After about seven hours, Liasas finally opened her eyes and began speaking.
“The Xor’Vak have agreed to all of your demands. However, they added that if you fail to back up your arrogance, you will pay the price for daring to invoke their leader’s na without the strength to justify it,” she said as soon as she noticed Aron was already listening to her.
“We don’t have a problem with that. What about the others?” Aron responded without hesitation, his voice steady and decisive. A smile crept across his face—one he didn’t bother hiding—making his satisfaction unmistakably clear.
“As for the others, your demands can be agreed upon, but many require additional clauses and modifications,” Liasas repeated, pausing to gauge Aron’s reaction.
“Let’s hear what their modification demands are and see if we can accommodate them,” Aron responded calmly, his tone steady. He wasn’t rushing the discussion, knowing that every detail had to be considered before deciding.
“The Valthorins” Liasas began, “request that their knowledge must not be sold or revealed to any other civilization without their permission.”
She continued systematically, listing each group’s demands. So wanted to offer outdated knowledge, reasoning that it would still hold value while safeguarding their most recent advances. Others demanded stricter conditions regarding how the knowledge could be used, limiting its scope to specific fields or forbidding certain applications entirely.
Aron remained silent, ntally noting every condition, assessing whether each demand was feasible or whether he would need to push back. His expression stayed calm, betraying none of the calculations going on behind his eyes.
Liasas worked her way through the list, starting with the simplest modifications and moving toward the more complicated requests, ensuring nothing was overlooked.
The top ten civilizations didn’t demand many modifications. The Shadari and Trinarians only requested permission to provide limited knowledge, while the rest rely insisted on a clause prohibiting the empire from selling or sharing their knowledge with others. The Xor’Vak were the only exception, agreeing to the terms without any modifications.
In contrast, the civilizations just below the top ten pushed for significant changes. Since many of their advancents weren’t safeguarded by unique racial abilities, so requested the empire to demand sothing else entirely, while others outright rejected the original demands.
However, none of the civilizations raised objections to the empire's demand to claim the bodies of fallen enemies if they won the fight.
"Those who wish to include a clause preventing us from selling or sharing their knowledge without permission will have that request honored," Aron began, his tone steady but unyielding. "However, that clause will be mutual—neither will they be allowed to sell or share our knowledge without our express consent."
He continued, his voice growing firr. "As for those offering outdated knowledge, we will accept it—but only under the condition that the blackhole technology they receive will match the sa generation as the knowledge they provide. Additionally, they will forfeit all special privileges tied to the mana stones: no mining price deals, no profit sharing, and no authority to control who or how much we sell to. Fair is fair—if we are expected to offer the best of our technology upon defeat, they cannot expect us to settle for anything less than the best from them."
Aron's gaze sharpened as he addressed the final group. "For those who outright refuse our demands, we hereby revoke our acceptance of theirs. They must return to the negotiation table with new terms before we even consider another counteroffer. The scales must be balanced—or at least close—for any agreent to be reached. Otherwise, we will simply decline their terms until the ceasefire ends and the fighting resus."
His voice carried a dangerous edge now, a deliberate weight ant to drive the ssage ho. "If they’re unwilling to risk what we ask, then they should consider the baseline agreent the others accepted. It seems their reluctance suggests they are unsure of their chances against us, which is understandable. Accepting the basic deal will reduce the number of competitors to those confident enough to stake sothing of true value—and those prepared to fight, not cling to half-asures."
Aron leaned back slightly, satisfaction gleaming in his eyes as he added with subtle contempt, "This way, those unwilling to risk their core knowledge can still benefit from the deal—if their side wins. And I’m certain the hundreds of billions across the Conclave and the Empire watching this right now will appreciate knowing exactly who stands ready to compete—and who does not."
Liasas, catching on to Aron's strategy, looked at him in disbelief. She hadn’t expected him to resort to such a bold and calculated provocation, yet she couldn't help but admire how effective it was.
Without missing a beat, she turned her gaze toward his after receiving a response from the ntal network, her expression calm but laced with subtle intrigue as she said “The civilizations that requested the clause preventing their knowledge from being sold or shared without their permission have agreed to your counterproposal,” her voice asured.
“What about the rest?” Aron asked, his tone steady but expectant.
Liasas didn’t respond imdiately. Instead, she closed her eyes, signaling that she was listening intently to the incoming replies from the other factions. Only after gathering their responses would she be able to provide him with an answer.
After about thirty minutes of silence, Liasas finally opened her eyes. “Eight of the mbers have chosen to withdraw their demands and will be opting for the basic agreent,” she said calmly. “The rest have agreed to your terms, including the mutual clause requiring permission to sell or share information with other civilizations.”
Her tone remained as steady as ever, but there was a subtle hint of disappointnt in her expression. It looked like she had hoped for a different outco. It looked like the empire had gained the upper hand by leveraging the prestige and respect the civilizations needed to uphold in the eyes of their peers—a clever move that ensured they wouldn’t compromise their soft power in the long run.
But Aron recognized that her expression was rely a façade. With those eight withdrawals, it had beco impossible for the empire to secure a majority by defeating only the twelfth to twenty-third ranked competitors, even if they lost all their battles against the top ten. The count had now dwindled from twenty-three to fifteen, and the top ten civilizations effectively included eleven mbers, with the Elara and Feryn tied for the tenth position. It was a smart move from the Conclave.
Not only that, but they had also promised the eight who withdrew from the normal agreent that they would buy the mana stones at mining price from the empire and sell them to the eight at the sa price after they won. This was a significant incentive for their withdrawal, as it allowed them to reap the rewards of victory without having to fight at all.
As for the other four who chose not to withdraw, even in light of these conditions, they were equally confident in their chances of winning the fight. This ant they would also benefit from purchasing mana stones at mining price while simultaneously gaining access to the blackhole technology.
Aron just smiled and said “We accept. Let’s proceed to sign the agreents before discussing the format of the face-off and the conditions under which it will take place.”
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