NOVEL NEXT V11: Chapter 9
V11: Chapter 9
…
I'll really need to apologize to Ayah and the others later, but with Celia and Harper both present, I couldn't clue them into my plan/threat.
The enclosed prototype of Red Mist wasn't in easily breakable glass. It was in a transparent metal that I would need to use magic to break.
It was the equivalent of putting a loaded gun against my head, but the striker was filed down, and I'd need to put a bit more metal on the end to make it work.
Was the weapon in my hand deadly?
Absurdly, I wasn't going to unleash it unless I tried very, very hard.
Anyway, I kept it on the table while I did my best to bluff a threat into existence against Celia and Harper.
Harper might have absconded from her lands now, but she would be a suitable witness to convince whoever we ended up facing.
I only had eyes for Celia.
Clad in a red waistcoat and matching pants with a white shirt and black tie, Celia looked straight out of a Vogue issue for final boss fashion. Her hair was tied back, and her features were sharp. The effusive young woman who challenged me the moment we met was nowhere to be found. This was the leader of the Guardians of the Moon after they revolted against their noble upbringing. She's now a leader that won't hesitate to throw enormous amounts of material and undead at any problem.
But that sub-faction had really shitty diplomacy and really poor influence gains, so I was banking on those to get what I want.
"We must stand united now. The enemy is at the gates. If it takes my life to see this continent facing the true enemies of our people, then so be it." I reiterated my point and tapped the small vial of prototype Red Mist. There was enough in it to kill me in seconds, before I even felt a thing, and there'd be no healing or going back after. It was important that everyone protecting me be freaked out. Tension was imperative here. "Harper, your lands are now in upheaval, but your people will be facing the Ascendant and the Stymphalians. Two enemies of the Ancients that can make use of the bodies your people have churned out to face my people."
"I… we… How were we meant to know!? Your people were at the gates! Expeditions out there were death with little reward, and the Forgers were at our borders! How were we to fortify a whole mountain range!?" Harper almost struck the table with her fist but stopped short. I heard a click behind me. The hammer of a gun, probably Ilych's, readying a bullet to kill her if she struck the table and jostled the capsule in any way. A shadow came over me, and a hand entered the corner of my vision, but I placed my hand over the locket and the capsule on the table and kept my gaze away. "How were we to prepare for a threat from beyond when at our door was a foe that would see us interred into metal!?"
"You could have asked us. You could have listened. You could have done more than just devote yourself to your throne. Do not pretend that you could not have. The fact that your whole household is here tells me that you had influence and wealth to spare." The Merchants are receptive towards ceasefires and diplomacy when they're on the back foot. They were so enamored with it that there were mods to have them stop requesting in every turn if you're stronger than them, or at least give their requests an influence cost so that they couldn't just do it for free. "Executive Harper, do not lie to yourself. You remember that moment at the Council of Kings every passing day. For that singular moment, you have devoted all you can to strike me down, even at the cost of turning thousands of children into enhanced soldiers."
Ayah took a moment to provide the prepared documents and folders, but I slid one to Harpe and the other to Celia once she gave it to me. There was a pleading look on Ayah's face when our gazes met. She obviously wanted to take the weapon from me. She looked about ready to weep. Yeah, I was definitely going to need to apologize about this later.
"This is… this is…" Harper faltered as the reports and sketches by Iterants came apart on the table and presented the truth of the matter to her and Celia. Yes, Celia, all the accusations sent your way are just the tip of the iceberg. She's done more than you'd ever believe. Harper practically fell back onto her chair in her black suit and masked face. She took off the wide-brimmed hat that she wore with her suit, and her sharp, furred ears were matted plainly against her skull. "How?"
"My people have little need for precious metals, while your own treasure them beyond belief." I offered a non-answer that made the color on Harper's face drain. She fell back onto her chair wordlessly. I took the moment to look at Celia, who was staring at me like I held a bomb in my hand. Technically, I did. "Chancellor, I must congratulate you and your people. I've heard little on your end since your revolution. Only passing whispers."
"Put that weapon away, King of Wisdom. It is unnecessary for talks such as these." Celia, for all her growth and change over the years, remained the steadfast, normal leader of the Guardians of the Moon. Her motives. Her drive. Both remained the same. Her path may be different, and her tactics may have changed, but her goals did not. Neither did her morals. So, she was wrong. " There is another path—
I cut her off by curling my hand into a fist and, with a little sleight of hand, made the sound of glass ring across the room.
The actual capsule that contained the prototype Red Mist wouldn't ring when struck.
Now that I thought about it, I should've just made something that looked like Red Mist.
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Damn, I can be stupid sometimes.
Anyway, the room burst into action at the sound, but I was prepared for it.
"Stop her."
Celia had moved and acted with the speed befitting a Champion, but that didn't really matter when I knew what she was going to do before she was going to do it. Ilych and Rita both intercepted her, while Ayah had moved her hand towards mine. She only stopped because I removed my hand from the weapon and revealed it was unbroken and whole.
Meanwhile, Celia was in Ilych and Rita's grasp, while her two Champions were still a dozen paces away.
"Let me go! Your own leader is threatening his life! I intend to save him from this madness!" Idealistic and heroic. Lawful good. Practical and honorable. Amazing traits for an ally and a leader… in any other time besides now. Right now, with all that was bearing down upon us, all those traits could get the continent killed. "Let me help you!"
I made my move.
"I'll do battle with you, Celia. Your forces against mine for the right to rule this continent. You challenged me long ago the moment that we first met to discover who shall lead and who shall follow." I took some creative liberty with that memory. Most of my time at the Academy was spent reading all that I could and wasting time looking for guns. Man, if I had found those back then, I bet that I could have equipped all my troops with assault rifles. The ammunition expenses would be eye-watering, but the sheer volume of fire would be amazing against things with tons of HP and little armor. "Now, I will force my own challenge upon you if you don't wish for this weapon to be deployed."
I took the capsule in my hand, aware that everyone was staring at me, and I held it between the two of us.
Me, seated.
Her, held by Ilych and Rita and struggling to get the thing out of my hands.
"Ride out with me. Conquer the remaining half of the continent with me. Let us see the Citadels at their fullest strength, then divide them between us." Even if we failed to conquer the rest of the continent, if we got even just one more Citadel into the system, it'd be a huge upgrade to their output. I'll rest a lot easier at night. "When the enemies of the Ancients are defeated, and when we stand on a secure continent, let there be a final contest. Your army against mine."
Celia was quiet for a moment before she met my gaze.
"Your army with two Divine Engines against my own? I will be betraying all that the Guardians of the Moon stand for—a guaranteed defeat." Cute, but I wouldn't need either of them to defeat you. Even with half the continent under your control, with how poorly you're min-maxing your cities, you don't have the output to catch up. Actually win? Hell no. "Cease this madness, Jack. If you intend to unify the continent, then pull the trigger. Unleash war upon this realm, bring it to heel, and rule over it… But first, rid yourself of the madness that you hold in your hand!"
As I expected, Celia wouldn't budge and wouldn't break.
I gave this little attempt a fifty percent chance at working… with just Celia.
But Harper was here, and she spoke just as I expected her to.
"I shall do it. Give me the same offer, and I shall see it done. I can take the Merchants with your help, and the Merchants will be who you require." Opportunistic, shameless, and easily terrified. All traits that I liked to see in a negotiating partner. Celia's eyes widened, and she turned to look at her former ally's way. The woman whom she sheltered and protected when asked was throwing her aside. Harper took off her mask and hat. Her eyes were watery, and she was trembling, while her vulpine ears were flat against her skull. Terrified and skittish, but standing her ground to secure a deal. Some would call that courage. "I will use everything I have left. All my wealth and connections and people. Everything for a final bid to control the Merchants, and then use the Merchants to take the Citadels of the Forgers and the Wardens."
Harper said exactly what I wanted her to say.
So, I hit Celia with words that I hoped would work after Harper's shameless proposition.
"I would much prefer to ally with the Guardians of the Moon, Celia. Your people have conducted themselves honorably and fairly all these years. None in your lands go hungry, none are forced to birth children to be used as soldiers, and none are enslaved." I praised her people first before hitting her with the killer line. "But I am willing to hold myself hostage to save my people. Do you believe that I will refuse Executive Harper's offer?"
I stood up and across from Celia.
With a move, I extended my hand towards her as Ilych and Rita brought her up and held onto her hands.
Celia's gaze was on the capsule of death in my hand, and she refused to meet my gaze.
"Get rid of it, Jack." Her words were soft and quiet. It was enough of a signal for everyone privy to the situation to know what was going on. Harper's ears wilted and her shoulders slumped in the corner of my vision, while Celia raised up her gaze towards me. Her lips were caught up in a snarl, and I'd be dead a thousand times over from her glare alone. "Now."
I gave a nod and handed the Red Mist over to Ayah.
She blinked when she touched the surface of the glass, probably realizing that I was never in any danger, and I gave her the subtlest of winks I could manage before turning my face back towards Celia.
"I accept your offer, but this will all be done correctly. The seizure of the three Citadels that remain will be under my people's command. This meeting at this moment… will not be known. Especially not what you've done." Celia laid out her demands, and I nodded at her words. I did my best to not cheer or sigh in relief. All Citadels upgraded to their full potential divided between two powers? Even with all four crisis factions ruling the rest of the world, and even if there was a new one that I didn't know about, we now had a solid chance. A forty percent chance at winning. Not just surviving. "The Forger's advancements will be destroyed. The Merchant's breeding camps will be ended. The usage of resurrection to create endless numbers of soldiers will not be permitted."
She was saying those things like I might have wanted them.
What did she think of—right, I just threatened the entire room with a replicating poison swarm.
Valid.
"It will be as you say. Their lands will be yours… and let this be the show of trust." With Khanrow and Riegert both not present, I had all the Citadel rings with me. I didn't wear them all. Just one at a time. The others were rotated between Iterants. So, if something crazy happened, we wouldn't lose them all. The Iterants who had them came forward, while I took off my ring and reached for Celia's hand. She hesitated but gave it to me. I was tempted to kneel, but I was sure that would get me killed. "On this day, let it be known that a pact has been struck between yourself and me. Let us overcome the challenges that lie ahead, and then decide who shall rule over the realm entire once all is done."
Celia stared at me for a long time with five Citadel rings on her hand.
She could theoretically command all the Citadel Guardians to rampage across our lands now.
But I knew that she wouldn't.
With a nod, after a moment confirming all was well, she took four off and returned them to me before speaking once again:
"Let it be done."
It took everything that I had to not pump both my fists and scream out in success.
Dozens of turns and I fucking finally manage to get an alliance!