“Your Excellency possesses extraordinary talent. Entering the Martial Saint Realm will be no obstacle for you. Our Dark Moon Palace does not wish to make an enemy of such a formidable opponent,” the Divine Mother of Dark Moon Palace said slowly.
Oliver Sheng raised an eyebrow. Just because of this?
But this Dark Moon Palace, he hadn’t heard much about it. It must be a powerful faction from somewhere.
Any force that could boast a Martial Saint was not to be underestimated.
Of course, this world was not limited to the three great dynasties of the Central Plains. The outer regions were vast and it wasn’t surprising to find powerful factions there.
Seeing that Oliver Sheng did not continue his attack, the Divine Mother of Dark Moon Palace continued.
“The Barbarian grasslands are far from your Great Wei. Even if you conquer them, Great Wei cannot govern them. Eventually, other tribes will take over. Why go through all that trouble for nothing?”
Oliver looked at the Divine Mother, this cold beauty who resembled an ice goddess. How could she think so simply?
Even if he wiped out the Barbarian tribes, it would take a long time for other tribes to develop and take over the grasslands.
Besides, if he annihilated the Barbarian tribes, he could gain countless cattle, sheep, and warhorses, and capture numerous slaves. It was worth the effort.
But this ice goddess, why did he feel like she was trying to deceive a child? Did she think he was a child?
“What exactly do you want to say?” Oliver looked at the icy beauty across from him.
“I want you to lead your men and withdraw from the grasslands,” the Divine Mother said.
“Heh, do you think I will?” Oliver sneered. This woman seemed a bit naive.
He had fought hard to get here with his men; how could he just retreat on her word?
The Divine Mother’s flawless face showed a frown. She couldn’t defeat Oliver Sheng. If she went all out and he escaped, offending such a formidable enemy would be disastrous. When Oliver truly broke through to the Martial Saint Realm, she wouldn’t be able to handle him, posing a huge threat to Dark Moon Palace.
This was why the Divine Mother stopped and wanted Oliver to withdraw from the grasslands.
Provoking such a powerful enemy for the sake of the Barbarian tribes was not worth it. But giving up the Barbarian tribes was also against the interests of Dark Moon Palace.
“What will it take for you to lead your men and withdraw from the grasslands?” the Divine Mother asked.
Oliver looked at her clear eyes, unable to tell if she was genuinely naive or pretending. But it was clear she wanted to negotiate.
He thought for a moment. With his current strength, he could only fight her to a draw. To defeat or kill her, he needed to truly break through to the Martial Saint Realm.
It seemed the Barbarian tribes had allied with this Dark Moon Palace.
With a Martial Saint as their backer, it would be difficult to completely wipe out the Barbarian tribes.
Moreover, she was right. Even if Great Wei conquered the Barbarian grasslands, they couldn’t govern it.
Not to mention the Huns nearby wouldn’t just watch the Barbarian grasslands fall into Great Wei’s hands.
Stopping now would only mean fewer Kill Points.
Seeing Oliver’s contemplative look, the Divine Mother waited, making no moves.
She believed Oliver would choose to negotiate.
Oliver looked at the clear-eyed ice beauty in front of him. It seemed they could talk and he could ask for benefits.
“We can talk, but!” Oliver paused, looking at the Divine Mother.
“What are your conditions? If I can agree, I will,” the Divine Mother said coldly, like a girl unaccustomed to the world.
Oliver smiled. “Alright, I want the Barbarian tribes to compensate Great Wei with fifty thousand warhorses and two million cattle and sheep each as reparations for their defeat.”
The Divine Mother didn’t think much and nodded. “Alright!”
It was just numbers to her; she didn’t see anything wrong.
“And!” Oliver continued.
“Go on!”
“From now on, the Moran grasslands south of the Sudden Desert will belong to Great Wei. Your Dark Moon Palace must restrain the Barbarian tribes from invading southwards. Otherwise, I will raise an army and completely annihilate the Barbarian tribes,” Oliver said.
The Divine Mother thought for a moment and saw no issue, so she agreed.
“Alright, I agree.”
“Fine, you may leave. Have the Barbarian tribes compensate with warhorses and cattle and sheep, and I will lead my men out of the Barbarian grasslands,” Oliver nodded.
Seeing Oliver agree to withdraw, the Divine Mother had no intention of continuing the fight. She retracted her divine light and turned towards the Barbarian army.
Oliver smiled, retracted his aura, and flew back to his army.
Seeing the two cease fighting without a decisive outcome, the Barbarian leaders were disappointed.
“General, are you alright?” Wesley Hu and the others asked, concerned.
Oliver smiled. “I’m fine! Do I look like I’m in trouble?”
“Are we still fighting?” they asked.
As long as Oliver gave the order, they would charge and attack the Barbarian army.
Oliver shook his head. “They’ve allied with Dark Moon Palace. With a Martial Saint there, we can’t take down the Barbarian tribes.”
Everyone was disappointed they couldn’t completely annihilate the Barbarian tribes.
Annihilating the Barbarian tribes would be supreme military merit.
It was their lack of strength. If they had the power of Great Grandmasters, they wouldn’t have just watched; they would have charged at the Barbarian army.
If Oliver was held back, their combat power would plummet.
They couldn’t handle the Grandmasters of the Barbarian tribes.
This was why Oliver didn’t want to continue fighting. If he was held back, and the Barbarian army charged, his soldiers would be annihilated.
All their advantages were concentrated on him alone.
He didn’t want his hard-trained army to be lost here.
“Should we retreat?” Xiao Chuyi asked.
She also felt regret for not having a decisive battle.
“Wait a bit, we need to wait for the war reparations before we retreat,” Oliver said with a smile.
That ice beauty was easy to talk to. He had asked for an exorbitant price, and she agreed without bargaining.
The Barbarian tribes would be furious.
The Divine Mother returned to the Barbarian army and called for Lan Ying, the palace master of Dark Moon Palace.
“Divine Mother!”
Lan Ying bowed.
“I couldn’t take him down. He is my equal. But I negotiated as you said, and he agreed to withdraw,” the Divine Mother said coldly.
“He really agreed to withdraw?” Lan Ying was delighted. This way, there was no need for a battle.
Without losing a single soldier or offending Great Wei’s Martial Saint, they secured the Barbarian grasslands. This was her best outcome.
She didn’t expect it to actually happen!
“He demands fifty thousand warhorses and two million cattle and sheep each as compensation. From now on, the Moran grasslands south of the Sudden Desert will belong to Great Wei,” the Divine Mother said.
Lan Ying was stunned. Fifty thousand warhorses and two million cattle and sheep each was no small number. Although the conditions weren’t extremely harsh, it was still…
“What’s wrong? Can’t do it?” The Divine Mother frowned at Lan Ying’s hesitation.
“We can, we must!” Lan Ying quickly said.
Their ancestor of Dark Moon Palace had agreed with Great Wei’s Martial Saint. They had no choice.
It was just unfortunate for the Barbarian tribes.
Their ancestor, who only knew cultivation and rarely left Dark Moon Palace, didn’t understand worldly matters and easily agreed to these terms.
“Good, then proceed. Have the Barbarian tribes compensate with cattle and sheep and warhorses quickly so the Wei army can withdraw,” the Divine Mother said.
“Yes, Divine Mother!”
Lan Ying left and went to the Barbarian army’s camp, where Lan Wu and other members of Dark Moon Palace were.
The nine leaders of the Barbarian tribes were also there.
“Palace Master, what did the Divine Mother say?” the leader of the Yanle Tribe quickly asked.
The Wei army was right across from them. Should they attack and destroy the Wei soldiers?
“The Divine Mother said to cease fighting. She negotiated with Great Wei’s Martial Saint. The Barbarian tribes must compensate with fifty thousand warhorses and two million cattle and sheep each. From now on, the Moran grasslands south of the Sudden Desert will belong to Great Wei,” Lan Ying said. The Barbarian tribes would have to bear this.
“What?!”
The nine tribal leaders were shocked and their faces turned grim.
“What, do you want to disobey the Divine Mother’s orders?” Lan Ying’s cold gaze swept over them, her Great Grandmaster’s pressure filling the tent.
“No, we wouldn’t dare!” The nine leaders quickly said.
Their hearts were bitter. Without their Grandmasters, the Barbarian tribes had become lambs to be slaughtered.
Previously, Dark Moon Palace didn’t want to use force because the Barbarian tribes had over a dozen Grandmasters.
Now, without Grandmasters, they couldn’t even withstand the pressure of Dark Moon Palace’s Grandmasters.
“Good. Remember, you are now vassals of Dark Moon Palace. Anyone who disobeys the Divine Mother will die,” Lan Ying’s cold voice echoed in their ears.
“Yes, we will remember the Palace Master’s words!”
“Alright, hurry and gather the cattle and sheep and warhorses to hand over to the Wei army so they can withdraw,” Lan Ying waved her hand.
The nine leaders left the tent, their hearts filled with bitterness. They could only endure now.
This was the fate of becoming vassals!
“Come on, cheer up. It’s better than being exterminated,” the leader of the Western Qiang Tribe said.
He had clearly accepted their fate.
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