Chapter 724. Tatyana's Scam- Negotiation. Approaching the Army.

Before discussing the incoming army matter, the Holy Beast Emperor asked. "Sect Master Yasenia, I know that your power did something to the Five Fang Serpent Clan Patriarch because we've received news of many doctors going to his residence. Of all the recent events he faced, it was his clash with your mother that affected him the most, so I was wondering if there is a way to pardon him?"

Yasenia looked in her memories to remember what this person had done and quickly recalled what happened. 'He challenged me when I spoke about being a First Ranked Power before the secret realm and released a shockwave that would've heavily injured me when I opposed him. Then, Mom used a formation to suppress him and fed him a strange pill…'

Yasenia looked at the emperor and shook her head. "It's not possible. That person tried to cripple me. Of course, if you can convince my mother to save his life, then I won't say otherwise. Even then, I will advise you otherwise and find someone in his power to inherit his position."

They all looked at the red-eyed woman who had been silently sitting by Yasenia's side all the time and felt a headache coming.

The fact that she was a human was already difficult to accept, but all the times they'd made a business transaction with her, it had been impossible to gain even a slight advantage. 

In short, they've been scammed by her multiple times with offers they couldn't refuse. 

The Holy Beast Emperor's lips twitched as he thought. 'If I ask her for something like that, I'll probably have to sell half of my Empire…' 

Tatyana smiled, looking at the Holy Beast Emperor as if he were a sack of walking treasures. "Well, what do you suggest?"

Everyone other than the beast Emperor looked sideways, not wanting to do anything to do with this. 

The proud Emperor saw that and wanted nothing more than to give each of them a beating. 'Aren't we allies!? Why are you acting as if it were not your problem!?' 

He quickly recomposed himself and coughed once, regaining his bearing. "Although I don't know what kind of medicine you gave him, it shouldn't be that precious, right? How about 50 million flawless Parus?" 

Tatyana smiled, and those observing winced as unpleasant memories struck their minds. 

'He is done…'

"50 million? How could you say that, oh mighty Emperor? The person we are talking about is one of the strongest high-level Epoch Core creatures in the World. If you could save experts as strong as him for 50 million flawless Parus, everyone in the World would do that." 

Then, Tatyana smirked playfully, making the Holy Beast Emperor tense. 

"By the way, I've heard that the number of subjects in your Holy Beast Empire has already reached one hundred billion… Quite an achievement for a mortal organization. I'm impressed."

'You don't sound impressed at all!' Thought the other experts present.

The Holy Beast Emperor frowned and asked. "Why do you bring the population up?"

Tatyana laughed. "I'm glad you asked!"

The Emperor wanted to slap his mouth at his reflexive answer. 

"We, the Astral Sky Sect, are merciful and caring about world matters."

'Who would believe you!?'

"So, we won't ask much. How about you migrate a few million subjects to our territories? The Holy Beast Empire holds the most diverse species among all powers, so you giving us an entire city with a few million should not be a problem, right?"

Fearful, he asked. "How many is a few million?"

Tatyana commented. "Oh, not much. How about a city with 500 million?"

The other leaders looked at Tatyana with twitching eyelids. 'How is that "just a few million"!? That's "just a many million"!'

The dignified man didn't show it in his face, but his heart was bleeding. 'You want a city with 500 million? Isn't that considered a main city!?' 

Tatyana commented. "Of course, I don't want to hear you taking the wealth or the talents from that city. I want the entire city, including the elders and anything else that's stationed there, regardless of the power they belong to."

The leaders looked at Tatyana with wide eyes and spat in their minds. 'Ruthless!' 

The Holy Beast Emperor spoke through gritted teeth. "And what makes you think that what you told me it is an equal transaction? That city alone would cost a few tens of billions of Flawless Parus, not considering the talent lost after the transaction and fees for convincing the powers inside to give up their shops."

Tatyana smiled. "Well, compared to the Patriarch of the seventh strongest race, who could raze such a city to the ground in a few minutes, I think it is quite worth it. After all, the Five Fang Serpent Patriarch is a top superpower that might not appear in 1,000 years. On the other hand, a few low-level Epoch Cores that are stationed in that city are not as rare, strong, or influential. If that city were to fight in its entirety against the Patriarch, the winner 80% of the time would be the Patriarch. In truth, I'm making a loss."

The Holy Beast Emperor couldn't help but agree with her logic, making his heart bleed further. 'Why are her words so convincing!?' 

Then, with a strained voice, he asked. "Which city are you talking about?"

Tatyana smiled, her eyes flashing with cunningness. "Holy Maple City."

The other leaders stiffened and looked at Tatyana as if she were crazy. 

The Beast Emperor blurted, incredulous. "You want my tenth capital?"

Tatyana nodded. "Its strategic position is obvious to all, and thanks to the teleportation array at the core, connecting Astral Sky City and that city is not difficult."

Tengliu pondered and exclaimed. "Wait, isn't that the Main City bordering with the Steel Back Wolves main territory? No, not only them…" 

Coraline nodded, finally realizing Tatyana's objective. "There is also just a single region controlled by Lady Wuria between that city and the main region for the Garuda race."

Tatyana smiled, a hint of killing intent leaking from her eyes. "That's right. Since they are generous enough to send an army for my little treasure, I want to be close to them."

The leaders here looked at the glowing red eyes of the human woman and suddenly felt a chill climb up their spines. 

Even just a minuscule portion of Tatyana's killing intent was enough for their nostrils to be filled with the scent of blood.

The Beast Emperor opened his mouth a few times and then sighed. "Deal."

Tatyana chuckled. "Thank you for your patronage, Beast Emperor."

The Forest Sky Empress asked, her eyes shining with curiosity. "Lady Tatyana, I refuse to believe that you didn't have some nickname before giving birth to Yasenia. May I know it?"

Since they had already guessed that they were not from this continent, they understood that Tatyana was a human who most likely came from a continent dominated by humans. 

Tatyana looked at her for a moment and spoke. "There are many nicknames, but the most prevalent one should be The Death Empress."

The leaders heard it and nodded, curious as to how she gained such a title. Still, they didn't ask. Moreover, this answer was like a confirmation that they came from another world.

Cao Chenghua couldn't help but feel a bit awkward. He still remembered how he used the reason of protecting the World from outsiders when trying to rob Yasenia. 

Thinking about it now. 'I was telling the disguised wolf to be careful about wild wolves.'

Yasenia asked Tatyana mentally. 'Is it okay to integrate 500 million people into our system?'

Tatyana smiled. 'Don't worry, the laws and ways of gaining authority are already written. They can work on Sky Continent Empires, not to mention our small sect. We need to spend about two years rewriting the formation of the city. After that, even if we seal off our Astral Sky City and Sect, we'll have that place as a way to communicate with the outside. And for the administrative work, leave it to Ghana. She has already learned a few tricks from me. If she can't manage a small city of 500 million people, then her future is worrying.' 

Yasenia nodded, not feeling strange about calling a 500 million people city small. After all, she was brought up in the Moon Empire's capital, where the population neared 100 billion.

Just remembering the sheer scale of the Moon Empire's capital was enough to see these large cities like small country-side places. 

The Holy Beast Emperor stood up and spoke. "I'll leave first to prepare the procedure for the exchange. Lady Death Empress, could you give me the antidote in advance?"

Tatyana looked at Alaia, and Alaia stepped forward, revealing a sealed box. The dragon woman maid spoke. "To unseal it, you just need to pour a small amount of energy in the center of the formation. Inside, there is a pill. Do not unlock it before feeding it to the Patriarch. After all, this pill is quite delicate, and it will start losing efficacy if it is exposed to the air for more than one hour."

The Sect Masters of the Herb Fragrance Sect and the Grudge Poison Sect lifted an eyebrow and asked the Holy Beast Emperor to go with him and see the pill.

The Emperor nodded. "The other ten seniors should be enough to stop the Garuda Patriarch. We'll take our leave first."

Tengliu saw them leave and asked with a mischievous smile. "What if he doesn't fulfill his promise?"

Tatyana smiled. "It doesn't matter. We'll just add them to the list." 

Tengliu blinked. "List?"

Tatyana's smile stretched further, but she didn't answer.

Yasenia interrupted. "Seniors, I hope you can resolve this matter. I'll go with you, just in case. Also, I hope you don't blame us if they keep being insistent and we retaliate. After all, they are coming to attack us."

None of the seniors felt that it was an overboard request, and they all accepted it. 

Then, the nine seniors and fifty maids, Yasenia, Tatyana, Angel, and Kali, moved together out of the sect and flew in the direction of the army.

The others stayed at home, uninterested in the result because no battle was coming. The only reason Yasenia even asked Angel and Kali to come was because Valeria's and Mirrory's presence might be of help.

Kali flew by Yasenia's side while Angel stood on [Draconic Heart] with Yasenia, comfortably held from behind by the dragoness.

Kali asked. "Love, isn't it a bit risky for you to come out since there is a high chance of being the target?"

Yasenia smiled. "Alaia and the others are by my side, so there is no need to fear them. Moreover, I have plenty of life-saving treasures." 

The other nine seniors listened, and the Patriarch of the Devil Smashing Apes spoke with a laugh. "Well said! Youngsters must be confident like that. What is an army of a few million in front of pure might?"

The Sect Master of the Golden Body Sect said. "Even then, arrogance is the bane of many unparalleled geniuses. Being cautious, as the other two say, is not a bad comment."

Cao Chenghua commented calmly. "Even then, with us here, there is little danger. Sect Master Yasenia is young, but she is quite thorough."

The Forest Sky Empress laughed. "What is this? Do I hear admiration from the stubborn and ruthless leader of the Thirty-Three clans?"

Cao Chenghua commented. "Why not? Yasenia is a fifty-year-old junior with attainments as high as the sky. Where were you at fifty years old? She has already conquered her own land as become an unrivaled powerhouse within her domain. Even if there are a few seniors backing her up, you should know that most of the things at first were done by her. If I don't admire a junior like that, then I've lived in vain."

The Forest Sky Empress admitted. "That's true. Sigh, if my child had a tenth of her talent, I would go to bed laughing every day."

Tatyana smiled smugly. "My daughter is the best, after all."

The other nine seniors rolled their eyes, but they didn't refute her. The Devil Smashing Ape Patriarch was curious and asked. "Lady Death Empress, what's your cultivation level? Is it really at the high-level Ethereal Soul realm?"

Tatyana nodded. "Well, I currently am at that level, yes. Although, my current combat power is much higher than that." 

They looked at her, doubtful, but they didn't dig deeper.

After two hours of continuously flying, they finally arrived.

*************************************************************

Andrea: I wonder how big is the army?

Evelyn: I bet the size is five million!

Cecile: Ten.

Kali: Sounds found, I bet two.

Yasenia: Should be a bit higher, no?

Angel: What are you girls betting either way?

Evelyn: An entire week being fed personally by Yasenia!

Angel: Deal! I bet thirty million!

The rest: …

Evelyn: *Squinting* Did you use cheats or something?

Angel: N-No.

The rest: *Stare~.*

Angel: …

Author: Well, I'll summon today's dear while you girls play. I summon you!

Andrew Miles: Hello!

Tatyana: Welcome.

Andrew Miles: Why are they staring at Angel like that?

Tatyana: Don't worry, haha. Ask away.

Andrew Miles: Sure. Does gaining treasures or resources increase the strength of a cultivator's tribulation in any way? Even if they do not use the items themselves. 

Mirrory: The tribulation's strength is not likely to grow from external strength. That's why some juniors nurtured by their seniors can overcome tribulations even when they might not be strong enough. Treasures are an excellent way to resist tribulations without increasing their strength. There are limits, but it works, nonetheless. 

Andrew Miles: I see.

Author: That's all for today~. Bye-bye!