Martial Peak

Chapter 5599: There’s Room for Discussion

Mo Na Ye kept a smile on his face, as though he had already expected Xiang Shan’s response, “Sir Xiang Shan, do you mean that the Humans do not want a peace deal?”

Meanwhile, he sneered to himself. If the Humans didn’t want a peace deal, they wouldn’t have taken the trouble to show up today. Now, the representatives of the 13 Great Territories from both sides had come together, and since the Humans were here, it showed that they wanted a peace deal as well. Mo Na Ye reckoned that the Humans were only putting up an act.

Xiang Shan said, “We’re pleased with the current situation, so there’s no need to change anything.”

Mo Na Ye refuted, “As far as I understand, the Humans are at a disadvantage in most of the Great Territories. If not for Sir Yang Kai’s appearance in Twin Poles Territory, the Humans would’ve already lost the war here.”

“That was the situation three years ago,” Xiang Shan replied calmly, “Things are different now, so what is the point of you bringing up the past?”

Mo Na Ye frowned, “Sir Xiang Shan, are you trying to say that you want the situation in all the Great Territories to remain unchanged?”

When he noticed Xiang Shan’s silence, he put on a helpless smile, “We’ve shown enough sincerity for this peace talk. Regardless of the advantages we have in those Great Territories, we’ve given up on them and retreated. I’m sure you can see that.”

An Eighth-Order Master scoffed, “All of you are just afraid of Yang Kai. Stop glossing over it, will you? You didn’t have to retreat if you had the guts…”

Before he could finish his words, Mo Na Ye cut him off loudly, “Sir Yang Kai is indeed powerful, and Territory Lords like us find it hard to deal with him. However, every time he makes a move, he can only kill a few of us. After that, he has to recuperate for an extended time. If we wanted to, we could’ve initiated a massive war while he was recuperating and none of you would have resisted us.”

The same Eighth-Order Master snapped, “Give it a try if you dare!”

As he surged his World Force, the Territory Lords were alarmed and raised their guard. At that moment, the atmosphere had become tense.

An unperturbed Mo Na Ye looked at Xiang Shan and said, “A peace deal will be beneficial to both the Black Ink Clan and the Humans. With Profound Nether Territory as an example, I’m sure you’ll make a wise decision, Sir Xiang Shan.”

Xiang Shan replied impassively, “A peace talk at this point will be beneficial to the Black Ink Clan as the Territory Lords no longer have to be anxious; however, what benefits will we get?”

Mo Na Ye said, “Isn’t it your intention to provide a safe space for those below the Eighth Order to fight and grow?”

He initially didn’t want to point it out so blatantly, but he had no choice but to do so now. Xiang Shan’s attitude suggested that the Black Ink Clan had to produce an adequate bargaining chip to make the Humans even begin to bargain.

Xiang Shan wasn’t surprised one bit. Over the years, some Humans had fallen into the Black Ink Clan’s hands and had been turned into Black Ink Disciples. As such, some information about the Humans must have been leaked.

“There seems to be a lot of rising Stars on the Humans’ side. If they’re accidentally killed by the Territory Lords in battle, you will suffer immense losses. After all, a Seventh-Order Master who might turn into a Ninth-Order Master in the future is a rare commodity. Some 300 years ago, Sir Yang Kai slaughtered a large number of Black Ink Clansmen in Profound Nether Territory but still took the initiative to strike a peace deal with us. Wasn’t that part of his consideration? Why are you making things difficult for us when we want a peace deal now? Do you want Profound Nether Territory to be dragged into the war again, Sir Xiang Shan?”

Xiang Shan looked up at him, “Are you threatening me?” It seemed that as long as the peace talk fell short, the agreement in Profound Nether Territory would be nullified as well. In that case, things would revert to the situation 300 years ago, and the Human Juniors would lose their only training ground.

Mo Na Ye replied calmly, “That’s not what I meant at all. I believe there is a phrase among you Humans called ‘standing at death’s door’. We are basically wandering around death’s door by coming to this place. A peace deal is all we want, so we wouldn’t dare to be provocative; after all, if Sir Yang Kai suddenly decides to act out, half of us will likely have to remain here forever.”

Despite knowing that Mo Na Ye’s words were insincere, Yang Kai was still pleased. It felt good to have someone flattering him, especially when that person was a powerful Innate Territory Lord. It was an enjoyable sensation on another level.

Mo Na Ye went on to say, “As for the benefits you’ve mentioned, Sir Xiang Shan, I have to admit that the peace deal will be beneficial to the Black Ink Clan. As such, we’re willing to offer some compensation.”

“What kind of compensation?”

“What about some resources?” Mo Na Ye asked inquisitively, “The Humans need resources to cultivate. For each Great Territory included in this deal, we will provide a certain amount of resources. As for the amount, there’s room for discussion.”

Seeing that Mo Na Ye appeared sincere, the Eighth-Order Masters were tempted.

No one had expected that the Black Ink Clan would be willing to make such a huge concession to secure a peace deal. They couldn’t help suspecting that a peace deal might bring even greater benefits to the Black Ink Clan than they had known.

After pondering for a moment though, they concluded that the Territory Lords were just too terrified of Yang Kai.

There was no denying Yang Kai couldn’t kill many Territory Lords at any given time. If the Territory Lords remained highly vigilant, he might not even kill any one of them; however, no one would be able to be at ease with such a powerful enemy eyeing them in the dark.

“There’s nothing else I can say if you still don’t want this peace agreement,” Mo Na Ye stared fixedly at Xiang Shan and spread his palms.

After a moment of silence, Xiang Shan nodded, “There’s room for discussion.”

The moment he finished speaking, the Territory Lords let out a sigh of relief as they became slightly at ease. Nonetheless, what Xiang Shan was about to say would unnerve them again.

“However, not all Great Territories will be included in the peace deal,” Xiang Shan tapped on the table, “Other than Profound Nether Territory, six places will be part of the peace deal and the other six will remain unchanged out of the remaining 12 Great Territories. If you can’t agree to this, there’s no need for any further discussion.”

Only then did Mo Na Ye realise this was the Humans’ true intention.

After giving it some thought, however, he felt that this condition wasn’t unacceptable. Just like what he had said to Six Arms before, while the Humans needed to train their soldiers, the Black Ink Clan did as well.

When Seventh-Order Masters ascended to the Eighth-Order, they needed a stage to keep on training, and it was the same for the Black Ink Clan when their Feudal Lords became Territory Lords. 

As such, it was acceptable that only some Great Territories would be included in the peace deal.

Mo Na Ye turned to look at the Territory Lords and realised that they looked stiff and nervous. At that moment, he couldn’t help but smile helplessly. Although he felt that he should agree to Xiang Shan’s request, it would also put him in a tight spot.

Six out of 12 Great Territories would be included in the peace deal, so only half of the places would enjoy some peace of mind.

However, how was Mo Na Ye supposed to make this decision on his own?

The representatives of each Great Territory certainly hoped that they would be part of the peace deal.

After some deliberation, Mo Na Ye nodded, “We can agree to this, but I also have a condition.”

When the other Territory Lords heard Mo Na Ye’s words, their expressions changed slightly. They quickly tried to recall if there were any grudges or friendship between Mo Na Ye and them. The Royal Lord had put Mo Na Ye in charge of these peace talks, so if the latter wanted to get revenge on them and excluded the Great Territories whose representatives he hated from the peace deal, there wouldn’t be peaceful moments again for them in the future.

“What kind of condition?” Xiang Shan asked with a frown.

Mo Na Ye pointed his finger at Yang Kai, “From now on, Sir Yang Kai must not make a move in any of the Great Territories!”

The Territory Lords were startled as they had the urge to clap their hands for Mo Na Ye.

They had been anxious because they were wary of Yang Kai, but if they could ensure Yang Kai wouldn’t make a move again, they no longer had to worry about anything.

Xiang Shan was slightly surprised as well as he thought to himself, [This Mo Na Ye is a sharp fellow. He directly understood the crux of the matter and made a proposal to deal with it.]

“In your dreams!” A hot-tempered Eighth-Order Master forcefully smacked his palm on the table and stood up. The Humans would be considered foolish if they agreed to such a ridiculous demand. By agreeing to that, they would be removing their strongest trump card, and no one would be able to intimidate the Black Ink Clan again.

An unfazed Mo Na Ye replied with a smile, “Since this is a negotiation, both parties naturally have to make some concessions. It’s not like we’ll let ourselves suffer losses while the Humans reap all the benefits. Even if I agreed to your demands, the Royal Lord wouldn’t.”

“We’ve made the biggest concession by having this peace talk with you, stop being so impudent.”

“That’s why we’re willing to offer a large amount of resources as compensation.”

“We don’t need your resources!”

“If the peace talk falls short, the agreement in Profound Nether Territory will be nullified as well!”

…..

The originally peaceful situation soon turned clamorous. The Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords were cursing at each other across the long table without any poise to speak of. If an uninformed individual arrived and saw what was going on, they might think they had entered a hawker market or something where vendors and customers were haggling back and forth.

Mo Na Ye remained silent. Since he had put forth this condition, the other Territory Lords had to work hard to make sure it would be included in the peace deal. He believed that they wouldn’t want Yang Kai to have a hand in the battles anymore. It was the outcome they all wanted.

“The Innate Territory Lords have an advantage over the Eighth-Order Masters when it comes to numbers, yet you’re now trying to restrict Yang Kai as well? Does that mean we can also limit the number of Territory Lords who will take part in the war!?”

“There’s room for discussion!”

…..

The noise stopped in an instant. All the Eighth-Order Masters and Territory Lords turned to look at Mo Na Ye.

The Eighth-Order Master who spoke just now was dumbfounded. He was just venting while also making what he considered an outrageous demand to make a point; he never expected Mo Na Ye to actually agree to it.

Faced with all the stares, Mo Na Ye said with a smile, “Why are all of you looking at me like that? Just like what I’ve said before, both parties have to give and take to reach an agreement. It’s not like either party here would accept suffering immense losses. As such, we have to come to an agreement that both sides will find acceptable. Only then would the agreement be possible. If Sir Yang Kai is willing to stay out of all the battlefields, we can place some limits on the number of Territory Lords who will take part in the war at any one time.”

The biggest advantage the Black Ink Clan had was that they had greater numbers than the Humans; this was true of grassroots soldiers, but also of the Feudal Lords and Territory Lords compared to the Seventh-Order and Eighth-Order Masters.

It was thanks to this advantage that the Black Ink Clan had gained the upper hand in almost every Great Territory Battlefield. Even though the Humans had Purifying Light and Evil Purging Divine Spears, they still couldn’t overcome this fundamental disadvantage.

After all, the Purifying Light couldn’t be used to deal with enemies on a large scale while it took time to refine Evil Purging Divine Spears. Every Evil Purging Divine Spear that was used was gone for good; furthermore, the Black Ink Clan was now on guard against them, so these artifacts no longer played as decisive a role anymore.

However, if they could limit the number of Territory Lords taking part in the war, the Humans would be able to better stand their ground and limit their losses.

It had to be said that even though Mo Na Ye was a Black Ink Clansman, he understood the Humans very well. Moreover, he was an intelligent and insightful individual.