Truce

The Grand Sultan glared intently at the red dragon, gritting his teeth as he finally spoke. "Cassius—what on earth do you want?" Without question, he was at an absolute disadvantage in this negotiation. And he had to admit that the red dragon had chosen his timing exquisitely. The realm of the efreet was teetering in a moment of grave crisis. An intervention by any outside force could lead to irreversible consequences—let alone by a true dragon. Cassius nodded leisurely and said with a smile, "Very good, Your Majesty the Grand Sultan. It seems you have accepted my second proposal." The red dragon flared his wings, offering an exaggerated, profound sigh. "Alas, wouldn't things have been simpler if we had started like this? I have always believed that if something can be settled across a negotiating table, there is no need to resort to arms." He paused briefly. "A pity your subordinates failed to understand that." Empowered by Silver Tongue, his words carried surprising persuasion, though a quasi-divine entity like the Grand Sultan was immune to supernatural charisma. Having heard Cassius out, the fury in the Grand Sultan's eyes surged nearly beyond containment. He rumbled in a deep, menacing voice, "Enough, Cassius! "Your sanctimonious pretense disgusts me! Name your terms, and then get out of the Elemental Plane of Fire!" Cassius took no offense at the insult; instead, he felt like laughing. Still, he had no genuine desire to push the Grand Sultan over the edge. Goading a quasi-divine entity into a fight to the death would yield far more harm than benefit. Thus, the red dragon bowed his head with exquisite courtesy and extended a single clawed toe. "One hundred wishes per year. For a ruler governing more than half the Elemental Plane of Fire with thousands upon thousands of efreet subjects, that shouldn't be much of a problem, should it?" "Are you out of your mind?!" The Grand Sultan was dumbfounded at first, followed immediately by volcanic rage. In his fury, he slammed his illusory scepter into the ground. Massive craters instantly cracked open across the wasteland, fissures of erupting fire branching outward from the staff. The earth trembled beneath his wrath, and native firebirds nesting in the badlands took to the skies in panic. How dared this dragon make such a demand! Not every efreeti possessed the ability to grant wishes. Only those powerful enough to draw the attention of the planar consciousness obtained such power, and those capable of granting three wishes were exceedingly rare. Though he ruled over more than a hundred thousand efreet, including several thousand efreeti maliks, the entire realm produced merely nine hundred wishes each year. Yet even that number was terrifyingly immense. It was the efreet's wishes that allowed them to secure the backing of archdevils and elemental princes, cementing their status as the dominant masters of the Elemental Plane of Fire and earning them the mortal title of "genies." Even to the Grand Sultan of the Efreet, every single wish was extraordinarily precious. And this dragon dared to demand one hundred wishes right off the bat! In return, all the dragon offered were virtually costless concessions like a "truce" and "non-interference in the war." "Delusional fool! "The Efreet Empire will never agree to such an outrageous demand! If your only aim is to provoke me, then let us have war!" Though furious, the Grand Sultan retained his reason. If the dragon truly entered the fray, the Sultan would simply have to sacrifice a few of his hidden trump cards. Cassius's expression remained utterly unruffled, without the slightest hint of disappointment in his eyes. Stroking his chin with a claw, he thought to himself: *As expected, no chance of that...* He had no real desire to wage an all-out war against the Efreet Empire. Against a civilization thousands of years old whose monarch was a quasi-divine entity, the Cinder Empire—still in its burgeoning phase—could never withstand the brunt of total war. His opening demand had merely been aimed at extracting greater concessions—what his previous life termed the "door-in-the-face technique." Propose an impossible demand first, then follow it with a more reasonable one, making the latter far easier to accept. With that in mind, Cassius said with a touch of "apology," "Your Majesty the Grand Sultan, it seems I was somewhat presumptuous. "How about this: fifty wishes a year, and in exchange, I will provide you with a shipment of arms." "..." After a long silence, the Grand Sultan spoke again. "Red dragon, your greed far exceeds my imagination. Not even an archdevil would dare ask me for a hundred wishes a year." "Let us settle it this way, Grand Sultan: I have only three conditions." Cassius locked eyes with the Grand Sultan, his tone firm and forceful. "First, provide twenty-five wishes per year to the Cinder Empire for a duration of at least ten years. "Second, purchase arms from the Claubau Military Industry Group using large quantities of elemental ores, generating revenue equivalent to five million gold dinars for us. "Third, hand over the three cities of the Brass Fortress, the City of Pig Iron, and the City of Black Iron as concessions to the Cinder Empire, subject solely to imperial jurisdiction. "And this is my final bottom line. "If you cannot agree even to this, it will only prove you have no sincere desire for a truce. In that case, I will have no choice but to throw my support behind the Prince of Sacred Fire." Flames danced within the red dragon's pale gold eyes, reflecting the colossal, towering figure of the Grand Sultan. "Insolence!" "Red dragon! How dare you speak to my lord in such a manner!" Before the Grand Sultan could reply, Ismail stepped forward in indignant outrage. Yet Cassius ignored him entirely. He merely waited for the Grand Sultan's response. In the red dragon's eyes, a pasha stripped of more than half his power was no longer qualified to sit at this table. The Grand Sultan remained deep in thought, apparently weighing the costs and benefits, debating whether to accept the terms. Ismail glared furiously at the enemy. He summoned efreet soldiers one after another, who drew their bows and aimed them straight at the red dragon. Behind Cassius, the imperial troops fell in, raising their firearms and silently aiming them toward the titan hundreds of meters tall in the distance. "..." The already scorching air grew suffocatingly taut, poised to detonate at any moment. "Enough. "I accept your terms." The Grand Sultan's expression was grim as he forced out each word. At such a critical juncture, there was no need to provoke a great wyrm over a slight drain on his resources. Cassius broke into a broad grin, bowing slightly toward the crimson titan with a look of boundless delight. "Wonderful, Your Majesty the Grand Sultan. "Sign this contract, and this matter will be thoroughly settled. Past grievances will turn to ash, and the realm of the efreet and the Cinder Empire will stride hand in hand toward a glorious future." The red dragon waved a claw lightly. Drawing upon the authority over the elemental plane he had just seized, he channeled power downward, shaping flames in midair into magical runes bearing the binding properties of a pact. Watching this, the efreeti pasha Ismail trembled with suppressed fury, yet dared not make a sound. That power had once belonged to him! "Please, Your Majesty the Grand Sultan." With a thought from Cassius, the fiery contract drifted before the Grand Sultan's projection. The crimson titan extended a finger, committing his will to the pact. *Hum—* Crimson halos flared into brilliance as even the essence of the plane pulsed, bearing witness to the covenant's sealing. The Grand Sultan looked utterly bleak. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Across the long spans of thousands of years, I have seen dragons of every kind, but you are by far the greediest wyrm I have ever encountered." Cassius bowed once more, smiling warmly. "Your Majesty the Grand Sultan, thank you for the compliment—such is merely the nature of a red dragon."