In this steampunk world, Golden Oak, Pandorn, and Redbud were recognized as the three strongest countries in the world.
Around them, there were many other countries and colonies that chose to rely on one of the major countries to survive.
Some deliberately maintained their independent status and announced permanent demilitarization, becoming a neutral country that served as a place for the few major countries to play and mediate. It could be said that they were trying to survive in the cracks.
Aledorn was such a country.
It was located in the cracks between the three major steam countries, and its territory was only a dozen cities. Compared to the giant neighboring countries, it was like a small dot in every aspect.
Because of its unique geographical location, none of the major countries chose to annex it. Instead, they tacitly designated it as a neutral country and used it as a buffer.
Now, Aledorn had risen to fame in the world because of its absolute safety and the fact that there was no threat of war.
Aledorn, White Pigeon City.
On this day, all the streets were urgently cleaned. A large number of police officers were on the streets to maintain order. There were also many parades with banners such as "Peace, not war" and so on. They gathered in front of several embassies.
After the unremitting efforts of Golden Oak and Redbud, and the key was Chevrolet's compromise, they finally reluctantly agreed to start a round of negotiations to resolve the conflict in the Pandorn Empire peacefully. Before that, no one would be the first to use nuclear weapons.
As a result, almost all the people in the world were celebrating. They were happy that they had temporarily walked out of the haze of nuclear war and destruction.
A huge armored airship was parked in the airship port. Chevrolet was wearing a military uniform and white gloves. He looked at the bustling street and narrowed his eyes. "Mr. Ambassador, the citizens of your country are quite enthusiastic!"
The ambassador of Aledorn replied in a deep voice, "This is the voluntary action of our citizens. Mr. President, you should see the prayers for peace!"
"I have no intention of starting a world war and the destruction of mankind, as long as the Pandorn Empire is willing to accept reality!"
Chevrolet's words made the ambassador frown.
If the nobles of the Pandorn Empire really knew how to compromise, they would not need to mediate.
"Regarding this, I believe that the representatives of Redbud and Golden Oak will negotiate with both of you."
Fortunately, Aledorn was only an errand boy this time. The real hosts were still the two parties.
"Yes, I look forward to it!"
Chevrolet got into the car surrounded by many guards and drove slowly to the state guesthouse. His car had obviously been specially modified. There was no noise from the boiler, and there was no tremor on the road.
However, after a few streets, another convoy slowly drove over. The ambassador's expression immediately changed. "It's the convoy of the Pandorn Empire. Damn, that b * stard arranged the route?"
Although he wanted to mediate, he didn't want this pair of enemies to bump into each other before going to the negotiating table. Otherwise, he didn't know what kind of trouble it would cause.
"This time, the Pandorn Empire's full representative is the Pandorn Crown Prince," he thought.
"The Pandorn Empire" of the Pandorn Empire. "Crown" Pandorn Empire is Empire.
Last time, when his plan to use war to hasten peace failed, he immediately looked for the reason. It was not until recently that the spy lurking in Pandorne sent him detailed information, letting him know that the reason for his failure was entirely because the prince had been advocating war and had convinced the noble Senate and the emperor. Otherwise, his plan would have succeeded long ago.
Along with the report, there were some other ambiguous news, especially one of the guesses that caught Chevrolet's attention.
He rolled down the window, his expression dark.
"Reincarnated traveler …?"
The opposing convoy seemed to be more restrained. They did not make any provocative moves, and the two sides slowly drove past each other.
However, when they passed each other, the window of the car in the middle rolled down, and the handsome face of Crown Prince Gaudi appeared.
Two pairs of eyes suddenly met, and sparks seemed to appear in midair.
Time seemed to have passed in an instant, but it also felt like a long time. When the convoy slowly drove away, the ambassador let out a long sigh. "Luckily …"
He almost thought that the two sides would start fighting, and that would be the end of him as an ambassador. Luckily, the worst-case scenario did not happen.
On the other hand, Chevrolet's face darkened even more, as if it was about to drip water.
The moment their eyes met, he felt a familiar aura from Gaudi. He was even more certain that Gaudi was a Reincarnated traveler!
Now, he finally knew how his plan had failed.
"This negotiation will be even more difficult!"
Chevrolet suddenly let out a sigh.
Since they were all Reincarnated travelers, they understood each other very well, as well as their bottom line. They would definitely not give in to each other.
…
On the other side.
In the Pandorne Empire convoy, the driver in front suddenly turned around. "Your Highness, revealing your identity now …"
"That's not a big deal."
Prince Gaudi leaned against the sponge cushion. "We'll see each other during the negotiation anyway. It doesn't matter if it's sooner or later … Ever since the last time, I didn't hope to hide my identity anymore. It's already a huge victory to be able to maintain it until now!"
"Then, are we really going to compromise this time?"
The driver's voice was very worried.
"Of course not. This is the best chance to eliminate the rebels!"
Prince Gaudi's face was as calm as still water. "Their foundation is not stable. Our territory is bigger than theirs, and we have more troops than theirs. Most importantly, the number of Sword of the Thunder God in our inventory is definitely greater than theirs … Because of this, we cannot give them time to develop!"
He knew how incredible the Reincarnation Dimension was.
As long as Chevrolet could catch its breath and go through a few mission worlds, his team would definitely be able to gain a lot of contribution points. By then, if they were to exchange for some advanced technology, they might be at a disadvantage.
"Then why did Your Highness agree to negotiate with them? Is it because of the relationship between the Golden Oak Kingdom and the Bauhinia Federation? "
"Partly."
In front of his confidant, Prince Gaudi was quite talkative. "Those two countries were scared by our madness. They might have stocks, but they definitely wouldn't dare to throw Swords of Thunder God at each other like we did. So, they prepared a cage for me — the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the non-proliferation of technology, and promised not to be the first to use nuclear weapons … Hehe …"
At this point, a mocking smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
"Although these two countries are quite afraid of death, their military power is not fake. In case we don't agree, they will completely stand on the Alliance Army's side. So, we can still accept some of these terms. The war with Swords of Thunder God can be stopped, but the normal war must not be stopped!"
Prince Gaudi said hatefully, "We can't give these rebels any chance to recuperate. Even if we can't use Swords of Thunder God, we have to take advantage of the huge victory we obtained in the previous attack and use the three armies to flatten them!"
For the Golden Oak Kingdom and the Bauhinia Federation, Prince Gaudi had indeed grasped their bottom line.
They couldn't let the whole world and the ecosystem die with them. This was the consensus view of the two countries. If Pando ignored this and threatened their basic survival, Gaudi had no doubt that these two countries, lacking in moral integrity, would immediately turn around and fund the Freedom Alliance at all costs to flatten the Empire as quickly as possible.
But other than nuclear weapons, their attitude toward the Freedom Alliance was probably even worse than the Pando Empire's.
Therefore, the nuclear war must be stopped, but the normal war must continue.
Perhaps this was also the scene that the Golden Oak Kingdom and the Bauhinia Federation wanted to see the most.
After all, as the war went on, the Empire's strategic reserves also continued to decline. They had to purchase all kinds of materials from the Golden Oak Kingdom and the Bauhinia Federation in large quantities.
The consequence of this was the outflow of all kinds of precious metals, and they even had to carry a lot of foreign debts.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, the industry and commerce of the Golden Oak Kingdom and the Bauhinia Federation ushered in a rare golden period of development. In the various colonies, they crazily squeezed the market share that originally belonged to Pando.
After this war, even if Pando could still maintain its independence, it was almost certain that it would fall from the status of a first-rate country in the world.
…
"Aledorn, White Pigeon City!"
Just as the meeting began, in the train station, a train slowly stopped at the platform.
A strange man wearing a black trench coat, hat, sunglasses, and mask, as if he wanted to cover his entire face, also slowly came down from the platform. He looked in the direction of the venue, and his eyes under the sunglasses flashed with a strange light.
The steam train emitted white smoke, made a loud noise, and rumbled away from the platform.
The strange man walked out of the train station and immediately saw a huge slogan written on the opposite wall — "Long live peace!" The paint on it had not completely dried.
"Peace? Hehe … "
The strange man stared at these letters in a daze and suddenly laughed softly. His voice was full of hoarseness and unwillingness.
"How can there be true peace in this world?"
He suddenly thought of himself.
Although he had given up almost everything for the Federation, in the end, he did not get anything and was sent away with a meager pension.
And the culprit who caused him to fall into such a situation was treated as a distinguished guest by various dignitaries because he had great power. This differential treatment made the hatred in his heart burn.
True peace? Fairness? This kind of thing probably only appeared in fantasy, right?
"Lucius, you're here. Very good!"
At this moment, a person suddenly walked over from the side, and a voice sounded directly in his heart.
"Reincarnator?"
Lucius took a deep breath. "Tell me … Why did you go through so much trouble to find me?"
"There are just some small matters that require your expertise …" the voice said.
The voice said, "And in return, I will give you what you want!"
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