Haru looked down at the five envoys of the Dark Empire from his throne. He'd expected a trade deal. Not a joint invasion.
"As far as I know." He said, "Your Dark Empire and the Light Empire are both human empires. Why do you want to destroy them?"
The Endless Continent had ten empire-level factions in total. Three of those were human-led:
The Ice and Snow Kingdom
The Dark Empire
The Light Empire.
Combined, the three human empires outweighed even the Elf Empire. If they ever united, no force in the central region would be able to challenge them, but there was a certain problem—they would never unite.
The eldest envoy, a gaunt old man with a bone staff, bowed his head, "The hatred between our empires stretches back to the Ancient Era of Faith."
Haru had already guessed that much from the names. In that era, the Dark Pantheon led by Mordra, the Goddess of Darkness, had warred against the Light Pantheon led by Pandora, the Goddess of Light.
The dark side held the advantage, until the Nature Pantheon intervened, helping Pandora ascend to become a Supreme Goddess first. Pandora thus crushed Mordra with the overwhelming power gap, and the Dark Pantheon collapsed.
The Era of Faith ended. The Era of Truth began, but the bloodlines remembered. A hundred thousand years ago, after the Demons were expelled from the Endless Continent, the surviving humans of the dark and light factions founded their respective empires.
They immediately went to war over territory. Countless battles since. Countless dead. The hatred only deepened with every generation. The Ice and Snow Kingdom, weakest of the three, could do nothing but stay friendly with both sides while helping neither.
Haru listened to the old man's account and sighed inwardly. Humans were the same in every world. United against outsiders, ready to slaughter each other the moment the external threat passed.
"Does the Dark Empire still maintain contact with the Goddess of Darkness Mordra?"
"Never!" The old man said firmly, "We who pursue truth have completely severed ties with the Dark Pantheon!"
Haru looked down at him, "Have you considered the consequences of lying to a Supreme God?"
The old man's composure cracked. The other four envoys stiffened. Five High Gods together could sweep any castle faction, yet against Haru, they were insects, and they knew it.
The old man lowered his head, voice unsteady, "Forgive me, Your Majesty. We do maintain… minimal contact with the Dark Pantheon. Simple communication, nothing intimate. We pursue different paths. The only connection is ancestry. Some ancient Dark Gods left bloodline descendants in the Endless Continent, and certain Truth Gods of our empire trace their lineage to them."
This wasn't unique. The Elf Empire had grown from the Elves left behind by Elunara. Many Nature Elves still worshiped her as their 'Mother Goddess', faith or no faith.
"I see." Haru nodded.
The old man leaned forward, "Then does Your Majesty agree to our proposal? Together, our empires can destroy the Light Empire."
"A formal alliance is out of the question." Haru said flatly, "The Aetherium Empire belongs to the holy and light faction. We don't ally with evil forces."
"Understood." The old man nodded. They hadn't expected otherwise, "His Majesty our Emperor simply wishes to ensure that when we both attack the Light Empire, there will be no friction between our forces. No conflict. No misunderstandings on the battlefield."
The Dark Empire wanted one thing: to end the generational feud while carving off Light Empire's territory and resources. They didn't need friendship with Haru. They required him not to turn on them mid-battle.
"As long as your army maintains the bottom line." Haru said, "My empire will not initiate hostilities."
What the bottom line meant, he left unsaid.
"Praise you, Your Majesty!" The old man exhaled with visible relief. Mission accomplished, at least on paper. He harbored no illusions. An unbinding agreement meant nothing if the Aetherium Empire decided to turn on them after the Light Empire fell.
The Dark Empire would need to show enough strength on the battlefield to make that more trouble than it was worth. But that was his emperor's problem.
The old man's expression shifted to something hungrier, "Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Ice Queen mentioned that you have Divine Corpses and Artifacts for sale?"
------------------
Become A Member At My Patreon For Access To Bonus Chapters Or Even Multiple Chapters A Day!
» Patreon.com/LordArchduke
Member Shoutouts (Mythril Tier and above):
Shinto (Adamantite)
PetMeSenpai8 (Orichalcum)