Setelah Ragnar pergi, Anthony mengambil alih negosiasi. Berbeda dengan jenderal, dia jauh lebih langsung. Dia menetapkan syarat dan ketentuan secara tegas, dan jika orang-orang Bumi menganggapnya tidak sepakat atau sulit dipenuhi atau ingin bernegosiasi sedikit, dia akan mengabaikannya dan lanjut ke poin kerjasama potensial berikutnya.
Pada akhirnya, mereka tidak mencapai kesepakatan apa pun karena orang-orang Bumi إما ingin waktu untuk berdiskusi di antara mereka sendiri atau menunggu hasil performa mereka di babak pertama pertarungan. Meski begitu, Anthony tidak kecewa atau geram dan menjadwalkan waktu untuk pertemuan berikutnya di mana mereka akan menyelesaikan banyak hal terkait kerjasama mereka.
Perbedaan perlakuan antara Ragnar dan Anthony seperti langit dan bumi. Ragnar bisa bersikap egois, tapi Anthony sangat profesional. Hal itu juga memberi mereka pemahaman jelas betapa kecilnya pentingnya mereka bagi kekaisaran. Mungkin satu-satunya alasan mereka mendapat perhatian dari awal adalah karena bertemu di Inn. Jika kekaisaran menemui mereka di tempat lain, dengan kekuatan dan kedudukan mereka saat ini, mereka mungkin tidak akan diperhitungkan sama sekali.
Usai pertemuan, mereka menyampaikan instruksi masing-masing ke bawahan mereka dan kembali ke Bumi untuk berkumpul lagi dengan wanita di hologram. Brandon, yang paling khawatir tentang pemberontak, menanyakan gerakan atau aktivitas mencurigakan selama mereka pergi. Jawabannya: semuanya normal, yang justru membuatnya lebih khawatir dari yang lega.
Tidak mungkin pemberontak tidak tahu tentang pertemuan ini. Jika mereka tidak memanfaatkan kesempatan ini untuk bergerak, mungkin mereka akan melakukannya selama Games. Ada juga kemungkinan mereka tidak berbuat apa-apa selama Games, tapi dia tidak percaya organisasi yang berani mencoba membunuh cucunya akan melewatkan peluang seperti ini.
Dengan pasukan terbatas di Bumi dan tidak ada informasi baru untuk ditindaklanjuti, dia memutuskan mengadakan hukum militer di Mars. Semua aktivitas dihentikan hingga pemberitahuan selanjutnya dan seluruh pasukan militer dikerahkan penuh. Sejujurnya, Mars berada dalam bahaya paling kecil, karena tidak mungkin mendekati planet itu tanpa terdeteksi, dan dia memiliki kendali ketat atas segalanya di Mars, tidak seperti di Bumi, di mana pembagian kekuasaan terlalu besar. Meski begitu, dia tidak mau ambil risiko.
Mereka mengadakan pertemuan lagi dengan wanita itu, dan kali ini Adrian yang membuat laporan, bukan mereka sendiri. Mendengar laporannya, wanita itu merenung sejenak sebelum berkata, "Kalian bebas mengirim siapa saja ke Kekaisaran Jotun untuk pelatihan, tapi hanya jika kalian mengirim rekrut kalian melalui Inn itu sendiri. Kalian tidak boleh, dalam keadaan apa pun, menerima kesepakatan yang mengharuskan kalian mengungkapkan lokasi Bumi. Terlebih lagi, ingatlah bahwa meski mengirim orang keluar dari Bumi tidak masalah, orang-orang yang dikirim tidak boleh kembali – pernah!
"Soal bertemu kekuatan luar, kalian tidak perlu khawatir. Jika kalian pernah menghadapi ancaman seperti itu, kami yang akan menanganinya. Belum lagi, ruang angkasa di dekat dan sekitar tata surya kalian berada di bawah pengawasan kami. Seharusnya peradaban maju lain ada, kami sudah tahu. Kemungkinan bajak laut ruang angkasa bahkan lebih rendah, jadi kalian tidak perlu khawatir."
Diskusi berlanjut cukup lama, tapi intinya wanita di hologram tidak peduli apa yang mereka lakukan selama mereka tidak mengekspos lokasi Bumi dan mengikuti perintahnya soal 'tamu' yang dikirimnya ke Bumi.
Kebebasan relatif dan jaminan umum dari wanita itu membuat orang-orang Bumi sangat lega. Yang mereka pikirkan sekarang hanyalah apa yang harus dilakukan soal tawaran Ragnar? Mengirim orang bukan masalah, tapi jika mereka tak bisa kembali, apa gunanya mengirim mereka dari awal? Mungkin mereka bisa mengirim orang yang diharap bisa menciptakan kehidupan lebih baik di tengah ketidakpastian alam semesta.
Mereka tidak tahu, mereka bukan satu-satunya yang mempertimbangkan kesepakatan ini. Jauh di ujung alam semesta di planet Vegus Minima, Ragnar menatap laporan dengan wajah muram. Lebih tepatnya, dia menatap kata-kata 'Earth: classified'.
Setelah kembali dari Vegus Minima dia harus melaporkan situasinya, tapi keuntungannya jauh melebihi ekspektasi. Akibatnya, bukan laporan biasa yang disampaikan, tapi dia memulai transmisi rahasia tingkat platinum.
Akibat transmisi itu, bukan hanya angkatan laut yang diberitahu, tapi juga bangsawan kekaisaran. Seorang bangsawan dan jenderal komandan muncul sebagai hologram di depannya, menatapnya dengan tatapan bermartabat. Sayangnya, transmisi di atas tingkat tertentu biasanya berita buruk. Begitu volatilnya alam semesta.
Ragnar memulai laporannya dengan menilai Midnight Inn sebagai organisasi netral dengan potensi bahaya peringkat SS. Untuk menegaskan, dia memberitahu mereka bahwa seorang Celestial tampaknya menjadi bawahan Innkeeper. Kata kuncinya 'tampaknya' karena mereka tidak tahu detailnya, tapi menampilkan penampilan seperti itu sendiri sudah mengesankan.
Kemudian dia melaporkan soal Bumi dan Nibiru. Terakhir, dia melaporkan soal Iblis dan Devil.
Saat dia bilang berhasil merekam tanda aura mereka menggunakan alat di matanya, mereka gembira banget!
Bahkan Ragnar tidak tahu kenapa Loretta begitu tinggi di daftar orang dicari, tapi fakta dia mendapatkan aura-nya sangat penting bagi kekaisaran. Tentu saja, besar kemungkinan aura yang dia pancarkan palsu, dan telah melewati teknik penyembunyian atau transformasi. Kekaisaran tetap punya cara memanfaatkannya. Ini permainan tipu daya yang mereka mainkan dengan Devil selama ratusan ribu tahun.
Usai transmisi, Ragnar menyiapkan hari-hari mendatang saat tiba laporan. Dia mencari nama Nibiru dan Bumi, untuk berjaga-jaga, apakah ada info tentang mereka di database kekaisaran. Seperti dugaan, tidak ada info soal Nibiru, jadi dia buat entri dan kaitkan dengan Mamut Api. Tak terduga, ada entri soal Bumi. Tapi itu classified. Jika bahkan dengan levelnya dia tidak bisa lihat detailnya, maka urusan soal Bumi tidak sederhana.
Sesaat kemudian, dia tinggalkan laporan itu. Dia tidak mau repot berebut detail soal Bumi. Fokusnya selalu hanya iblis. Jika Bumi bisa membantunya dia akan memanfaatkan mereka, jika tidak dia akan melupakan mereka besok.
Di Nibiru, responsnya beda jauh. Kebanyakan binatang tidak tertarik sama sekali. Ditekan membuat mereka merasa tidak nyaman, dan mereka tidak minat kembali. Yang sedikit tertarik mengesampingkan segalanya dan memulai persiapan. Di masa ini, surat yang Tiffany dan Lex usahakan sampai ke tangan Lord Protector Bangsa Merah tiba di kuil pelindung. Namun Igishima, Lord Protector, masih di Midnight Inn, sama sekali tidak sadar bahwa ia sedang dijebak.
Kembali di Inn, semuanya berjalan lancar meski tanpa kehadiran Lex. Untungnya dia baru bangun sekitar delapan jam kemudian, masih agak lelah. Tanpa meninggalkan tempat tidur, dia memesan jumlah makanan yang tidak masuk akal saat perlahan menonton ulang segalanya yang terjadi saat dia tidur.
Lex tidak akan mengaku sebagai mata-mata, pengintai, atau pengintip, tapi orang lain yang melihatnya begacara mendengarkan rahasia tamunya pasti akan bilang begitu. Meski begitu, penting untuk tahu apa yang terjadi. Setelah mengejar ketertinggalan, dia putus रह lengah sebentar. Dalam beberapa jam tidurnya, dia dapat 20.000 MP dari tamu membeli berbagai produk dan menggunakan jasanya, total jadi 95356 MP. Bagus, karena dia putus sebelum Games mulai, dia akan menjalani prosedur ketiga untuk meningkatkan kultivasinya yang akan mempengaruhi jiwanya.
Bukan pengeluaran kecil, tapi dia tidak mau menunggu. Semakin kuat dia, semakin mudah baginya. Lex membayar, dan saat berikutnya dia menemukan diri di ruang putih. Dia bahkan tidak sempat mengakhiri desahannya sebelum sekali lagi pingsan, dan proses evolusi jiwa dimulai. Berbanding dua sebelumnya, ini jauh lebih sulit dan butuh waktu lebih lama. Untungnya dia akan selesai sebelum acara benar-benar dimulai.
Once Ragnar left, Anthony took over the negotiations. Compared to the general, he was a lot more straightforward. He directly set the terms and conditions and if the earthlings found it disagreeable or difficult to meet or wanted to negotiate a bit, he would dismiss it and move on to the next potential point for cooperation.
In the end, they didn’t end up agreeing on anything as the Earthlings either wanted time to discuss amongst themselves or were contingent upon their performance in the first round of the combat portion of the games. Still, Anthony was not disappointed or disgruntled and scheduled a time for their next meeting in which they would finalize a lot of their cooperation.
The difference in treatment between how Ragnar and Anthony treated them was like night and day. Ragnar could be willful, but Anthony was strictly professional. It also gave them a clear understanding of how little importance they were to the empire. Perhaps the only reason they received any attention at all in the first place was because they met at the Inn. If the empire had encountered them elsewhere, with their current strength and standing, they may as well have been ignored.
Once the meeting was concluded, they passed any instructions they had to their own subordinates and returned to Earth to once again convene with the woman in the hologram. Brandon, who was the most concerned about the rebels, inquired about any suspicious movement or activities while they were gone. The answer he received was that everything was normal, which worried him more than relieved him. .
There was no way the rebels didn’t know about the meeting. If they didn’t use this opportunity to make any moves, then maybe they would do so during the games. There was also the potential that they would not do anything during the games as well, but he did not think an organization with the guts to try and assassinate his grandson would miss out on such opportunities.
With limited forces on Earth and no new information to act on, he decided to put Mars under martial law. Any and all activity was stopped until further notice and all military forces were put on full alert. Truthfully speaking, Mars was in the least danger, as it was impossible to approach the planet without being spotted, and he had strict control over everything on Mars, unlike on Earth, where the division of power was too great. Still, he did not want to take chances.
They reconvened the meeting with the lady, and instead of giving the report themselves, Adrian was the one who made the report. Once she heard the report, she ruminated for a bit before saying, “You are free to send anyone you want to the Jotun Empire for training, but only if you can send your recruits through the Inn itself. You cannot, under any circumstance, accept any deal that would need you to reveal the location of Earth. Furthermore, keep in mind that while it is okay to send people away from Earth, those sent away cannot come back – ever!
“As for matters of running into outside forces, you need not concern yourself with it. If you should ever encounter such a threat, we will take care of it. Not to mention, the space near and around your solar system is under our supervision. Should another advanced civilization have existed, we would have already known of it. The chances of space pirates are even lower, so you need not concern yourself.”
The discussion went on for a while longer, but the gist of it was that the lady in the hologram did not care what they did as long as they did not expose the location of Earth and followed her orders regarding her ‘guests’ that she had sent to Earth.
The relative freedom and general assurances provided by the woman relieved the Earthlings a lot. All they had to consider now was what to do about Ragnar’s offer? Sending people away was not a problem, but if they ultimately could never return, then what even was the point of sending them in the first place? Maybe they could send out people they hoped could create a better life for themselves amongst the uncertainty of the universe.
Little did they know, they weren’t the only ones deliberating over this deal. Far, far in the universe on the planet Vegus Minima, Ragnar was looking solemnly at a report. More specifically, he was looking at the words ‘Earth: classified’.
Once he returned from Vegus Minima he needed to report the situation, but the gains were drastically more than expected. As a result, instead of providing a report in the usual way, he had to initiate a platinum level confidential transmission.
As a result of his transmission, it wasn’t only the army that was notified, but also the aristocracy of the empire. A nobleman and a commanding general appeared as holograms before him, staring at him with a dignified look. Unfortunately, when a transmission over a certain rank occurred, usually it was bad news. Such was the volatility of the universe.
Ragnar began his report by first stating his assessment of the Midnight Inn as a neutral organization with a SS rank danger potential. To emphasize this point, he informed them that a Celestial seemed to be a subordinate of the Innkeeper. The key word here was ‘seemed’ as they did not know the details, but putting up such an appearance in itself was impressive.
Then he reported about Earth and Nibiru. Finally, he reported on the Demons and Devils.
When he told them that he had managed to capture their aura signatures using the device in his eye, they were over the moon!
Even Ragnar did not know why Loretta was so high up on the wanted list, but the fact that he had obtained her aura was of the utmost importance to the empire. Of course, it was more than likely that the aura she exuded was fake, and had undergone some concealing or transformation technique. The Empire would still have ways to make use of it. This was a game of subterfuge they had been playing with the Devils for hundreds of thousands of years.
Once the transmission was concluded, Ragnar was undertaking preparation for the days to come when he got a report. He had searched for the names Nibiru and Earth, just in case, to see if there was anything about them in the empire’s database. As expected, there was no information on Nibiru, so he made an entry and associated it with the Fiery Mammoths. Unexpectedly, though, there was an entry on Earth. However, it was classified. If, even with his level, he was unable to view the details, then matters relating to Earth were not so simple.
After a moment, he simply put the report aside. He could not be bothered to delve into the details regarding Earth. His only focus ever was the demons. If Earth could aid him then he would make use of them, otherwise he would forget about them by the next day.
On Nibiru, the response was completely different. Most beasts were not interested at all. Being suppressed made them feel uncomfortable, and they had no interest in returning. The few that were interested put everything aside and began preparations. During this time, the letter that Tiffany and Lex had put much effort into having delivered to the Lord Protector of Red Nation arrived at the protector’s shrine. Yet Igishima, the Lord Protector, was still in the Midnight Inn, completely unaware that it was being plotted against.
Back at the Inn, things were progressing smoothly even without Lex’s presence. Which was fortunate because he only woke up some eight hours later, still feeling somewhat fatigued. Without leaving his bed, he ordered a ridiculous amount of food as he slowly watched replays of everything that had happened while he was asleep.
Lex would not describe himself as a spy, stalker or voyeur, but anyone else who saw him so frequently listening in on his guests definitely would. Still, it was important to know what was happening. When he caught up, he decided to stay put for a while. In the few hours he’d been asleep, he’d made 20,000MP from guests purchasing various products and using his services, bringing his total to 95356 MP. Which was nice, because he decided that before the games start, he will undergo the third procedure to upgrade his cultivation which would affect his soul.
It was not a small expense, but he did not want to wait either. The stronger he was, the easier it would be for him. Lex paid, and the next moment found himself in the white room. He did not even get enough time to finish his sigh before he was once again knocked unconscious, and the process to evolve his soul began. Compared to the previous two, this one was a lot harder and would take a longer time. But fortunately he would be done before the event actually started.
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