Chapter 1025: Emergency Negotiations
Chapter 1025: Emergency Negotiations
Prime Minister Cao turned to face the 22 Allied Clans and said sternly, "Ladies and gentlemen, although the Skrulans have been trying to distance themselves from Cecilia, can they truly cut ties so easily?"
"Cecilia is a formidable Skrulan, born and raised among us. The resources she used for cultivation came from the Skrulans. Even after reaching the divine rank, she didn't hesitate to help the Skrulans expand their territory and secure resources. Among those present, has any of you experienced Cecilia encroaching on your territory or resources?"
"Of course," the Rhinoclan Clan Leader was the first to step forward. "More than 300 years ago, I once competed with Cecilia for resources. To be honest, if the Skrulans didn't have Cecilia, they wouldn't have the vast territory and influence they have today. Their territory would definitely be smaller."
Prime Minister Cao nodded. "So, the Skrulans can't simply cut ties. They claim credit for the achievements of their clansmen but cut ties when they commit crimes. Is this something a sapient being would do?"
Dragon Emperor Kadrigos interjected, "This is indeed unreasonable and does not align with our dragon values. No matter what crimes a member of our clan commits, we take responsibility as a clan, not by disowning them."
Prime Minister Cao turned to look at Prant. "So, you can't distance yourselves from Cecilia. It's impossible to cut ties!
"We demand that all of Cecilia's assets be distributed because you can't truly distance yourselves from her. We must take responsibility for the 50 lives lost!
"So, we only accept '100%' and will not compromise!
"Of course, you can refuse.
"But if you refuse, next month, I will contact the various clans and personally go to collect! This compensation is what we deserve. Even if you appeal to the Saints for a violation of 'fair warfare principles,' the Saints will likely support us.
"At that time, if we cause destruction along the way, don't blame us for showing no mercy!"
Prime Minister Cao’s words hit hard.
The 22 Allied Clans were stunned by his statements!
This was too harsh!
Cao and Ying Zheng personally coming to collect?
If they really enter the Skrulan territory with the help of the 22 Clans, the Skrulans would be helpless! The Beker Kingdom is not in the G2 core region.
Even the three Skruland deities, including Prant, were completely intimidated! Cao's threats were truly formidable!
Moreover, Cao was right about one thing—appealing to the Saints for a violation of 'fair warfare principles' would likely result in no punishment or reduced punishment, which would still be disadvantageous for the Skrulans.
More importantly, if things really escalate to this point, there is no doubt that the relationship between Cao and the 22 Clans would drastically improve, while the Skrulans would be on the opposite side. This would be highly disadvantageous for the upcoming battle in two months!
In the battle two months from now, the Skrulans need to coordinate with various clans to fight the Blue Star people. How can they make the clans and the Blue Star people stand together?
So, what should they do?
...
Prant and Manina remained silent, rapidly formulating strategies in their minds.
Cao was right; forcibly cutting ties would be impossible. It seemed they would have to pay a higher price!
Stim, however, was still making a last-ditch effort. "Ladies and gentlemen, a significant portion of Cecilia’s assets are real estate, mines, and physical companies. These things are not so easy to divide..."
Prime Minister Cao interrupted him again, "If it's hard to divide, just appraise all the assets and convert them into spirit stones or spirit energy. You've been plundering a large amount of spirit energy from us Blue Stars in the past few months. Paying this amount should be a breeze, right?"
Due to vested interests, the 22 clan leaders also chimed in, "Yes, we want spirit energy. If that's not possible, gold, gems, and minerals will do. We don't want your immovable assets."
"An overall appraisal of Cecilia's assets should be conducted. If you can't manage the exchange, we can do it."
"Whatever the case, nothing of ours can be missing!"
...
Facing the aggressive clan leaders, Stim couldn't help but feel a twinge of pain.
Cecilia was incredibly wealthy, her family's wealth far exceeding that of the entire Beker government! Stim had recently received 15% of Cecilia’s assets and felt very satisfied at the time. Was he really going to have to give it all back?
Thinking about the situation, he quickly used his mental powers to contact the two behind him: "Fellows, what should we do?"
"Ah!" Manina sighed. "If we don’t add a bit more, up to 70%."
"But given the current situation, even if we increase it to 70%, these clans probably won’t agree," Plante said helplessly. "Without 100%, they won’t be satisfied, and Cao Cao is still stirring the pot."
"Truly insatiable!"
...
Just as the three Scru gods were at a loss for what to do, Plante suddenly received a call from the Sun Emperor Manina.
Manina must have been watching the live broadcast of the scene, but he wasn’t sure why he was calling now.
Plante didn’t have time to ponder further.
He used a pink ion shield to cover his entire body, then answered the call: "Manina, what’s the matter now?"
"Lord Plante, I am currently watching the live satellite feed of your location, so I know our current predicament.
I have a brilliant idea on how to deal with these 22 clan leaders and the Blue Star god Cao Cao!"
"Oh? What’s your brilliant idea? Tell me quickly!" Plante’s eyes lit up.
"It’s like this," Manina said seriously. "These 22 clans want all of Celia’s assets, right? So let’s give them what they want! We could even give up our share of the assets and convert it all into spiritual energy credits for them!"
"..." Plante’s face immediately turned from sunny to cloudy.
His face darkened: "Don’t tell me this is your ‘brilliant idea.’"
Hearing Manina’s words, Plante almost wanted to smash the communicator! What a terrible idea!
But considering Manina’s usual cleverness and strategic thinking, he decided to listen further to see what else Manina had to say.
Manina continued: "Lord Plante, the real reason we should give such a large share of the assets to the 22 clans is to win them over.
We can use this share of assets to gather the 22 clan leaders in Sun City for a meeting and invite them to join us against the Blue Star people.
These 22 clans together form a formidable force. In the past, they didn’t follow our commands, and we couldn’t control them.
Now I have a very good method to tie them to our war chariot!"
Hearing this, Plante’s eyes lit up again: "Oh? What’s your good method?"
"This..." Manina hesitated.
He originally didn’t want to say it, as it could spread and lose its effectiveness.
But considering that not explaining clearly might not convince Plante, he replied: "We can pretend to relay the will of the Song, saying that the Song wants us to form the ‘Scru Star Federation Army’ to deal with the potential threat of the Dark Energy Rebel Army.
Once the ‘Scru Star Federation Army’ is formed, naturally, the command will be in the hands of our powerful Scru people.
When we officially go to war with the Blue Star people, we can ignore the others and directly deploy the army to the Blue Star front to fight!
This way, not only will the 22 clans be tied to our war chariot, but they can also be used as cannon fodder to weaken the Blue Star people’s strength. It’s a two-pronged strategy!
Considering all this, giving all of Celia’s assets to them is nothing, and I’m even willing to give twice as much!"
After hearing Manina’s plan, Plante felt amazed.
What a brilliant plan! If it truly works, it can definitely be called a “brilliant plan”!
But Plante immediately focused on the core issue of the plan.
He asked: "Manina, the core of your plan is—‘pretending to relay the will of the Song.’ But can we really dare to pretend to relay the will of the Song? What if the Song finds out? What do we do then?"
"Rest assured, she will never find out!" Manina laughed on the other end of the call.
"The Song isn’t an omniscient god. She doesn’t have ‘eyes’ on Scru Star, so she knows almost nothing about us. It’s impossible for her to know we’re faking her will.
Moreover, now is the busiest time for the Song.
My son Mogen said that all of the Song’s computational power is being used to study the newly discovered alien civilization. She has no time to manage us minor factions in remote areas. Even if the issue is discovered, it won’t be a big problem."
”
“Morgan? Is Morgan with you as well?”
“Of course, Morgan is right here, and the idea of ‘Falsifying the Sacred Song’s Decree’ was his. He’s been studying in the Holy Silver Federation for nearly eighty years, so he understands the Sacred Song better than we do. His advice is very valuable… Morgan, say a few words to Lord Plante.”
A moment later, Morgan Sun’s steady voice came through the communicator: “Lord Plante, this is Morgan Sun, greeting you from Sun City!”
“Hello, Morgan!” Plante also held a high regard for this talented young man: “So the idea of ‘Falsifying the Sacred Song’s Decree’ is yours?”
“That’s right, Lord Plante,” Morgan said seriously on the other end of the line. “The probability of us falsifying the Sacred Song’s decree without it being detected is over 99.9%.
And this is a perfect opportunity to bring the 22 Clans under our control.
This is a very powerful force. If used in the frontline battle against Blue Star, it could increase our chances of victory by more than 30%! So I believe it’s worth a try.”
“Hmm…” After a brief moment of thought, Plante replied, “Alright, let’s do it your way!”
After all, the 22 Clans’ leaders won’t stop until they get what they want. We might as well use their desperation to our advantage and give them all of Cecile’s assets!
Plante also smiled and asked, “Morgan, why are you so concerned about the home planet now?”
Over the past few decades, Morgan had always been indifferent to matters on the home planet, often claiming he had no time to deal with them.
Now, being able to return to Skrul and actively participate in decision-making is a good start.
Morgan smiled a bit sheepishly, “This is, after all, my homeland. Who wouldn’t want their homeland to be safe? And I’m just giving a few suggestions, nothing major.”
“Your suggestions are excellent! … Forget it, it seems things are getting noisy outside. I’ll handle them first and we’ll discuss the next steps later.” Plante said hurriedly and hung up the call.
…
While Plante was on the call, the leaders of the 22 Clans began to stir up outside.
Many of them were already impatient, and now they were even more eager to push while the iron was hot and force the Skrulians to capitulate quickly.
Plante lowered the pink ion shield and gestured for calm: “Everyone, please don’t panic. I was just discussing with Emperor Sun about how to handle this matter.
We have now reached a consensus. After our unanimous agreement, we will convert all of Cecile’s assets into Spirit Energy and evenly distribute it among the 24 major Clans present here, including the Skrulians and the Blue Star humans.
Each Clan will receive an equal share, without any favoritism.”
At the same time, he glanced at Dragon Emperor Cadreus: “Dragon Emperor, since your Clan doesn’t have any dragons, Cecile’s assets cannot be given to your Clan.
However, considering the good relations between our Clans, I will prepare a gift for you, which will be delivered to Dragon Island later. I won’t let you make this trip in vain.”
“You… You’re serious?!” All the intelligent beings present were stunned.
The leaders of the 22 Clans were both shocked and delighted. They hadn’t expected the Skrulians to capitulate so easily!
Manina III, Steim, Chancellor Cao, and Dragon Emperor Cadreus were purely surprised.
They hadn’t expected Plante to agree so readily. What had Manina told him?
Amidst the astonished gazes of all the intelligent beings, Plante smiled and said, “However, tallying up Cecile’s assets will take time, especially the personnel, real estate, and company valuations… How about this: give us some time, and in 15 days, I will distribute the compensation to all the Clans here.”
Then he turned to Chancellor Cao, “As for the Blue Star humans’ share, I will send it over the next time you visit Skrul. Is that acceptable?”
“…” Chancellor Cao didn’t respond.
Looking at Plante’s smile, he fell into deep confusion.
What was going on with the Skrulians?
Just a moment ago, they were acting like it pained them to give up anything, and now they seemed completely fine with it. It almost felt like they had a hidden agenda.
But Chancellor Cao didn’t care too much. After all, his main goal had been achieved.
By making the Skrulians give up Cecile’s assets, not only did the Blue Star humans gain a share, but it also weakened the Skrulians.
The main objective was achieved, so the rest didn’t matter.
(End of Chapter)
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