87 Rejection

Half a day of travelling, the two envoys reach the foot of the mountain. With one more step, they would enter the battlefield of Saint Ferlin's Mountain. This plane was incredibly small. It could be compared to half of the United States in total size, divided into 40% dessert, 40% forest, and 20% mountain.

With a deep breath, both of them took a step into the frozen stone land, on opposite sides of the mountain, immediately noticing each other's presences.

Both the elder and the greater demon stared at each other for nearly 10 whole minutes, sparks almost erupting where the gazes met.

However, the two soon realised that each of them had come for the same reason, and immediately erupted into complete hostility. They knew that the first to reach this unknown Tier 2 would have a better chance of roping him in, and so the only way to guarantee that was not a race, but a complete annihilation of the opposing envoy.

Ignoring the mountain itself, the leaders of the envoys instructed the rest of the envoys to circle around the mountain and eliminate the demons and elves respectively.

Within a few minutes, they were only a few hundred meters away. Just as the warlocks were about to release their spells, and the archers they mana enhanced arrows, they all suddenly froze in place.

An incredibly powerful force of will flooded their sense, along with the 90 or so meters between the two parties.

This was Merlin's [Predator] skill, which had he had activated with only a little amount of mana, to prevent these weak Tier 1 from fainting on the spot. He could see that only 2 creatures were peak Tier 1, one being an intelligent lava creature of some sort with distinctly curved horns on his head, and the other being a rather aged elf.

This was the first set of intelligent beings he had come across, and he didn't want them to go around killing each other before he got information from them.

When he had just advanced, he had felt the gazes of a few peak Tier 1s, and exactly 2 peak Tier 2s, whose life-signatures were incredibly weak. However, since they did not make a move, he decided to wait as well.

And that had paid off in the form of two groups of intelligent beings, clearly from different races and most likely enemies.

"Who are you all?" Merlin's voice was soft, but it echoed in the heads of all those present, causing intense pain to them. However, that pain lasted barely a seconds before disappearing completely, just as Merlin's figure appeared in the 90 or so meters between the two parties.

It took a few moments for the leaders of the envoys to realise that this mysterious being was allowing them to introduce themselves. Both of them rushed to answer, speaking simultaneously.

"I am Chad, greater demon of the demon tribe on that side of Saint Ferlin's Mountain" said the red horned creature with glowing veins of lava flowing through its body, as it pointed to the west of the mountain.

"Greeting, I am called Ricardo, the elder of the Ferlin Elf Tribe, as well as a member of the council of elders. We currently reside in the forest to the East." Said the aged elf as he bowed before pointing to the east.

Merlin quickly processed as much information as he could from these simple introductions.

'Divided in two…Demons and elves… Destruction and nature… Equal in strength… 1 Tier 2 each… Balance.'

These thoughts whirled in his mind rapidly before he calmed down and nodded.

"Alright. What do you want?"

This time, his voice travelled through the air normally, allowing both the envoys to lower their guards to Merlin slightly, and instead increase it towards their counterparts.

"The Grand Elder, Fers has sent us as envoys to invite you for some tea."

"The Grand Demon, Barg, has sent us to request you to join arms with us!"

Merlin looked at the two envoys who had both said their piece and were sweating bullets, with clear sweat visible on the old elf, and steam rising from the old demon.

Merlin nodded slightly before saying, "No."