Chapter 955: Light and Darkness

Chapter 955: Light and Darkness

Saren was the last of the faction leaders to arrive, even half an hour later than the Academy's Chief Technology Officer, practically stepping into the conference hall just in time.

Chu Guang looked at his face and could read the smugness written all over it, and he knew exactly why.

If anyone was the biggest beneficiary of the Legion's dissolution, it was undoubtedly this smug fellow before him.

As the eldest son of the Legion, nearly half of the empire Julius had built was now in the hands of the Eastern Empire, while Triumph City was left with only the Vland Province.

Having sent Julius off in grand style, he was now the undisputed emperor of millions of square kilometers of land!

At least the funeral in Norton City was over!

"I'm also delighted to see you, Emperor of the Eastern Empire. I can tell you're in a good mood."

They met with a bear hug, and Saren slapped Chu Guang on the arm, grinning broadly.

"Thanks to you, the long-cherished wish of the successive legion commanders of the Eastern Legion has been fulfilled in my hands."

He truly owed the Alliance a debt of gratitude.

General Klaus had died at the Great Rift, Griffin had smashed the last breath of the Eastward Expansion faction against the walls of the River Valley Province, and the old military aristocracy with land had become the largest political force in the Eastern Legion.

Even the later upheaval in Triumph City, at its root, was influenced by the radical Vlandian faction inspired by Alliance ideology.

The death of Theodosius led to the collapse of the Roman Empire, yet it also gave rise to the glory of Constantinople and later Byzantium.

In a sense, the Eastern Legion—or the Eastern Empire as it was now—stood in the same position, though the finer details of its core differed.

Looking at the exuberant Saren, Chu Guang nodded slightly and spoke in a gentle tone.

"I believe this is also the long-cherished wish of every Vlandian in the Eastern Empire. The soldiers of the Expeditionary Force can rest in peace."

Catching the implication in his words, Saren laughed heartily and gave a thumbs-up.

"I like smart people. We can reach a consensus quickly and save time on riddles."

He paused for a moment and then spoke.

"Oleite and his loyalists are now officers of the Eastern Empire. According to our review, they were deceived by Tyl."

"Who is Oleite?"

Chu Guang genuinely didn't know the name.

Perhaps it had appeared in the intelligence of the Praetorian Guard or on the official forum, but it didn't matter to him.

Just a frontline commander, at best a pawn on the chessboard, no matter how heinous his crimes, he was overshadowed by Tyl.

As for those major war criminals who had caused a stir in Dawn City and even Ideal City—like the centurion Ryan, who ordered the bombing of Lion City, killing tens of thousands of civilians, and John, who carried out the order—their trials were something the Eastern Empire likely wouldn't interfere with. After all, the cost of protecting them didn't match the benefits.

But Saren, thinking he was clever, "understood" his meaning and winked at him.

"Good enough! Of course, I won't let you suffer either. How about this: I'll hand over that big fish, Gurion, to you. By the way, give me a straight answer—which state in the Bhola Province is the core of the Alliance's interests? I'm thinking about how to split this cake."

The talk of dividing the fish was a ruse; this guy wanted to discuss how to carve up the Bhola Kingdom...

Chu Guang gave the self-important emperor a wry smile and said in a teasing tone.

"What use do we have for so much land? The few acres of the River Valley Province are enough for us to farm, and we even have surplus seeds to give to others. And you—are you still not satisfied with over ten million square kilometers? How many core population do you have? If you take another ten million, aren't you afraid they'll unite and rebel?"

Though Saren dismissed the first part, the latter part made him twitch his brow involuntarily.

It didn't quite sound like a threat.

But thinking of what had happened in the Xilan Empire, he couldn't help but shiver.

Perhaps greedily taking another few hundred thousand square kilometers wasn't such a good idea.

The Vlandians at least had some image to uphold; ending up like the Sunfolk and Oxfolk, rolling in the mud with a bunch of loaches, was hardly necessary.

An unnatural smile crept onto Saren's face as he dismissed that fleeting thought.

"Enough, of course it's enough... We just wanted a buffer zone. After all, quite a few Vlandian refugees have settled in the southwestern corner of the Dzobarz Mountains."

Chu Guang chuckled dryly.

"The two representatives of the Bhola Province are still here. Why don't you talk to them?"

Saren's expression gradually stiffened.

He knew it would be pointless. Neither Abusek nor Rasi would ever agree to cede even one of the thirteen states of the Bhola Province, and the final result would be that anyone wanting land would have to pay with their lives.

But—

He wasn't entirely without a chance.

The stiff muscles slowly twisted into a smile, and he stared at Chu Guang, continuing.

"Don't act like you're all pure as snow. What about the ten thousand square kilometers of Rowell State?"

Chu Guang smiled faintly and said.

"Golden Garen Port has always belonged to the locals themselves. Their mayor, their representative council—all elected by them. Not a single Alliance-appointed official or representative has ever held any post there."

He paused and then added.

"I hope West Sail Port will be the same. The Vlandians can stay, but they must return the city hall and courts to the locals, no matter how. Otherwise, you'd better be prepared to continue the war the Southern Legion didn't finish."

This was a pretty tough stance.

And it wasn't just a soft-power threat; it was a step further into hard-power intimidation.

Reading Chu Guang's deeper meaning, Saren kept a composed smile on his face.

Though he hadn't forced the Alliance into any real concessions, after this probing, he had at least figured out the Alliance's bottom line.

The civilian government model of Triumph City hadn't crossed the Alliance's red line, but the Southern Legion's model had thoroughly done so.

That made things clear.

"We'll return West Sail Port to the locals, but only if you stop meddling in the internal affairs of the Bhola Province."

Looking at Saren's beaming smile, Chu Guang gave a faint smile of his own and said in a gentle tone.

"That depends on how much you meddle—whether directly or indirectly—and whether you abide by that ancient covenant."

As long as the Eastern Empire didn't launch an armed invasion of the Bhola Province, he wouldn't interfere much in their cooperation.

The same went for the Falcon Kingdom.

The Alliance had done everything it could locally, but the survivors there ultimately chose to draw closer to the Eastern Empire—and that was their own decision.

In just a few words, the post-war order negotiations over four million square kilometers were concluded.

Both the Eastern Empire and the Alliance got what they wanted, and Abusek and Shava could breathe a sigh of relief.

At least the Emperor of the Eastern Empire had promised to withdraw from West Sail Port.

Even if the Vlandians unscrewed every last bolt and carried it away, it was still better than fighting another war to reclaim the territory.

Besides, how much could they really load onto their ships?

The steel bars stuck in the ground and the concrete wrapped around them couldn't be moved.

Nor could the knowledge stored in the minds of West Sail Port's residents.

Given enough time, rebuilding a prosperous West Sail Port was only a matter of time.

Abusek looked at Chu Guang with a hint of gratitude, but Chu Guang only smiled faintly and said nothing.

He had not sent troops to support the Boro people in resisting the invaders for their thanks, nor to act as their father, but for all survivors in the eastern part of the Central Continent who might suffer the evil of the Legion.

Naturally, this included the Alliance.

Therefore, they had no need to thank him, nor to regard him as some savior.

Just keep moving forward with these memories.

As long as one is honest with one's own heart and one's own past, whether Wilant or Boro, the future will be bright...

Under the hopes of hundreds of millions of survivors, representatives from various factions entered the conference hall located deep within the Great Rift Valley.

That spacious conference center was like a circular theater, and the tables and chairs on site were all made of angular granite, as if cut from an entire granite vein by laser or something else!

The crystal-like chandelier hung about fifty meters above the ground, growing from the dome like an inverted pyramid, emitting a soft milky white light downward.

It was said that this doomsday facility was built before the war.

Presumably, only that era of infinite prosperity could have built such a magnificent wonder.

Stepping into the meeting room, Abusek was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, unable to control the shock in his heart.

Over two hundred years ago, the survivors of the Human Union era sat here to discuss how they should face the fate of the future.

At that time, there was probably no concept of the Wasteland Era yet.

Facing the extreme cold that plummeted to minus 50 degrees and a sky that let through not a single ray of light, no one knew whether their doomsday would end, and if it wouldn't, what then.

Stirred by the scene, Abusek couldn't help but sigh.

"I see... the Wasteland Era was probably decided from which year to start only in the 50th year of the Wasteland Era."

If the winter had not ended in the 50th year of the Wasteland Era, then the past 50 years would have to be counted as the Doomsday Era.

What later generations took for granted was not taken for granted by the people of that time.

Although the survivors of the Sky Capital now curse him as worthless, calling him a butcher who killed more Boro people than Yanush, and a robber who even took farmers' money by imposing a consumption tax on grain, who knows if someday they will miss him as they miss Rowell?

After all, no one can guarantee that someone in the future will actually do what he wanted to do but was too embarrassed or dared not to do?

The number of people who died during Yanush's term was indeed less than when he was Grand Commander—that was a true statement.

That guy led the Heavenly King's Army to plunder the nobles' estates clean, let the slaves sleep with the sisters-in-law and young ladies they had only dared to dream of but never touch, and made Duwata have many wives and concubines, while Sharuk's home was piled with gold and jewels...

It was his gunshot that woke them from their unfinished dream—and an unfinished dream must be continued, mustn't it?

Perhaps he should write a self-criticism edict.

"Haha! Interesting, damn interesting..."

Thinking of this, Abusek laughed out loud, even laughing to tears, and his gloomy mood was swept away, making him much more carefree in an instant.

The collapse of the Heavenly Palace made him let go of his obsession with the throne, no longer longing for the impossible eternity, and converting to the Silver Moon Sect made him let go of his obsession with power, no longer suspicious of everyone.

Now he had finally achieved his own perfection—even everything he couldn't let go of before was let go in that moment.

He finally saw his own dry well.