Throughout the council hall,
voices rose and fell.
Though the Owl Dragon mission's delegates were far fewer than the High Council, they were not in the least outdone in force.
And on nearly every condition, the Owl Dragon diplomatic mission gave not an inch.
Just as things looked about to reach a deadlock,
in the end it was the Nightglow Elf King who could not hold back first.
He turned his head, his cold eyes fixed on Zhao Chen. "Your Excellency the Owl Dragon Emperor. Up to now I seem not to have seen any sincerity in your country, come all this way to ally with us."
There was a meaning behind the fellow's words: that Zhao Chen and the others were the ones eager to ally, and had even come a thousand miles for it.
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth lifted slightly; he glanced down at Minister of Foreign Affairs Xu Yan below the platform.
When their eyes had crossed,
Zhao Chen stood up and straightened his clothes. "I'm sorry; there may be some misunderstanding between us. I've come on this visit to the Sacred Elf Empire at your invitation. I don't understand what the Nightglow Elf King means by sincerity. If these talks can't go on, then let it go. We can each fight our own war."
As he spoke, Zhao Chen made to turn and leave.
The people of the Owl Dragon diplomatic mission rose one after another as well.
At this point the Radiant Elf King rose and stopped Zhao Chen, saying cheerfully, "Your Excellency the Owl Dragon Emperor, don't take it to heart. Onias has always had this temper, so I hope Your Excellency won't hold it against him. I think that, having talked this long, everyone is tired. Why not rest a little? I've had some desserts and drinks prepared in the dining hall outside; you and your mission can go and try them."
Zhao Chen looked at the Radiant Elf King and nodded silently, which counted as agreeing.
After that the talks were suspended,
and the two sides had, for the time being, put up a sign of truce.
Zhao Chen and the members of the Owl Dragon mission were in the dining hall; several of the mission's members looked around and quietly brought out shielding devices, enclosing Zhao Chen in the middle and the others within them,
so that outsiders would not learn what they were talking about.
"It seems you came very well prepared this time. I think the elves opposite were nearly driven out of their minds by you," Zhao Chen said with a laugh, looking at these diplomats.
"This is our Imperial ministry of foreign affairs' duty to begin with. And the tempers of these members of the elves' High Council are easy to read; every one of them stands on ceremony, likely because of their customs of courtesy. So at certain stages we played the rogue with them on purpose, and left them no way out. Now these talks have in truth reached the crucial point. I'd guess those Elf Sovereigns are over there now discussing the final result. I suspect that what finally settles all this will still be those Elf Sovereigns' talking with you alone. After all, the road has been paved now; whether it can be walked all the way depends on you." Minister of Foreign Affairs Xu Yan raised her hand, and an outline of an alliance agreement appeared before Zhao Chen.
"Your Majesty, these points marked in red are all ones where we can give no ground at all; so long as you hold firm, they're sure to agree. For these areas marked in yellow, we've also written the range within which we can give ground; anything within that range we can accept. As for the green areas, in truth those are all baits we've thrown out. They don't matter at all to our interests; when needed, you can throw a few of them wholly to the other side as a token of our sincerity. For in negotiation you mustn't press too hard; you have to let the other side feel it's gained something too."
Hearing Minister of Foreign Affairs Xu Yan's instructions, Zhao Chen's eyes lit up in spite of himself.
It was indeed very thoroughly prepared.
There was no need at all for him to think anything more over.
"Very good. When we get back this time, I'll certainly reward you; you've done a great service this time," Zhao Chen said approvingly, looking at these people.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Xu Yan said with a smile, "Your Majesty, this is our Imperial ministry of foreign affairs' duty to begin with. To tell the truth, to have such a chance to show what we can do set before us makes us very happy. Before this, we thought our Imperial ministry of foreign affairs had no use left at all, and a good many wanted to transfer to other departments. Now… at last we can give our share of strength for the Empire too; we're truly very happy!"
The other members of the ministry of foreign affairs said so too, one after another.
One could see they truly felt from the heart that this time they had been of real use.
Very soon this short rest came to an end.
Zhao Chen and the others made ready to go back into the hall.
But as Zhao Chen was about to step up onto the platform,
the Radiant Elf King stopped Zhao Chen and, smiling, pointed to a door behind the platform. "Your Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor, this way, please."
Zhao Chen paused, then silently followed the Radiant Elf King.
It seemed the final purpose of this visit to the Sacred Elf Empire was at last to reach a result!
Through the door behind the platform, what met the eye was a small, exquisite room, and a table grown from plants.
The other four Elf Sovereigns were already seated around the round table.
"Please." The Radiant Elf King indicated that Zhao Chen should sit.
When Zhao Chen had sat, the Radiant Elf King spoke directly. "Now there are only the few of us left. So I'll come straight to the point. His Excellency the Owl Dragon Emperor's coming to our Sacred Elf Empire this time: in truth both sides came meaning to ally. Only there may be some differences on some small questions. But what matters most right now is not our quarreling here, but how to resist the Devourer Civilization's invasion. To tell the truth, though the Devourer Civilization may invade the Owl Dragon Empire's universe first, after that it will be our Sacred Elf Empire. The two of us are wholly as the lips to the teeth: lose the lips and the teeth grow cold. So we must reach an alliance as soon as we can, and then move on to the next stage of cooperating in battle. Now, with our five Elf Sovereigns here, let us settle as quickly as we can the points the High Council members outside and the Owl Dragon diplomatic mission you brought were discussing just now. Will that do?" The Radiant Elf King looked at Zhao Chen.
Sure enough:
the High Council looked like the core of the Sacred Elf Empire's government, but in fact those who held the say were these five Elf Sovereigns before him.
"Of course I'm willing, but it also depends on whether you all are," Zhao Chen said calmly.
In the talks that followed between Zhao Chen and these five Elf Sovereigns, perhaps because the road had been paved by those before, or perhaps because of the two sides' standing,
the talks went, surprisingly, very smoothly.
In the course of it, Zhao Chen too, as Minister of Foreign Affairs Xu Yan had instructed, gave ground on certain points of no importance, seeming to let the Sacred Elf Empire gain some advantage.
In truth, on the core interests Zhao Chen gave no ground at all.
"Then the great majority of questions have been discussed and settled. Only these few rather important questions remain. Your country wishes to station troops in our Sacred Elf Empire too; and there's the question of control of the star gate between the two universes. And the question of command of the two sides' legion fleets in future, and the question of managing the garrison we send to the Owl Dragon Empire." The Radiant Elf King raised his hand and picked out the four chief points in this draft agreement before them,
showing them as four rings of light before everyone's eyes.
"The garrison we do not accept," the Nightglow Elf King said.
Zhao Chen said directly, "Our garrison is only a formality; we're allies, after all, and must help and work with each other. The Devourer Civilization's line of attack seems to be toward our Owl Dragon Empire now, but if the Devourer Civilization has some plan in future and turns to strike the Sacred Elf Empire by surprise, then our Owl Dragon Empire, as your ally, can't just stand and watch, can it? As for the size of this garrison, we can discuss it. I already talked it over on this point with your representative, Miss Gladys, before I came. Say your country is to send a million elf legion ships in future to be stationed in our Owl Dragon Empire. Then in return our Owl Dragon Empire has the right to send at most two hundred thousand Owl Dragon interstellar fleet ships to be stationed in the Sacred Elf Empire. Five to one: that's a ratio we can accept. If this requirement of ours can't be met, then every proposal is withdrawn." Zhao Chen laid his hand on the table, his face very resolute.
The ratio of five to one looked like a loss for the Owl Dragon Empire.
But there was no help for it; even if the Sacred Elf Empire were willing to let the Owl Dragon Empire station a million ships within the Sacred Elf Empire,
the question was: could the Owl Dragon Empire spare so many warships?
It could not!
Since it could not, there was no need to put on a false show; seeming to give ground, while taking some real benefit, was enough.
"A hundred thousand ships," the Nightglow Elf King said again, abruptly.
Zhao Chen glanced at this dark-skinned elf; whether it was his character, or whether, after the several Elf Sovereigns had talked it over, this Nightglow Elf King was here playing the villain, there was no knowing.
"Five to one; that point is beyond question," Zhao Chen said firmly.
"All right, all right. Five to one it is, then. Since His Majesty the Owl Dragon Emperor is firm on this point, let it be so. But we have one requirement. That the Owl Dragon Empire's garrison may move only within the bounds we allow!" The Radiant Elf King seemed to face Zhao Chen with a smile, but there was a touch of warning in his words.
Zhao Chen smiled slightly. "That's no problem. But one more point must be settled too. If something truly happens then, such as the Devourer Civilization invading the Sacred Elf Empire, the Owl Dragon Empire's legion fleets have the right to appear within the area the fighting reaches."
The Radiant Elf King hesitated a moment, but in the end agreed to this article too.
At least as they saw it now, the Devourer Civilization had neither reason nor power to invade two universe empires at once!
"Then as to the reinforcements our Sacred Elf Empire sends to your country: at present we can send, in stages, five million warships in all to support your country," the Radiant Elf King said.
Five million ships.
By what Zhao Chen had learned before from Gladys, and on the Sacred Elf Empire's network now, the number of warships the Sacred Elf Empire had in active service had reached thirty million.
And to be willing now to send five million looked like a grand show of force.
But it was only a sixth; it showed that for now they had no thought of fighting it out to the death with the Devourer Civilization in the Owl Dragon Empire, and were still keeping a great deal in reserve.
"Five million ships is no problem." Zhao Chen nodded.
For five million ships, Zhao Chen's side could in return station at most five hundred thousand[1] Owl Dragon warships in the Sacred Elf Empire.
But as things truly stood now, Zhao Chen could not possibly send so large an Owl Dragon interstellar fleet here anyway.
"Command of these five million elf warships of ours we cannot possibly hand to you," the Radiant Elf King said in a deep voice.
Zhao Chen tapped his fingers on the table and said coolly, "In truth there's nothing for us to argue about on this point. Neither of our two sides can possibly hand its own interstellar legion fleets to the other's command. That being so, let each command its own. But at the same time, for the cooperation that may come up on the battlefield, a joint command must be set up among the high command of our two sides' interstellar legion fleets, with both sides sharing all battle intelligence and information on the Devourer Civilization and Order. If cooperative operations are needed, they're discussed and settled in this joint command."
The several Elf Sovereigns exchanged a look and said nothing.
The Radiant Elf King said, "On that point we have no objection."
"Then let's not drag this out either; I'll say it all at once." Zhao Chen put his elbow straight on the table, looking frank and open.
"About building the universe star gate. You said before that since the technology is supplied by you, this permanent star gate across universes ought to be controlled by you," Zhao Chen said.
"So it should be," the Nightglow Elf King said coolly.
"What you say is reasonable indeed. But who told you our Owl Dragon Empire doesn't have this kind of technology?" Zhao Chen asked back.
The several Elf Sovereigns all looked at Zhao Chen together.
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth lifted slightly. "Within a week I'll provide a framework of universe star-gate technology. If you find nothing wrong with it on looking it over, that shows our Owl Dragon Empire has the same technology. That being so, there's no question of the technology being supplied by your side alone. Then the technology used to build this universe star gate can be yours, or it can be ours. So there's no need to bring this point up again. Then suppose one side's technology is used: neither side is willing to give the other control of this universe star gate. I'll say it plainly: it's no more than fearing certain things, isn't it? Everyone knows it at heart. That being so, let's not hide little schemes from each other. Control of the universe star gate is shared by both sides: the Owl Dragon Empire's end we control; the Sacred Elf Empire's end you control. It's as simple as that."
"You truly have universe star-gate technology?" The Emerald Elf King looked at Zhao Chen suspiciously. "But by what we know, right now you find even cross-universe sailing very hard."
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth lifted slightly. "We of the Owl Dragon Empire are all rather low-key in this area. We like to keep our good things hidden. Seeing the T6 warships we use, you must surely know we're no way behind your country in technology. If you don't believe it, in a few days I'll bring our Owl Dragon universe star-gate technology framework for you to look at. If you still don't feel easy, then use our star-gate technology; that's no problem either."