Chapter 53: One-sided Negotiations
"This is a duel; of course there will be terms," Colten stated flatly. "You already came here to negotiate with us to begin with. For now you took these two, I didn’t mind, but anything more than that needs some negotiations, don’t you think?" he added, going in circles.
"Terms?" Moon questioned, dissatisfaction evident in his voice. "You want to add terms to this lousy duel of yours?"
He was already dissatisfied with Dave entirely; from the beginning he was eyeing either Colten himself or Abshi. They were impressive to the gathering crowds, and he needed that for his hierarchy.
Dave was useless.
Moon mocked, "Tell me then, what do you want?" He smirked, amused.
"Your freedom, you belong to me," Colten stated flatly, demanding Moon to become his. Something that Moon would never allow again, but instead of refuting...
"With this thing?" Moon asked, pointing at Dave, whose eyes never stopped radiating malice at him. He started laughing loudly.
"I guess you think too much that you missed the point, child of noble birth." Moon shook his head, as if he was prepared for this demand all along.
"Then I have another offer for you." He pointed at Colten, before moving his finger, now pointing at Dave’s face. "If he survives my first attack, I’ll become your slave," Moon stated without hesitation.
It didn’t even seem to be a rant; he was dead serious, and Colten could see his confidence evident. For a moment he stood frozen, unable to react.
He thought hard and deep since everything started; he spoke in circles, he disappointed him multiple times to force him to accept his demands... He even had killing him as his first thought. But this very response, he didn’t expect nor could ever see coming.
Moon, unbothered by his frozen face, decided not to give him a moment to think much about it. He was already going all out after the disappointments and waste of time he had with that guy. "But if he fails..." Moon only then paused.
He looked deeply into Colten’s eyes, smiled, the same visually painful smile of his he had since the beginning... He pointed his finger at Colten. "I’ll take your head..."
Moon looked at the speechless crowd. "It’s only fair that way, right?"
Colten felt the world spinning around. He recalled every word, every smile, every gesture made since the very beginning, and only now, only at this moment, he realized he wasn’t playing the country bumpkin.
He was being played, provoked into a losing deal by any means. He was being dragged into a demand of life.
Moon could be reckless, or arrogant... he might even lose in the battle, but regardless of everything, he could never trust Dave with his own life.
He felt like he was dancing in the palms of that seemingly stupid savage, but he was indeed a sheltered kid, unaware of the ways of the world.
No matter how much he trusts his men, he realized at this moment that he might have miscalculated. Dave wasn’t the weakest of his group, nor was he an amateur, but he was problematic. That’s why he picked him; it was good to have him suffer a little. He would have been killed after the power abuse he committed, but was shielded by him for quite a long time, for his pride, and for the man who had affiliated his life with him.
Dave was strong, but the unwavering confidence of Moon made him feel shaken.
Trusting Dave’s strength was one thing, but entrusting him with his life one-sidedly was another... Colten was someone who trusts his men, for he had witnessed their strength himself.
Colten’s eyes darted around, to everyone around him, and paused on Abshi for a little longer. He couldn’t pick him; he was his senior knight, life companion, and someone who shouldn’t be put to the test or humiliated... He could never allow any meaningless harm to his body or dignity.
Unlike Dave, who must suffer to straighten his worldview.
He admitted to himself he had made an irreversible mistake, he only saw Moon knocking out two weaklings, it meant nothing..
He should have waited for the first skirmish ring to take place, to watch... even if he himself nor his mean would join.
Just to watch was enough, to judge properly, but it was far too late now.
He looked at Moon again, his eager light brown impatient eyes, expectant...
He looked at Dave again, and he thought to himself, ’Is it really impossible for Dave to take one attack from him?’ He still couldn’t imagine it happening for real; such a scenario shouldn’t ever happen amongst same-level ascenders, not a mercenary and a knight at that.
But also, a life was precious; it was his own, after all.
He couldn’t do it... that guy could be bluffing his way, but he still couldn’t risk it. He couldn’t do that.
Colten closed his light blue eyes, rubbing his nose bridge lightly, and when he opened them again, the confusion they held was gone; he finally made his decision.
"How about this, instead of my head, whoever wins becomes the leader. Dave is my proxy and fights in my stead... including myself, the two behind you, and everyone else standing by my side... It’s either I lead all, or you lead all."
With that, Colten remained silent... The die was thrown.
Moon heard his words; he thought about it for a little while.
He even played the scene in his head...
Imagining himself standing on the frontlines of war, brandishing Liquid Mountain at the approaching enemies, and behind him stood seven underlings, including the duo... no, six only, Dave has to die for that to happen...
But seven was better than six. He scratched his chin a few times, thinking deeply.
’Should I just knock out his entire row of teeth instead of killing him... or maybe crack his skull and ribcage... no, skull is enough, I guess,’ he suggested to himself to minimize the losses and maximize the benefits.
Moon wondered, unsure of what to do. He didn’t want to lose a future subordinate... The greater the number of subordinates one could have, the greater the influence he held.
It was the basic math of The First Floor dynamics.
But then again, his eyes fell on Dave’s... these eyes he was familiar with, these were the eyes he turned around last time to check on Rowa after she attacked him.
These eyes were the eyes he made sure would never follow him, for these eyes are the eyes of those who would stop at nothing to stab you.
The sight alone was enough for his conflict to only grow further.
Eyes seemingly consumed by the desire to harm, stopping at nothing to inflict harm on the person they direct their malice at.
A fellow slave could easily, without a second thought, stab another in the back on the battlefield. Or sometimes, a jealous soldier who couldn’t believe a slave could fight and achieve more than he could.
Some were usually controlled, but amidst the madness of the battlefield, they couldn’t be trusted, and the problem now was that he wasn’t familiar with Dave.
He didn’t know if he could be controlled or not.
His eyes moved away again from Dave, fixed on Colten briefly. ’Maybe that greenhead knows how to control him... he’s been by his side for a while.’ Before, once again returned to Dave.
For there was still the bright, fresh palm imprint on the pale cheek of his...
