Putting down the letter from the Devil Gods, Ian Song fell into deep thought: Should he accept negotiations with the two Devil Gods?
Given the current situation, the Human Race is fully capable of conquering the Devil territory. But after victory, what then? Governing those lands would require far more officials. After all, Devil territory is eight times the size of Human lands, and even after more than twenty years of buildup, manpower would still fall short.
What’s more, if he refused peace talks and pressed the Devils too hard, the two Devil Gods might drop all pretense and resort to assassinating military and imperial leaders.
Although the Human Race now has three Martial Gods, even they can’t protect everyone. If the two Devil Gods turned into assassins, it would bring disaster on the entire Human Race.
So, in the end, Ian Song decided to negotiate.
The system’s task was to defeat the Devil Race, not to wipe them out. As long as the Devils admitted defeat, he could complete the mission. Besides, if he destroyed the Devil Race entirely, wouldn’t his son have no enemies to face when he inherited the throne?
That’s why he needed to leave a rival for the next emperor—otherwise, life would be too easy, and they’d lose their drive.
The peace talks were scheduled for ten days later, and this time, the Monster Race would also participate.
The negotiations would take place in Thunder City.
Thunder City was originally in Devil territory, but now it belonged to the Human Race. (Note: City names in this arc are often derived from the surnames of famous generals.) The name 'Thunder City' came from the surname of Raymond Lei, the Grand General who commanded the five-pronged Human offensive.
For Raymond Lei, having a city named after him was an immense honor.
This time, the Human negotiator was Cabinet Elder Jason Jiang. The Monster Race was represented by the newly crowned Fox Clan Queen, Serena Fox, while the Devil side was led by the Devil Ape Emperor.
On the day of the negotiations, Ian Song arrived in Thunder City with the Eastern Martial God. The Monster Race sent the Golden Tiger Demon God and Silver Tiger, and the two surviving Devil Gods also came to Thunder City.
As soon as the talks began, Elder Jason Jiang laid out the following demands:
First, the Devil Race must admit defeat to both the Human and Monster Races.
Second, the Devil Race must pay five million supreme-grade spirit crystals to cover Human military expenses.
Third, the Devil Race must cede two-thirds of its total territory to the Human and Monster Races.
Fourth, the Devil Race must recognize the Grand Martial Empire as its suzerain and refer to itself as a vassal state.
Fifth, the Devil Race must pay annual tribute to the Human Race.
Sixth, each of the ten Devil clans must send one prince to the Human Empire as a hostage.
Seventh: Each Devil clan’s standing army must not exceed one million.
Eighth: The emperors of the Ten Great Devil Clans must be retitled as kings. When confirming the next king, Human approval is required, and the Human side has the right to reject candidates.
Hearing Elder Jason Jiang’s eight demands, the Devil Ape Emperor was nearly furious enough to explode. If the Devil Race really agreed, they’d become slaves to the Human Race.
Serena Fox, though, was delighted by the Human demands. Her eyes sparkled as she took it upon herself to revise the terms Tiger King had set.
Of course, the Monster Race couldn’t compete with the Humans for suzerain status, but when it came to land and compensation, Serena Fox demanded ten million supreme-grade spirit crystals from the Devils, arguing that Monster casualties in this war had reached several million.
Naturally, the Devil Race couldn’t accept all the demands from both sides, and so began a long, drawn-out haggling session.
Finally, after a full month of negotiations—
The three sides reached the following agreement:
First, the Devil Race admits defeat.
Second, after ceding two-tenths of its territory to the Humans, the Devil Race must hand over another two-tenths. The Monster Race keeps the lands it already occupied—no extra territory granted.
Third, for war reparations: the Devil Race will pay the Humans 4.5 million supreme-grade spirit crystals over ten years, and pay the Monster Race 2 million over twenty years.
Fourth, the Devil Race recognizes the Human Race as its suzerain and refers to itself as a vassal state.
Fifth, all Devil clan emperors are retitled as kings. The Human Race has veto power over the next king, but not appointment rights.
Sixth, the garrisons of the Ten Great Devil Clans must not exceed 1.2 million troops.
Seventh, each Devil clan must send one prince to the Human side as a hostage.
Eighth, every year, the Devil Race must pay tribute to the Humans—mainly in herbs and minerals, with a total value of no less than 100,000 supreme-grade spirit crystals.
Once the agreement was reached, all three sides announced that the great three-race war was officially over.
Not long after, word of the treaty spread throughout Human lands, and the whole realm celebrated—the Human Race had finally risen to dominance, trampling the Devils underfoot.
Afterward, in the palace’s secret chamber—
Ian Song sat cross-legged as a massive flow of qi-luck surged into him, nearly bursting his body. With the Devils ceding four-tenths of their land, Human territory more than doubled, now covering over thirty percent of the planet.
However, it would still take considerable time for the Humans to fully integrate the lands ceded by the Devils.
It took Ian Song three days to refine all the qi-luck within his body. His power now completely surpassed the Martial God level; he felt that with a casual tear, he could rip apart heaven and earth. He even sensed the coordinates of a higher plane—if he wished, he could break through space and enter it at any time.
But entering a higher plane was impossible for now. His true cultivation was only at mid-stage Martial Saint, and once he crossed over, his qi-luck might not even work.
At the moment the treaty with the Devils was signed, his system notification sounded—he’d already completed the fifth mission. Now, only defeating the Monster Race remained before he could finish all tasks and return to the real world.
In the blink of an eye, three years had passed—the time Ian Song had promised his two sons.
During these three years, Victor Huang and Nathan Huang both diligently governed their county. Neither disappointed him, but after thorough evaluation, Victor Huang proved to be the more outstanding.
Thus, Ian Song decided to name Victor Huang as Crown Prince.
Nathan Huang was a little disappointed, but he didn’t develop any resentment—instead, he was genuinely happy for Victor Huang.
After naming Victor Huang Crown Prince, Ian Song gradually handed over state affairs to him, freeing himself up for cultivation. He planned to reach Martial God, or even break through to Nascent Soul stage, before leaving this world.
Three days later, Serena Fox arrived as an envoy, urging Ian Song to fulfill his promise and help the Land-Beast Clan against the Sky-Wing Clan.
Ian Song replied that in one month, he would personally visit the Monster Race with two Martial Gods.
In this campaign against the Devils, the Monster Race had picked up huge benefits by following behind the Humans. Ian Song had no intention of letting them grow unchecked. Since the Land-Beast Clan wanted to take down the Sky-Wing Clan, he would use the opportunity to eliminate the Sky-Wing Clan’s Monster God.
A month later, Ian Song arrived at the Monster Race with the Eastern Martial God and Duanmu Martial God.
The Tiger King, along with Golden Tiger and Silver Tiger, personally welcomed them.
After a grand banquet, Ian Song stayed at the Tiger King’s palace. But in the middle of the night, a shadow suddenly slipped into his room—and dove straight into his bed.