one-on-one, of course we're no match for you. But don't forget, we're not comparing individual strength with you, but overall strength."

"You're right, but have you considered that, aside from the God Level, our number of Advanced Stage magical beasts far exceeds the combined number of Advanced Stage of your elves and humans?" Jiligao Li retorted.