Chapter 976: Negotiate
"Negotiate? Did he really say that?!" Robin's eyes lit up, and a spontaneous smile found its way to his face... Although it was a very slim possibility, it was undoubtedly the best possible
outcome.
After all, the main goal of this war was to pay off his debt to the All-Seeing God. If he was expelled from Nihari in exchange for all those planets, it would definitely be a win for him in the short term, but in the long run, there were two disasters waiting for him.
The first was that he would not know what the All-Seeing God had in store for him in a new mission... That crazy man who brought him the mission of confronting a 10,000 year old Planetary Empire when he was still a mere knight trying his best to survive! What kind of mission would he give him now that he had become a Planetary Emperor? Telling him to invade the Ancient Planetary Belt?!
Secondly, Pythor and the Great Serpent Empire can never be safe as long as they have Planet Nihari, even though he almost emptied it of its energy Pearls before and during the war, the planet is still full of unexplored and unmined mines, it is also full of precious metals and plants, whoever takes over Planet Nihari will be destined to establish a great empire, Pythor's presence there means he will remain in danger forever!
*Shiii* "Negotiating what? Did I miss something?" Richard landed quietly next to Robin, he felt it when his father arrived on the planet and decided to leave his seclusion again, his father doesn't move around unless there is something big.
"That's what we'll find out now," Robin pointed at the Shadow Sword and then addressed him, "Did Pythor tell you any more details? I don't think he'd leave you with just these words, right?"
"He said that monarchs shouldn't be drawn into making things personal and that everything has a price, that everything is negotiable." The Shadow Sword nodded and continued, "He also stressed that war is a way, not a destination and that he doesn't want to keep fighting forever."
"Humph, where was that gentleness when he attacked all our planets while we were busy in Nihari?" Billy wasn't impressed by what he heard, but he couldn't help but glance at Robin... Could it be that Robin knew this would happen when he sent his army to all those planets and gave them the decree to *destroy* in order to quickly seize them?
"Did he really say we shouldn't be drawn into making things personal? How ironic, How vile!" Richard also clenched his fists, the sight of the Imperial Capital being destroyed and its people being slaughtered still haunting his thoughts day and night, what did THEY do to deserve this? If this isn't turning things personal then what is?
"What else did he say?" Robin raised his hands to silence everyone.
"He said that negotiations of this scale should take place between you two without disturbance, and that is why he is inviting you to a neutral location, the City of Hope, in a week from now to talk about the terms in order to stop the war." The Shadow Sword spoke quickly, "He also said that it would be better if you came alone and he would sit with you alone, but if you are afraid and prefer to bring guards with you, that is fine, he stressed the sentence: *My guards are not few either and they are all eager to join the meeting*, the important thing is that you come and we reach a solution that satisfies everyone... That is all, Your Excellency."
"Heh!" A sarcastic laugh escaped Theo's mouth inadvertently... Is The City of Hope now a neutral location? That's where Pythor himself lies, if an enemy stronghold is called a neutral location then what is a hostile location?!
"Hmm, why exactly seven days?" Robin looked at Theo, he knew the answer would most likely be with him.
Theo thought for a moment, "...The only thing I can think of is the fact that 600 Martial Emperors and 500,000 soldiers are being sent to Nihari, they will arrive any day next week." He had extracted this information from torturing some prisoners on the Poison Rock Planet.
"...That makes sense, he wants to show off his full strength before negotiating then, he wants to sit with me while he is in a position of power..." Robin nodded a few times, then patted the old Gu standing next to him, "I will leave this young man in the custody of the Sky Opening Tower, treat him with the best means we have, you can use any treasures in the Imperial treasury to ease the process for him."
"Thank you, Your Excellency!" Shadow Sword's eyes throbbed with life once again, if it was one of the Sky Opening Tower's projects, he would definitely be healed in no time!
The Shadow Sword forced himself to kneel down forcefully, but his mortal knee accidentally shattered and he started screaming, Old Man Gu sighed, then took him and left, the rest of the paramedics and gate guards left with them as well, only Robin, Richard, Theo and Billy remained in their places.
"...You wouldn't agree to this nonsense, would you? Let me send them one of the slaves to tell them to go fuck themselves." Theo didn't seem to like what he was hearing, why would his father go to anyone when he was in a position of power? They had taken nine planets including Pythor's motherland and he couldn't do anything about it, what logic would he have invited them to a hostile location like the City of Hope?!
"You think I wouldn't agree?" Robin remained silent for a few seconds before the smile on his face grew from ear to ear, his rapid heartbeat could be heard clearly from afar, "Haha... Hahaha, I've been waiting for this moment, how could I not agree?! If he asked for my presence today I would gladly go!"