Ebony's counteroffer

In the war zone guarded by the Source-Devouring Time-Space Legion, the Source-Devouring Mother Nest, which had just stopped drawing upon its own essence, was still slowly pulsating deep within the Darkness Sword Time-Space.

With each flash of bright yellow light, Ebony's expression grew more somber.

The attitude of the Rift-Splitting Emperor Monarch is already very clear.

Before the Source-Devouring Time-Space recoups all its investments and receives a sufficient return from the Darkness Sword Time-Space, those Mother Nest, passages, and Jieyin Facility will not be easily withdrawn.

Ebony did not continue arguing with the Rift-Splitting Emperor Monarch.

He quickly refocused his main efforts on ceasefire negotiations with the Destruction Divine Kingdom Faction.

The fighting continues on the front lines.

However, with the conclusion of the first round of negotiations, the intensity of combat in each war zone decreased significantly.

The Destruction Divine Kingdom Legion ceased its large-scale advance into the depths of the Darkness Sword Time-Space, and the Darkness Sword Organization did not launch a counterattack.

Both sides are primarily focused on maintaining the existing lines.

Occasional clashes between rules are mainly for probing and caution.

Neither Locke nor Ebony ordered their legions to retreat.

As long as a formal contract has not been signed, this war is not truly over.

Before the Ebony, dozens of resource statistics lists unfolded one after another.

This includes both the original resources produced by the Darkness Sword Time-Space in recent years and high-end materials that can be immediately mobilized from various warehouses.

The list of compensation offered by Saine was placed separately in the very center.

"To be delivered in full within five hundred years..."

Looking at the numbers on the list, Ebony couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

What annoyed Ebony even more was that several other Communication Mark also lit up during this period.

Both Dark Nether Death God and Duolie were urging Ebony to fulfill the promised reward.

The Myriad Law Thunder Emperor and the Paper Figure Dimension Lord were equally unceremonious.

They were willing to temporarily halt their attack on the Destruction Divine Kingdom Faction because of the mediation of the Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord, and also because Ebony promised to pay a new sum of resources.

Now that the fighting has eased, they naturally want to see the benefits first.

The first to send the complete list was the Myriad Law Thunder Emperor.

The number of Dominator Legions, Transcendence Realm experts, and Dimension Supreme Treasure Treasures that Thunder Domain Time-Space invested in this operation were all clearly recorded.

The Paper Figure Dimension Lord followed closely behind.

The demands of the Card Time-Space weren't as outrageous as those of the Myriad Law Thunder Emperor, but the other side explicitly stated that they would not allow the legions already in the Darkness Sword Time-Space to withdraw even a single step before obtaining the first batch of resources.

The attitudes of Dark Nether Death God and Duolie were even more direct.

The reason the two changed their minds earlier was because they were attracted by the high price offered by the Ebony.

Now that Ebony wants a ceasefire, they can stop fighting Locke, but they cannot forgo any of the promised rewards.

Just dealing with these few Lord of Dimension has significantly reduced the resource reserves of the Darkness Sword Time-Space.

And this doesn't even take into account the reparations for the Destruction Divine Kingdom Faction, or the new war that might be triggered if the Source-Devouring Time-Space refuses to withdraw.

After a long silence, Ebony finally initiated the second round of negotiations.

The silver, regular light curtain unfolded once again in the shattered starry sky.

The Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord appeared first.

The projections of Locke, Saine, and Ebony's rules then coalesced into a form.

"I will not pursue the battlefield resources that you have already seized."

Ebony got straight to the point.

"The Darkness Sword Organization can gradually withdraw its troops from the several disputed star regions in the Primordial Universe Time-Space."

"But delivering the entire list within five hundred years is simply impossible."

Saine looked at Ebony without saying a word.

Ebony continued, "Some of the materials are beyond the current reserves of the entire Darkness Sword Time-Space."

"The quantity of ordinary resources will be reduced by 50%, and the remaining materials will be delivered in ten batches."

"Once the first batch of resources is delivered, you will begin your evacuation from the Homeland Star Territory."

"Fifty percent?" Saine finally spoke.

"It seems you still haven't figured out who has the upper hand."

"Then let's continue fighting," Ebony said in a deep voice.

Even if the Darkness Sword Time-Space ultimately loses, you still won't be able to find all the resources on the list from the ruins.

Locke remained silent throughout.

The Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord simply activated the Myriad Phenomena Balance Disk to record the conditions proposed by both parties one by one.

The negotiations lasted a long time.

Ebony was willing to relinquish the disputed star region in the Primordial Universe Time-Space, Saine also ceased insisting that all ordinary resources must be delivered in full.

However, Saine did not remove any of the high-end Rule Materials on the list that involved Level-12 Being or even Lord of Dimension.

The delivery period has been extended from five hundred years to completion in batches.

As for when the Destruction Divine Kingdom Faction will return the occupied territories, the two sides have not yet reached an agreement.

Just as the negotiations were about to end, Ebony suddenly looked at Locke and Saine.

"There's one more thing."

Saine raised his hand, signaling Ebony to continue.

Ebony paused for a moment before saying, "The legion of the Source-Devouring Time-Space refuses to withdraw."

"Their controlled Mother Nest and passageways have penetrated deep into the Origin Node of the Darkness Sword Time-Space."

"If I offer you extra compensation, would you be willing to help the Darkness Sword Organization drive them out?"

The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Even the Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord glanced at Ebony.

This request does sound rather absurd.

Not long ago, Ebony led the Darkness Sword Organization and the Source-Devouring Reinforcements to jointly resist the attack of the Destruction Divine Kingdom.

The war is not completely over yet, and he actually wants to ask Locke and Saine to help him deal with the original reinforcements.

Locke remained calm.

The Destruction Flames swirling around his projection remained unchanged.

Deep within Saine's eyes, countless streams of data flashed by.

He did not refuse immediately.

"What are you prepared to give up?" Saine asked.

"That depends on what you're capable of," Ebony said.

Saine nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

Locke never gave an answer.

Ebony didn't believe the two of them could be so kind-hearted.

He simply indicated his willingness to pay additional fees before ending the contact.

After the Ebony projection disappeared, the Myriad Manifestations Eternal Lord also quickly departed.

Within the silver, rule-based light curtain, only Locke and Saine remained.

"You want to help him?" Locke asked.

"It's not about helping Ebony," Saine replied.

An image of the Source-Devouring Mother Nest then appeared between the two.

"If we continue to exploit the Darkness Sword Time-Space, we may not be the only ones to ultimately benefit."

"The Source-Devouring Time-Space has already occupied a significant number of Origin Node."

"The longer the war lasts, the more it devours."

Locke naturally understood what Saine meant.

He has not completely replaced the Destruction Supreme, and there are still large swathes of Rule Authority in the Destruction Time-Space that are not under his control.

Saine was also only Level-12 Peak Strong Practitioner and had not truly Lord of Dimension.

In contrast, the Source-Devouring Progenitor had already reached the Level Fourteen Life Level.

There's no need for the current Destruction Divine Kingdom Faction to continue helping the other side grow stronger.

"We can consider it," Locke said.

"However, we won't work for Ebony for free."

Saine smiled upon hearing this.

"Certainly."

"If he wants his things back, he'll have to pay again."

Locke stared at the Source-Devouring Mother Nest in the image, a cold glint appearing in his Destruction Eyes.

"Ebony is not our friend, and neither is the Source-Devouring Time-Space Dimension."

"Whichever of these two is weaker is beneficial to us."

Saine nodded.

He also had no intention of completely erasing the Darkness Sword Time-Space for Ebony.

The Mechanical Civilization only needs to seize the most valuable Mother Nest and nodes, and incidentally weaken the power that the Source-Devouring Time-Space has established here.

As for the remaining troubles, they are left for Ebony to handle himself.

If the Darkness Sword Organization wants the Mechanical Civilization to continue its operations in the future, it will naturally need to pay a new price.

The fact that the two sides were enemies just moments ago does not prevent them from temporarily joining forces in the next moment due to new interests.

There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.