After a while;
At Royal Palace, Lunaris City;
Mark and the other six rulers sat together for a meeting; everyone had this tense expression as they were served wine by the servants and they weren't sure whether they should bombard Mark with questions or just stay patiently silent.
If it was before, they would not only question Mark's intentions but also make allegations of misuse of authority against him but his latest action on Shen Li made them realize that Mark just did it on purpose to state his intentions of resorting to violence if the situation arose and he didn't seem like negotiating much.
In the end, as the servants backed away after pouring wine to the Kings, Mark took a sip and addressed them, "So, I guess you are all still wondering what else there is to speak about, after announcing my plans already, right?"
"No, we just want to hear a proper explanation from you," collectively thought everyone at the same time as if all of them share the same brain cells.
Mark leaned to the front and rested his elbows on the table, revealing the rest of his plans, "After one week, I will be resigning my post as the Chancellor of Alliance and the Head of the Cabinet, leaving it in all of your hands. Whether you continue to maintain the alliance or not is up to you. On the other hand, I would focus more on the development of my own country and then begin my conquest of unifying the entire continent under one banner, The Federation of Genesis.
If you are interested in joining me, I promise you the autonomy to rule your own kingdom just as you have been doing now. Other than the fact that your lands will turn into kingdoms and act as the vassal states in name, there will be no changes at all.
If not, I will give you the time to prepare yourselves while I primarily focus on unfriendly empires and then bring my army to your doorstep, still letting you rule your own lands as you have been doing but on my terms.
The choice is up to you."
The guys who sat with him at the same long table were all Kings and Emperors. Even someone like Ouyang Zen, despite being so young, was well-versed in statecraft and could easily guess Mark's ambition after hearing his speech at the arena.
Hence, Mark's announcement is within their expectation. If there was someone who wasn't prepared, it was perhaps, Feng Chen, the puppet king of Western Yan. Unlike Ouyang Zen who deals with the affairs of the kingdom like a true king, Feng Chen lets his uncle, Prince Feng Wu rule Western Yan as his steward, atleast until he becomes an adult.
As a result, apart from him who turned his head to look at his uncle, the rest of the royals stared at Mark in silence as if they didn't want to state their opinion.
Mark wanted some kind of reply but since he didn't get what he wanted, Mark targeted the guy who he wasn't close with, pointing his finger at him, "Emperor Ming, if you have anything to say on the matter, you can speak."
Ming Xianzhi took a deep breath and said in a deep tone, indicating his seriousness, "To be honest, the reason why the Qilin Empire joined this alliance is to acquire the backing as well as the protection from Chancellor Lu and Lord Fu's army. If you decide to leave the alliance and mind your own business, then, there is no reason for us to stay in the group. Our Qilin Empire never submits to you, even if you become a deity, Lord Lu. Now, if you excuse me..." He got up from his seat to leave in the middle of a meeting.
5) Any attack on a state that exceeds the magnitude of a 7-circle realm expert, the Federation must unconditionally send the army and deal with it.
6) Except for the Emperor's title, the vassal states will retain all of their existing titles.
7) The Council of Kings will continue to exist, and as long as there is a unanimous vote from five of them, regardless of others' votes, the council should possess additional power to add or tweak conditions to this Merger agreement.
The seven conditions presented by the five states after a heavy discussion surprised Mark a little bit as he purposely tried to remind them that they were talking to a demigod, but in the end, he comprised a little bit to give them a reason to maintain their dignity and signed the patch, using the oath of his blood. Not to mention, he saw several loopholes in the agreement and in time, he will take advantage of it, if the need of the hour rises anyway.
A few days later;
Imperial City, Leon Empire;
The Old Emperor of Shi Dynasty had his elbow on the throne's armrest and his fist was supporting his tilted head as he was intensely gazing at Sixth Prince, Shi Chong, who was kneeling in the middle of the court and defending himself in a pleading tone.
"Father, it was not done on purpose. If anything, it is the fault of Merchant Jiu. I never wanted to visit Prince Qi's mansion in the first place. He requested me over and over for the event. It was a joyous occasion and we had drinks. One thing led to another and..."
"Shut up, Chong'er," Emperor Shi almost growled in this time. "It isn't enough that you dared to charm King Qi's favorite concubine but you even abducted her? We are on the brink of a rebellion because of your act. King Qi is asking for your head."
"Father, it is not true..." The handsome-looking middle-aged fellow raised his voice in a hurry, "She willingly followed me to become my concubine. I didn't abduct her."
The whole court went silent, witnessing the shamelessness of the Prince who was well known for his profligacy.
It is not uncommon for Princes from the Imperial family to steal wives or daughters of minor nobles or commoners if they like them. In a giant Empire like the Leon Empire, the power of an imperial prince cannot be challenged.
However, laying hands on the wife of someone like King Qi, who had an army of 500,000 soldiers to deploy, is akin to inviting death. Not even an Emperor of the land will dare to do it.
The Emperor clenched his fists to control his anger, maintaining the same posture as if to show the others that he was calm and collected, "Fine then. Let's do this. Go south and bring your nephew, Prince Shi Eun, to the capital. I will take care of King Qi for you. Or else, I will hand you over to Dragon Tiger Forces."
"Nephew Shi Eun?" The Sixth Prince gasped in surprise.