Chapter 753   Negotiating II

‘Something’s not right,’ Liasas said in her mind as Aron spoke about possibly altering the terms of the deal to make it either individualistic or a mixture of both.

‘Why do you think so?’ Xylor, the Zelvora fleet commander, asked, connected to her through the mental network, after sensing her concern.

‘I’m sure some of their soldiers managed to breach a few of the top ten civilizations’ ships and encountered some of our strong individuals that wiped out their forces. Yet the man in front of me doesn’t seem the least bit concerned about what signing this agreement could mean. And from the speed at which he’s negotiating, it’s clear he’s not just stalling—he genuinely wants to reach an agreement quickly. It’s… strange,’ Liasas responded, sharing her suspicion with the fleet commander.

She still didn’t know the name or rank of the individual standing before her. He had introduced himself simply as the negotiator, offering no further details before launching into the empire’s list of demands.

Zorvas, connected to the conversation through their mental link, pondered her observations. ‘You think they believe they’ve found an opportunity here, rather than us trying to exploit them?’ he asked.

‘That’s what it seems like,’ Liasas replied thoughtfully. ‘It’s possible they have individuals they believe can handle opponents of our caliber, or at least those they’ve encountered so far. Keep in mind, they managed to capture Xalthar, who was at sage level. They might think our level of strength is only at or slightly above that threshold.’

Her suspicion deepened as she considered the implications. Were they truly underestimating the full power of the Astral Conclave, or did they believe that they had enough power to win? Sёarch* The Novёlƒire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

‘If that’s what they’re thinking, they’re in for a rude awakening,’ Zorvas said, trying to suppress a chuckle. To him, it felt as if the empire was like a group of children who had managed to win a fight against someone slightly older than them, and now believed they could challenge fully grown adults.

‘Probe them further. I need enough evidence to convince the others to raise the stakes if this turns out to be true,’ Xylor ordered, showing no interest in Zorvas’s amusement. He was focused on the bigger picture—on ensuring that if the empire truly was underestimating the Astral Conclave and overestimating themselves, they could push for even greater concessions and rewards. The current deal was already heavily skewed in their favor, but Xylor had no intention of leaving potential gains on the table.

‘Yes, sir,’ Liasas replied, ready to dig deeper into the empire’s motivations. As she did, Aron finally finished his counter-argument, which came with an unexpected counter-proposal. His suggestion was to shift the negotiations from a group-based format to either individual or semi-individual talks. This would create multiple, smaller agreements, each with different levels of privileges and rewards at stake, depending on what the two sides could agree upon for the outcomes of each face-off.

Liasas glanced at Aron. ‘He’s trying to create a framework that allows them to hedge their bets,’ she thought. ‘But why? Are they trying to minimize risk, or do they believe they can win more by negotiating individually against all of us?’

“What do you mean by individual or semi-individual negotiations?” Liasas asked, both following her commander’s orders and keeping the conversation moving forward.

Aron responded calmly, his tone steady, despite the complexity of what he was proposing. “Individual negotiations would focus on specific deals that only certain civilizations can provide. For instance, if one civilization specializes in producing a particular resource or technology, we would negotiate directly with them for favorable terms on that specific commodity. A broad, group-wide wager would be counterproductive in such cases, where only one of you can provide a service or item we need.

However,” he continued, “there are other demands—larger ones—that can only be fulfilled by a collective vote in the Conclave’s general assembly. For these, we would need the cooperation of all the members here. This is where semi-individual negotiations come in. The stakes in these cases would be shared because it’s the entire Conclave that would need to agree on certain concessions. Instead of dealing with the risk of losing multiple individual votes and ending up without enough support, we package it into a collective deal. So long as we win more than half of the total fights, we secure the necessary votes for those demands, regardless of whether individual civilizations won against us or not.”

His tone remained measured, almost unnervingly calm, which made it difficult for the observers to gauge his intentions. To the imperial citizens watching, his composed demeanor seemed out of sync with the high-stakes nature of the discussion, creating an unsettling feeling.

‘Yes, they’re completely serious about this and truly believe they can win,’ Liasas reported back after Aron finished explaining his proposal. His confidence, combined with the structured approach he presented, gave her all the evidence Xylor needed to take action. It was clear that the empire wasn’t bluffing—they believed they could win and were playing for significant stakes.

‘Understood,’ Xylor responded, preparing to gather the other civilizations. ‘Tell him we need to consult with the rest before making any decisions.’ With that, he expanded the mental network, pulling in representatives from all the other civilizations to discuss whether to accept the shift in negotiation terms and how best to respond.

‘Yes, sir,’ Liasas acknowledged, then addressed Aron. “We’ll need to pause the negotiations briefly to consult with everyone on our side before we give you a final response to your proposal.”

Aron, completely unfazed, responded, “Take your time. The sooner we establish the basic rules of the agreement, the smoother the rest of this process will be.” Without further words, Aron simply closed his eyes, signaling that he was content to wait while they deliberated. His calm demeanor and patience suggested he had prepared for such delays.

Mirroring his behavior, Liasas closed her eyes as well, focusing her attention on the mental network where the meeting was already in motion. As the representative for all the civilizations present, she needed to be there to understand their intentions, to be able to not only facilitate the conversation but also to shield the more hot-headed races from causing any incidents when the negotiations resumed.

Some of the civilizations, with their volatile tempers, might inadvertently breach the ceasefire if left to negotiate directly, bringing devastating consequences upon themselves. She acted as their buffer, ensuring the negotiations stayed within the bounds of diplomacy.

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