The Holy Angel King's Holy Temple Mount.
This time, when Zhao Chen walked into the great hall, all three Angel Kings were present already.
And not high above upon the steps, but in the middle of the hall, ranged in a circle.
With one empty chair besides.
"My lord of the Owl Dragon, be seated, if you please." The Holy Angel King rose, and signed to Zhao Chen to take his seat.
The other two, perhaps on account of being holographic projections, did not rise.
Very practical indeed.
The first time he came, each of them was high above him — there had not so much as been a chair.
And now it was as though old friends were met.
All of it because of the strength Zhao Chen had now shown.
Zhao Chen took his seat with a knowing silence.
"My lord of the Owl Dragon, the payment is in place; is your side satisfied?" The Holy Angel King looked at Zhao Chen with a smile.
Zhao Chen nodded. "My people have inspected it and found no trouble. The two sides are handing over now — the goods and the payment."
Because the quantity was so vast, the mere handing over of these goods and this payment would want some days.
They were, after all, the components of 10,000 interstellar warships, and 2 trillion star coins' worth of raw materials in payment.
"Let us come straight to the point."
The War Angel King seemed a man of hasty temper; he looked straight at Zhao Chen. "This cooperation of ours has been very successful; of your Owl Dragon's military-industrial strength we are convinced. And we are willing to work with your Owl Dragon. Let us speak next of what our cooperation shall contain."
"Very well." Zhao Chen nodded.
The time that followed was the four of them in negotiation.
The chief talking, in fact, was still between Zhao Chen and the War Angel King — for in the matter of procuring interstellar warships, he was the expert.
Now and again the Holy Angel King would put in a word.
As for that Judgment Angel King with the gauze over her eyes, she scarcely spoke at all.
Very soon the broad direction of a cooperative intent was confirmed.
Thereafter the Angel Race would add further military orders to the Owl Dragon, chiefly T3-grade interstellar warships, and the number of classes would widen from the single T3 Radiance-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer to very nearly every T3 class.
In the course of this Zhao Chen pushed his own Owl Dragon-line interstellar warships.
But the three Angel Kings did not agree outright; nor did they refuse — they said only that it wanted thinking over.
It seemed they feared still that the Angel-line starship system they had already built up would be broken by an Owl Dragon line from outside.
At this Zhao Chen was in no haste.
Infiltration of that kind must go forward by degrees; it cannot be hurried.
Though in the talk the Angel Kings expressed a willingness to accept the Owl Dragon's help in military technology.
The Owl Dragon-modified T3 Radiance-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, for instance.
Perhaps because the Owl Dragon-modified T3 Radiance so far surpassed the original T3 Radiance in performance.
At the last the three Angel Kings agreed that the Owl Dragon might thereafter produce and supply the complete Owl Dragon-modified T3 Radiance-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer outright.
Which was not to be reckoned as no advance.
"Are you certain you can produce us interstellar warships to a total value of 5 trillion star coins every month?" The War Angel King asked it, believing it still but half.
In the discussion just now, the ceiling Zhao Chen had named for military orders was 5 trillion star coins, and the manner of payment must be raw materials of equal value.
"For the present it is 5 trillion; though hereafter there is room to discuss it, and this ceiling may be raised without cease," Zhao Chen answered.
Everything must of course have the Owl Dragon's own needs first; the chief object of this cooperation with the Angel Race was to earn these military orders, and so ease the Owl Dragon's present want of raw materials.
Zhao Chen paused, and said further, "Of course, this rests upon your side's agreeing to that condition of mine before. Otherwise… the efficiency will truly be far too slow."
At Zhao Chen's words.
The War Angel King fell silent thereupon; that condition was of course the building of the star gates.
Those star gates within the Machine Race's bounds they might not much mind.
But to build a star gate within their own Angel Race's star-heavens was indeed somewhat dangerous.
"We can permit you to build a star gate within our star-heavens, but the jurisdiction of it must be given to us!" the War Angel King required.
Zhao Chen shook his head. "That I cannot agree to. To guarantee the safety and the efficiency of the trade, this star gate route must be within our control."
Having said so much, Zhao Chen turned his words about. "Though I know what the three of you are anxious about. Let it be thus, then: the star gate stands under our jurisdiction. But I can give you my guarantee that within this star gate's jurisdictional district our Owl Dragon will send at the very most 300 combat-type interstellar warships to answer for security and patrol work. And outside the jurisdictional district, your side may station troops to answer for the outer security, and may answer as well for taking receipt of the interstellar warships within the military orders. You might, for instance… build a trade starport."
At Zhao Chen's words the three Angel Kings said nothing.
After a dozen seconds and more of quiet.
The War Angel King and the Holy Angel King exchanged a glance.
"We agree to this proposal of yours. But as to the site of this star gate and the term of the free lease, for the first term we can give you only 10 years; whether it shall be left to you thereafter must be decided when the time comes," said the Holy Angel King.
The meaning of this was nothing but that, if the interstellar campaign against the Demon Race should be fought out by then, and there were no more need to buy interstellar warships from the Owl Dragon, this star gate would have no need to exist either.
The term of lease Zhao Chen had proposed before was 100 years.
Though that had been merely thrown out; he had never thought of truly leasing it for a hundred.
Ten years was time enough for a great many changes.
"Very well." Zhao Chen agreed to it.
In this moment the sound of the quarterly mission's completion came through Zhao Chen's mind.
"Then next it is for the personnel of our two sides to settle the detailed agreement of cooperation within these few days." The Holy Angel King's tone had grown a good deal more level by now.
The several of them talking here were not truly concluding a cooperative agreement; the concluding of one had a far more formal course.
There must be people expressly charged with drawing it up.
These heads of theirs came only to settle the broad direction of it.
The rest of the business would be given afterward to their several subordinates.
Zhao Chen's secretary Lilith, for instance, had long since made ready.
"Then within the agreement of cooperation we have discussed, there is a portion concerning the establishment of an alliance between us. Within it is required that, should either side meet with any military attack that threatens the cooperative relation of the two sides, military aid shall be rendered within the compass of ability." Zhao Chen showed a trace of a smile at this point, and fixed his eyes upon the three Angel Kings.
The War Angel King's heart gave a lurch; how was it he felt this fellow had come prepared.