Chapter 1028 - So, What Do You Think About My Proposal?
Two days after William visited the territory of the Rhanes CLan…
William gazed at the Demons who were currently partaking of the feast that the Sand Clan had prepared for them.
The Patriarchs, of the three Major Clans, as well as the Patriarch"s of their Va.s.sal Clans all gathered today to talk about an important matter.
After visiting the Rhanes Clan, the Half-Elf swaggered towards the territories of the remaining two Clans and gave them an invitation to attend an important meeting in the City of Altan. When the Patriarchs of the two Major Clans saw the giant Fortaare Death Worm, they immediately accepted William"s invitation, and agreed to meet him on the promised date.
The spies of the two Major Clans inside the Rhanes Clan had reported that the giant Death Worm was no longer in Lorcan"s hands. The two even communicated with each other and proposed a plan to collaborate and annex the territory of the currently ill Patriarch, who had lost the protection of his Guardian Beast.
Unfortunately, before they could even execute their plans, William came knocking on their doors. Because of this, they were forced to put their agenda on hold and go to the City of Altan to hear what he had to say.
William casually sipped his tea as Charmaine fanned his body with a feathered fan. He was wearing a black-suit, which gave his slightly above average appearance more depth and sophistication. This was a suit that he had brought back from Earth, and many Demons wondered where he had procured such clothes.
When he had deemed that everyone"s gaze was now locked onto his body, he placed the teacup on the table and addressed the Demons that had traveled far to meet him.
"Before we start, all of you have to sign this contract," William said as he waved his hand. "Don"t worry. This contract only states that whatever you hear, and see, in this meeting will not leave this room. Whoever breaks this rule will be killed instantly, so if you don"t want to die, make sure to zip your lips when you return to your respective Domains."
The Demons grabbed the contract that had appeared in front of them and read its contents. Just like William told them, it only stated that whatever was going to be discussed during their meeting would be kept a secret from those who were not involved in the discussion.
Seeing that there was no harm in the contract, everyone signed it using a drop of their blood, which was quite common for contracts made in the Demon Realm.
After the contracts had been signed, it merged with the Demons" bodies, which proved that the contract had started to take effect.
William nodded in satisfaction before starting the meeting.
"I"m sure that all of you are wondering why I have gathered all of you here today, the reason is really simple," William said with a smile. "I am here to propose two things. The first is a non-aggression pact between all the clans living in the Fortaare Desert. This means that after this meeting is over, none of you are allowed to fight amongst yourselves.
"The second proposal is that none of you will take part in the Demon Lord"s call for mobilization against the Central and Silvermoon Continents. As long as the two of you can agree to this condition, all of us will get along well. Are there any questions?"
As soon as William gave permission, an old man stood up on the right side of the room and eyed the black-haired teenager with a serious expression on his face.
"I don"t want to sound rude, but we who live in the desert abide by our own rules. I don"t think it is appropriate for an outsider to order us around," the old man said.
William smirked. "If I remember correctly, you are the Patriarch of the Ryder Clan, Fergus. Since you spoke in this manner, I a.s.sume that you don"t agree with my proposal?"
Fergus shook his head. "I agree with the part on where we don"t have to answer the Demon Lord"s call to rally to his aid in declaring war on the Central and Silvermoon Continents. However, the distribution of territories in the desert is an internal thing. I hope that Lord Raymond understands what I"m trying to say…"
"Yes. I understand," William replied. "Is there anyone else who thinks this way?"
A middle-aged man stood up and gave William a brief nod.
"I agree with Patriarch Fergus," the middle-aged man stated. "This is an internal affair, so I hope that Lord Raymond respects our laws."
"Renon of the Blythe Clan." William nodded in understanding. "Is there anyone else?"
As if waiting for that moment, all the va.s.sals of the two Major Clans stood up to show their support to their Masters.
Lorcan, and his va.s.sals remained seated as they looked at the two Clan leaders who had smug expressions on their faces.
"Idiots," Zeph thought as he sneered internally at the fools who thought that they could run their mouths in William"s presence.
William scanned the crowd of Demons that had decided to go against his proposal. He had already expected that this would happen, so he had made plans beforehand.
"Understood," William said. "Then, I"ll give you all a few minutes to change your mind."
Fergus snorted. "I"m afraid that even if you give us an hour, our answers will remain the same. Please, let"s not waste each other"s time and end this meeting. We still have important matters to attend to."
"My friend Fergus is right, Lord Raymond," Renon commented. "It is in our best interest if we stop wasting each other"s time."
William smiled and nodded his head. "Both of you are right. It is best if we don"t waste each other"s time."
The Half-Elf then snapped his hand. Immediately, all the Demons who were standing disappeared in a blink of an eye.
Lorcan and Zeph glanced at William at the same time and looked at him with suspicion. Both of them didn"t know what just transpired and wondered if the Half-Elf could give them an explanation.
William didn"t say a word, save to ask Charmaine to refill his cup, which the pretty Elf was more than happy to oblige. Several minutes pa.s.sed as William drank leisurely, while waiting for his Succubus Wife"s signal.
Ten minutes after the Demons had disappeared in the room, William finally received the answer he was waiting for. With a wave of his hand, the Demons reappeared inside the room, under everyone"s gazes.
"So, what do you think about my proposal?" William asked. A confident smile was plastered on his face, as he waited for everyone"s answers.
"It is a wonderful proposal!" Fergus answered and gave William a respectful bow. "The Ryder Clan will follow and obey Lord Raymond"s orders from this day onwards!"
The Ryder Clan"s va.s.sals also bowed their heads respectfully as they pledged their loyalty to William"s cause.
""We will obey Lord Raymond"s orders from this day onwards!""
Renon took a step forward and also proclaimed his allegiance to William"s cause, along with his va.s.sals. To the eyes of the outsiders, he seemed to have a complete change of heart as he promised to support William in whatever he wanted to do.
Lorcan"s and Zeph"s expressions became serious when they noticed the sudden changes that had come over their rivals. They had known them for many years, and they had never seen them act this servile to anyone, even the Demon Lord wasn"t given this kind of treatment when he visited the Fortaare Desert to ask for their help.
"Well then, I guess that settles it," William said as he waved his hand and a new set of contracts appeared in front of everyone in the room. "Please sign it, so that all of us can return to our happy everyday lives."
"As you wish, My Lord," Fergus replied.
"By your will, My Liege!" Renon declared.
Lorcan and Zeph glanced at each other with bitter smiles on their faces. Clearly, William did something to the Demons, which made them submit to his will. They secretly rejoiced because they hadn"t rejected his proposal for a united front in the Fortaare Desert.
If they had, they, and their vessels, might have also suffered the same fate as the other two Clans, who now seemed to be under some kind of spell, making them William"s loyal followers and unable to say no to any of his demands.