Meeting the secret messenger of the Ryan was an afternoon affair of Ashrufat.

The reason why the Ryan people sent emissaries is simple. After almost all of the country's mobile forces were annihilated, the Ryan people faced a political and military crisis. Politically, this reckless dispatch of troops (although this matter itself has long been planned and is not suitable to be described as "reckless", but the defeat of the war is the biggest mistake) has caused a reshuffle of domestic forces. Because of his escape from the war, Leto was not only discredited, but also confiscated most of his land wealth, and since then he has been reduced to a second-rate aristocracy and has to withdraw from the political scene. The forces of all parties to snatch the vacuum left by Leto have turned the internal struggle into a fierce one.

Militarily, the Ryan faced an even worse situation. Although there has been no invasion by other countries, and the vampires have not left Sivania, the minorities who originally submitted to Ryan are inevitably ready to move. Ryan has historically conquered and suppressed many ethnic minorities, but has failed to achieve effective ethnic integration, instead adopting a "divide and rule" approach. At a time when their military strength is greatly dwindling, the hatred accumulated by their past discriminatory policies is fueled by the ambitions of some...... The whole situation has become dire. Nothing has happened yet, but it is likely that if someone rises to the top and shouts, there will be a situation where all parties will respond.

The Ryan were realistic, at least when Neil raised the issue of captivity, and they immediately abandoned the teachings of the church and the true God, and immediately agreed to negotiate with the vampires on the matter.

Because this matter could not be made public, especially not known to the Church, the place of negotiation was chosen in Sivania, and the emissary arrived secretly under the guise of his identity.

The messenger was a middle-aged man with an arrogant look. Looking at the other party's face, Ashrufat felt unhappy all over, because he couldn't help but think of the faces of those tax collectors who had blocked the road at the gate of Oren.

The two sides are not in the city now. In order to avoid the eyes of the outside world, the final location of the negotiation was decided to be by a wooded area not far from the Dark Castle. On the Ryan side, in addition to the messenger himself, there are two deputies, and on Ashrufat's side, in addition to Ashrufat himself, there is also Neil, as well as several dark mages and a small team of grave guards.

The messenger looked at the vampire in front of him. Outwardly, the vampire doesn't seem to be indistinguishable from a human, and looks like a young man. Legend has it that vampires have fangs that stick out of their lips, but the fact is that vampires don't have fangs, and they don't smell of carrion and dry blood, as the Church advertises.

"The basis of our negotiations is that you must first release all the captives. These were the first words of the messenger.

Ashrufat looked at the other and it took a few seconds for him to realize that the other was not joking.

Seeing that Ashrufat was silent, the messenger continued. "After you have acknowledged the supremacy of His Majesty the King and paid the taxes that are due to the region of Sylvania, we are willing to recognize your right to rule over Sivania and guarantee your nobility and power. Of course, His Majesty the King promised that you would not be more obligated than any other nobleman. ”

"Master, this is Zhao'an. In her head, Carrie explained. "If the king is faced with a particularly difficult bandit and robber, and is sure that the gains outweigh the losses, he often uses this hand to put an end to the dispute. However, I have a trick here to deal with this situation! Any diplomatic negotiation can be used. ”

"Trick?"

"I can use the mind detector. Although the instrument was a bit out of order, it could only be used for a few minutes at a time and had to be stopped for a day or two...... Besides, because it was far away from the castle, it was not possible to clearly reveal his inner thoughts...... But in any case, I think I will be able to know a lot of things. Well...... Hee-hee, it looks like this guy is pretending on purpose!"

"Deliberately pretended?"

"Well, I want to make meritorious contributions, so I privately raised my bargaining chips. He did come for the captivity, but he deliberately raised the asking price, ready to bargain. If he succeeds, he will be a great achievement. This time, Carrie revealed herself in front of Ashrufat's eyes. "You just scare him, and you should be able to do it. ”

"It's quite funny, it's like cheating, hee-hee. But he's too stupid to have the Ryan to bargain at all. Because if the difference in strength is too far, strength is diplomacy. When the difference in strength is not far off, diplomacy is strength. ”

"Are you mistaken?" said Ashruphat to the messenger. The messenger immediately felt the change in the atmosphere, as he clearly saw a fierce light in the vampire's eyes.

"Ryan's King has never been my monarch, he's just my enemy. You are not here today to discuss my dominion, which has been gained through my victory, not by your boon. In fact, you are doing everything in your power to try to erase my dominion. ”

"My victory doesn't need anyone's acknowledgment!" a cold light flashed in the vampire's eyes, making the arrogant-faced messenger feel like he had fallen into an ice hole. "If you think what I said is wrong, you might as well ask your king to go back and reorganize his army and fight again!"

Of course this is not possible. Even if the envoy is stupid, he knows that Ryan can already say that there is no decent army in the country. Not to mention using it to attack the vampires again, even maintaining the current rule and suppressing internal opposition is in jeopardy. The battle against Sivania was naturally a life-and-death battle for vampires, but it was not much better for the Ryans.

"The reason why I am here to see you is only to let you redeem your captives. I don't want to discuss anything else other than this one. Now tell me what price you intend to pay for the ransom of the captives," Ashrufat asked. "If not...... Then you can die!"

"Wait...... Wait a minute, I'm the messenger!" the messenger suppressed the fear in his heart. From the vampire's body, he felt a kind of coercion, a powerful force that surpassed that of humans, and people couldn't help but feel fear. "My personal safety ......"

"If you weren't here to ransom the captives, then you're not an emissary, but a bastard wasting my time. I'm not going to have any etiquette for a bastard!"

Between the vampire's expressions, the tyrannical aura was so obvious that the messenger's legs couldn't help but tremble a little. Worst...... It was too exciting for the vampire just now...... Although the legend says that vampires pay attention to aristocratic etiquette, it seems that the legend is not necessarily reliable!

"Wait...... Wait a minute...... His Majesty the King has indeed given me the power to do so......"

......

When the envoy left, it was not very early. In a sense, Carrie's ability to read the other party's mind is tantamount to turning the negotiation into a game, a clown show. The bargaining between the two sides on the surface was actually not difficult for Ashrufat.

As is the case in most of the worldly realms, the bottom line for negotiations has been set before the envoy sets out. And the agreement that Ashrufat reached with the other party after the most reluctance was almost in accordance with this bottom line. The agreement reached between the two sides was very favorable and a win-win for both sides as they were in the present situation – Ishrufat received a ransom and guarantees of trade between the two sides and detailed measures to be able to import goods to maintain the day-to-day operations and development of Sivania. The Ryan took back their captives, which ensured that they could reorganize their army in the shortest possible time to suppress the forces of the country. Ashrufat was not worried about the Ryan regrouping to attack West Sylvania - although it was highly likely in the long run, the Ryan retainer would not engage in such reckless actions for at least five years.

"Neil, you're doing a great job. When the messenger was gone, Ashrufat immediately praised Neil. Although it is said that this time it is the Ryan people themselves who have an urgent need for this, it is also the credit of Neil. "It's all up to you to be able to complete this big trouble so quickly. ”

"My pleasure, Lord Duke. Neil was more indifferent. But Ashrufat knew that this was the effect of his last work. Now he knew that during the last betrayal of Meno, all the villages that did not surrender to Ryan's army had taken Neil's advice. Although he never asked about Neil's birth, he clearly had a strong connection to the villages.

"What kind of reward do you want?" asked Ashrufat.

"What you're doing is my greatest reward. Neil replied, looking at Ashrufat, his gaze firm and clear. "...... to save this land from tyranny"

"Huh. Ashruphat chuckled. "Honestly, Neil, I don't really care if people say I'm evil, brutal, or whatever. I can pretend that I didn't hear the gossip behind it, and I can even take it as a compliment. But I can't tolerate being called stingy. If someone says I'm a miser, I won't be able to stand it. In this case, I leave to you full authority over the trade between Sivania and the Ryans, and it is up to you to decide on the selection of all relevant officials. Over the next ten years, five percent of all the taxes I receive from trade will be a reward for you. And I will give you a house in Menor...... I designed it especially for you. ”

Without waiting for Neil to answer, he immediately moved on to the next topic, "Is Damon here?" he asked.

A few minutes later, Damon was in front of the vampire.

Although he is calm on the outside, he is actually far less calm on the inside. He already vaguely knew what the vampires were looking for him for. Now, the big picture has been decided, and the Ryan people will not be able to pose a threat to vampires for a long time, and there is no external pressure, which means that the current vampires can do whatever they want.

"Sit. In front of him, the vampire gestured to him with a nonchalant expression. There was no one else around, but Damon knew that the vampires had just negotiated with the Ryans here. And the emissary's expression revealed enough information in itself.

"Lord Duke......" Damon unconsciously felt a little dry in his throat. He was a battle-hardened warrior and commander, arguably the most daring of his kind. But looking at the vampire's gloomy gaze, he felt a chill from the depths of his heart.

Perhaps only someone of his calibre, who had developed a beastly intuition after countless risks and battles, could clearly recognize that the being on the other side was not human. Although this one is outwardly human, it is not a human. Just sitting still, vampires can induce that fear in human nature. The fear engraved in the depths of the soul for powerful creatures whose strength far exceeds that of humans.

"It's been almost three months since you swore allegiance to me and proved your oath with deeds. The vampire said calmly. "I'll ask you a question now, am I a worthy monarch in your eyes?"