Chapter 176: Peace Negotiations

The next day...

Kyle thought it was a ruse, but the Ardent Cretins were truly surrendering, allowing them to be occupied by the Seven Snakes. He still remained wary, keeping his exosuit on even as he headed to the Magda, the designated location for the peace negotiations.

The men couldn't believe it - two months of continuous fighting all coming to a head in a single battle between the leaders, even before the enforcers or Baron Cain's forces could come into play. But they had seen with their own eyes just how strong Kyle was, able to go toe to toe with Ares and even take him down directly, building a new legend among the civilians and gang members of the South Sector.

"Ares isn't the strongest man in the South Sector any longer - it's Kyle!"

"The Seven Snakes are going to take over the entire South Sector!"

The local residents were torn as to support the Seven Snakes or not, but most of them did not really see much of a difference: to them, it was just yet another gang taking over the area. The main concern was whether they would be far more brutal than the Ardent Cretins were.

While both sides' troops had stopped fighting both outside Raktor and within Raktor itself, there were plenty of Cretins who did not agree with the order, splintering with their own men and forming new deserter groups. Kyle sent Sasha and the elite squads to suppress the remnant dissidents, but it would not be done so quickly.

"Boss, this might be a trap. Sebastian might be planning to kill all the leaders here in one move." Damian warned as both he and Keith followed him to the negotiations, serving as Kyle's entourage.

"It could be. Stay on guard." Kyle nodded in agreement.

As the trio entered the main entrance of the Magda, a long table with chairs assigned for him had already been placed, while the rest of the parties involved were present with their own guards: Baron Cain and Bishop Vernette, with the Inquisitor Mason standing behind Vernette.

On the opposing side were four of Sebastian and his elite knights. All of the parties turned to look at Kyle entering, recognising the new dominant powerhouse in the South Sector. Even if the Seven Snakes were still relatively small and lacking in manpower compared to the others, no one here could say that Kyle was weak.

"Good; now that Kyle is here, you can begin explaining why the fuck the major gangs are even fighting back in the first place. Are you not afraid of retribution from the capital?" Bishop Vernette immediately began questioning the moment Kyle took his seat.

"Bishop, I am here to negotiate a peace deal, not answer such simplistic questions." Sebastian tapped his finger on the table, smiling as though he was still controlling the entire flow.

He does not give off the aura of a man who has lost everything - something is up. Kyle carefully watched Sebastian's body language, trying to pick up any hints of lying or false bravado. Yet he could see none, only seeing Sebastian smiling in his direction, aware of what Kyle was trying to do.

"There's no negotiation - you launched a unilateral attack and declaration of war on the Sanctum of Yual and my people." Baron Cain began. "The surrender of the Ardent Cretins will be unconditional. You and Ares will be arrested and hauled to the prison in Tryas, while every single Cretin will be disarmed and imprisoned here."

"Here is my counter-offer: you let the Ardent Cretins go scott-free, and we will retreat to our original ten districts while the Seven Snakes gets control of the rest. On top of that, we will provide you with a crucial piece of information as well as form an alliance." Sebastian replied.

"Ridiculous!" Mason barked. "After everything you've done in the last two months, you think you can just return to normal?!"

"Consider this: the Ardent Cretins have been sorely weakened, the fighting coming to a head in the South Sector and every party here at the table depleted in both manpower and fighting strength. Who stands to gain the most out of everything?"

Keith leaned over to Kyle's ear. "Boss, we just got a report that the Violet Demons are sending men into Kregol and fighting for resource deposits and town controls. Victoria is requesting for assistance."

Is this what Sebastian means? Kyle already knew that the alliance between the major gangs was tenuous at best, similar to the Barons. But he did not expect the Violet Demons to turn on their 'allies' so rapidly the moment the battle was lost.

Baron Cain obviously got the hint from Sebastian, himself having been nearly assassinated by Baron Namor from the East Sector. "You're saying the other Sectors will attack us."

"The uprising of the major gangs was an attempt to oust the nobility while Count Leon is out at war, a period to allow for further growth and unhindered expansion. But as the major gangs reach the limits of their expansion, it is apparent to anyone that the other major gangs are also a hindrance." Sebastian explained. "As we speak, the Ardent Cretins' surrender has triggered an attack from the Violet Demons, them absorbing our deserters and controlled territory both outside of Raktor and beyond."

"Is the crucial piece of information related to why the major gangs thought their uprising would have a chance?" Bishop Vernette asked.

"...a chance? Bishop, I would say the uprising has been a roaring success. Look at the East Sector, where Tu'Da'li has negotiated with the Baron on equal grounds. The major gangs have expanded far beyond their pathetic bickering in small districts, into wide control of the countyside and even other counties. Even the Ardent Cretins at this stage is two times bigger than it was two months ago." Sebastian shrugged.

Kyle could see the political puzzle starting to form together. It's a period of consolidation. Every party is out to take as much as they can for themselves. With Raktor in such turmoil, even the Barons are no longer united, attempting to kill each other for more gains.

"And one more thing - we never intended to be independent of the Yual Dominion. We wanted to replace the Barons." Sebastian pointed out.

"You're not of noble blood." Baron Cain spat.

"And so was your father. Did you not learn your father became a Baron in the first place?"

"Enough distractions. Your counter-offer is rejected." Baron Cain shot back, "Bishop Vernette, arrange for a transfer of prisoners to Tryas."

"Yes, Baron."

"Oh, spare me the act. When was the last time you had contact with the Sanctum of Yual in Tryas?" Sebastian groaned, rolling his eyes in irritation. "You could not even get a single additional inquisitor to come even if you offered them rakels."

"Then we'll imprison you locally." Inquisitor Mason threatened. "Not a big deal either way."

"I highly doubt you have enough cells to fit all of us. Thanks to the Baron's budgeting." Sebastian mocked.

Baron Cain kept a stern expression, but deep down, he knew he did not waste money on building prison cells here in Raktor. Most high-profile prisoners were transferred to the capital, so he saw fit to invest in more lucrative ventures than concrete rooms holding gang members who paid him tribute.

"One more clause to add to the offer." Kyle suddenly spoke out for the first time. "The Ardent Cretins must be subservient to the Seven Snakes."

Sebastian's mocking expression changed rapidly, his eyes glaring at Kyle. "Some animals are and always will be feral, no matter how much you try to keep them as pets."

"Then I just need a bigger stick." Kyle retorted. "Domestication takes time, after all."

The two gang leaders stared each other down, an air of hostility rising again, prompting everyone in the room to instinctively reach for their weapons, ready to brandish them at a moment's notice.

"If we fight to the death, the vultures all around will simply come to pick up the rotting pieces," Kyle warned.

"Exactly why I am offering an alliance instead, to unite the South Sector as one against the others. The East has already been consolidated, and there will be a race to capture as much as possible of the other sectors." Sebastian replied.

"An alliance that you will break the moment we control Raktor?"

"It depends on how much bigger the stick is than the carrot."

As much as Kyle was acting strong, he knew he could not suffer yet another war with the Ardent Cretins. His elite squads were already having a hard enough time chasing down the split factions still fighting against him, and his manpower and equipment were depleted. The tunnel network had also yet to be cleared out, needing another three weeks to get it done.

All in all, Kyle's forces and even himself were not in the right state to entertain having to fight to the death. Even he knew Sebastian had gleamed all of his abilities, meaning he would likely have to face more countermeasures.

Instead of immediately agreeing to the counter-offer by Sebastian, Kyle motioned to Baron Cain, asking for an adjourning of the meeting. They retreated to their own private room, where only the four of them discussed openly.

"We can't afford to have another fight." Bishop Vernette immediately explained. "The enforcers have been far too weakened over the course of the last two months. All of us have. While Kyle has managed to take the Ardent Cretins down a peg, they are still stronger than all three of us combined. If Sebastian truly wanted to fight to the death, he could have thirty thousand men spread across the districts, waging a guerrilla war that would last even longer."

"Then why did he surrender? Is he really afraid of being attacked by the other Sectors?" Inquisitor Mason asked. "There seems to be a ploy, but I can't figure out what it is."

"He is already under attack," Kyle replied. "The Violet Demons are already attempting to utilise the confusion to grab control of what the Ardent Cretins have outside of Raktor."

"So it is a choice between mutually assured destruction or a temporary alliance..." Baron Cain muttered to himself.

"Even if we accept the counter-offer, we need to weaken him enough that he doesn't dominate negotiations again. Strip his claws." Bishop Vernette responded, throwing Kyle a sideways glance. It was painfully obvious to Kyle that even though the four of them were working together as of now, the Bishop was always looking to suppress all and any gangs.

It was hard for her to act against the Seven Snakes now. Kyle had been her main supplier in the war - without him, the South Sector would have been long lost to Sebastian.

It was a miracle that they even managed to bring Sebastian to the negotiation table. Mason recalled him and Kitana having to kill close to a few hundred of his men before he was brought out to talk, and even then Sebastian got the advantage.

"Why do I feel that we're the ones losing if we accept the counter-offer?" Mason lamented, scratching his head.

They discussed a bit further before realizing it was a simple question of how much they were willing to lose. Neither side was willing to sacrifice even more resources and troops to battle, only to be picked off at the end.

Even among the four of them, a power-play was happening - the enforcers, Baron Cain and Kyle all seeking to gain the upper hand. The Bishop remained adamant that Kyle should not be allowed to control twenty districts, instead handing them back to enforcer control.

Kyle did not try to fight, knowing that he did not have enough men to control such a large area as well. It was better for him to consolidate power and improve quality rather than go for maximum area control. Easier to focus my defenses too.

The peace negotiations resumed once more, with Baron Cain leading the negotiations again. "We accept your offer, but the Ardent Cretins will be reduced to five districts of control instead of ten. The Seven Snakes will control ten, and the remaining fifteen districts will be free of gang intervention, under enforcer control."

Sebastian nodded and agreed to the change in conditions, much to the surprise of the Baron, who would have expected Sebastian to be apprehensive to losing district controls.

What Kyle and Sebastian knew was that even if the fifteen districts were returned to enforcer control, there was always a way to sneak a tendril of crime in. After all, all districts in name were under the Baron's control, yet here Kyle and Sebastian were.

"Now what is that crucial piece of information?" Bishop Vernette hurriedly asked. "It better be good."

"I'm sure the Barons and even the Count has been wondering as to why all messengers and messages sent to the Duke and to the capital has not received any reply." Sebastian spoke clearly. "It is this very reason why the major gangs saw a chance to revolt, where there could be no possible military intervention from the Duke nor the Emperor."

"How could you know more than a Baron can?" Baron Cain was suspicious. "Perhaps this piece of information is fake."

"The black market never lies when you have enough power and money. And while Raktor may be our main base of operations, I have always seen fit to keep track of events happening beyond the county that may affect us."

"Out with it - stop beating around the bush!" Mason retorted.

"I suggest that only the relevant parties remain in this room." Sebastian motioned his head to Mason, Keith and Damian. "The spread of this information would be... problematic in the best case scenario."

"And in the worst-case scenario?" Baron Cain asked.

"Lethal."

Mason was about to scoff when the Bishop suddenly turned, motioning with her head to Mason to get out. Damian and Keith left the room as well, as did the other bodyguards, leaving only the four of them in place: Kyle, Sebastian, Baron Cain and Bishop Vernette.

"There, all cleared. Now, what is the information?!" Baron Cain urged.

"The Emperor of the Yual Dominion is dying."