Chapter 529: Agreement
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Defence system activated."
"Targets locked."
A male mechanical voice spoke up in the courtyard, surprising everyone in there. They looked around but could not find the source of the voice.
Abruptly, the courtyard came to life. Ground panels slid open, exposing a hole underneath them.
Crack crack crack! There were sharp sounds of metal parts in motion.
Five strange weapons emerged from the holes before the crowd.
A dozen or more thick cannon barrels rose up slowly from the holes, moving by themselves. They all turned to direct their aim towards Sun Sieha and his people.
Sun Sieha and his people were shocked. They never thought that the courtyard hid such powerful weapons. The cannons were huge and intimidating. No one doubted their destructive power. Besides, they were made by a very skilled weaponsmith. If he could build a laser gun out of speckled blue fir wood that could shoot through five centimeters of nubis stone, then these cannon arrays must be terribly powerful.
The people exchanged looks of horror and surprise. They never thought that there would be military grade weapons here, much less five of them.
The sudden turn of events had shocked everyone. The atmosphere in the courtyard was tense. No one dared to move a muscle. Hell, any one of the cannon arrays here could blast them into kingdom come. Even a Level 8 shooter would be useless against these killing machines.
The courtyard was dead silent. Sun Sieha's face was stuck in an awkward smile. His forehead was covered with beads of sweat.
This calm young man was still not done with surprising his guests.
Swish swish swish! A series of noise surprised Sun Sieha and his people once again. They looked around and felt even more shaken by what they saw.
The walls around them were covered with holes. Each hole had a long and thin cylinder sticking out. As a Level 8 shooter, Sun Sieha immediately recognized them - they were all guns!
Being pointed at by hundreds of guns was terrifying. The pressure would drive people mad.
Even a mosquito would be shot to scraps by these weapons, much less human beings. The weapons had no blind spots in the courtyard. Once the weapons fire, they would all surely all be shot full of holes.
Ye Chong's defence system finally came to good use.
The short man beside Sun Sieha stole a glance at Ye Chong, his face tense under pressure.
Ye Chong said coldly, "It will be best if all of you don't try anything stupid." Everyone obeyed him. The short man looked away from Ye Chong.
Ye Chong did not feel too optimistic about his situation. He knew that the apparent advantage that he gained did not exactly put things in his favor.
Level 8 shooters would not be easily manipulated by other people. If they were forced to fight for their lives, Ye Chong would be in serious trouble.
Nevertheless, it felt good to be on the same level as his opponents. When Ye Chong was fighting against the Level 6 shooters, he had wanted to activate his defence system. However, since they were all standing on the walls, Ye Chong decided not to.
Ye Chong sat down unceremoniously on the ground. His stamina was exhausted, and he was injured. He needed to rest. He knew that Sun Sieha, as a smart man himself, would not do anything irrational at this point.
Once he understood his situation, Sun Sieha composed himself. He looked at Ye Chong, sitting on the ground, and said in a relaxed manner, "As expected, you are a man of surprises. Even I am impressed by this. I believe that we can start negotiating on even ground now." He was implying that Ye Chong was now qualified to speak with him as equals.
"Are you a member of the Royal Family?" Ye Chong suddenly looked up and asked Sun Sieha.
"I am," Sun Sieha answered proudly. He took a glance at Ye Chong and asked, "Could you be interested in the Sieha Family?"
"What other countries are there besides this one?" Ye Chong ignored his question.
Ye Chong's question surprised Sun Sieha. He did not expect the other man to be in the mood to discuss these irrelevant subjects. However, this was exactly what he hoped for – someone who could surprise his enemies. Sun Sieha had already begun to think of Ye Chong as his subordinate. Only through conversation could he understand this man even more.
"Well, there are three main countries. Aside from the Sieha Family's Eastern Cloud, the other two are Western Frost and Southern Land. As for the smaller countries, there are many of them, more than a dozen," Sun Sieha gave a brief overview.
This was Ye Chong's first time knowing more about the society at large on this planet.
Ye Chong looked straight at Sun Sieha and asked, "What is your position in the Royal Family?"
Sun Sieha was surprised by the question, but answered happily, "Don't you worry about that. I am the only Prince, the only heir of the Family." Ye Chong's question got him excited.
Ye Chong was beginning to form a plan of his own. Sun Sieha must have a lot of people working for him, and plenty of support from others. He would be powerless in a battle against the Prince's army being alone like he was now. Instead of making enemies, cooperating with the Prince might work better for him. He would be able to complete his research with help from the Prince. His research required a lot of manpower and resources, and both of them cost too much. If he had only himself to rely on, he might never even complete his research work. The thought forced Ye Chong to consider working with the Prince.
Their situation now allowed him to negotiate effectively, given that he had enough strength to speak as an equal to the Prince.
"I'm not interested in your proposal just now," Ye Chong's words brought a look of disappointment to Sun Sieha's face.
Ye Chong ignored the man and continued calmly, "However, I believe that we can reach an agreement with different terms."
Sun Sieha burst into a smile, and asked with interest, "Oh, what terms do you have in mind?"
Ye Chong went off tangent, "That's not important right now. First, let us have a look at the power of these cannon arrays."
As Ye Chong finished, the cannon arrays turned, redirecting their aim from the people to the sky.
"Target locked, wide range sweeping mode engaged," the electronic voice announced. Sun Sieha thought to himself, "As expected, the man has a partner." However, he thought Ye Chong's actions were strange. A demonstration to scare them was hardly necessary.
Everyone saw a burst of light as the cannons fired.
Numerous light grenades were launched into the air. A bright spark was produced whenever a grenade was shot out of the cannon barrels. The combined brightness from 49 cannon barrels was glaring. The bright lights blinded everyone for a few seconds.
They all looked horrified.
The weapons were terribly scary!
No one saw exactly how the cannons worked, but their parapsychic sense allowed them to feel every minute detail of the cannon arrays. The power condensed in each photon grenade was shocking. The cannons in quick successions, all 49 cannon barrels covering the sky with a photon shower. They were all stunned by how destructive these weapons were.
Rumble rumble!
The earth shook as explosions were heard coming from afar. Everyone went pale from shock. They had all underestimated the power of these cannons despite preparing themselves for the worst.
Sun Sieha's eyes were shining with rapture. He stared at the cannon arrays hungrily.
"What do you think?" Ye Chong asked Sun Sieha calmly.
"They're absolutely powerful! Weapons fit for the God of War!" Sun Sieha muttered to himself. He was in a state of half madness.
"I can sell them to you." Ye Chong's calmly delivered sentence was almost as shocking as the demonstration with the cannon arrays.
Sun Sieha cried out excitedly, "Wonderful! I'll have all of them! Name your price!" These cannon arrays were not particularly useful for him personally, but they were truly weapons of destruction, and the Prince could appreciate their value.
Ye Chong shook his head, "I have other conditions."
"Tell me," Sun Sieha said, now calmer.
Ye Chong said, "I will sell two of these cannon arrays to you every month. You will pay 20 million ao for each of them. All our deals in future will be in the form of a trade."
"No problem," Sun Sieha replied without thinking.
"Besides that, I need a Level 8 shooter as my personal bodyguard. I will pick one from your group. I have the right to from my own security detail."
"No problem," Sun Sieha added, "You can choose any Level 8 shooter from my subordinates. Your security detail cannot consist of more than five thousand men. On the other hand, you can only sell your weapons to me, and not to other organizations." In fact, Sun Sieha would be more than willing to assign all his Level 8 shooters to protect him. The man was valuable, an asset that any country would not hesitate to protect. Sun Sieha believed that Ye Chong was even more valuable than he previously thought. The man's outstanding close range combat skills were outshined by his other skillset.
"I agree. However, personal weapons are exempted from this rule. In addition, no one can restrict my movements. Under no circumstances will I be interrupted from my research," Ye Chong said.
"No problem. You can even stay in the Royal Palace if you want to. Do anything you like. No one will interfere with your life. However, you must return to the capital with me." Sun Sieha understood well that talented people like Ye Chong valued their freedom more than anything, hence he quickly agreed to the term. Nevertheless, anything would have its drawbacks, just like freedom. This talented man would definitely benefit him, but he was to fall into the hands of another organization, the consequences would not be in his favor.
"Agreed," Ye Chong nodded. The deal was made. He felt satisfied by this outcome. Once he was done tackling some difficult problems, no one would be able to stop him from leaving.
"Today is a day worth remembering. I believe this agreement between you and I is worthy of a place in our historical records." Sun Sieha was also satisfied with their agreement. He felt very excited about it. The terms of their agreement were all empty promises in the end. Once the man was in the capital, how could he hope to escape from the Prince's grasp?
Kristen was in a daze. The deadly battle had suddenly turned into a peaceful negotiation. Her teacher had become a Royal weaponsmith.
Perhaps she was in a dream. She never knew that Ye Chong, who never showed much about himself, could handle the situation so well. He had conducted himself with confidence and composure.
Ye Chong had little choice in the matter. It was hard to come to a peaceful resolution. This was the best way he could think of. His experience had thought him how to deal with matters with more flexibility and even creativity.
The five cannon arrays were all sold to Sun Sieha. Ye Chong's finances were secure. 100 million ao was enough to sustain for a quite a while.
Ye Chong chose Sha Ya as his bodyguard. The truth was, he was more used to relying only on himself. However, he had asked for a Level 8 shooter for other reasons. Sha Ya was the best candidate, since he got to know her before Sun Sieha.
Strong people would always gain respect from the people around them. From the looks in the eyes of these people in the courtyard, it was easy to see that they all respected the young weaponsmith for his skills. The magnificent demonstration with the canon arrays had left a deep impression in them.
To them, Ye Chong was a mysterious character. He was young, but more knowledgeable than anyone else in weapon making. Moreover, he was an excellent combatant. His muscles could perform extraordinary feats, making him a threat for anyone around him. Besides, he seemed to have a partner hiding somewhere. They all heard the mechanical voice clearly. This further intensified the air of mystery around the young man.
Kristen's status was now elevated. As the great master Ye Chong's only student, her position was significant. It looked like the two million ao she had paid to be Ye Chong's student turned out to be her best investment ever.
Sun Sieha received a letter, which came from a Level 7 shooter. The shooter had come straight from the capital just to deliver the letter to Sun Sieha.
Sun Sieha opened the letter, and was surprised by what he read.
"Return to the capital immediately." The order to Sun Sieha was simple and direct.
Ye Chong did not need to pack. He deposited the defence system's photon processor into Celest's ring. Until he could build one himself, every photon processor was very precious to him.
Ye Chong and Sha Ya flew in the same fighter. The group headed for the capital in their fighter aircrafts.
The fighters were all high grade aircrafts, and could fly at very high velocities. Even the pilot with the lowest qualifications was a Level 7 shooter.
They arrived at the capital when the sky turned dark. The night sky seemed to devour the capital like a giant beast.
This was the capital of Eastern Cloud – Su City. It was a city that had existed for more than 3 thousand years, and in the last 2 thousand had served as the country's capital. This was also the largest and most modern city Eastern Cloud country.
Aircrafts flew by here and there in the sky, decorating the night sky with colorful lights.
Expecting Sun Sieha's return, his guards had all prepared themselves to receive him. Sun Sieha had a good reputation amongst the country's soldiers. He was the most outstanding Price in the history of the Sieha Royal Family, and also an excellent war general. As he had proven himself capable, Sun Sieha often headed outside the Palace since he was young to assist the common people with their difficulties.
Sun Sieha's butler, Ba Luomeng, was also there to receive him.
"This is an important guest of mine. See that all of his requests are met during his stay," Sun Sieha said to his butler.
Ba Luomeng bowed in reply, "Yes, my liege!"
"This is my butler, Ba Luomeng. I have some urgent matters to attend to in the next few days. Just let him know if you need anything," Sun Sieha informed Ye Chong hastily before making his way to the Palace.
Of course Ye Chong was not interested in what Sun Sieha was up to. In fact, he wished the Prince would just busy himself with work and forget about him. However, that was only wishful thinking.
"Dear Sir, it is now late in the hour. Would you prefer to dine first, or have some rest? Or maybe a shower? Please let me know if you require anything, and I will do my best to see to them. If they are beyond my capabilities, I will relay your request to the Prince," Ba Luomeng inquired with care. He was 50 this year, with wrinkles at the corner of his eyes and a slightly overweight figure. He had served the Sieha family since he was about 10 years old. Having served the family for more than 40 years, he knew from the way the Prince spoke that this was a very important and significant guest.
The guest was a very young man, with a beautiful woman beside him who was looking around her curiously. Could this be the Prince of another country?
Ba Luomeng had his suspicions, but he was not foolish enough to ask for more information. As a servant of the Royal Family, he should only do what was required of his duty, and nothing more. He had seen many people who had vanished because of their curiosity. All these years, he was trusted by the Prince because he knew what questions not to ask.