In the Name of Empress-Chapter 579 - 346: The Apocalypse Prophecy Emerges

Roland could, of course, understand Christine's promise.

She would never turn against Roland under any circumstances, but this applied only to him personally.

If those around Roland were to oppose the Goddess, she would show no mercy.

That was enough.

At least she wasn't completely brainwashed by religion and hadn't forgotten the camaraderie of fighting side by side.

In all fairness, if their positions were reversed, Roland couldn't promise more either.

Perhaps Christine had heard the call of the Goddess, or perhaps she was concerned about the restoration of Wende. She spoke without her usual composure.

Roland silently pondered what she would do if he were truly on the opposing side of the Goddess and Christine neither wanted to harm him nor disobey the Goddess.

Her position would make her future very difficult.

"No matter what, you are my best friend, a comrade worthy of entrusting my life to."

As Christine's figure disappeared at the doorway, Roland murmured softly.

Christine's visit was just a minor episode in this continental summit.

The negotiations continued afterwards, but there was no progress due to the significant differences in both sides' positions.

Christine had reasons to safeguard the Holy City, and both the Prudon Kingdom and the Tirol Kingdom had an urgent need to take this industrial zone.

Fortunately, everyone was exhausted from the fighting. Though difficult, they didn't want to resort to force, so the negotiations continued.

Just as the negotiations reached an impasse, the Nubian Kingdom representative proposed a new suggestion.

The Wende Empire wanted to be restored, the Holy City needed to be preserved, and the two kingdoms wanted the industrial zone; everyone had reasons.

If so, why not release the Weimar Federation, giving part of it as compensation to the two kingdoms, while the two kingdoms relinquished claims over the Holy City and the Wende Imperial Family's territory?

This compensation proposal was quite good, taking into account all parties' interests, but Alina disagreed.

The annexation of the Weimar Federation was a highlight of her political achievements after taking office.

If she were to give back the Weimar Federation, not only would she cease to be Emperor, but even her title of Liberator would be stripped away.

It's easy to swallow interests, but spitting them out is difficult.

Then someone proposed that the Talia Kingdom give up two provinces as compensation in exchange for the Jin Yuan Republic relinquishing half of the Weimar Federation.

Now it was Lisa's turn to be displeased.

The Talia Kingdom, though they performed ridiculously on the battlefield, first getting beaten up by the Jin Yuan people and then getting hammered by the Holy Alliance, had already paid the price.

They had already ceded land and paid reparations to the Jin Yuan Kingdom; there was no justification for compensating twice for a single defeat.

In response to Lisa's argument, Alina took a step back and suggested that the Nubian Kingdom give up two vassal states to be annexed by the Talia Kingdom as compensation for their ceding.

Now it was the Nubian Kingdom's turn to refuse.

They had fought tooth and nail, losing their entire navy, and it wasn't to cede land and pay reparations.

Those two vassal states were only nominally independent; in reality, they were essential zones that they had painstakingly managed.

If they sacrificed, who would compensate them?

At this point, someone proposed that Nubia use the former lands of Samaria between the Rodinia Continent and the South Continent, as well as the Red Sand Peninsula controlling the Land Sea, as compensation.

Although the Nubian Kingdom's navy was entirely destroyed, they still have a large army, along with the Crow Sage who broke through to Tier Five during the Battle of White Mountain, plus full support from the Divine Court of Nature, putting their paper strength even above the Odin Countries.

If they were to make concessions, they would need compensation.

This condition was naturally acceptable for Nubia; although Samaria's former lands to the Red Sand Peninsula had few areas suitable for cultivation, the geographic location was extremely important.

If they captured the Red Sand Peninsula and built a grand canal connecting the southern outer sea with the Land Sea, their status in the global trade system would rise dramatically.

No one opposed this plan now.

After all, the ones to make a sacrifice this time were the Sussex Empire and the South Continent.

Roland, who proposed the suggestion, naturally wasn't opposed by the Sussex Empire.

The tribal chiefs and small nations of the South Continent might object, but that was up to the Nubian Kingdom to figure out how to convince them with force.

Since neither the Vladimir Empire nor the Sussex Empire objected, the deal was set.

Simply put, every nation present made some concessions and gave up some interests, but everyone maintained their bottom lines.

The truly significant concession was made by the Memphis Emirate, which originally owned land near the Red Sand Peninsula.

But they didn't even have the qualifications to be at the table, so naturally, no one cared about their opinions.

This was diplomacy.

A grand division of spoils masked as negotiations.

With the framework set, next came the discussion of details.

Each nation's negotiating representatives would argue based on their country's strength and battlefield performance to secure more authority for their nation.

The chief representatives and national leaders only set the negotiating framework; the specific details would have to be contested in a verbal battle by each nation's diplomats.

In controlling specific details, the original interest of 100 points could potentially be increased to 130 points, or compressed to 70 points.

There could be a twofold difference in fluctuation.

Over the next week, national leaders and dignitaries continuously attended banquets organized by the host country, tiring themselves out.

In the meantime, diplomats argued over a city, a mountain range, or a river.

They argued until their throats nearly ignited with sparks.

They had to argue; if they didn't argue now, would they wait to be blamed by their descendants?

After a week of encounters, negotiation progress was not very satisfactory.

The biggest obstacle was the Prudon Kingdom and the Tirol Kingdom, which desired more than what matched their perceived strength. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

According to Lisa, they seemed somewhat out of touch with reality.

But Roland didn't think so.

The two countries' foreign ministers were seasoned diplomats who had been in the diplomatic service for years. They should've known better than to be so rigid.