"Duke Yodel, Duke Masalan, on behalf of the Xinfei Merchant Guild, I formally propose that both your nations end this war and sign a ceasefire agreement." Fivenn, head of the Xinfei Merchant Guild Foreign Relations Department, adjusted the glasses on her nose and looked solemnly at the two men seated on opposite sides of the table as she stated the purpose of her visit.
Getting these two dukes, who currently commanded the Lampari Kingdom's and Malo Empire's respective frontline forces, to sit down together for face-to-face talks had taken tremendous effort, even with the Xinfei Merchant Guild acting as intermediary.
The Lampari Kingdom had been relatively easy to persuade. President Freya only needed to mention it to King Raymond, and he agreed.
The Malo Empire, however, had not immediately accepted the Xinfei Merchant Guild's request. Only after repeated attempts to establish contact, and finally mediation by Duke Sosgate, who had now become the Malo Empire's finance minister, had the empire agreed.
This was the first meeting between the commanders of the two sides' frontline armies. It was a significant occasion, but the atmosphere was anything but cordial.
At Fivenn's words, Duke Masalan, the Malo Empire's frontline commander, snorted. "Your Xinfei Merchant Guild wants us to stop fighting? What a joke! Why should we listen to you?"
Fivenn glanced at him, unsurprised by his reaction.
According to their intelligence, Duke Masalan was one of the leading figures in the Malo Empire's radical faction and a staunch advocate of war.
Getting him to agree to a ceasefire would be harder than reaching the heavens.
"And your Xinfei Merchant Guild has the nerve to claim it doesn't interfere in wars between other nations? When our Malo Empire was losing, why didn't you step forward then? Now that we've finally turned things around and