The empress scroll was inscribed with special runes. Michael just had to write the place and time of their meeting, and the empress would be notified on the other end. Michael chose a secluded mountain peak in the Ozer continent. Obviously, the time of their meeting was midnight, when he would be at his strongest. Michael sent Aria and Elidyr to ensure the place was void of any traps. Although he picked the place, he didn't plan to go there without any plans. Michael left Gaya back in the castle and went to meet the empress alone. He didn't even bring Nightmare or Azazel. The mountain Michael chose was covered in pearl-white snow.
When he was flying toward his destination, the serrated mountains loomed in the distance. He made his way towards them as he had to use Arch energy to warm up his body. The blanketing flour-white was brooded over the land. Just as he approached, a chute of snow detached itself and went trundling down one of the mountains. It slid over the knotted edge and then crashed into the chasm below. The silence that followed was spine-chilling. Michael flew to the tallest peak of the mountain, where he asked the empress to meet him.
The heaven-touching apex of the mountain was drenched in brilliant light. Spikes of thin light from the stars above impaled the snow in a bristling, moving line. All across one's line of sight, the tips of the mountain range stuck up like a row of thorns. Swaddled around them were necklaces of powdery snow. The air became arctic cold as Michael came closer to the top.
By the time Michael arrived at the top, he saw an elven woman and a man in a golden fur coat waiting for him. Michael recognized the elven woman as the empress thanks to all those portraits in Gondolin. It wouldn't be an understatement to say every house in Gondolin had at least one portrait of the empress. The people loved her that much.
It was not a forced gesture, but the people worshiped her like a goddess. To be honest, Michael respected the empress, Nithroel. Despite her military might, she only used wars as a last resort. Instead, she advocated peace through diplomacy. That's what Michael loved about her. The people who feared him respected Nithroel. As he descended to the ground, Belanor's body tensed up. Michael was not in his Dark Lord armor. On the contrary, he just wore a long black coat with sleeves rolled up to his elbow, a black shirt with his first three buttons opened up, and matching black trousers and boots. His shoulder-length hair fluttered in the cold breeze.
Belanor expected a bulky man with an evil face in black armor. But Michael surprised him with his rather normal look. Even the empress was stunned. To Michael's surprise, the empress was just a few months cultivation away from breaking through to the Immortal stage. There was something strange about her.
"Your Imperial Majesty," Michael addressed the empress with her title. She smiled when she sensed the respect in his tone. She lived long enough to differentiate between puffery and true respect. Unlike the reports she heard, the Dark Lord seemed warm and friendly. But she could see the devil within him. He was capable of unimaginable things. In her mind, what happened to Itholan and the Thusian empire was just a sample of what he could do.
"How may I address you?" asked Nithroel with a warm smile. To Michael's surprise, she seemed different from the racist elves he had seen in Mazeroth.
"I think Ghost would do just fine," said Michael. It was a simple gesture to get onto the empress's good side. He didn't want to be her enemy even if he couldn't be her friend. The last thing Michael wanted was to antagonize the empress and make enemies out of the most powerful empire.
"This is Belanor. You might know him," said Nithroel, looking at Belanor.
"It's unfortunate that you bought something of mine," Michael's tone was neither too arrogant nor apologetic. He didn't even ask for forgiveness which might be considered a sign of weakness. The empress walked toward the mountain's edge. As far as one could see, there was nothing but an endless forest blanketed with snow. Michael joined her at the edge and watched the scenery in silence. Except for the howling wind, they heard no sound. Michael broke this silence after a few minutes.
"Why did you want to meet me, your imperial majesty?" asked Michael. He was curious, to say the least.
"The same reason why you agreed to this meeting," answered Nithroel.
"Alliance?" Michael joked as the empress chuckled. Belanor was truly surprised. The Dark Lord seemed so calm and cool beside the empress. Belanor forgot the last time someone had talked to her like this.
"Not so fast, Ghost," said the empress.
"I heard you don't like beating around the bush,"
"You heard right," said Michael.
"Blackmane had to say lots of interesting things about you,"
Michael recalled his meeting with the Pirate Lord Blackmane. The pirates used to think the most powerful pirate lord was on a voyage, looking for treasures, But instead, he was serving the empress all those times. He came to meet Michael in Aden when he abolished the pirates and killed Pirate Lord Vance. He struck a deal with the Dark Lord for an island on the southern continent. In addition, Michael agreed not to attack the merchants from Gondolin or any other elven kingdoms. Michael had been keeping his part of the bargain till to this date. In exchange, the royal navy had never stepped foot on the southern continent. As a result, there was no pillaging or piracy in the Southern continent seas. Instead, the merchants paid twenty percent of whatever they brought to the Dark Army patrolling the seas.
The pirates used to hate things they got without pillaging. But after a while, they started to love getting paid doing nothing. They just had to patrol the seas like border patrol and take things from the merchant ships. If a dark army ship had decided to take more than twenty percent or harm a merchant ship, Corey would take them to a rocky island and leave the crew there to rot in the sun alive. Fortunately, no pirate had tried to break the rules.
"Speaking of him, I haven't seen him since Aden. How is he doing?" asked Michael.
"In seclusion, I am afraid," answered Nithroel. The empress voluntarily gave him a bit of secret news. She wanted the Dark Lord to know that he was not the only one who could make southerners stronger with cultivation. Michael was slightly surprised but didn't worry about southerners cultivating in her army. He expected a lot more surprises from the empress.
"I want the same deal I got from you earlier, Ghost. No more attacking my people," Her voice became a bit colder.
"It won't happen again," Michal requested nothing from the empress. Although Belanor bought the armor piece, they had no right to attack him. Gaya might have left him alive, but she attacked him nonetheless. It was kind of the empress to let go of the matter so quickly.
"Was that the only reason you asked me to meet you?" Michael asked the empress. The empress stared at the sight before her without uttering a word. Her gaze was locked onto the horizon. Silence fell over them. Finally, the empress took a deep breath.
"What do you know about Han Torum?"
Michael picked his brain and remembered the name. He heard about this place when he was in Gondolin.
"If I am right, it's one of the Great Eight Clans. Han Torum is a dwarven clan. Why did you ask?"
"Recently, they started to build some dangerous contraptions. Weapons, to be precise. These are untested weapons that are capable of hurting thousands,"
"Sounds like great weapons. If it's capable of hurting that many people, then it doesn't matter whether they are tested or not," said Michael.
He knew all about the history between the elves and the dwarves. It was really surprising to see the dwarves still looking for revenge even hundreds of years later. He had to admire their resolve to hurt the elves. If those weapons made the empress ask for the Dark Lord's help, Michael could tell how dangerous these weapons were. He felt curious as he knew dwarves' talent for building mass destruction weapons.
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"Simple. The Guardian Guild is negotiating with the dwarves to buy those weapons as we speak," said the empress. She was nonchalant.
"I have a feeling you don't like the Guardian Guild getting stronger. With these weapons and Supreme Guardian's guidance, they could change the tide of war,"
"What do you want me to do, your imperial majesty?" asked Michael, although he knew what was in her mind.
"Whatever you want. I'd appreciate it if you could talk some sense into those dwarves. If you do that, you'd be helping both you and me,"
Michael saw a glimpse of a master tactician who decimated the dwarves single-handedly. She was using him to deal with the dwarves. Judging by the empress's character, Michael knew she would have tried to talk with the dwarves. However, he didn't think the dwarves had listened to her. Those bulky, bearded bastards hated nothing more than the elves. They would gladly give their lives to see the elven kingdom burn to the ground. Michael wouldn't have meddled with this issue if this matter didn't involve two great clans.
It would be a headache for Michael in the long run if the dwarves built weapons for the Guardian Guild. Instead, he wanted to get his hands on those weapons. Else, he would destroy them before they fall into the hands of the Guardian Guild.
"I will look into this," said Michael without making any promises.
The empress smiled. With a single negotiation, she made the Dark Lord himself deal with the dwarves. Now she had fewer things to worry about and more time to develop her empire.
"Good move, Nithroel," Michael said to himself.
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