Chapter 9 - Negotiation

Elsewhere, more specifically, back at the kingdom which Julius called his home, king Henry was currently holding a meeting with the 8 other rulers of the great kingdoms. They were in a secret room which was heavily guarded and sound proofed so that no one could hear or see what the meeting was about.

"I'm glad all of you could make it back once again. It is an honour to be able to host you in our humble kingdom once more," said Henry as he began the meeting which only consisted of the actual rulers of the kingdoms which meant that no one, including their wives, husbands, children or relatives was inside aside from them.

"Cut the crap, we all know what we're here for. Let's get down to business already," one of the kings said in an angry tone and demanding as he stood up from his seat which was placed on the circular table.

"I don't know what to tell you, he's my son so you can't have him," Henry replied to the king who had spoken.

"This is no longer a matter of family or relations. The boy is nothing but a weapon from this point forward. Whoever has possession over him could possibly rule the world with an iron fist. You would be disrupting the balance of this world," another one of the kings spoke out.

"So what do you propose? That I just hand him over to one of you for free?" Henry asked sarcastically.

"I'll happily sign off all rights to my kingdom to have that boy," said a queen from the table.

...

"You do realize what you're offering right? You would not only give away all monetary value your kingdom has but also the rights of your people just for a mere child?" Henry asked as his expression turned to that of a scared small child.

"Of course she would. Any one of us would do the same if given the opportunity!" a king who looked to be relatively old yelled out.

"Relax there old man, he's just toying with us. He knows better than anyone what lengths a person would go to hold possession of that child. He's just trying to mess with us," said Mary.

"What do you say everyone, let us wage war upon this kingdom and then we can decide who'll get possession of the boy after that amongst ourselves," Mary continued.

"Hey there, that's so mean of you. You would really kill your old buddy so you could manipulate his son?" Henry said before breaking out into laughter.

"Don't kid yourselves. Even by some miracle if you were to kill me, you'd still be back where you started. There's no way a single one of you would allow someone else to have control over someone so powerful. That's only if by some miracle you can bring me down. By then most of your strength for yourself and your armies would be depleted. Let's just say that you actually manage to accomplish that, what would happen when that poor boy sees the corpse of his loving father on the ground and the people who he had loved so much are the ones who killed him," Henry said as he allowed a scenario to play out in the heads of the rulers.

"Why would that matter, even if he had begun his training, he would need at least a decade or two to find the ins and outs of cultivation," Mary scowled at Henry.

"You still don't get it," Henry began to smile until that turned into the most evil and sinister grin a person could present.

"No... you've already sent him there? It's only been a day and you've sent him away? You're a monster Henry. You realize what's going to happen to him there right?" said Mary.

"Oh, I know. I know better than everyone how that demon treats those who do not meet his expectations. He's only nice when you first impress him but the second you stop shattering your limits, he invokes hell upon you. Even so, if that boy manages to return alive, you know what will happen right?" said Henry as his grin grew to be more sinister.

"You're lying to yourself if you think he'll come back alive. Even you who's the so-called strongest man went to him at the age of 21 and nearly died. You think someone who is 7 years younger than the living prodigy that was yourself could survive the training? I mean, we all heard what his other status points are. He'll clearly pick the meditation path and probably reach a high tear. However, just as he all expects from him, he'll be a glass canon. However, to avoid that, he might instead pick the route of battles which the training of it would kill him. You set yourself up Henry, you won't be winning this battle," said another queen of her respective kingdom.

"Did you ever consider the possibility of him learning both methods?" asked Henry which brought the entire room to become dead silent.

...

"Preposterous!"

"That is not even possible!"

"You've lost it!"

"You're insane!"

Hearing all these comments, Henry couldn't help but laugh as they had their minds blown by the concept which they feared.

"You can't be serious?..." Mary asked as her heart sank in fear which was just replied to by Henry's laughter growing.

"Whether it's true or not, we cannot risk letting a monster like him continue to live!" said a king.

"Agreed!" The rest replied as each of the 8 stood up from their seats as they prepared to exit the room.

"Hey there, where are you guys going? We're having so much fun here, there's no need to rush things," Henry said in a joyful tone.

"We're going to first kill your child then we'll see about your fate," said the oldest king of the group.

"You will do no such thing!" Henry yelled.

"And how do you plan to stop us on your own?" the 8 kings and queens said simultaneously.

"Do you know what happened 200 years ago?" said Henry as a shadowy figure began to grow behind him.

"How far have you fallen Henry?" Mary asked as she looked at him with fear in her eyes.