“But I don’t believe it.”
Yang Di’s expression grew increasingly bitter as he looked at Zhang Bo and the Negotiation Experts in front of him: “It was me who ambushed Deherim. How could they easily let us go?”
“Yes, please don’t blame President Yang for saying that. What if you capture and kill all of us after we surrender?”
Zhang Song also spoke up at this moment: “After all, we attacked your Deherim and caused damage. How could you let us go so easily?”
When Zhang Song finished speaking, the other department managers also looked up at Zhang Bo and the Negotiation Experts.
After all, this statement also concerned their thoughts.
Previously, they had declared war without warning, directly attacking Deherim, and even carried out a beheading operation, attempting to kill Shen Mu directly. This was a rather egregious situation.
Morally and ethically, it was an untrustworthy and unacceptable act.
Now, the other side was saying that if they just chose peaceful negotiation, all their crimes would be forgiven. So, for the people of Green Leaf Group, this was somewhat unbelievable and hard to trust.
What if the people of Deherim were joking and deliberately deceiving them?
What if, in the end, they started a purge again, directly raising the butcher’s knife and killing them one by one after they had surrendered?
What would they do then?
However, regarding the doubts of Zhang Song, Yang Di, and these department managers, Zhang Song smiled and did not answer them directly. He just tapped the table lightly with his hand and said indifferently: “Then, members of Green Leaf Group, we are here for negotiations, for a vision of peace, for noble ideals. Do you, who have already suffered heavy losses, still believe you have the true bargaining chips to negotiate with our Deherim?”
These words were quite impolite, directly pointing out that Yang Di and the others from Green Leaf Group had no right to negotiate at all.
They could only choose to accept any of their conditions.
It was, in essence, an unconditional surrender.
And when Zhang Bo said this, Sun Zhiru and the 10 Negotiation Experts also looked directly at these Blue Star Humans from Green Leaf Group.
Their gazes held no extra emotion, only coldness, silence, and a condescending gaze.
“Who says we don’t have the right to negotiate?”
Just then, a department manager gritted his teeth, as if unable to bear the humiliation, and slowly said: “You should know that we possess the power of the extraordinary race, the Wood Elf. There isn’t much extraordinary power in this Blue Star World right now. If the concentration of extraordinary factors increases, who wins and who loses is still uncertain!”
“That’s right, although our Wood Elf power is more proficient in archery and light assassination, it doesn’t mean we don’t have a legacy of extraordinary power.”
Another department manager also snorted and said: “Whether it’s mages or druids, we all have a legacy. Especially the druid profession, we Wood Elves are quite prolific in it, and we can also control beasts in combat.”
“But why haven’t I seen it?” Zhang Bo, in response to their words, actually laughed.
He leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and quietly watched the performance of these senior managers, truly as if watching a play, and said mockingly: “Then do you think your druids can contend with our Deherim’s human heavy cavalry unit?”
And as he spoke, Zhang Bo also tapped the table, making thumping sounds, representing his anger: “And do you think we don’t have human spellcasters in Deherim? Do you think that because the concentration of extraordinary factors in this Blue Star World is not enough, only your Wood Elves have suffered losses, and our human spellcasters haven’t suffered losses?”
These words directly made the faces of the Green Leaf Group department managers slightly stunned.
But before these department managers could say anything more, Zhang Bo spoke again, pointing directly at them and saying: “A powerful empire certainly doesn’t just have powerful heavy infantry and heavy cavalry units. You’ve also seen our Deherim’s ranged archer units, which are also stronger than average human ranged archers. Now you’re telling me that Deherim doesn’t have stronger spellcaster units? Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?”
The department managers of Green Leaf Group immediately fell silent.
Previously, when they entered Deherim’s Castle District, they had, of course, seen those human spellcasters.
And through Yang Di, they had also learned that the spellcasters in Deherim could not only heal but also cast an offensive spell that condensed Holy Light, like a burning ray.
And those enforcers were called Eden Guard Believers.
They were spellcasters from the Aiden Gaarde Kingdom.
They were also low-level spellcasters.
They only possessed one healing spell and one offensive method, belonging to the lowest level in the Aiden Gaarde Kingdom, similar to apprentice-level spellcasters.
And it was also stated that they were dispatched by the Aiden Gaarde Kingdom to first serve as Lord Shen Mu’s magic consultants.
To answer some questions about magic.
After all, it was understandable when considering that the Blue Star World had not yet fully integrated with the Spiritual Realm, so the concentration of extraordinary factors could be said to be so thin as to be barely perceptible.
It was very weak.
Now Zhang Bo unceremoniously pointed out that their statement about Green Leaf Group having users of extraordinary power who had not yet appeared was an absurdly ridiculous claim.
If Green Leaf Group had users of extraordinary power who hadn't appeared, then why wouldn't Deherim have even more powerful users of extraordinary power behind them?
This was simply absurdly ridiculous.
Why were these department managers of Green Leaf Group all silent? Because they also thought of this point. Even if they were stubborn, Deherim had already demonstrated an extremely strong foundation.
Perhaps this foundation was already subtly surpassing the Wood Elf Plane that was still in the Astral Plane.
One must know that even the Wood Elf Plane in the Astral Plane had only dropped a Wood Elf Village in Long City, and now look at that human faction; it had dropped a main base called Deherim in Bali River Street, and another castle called New Uxhall.
And there were so many heavy cavalry units, heavy infantry units, and some low-level infantry units and ranged archers.
A strong posture of wanting to completely control Long City.
How could they compare then?
Therefore, all the department heads of the Green Leaf Group fell silent, even Yang Di and Zhang Song were quiet now.
Just as Zhang Bo said, do they truly believe there's still a need for negotiation?
"Everyone, I truly want to tell you all, even if Lord Shen Mu is generous and benevolent enough to choose to negotiate with you, using the word 'negotiation' makes it seem like we are equals, but in reality, we are not."
At this moment, Zhang Bo's voice broke the silence: "You must understand, you must clearly understand, you must very clearly know, precisely because we are currently unbalanced, the act of us initiating negotiations is incredibly precious. If you do not wish to be graceful, then we, Deherim, will not hesitate to help you be graceful."
These words were too direct.
When Zhang Bo finished speaking, he picked up a small glass in front of him, looked at the drink inside that seemed to be made from a mixture of various fruits, and drank it all in one gulp.
He savored the sweet and sour taste and the wonderfully cool, sweet sensation from the ice cubes.
Zhang Bo exhaled a breath of cold, stale air.
Then he placed the empty glass in front of Yang Di and said unceremoniously, "Respected General Manager Yang, I presume you wouldn't be so stingy as to deny me another glass of this delicious fruit juice, would you?"
This gesture made it seem as if he genuinely found the juice delicious and wanted another glass.
However, at this moment, a gleam appeared in Yang Di and Zhang Song's eyes.
This action was something they had discussed in their letters earlier, and it was also proposed by Zhang Bo: if he drank the juice and then placed the empty glass in front of them, asking for another glass, it would signify that Zhang Bo was about to begin the real negotiations.
At that time, Yang Di and Zhang Song would have to argue based on the foundation of the Wood Elf Village, and Zhang Bo would also choose to retreat appropriately.
A preliminary agreement would then be reached.
"Of course, since you have come to our Green Leaf Group, you are our guests. When a guest wants another glass of juice, why would it not be possible?"
Yang Di smiled at this moment and waved to a nearby attendant, signaling the Wood Elf attendant to bring the clay pot and refill the glass in front of Zhang Bo.
And as he watched the Wood Elf attendant pour the juice, Yang Di also said to the other negotiation merchants from Deherim and Sun Zhiru, "You all should also try these delicious fruit juices. The taste is quite good. It is a specialty of our current Wood Elf Village, and it even contains a trace of spirit world rules. Drinking it also has a beneficial effect on the body."
This was clearly meant to ease the atmosphere between the two sides, which had begun to stiffen, giving both sides a way to back down gracefully.
"Thank you very much." Sun Zhiru and the other Negotiation Experts also bowed their heads in gratitude.
There was no need to make things too rigid; after all, they would all be colleagues in the future, and they could also see that Yang Di's current words clearly indicated a willingness to negotiate, unlike the previous hostile stance.
As long as there was something to discuss, that was good.
After all, the other party was a gambler who had lost all his chips, and they also understood that they couldn't provoke the Green Leaf Group. If they truly took a desperate risk and went for a do-or-die scenario, that would be truly terrible.
After drinking the juice, Yang Di's attitude indeed changed a lot.
After all, Yang Di and Zhang Song had already exchanged glances and saw the affirmation in each other's eyes, so it was indeed time for the real negotiations to begin.
"I know that what we did before was wrong, and we also offended Lord Shen Mu. Now you want us to negotiate, so I would like to know what your conditions are?" Yang Di asked at this point.
"The conditions are simple. In that case, let Sun Zhiru, the Deputy General Manager behind me, tell you." Zhang Bo did not answer directly at this moment; instead, he looked at Sun Zhiru and nodded at him.
He looked like he trusted him.
Sun Zhiru also nodded at Zhang Bo, indicating that he understood, and then took out a pre-written list from his backpack.
It was densely filled with the relevant conditions they had drafted earlier.
So Sun Zhiru began to speak.
Although he called them conditions, they were actually demands. Simply put, the Green Leaf Group could only retain a portion of its troops for security purposes, and all defensive field units had to be integrated into Deherim's operational sequence.
The Green Leaf Group's defense work, meaning the defense of the Wood Elf Village, also had to be handed over to Deherim, allowing Deherim to send troops to garrison it.
Furthermore, the Green Leaf Group's main work must leverage the advantages of the Wood Elf to help Deherim develop agriculture and animal husbandry.
And most importantly, only 5,000 Blue Star Humans could be retained in the Wood Elf Village to maintain its basic operations; all remaining Blue Star Humans had to be sent to Deherim to become Deherim's Blue Star Humans.
Because Blue Star Humans are the energy core of the Spiritual Realm Lord, the spiritual power produced by Blue Star Humans is the crucial energy needed by the Spiritual Realm Lord.
As long as there is spiritual power, various buildings, followers, and supplies can be continuously summoned from the astral realm.
Therefore, controlling Blue Star Humans meant controlling the Green Leaf Group's development prospects.
"Are these all?" Yang Di slowly frowned at this moment, listening to the conditions in front of him, and also turned to look at Zhang Song next to him. Although these conditions were relatively harsh, they were not excessively so.
They were even quite lenient.
This was indeed unexpected for Yang Di.
"Can we see the list?" Zhang Song asked Sun Zhiru at this point.
"Of course, feel free to look." Sun Zhiru smiled and handed the list to Zhang Song.
However, just as Zhang Song took it and was looking at the list with Yang Di, Sun Zhiru said calmly, "These are just some of the overt conditions. We also have some special conditions we'd like to discuss with you. After all, you still have ties with the Wood Elf Plane behind you. If possible, we'd also like to acquire some things from the Wood Elf Plane through you."
And these were the truly useful things that Sun Zhiru, Zhang Bo, and the Negotiation Experts had considered for Shen Mu to obtain during their discussions. (End of Chapter)
