The secret messenger who met the Ryan was Ash Rufate that afternoon.

The reason why Ryan sent envoys was very simple. After almost all the mobile forces in the country were annihilated, Ryan faced a dual crisis of politics and military. In politics, this reckless dispatch (although this matter itself was long-planned and was not suitable to be described as "reckless", but the failure of the war was the biggest mistake), which caused a reshuffle of domestic forces. Leto not only lost his reputation because of the war, but also confiscated most of his land wealth. From then on, he became a second-rate noble and had to withdraw from the political stage. All forces seized the vacuum left by Leto, making internal struggles fierce.

Military, the Ryans faced even worse situations. Although there has not been any invasion of other countries and the vampires have not left Sivania, the ethnic minorities that originally surrendered to Ryan are inevitably ready to move. Ryan conquered and suppressed many ethnic minorities in history, but failed to carry out effective ethnic integration, but instead adopted the method of "dividing and governing". When the military power was greatly reduced, the hatred accumulated by their past discriminatory policies, coupled with the ambitions of some people... the whole situation became serious. Nothing has happened yet, but it is very likely that someone would respond with a crowd of people when he called up.

The Ryans were very realistic. At least when Neil raised the issue of captives, they immediately threw away the teachings of the church and the true God and immediately agreed to negotiate with the vampire on this matter.

Because this matter cannot be made public, especially the church cannot know it, the negotiation location was chosen in Sivania, and the messenger also concealed his identity and arrived secretly.

The messenger was a middle-aged man with a arrogant expression. Looking at the other person's face, Ash Rufate felt unhappy all over, because he couldn't help but think of the faces of the tax officials who were blocking the road at the gate of Oren City.

Both sides are not in any city now. In order to avoid the outside world's attention, the final negotiation location was set to be in a wooded area not far from the Dark Castle. In terms of the Ryans, in addition to the messenger himself, there are two deputys. In addition to the Ash Rufate himself, there are also Neil, as well as several black magicians and a small team of guards of the deserted graves.

The messenger looked at the vampire in front of him. From the outside, there seemed to be no difference between vampire and humans. He looked like a young man. According to legend, the fangs of vampires would bulge out of their lips, but the fact in front of him was that the vampire did not have any fangs, and he did not exude the unpleasant aura of carrion and blood as propaganda from the church.

"The basis of our negotiations is that you must first release all the captives." This is the first sentence of the messenger.

Ashu Rufat looked at the other person and took a few seconds to realize that the other person's words were not a joke.

Seeing Ashrufat silenced, the messenger continued. "After you acknowledge the supreme rule of His Majesty the King and pay the taxes that should have been paid in the Sivania region, we are willing to recognize your rule over Sivania and guarantee your noble status and power. Of course, His Majesty the King promises that you will not assume more than any other noble."

"Master, this is a reunion." Carrie explained in his mind. "If the king faces particularly difficult bandits and robbers, he is sure that the loss is not worth it, he often uses this trick to end the dispute. However, I have a trick to deal with this situation here! Any diplomatic negotiation can be used."

"A trick?"

"I can use the thinking detection device. Although the instrument is a bit malfunctioning, it can only be used for a few minutes at a time and must be paused for a day or two... Besides, because it is far from the castle, it cannot clearly reveal his inner thoughts... But no matter what, I should be able to know a lot of things. Well...hehehe, it seems that this guy pretended on purpose!"

"Doesn't pretend?"

"Well, I wanted to make a contribution, so I privately increased the bargaining chips. He did come for the prisoner, but he deliberately raised the asking price and prepared to bargain. If he succeeded, it would be equivalent to making a great contribution." Carrie showed her image in front of Ashu Rufate this time. "You should be able to do it as long as you scare him."

"This feeling is quite interesting, like cheating, hehe. But he is too stupid. The Ryans have no bargaining capital at all. Because if the strength is too different, strength is diplomacy. When the strength is not far apart, diplomacy is strength."

"Did you get something wrong?" Ashu Rufate said to the messenger. The messenger immediately felt the change in the atmosphere, because he clearly saw a fierce light appearing in the vampire's eyes.

"The king of Ryan has never been my monarch, he is my enemy. Your purpose today is not to discuss my ruling power—my ruling power has been obtained through my victory, not from your gifts. In fact, you have tried your best to erase my ruling power."

"My victory does not require anyone's recognition!" A cold light flashed in the vampire's eyes, which made the messenger who had a arrogant expression just now feel like he fell into an ice hole. "If you think what I'm wrong, you might as well ask your king to go back and reorganize the army and fight again!"

Of course this is impossible. Even if the messenger is stupid, he knows that there is no decent army in Ryan. Not to mention the use of attacking vampires again, even maintaining the existing rule and suppressing internal opposition forces are in danger. The battle to fight against Sivania is naturally a battle of life and death for vampires, but for Ryans, it is not much better.

"The reason I see you here is just to let you redeem the prisoners. I don't want to discuss anything other than this. Now tell me what price you are going to pay for the redeem the prisoners," Ashu Rufate asked. "If there is no... then you can die!"

"Wait...wait, I am the messenger!" The messenger suppressed the fear in his heart. From the vampire, he felt a kind of pressure, a powerful force that surpassed humans and made people unable to help but feel fear. "My personal safety..."

"If you are not going to come to redeem the captives, then you are not a messenger, but a bastard who wastes my time. I will not pay any etiquette to a bastard!"

The vampire's expressions were so obvious that the messenger's legs could not help but tremble a little. Oh no... It was too exciting to the vampire just now... Although the legendary vampire pays great attention to the etiquette of nobles, it seems that the legend may not be reliable!

"Wait...wait... Your Majesty the King does give me power in this regard..."

...

When the messenger finally left, it was not very early. In a sense, Carrie was able to read the other party's intentions, which was equivalent to turning the negotiation into a game and watching the clown's performance. The two sides bargained on the surface, but in fact it was not difficult for Ashu Rufate.

Like most situations in this world, the messenger had already set the bottom line of negotiation before he set off. The agreement reached by Ashu Rufate and the other party was almost based on this bottom line. The agreement reached between the two sides was very favorable and a win-win situation for both sides. Ashu Rufate received a ransom and a guarantee and detailed measure for trade between the two sides, and was able to import various materials to maintain the daily operation and development of Sivania. The Ryans took back their captives, which could ensure that they reorganized the army in the shortest time to suppress all forces in the country. Ashu Rufate was not worried that the Ryans would reorganize their troops to attack Sivania. Although this was very likely in the long run, at least for five years, the Ryans would not carry out such reckless actions.

"Neil, you did a good job." After the messenger walked away, Ashu Rufat immediately praised Neil. Although the Ryan himself had urgent needs this time, it was also Neil's credit. "It's a loss to you to be able to complete this big trouble so quickly."

"My honor, Lord Duke." Neil was rather calm. But Ashurufat knew that this was the effect of his last work. Now he knew that in the last betrayal in Meno, the villages that did not commit to Ryan's army all accepted Neil's advice. Although he had never asked about Neil's birth, he obviously had a close connection with those villages.

"What kind of reward do you want?" Ashu Rufate asked.

"What you are doing is my greatest reward." Neil replied, looking at Ashu Rufate, his eyes firm and clear. "Can save this land from tyranny..."

"Haha." Ashu Rufat chuckled. "To be honest, Neil, I don't care that others say I am evil, cruel, or anything else. I can treat the gossip behind this as if I didn't hear it, or even as praise. But I can't tolerate others saying that I am stingy. If someone says I am a stingy person, I will not be able to stand it. So, I will give you full rights to trade with Sivania and Ryan, and you will decide the appointment and removal of all relevant officials. In the next ten years, five percent of all the taxes I receive from the trade can be used as a reward for you. And I will give you a house in Meno... I specially designed it for you."

Without waiting for Neil to answer, he immediately turned to the next topic, "Is Damon here?" he asked.

A few minutes later, Damon came to the vampire.

Although he was calm on the outside, he was actually not as calm on the inside. He already knew vaguely why the vampire came to him. Now, the overall situation has been settled. The Ryans were unable to threaten the vampire for a long time. Without external pressure, it means that the vampire can do whatever they want.

"Sit." In front of him, the vampire signaled to him with a calm expression. There was no one around, but Damon knew that the vampire had just negotiated with the Ryan here. The emissary's expression revealed enough information.

"Duke..." Damon unconsciously felt his throat dry. He was a warrior and commander who had been through the battlefield, and he was the most courageous person. But looking at the vampire's gloomy gaze, he felt a chill that rose from the depths of his heart.

Perhaps only at his level, who has cultivated a keen intuition like a beast after experiencing countless risks and battles, can he clearly recognize that the presence on the other side is not a human. Although this person looks no different from a human, he is definitely not a human. Just sitting still, a vampire can arouse the fear in human nature. The kind of fear of powerful creatures whose power is far greater than that of humans, which are engraved in the depths of the soul.
Chapter completed!