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Chapter 579: Negotiations
Chapter 579: Negotiations
Chapter 579: Negotiations
It was a meeting between two servants and their lord, but the two servants had no idea that the person in front of them was their true lord.
In these 10 years the relationship between Count Riva, the 2nd Prince, and Marquess Dran had progressed much deeper.
The act of them being on two opposite sides unable to bear the existence of the other had become extremely renowned and believed through the whole Soul Land.
After that night Count Riva had become one of the most important confidantes of the 2nd Prince, and his power in the Soulania's Royal Palace had progressed by leaps and bounds.
At the same time though, Count Riva and Marquess Dran had become irreversible enemies, that would fight each other openly and secretly.
The act was so good that even the 2nd Prince that was in cahoots with the two of them, had trouble understanding them and their actions sometimes.
What these two didn't know though was the fact that the true mastermind between their cooperation and relationship was sitting right in front of the two of them.
It wasn't that Tianlong Yun didn't want to enslave these two and make them serve him wholeheartedly, as these two guys clearly had the skills and abilities.
But these two were overly cautious beings, even though they had a great relationship with Count Riva, none of them would ever bring him close to their true body.
It was taboo for a Soul Cultivator to bring someone close to the root of their soul, as that was the same as revealing their biggest weakness in front of the other.
The Soul contract that the three of them had signed was already a great sign of trust and obstacle towards each other.
Yet none of them was stupid or delirious to think that they were brothers or anything like that. Not to mention that even though the Crown Prince was his own brother, the 2nd Prince wanted to kill him.
So even if it was blood-brother, or soul-brother, what difference it would make. As long as they stopped being useful to the contract the other two would find a way to get rid of the third.
In fact, their Soul Contract would most likely exist until they took care of the King and the Crown Prince without raising suspicion.
Once that was done, each and every one of them would try its best to make sure that they became the next ruler of Soulania Kingdom, and why not the whole Soul Land.
With the weird and complicated situation at the moment, just like everyone else even these guys couldn't control their greed and desire for more.
As long as they played the cards right, they would be more than able to increase not only their influence but even their territory, and their claws in Soul Land.
The partnership with Tianlong Yun, and Rock Fortress City was just a small step towards that, which was requested by the King of Soulania Kingdom himself.
Both Princes didn't understand why their father would suddenly decide on something like this, but they knew that they had to do their best to make it happen.
In the meantime, each and every one of them would have their own backup plan and route that they would be able to take if things didn't go according to the plan.
In order to express their goodwill towards the cooperation, the King of the Soulania Kingdom had decided to give his 3rd daughter to Tianlong Yun, and also confer him the title of Duke.
Rock Fortress City and the surroundings would be his territory inside the Kingdom, and he would also be exempted from taxes for 100 years.
Not only that, but the King had sent him a lot of precious gifts, resources, slaves, and even a copy of the Soul Cultivation Technique for him to practice, which would help him until Soul Lord Realm.
At first sight, all these things looked like extremely precious gifts, showing the great sincerity of the Soulania Kingdom King.
No matter who was in Tianlong Yun's place would have their eyes covered by greed and accept the proposal directly.
But the truth was that there existed a great problem in all this generosity, and if Tianlong Yun followed his greed and accepted, he would be letting himself down too much.
"Gentlemen, are you here with sincere thoughts of becoming partners, or are you here to mock my intelligence!?"
The 2nd Prince and Marquess Dran were extremely confident that their proposal was extremely good for Tianlong Yun.
As a matter of fact, they didn't know why the King would be willing to give so much to Tianlong Yun, as there were quite a few things that made even them jealous among the gifts.
And yet, Tianlong Yun said those words with a tone that neither of them liked. The smiles and goodwill on their faces was directly frozen, as Marquess Dran spoke in a cold and heavy tone,
"What do you mean City Lord!?"
It wasn't that he truly didn't understand Tianlong Yun's words, in fact, he had understood Tianlong Yun's standing on this matter, from the moment that he had asked to be directed as Patriarch Tianlong.
This reaction of his was just him trying to use his Soul Pressure on Tianlong Yun in order to clearly notify him of the difference between the two, and force Tianlong Yun into acceptance.
What he didn't expect was that no matter how much he tried to exert his pressure inside the office room, he wasn't able to.
Neither soul pressure nor the qi pressure. Even the qi cultivation of the puppet he was using seemed to be worthless in the situation, which made him clearly startled.
Tianlong Yun clearly understood the thoughts, and actions of this Marquess in front of him, he also understood that this guy was purposely trying to break the negotiations, but he didn't show it on his face.
He just kept that cold and cool look on his face, as he said with a bit of irritation on his voice,
"Your gifts are certainly generous and great 2nd Prince, Marquess Dran, but don't you think it's just some crumbles considering the fact that you want my loyalty, my knowledge, and my subservience!?
Certainly, the title of Duke, and the territory is a great reward, but that is only for the servants of the Soulania Kingdom don't you think?
If I accept them, isn't the same as me accepting that I am just one of the servants from your Kingdom and accept the authority of you King above me!?"
Hearing those words, and looking at Tianlong Yun's expression, Marquess Dran understood that the opponent wasn't the weak and inexperienced guy he had thought initially.
In fact, this guy in front of him had been able to control the heart of greed inside him and understand the most important point of the whole deal in just one moment.
A snake would understand his brethren the best!
The moment that Marquess Dran understood that Tianlong Yun was the same kind as him, he couldn't help but unconsciously recollect and calm himself, while raising his guard, and ask,
"Then what do you propose, Patriarch Tianlong!?"
Seeing this guy recollect himself that quickly Tianlong Yun couldn't help but praise him inside, with a bit of regret that he hadn't been able to enslave him yet, as he then continued,
"The Rock Plain will belong to Rock Fortress City, which will be a free and independent territory, belonging solely to my Shadow Clan.
We will enter an equals contract with the Soulania Kingdom, and I am also willing to accept my marriage with the 3rd Princess.
My Rock Fortress City will make sure to support every military and non-military action of the Soulania Kingdom, and we are also willing to impart the method to control the formation barriers with you.
We can share the rest of the Fortress Cities in half, my Shadow Clan will take 6 and your Soulania Kingdom can take 6.
Since my Rock Fortress City is lacking in population at the moment, we would like your support with slaves, and puppets, which will clearly be bought at the average price of the market.
In fact, we will also provide you with a few Qi cultivation techniques of the outside world!
What do you think of my proposal!?"
The 2nd Prince and Marquess Dran were completely shocked by the proposal of Tianlong Yun, as they felt that he was too presumptuous and too ambitious.
After all, he was asking to enter an equals deal with the Soulania Kingdom that was in the upper echelons of the 13 Kingdoms in Soul Land.
Wasn't he afraid that he was trying to eat too much, and then suffer from stomachache? Even though Marquess Dran's opinion of him had changed, he still thought that this guy was asking for too much.
The 2nd Prince felt the same, he didn't like this proposal in the least, why would his proud Kingdom accept equal terms with some alien beings that normally would end up as their slaves.
Not to mention that the strength of Rock Fortress City and its people wasn't even enough for them to be their servants.
But both of them understood one big and extremely important issue in his proposal. The method to control the formation barriers.
Not only that, but it seemed like he had the confidence of taking over the other fortress cities as well, and even there he wanted an equal share.
That clearly startled the two ambassadors, as they felt that the range of their discussion had expanded greatly, and they couldn't take a hasty decision.
With those thoughts in mind, Marquess Dran started saying,
"Patriarch Tianlong"
But he was startedly stopped by Tianlong Yun's next words,
"I wasn't talking to you!"