Chapter 39: The Negotiation, Part 2
The sun has begun to rise from the east, appearing from the right side of both the army and the fort and the two mountains, radiating the hue color of red over the Ashen Pass. Nobody slept last night because the white light radiated from one of the two mountains of the Ashen Pass, leaving uneasiness, awe, reverence, fear, and surprise in the heart of every single person near the region, precisely 100 km within the area. Nobody knows what it was except for the swordsman and the above ranks; what they feel is an oppressive aura radiating from that location, which can be said to be like the Gods descending from Heaven.
At dawn a palpable shift occurred in the very atmosphere of the valley. They can feel that oppressive aura is becoming nearer and nearer by the timethe Southern Crusade camp is reached; thousands of the army men drop their weapons and drop to their knees.
As time passed by, two figures appeared; one belonged to the Archmage, the most powerful being in the Allies' army, and the other figure was a young man. Everybody can feel that oppressive aura is not from the archmage but from the young man.
Inside the camp of the Southern allies, this wave of power struck with the force of a physical and mental blow. Common soldiers felt their knees buckle involuntarily. Swords slipped from numb fingers, clattering into the mud. A collective groan of despair rippled through the ranks as tens of thousands of men fell to their knees, their will to fight completely and utterly erased. They were not just soldiers facing a superior foe; they were mortals in the presence of gods, and their spirits broke.
That young man who is causing the scene is none other than the Grand Prince of Leo, Alexius Leo.
The auras of the Alexius radiated outwards, sending waves of pressure. He created a suffocating sense of dread, a profound, soul-deep certainty that resistance was not only futile but also blasphemous.
Alexius and Ignis walk steadily directly towards the command pavilion, where the five Sword Masters stand, one of the strongest forces in the entire continent and the pillars of the crusade's pride.
One of the sword masters, Queen-General Amara, the strategist, saw the truth of the situation immediately. She recognized the look in the archmage's eyes—it was not the gaze of an ally but of a servant who had chosen a master. With a sharp, precise motion, she sheathed her scimitar and prepared herself for the inevitable. The Twin Sword Masters of the Azure Coast, merchants at heart, saw a gambit that had failed catastrophically. They knew the time for fighting was over, and the time for negotiating their own survival had begun.
But King Regulus and General Kaelen, their identities built on a foundation of martial pride and personal honor, could not accept this humiliating defeat.
"Betrayer!" Regulus roared, his voice thick with fury as he drew his massive greatsword. He could not comprehend the political schemes, only the sight of his ultimate weapon walking side-by-side with the enemy. "You dare side with this heretic boy?"
"We will die with honor!" Kaelen shrieked, his own blade flashing out, his aura blazing with desperate, suicidal rage. "We will not kneel to a tyrant and his pet sorcerer!" They became mad.
The two Sword Masters charged, foolish and clouded in their judgment with useless pride.
Archmage Ignis did not even look at them and simply raised a hand. "Insolent children, how foolish!" he rasped.
He summons Chains of superheated, shimmering air erupted from the ground, wrapping around the charging Sword Masters. They solidified instantly, glowing a dull red, searing the men's armor and halting their charge as if they had run into a sun. The two powerful warriors were held fast, their auras sputtering and failing against the archmage's absolute control, their swords clattering uselessly to the ground.
"Fools! Put down your blades!" Queen-General Amara commandedher own guards, who sheathed their weapons. She immediately dropped to one knee, her head bowed. "Your Majesty. Lord Archmage. The Sunstone Queendom recognizes its error. We beg for your mercy."
The Twin Sword Masters followed her lead instantly, kneeling in the mud. "The Azure Coast also surrendered," one of them said. "We were misled. We beg for peace."
King Regulus and General Kaelen, bound in their magical chains, saw their allies kneeling and their cause utterly lost. A stream of furious, helpless curses poured from their lips, directed at the cowardice of their fellow sovereigns and former colleagues.
Alexius stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the kneeling and the bound.
"There will be no mercy until the surrender is absolute," he stated, his voice amplified by his aura, carrying to every corner of the command camp. "The Holy Crusade is dissolved. All armies of the Southern Alliance will be immediately disbanded. Every soldier will lay down their arms and begin the march back to their respective kingdoms. That is my first demand on that matter."
He then turned his gaze to the most audacious point. "The town of Cany, of the Claudia Grand Duchy, served as a base for your illegal war of aggression against my realm. As reparations for this violation of neutrality, the town and its surrounding territories will be placed under the occupation of the Principality of Leo until further notice."
One of the Twin Sword Masters looked up in shock. "Your Majesty, Cany is not ours to give! It belongs to the Grand Duke of Claudia!"
"It is now," Alexius replied, his voice as cold and hard as the heart of winter. "And you will all sign the treaty acknowledging Leo's authority over it. The Grand Duke of Claudia can take up his complaint with my Second Legion, who currently occupy his town. I do not imagine he will find them receptive."
The demands stunned them into silence. He was forcing them to stay out of his own conquest of the Grand Duchy of Claudia, making them complicit in an act that would surely lead to another war—a war that would not involve them.
"This is the price of your failure," Alexius said, laying out the final treaty conditions he and Elias had prepared. "A three-year, non-aggression pact between your kingdoms and my own. The right of free passage for any and all of your subjects who wish to immigrate to the new, prosperous Leo. And finally, reparations."
He paused, letting the final hammer blow fall. "Your kingdoms will collectively pay an indemnity of one hundred billion gold sous to the Royal Treasury of Leo, to be paid over ten years. This is to compensate for the lives lost and the cost of this war you forced upon me."
A collective gasp went through the kneeling sovereigns. The sum was astronomical, a figure that would beggar their kingdoms for a generation. It was equivalent to fifty years of Leo's entire national budget before Alexius's reforms. It was a punishment designed to cripple them.
…..
Far from the command pavilion, as the oppressive wave of the combined auras washed over the camp, one man did not kneel. Bishop Valerius de Avarus, who had been watching the hilltop from a safe distance. As a bishop of the Church of Human Supremacy, divinity is his specialization, and he knew he had failed in the most catastrophic way imaginable. He fled the camp yesterday, when the divine aura descended to the mortal realm from where the negotiation took place between the Alexius and the Ignis, as the Archmage instructed them to attack with full force as plan B if he failed at negotiatingsurrender from the Leo Principality. Not only did the negotiation fail, but also the army is stunned because of the oppressive divine aura. Plan B is ruined, and he had to run away with his holy knights under his command silently, or they would be executed as punishment for disobeying divine authority. Who would have thought that the prince possessed a saint-level divine aura, the third highest rank after the Pope and God himself?
His only thought now was to reach the Kalian Empire, to find a new patron, and to begin his plots anew. He was halfway to the western edge of the camp when a figure materialized from the mists before him.
The man was clad in simple, unmarked white robes, his face hidden in the deep shadow of his hood. "Bishop Valerius de Avarus," the man said, "your path does not lie to the west."
"Who are you?" Valerius snarled, his hand reaching for a hidden dagger.
"A holy messenger," the man replied. "The Upper Echelon has summoned you to the Holy See. There is to be a great shift in the balance of power. Your presence is required. Please return with haste."
Valerius froze. The Upper Echelon… the secret, conservative power brokers within the Holy See. A big shift? This meant his faction had not given up. This was not an end. It was a recall. A new game was beginning in the heart of the Church itself. Cursing Alexius under his breath, he turned and followed the messenger, vanishing into the mist.
Back at the command pavilion, the treaty was signed. The southern lords, defeated, humiliated, and utterly broken, affixed their seals to the document that ended their ambitions and crippled their kingdoms. The war was over.
Alexius stood in his campaign tent, the signed treaty before him. The system's interface glowed with the light of a completed quest.
Ding!
[World Quest Complete: The Archmage's Ambition.] [Path Taken: [The Dragon's Leash] - SUCCESS.] [Rewards:]
New Strategic Ally: Archmage Ignis.
New Research Tree Unlocked: [Arcane Research & Development].
Population Influx: +10,000
Territory Gained: 80 km square. The town of Cany and its surrounding duchy lands.
Now the next piece of the chessboard is moved. What will you do, Valerius? The Prince is glaring at the fleeing Bishop Valerius that he intentionally let him slip.
Ding!
New side quest: Gather all five fragments of the phoenix stone and unleash its full power. (Days remaining: 500 days)
New Region Quest: Conquer the Grand Duchy of Caludia and free the citizens and slaves from the oppressive tyrant, Grand Duke Gravis III. (Days remaining: 365 days)
New World Quest: Save the Holy Father of the Church of the human supremacy, Pope Pius II, from the demon lord's curse. (Days remaining: 100 days).
Continue…