Duke Torrent wasn't surprised when Mervin said that they had expected her. She was the ruler over these surrounding Zones, and it would be foolish not to expect her to appear in one of them.
But Duke Torrent wasn't very worried about their preparations. After all, she hadn't come here to fight but to negotiate.
"I want to speak with Jerald," Duke Torrent demanded. "I am willing to sign a contract that binds me to his side, but I am not willing to undergo a Mind Read."
Mervin only continued smiling politely. "Please wait a moment."
Mervin took out a Communication Crystal and activated it.
In comparison to the normal Communication Crystals, this one directly connected to someone's Spirit Sense, making it impossible for anyone in the vicinity to overhear the conversation.
Mervin contacted Jerald and reported everything to him.
A couple of seconds later, Mervin put the Communication Crystal away again.
"I'm sorry, but Duke Whirlwind will not be directly negotiating with you."
Duke Torrent's eyes narrowed.
She was a Late High Mage, and if she so chose to, she could lay waste to every single person here!
This was obviously a sign of disrespect from Jerald.
"I will," a dark voice spoke from behind Duke Torrent.
Duke Torrent's eyes opened widely, and she blinked away with Mana Step.
Then, she looked back and noticed that a black figure was standing at the spot where she had just been.
Right now, the black figure was looking at Duke Torrent, but she couldn't actually see the person behind the armor.
This made her feel like she wasn't actually meeting gazes with a human but with some sort of otherworldly machine.
She took a deep breath as she looked at the black figure. "I presume your word equals Jerald's word, Count Sword?" she asked.
Shang wasn't surprised that she already knew about him.
The Council obviously had some sort of way to glean what had happened during the battle. They probably already knew about Shang's power and his identity.
"It is," Shang answered slowly, "and I assume you are here under orders of the Council?"
"Partially," Duke Torrent said. "Originally, my orders were supposed to be to gauge your power, give feedback to the Council, and then assault you with a force powerful enough to kill you."
"However, I'm not as blind as the Council. I know Jerald, and I know that he wouldn't have declared this war if he wasn't confident in claiming victory. I've known him for a long time."
"If Jerald is confident in his chances with the mere forces he has right now, his chances will skyrocket even more if he has my assistance. I don't know if he can win against the Council in a direct battle, but I am powerful enough to distract one of them during the battle, giving him an edge."
"There is no reason for me to stay at the Council's side. I know who is going to win this war, and it isn't the Council," Duke Torrent spoke emotionlessly.
"I have 24 High Mages loyal to me, and I will bring them with me."
Shang looked at Duke Torrent for a while longer. "And what are your demands for such grand help?"
Duke Torrent wasn't sure if Shang was sarcastic or not. "I am willing to sign a magical contract with Jerald with our lives on the line."
"I will follow all of Jerald's orders without question as long as they are not obviously meant to severely injure or kill me for the next 50 years. I will also hand over all the command of my forces to him and anyone he deems fit to command them. If I break the contract, I will die."
"In return, neither I nor any of my High Mages will undergo a Mind Read, torture, or interrogation by the orders of Jerald, you, or whoever commands your armies. If Jerald breaks this contract, his life will also be forfeit. Of course, he is free to read through the contract to verify what I just said."
"These are my demands."
These terms were actually pretty good.
Jerald would gain a Late High Mage and 24 additional High Mages for basically nothing. He simply wasn't allowed to dig into their pasts.
A proper magical contract couldn't just be messed with or broken. This was something created and enforced by two willing parties, and both parties had enough experience to write solid contracts without loopholes.
What Duke Torrent had said only counted as the basics of the contract. Obviously, there would be clauses regarding confidentiality of information and similar things.
At that point, it wouldn't even be necessary to read anyone's mind to ascertain their loyalty. After all, they would be bound by the contract.
If winning the war was the main goal, this offer would have zero downsides and many upsides.
It was purely beneficial.
"So, you don't want to be persecuted for anything you have done or ordered in the past. Is that correct?" Shang asked.
"This is how war works, Count Sword," Duke Torrent said. "I know that my offer is more than acceptable, and I know what I can ask for."
"And if I refuse?" Shang asked.
Duke Torrent wasn't fazed by the question. "Even if you somehow got the power to kill me, you wouldn't be able to stop me from leaving or killing several of your warriors. You might be powerful, but I am confident in my speed. I will be able to flee after taking a good chunk of your warriors with me, and then, we'll see what happens from there."
"What will it be?"
By now, the nervousness of the warriors had returned again.
Count Sword might be able to rival the Duke, but they couldn't.
Any stray Spell from such a powerful High Mage would kill them in one hit.
In a way, Duke Torrent currently had about 20 True Path Stage warriors as hostages while negotiating with Shang.
Additionally, her offer was amazing.
They would gain so much power by simply not investigating the past of all the Mages and the Duke.
Depending on the power of the High Mages, this could result in doubling the effective power of the Storm Eagle Zone, and that didn't even include Duke Torrent herself!
Count Sword acted as the representative of Duke Whirlwind. Therefore, he had to act according to Duke Whirlwind's priorities.
Duke Whirlwind would never refuse such an offer.
Right?
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