Chapter 475: Compromise

Marlon fell into deep silence.

We only have a little more than fifteen thousand warriors left. If we include the volunteer forces... No...

Most of them are old men and youngsters who could barely hold a sword.

If we fight Astania’s army, it would be a disaster.

His face darkened the more he thought about the situation.

While he was hesitating, Alaric’s stern voice drifted into his ears.

"General Marlon, we have hundreds of thousands of warriors who can fight and the person leading us is also a Venerable. Please think wisely."

Hearing this, Marlon’s face fell.

He had received word that the Venerable stationed in their city, Rudner, had fallen into battle.

However, he didn’t believe it.

He thought that it was the work of Astania’s people, intentionally spreading false rumors to make all of Midgard anxious.

He didn’t want to believe that Rudner had died.

Is Lord Rudner truly dead?

Marlon’s heart sank at the bottom of the abyss.

With a gloomy expression, he stared straight into Alaric’s eyes and said. "You must guarantee the safety of our people..."

"General! This man might be lying! Don’t fall for his tricks!" One of his subordinates lashed out, looking completely agitated.

Alaric’s subordinates were about to grab their weapons when the former motioned at them to stay calm.

The atmosphere was tense and it looked like both groups would fight at any moment.

"I understand your fury, but our decision here will decide the fate of Midgard." Marlon suddenly spoke, his words breaking the tension.

His subordinates lowered their heads, their faces filled with anger and indignation.

With a deep sigh, Marlon turned his head back to Alaric. "I accept your demands. I will inform the people of Midgard and have them surrender to you. However..."

His face suddenly turned cold as he continued. "If you break your promise, we will take you guys to hell even if it kills us!"

A terrifying aura burst out from him.

Hmph!

With a snort, Galanar released his own aura which overpowered Marlon’s.

Marlon’s group was terrified. It felt as if a savage beast had locked its eyes on them.

This person...

At that moment, Marlon realized that he was nothing compared to the giant warrior behind ’Warrick’.

If we fight here, I won’t last a single blow against this man...

"Stop scaring them. We are here to negotiate." Alaric sent Galanar a scolding look, but everyone could tell that it was just for show.

"So..."

Alaric smiled at Marlon.

"Do we have a deal, General Marlon?"

Marlon clenched his fists, struggling to hold back his rage.

Gritting his teeth, he nodded with a grim look. "We accept your terms."

"Excellent choice!" Alaric beamed.

"You should head back and inform everyone about this, but don’t make us wait for too long. The Venerable leading us might not like it. You see... he is an impatient man." Alaric warned him.

Marlon almost failed to hold back his rage, but he chose to lower his head for the sake of his people. "Yes... I will have a word with everyone. Just give me three days."

"One day. You have one day." Alaric sent him a deep look.

"That’s impossible! There are still people who-"

"General Marlon, don’t make me repeat myself." Alaric’s voice suddenly turned cold and a chilling aura burst out from him.

Is he this powerful?!

Marlon thought that Alaric wasn’t that strong since he looked so young, but the aura leaking out from him was almost no weaker than the aura released by the big guy earlier.

"U-Understood. I will make it happen." Marlon responded, his face covered in thick beads of sweat.

"Good. I will wait for your good news." Alaric smiled faintly, turned around, and left with his group.

Marlon stared at their retreating figures with a helpless expression.

"That arrogant bastard!"

"General, do we really have to surrender to those people? We have already sent word to the imperial family. There should be reinforcements coming soon. We just need to hold on for a few da-"

"That’s enough!" Marlon muttered in a reprimanding voice.

"You have seen it for yourself. Just those six people are strong enough to kill us all. Reinforcements? Did you really think that our letters would reach the capital?"

With a furious look, Marlon jumped onto his horse. "Even if reinforcements are coming, we wouldn’t last a single day against their army."

Hearing his words, his subordinates could only gnash their teeth in anger.

***

Somewhere in Halona, a heated discussion was happening between three Venerables.

"What?! You want a dukedom in exchange?!" Lucas almost drew his sword when he heard Leroy’s demands.

"Stop giving me that look." Leroy snorted.

"Look here, Lucas. If you want me to betray my own nation, then you’d better make it worthwhile for me. Besides, Astania wouldn’t lose out on this deal. Your nation will get a 4-Ringed Beast Soul Grandmaster who has full control of a Catastrophe-grade monster. Not to mention the army under my House Durova."

Veins protruded on Lucas’s face, but he couldn’t offer a retort.

Suddenly, Dominic who was silent the entire time opened his mouth and spoke. "Alright. I will speak with His Majesty about this."

Lucas stared at him and raised an eyebrow.

It didn’t sit well with him to give such a high position to someone from another nation.

"I like this guy. He knows what he’s doing." Leroy grinned and gave Dominic a thumbs-up.

"Don’t be happy just yet." Dominic shook his head.

"I only said that I will speak with His Majesty about your demands."

"The final decision is in His Majesty’s hands." He clarified in a grim tone.

Leroy furrowed his eyebrows, but his face soon relaxed. "Fine."

"I don’t trust you guys so we’d better sign an official agreement and I’m sure you need it too."

Dominic nodded. "No problem. I will call someone to write the official agreement. All three of us here must sign it. Are there any objections?"