Save the simulator and make Sarkaz great again!

despair--

With the sound of footsteps, Shi Tongling, who had been talking quietly with her assistant, stopped abruptly when she saw Shen Lin enter.

When Shen Lin stepped into the room, it was as if the air itself froze.

The assistant subconsciously took a half step back, lowered his head slightly, and dared not look Shen Lin in the eye. His fingers unconsciously tugged at the hem of his clothes, revealing his nervousness.

The room was eerily quiet, with only the occasional crackling of the burning wood in the fireplace, which seemed particularly jarring in the otherwise tranquil space.

Shen Lin slowly walked towards the desk, each step steady and powerful, yet seemingly treading on the hearts of everyone present.

Their hearts skipped a beat.

Only when facing the Demon Lord in person will one understand how terrifying that pressure is; even the Witch King might be slightly inferior in this respect.

Shi Tongling, the Elector, forced himself to calm down. He placed his cane, which was inlaid with the emblem of the Witch King, across his knees. His voice was as deep as a church organ, and every syllable was imbued with the academic tone unique to Letania.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two immediately got down to business.

"Your Excellency, Ruler of Kazdel, just as a forest needs decaying leaves to nourish new life, the collapse of the old order is the prelude to the birth of a new era."

"Your reforms to Lateran are amazing—you've kept Lateran running smoothly in just a few days."

"But as you know, there is much controversy surrounding the legality of the Lateran lands, and many people hold differing opinions on the matter..."

Shi Tongling, the chosen emperor, spoke with a slightly more cautious tone. He did not want to directly anger the infamous demon lord in front of him and then die here without knowing why.

He would be even more frustrated than Franz, whom he had always mocked.

Shen Lin merely smiled slightly, then his expression turned serious, and a chilling aura instantly enveloped the entire room.

"Do not doubt my determination."

"If a major war were to break out over the sovereignty of Lateran, I hope I could dedicate all my energy in my prime to leading Kazdel through the crisis."

“I am prepared for any war, even a great war that sweeps across Terra. Before dawn, someone must light a little in the darkness.”

The man before me seemed to have a flame burning in his eyes as he continued speaking, his tone revealing an unyielding resolve.

"We will not care how other countries view us, and we will never back down."

“I just want the Sarkaz people living in various countries to have the rights they deserve, and if they can’t, I will make them have them.”

Gollum—

He swallowed hard, tightened his grip on his cane, and tried to remain calm.

The Elector of Shitong had no doubt that if he rejected his offer, he might never be able to return to Letania. His mind raced.

"If you're already prepared to resolve this by force, why did you invite me here to waste my time?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lin paused slightly, his gaze meeting that of the elector.

"So, what are your thoughts on the Lateran and Kazdel issue?"

The Elector wiped the cold sweat from his brow, took a deep breath, and tried to make his voice sound calm.

“I have deep sympathy for what Kazdel went through. As for me personally… well… I’m willing to acknowledge the legitimacy of Kazdel’s territory within the Inner Circle.”

"But you know this is an international issue, and the division of the inner circle has always had a huge impact on the stability of Terra."

“Of course, I hope to bring your message back to Letania to report to our government, but we must also obtain Victoria’s consent.”

"But if we reach an agreement, can you make a written commitment to respect the peaceful development of the core circle?"

Shen Lin fell into a brief silence, as if he was weighing something.

Amid the elector's increasingly uneasy expression, a smile involuntarily crept onto his face.

"Of course. I have no interest in other territories—you know, I just want my compatriots to come home."

Chapter Eighty-Five: A Century of Peace!

With the demon lord's request in mind, the Elector of Shitong hurriedly returned to Letania.

Even someone who had weathered many storms couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine when facing that capricious and unpredictable demon.

Every time they talked, Shi Tongling's Elector Marquis felt as if he were walking on the edge of a cliff, and one wrong step would shatter him to pieces.

He almost thought he wouldn't come back.

Upon entering Letania, he went straight to the council hall, where all the electors were already waiting. The atmosphere in the hall was heavy, reflecting the anxious or expectant faces of the crowd.

"You're finally back! Tell me quickly, what's the attitude of the Demon Lord of Kazdel?"

One of the electors asked impatiently.

He cleared his throat and recounted his meeting with Shen Lin in detail. After listening, the crowd immediately began to murmur amongst themselves.

"It seems like Kazdel is only taking in and not giving out. Can we agree to the cooperation conditions they've proposed?"

"If we don't agree, will they attack us directly? Victoria is eyeing us covetously, and we can't afford to fight on two fronts."

He raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said with a firm expression.

“I believe that cooperating with Kazdel is the best option right now. Although they are powerful, they also need the support of Letania. Moreover, this is also a good opportunity to counterbalance Victoria.”

"Also, we need to communicate with Victoria as soon as possible and sound them out. We can't let them think we're up to something behind their backs, so as to avoid unnecessary conflict."

After a brief discussion, all the electors agreed to the decision.

More importantly, Kazdel is no longer a pushover that can be easily manipulated. If the Electors were to take action against them, they would inevitably be drawn into a protracted war.

Currently, apart from the territory of that fool Franz, the other electors' territories have not felt any threat from the Sarkaz, and the people's support for the war is not high at all.

Letania is a country with a rich artistic and cultural heritage, and art inherently requires a peaceful and stable environment to support it.

More importantly, the Witch King's silence forced these electors to adopt a policy of appeasement towards Kazdel before completing the Twin Project.

They quickly reached a consensus.

Victoria

Henry Alistair listened to the report from his trusted aide and sighed softly.

Kazdel's contact with Letania made him sense something uneasy.

"If Kazdel and Letania really cooperate, it will be very disadvantageous for us."

Henry frowned slightly, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest of the seat, making a rhythmic tapping sound.

Letania's resolute stance puts Victoria in a very awkward position; if he openly opposes the agreement, it will inevitably strengthen the anti-Victoria alliance formed by Kazdel and Letania.

More importantly, Laterano is located at the heart of Terra's core area and serves as Terra's trade hub. Many of Victoria's important trade routes must pass through Laterano.

Victoria is currently undertaking new strategic preparations to counter Kazdel's bombing aircraft, and a direct confrontation could have a significant impact on Victoria's military supply chain.

Finally, after reading the letters of commitment from the dukes on the table, he sighed.

"Someone, prepare my itinerary!"

……

All parties acted swiftly. Before Syracuse's mobile city even arrived in Lateran, they had already secretly reached a consensus on Kazdel joining the inner circle.

They arrived in Lateran on the sixth day after the Elector returned.

When their aircraft arrived in Lateran, the Lateran prisoners of war's eyes lit up when they saw the national emblem on their aircraft.

"The royal flag of Victoria has been raised, and Victoria's allies have come to our aid!"

"It's not over yet! Even Letanian noble aircraft have entered the plaza!"

At that moment, all the prisoners of war who were not accepted to surrender seemed to have ascended from hell to heaven.

In the past few days, these devils have screened out some of the prisoners of war and labeled the rest as sinners, refusing to accept their surrender.

This is a complete violation of Terra's international law; it's nothing short of blatant murder!

Moreover, the Sakotas they had fought so hard to defend refused to plead for them because they advocated using weapons of mass destruction in the city to stop the devils' advance.

They're a bunch of ingrates, born to be with the devil!

As they watched expectantly, the Royal Flag of Victoria was indeed flying, but standing beneath the flagpole were soldiers dressed in Kazdel uniforms.

Those royal aircraft, which should have been allies, are now slowly landing in the political center of the Sarkaz holy city.

"Look! Your Majesty Henry!"

"It's the Elector! They're here again! This time, the results must be in! They're about to exert diplomatic pressure on those devils!"

"What peace talks? These are all lies from those devils trying to deceive us. We can't be fooled by them!!"

One of the captured cardinals shouted indignantly.

"Oh! Damn it, I'm going to report those devils' atrocities to the two of you later. Their end is nigh!"

Many captured Sakota soldiers pointed into the distance and discussed among themselves, as if they saw a glimmer of hope.

But the next second, his expression froze—Emperor Victoria was standing side by side with Shen Lin, each of the three holding a gold-edged treaty document.

Amid their stunned gazes, the three walked into the place where Sakorta had always entertained guests, chatting and laughing.

"But Your Excellency...they seem...uh...to be laughing quite happily?"

"We must have been too far away and misjudged. How could the two of you possibly collude with those devils!"

"But Your Excellency, this seems to be... the place we used to entertain guests before?"

"That must be... the two lords playing along with the devil! Just like... just like back on the Gallic border..."

"But Your Excellency, they..."

"shut up!!"

the other side.

The signing process went very smoothly, with the sound of camera shutters constantly flashing in the conference room.

Looking at Shen Lin's bright smile, both Henry and the Elector felt somewhat embarrassed, after all, they were now forced to bow down to the demon they used to call "the devil".

But when they looked at each other, they immediately adopted a confident expression, as if everything had already been planned.

Moments later, their voices were amplified and carried throughout the entire square.

"For the sake of peace in Terra, I, on behalf of Victoria, hereby recognize Kazdel's legitimate rule over Laterano."

"For the sake of peace in Terra, I, on behalf of the Electors of Letania, hereby recognize Kazdel's rightful rule over Lateran."

Unlike the enthusiastic response from other Sarkaz, the prisoner-of-war camp was silent at this moment.

"No...this is impossible..."

The cardinal, who had just been so confident, suddenly turned pale, his voice echoing in the empty hall as if it were the lament of his shattered faith.

Henry and the Elector Staunton's remarks shattered their illusions; it was clear that the other side was not there to seek justice for them.

The bishop's lips trembled as he tried to say something, but he could only utter a few dry, incoherent syllables. It was as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping his throat, preventing him from making a sound.

On Lateran's lands, in that council of the Imperials concerning Lateran's legitimacy, how could he, as the Bishop of Lateran, be disqualified from participating?!

As the last rays of the setting sun shone on the barbed wire fence of the POW camp, the first group of war criminals being loaded onto the prison vans finally realized that they had not ascended from hell to heaven, but rather fallen from one hell into another, even deeper abyss.

"etc!"

The bishop suddenly grabbed the iron bars, a glint of madness flashing in his cloudy eyes.

"Let me see those two officials! Let me see those two officials!!"

He had been in charge of diplomacy with Victoria and Letania, and had met most of the Dukes of Victoria and most of the Marquises of Letania.

As long as... as long as he can see them, everything will be alright!

The Sarkaz escorting them sneered, and simply stopped in his tracks—Henry and his men had clearly noticed what was happening.

"His Majesty……"

The assistant cautiously offered a reminder.

"Among those prisoners of war, some were..."

"Enough. For the peace of Terra, someone has to pay the price."

Henry's mind was entirely focused on Letania's strange behavior. In his opinion, it was strange enough that the Witch King himself did not attend such an important meeting.

In addition to the constant rumors about the Witch King of Letania, he couldn't help but wonder if something had happened to the Witch King of Letania, which was why he was in such a hurry to cooperate with Kazdel.