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The Granat Treaty, also known as the Thirteen Articles, was a peace treaty signed between the Greater Demon Aura and Count Granat.
The treaty stipulated that the demons led by the Greater Demon Aura must return all occupied human territories and refrain from attacking humans in Granat's domain.
The treaty stipulated that the demons led by the Greater Demon Aura must withdraw from within a thirty-kilometer radius of Granat's domain and not enter this area without permission.
The treaty stipulated that the Greater Demon Aura must no longer arbitrarily kill human soldiers to create headless knights, and must return the remains of prominent Granat nobles, including Count Granat's beloved son... Finally, the Thirteenth Article of the treaty stipulated: Lesser Demons (demons capable of controlling their own actions and understanding normal human thoughts) would gain the right to enter and exit Granat's cities and enjoy the rights of a human viscount.
As each article of the treaty was negotiated and signed, Granat stared blankly as Lugner and Draht waved goodbye and left the mansion.
All thirteen articles, except for the thirteenth, were beneficial to his side and held no disadvantages.
Even when discussing the major issue of whether to lift the city's barrier, Lugner was very casual about it.
The barrier isn't closed?
No problem.
As long as the city guards allow Lesser Demons to enter when they arrive, it's fine.
This greatly astonished Count Granat; he even dispatched soldiers to investigate outside the city to see if the demons had some trick up their sleeve... However, he received news that the peace talks were held in the morning, and the demons had already retreated last night...
"What exactly are the demons thinking?"
Granat murmured, looking at Lugner's retreating figure.
It was clear that if they continued to hold out, no matter how strong the city was or how impregnable its defenses, due to the wavering morale of the people and the scarcity of supplies, Granat would eventually have to declare the city breached and lead his people to flee.
But he unexpectedly came for peace talks, and all the conditions were favorable to his side?
He couldn't figure it out.
Count Granat shook his head.
He truly couldn't fathom the demons' intentions. It couldn't possibly be that they suddenly couldn't bear to kill anymore and had developed a love for peace, could it?
In his helplessness, Count Granat could only come to this conclusion.
"Lugner."
On the street, Yulian stood quietly in front of Lugner.
He had just returned from Aura, having discussed important demonic matters with Aura all night, and Yulian rubbed his forehead, feeling a bit tired.
"Demon—"
Lugner hesitated, about to speak, then quickly changed his words.
"Lord Yulian."
Lugner bowed deeply, his expression exceptionally respectful.
His eyes even shone with a pilgrimage-like golden light!
"Mm."
Yulian helped Lugner up and walked towards the alley.
However, seeing that Lugner didn't move, Yulian coughed slightly, signaling the latter to follow him.
"Who is it?"
Draht frowned in confusion, a look of impatience on his face.
"Idiot."
Lugner's face darkened as he fiercely kicked Draht before following Yulian into the alley.
"Lord Yulian."
Lugner knelt before Yulian, bowing like one would in a feudal empire.
But Yulian yawned and nodded lightly.
Every time he met a demon who knew his identity, they would bow like this; even Aura and the other Great Demons were no exception in formal settings.
Having seen this scene so often, he was no longer surprised by it.
"Lugner, how were the peace talks?"
Yulian asked indifferently, though he had already more or less guessed the situation.
He just wanted to confirm.
"The peace talks went very smoothly, Lord Yulian..."
Lugner stood up with Yulian's permission and reported on the peace talks.
He clearly and thoroughly explained all thirteen articles of the treaty to Yulian.
Yulian listened and nodded in satisfaction, giving Lugner an appreciative look.
However, this appreciative look abruptly stopped halfway through Lugner's report.
"However, Count Granat only offered a monthly payment of one hundred gold coins for the Lesser Demon viscount status."
Lugner said with some hesitation.
"What!"
Upon hearing this, Yulian reacted like an agitated cat.
"How many Lesser Demons does Aura have under him?!"
"Every Lesser Demon is a Greater Demon in training!"
"Count Granat offers such a paltry monthly payment? What a joke!"
"This..."
Lugner instinctively knelt on the ground upon hearing Yulian's roar.
"Your Majesty, the Demon King, it is my fault!"
"But—"
Lugner said somewhat aggrieved.
"But Count Granat said that due to the war, there isn't much money left in his treasury..."
"Is that so..."
Yulian bit his finger, pondering.
Recalling the scenes he had witnessed within the city and the occasional policy flyers he had seen, he nodded helplessly.
It seemed Granat had indeed sacrificed a lot to stabilize the city's economy... "Then we'll make do."
"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty!"
Lugner looked at Yulian gratefully.
Among the only two things Yulian had strongly emphasized in the peace terms was this issue of the Lesser Demon viscount treatment.
He had explicitly requested one hundred and twenty, but Lugner had failed to achieve this mandatory condition through the peace talks.
This could only be attributed to Lugner's competence!
If one's ability was insufficient among demons?
Then usually, one would simply be out of luck... However, Lugner couldn't help it, as he had been at a disadvantage from the start of the peace talks.
Because the other mandatory requirement was the success of the peace talks...
"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty!"
Cold sweat trickled down Lugner's forehead as he tearfully expressed his gratitude once more.
Yulian, however, casually waved his hand and asked the question he cared about most.
"Where's the gold coins?"
"Bling~"
"Bling~"
Playing with the gold coins he had received from Lugner, a smile curved on Yulian's lips.
With so many gold coins, surely there would be no problem redeeming someone?
"Stop, who goes there!"
In the mansion's dungeon, Yulian was stopped by fully armed guards.
Yulian smiled faintly and raised the money bag in his hand.
The guards smiled knowingly and politely stepped aside.
"The Captain is inside, please enter, sir."
It's worth noting that in the Granat region, redeeming people with gold coins was a perfectly normal policy.
"Thank you."
With a smile, Yulian tossed a silver coin from his pocket to the guard and stepped inside.
The guard captain's armor was heavy dark iron, a clear distinction from the common guards' grey iron armor.
Upon entering the count's mansion dungeon, Yulian immediately spotted the guard captain dozing at a wooden table.
"Sir?"
Yulian tentatively called out.
The latter awoke from his sleep and looked at Yulian with displeasure.
However, this displeasure quickly vanished without a trace.
"Sir!"
"Please come in!"
Putting away the gold coins in his pocket, Yulian could feel the immense goodwill of the guard captain towards him, even through the dark iron helmet.
"Captain, you're too kind!"
Yulian waved his hand, making a similar gesture to invite him in.
"Please!"
"Hahahaha!"
At this, the two exchanged a smile and walked arm-in-arm towards the depths of the prison.
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