Inside the prison.

"So, that settles it," Marquina said with a smile.

Since the Enchanting Demon Queen had gone to Purgatory, Marquina temporarily represented the next Enchanting Demon Queen, Medea, in negotiations with other powers.

The content of the negotiations, naturally, was for various forces to provide protection to the half-elves in exchange for a share of the Lusitania's Wizard Stone mines.

The representatives of the attending forces included: Olympia Extraordinary City, City Lord Apilius; the current president of the Pure Blood Monastery, Agrippina; the Weisbach Family, Red-haired Otto; Lingbo City, Marquina; and the Otwell Family from Sicily.

As for the Lixini Family from Italy, belonging to the scientific faction, they were not much interested in the Wizard Stones... Of course, even if they were interested, due to the Church Court, they could not openly express it and mostly would have the Otwell family act as their proxy buyer.

Queen Maya watched, dumbfounded.

Well, she had actually known from Sherry that the Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps knew many demigods...

However, she had thought they were wild demigods, the kind met by chance during mercenary missions. Who could have imagined they were demigods who ruled their own forces!

(Actually, they did know some wild demigods, like the Imperial Sword Saint Richarter)

In this case, she needn't have worried from the start; she could have just asked Miel's friends to call on their own parents, and together they could easily split it up.

Divide it up...

Divide...

No no no, think about it: The Weisbach family from Divine Luo (territory and population), the Olympian City from Sirius (extraordinary and arcane), the Lixini Family from Italy (technology and commerce)—together, they could already dominate the world! Are these the three giants of the Sixth Epoch? Just the alliance of these giants makes them invincible!

(The first three-headed alliance, referring to the political alliance formed by Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus at the end of the Third Epoch, directly led to any decision by the Ancient Solomon Republic, having to comply with the will of the three giants, otherwise, it could not be implemented)

So, you Azure Longsword Mercenaries aren't really a mercenary group, just a group of noble young ladies out for a breath of fresh air! Wait, it seems Squad Leader Aske is a loner, hmm...

Maya suddenly felt a relief tinged with trepidation, thankful that nothing had happened between her and Aske before, otherwise she would have surely become the thorn in the side of these young ladies.

And having offended them would mean offending the forces behind them, and then Lusitania would be like a small boat about to capsize in a storm, struggling to find a footing in this world.

At this point, the demigods had already represented their respective forces and divided up most of the mining shares. That meant Lusitania had fallen into their hands... no, it should be said that the safety and survival of the Lusitanian half-elves were now under the protection of these powerful leaders.

Seeing the agreement finally reached, Queen Maya also felt a subtle sense of guilt, as if she had sold the half-elves for a good price.

But she understood that this was how the world worked; if one did not have the power to protect oneself, then it was better to seek protection from stronger forces! Who knows how many small forces on the continent wish to surrender to powerful forces for protection but ended up helplessly fading away!

As for this man... Maya once again glanced surreptitiously at Aske, who was sitting in a corner in a daze.

This man, she initially thought he was the leader of the group, but it now seemed more like he was the spokesman for the demigods. If it weren't for the fact that the girls happened to like him, their demigod backers would not have had the chance to unite.

But there are no harems in this world! The girls can't always maintain the state of "liking him" indefinitely without trying to advance further or give up. If it were a peaceful withdrawal it would still be okay; if they turned hostile...

She suddenly shivered involuntarily. Piercing her heart with the question, if that situation truly arose, she would definitely choose to unconditionally stand by Miel.

Thus, speaking impartially, if the other demigods all made similar choices, wouldn't the enmity among these ladies mean that all the major forces in the world are clashing against each other...

How fucking terrifying. Maya decided not to think further about it and just silently watched the demigods sign the contract, then she also cautiously picked up the pen to sign her name and stamp at the end.

Six copies in total, each person keeps one.

At this time, the first demigod who had signed the contract and went out for a walk, Otto, had already returned with the cease-firing Peggy and Elder Delar.

Then, the gazes of the other demigods in the room were all focused on the elf elder.

Delar: ? ? ?

Despite his confidence in his own laws and power, he couldn't remain composed under the scrutiny of four demigods. The combined power of four demigods was not as simple as 1+1+1+1. The coordination and complementation between different laws meant that their collective strength rose almost exponentially; annihilating the whole Lusitania was more than possible.

Seeing Elder Delar's face turn both blue and white, almost too defeated to speak, Maya observed his demeanor and realized she had comprehensively triumphed in this political struggle, feeling almost exhilarated enough to laugh out loud on the spot.

"Elder Delar, what do you mean by storming into the meeting with so many half-elves outside? Are you afraid that I'll sign some disgraceful treaty?" she asked with a mocking tone.

To Delar, it felt as if he had eaten a lump of shit. Usually, he could question His Majesty, "Why, without the permission of the council, are you signing contracts with outsiders?" But what could he say now with so many demigods present?

Anything he said would only bring shame upon himself.

"I…" The elf elder opened his mouth slightly, then as if making a difficult decision, said mournfully, "I have come to submit my resignation."

"Resign?" Maya was stunned, and the other three demigods showed expressions that were half-smiling.

"Yes, I wish to resign from my position as elder advisor," Elder Delar continued, "Your Majesty, I am already Lv.27 and just a few years away from Lv.30 to ignite the Divine Fire. It's time to withdraw from worldly affairs and start preparing for retirement to the three great planes."

Maya: ......

You have the nerve to say that! If he were really about to ascend to Lv.30, why hadn't he come to resign sooner?

Of course, with the wisdom of the elf queen, she quickly realized that Elder Delar was not playing a game of retreat to advance, but truly intended to resign.

He was afraid.

Putting herself in his shoes, Maya fully understood his reasons for fear—because the power she wielded at the moment was too terrifying.

What does four united demigods signify? Even in a foreign extraordinary empire like Seljuk, where the emperor could leverage the core demigods, there were only four to six at most. Extinguishing a conservatively inclined party of half-elves was almost instant.

Even for the stubbornly obstinate Elder Delar, when faced with a decisive, life-or-death crisis, he chose to prioritize survival. As for his subordinate conservatives... naturally, he handed them all over to His Majesty to handle as desired.

With these thoughts, Maya fell silent. For her part, she was of course inclined to spare him, as their opposition had been merely a matter of political ideology, not personal vendetta.

But if they killed Elder Delar here, the remaining conservative elements would likely act desperately, and it would be difficult to calm the agitated half-elf populace outside.

However... the members of The Azure Longsword Mercenary Corps who had been framed earlier actually had a personal grudge against Elder Delar. At this moment, Maya couldn't ignore their stance and simply decide to spare him.

"Lord Aske?" the Elf Queen asked, her smile brimming, "What do you think?"

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