"Cooperation?"
Jace's words made the faintly mocking smile that had always hung on Luo Zhen's face deepen.
Jace seemed not to notice. All emotion had faded from his eyes, replaced by a sense of mission and ambition.
"You've surely already seen the current state of the world."
Jace spoke calmly.
"Humanity is barely surviving in the skies under the persecution brought by the Demon Scarabs."
"The earth, meanwhile, has been completely occupied by the Demon Scarabs."
"Humans can only live in the airspace, and only the Aerial Knights can protect them."
"This has already become a trend."
What trend?
"Only the strong can have the guarantee of safety, and only the strong can provide humanity with shelter and peace."
Jace's words were forceful.
"Faced with the Demon Scarabs' slaughter, weak lives can only be harmed without the slightest ability to resist. The strong, however, can oppose them and preserve humanity's final glimmer of glory."
This belief seemed to be the foundation of everything Jace stood for.
That was why Jace spoke frankly for the first time, without any schemes or ulterior motives.
"I believe that, based on the current state of the world, the tendency for the strong to rule the weak has already become obvious. We should bring such a society into being."
The implication was—
"I want to rule humanity while preserving as much of its flame as possible." Jace spoke sincerely. "I hope you'll come to my side and help me accomplish this."
This was the olive branch Jace had extended to Luo Zhen.
Simply put, Jace wanted to rule humanity.
And he wanted to rule humanity while causing as few casualties as possible.
For that purpose, Jace was recruiting talented people.
Luo Zhen was precisely one of the people Jace had set his sights on.
However...