Lord of the Sky City-Chapter 818 - 800 Negotiations Begin

Chapter 818 -800 Negotiations Begin

Athena had long devised a plan for these hot potatoes Rocky brought back.

According to her idea, these people would ultimately have to be released, no matter what. Otherwise, every major power in the world would go to war with Rocky. However, before releasing them, they could be leveraged in negotiations with The Three Great Alliances and the two major corporations to extract maximum remaining value from them. This was the course of action they should take.

As for how to extract benefits from these hostages, Athena had thought it through thoroughly. This time, her main purpose in talking to Rocky was to have him transfer authority on this matter to her, allowing her to negotiate with The Three Great Alliances herself.

“No problem. Take Aileen with you—she’s more skilled in this area.”

Rocky nodded and agreed to the request, also instructing Athena to bring Aileen along.

This wasn’t because he distrusted Athena, but because Aileen was indeed highly proficient in this field. With Aileen assisting, Athena’s task would be considerably easier.

With this division of tasks, Rocky began drafting a statement, while Athena and Aileen focused on preparing for the negotiation.

Of the two tasks, drafting the statement was naturally faster. Thus, three days later, Rocky published a statement to the entire world through all the channels he could access.

The message of this statement was simple. On one hand, it candidly acknowledged the existence of rune technology and elemental technology, even divulging some specific details. On the other hand, Rocky made a promise to everyone that, when the time came, he would gradually reveal these technologies to promote joint development of the skies. He assured they would never be monopolized solely by him.

Through this statement, Rocky displayed humility and restraint, without the slightest hint of arrogance, aiming to minimize external hostility toward him as much as possible.

However, he knew that a mere statement couldn’t convince everyone. Therefore, at the same time as the statement, he and the Apple Tree Corporation jointly announced plans to sell rune battleships to the public soon!

This announcement immediately caused a sensation. By now, nearly a month had passed since Rocky returned to Backhill Village. The details of his earlier conflict with The Three Great Alliances had already been unveiled, and people were well aware of the significant role rune battleships played in defending Backhill Village. Everyone understood just how formidable these new battleships were.

So, when news broke that Rocky and the Apple Tree Corporation would be selling these battleships, the entire sky was set abuzz.

This move also lent some credibility to Rocky’s statement. Simultaneously, a narrative began quietly spreading among the City Lords. It claimed that Rocky originally intended to share rune technology but had been forced into conflict with The Three Great Alliances because they wanted to monopolize the technology and tried to seize it from him. As a result, the sharing of rune technology was temporarily delayed.

Though this rumor only circulated privately, it still caused a stir. Given The Three Great Alliances’ historically domineering behavior, many found this narrative highly plausible, arousing grievances among many City Lords.

In any case, after Rocky’s statement was made public, the external pressure on him did lighten significantly. While plenty still dismissed his statement as nonsense, many others found themselves anticipating something tangible—at the very least, the opportunity to purchase a few rune battleships, which were indisputably real and valuable after all.

Meanwhile, Athena, with her mandate in hand, prepared alongside Aileen before proactively reaching out to The Three Great Alliances and the two corporations. It was clear they intended to begin formal negotiations. Of course, this also included the Catholic Church. Though Zuluo’s stature was no match for that of the others, he was, after all, Rick’s son. This fact alone made it possible to extort a significant sum from Rick in exchange for Zuluo.

Visit freewёbnoνel.com for the best novel reading experience.

Previously, Thunderhawk City’s lackadaisical attitude toward negotiations had greatly frustrated the anxious parties eager to rescue the hostages. Despite their repeated contact attempts, no clear response was ever provided. Therefore, when Athena finally reached out, the other side responded with remarkable swiftness.

Quickness aside, however, the subject of these negotiations was no trivial matter—particularly given the current state of relations. Though Rocky and The Three Great Alliances had not officially declared war, everyone knew they were essentially at war. As such, these negotiations were bound to be far from simple or smooth. The number of twists and turns ahead was anyone’s guess.

Indeed, that turned out to be the case. Even the early stages of communication took an extraordinary amount of time, as the two sides were in active opposition. Neither side could trustingly send personnel into the other’s territory. Under normal circumstances, Eternal City might be used as a neutral meeting ground, but after the previous incident, Eternal City was no longer trusted. This left them with no choice but to communicate via magic energy images.

Though current magic energy communication technology was advanced, certain discussions could only be properly conveyed face-to-face. Magic energy images allowed for little more than surface-level dialogue. Under such conditions, even establishing preliminary contact took half a month, leading to a barely acceptable agreement.

According to this agreement, Athena consented to The Three Great Alliances and the two corporations sending delegates directly to Thunderhawk City for further negotiations. However, these delegates had to come alone—at most one representative each from The Three Great Alliances, the two corporations, and the Catholic Church, totaling no more than six individuals. If any extra personnel came along, Rocky reserved the right to immediately execute hostages.

This condition was, of course, unacceptable to the other side. With Rocky’s current momentum, what if he decided to detain the delegates, too? That would be disastrous. Thus, they refused outright.

They were willing to travel to Thunderhawk City for further discussions, but The Three Great Alliances insisted on sending Sky City and a fleet to provide protection. Otherwise, they would not come.

This single point of contention took another two weeks of back-and-forth negotiation to resolve, with both sides eventually compromising. The Three Great Alliances agreed to send only one representative each, while the protective fleet and Sky City would remain outside Backhill Village’s airspace, waiting at a safe distance.

After half a month of wrangling, the matter was finally settled. Representatives from The Three Great Alliances, the two corporations, and the Catholic Church each set off for the area outside Backhill Village with substantial military escort. From there, they took a single battleship to reach Backhill Village, finally arriving at Thunderhawk City. Thus, the negotiations officially began.