Chapter 677: Ceasefire

Proofread by Thomas F

Reja Harbale, Dustorn Fortress

“The preliminary agreement is done,” I said as I stepped into his office and placed the agreement in front of him.

He took it and began to read it. Within a few minutes, he had finished reading it.

As he did, he picked up the pen and signed it.

“I had planned the signing ceremony for it,” I complained. “It is just a preliminary agreement, I will do the ceremony for the real one,” he replied with a smile.

I shook my head and picked up the file. Since he had signed, it won’t take long for the two princes to do it as well.

“Now that it had finished. Are you going to do something about the undead?” I asked. I hope it does; it won’t look good for him if they capture any territory.

Now, Silver’s forces had even won the battle. I was negotiating, but I heard a few things, and some of them surprised me.

I mean, the awakening of three; it’s quite a feat.

“I already did. He agreed not to launch any offensive, direct or indirect,” he replied, surprising me.

“When?” I asked. “Just a few seconds before, you arrived,” he replied with a smile, making me glare at him. He could have informed me.

“Now that we have a preliminary agreement. I will move immediately on completing it, while focusing on the planned things,” I said, to which he nodded.

“Are you not going to wade in on whose going to take our place here? Some are willing to offer quite a lot of money for it,” I said, but he just kept looking at me.

Seeing that, I sighed and walked out of the office.

…

Deerpond

“He did it,” said my son and slumped on his chair in relief. I wanted to do the same, but I couldn’t.

Though I did show relief, like everyone else around me.

For hours, I have been awake waiting for this news, and I have finally got it. I felt like a mountain had been lifted off my shoulders.

I had been truly worried because I knew, after they dealt with Silver, they would come for me.

This time, I didn’t have the territory on which I could fall back.

Deepond is all I have.

“It is the postponement of the existential threat, not an erasure,” I said after a minute of silence, and immediately, most of the relief disappeared from the faces of people in front of me.

“I will speed up the recruitment, even further, and increase the offers to poach the people from the mainland,” replied General Silva.

“We also need to further our defences, most importantly, alliances,” I said, and turned to my son.

“Darious will go to the Imperials and meet the people who are vying for the Dustorn Fortress and the cities. If possible, we need to ally before they even enter the region,” I ordered.

“I will not disappoint you, Father,” he replied.

Over an hour later, the meeting is over, and everybody has left the room except for General Silva.

“Have you found out about the artifact?” I asked. The battle has been surprising in more ways than one. Three people have awakened the aura, and there is also that artifact.

“Yes, it is Zmecleave Saber; a weapon from the Zmecleave set.”

“It is a draconic artifact of high power. The last master of it was noble from the Baxzar dominion,” he informed, and it produced more questions than answers.

“How did he get his hands on it?” I asked what shook him.

“The most probable guess is that he got it during his trip to the archmage city,” he replied.

“Maybe the archmage had given it to him; I heard he got the treatment as the Master of a Throne, despite being Master of Grade III legacy?” he asked, but this time, I shook my head.

“Archmage city, just don’t hand over the artifacts,” I replied. He must have gotten through another way.

“Try for that orc, and if possible, we will take the whore as well,” I ordered. I am against the Orcs in the army, but these are desperate times, and I am willing to take desperate measures.

I will take the orcs as well as whores. I will take anyone who will help me against the undead.

…

Transcendent Pleasure

“Another whore of Velvet Garden had awakened the aura,” said Gandin as he stepped into my office.

I nodded, but didn’t say anything. I had been waiting for this, not for them to awaken the aura, but for the undead to attack, and now even a brief ceasefire.

This is a gift from heaven. This time, I will not waste it.

“Activate the plan. Focused on madams. If we get them, we will have an easier time getting the girls.” I ordered.

I have noticed that when the undead attack, people leave the cities of Renwell.

Even the girls of the Velvet Garden leave.

Last time, I had been slow to take advantage of that. Not slow, just not that interested, but now, I am very much interested.

I want to get as many girls from the Velvet Garden as possible.

The madams and the whores. Also, the staff, especially the teachers. I planning on doing what Silver did, to train his whores.

A small academy; it will be expensive, but I have the money.

The only thing I don’t have is people; I mean, the right people. I hate to admit it, but Velvet Garden knows how to select the right people.

They do that better than I.

The ones I had poached from them are doing very well. Rapidly climbing to the top, earlier, one had already reached the top ten, within months.

Among my whores, most have held their places for years. They are highly skilled and well-trained. It’s not easy to break the order, but that one did—and another might in a few months.

So, I want as many of his people as I can get. I am willing to get all of them.

I have been trying for a few months and even got some, but not the ones I want.

The madams or the top girls.

I had offered so much to Barb Utsa: money and position, but she rejected the offer. I have not given up; I might even be able to get her with this opportunity.

“The team is already ready, and I will start working on it immediately,” he replied, and I nodded.

“I had handed most of your duties to Charise. You are to focus only on this,” I said, and I could see the surprise on his face; he didn’t like it.

He opened his mouth, but closed it when he saw my expression.

He understands the importance of this to me. It’s enough; if he doesn’t achieve what I want, I will fire him.

…

Ashton Harbor

“It’s for the best,” said the Armoured man finally, after hours of silence.

It wasn’t total silence; they were talking to people through the spell, but there was silence in the room.

Gats had called them directly and asked them not to make any overt or covert attack till he was out of the region. Informing us that he will leave in two months.

The higher-ups had already asked us to agree if he were to ask. Conflict with him will only create unnecessary enemies.

“It is,” replied the man with a staff as he looked away from the window.

“The higher-ups had informed me that there is a good chance that negotiations they are having with merchant states will succeed this time,” he informed, making the eyes of the armored man light up.

“That means?” he asked excitedly.

“Yes, by the time Gats leaves, we might be able to lead the horde to conquer the region,” replied the man with the staff.

Since they came here, they have been confined to the city.

He had barely survived the assassination by the merchants, and since that day, he had not taken a step out of the city.

“Good. If we lead the horde, nothing and no one will be able to stop us from conquering the region,” said the man in the armor, while the man with the staff grinned.

The man with a staff laughed as well when he became serious.

“He had reached Almin,” he informed. Hearing that, the man was also serious. “Let’s hope he survives till he reaches us,” replied the armored man.

…

Greltheaven

I looked at people in the conference room before sitting down.

Every important person in the city is here. From the top brass of the military to the police commissioner, head of departments in the city hall, and the guilds, priests, and community leaders.

“The ceasefire had given us a time, but it will be a difficult time.”

“People would want to leave our cities; investments would slow down, so would the taxes and many other things,” I said, looking into the eyes of each one of them.

Yes, we have got the time, but the undead attack reminded everyone once again of the danger that region has, and we are their first target.

The time till the Marquess’ leave will be challenging.

“Still, it’s not something we had not faced before, we will face it and beat it, and beat the enemy that came for us. Like we did in the morning and so many times before,”

In the next month, I have two big priorities. Increase the size of my army and stop too many people from leaving the city; I worked hard to bring them to the city, and I don’t want to lose them.

It’s not just my problem; it’s a problem for the whole region.

I would be watching how they deal with it.

The meeting lasted over an hour and a half before I left the conference room. I would have stayed more, but I have a call to take.

“It’s four minutes to call,” reminded Zela as I stepped into my office.

I nodded and sat down before closing my eyes. I need to prepare for it.

“It’s ready,” said Zela. I opened my eyes and took her hand.

“Ambassador,” I greeted. ‘Lord Silver, you know what I want to talk to you about?’ asked the man with a deep accented voice from the other side.

There is no greeting or anything; the man went straight to the business.

“Yes,” I replied.

“Then I hope you will return the Zmeycleave saber to us. That artifact is a rightful property of the Baxzar dominion,” said the man.

The man I am talking to is the chief ambassador of Baxzar Dominion to the merchant states.

They had called me within hours of the battle. It is one of the reasons why I chose to keep the saber secret from everyone.

“It is not, Ambassador, I had rightfully acquired it from a bandit, who had been tasked to kill me on the way to the synod.”

“The artifact is mine; you can check the directory in the archmage city for it,” I replied.

“Lord Silver, you know very well that is our wea…”

Minutes passed, and we went back and forth about its ownership, with some subtle threats entering the conversation.

I handled them politely but firmly. The man was angry by the time the call finished.

“They really want it,” said Lola. “It is an artifact,” I replied, but they are not going to get it.

I might have been forced to give it as Baxzar is very powerful, but I had gotten it through the journey to synod through the sanctioned path.

The archmage tower will protect me.

Still, it is not over; the ambassador had said that much. They won’t be doing anything, but it would be wise to avoid Baxzar in the near term.

I had expected that, which is why I had sent Jenna last month. She had returned and brought the girls from Baxzar and other places.

I had made a few more calls and replied to messages that came when I was in the meeting.

When I was finished, I closed my eyes to rest.

Minutes passed, and I kept them close, thinking about the important things and all the pros and cons, before opening them and turning to Zela.

“Tell Tranquill Bathhouse that we will do it three days later,” I said, surprising both her and Lola.

I wanted to wait for ten days, but changed my mind.

The thing is, I need the core essence, and it will provide me with a large amount, including some core essence of a Grade IV legacy that I very much need.

The sooner I got my hands on it. The better, the better it would help me.

“Isn’t it a little hurried?” asked Lola, worried. “No, all the preparations have already been made,” I replied. The spell is ready and charged. All we need to do is start the process.

I stayed in the office for an additional hour and a half before finally stepping out.

I sat in the carriage, and it began to move.

It is late, past midnight, and the city feels extra silent. I don’t know whether it is just me feeling it or a reality due to the battle in the morning.

Minutes passed, and the carriage reached the circular road.

“Stop the carriage,” I said as the carriage crossed the bridge. It stopped, and I got out before walking toward the canal.

There are always boats on the canal, but it stopped at midnight.

It is a beautiful night with the moon shining brightly from above. If it weren’t for the battle and the lives lost in it, I would have been in a mood to admire it.

A few minutes passed, and I finally saw the thing I had been waiting for.

A boat, with a cauldron of fire burning brightly on it. The colourful flowers of all types have piled on the boat. It filled the boat such that if not for the spell, it would have sunk in water.

Since the afternoon, the boat had been making its way around the legacy and the college through the canal.

They planned to let it happen till dawn.

I wanted to come earlier, when Lola did, but I was busy, so I didn’t have even a minute.

As the boat got close, a mage hand appeared and cut the white rose. A moment later, it appeared in my hand.

The rose is beautiful, and it smells wonderful. It is a mist plant; a very expensive one, but she deserves it. It is the least I could do to honor her sacrifice for the dominion.

The boat reached me, and I placed the rose in it gently, while saying the prayer.

I watched the boat till it disappeared from my eyes before walking toward my carriage. Someone has reached the tower; I have to see them as soon as possible.

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