Chapter 819: Chapter 801: Asking for an Outrageous Price
It was unclear whether they were genuinely frightened or simply unwilling to risk any further mistakes. In any case, this ti the Three Great Alliances joined forces with two major corporations and the Heavenly Ancestor Church—six factions in total—dispatching over thirty Sky Cities and tens of thousands of warships to escort their negotiation representatives. It was a grand mobilization indeed.
However, perhaps due to the lessons learned from the last incident, this ti they refrained from playing any tricks. Upon entering the airspace near Backhill Village, the vast forces ca to a halt, and six representatives were sent ahead aboard a single warship, slowly entering the Backhill Village airspace.
When these people finally arrived in Thunderhawk City, the negotiations between both sides officially began.
This compelled Rocky to personally step forward. After all, he was the only one who could truly make decisions. The six representatives, who had traveled thousands of miles, would never agree to negotiate without eting Rocky in person. Thus, although the specifics of the negotiations were still handled by Athena, Rocky had to make frequent appearances throughout the discussions.
Soon, the first round of negotiations was held—and concluded.
In this initial session, the six representatives, led by the Three Great Alliances, issued stern warnings to Rocky. They loudly condemned him for his egregious act of taking hostages, demanding that he release all captives imdiately and unconditionally. If not, the Three Great Alliances would be forced to use military ans to rescue those he had detained.
The warning was delivered in a tone of righteous indignation, painting Rocky as nothing short of a bandit, a tyrannical warlord indulging in looting and arson.
Yet, despite how aggressively the words were spoken, they were ultimately aningless. Even a fool could see that rescuing the hostages this ti would require paying an extraordinarily steep price. This was precisely why the representatives adopted such a forceful stance from the outset—to appear tough and lay the groundwork for the later, more substantive negotiations.
Athena, of course, was well aware of such tactics. She denied all accusations outright, even refusing to acknowledge that there had been any kidnapping at all. According to her, Rocky had only acted out of concern for the safety of so very important individuals during the chaos of battle, bringing them to Thunderhawk City out of necessity—not as hostages, but rather to ensure their protection.
Such an explanation infuriated the representatives. The audacity! Even the Three Great Alliances would never have dared to utter sothing so shaless, yet Athena remained utterly unfazed, insisting ti and again that it was all for their safety. Moreover, the negotiations had nothing to do with hostage ransom; they were rely routine discussions unrelated to the captives’ well-being.
Under these circumstances, it’s no surprise that the first round of negotiations ended in disarray without coming to any conclusion. Still, though the talks broke down, everyone understood this was rely the warm-up; the real negotiations had yet to begin.
This was indeed the case. The first round of discussions served as little more than mutual probing. Both sides were testing just how unyielding the other’s position was, using this understanding to formulate strategies for the next phase. However, just as the six representatives were gearing up to negotiate substantive terms with Athena, she suddenly changed tactics. Instead of proceeding to a second round of collective talks, she began eting privately with each representative.
“Elder Farey, you and City Lord Rocky go way back. You should know that City Lord Rocky harbors no ill intentions in this matter.”
Athena started her one-on-one visits with none other than the Sky Alliance’s representative, Elder Farey, an old acquaintance of Rocky’s.
As soon as she saw Elder Farey, Athena greeted him with a smile, as though they were already old friends. “And you must also know,” she continued, “that to this day, City Lord Rocky remains a core mber of the Sky Alliance. How could he possibly do anything to harm Elder Gandalf?”
Facing Elder Farey, Athena maintained her smile, and Farey returned the gesture.
Despite Athena’s friendly tone, this was actually the first ti the two had t. However, Farey had long heard of Athena’s reputation as a bold and capable woman, and now that impression was fully validated. Smiling, he nodded. “Indeed, the Alliance has no other intention this ti but to retrieve His Excellency the Great Elder.”
“Furthermore, the Elders’ Council has already declared that what transpired in Eternal City was an unfortunate accident. City Lord Rocky himself suffered significant losses during the ordeal. As a core mber of the Alliance, it is only right for the Alliance to offer him so compensation.”
Elder Farey, being as experienced as he was, imdiately grasped Athena’s intentions the mont she approached him. Clearly, she sought to exploit divisions among the representatives to achieve her own objectives sooner. This notion aligned perfectly with Farey’s own preferences, as he had long grown tired of this ssy affair.
As the Elder most familiar with Rocky, Farey had consistently advocated for a conciliatory approach toward him within the Alliance Elder Council. Farey believed in deepening the Alliance’s ties with Rocky, ensuring his developnt beca inseparable from the Alliance’s future. This way, their interests would naturally align.
Unfortunately, Farey’s perspective was a minority within the Council. Most of the other Elders pushed for a hardline approach to force Rocky into surrendering the advanced technologies he possessed—technologies initially promised in exchange for his mbership. This hardline stance had only worsened relations between the Alliance and Rocky, leading to the current situation.
And now, Elder Farey once again found himself at Thunderhawk City, tasked with cleaning up this unholy ss. After all, it had been Gandalf who advocated action against Rocky, Gandalf who ended up captured, and now it was Farey who had to personally negotiate his release. This not only left Farey exasperated but also eager to resolve the matter as quickly as possible.
So, when Athena made her move, Farey decided to cut straight to the point: “Na your price. If it’s reasonable, let’s end this charade.”
Athena, sharp as ever, caught on imdiately. She cast a glance toward Aileen, who promptly handed a detailed list to Elder Farey.
The contents of the list represented Athena’s terms. Fulfilling them would guarantee Gandalf’s imdiate release.
But the mont Farey laid eyes on the list, his expression darkened dramatically.
What was written on this list?
Fine Steel—the primary material for the next generation of White Demon Armor, one of the rarest tals in the world—five tons?
Ten Magic Dragons? What madness! Every part of a Magic Dragon, down to the last bone, was sold by weight. Magic Dragon Skin alone was priced by the square inch, and yet here they demanded ten of them in their entirety?
Lava Demon Cores, five hundred?
Frost Demon Cores, five hundred?
The list went on, filled with demands that left Farey utterly dumbfounded. A single thought sprang to his mind: if these terms were the price of securing Gandalf’s release, then Gandalf might as well die here in Thunderhawk City!
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