Chapter 737: Negotiations of Dominion II
The negotiations continued for hours, with both sides refusing to back down on key issues.
But slowly, inch by inch, compromises were made.
Arthur demanded a High-Level Planet to serve as a sanctuary, training ground, and strategic stronghold for the godslayer race.
It was to be a world with advanced natural resources, not some barren, already-drained planet.
He wanted the Demon Rulers to take an active role in protecting and overseeing its security, ensuring it remained safe from external threats—especially divine incursions. Additionally, he required Gozon’s finest engineers and architects to develop its infrastructure, optimizing it for the training and preparation of future godslayers discovered in accordance with the original agreement.
This planet would become the central base for all godslayer operations, with Arthur retaining full Authority over its management and governance. In the event that the planet’s population grew too large, Arthur proposed that they revisit the agreement and negotiate the addition of another planet or alternative solutions.
Naturally, the Demon Rulers didn’t simply accept his terms. They had counteroffers of their own.
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The Demon Rulers agreed to grant Arthur a high-level planet but insisted it remains within Gozon’s sphere of influence to maintain control over the surrounding space while overseeing planetary defence and logistics.
Arthur countered by allowing the planet to stay within their territory but demanded full authority over governance and all godslayer-related matters, ensuring Gozon had no interference in internal affairs.
The compromise reached on this point was that Arthur would retain complete autonomy over the planet, while Gozon would manage external security and logistics. In return, Arthur agreed to provide select planetary resources or military support for future wars that served both factions’ interests.
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The Demon Rulers agreed to actively protect the planet but insisted on a mutual defence pact, requiring godslayers to contribute to Gozon’s broader territorial defence. They argued that dedicating resources solely to the godslayer planet could weaken their overall military strength unless the arrangement was reciprocal.
Arthur countered by agreeing to godslayer involvement in critical defence missions but insisted they only participate in operations aligned with their interests, avoiding deployment in unrelated conflicts. After further discussion, they reached a compromise—godslayers would form an elite task force available for divine-related invasions or crises. In return, Gozon committed to maintaining a permanent defence fleet and military presence near the godslayer planet, ensuring its protection remained a priority.
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The Demon Rulers agreed to provide initial development and resources for the godslayer planet but insisted that future expansions be a shared responsibility, arguing that continuously upgrading the planet would place strain on their resources. Arthur countered by offering to contribute materials and godslayer labour for long-term development, ensuring Gozon wouldn’t bear the burden alone.
In the end, they reached a compromise—the planet would fund or supply a portion of the resources needed for future upgrades, potentially through rare materials or technology obtained from godslayer conquests. This allowed Gozon to reduce its financial strain while ensuring Arthur retained influence over the planet’s design and future growth.
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The Demon Rulers acknowledged the potential need for future expansion but refused to commit to providing another high-level planet, arguing that rapid godslayer growth shouldn’t automatically obligate them to offer more territory.
Ultimately, they agreed that expansion would be revisited once the population reached a critical threshold or after a set number of years. If another planet became necessary, both sides would explore alternatives.
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The Demon Rulers insisted on maintaining a permanent embassy or military outpost on the godslayer planet to ensure cooperation and prevent miscommunication in future conflicts. Arthur countered by agreeing to an embassy but restricting its scope to diplomatic relations and defence coordination, with no interference in godslayer governance. In the end, they compromised by establishing a limited embassy where demon diplomats and military liaisons could work directly with Arthur’s command, ensuring smooth collaboration while preserving the godslayers’ autonomy.
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The Demon Rulers proposed deeper integration of godslayers into the broader Gozonian society, suggesting that a substantial number live on other Gozonian Empire planets or take leadership roles in some demon-run sectors to prevent division or conflict.
Arthur acknowledged the value of integration but insisted that godslayers remain largely autonomous to ensure their growth as a distinct race with its own identity and purpose.
However, he proposed limited exchanges and partnerships to strengthen ties between the two factions. As a compromise, both sides agreed to periodic personnel exchanges for military and diplomatic missions, allowing godslayers to gain experience across the galaxy while maintaining their independence.
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With the discussions finalized, they quickly moved on to the next step—selecting the planet Arthur would be given.
A galactic map appeared on the table, displaying Gozon’s territories and interstellar colonies. They filtered out planets that were too close to god race influence, narrowing the selection down to only high-level worlds in secure locations.
From there, they reviewed each planet one by one until they settled on Shoisan—a young high-level world.
Unlike older planets with fully developed or depleted resources, Shoisan’s advanced natural resources were still in the process of forming. The long-term presence of godslayers could influence this development, potentially leading to the natural emergence of anti-divine metals in the coming millennia.
The Demon Rulers cited this as one of the reasons for offering Arthur a young world, arguing that its untapped potential made it a valuable choice.
Of course, Arthur knew the real reason—they simply didn’t want to give him a fully developed planet. Still, he didn’t object. After all, what they said was true.
Once the matter of planet selection was settled, Arthur moved on to the final reason for his visit to Gozon.
He needed to loan troops.
"I’m sure you’re all aware of the godslayers I’ve already encountered—the ones from Prime World Nienope."
He gestured toward Nienope’s position on the galactic map, disabling the filters that made it display only Gozonian worlds.
"The situation there isn’t looking good for the Anti-Divine Forces."
Nienope, Stelan’s home world, had been under divine rule for years. gods and Divine breeds dominated the planet, oppressing those without divine factors and treating them as lesser beings.
Naturally, this led to resistance, and the Anti-Divine Resistance was born. Stelan was one of its key figures, which was how he had been able to gather over a hundred godslayers and have them contract with Arthur—allowing him to summon them across the different worlds he travelled to.
"The number of combat-ready godslayers on Nienope is in the thousands, while the civilian, non-combatant population exceeds 10,000 from what I know.
It would be a waste to let them lose this war as those 10,000 could become the ancestors of the countless more, who will populate the planet we just discussed.
With that in mind, I want to request a loan of your troops to help bring this war to an end.
I’ll be going there myself to handle the Deity-realm threats, so I only need Transcendents and below—nothing Higher Existential.
Give or take, within 30 days, I should have the situation under control."
Hearing this, McEnda raised an eyebrow.
"Thirty days? That’s rather confident."
Without a change in expression, Arthur responded with the same confidence.
"Of course, I’m confident. I’ve spent the last year around Alvey and your son, and I’ve picked up a few tricks.
Enough to be sure that I can end this war in 30 days.
So while I might call it a loan, think of it as an investment. You’d simply be investing in the godslayers who will one day help you deal with divine-category threats, by protecting the people who will become the fathers and mothers of the soldiers who’ll fight for you in the future."
He leaned forward slightly and concluded with a question.
"So, what do you say?"
The three Demon Rulers exchanged glances, engaging in a brief telepathic discussion before finally giving their agreement.
It took another fifteen minutes to finalize the terms and conditions of this separate arrangement. Only when everything was settled did the negotiations finally come to an end.
The moment everything was outlined on paper and sealed with the Law of Contracts, Jamie appeared in the room.
"You guys done?"
"We just finished," Arthur replied as he stood up.
Jamie then turned to the three Demon Rulers and said, "I’ve handled the situation in the West-Sector. If they say anything more, activate this."
He tossed a small box with a big red button onto the table. "It’ll nuke three stars as a warning."
McEnda’s brow twitched at his statement, while Yiltir shot him an incredulous look.
"Did you really plant a bomb in a place you were supposed to compensate for damages?"
"Yes. Yes, I did."
Jamie answered Yiltir without a change in expression, while Arthur, unfazed by the exchange, turned to Jamie and asked.
"You free now? I’ve got some things to ask about those Sigils."
"No problem, let’s head to my penthouse."
With that, Jamie snapped his fingers, warping himself and Arthur out of the room before the other Demon Rulers could get a single word in.
