Genbu had sent letters out to leaders all across the North, and the leaders of every nation Gaileo and Justice had been tasked with conquering were present at a banquet.
"I'm a bit surprised that Genbu was able to gather all of these kings and chieftains on such short notice." Shion noted.
"I guess it just goes to show how much influence he has among the leaders of the North." Gaileo said.
"I appreciate you thinking so, but it's more so a show of how much respect and influence you have in the North." Genbu said as he arrived in the banquet hall. "They all came here to see you after all."
"I find it hard to believe that so many people would come such a long way to see me." Gaileo replied.
"Why not? You are the Son of the North. The Wolf Prince. Every king in the North has at least a minimal amount of interest in you." A man said as he approached them.
The man who spoke was an enormous man with thick dark hair and piercings all over his face. He wore an extravagant assortment of furs and pelts and had a massive great sword on his belt.
"Ah, Gaileo I'd like to introduce you to this man. This is Ideo the King of Gosei." Genbu introduced.
"Oh the King of Gosei." Gaileo said apprehensively. He had just and a brutal battle against the Gosei tribe, so he wasn't sure how his interaction with their king would go.
"Oh don't look so troubled youngster. We men of the North don't hold grudges over battle. In fact, I'm quite impressed by the fight that you and your brother fought against us. What a wonderful battle it was." King Ideo said as he raised a glass and gave some hearty slaps to Gaileo's back.
"I see that everyone seems to be getting along better than I had expected." Justice said as he entered the room.
"Brother- I mean Great General Justice." Gaileo said with a salute.
"It's not necessary to be so formal for this particular occasion. Am I wrong?"
"No that's exactly right! This is a celebratory feast!!" King Ideo boomed as he threw his arm over Justice's shoulders.
This overly friendly gesture drew the irritated glare of Justice's lead General. Though of course, the King of the Gosei Tribe paid him no attention.
"So, this is a celebration is it?" Justice asked. "And what exactly is it that we are supposed to be celebrating?" He said as he sported a serious expression.
"What else? We're all here to surrender to the Wild Prince." King Ideo said as if it should be obvious.
"Surrender to him? He's just the second prince?" General Utro protested. "The Supreme Commander for this campaign is the Great General Justice Shukure. You should be surrendering to him. If not to the Emperor himself if nothing else."
"What was that? I don't remember asking a plainlander like you who I should be surrendering to. If you have a problem why don't we take this outside?" The jovial and seemingly tipsy Gosei King said he and Utro's aura flared and the tension started to escalate.
"Just wait a second you two." Justice said as he got between the two and attempted to neutralize the situation. "I apologize for my subordinate's rude comments. I hope you can let it go. And Utro you should know better than to make such an outburst in a place like this."
Both men seemed as if they had wanted to say something in response to Justice's attempts to deescalate the situation.
"Though if you two absolutely can't agree, and you really want to pick a fight with someone. Then I suppose you could pick a fight with me." Justice said as he raised his own seemingly indomitable aura. Ironically, it was this fiery aura that cooled off the situation.
"I think it might be better if you handle these negotiations." Justice said to Gaileo as he gathered his subordinates and prepared to leave.
"Huh? Me? Why?" Gaileo asked.
"That should be obvious, these people respect you and they seem to only want to surrender to you. This should be the easiest way to deal with this."
The negotiations went well other than the Icene King voiced opposition to surrendering to Gaileo and the Empire. His opposition was silenced when the Gosei King cut his head off and the Northern Kings continued drinking.
With the surrender of so many Northern tribes, the campaign in the North had achieved its objectives and the Imperial army was preparing to march home. When Gaileo returned to Shuangfeng, he was greeted by his older brother the Great General Justice Shukure.