Gemini stared at the radiant grey shadow as it vanished, his heart a small mess. From what the great god had said, the peace treaty was bound to go through smoothly. It was good news.

It should have been good news, at least.

The Demon Sovereign clicked his teeth. Hereward’s enigmatic words had left him on edge, and he didn’t like it at all. Apparently, his strength and role in all this was supposed to be checked by a counterpart, but no such person had shown up. Hereward’s analysis about a role reversal had simply made his mood worse.

Why was he now the counterweight to another’s plans? He had stopped the Five Lands from being overrun, and he was now stopping the demons from being exterminated. Even the most sadistic of authors would have given such a character a nice long break, but as it turned out, reality was a slavedriver through and through.

Grumbling about how unfair life was, Gemini returned to his original task. There wasn’t much to do, however. Contrary to his expectations, no intrepid team of Demigods had broken into the Wildlands to do…anything. The force that had been sent in so far was apparently the only response to the sudden abduction of their troops.

He turned his focus to Pai-Relix, who was the overall commander for Operation Enduring Peace. She was far away from him, but distance was nothing to him. “Report.”

“Lord, the enemy has shown no desire to engage after everyone arrived on the scene,” Pai-Relix replied. “The enemy force is too small to be of any use. Is it possible that this frontal attack is but a diversion?”

“I’m keeping a watch on the perimeter,” Gemini replied. “No signs of any incursions. The Locomotives haven’t moved yet, but their targeting systems already have you lot in their sights. Do not attack under any circumstances. Proceed as planned.”

“Yes, Lord. Moving to state our demands now.”

Pai-Relix’s presence weakened, and Gemini returned his attention to the safety of his Demigods. At the same time, he continued to check the perimeter, looking for any signs of some sneaky fellows.

Now that he had learned to exploit his Divine Will, multitasking was no big deal to him. With it, he could probably learn all sorts of things by reading multiple books at once, thereby turning him into the world’s most learned—

His thoughts scattered as Pur-Sandai took the initiative to approach the scared invasion force. Calling them that was a misnomer through and through in the current context, but he did not want to get used to thinking that a bunch of Lords and Paragons weren’t of any threat. If not for the overwhelming numbers of Demigods that had popped up, such a team would have been capable of laying waste to vast swathes of his territory.

Pur-Sandai approached the invasion slowly, his palms wide open. He was going all out to show that they had no intention to fight — which was why he had been chosen. This particular Demigod was very sensitive to emotions, and more importantly, he had a small build. The invading Lords and Paragons, who were predictably jittery now, would view him as less of a threat, compared to someone like Bal-Nan.

“We’re here to talk,” Pur-Sandai said slowly. “Your soldiers are safe and sound. We have no intention of killing them at all.”

The Lords and Paragons looked around at each other uneasily, before their gaze shifted to the Demigod above them. Gemini didn’t recognise this Demigod, who looked like an old man in his twilight years, but he could tell that he alone wouldn’t be enough to change the tide of battle.

No, the only thing that could change the tide of battle were the Locomotives floating outside the black dome, outside the Wildlands. Gemini was uncomfortably aware of the fact that these things were ready to fire at any moment. He had heard about the godkillers loaded on these huge hulks of metal — if possible, Gemini did not want him or anyone else to be hit by them ever again.

“That’s what you say,” the Demigod floating above the Five Lands’ forces murmured. “But…you want to talk?”

“Yes.” Pur-Sandai kept his hands open. “This war has gone on long enough. The perpetuator, our previous Lord, has fallen. Your soldiers struggle on to fight a war they cannot win. Many have defected. All have lost hope. We have refrained from killing them where possible, in the hopes that reconciliation — or at least a satisfactory peace — can be attained.”

The Demigod breathed out slowly. “This seat’s name is Xie Baole. Demigod and patron of the Eastern Territories.”

“I am Pur-Sandai, Demigod of the Wildlands,” Pur-Sandai replied.

“We have exchanged names. Let there be no treachery to besmirch this ceremony,” said the Demigod, his words quiet.

“If we really wanted harboured malice, there would be little point in me talking.” Pur-Sandai gestured at the Demigods arrayed behind him. Each of them was stationed just far enough that they wouldn’t be an immediate threat, out of concern that the Five Lands’ response team would turn mad from the fear.

“Yes. I know.” Xie Baole gestured, and the Lords and Paragons began to retreat. “That’s why I have elected to hear your words.”

“We appreciate it.” Pur-Sandai mirrored his counterpart’s gesture, and the demon Demigods floating far from him retreated ever further. “Now, on to the main message I wish you to bear to the rulers of the Five Lands.”

“I am all ears.”

“We desire peace. That is all. As a show of goodwill, we are willing to return our captives — safe, sound and well-fed — in our negotiations,” said Pur-Sandai. “They will be released on the day we start the negotiations, regardless of the outcome.”

“That’s…”

“A sincere concession on our part. We, the Wildlands, acknowledge that we have done your Five Lands some wrong, but the main perpetuator has been killed. There is nothing else we can do as compensation,” Pur-Sandai replied. “We have passively taken attacks over and over again, without any concrete retaliation.”

“I…will convey your intentions to the War Council.”

War Council…so it’s still functional. Gemini narrowed his eyes. Something was still binding the Five Lands together, despite the repeated failures and the internecine struggle between their allied forces. If he could take care of that…

The Demon Sovereign withdrew his attention from the small exchange. There was nothing much left for him here — both Demigods were already negotiating the terms of their next exchange, the lead-up to a formal peace conference.

His job was done here.