Chapter 661: Black Mamba Conference (2)
Persona.
And this was precisely why they had come to Alkebulan in the first place. This was the very reason why they were having this conversation!
After a few seconds of tense silence, Black Mamba withdrew his gaze and smiled genially, “It is indeed a laughable suggestion. Given the current political climate within and without underworlds, the odds of large-scale wars breaking out or even civil unrest is little to none.”
There was a sound of soft scribbling coming from the darkness beyond. Qin Ye didn’t relax in the slightest, much less commit a foolish act such as heave a sigh of relief. Instead, he simply leaned back slightly and raised two fingers, “Secondly, Fengdu isn’t inviting the Alkebulan Underworlds to stand on its side. Hell doesn’t need any underworlds to take its side. We simply dislike the idea of our neighbours owning Forbidden Art capabilities.”
He spoke unhurriedly and without the slightest bit of haughtiness to his voice, and yet Qin Ye couldn’t help but feel stirred by his words.
A battlefield where they waged war with words.
“All I’m asking is the reason why you’re doing this. We need to understand the reasons for your intention before we can consider whether there’s a need to even delve further into the details of our cooperation.” Elder Yonder Star explained, “After all, Hell’s perspective on this issue would directly implicate the amount of help that we’re getting. In turn, this would directly influence how we should handle this matter - presumably that whatever you’re claiming right now is true. For instance, if Hell is unable to move on its end for whatever reason, how many soldiers do we need to send? Which Mythic Spirits should we mobilize?”
Black Mamba nodded slightly towards Elder Yonder Star and continued where she left off, “Prefect Qin, you couldn’t possibly be suggesting that the Black Mamba Underworld attempts to quell the uprising of the Russian Underworld on its own, would you?”
He didn’t go on any further. Instead, Babulu sensibly continued where he left off, “If the Russian Underworld is indeed bent on developing Forbidden Arts, then we can almost certainly expect to face up against hundreds of thousands of imperial troops backed by the Cossacks Military Formation. How much help would Hell offer to us? Will you be sending Abyssal Prefects? Yama-Kings? Or perhaps mobilize a large army?”
All eyes fell to Qin Ye at this moment. He grew taciturn, and the entire hall was filled with a tense pin drop silence. Nobody said a single word, and nobody prompted his response.
This was a question that Qin Ye had mulled long and hard over. If the Russian Underworld were indeed bent on swallowing the Resentment Crystal Mine whole, they would most definitely mobilize a throng of Yin soldiers. Therefore, even if Qin Ye did in fact manage to convince the tiger that was the Coalition of Alkebulan Underworlds to make its move, he would still have to contend with the question of how they were going to make the great trek to the northern part of the netherworld.
Then, they would have to cross the East Hindustani Ocean until they arrived at the Spice Islands, before finally entering the East Cathayan Seas. Thereafter, they would travel northwards through the seas until they finally arrived at Daehan.
How is Hell going to receive the army of Mythic Spirits when it finally enters Hell’s territorial waters? Given the current situation in Hell, can hell truly protect the Coalition of Alkebulan Underworlds from the scrutiny of the Federation of Underworlds?
This was a potential dead end to the discussions.
“Prefect Qin?” Babulu’s eyes narrowed as he gazed deeply into Qin Ye’s eyes, “Does silence mean that Hell hasn’t made the necessary preparations in this regard? Or are you telling me that… this is something that you hadn’t considered at all?”
After all, it was a solution that he’d only come up with after a day of thought!
“First of all, Lord Harken will rendezvous with you in the South Cathayan Seas. As for why specifically Lord Harken, this is a reason that I can only disclose to you later on. Additionally…”
This was all a gamble.
If this failed, then the negotiations would end right here and now. Even if the Black Mamba Underworld didn’t air this issue right now, the other Alkebulan Underworld would have done so at some point later on. There was therefore no point avoiding it.
Without missing a beat, Qin Ye pulled out Fate from the sleeve of his robes and respectfully set it onto the table.
There wasn’t much Yin energy seeping out of the brush, yet nobody dared to take it lightly.
A glimmer of golden light swept across the entire hall, and all who were dazzled by its radiance couldn’t help but shudder softly. Fate was practically synonymous with the fabled legend that was none other than the Second King Yanluo! This was the man who had beat the master of the other three P4 underworlds into a pulp and single handedly rebuffed the advances of the coalition of seven great underworlds against Hell. He was an unparalleled existence.
Qin Ye took in every bit of their reaction, and then held up Fate in his hands reverently. His palms were filled with cold sweat as he continued speaking, “The Second King Yanluo has mentioned that so long as anyone dares to pursue the issue and attempt to look into the movements of the Alkebulan Underworlds, then all I have to do is to show them this brush.”
Qin Ye was betting that the Second King Yanluo had left such an indelible impression in the hearts of all other underworlds that none other would dare to press the issue after witnessing the display of his authority!
But, at the very least, he would now be able to go on with the next part of the negotiations.
At the very least, he would be able to state his piece, and have their full attention until he was done with the full delivery.
It was anybody’s guess. That’s the nature of negotiations after all. Until everything had been said and discussed, who could truly be certain of what the outcome would be?
The grand hall was filled with silence. Qin Ye had a grave expression on his face as he glanced around the table, only to be greeted by incredulous expressions. He had pulled out his bluff at the most opportune time, and the results were outstanding. Now, all that was left was to see if the Black Mamba Underworld would call this bluff of his, or believe wholeheartedly in his assertions.
“Prefect Qin, please continue.”
I’ve done it…
And so long as the channel for negotiations isn’t abruptly cut off, then Hell will still have a chance to convince them!
He spoke with a subconsciously hoarse voice, “However, since this is a collaboration, then it’s only natural that we come to the table with a token of our sincerity as well. So, let me give you the lowdown - the Array of the Nine Gods restricts all movement of Yin spirit, including that of Emissaries of Hell. Sure, we might have some leeway in this regard, but Hell is unable to send more than five people beyond the Array of the Nine Gods. Therefore, it’s not that Hell is unwilling to send a large army to assist in these operations. It’s just that it is simply impossible to do so right now.”
But after mulling over it for a moment, they shook their heads.
Hell was one of the P4 underworlds. Did a change of regime mean that they would become as weak as a chicken?
The fear of the unknown was the most terrifying thing of all.
Naturally, nobody also considered the fact that the man negotiating with them was none other than the prevailing King Yanluo of Hell, and the only one qualified to conduct such negotiations right now.
And he was standing here, right in front of them all.
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