Chapter 548: A Possible Quick End To Conflict
Leo completed the soul contract with Su Pei without any issues, with the terms of the contract being similar to the one he signed with Dupravel.
The duration was set for twenty years, with two specific clauses added at Su Pei’s request.
Firstly, he was to be treated with dignity befitting a senior Monarch within the cult.
And secondly, he was never to be sent on a suicide mission without cause.
Which were both conditions that Leo agreed to without much protest, since Su Pei wasn’t in as desperate a situation as Dupravel when signing this deal and had in a way voluntarily chosen to come into his service.
But aside from those conditions, it remained a standard Master-Slave contract, binding Su Pei to obey every other command he gave without exception.
"Master, I’ll be taking my leave now. I plan to inform my forces in Sanfe City, as well as those stationed across the planet, to surrender.
I hope you will honour your word and treat every soldier who lays down their arms with respect, and allow them safe passage off Koral as though they were ordinary civilians." Su Pei requested, as Leo casually waved his hand in response.
"Please, just call me Leo. And yes, any soldier who surrenders willingly will be treated like a civilian, no questions asked. But if anyone dares to rebel or stir chaos under the illusion of misplaced patriotism, I’ll ensure they are punished without mercy." Leo replied, his voice even, as Su Pei nodded in thanks and quietly took his leave.
In the end, Su Pei knew that the best he could do now was to offer his men a chance to survive... a chance to walk away from a battle already lost.
And while he expected most to accept that truth, he knew that there would always be a few blinded by pride, who would refuse to surrender, and instead choose to fight even when there was nothing left to defend.
And even though his heart bled for such men. He knew he couldn’t help them, if they were unwilling to help themselves.
"Alright, Viper. Let’s head back. I still need to figure out how I’m going to explain all this to Veyr..." Leo muttered, as he scratched his head in confusion.
Dupravel gazed in the direction he knew Valterri and Veyr were hiding, however, said nothing, as he decided to play dumb for now.
"As you wish," he replied quietly, as both of them began making their way back to the Zone One military base.
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Dupravel deliberately slowed their return to the Zone One military base, ensuring that Valterri and Veyr arrived ahead of them.
Once back, Leo wasted no time and went straight to find Veyr, eventually spotting him inside his room, slouched in a chair and gulping down a glass of water while struggling to catch his breath.
"What happened to you? Why are you breathing like that?" Leo asked the moment he stepped in, only for Veyr to feign confusion as he quickly tried to steady his breath and act like nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Breathing like what?" Veyr replied, pretending as if he hadn’t just run a marathon, while Leo raised an eyebrow but decided not to press the issue further.
"Well, cousin... I’ve got some good news, and some bad news," Leo began, as he walked over and shared everything about how Dupravel returned with Su Pei, how he ended up recruiting the enemy Commander into his service, and how Su Pei now intended to order his men to surrender.
As Leo spoke, Veyr sat quietly with his eyes drifting lower, occasionally stealing glances toward Valterri, who kept his gaze fixed to the ground and said nothing.
"So, the good news is... the war might end much sooner than we expected, and tens of thousands of lives could be spared.
The bad news is... our troops won’t get the kind of battle experience they need to grow. They’ll still be green, lacking the kind of exposure that forges veterans." Leo concluded, as Veyr stood up and placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"There’ll be other wars, cousin. And plenty of time for them to gain experience.
For now, I think saving lives is more than enough.
You did well today. And I AGREE WITH EVERY PROMISE YOU MADE," he said, his voice rising slightly at the end, clearly meant for someone else in the room and not Leo.
Which once again caused Leo to raise an eyebrow.
"Just what’s going on here?" Leo asked again, but once more, Veyr feigned ignorance.
"Going on? Nothing’s going on," Veyr shrugged, clearly overacting now, as he walked toward the window and looked outside with his arms crossed behind his back. "Just admiring the weather."
Leo narrowed his eyes slightly but let it slide for the time being. He had more important things to worry about than chasing down whatever weird game Veyr and Valterri were playing.
"I’ll be leaving for Sanfe City tomorrow," Leo said calmly, switching topics. "I need to oversee the surrender myself and make sure none of the Majors Or Lieutenants under Su Pei try something foolish behind his back."
"Want me to come along?" Veyr offered, tone returning to normal.
"No. Stay here and oversee the surrender of other major cities.
Keep the communications line open in case something changes. And most importantly... start preparing for the next phase of the war, which is the civilian handover and the universal messaging behind the cult takeover."
Veyr nodded without question, finally treating the conversation with the gravity it deserved.
"Understood."
Leo then turned toward Valterri, who had silently remained in the corner the whole time, his expression unreadable.
"I don’t know what happened to you today, but keep Veyr safe, the next few days are when his life should be under maximum threat from those who want to kill him."
"As you command, Lord Shadow Dragon," Valterri replied, his head bowing slightly.
With nothing more to say, Leo took one last look at his cousin, then quietly walked out of the room.
If everything went as he planned, the conquest of planet Koral might come to a successful conclusion within the next 10-14 days.