Chapter 52: Federation Conference
"Whoever responds is the one being addressed," the Great World Tree replied unceremoniously.
The Netherworld was not annoyed by this and cheerfully turned his gaze to Richard standing beside the Great World Tree.
"I suppose, sir, you must be the Dominator from that alien civilization."
Richard looked at the Netherworld, who appeared no different from an average member of the Ghost Horror Clan, perhaps even more frail. But those eyes alone made it almost impossible to look directly.
In the instant Richard met those eyes, he felt as though he was being drawn into a blood-red world. In this world, a terrifying Netherworld resembling an evil ghost was staring at him intently.
Suddenly, a refreshing sensation surged into Richard's soul.
That was the soul protection specially prepared by the Dominator Puppet.
Richard's spirit broke free from the illusion, and he nodded slightly to the Netherworld, "That's me. I presume you are the clan leader of the Ghost Horror Clan, the Netherworld Dominator."
The Netherworld was slightly taken aback, with a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
Richard, a Dominator who hadn't broken the limit, managed to escape his Ghost Horror Country so quickly.
Bear in mind, his Ghost Horror Country could catch even the Curse Demon Emperor of the Curse Demon Empire off guard. Yet, the Dominator of this alien civilization escaped in less than a millisecond after falling in.
Even though he hadn't used his full power in the Ghost Horror Country, the strength of this Dominator in front of him could not be underestimated.
"That's me. You look somewhat familiar; are you by any chance from the Wizard Civilization?"
"Your observation is quite sharp; indeed, that's the case."
The Netherworld intended to say more, but before he could, two Dimension Gates opened beside him.
From one Dimension Gate emerged a creature with wings on its back, an eagle-like head, and human-like limbs. From the other gate walked out a seemingly antiquated machine-man, whose parts were covered with rust and from whose seams white steam billowed; this type of thing would only appear in museums or junkyards in the Wizard Civilization.
Beside him was what seemed like an animated octopus, sporting an octopus head, with its tentacles shapeshifting into a humanoid form—a Tide Spirit.
Without a doubt, these three were the clan leaders of the other three races.
"They arrived quite swiftly, didn't they?"
The Great World Tree flashed a glance of surprise as he looked at the other three clan leaders.
"Since everyone is here, let's go inside for the meeting."
With that, the Great World Tree was about to lead everyone into the Council Hall.
"Old Tree, who might this be beside you?" the Mechanical Leader suddenly asked.
His eyes gleamed with a red light, and his gaze at Richard was one of astonishment, as if he had seen something extraordinary.
"He is an Alchemy Wizard from the Wizard Civilization, is there a problem?" the Great World Tree asked.
The Mechanical Leader shook his head, speaking with a hint of admiration, "I thought my body was an exquisite work of art, but I didn't expect to see an even more marvelous body today.
I admire, truly admire."
The admiration from the Mechanical Leader was sincere. As a mechanical being, he could almost immediately see that Richard's body was technically far superior to his own.
Richard, for his part, did not deny it. There was no doubt that the Dominator Puppet was the pinnacle of Supreme Technology, and until the Breaking Limit, the Mechanical Leader could never surpass this level of technology.
However, not negating didn't stop Richard from engaging in a bout of mutual flattery.
"Ah, your body is also a work of effortless perfection," Richard said with a smile.
Although the Mechanical Leader's body appeared old and worn, that was merely a facade. Richard could discern that internally, it likely integrated a massive Secret Realm, using the realm's rules to merge with the mechanical body and illusion rules, thereby constructing this form.
If Richard's perception was accurate, this body could easily withstand attacks that would destroy a Miniature World.
After exchanging compliments, the Tide Spirit Leader suddenly spoke up, "Old Tree, this Federation meeting concerns our business, but why do I see this Alchemy Wizard participating as well?"
"He indeed needs to attend," the Great World Tree said, "Trust me, during the meeting, there will be questions you'll want to ask him."
The Tide Spirit Leader was about to speak again, but he saw the Netherworld interject, "Oh? Has something happened on the Wizard side?"
"You'll know once inside," the Great World Tree said impatiently.
"Wasting time is a vice!"
Seeing the Great World Tree about to get angry, the other clan leaders didn't pursue the issue of Richard further.
The Great World Tree is the head of the Natural Federation, not only due to being the bond uniting it but also because of his formidable strength.
With the exception of the Netherworld, none of the clan leaders present dared to claim they could survive an encounter with the Great World Tree unscathed.
Therefore, in the absence of opposition from the Netherworld, the other clan leaders could only acquiesce.
Entering the hall.
The decorations in the Council Hall were exceedingly opulent, with the ornamentations from the five races adorning the hall to capacity.
Despite their complexity, these decorations exuded a sophisticated beauty.
The six of them took their seats around the enormous wooden round table. Richard sat beside the Great World Tree, facing the Tide Spirit Clan Leader, while the Great World Tree faced the Netherworld.
Once seated, the Great World Tree immediately began, "The meeting now commences. The primary aim of this meeting is to discuss the war with the Curse Demon Empire, as well as the matter concerning relations with the Wizard Alliance.
We'll first discuss the war with the Curse Demon Empire.
According to the Alchemy Wizard, the Wizard Alliance is currently fighting against a terrifying monster, which was the cause of the previous civilization's demise, and now it has returned.
This monster has the power to devour the entire World Community through warfare. In other words, all our wars are increasing this monster's strength."
The Great World Tree finished speaking, and the entire hall fell into a dead silence.
The words of the Great World Tree carried a massive amount of information. Firstly, there's the Wizard Alliance; the Dominators present here have heard of them from Illusion Creatures, that they are backed by a Wizard Civilization.
But the Wizard Civilization and the Wizard Alliance are two different matters.
An alliance means not just one civilization, which implies that the monster they are fighting against can currently rival at least two civilizations.
Moreover, the fact that it caused the demise of the previous civilization reveals a terrifying truth—that the monster might not be in its fullest form.
Compared to this news, the somewhat mystical ability of gaining strength from swallowed wars seems rather trivial.
The Dominators present had seen such conceptual abilities to some extent.
After a moment of silence, the Netherworld Dominator was the first to speak: "How can you prove this is true?"
His gaze turned to Richard, and an invisible pressure filled the hall, almost turning it into a ghostly realm.
"I have a Destiny Contract with the Great World Tree," Richard said calmly. "Besides, if you don't believe me, you can go to the Illusion Creatures and inquire.
The Wind Catchers should all be able to find them."
The hall fell into silence once more.
If there's no issue with Richard's words, then it's undoubtedly bad news.
"How fares your war?" The Clan Leader of the Winged People spoke, "To the extent that you can send a Dominator here for negotiations, the frontline situation doesn't seem that critical."
Richard replied calmly, "Without a Dominator coming, I wouldn't be able to meet you all. As for the situation... the defenses of our Wizards and the gods are still holding, but the Spirit Desert Civilization cornered by the Civilization Devourer is struggling.
Even with the help of the Alliance, the territories of the Spirit Desert Civilization are continually retreating.
By the way, the Spirit Desert Civilization is a major civilization with six Dominators."
Listening to Richard's words, apart from the Great World Tree, the faces of the Dominators present were full of disbelief.
To besiege a civilization with six Dominators and simultaneously contend with Wizards and gods, two civilizations, and still achieve constant victories.
Honestly, if another creature had said this, it would surely be deemed crazy by the Dominators present.
But evidently, no civilization would joke with a Dominator.
"Old Tree, what do you think?" the Netherworld Dominator suddenly asked.
"My thought is to cease fire."
"What if the Curse Demons attack?" the Netherworld Dominator asked carefully, word by word, "The Curse Demons indeed have issues.
However, the problem can be big or small, and could resolve at any time.
If they attack, what should we do?"
After speaking, he looked at Richard.
"Your words indeed startle one, but I think the situation hasn't reached a crisis threatening the existence of civilization. Your words are merely to persuade us to cease fire, not to give you trouble.
But the issue is, in the past fifty thousand years, there hasn't been a single war initiated by us!
Not once!"
The voice of the Netherworld Dominator, though low, was still somewhat deafening to Richard's ears.
The Netherworld Dominator leaned forward, his eyes suddenly looking at the Great World Tree, with a gaze fierce as if a raging dragon resided within.
"This is our only chance to seize the initiative; if we utilize this opportunity well, we can reclaim the lands stolen by the Curse Demons and liberate the clanspeople enslaved by them.
We may choose not to go to war, but the decision of war has never been ours."
When he finished speaking, the hall fell into silence once again.
Among the five races, the territories of the Ghost Horror Clan are most adjacent to the Curse Demons, and the hatred is the deepest.
Few people know that the Clan Leader of the Ghost Horror Clan has actually changed once. Now, Netherworld is actually the second Clan Leader of the Ghost Horror Clan.
No offense meant, the enmity between the two races is as irreconcilable as fire and water.
However, despite Netherworld's vehement words, Richard's gaze upon him did not change one bit.
Everyone here is as cunning as foxes, why bother with playing 'Liaozhai' games?
There are only interests between civilizations, not hatred.
One civilization destroys another always because the other civilization harmed its interests or blocked its path.
And Netherworld's words have only two meanings. One explicit, one implicit.
The explicit meaning is that even if we agree, war will still happen, and we'll need the Wizard Alliance's help.
The implicit meaning is, to get my agreement, you'll have to offer something concrete.