Chapter 385 The Master of the Mistveil Expanse
Valerius knew there was no talking his way out of this.
He could only keep denying everything. "Soulbinding Candle? I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Uncle, I have the witness and the evidence right here, and you're still refusing to admit it?
" Zara clicked her tongue repeatedly. "You're breaking your own niece's heart.
I was going to go easy on you for the sake of family, but if this is how you're going to treat me, don't blame me for playing hardball. "
With that, she planted a hand on top of Lunelle's head. "Do you want her to stay alive?"
Lunelle shrieked, "Why am I the one paying for this?"
None of those terrible ideas had been hers!
Aurelion sighed. "When powerful people clash, someone's always bound to be sacrificed."
Lunelle fell silent.
What kind of ridiculous nonsense was that?
Valerius glanced at Lunelle.
In that instant, she saw a trace of chilling indifference in his eyes.
Her scalp prickled, and cold sweat broke out across her forehead.
She knew exactly what kind of man Valerius was. If sacrificing someone served his interests, he would never hesitate.
If he shook his head now, she would not make it out of there alive.
She was not willing to die. She had never volunteered to become involved in any of this. She had simply failed to resist the temptation when it was offered to her.
Fortunately, Valerius only stared at her for a long moment. Nearly a minute passed before he finally asked, "What do you want?"
He had given in.
Lunelle immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
Zara beamed. "I have a list ready. Why don't we meet and discuss it in person?"
Valerius fell silent.
He had expected her to demand compensation, yet the words still felt like a punch to the gut.
In the end, he nodded.
Zara arranged to meet him in Highspire City.
Valerius chose the location. Despite all the commotion outside, this was Zara's first real opportunity to experience the local culture of the other world.
They met in a floating pavilion high above Highspire City and sampled the city's local cuisine. The stairways below were completely transparent, and anyone with a fear of heights probably would have panicked on the spot. Even looking down was enough to make Zara's scalp tingle.
Levitating trains streaked past the edge of the building, completing the futuristic cityscape.
Zara recorded it on her phone so she could show Allen what he was missing when she returned.
Valerius arrived alone and kept a low profile.
Zara could still sense numerous powerful presences hidden nearby. They were probably there to protect him, not that it would do much good.
The meeting included Lucian, Sylphra, Lunelle, one dragon, and one pig.
Although Aurelion and Dino were technically the Upper Realm's guardian divine beasts, Valerius did not spare either of them so much as a glance.
Aurelion felt rather hurt. His loyalty might have shifted long ago, but being treated so coldly by those he had once served still stung.
As soon as Valerius sat down, he made Zara an offer.
"There's no need to make this so complicated.
Agree to one condition, and I will hand over our technology without reservation.
I will also guarantee that there will be no further attempts to invade Earth, and I will even send experts to assist your scientists with their research.
Our two worlds are capable of peaceful cooperation and mutual development. "
Zara found the proposal intriguing.
Lucian also looked up and gave Valerius a brief glance.
An offer that generous could only mean one thing: whatever Valerius wanted from Zara in return was almost certainly something she would never agree to.
"What do you want me to do?" Zara asked.
Valerius fixed her with a cold, unwavering stare. "All you have to do is return to the Imperial Clan the sacred treasure your father took from us all those years ago."
After all that, it still came back to the same treasure.
It had become an obsession for Valerius.
He had no idea what the former Holy Sovereign had taken, only that Zara supposedly owed everything she possessed to it.
If the treasure truly held that much power, would Valerius ever leave Zara in peace once he got it back?
Zara smiled. "Uncle, stop asking me for things I can't give you. If I knew what this treasure of yours was, do you really think I'd still be extor... negotiating with you?"
Valerius did not believe her. "There's no point pretending. I simply chose not to make it public that your father stole the Imperial Clan's sacred treasure. Surely you don't want him branded a traitor."
Zara fell silent for a moment.
Then she broke into a brilliant smile. "What does that have to do with me?"
Valerius was speechless.
Lucian sighed.
Valerius was hopelessly outmatched when it came to Zara's shamelessness.
Zara tapped the table. "Let's stop wasting time on irrelevant nonsense.
I've already given you the list of compensation I expect.
You should know I'm a very busy person, Uncle.
Once you pay up, I still have to escort Sylphra back to the Mistveil Expanse.
That's excellent after-sales service, wouldn't you say? "
Valerius froze. "You're going to the Mistveil Expanse?"
Zara nodded, blinking innocently. "Of course. I have to find her master. How else am I supposed to collect compensation from them?"
Even Lunelle looked shocked. "Do you have any idea what kind of place that is? You actually dare go to the Mistveil Expanse?"
"Oh, stop acting so shocked, all of you," Zara said impatiently. "I said I'm going, so I'm going. Just because none of you have the nerve doesn't mean I don't. Now hurry up and read the list. Quit wasting my time. My time is money."
Lucian fell silent.
At this point, there really was not much difference between compensation and extortion.
Valerius concealed his surprise and reviewed the list. Unlike Lunelle, he remained remarkably calm and tossed it back onto the table. "You can have everything on it."
Zara immediately smiled. "I knew you were a reasonable man, Uncle!"
Valerius sneered.
The technologies she had requested might have been among the Divine World's most advanced, but without the necessary industrial foundation and centuries of accumulated development, they would be useless to Earth.
He was not concerned.
If Earth wanted to catch up technologically, it could wait another century or two.
His real priority was recovering the Imperial Clan's sacred treasure from Zara.
Once the compensation had been settled, Valerius asked directly, "Were you responsible for bringing that city back?"
Now that the deal was done, Zara immediately changed her tune. "You ask too many questions, Uncle. Each answer costs one hundred million."
Valerius was speechless.
He nearly slammed his hand against the table and stood up.
Before he could say anything else, the sky suddenly churned.
An enormous black storm descended without warning, as though some terrifying mystic beast were approaching.
Mystic beasts rarely entered human territory without good reason.
Yet the presence within the storm carried a crushing, overwhelming pressure that made everyone instinctively tremble. It swept across the entirety of Highspire City in an instant.
Even Valerius's expression changed. He braced himself against the table and nearly dropped to his knees.
Lunelle and the others turned deathly pale.
Sylphra stared up at the sky, all color draining from her face. "My master... is here."
Aurelion and Dino immediately curled in on themselves.
Zara and Lucian, however, showed no reaction whatsoever.
Zara craned her neck and looked up, clicking her tongue. "Keep showing off like that and lightning's bound to strike."
Lucian fell silent.
He could hear the pure envy in her voice.