The price of a ceasefire

Locke's answer was quickly relayed to the Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord through Saine.

The Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord did not add his own interpretation to it.

He simply relayed the phrase "Let Ebony speak himself" verbatim to the master of the Darkness Sword Time-Space.

After hearing this, Ebony's expression grew even more gloomy.

But this time, he did not refuse.

Several days later, in a shattered starry sky far from the high-level battlefields of various parties, four projections of rules condensed and took shape one after another.

The first to appear was the Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord.

The Myriad Phenomena Balance Disk floated behind his projection, its silver light spreading in all directions, temporarily isolating the still restless destruction, darkness, and Source-Devouring Rule around him.

Ebony followed closely behind.

His projection was much dimmer than usual, and the black and red destructive scars left by Locke could still be seen between his chest and abdomen.

Saine and Locke appeared on the other side of the silver light screen.

Neither side left the war zone under their control.

This contact was solely for the purpose of negotiating ceasefire terms.

The war on the front lines is not over until a real agreement is reached.

In some localized battlefields that are far apart, the Destruction Divine Kingdom Legion and the Legion of the Darkness Sword Organization are still clashing.

"Speak."

Locke looked at Ebony.

What are you going to use to end this war?

Ebony did not answer immediately.

The Destruction Divine Kingdom Faction currently holds an absolute advantage; if Ebony wants them to stop their offensive, they must pay a corresponding price.

"You may take away the battlefield resources that have already been captured," Ebony said.

"I will subsequently provide another batch of high-end Rule Materials as compensation for this ceasefire."

Locke, upon hearing this, offered no comment.

Saine then raised his hand and gently tapped in front of him.

A war list compiled by Skynet was quickly spread among the group.

It records not only the losses of the Mechanical Civilization and the Destruction Divine Kingdom Legion, but also the legions and resources invested by the Eternal Day Time-Space, the Limitless Time-Space and Space, and other participating civilizations.

The densely packed numbers stretched from the top of the light screen all the way to the bottom.

"Keeping only what has already been captured is far from enough," Saine said.

Those were our Spoils of War to begin with.

"What you'll have to pay is the price for making us stop our attack."

Ebony looked at the list, his expression barely changing.

However, the projection of the dark rules behind him clearly showed a fluctuation.

Mechanical Civilization have always been extremely meticulous in their war data statistics, though there is certainly some degree of exaggeration involved.

"How many do you want?" Ebony asked.

Saine did not give a number directly.

Another resource catalog then unfolds alongside it.

The list consists entirely of high-level Darkness-type, Death Element, Space Element, and sword -Rule Materials produced within the Darkness Sword Time-Space.

Many resources are only accessible to those who have reached Level-9 or higher.

Some of the most precious materials even have some effect on Level-12 Being.

"These items on the list will be delivered within 500 years," Saine said.

Annoyance flashed in Ebony's eyes.

"Impossible!"

Many of these resources will take a long time to be produced again.

"If it's handed over all at once, the Darkness Sword Time-Space will be difficult to recover for tens of thousands of years."

"That's none of our business," Saine replied.

Ebony by Saine's words, the surrounding darkness seemed to intensify.

However, he did not immediately end the negotiations.

The Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord, standing to the side, did not lower or raise prices on behalf of either side. He facilitated this exchange simply to prevent the war from escalating further.

"Besides these resources, several disputed star regions in the Primordial Universe Time-Space also need to be redefined," Locke continued.

He raised his hand and pointed forward.

Several star fields located around the spacetime occupied zone of Eternal Day Time-Space then appeared in the light screen.

Over the years, these locations have witnessed numerous conflicts between the Darkness Sword Organization and the Eternal Day Time-Space.

"These star systems belong to the Eternal Day Time-Space," Locke said.

"The Darkness Sword Organization's entire legion has withdrawn."

"Several disputed nodes surrounding the Limitless Time-Space and Mechanical Civilization Control Zone have also been redefined."

"These are the conditions under which the Lord of Eternal Day and the Limitless Golden Emperor are willing to cease hostilities."

Ebony said in a deep voice, "This is a war within the Darkness Sword Time-Space, why involve the Primordial Universe Time-Space?"

"Because they came here to help me fight," Locke replied calmly.

"If you want them to leave, you have to offer them something in return."

This statement is incredibly direct.

Ebony had no way to refute this.

In order to get the Myriad Law Thunder Emperor, the Paper Figure Dimension Lord, the Dark Nether Death God and Duolie to help, he also promised an astonishing amount of reward.

Ebony truly found hard to accept was the large area within the Darkness Sword Time-Space that had already been occupied.

"When will you withdraw from these star systems?" Ebony asked.

"That depends on when you've settled the other conditions," Saine said.

"The Origin Node in some areas have been completely destroyed by the war. The Mechanical Civilization needs to recover its engineering facilities, and the Destruction Legion also needs to relocate."

Whether the remaining area should be returned, and in what manner, can be calculated separately.

Finally, Ebony couldn't help but say, "This place is my Mother Time-Space!"

"But they're in our hands now," Locke said, looking at the Ebony.

The surrounding area fell silent immediately.

The two Lord of Dimension ' projections of rules faced each other across a silver light curtain.

The Darkness Power are also colliding silently.

A moment later, Ebony was the first to look away.

He currently lacks the capability to recapture these areas on the main battlefield.

It's pointless to keep arguing about who they originally belonged to.

"I need to recalculate," Ebony said.

"I cannot accept all of these conditions."

"Sure," Saine replied. Since he had set such an exorbitant price, he naturally wanted the other party to negotiate a lower price.

"However, the war will not cease during the accounting period."

"Frontline troops can reduce the intensity of combat, but they will not withdraw from the areas they have already controlled."

Ebony did not object.

The first ceasefire negotiations have thus come to a temporary end.

Neither side signed any formal treaty nor declared the war over.

Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord simply recorded the points raised by both parties according to its own Balance Rules, leaving them for further discussion later.

After the communication ended, Ebony did not return to the front line.

He reactivated another bright yellow mark and contacted the Rift-Splitting Emperor Monarch guarded the Source-Devouring Channel.

"The Destruction Divine Kingdom has begun negotiating a ceasefire with me."

Ebony got straight to the point.

"I need the Source-Devouring Time-Space to provide a clear timeline for withdrawal."

"And those Mother Nest and Jieyin Facility built in our Homeland Star Territory must be handed over to me after the war."

The Rift-Splitting Emperor Monarch looked at Ebony, and after a while said, "Withdraw the troops?"

His tone carried an undisguised surprise.

"To support this war, the Source-Devouring Time-Space deployed two Emperor Monarch, a large number of the Transcendence Realm experts, and an Source-Devouring Beast Legion."

"Both the passage and the Mother Nest consumed a significant amount of resources."

"You think you can just make us all leave by saying the war is about to end?"

"You were originally the reinforcements I invited!" Ebony said in a deep voice.

"With the war over, reinforcements should naturally withdraw."

The Rift-Splitting Emperor Monarch shook his head.

"There is no deadline for withdrawal until all inputs and losses are recalculated."

"As for the Jieyin Facility, they were built by the Source-Devouring Time-Space and were not included in the original handover agreement."

"If you want to change the terms, we can continue talking."

"However, the Source-Devouring Channel will not be closed until a consensus is reached."

The bright yellow light curtain slowly dimmed.

Ebony stood in its own Mother Time-Space, motionless for a long time.

Deep in the distant starry sky, a Source-Devouring Mother Nest that had just stopped drawing upon its own essence continued to pulsate.

A bright yellow, regular glow shimmered outwards along the veins connecting it to the Source-Devouring Channel.

Locke and the others did indeed begin to consider a ceasefire.

However, another group of beings who entered the Darkness Sword Time-Space are clearly not ready to leave yet!