Originally, Short-tailed Town was just an inconspicuous small town in the south of the New Moon Land, but three months after Ireya reclaid the Golden Valley, three Emperors suddenly flooded in.
Even more peculiar was that twenty days ago, their armies were still fighting brutally, yet now the three were sitting at the sa table.
Claudio's territory was the furthest away, and he was the last to arrive, bringing in a chill when he entered.
The young Emperor took off his mink cloak and handed it to his attendant, who then pulled out a chair for him.
However, Claudio had just sat down when Conley threw a package not far from him.
When Claudio opened it, he discovered it contained tongues, bloody human tongues.
Claudio was startled, nearly dropping the bag, and anger quickly surged within him as he said in a deep voice, "What does this an?"
"So people have forgotten their oaths. Since they don't care about the words coming out of their mouths, keeping their tongues is useless," Conley said indifferently.
"What does this have to do with ?"
"These tongues are from the New Land. You should have seen their owners."
Upon hearing this, Claudio shuddered internally, but then he looked at the number of tongues in the bag—only four or five—so he cald down.
Conley must have heard sowhere about plans to betray him. Fortunately, he didn't know how many traitors there were and only managed to find four or five people.
In reality, Claudio had t with more than twenty envoys during this ti, virtually contacting all the lords of the New Land and nearly reaching agreents with them.
However, outwardly, Claudio still pretended to be angry and said,
"I don't care where these tongues co from, and I haven't t their owners. Quickly get these disgusting things away from !"
Hearing this, Conley sneered, but eventually, he had his attendant take the bag back.
The three had yet to formally begin discussing the alliance, but the atmosphere in the room had already grown tense.
Allister, as the host, felt he should say sothing, but before he could speak, Conley said again,
"Where's that Female Priest beside you? Why didn't she co?"
"You an the Priest of Cornelia? She was supposed to co, but sothing important ca up at the last minute, so..."
"What's more important now than defeating that western barbarian?" Claudio also asked.
"I don't know, it's the will of the Life Goddess."
"In that case, if we reach an agreent, how do I know your people will honestly keep the deal?"
"What do you an by this?" Allister's face darkened. He despised hearing others say he was a puppet of Cornelia or Schroeder.
Conley's previous words clearly implied he wasn't in control.
Conley said expressionlessly, "Don't misunderstand, I just heard that you and your n are all followers of that Life Goddess. If the Life Goddess tells you to break the agreent, what then? So it's best to bring Cornelia here."
"I said, I'm in charge here," Allister stated deliberately, "What I promise, not even the Life Goddess can change."
"That's good," Conley didn't insist further.
But then he heard Allister continue, "You and your people are all followers of the Sky God Gaia now, right? Why not let that Female Winged Clan Lannita co and negotiate with us directly?"
Conley's brows furrowed as well. He knew this was Allister's counterattack, and he initially was indeed propped up by those Wing Tribe people as a representative.
Whatever Lannita said, he did. But as his power grew stronger and his position more stable, the bond between them gradually began to change.
Conley had a dream. He wanted to shake off those Wing Tribe people and beco the actual ruler of this continent—a founding Emperor like Furious Lion Alexander.
But this thought was just a fleeting notion in his mind. Currently, Conley's situation was dire. Even though he occupied the Red Plain and held Lion Heart Castle, he was besieged on two fronts, having to withstand Allister's pressure from the north and deal with Claudio's harassnt from the south.
If it weren't for those Wing Tribe people and their two dragons, he wouldn't have lasted long.
Now that Elk Valley was lost, he had to face Ireya directly, bearing the most pressure out of the three parties. It was impossible to part ways with those Wing Tribe people in this scenario.
Therefore, Conley said, "Lady Lannita and I have both arrived at Short-tailed Town. If we want to defeat Ireya and her western army, we cannot do without Lady Lannita's troops and those two dragons.
"If you wish to talk to her, I can invite her over."
"If all the rumors about Ireya are true, the sky might be our only advantage over her," Claudio added at this point.
"However, matters of military strategy can be discussed later. We should settle the alliance details first."
With his words, the previously tense atmosphere in the room slightly relaxed.
In truth, each of the three was willing to sit at the sa table with the intent to join forces. However, they had accumulated many conflicts after fighting for so long.
Even Claudio and Allister, the two brothers, maintained a façade of harmony but secretly sabotaged each other regularly.
Previously, when the Nobles of the New Moon Land united against Allister, the shadows of the Second Son Alliance were involved. Now rumors were spreading across the continent that Claudio had affections for n—a court secret surely not known to Conley.
But regardless of past grievances, they had to temporarily put them aside in the face of a formidable enemy.
Allister had prepared a speech, intending to start with an opening remark, but Conley went straight to the point, saying,
"I can agree to cooperate, provided you both agree to my conditions."
"What conditions?" Allister, though slightly displeased at being interrupted, still asked.
"During our cooperation, the three of us must cease all wars."
"This is certain," Claudio said without hesitation.
Allister nodded, "Indeed, our number one enemy right now is Ireya and her western army. We cannot fight amongst ourselves anymore."
"Maintain current borders and land divisions," Conley continued.
This ti, Claudio hesitated. He had already arranged deals with the lords of the New Land, and the land was about to be in his grasp.
If he signed a contract with Conley, this succulent piece of at would be out of reach.
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