Chapter 168: Negotiations (1)

The two fated opponents had finally clashed again, causing sparks to fly as soon as their heated gazes met each other.

After facing off for a bit, Danba suddenly laughed. “Long time no see, Su Chen. After the incident at the Goldwater Ruins, I have been thinking of you all this time. You have become much stronger and harder to deal with.”

Su Chen smiled slightly. “I feel the same way, and often think of you as well. You are the smartest Ferocious Race soldier I have ever met; the Ferocious Race sure is lucky to have you.”

The two of them didn’t seem to be raring to go at each other; instead, they both started praising the other side.

Two extremely talented people praising each other was a normal way of putting on a facade. It allowed them to mask their pride behind a veil of humility.

However, after running through this routine, their duel still needed to happen. Someone needed to advance and someone needed to fall down. The more ruthless person would advance first.

Usually, the person who first went on the offensive was stronger one — at least, the person who believed they were stronger.

As such, Danba said, “Danba is just the Gravel Lizard Tribe’s Danba; I can’t even change the fate of my own tribe, let alone that of the entire Ferocious Race. However, Su Chen is the human race’s Su Chen, and your existence is already changing the fate of humanity. You’ve already so well already, creating techniques for reaching the Blood Boiling Realm and the Yang Opening Realm without a bloodline, as well as the Hemolytic Totem…… These discoveries alone are enough to increase the strength of the human race by a significant amount.”

Su Chen replied, “Brother Danba, you’ve got it wrong. The techniques for reaching the Blood Boiling and Yang Opening Realms were created by my instructor. I just benefitted from his great contributions. The Hemolytic Totem, on the other hand, can be considered my creation.”

“But you’re continuing that line of research, right? Your Instructor could do it, but I believe you will do an even better job. The Light Shaking Realm is the cornerstone of strength for the human race; once there is a path to reach that realm without a bloodline, that single step’s value will exceed the value of all of its predecessors combined. That would be a monumental contribution. You might be able to do it and you might not be able to do it, but either way the possibility is definitely there. As a Ferocious Race individual, I have the duty to nip such a possibility in the bud.”

“So that’s why you took everyone here with you to capture me?”

“Yes!” Danba replied sincerely. “For the sake of the Ferocious Race, you must die!”

“Then I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed. I can promise you that you won’t be able to capture me today,” Su Chen replied with a smile.

“I know you have other plans in place, but no matter what, I need to at least try,” Danba said as he raised his right arm. The countless Ferocious Race soldiers raised their battleaxes and prepared to throw them at Su Chen.

Su Chen coldly watched on and said, “You’re going to make a move just like that? I thought that you would have been more willing to negotiate with me.”

Danba shook his head. “A long night has many dreams.”

Danba might not know about the trope of a villain dying because they spoke too much, but the proverb he just spoke carried a similar meaning. It was also debatable whether Danba was actually a villain — from his perspective, everything he did was for his country and his people. As such, he was prepared to finish the matter as soon as perfunctory introductions were done. Danba would only know what backup plans Su Chen had put in place once they started fighting.

Su Chen sighed, “Can you wait just a moment and wait for me to finish before you attack?”

Danba shook his head. “There’s nothing you can say that can stop me from going for your life.”

He was just about to give the command again when Su Chen said, “What if I had a technique that could improve the physical attributes of the Ferocious Race and increase their ability to sense Origin Energy?”

Danba’s arm froze in midair. He was completely caught off-guard by Su Chen’s statement.

He stared at Su Chen in disbelief. “That’s impossible!”

“There’s nothing impossible about it,” Su Chen replied. “Since you understand me so well, you should also know of my abilities. If I can break through the restrictions of the human race, then why can’t I do the same for the Ferocious Race? I’ve been in the Ferocious Race’s territory for some time now, and I have captured and experimented on many Ferocious Race members during this period of time. To me, improving the ability of the Ferocious Race to sense Origin Energy isn’t hard at all. Not only that, but I can also improve the bloodline-less techniques and turn the techniques originally meant for humans to also work for the Ferocious Race. You should know what this means, right?”

Danba was completely frozen in place.

Before coming here, he had been filled with self-confidence.

He had his massive armies and his intelligence. He had also seized the perfect opportunity to strike and with his army supporting him, he was sure to handle any scheme that Su Chen threw at him.

Now, however, Su Chen’s simple words had trapped him. He had no way of advancing or retreating.

In that instant, Su Chen had painted a beautiful future for him. It was impossible for him to say that he wasn’t moved in the slightest.

Why couldn’t the hope of the human race also become the hope of the Ferocious Race!?

Perhaps they might even be able to surpass the human race some day!

After all, the human race could rely on themselves to cultivate, while the Ferocious Race could also rely on the Origin Energy Temple.

Danba sucked in a long breath of air and said, “First of all, why should I believe that you can do it? Second of all, even if you could, why would you give it to me? The human race and the Ferocious Race have been enemies for tens of thousands of years. Why would you just hand over something that would so drastically increase the strength of your enemies?”

Su Chen countered, “First of all, it’s not about if I can do it; it’s that I have already done it. While I was researching the Ferocious Race, I reached a certain level of understanding regarding the Ferocious Race’s anatomy and discovered a way to improve the Ferocious Race’s sensitivity to Origin Energy. Just as you have said, I have yet to complete it because I have no reason to do so. Completing it is just a matter of time, not a matter of whether I will succeed. Second of all, just as you said, the human race has been at odds with the Ferocious Race for tens of thousands of years; however, humanity’s primary enemy is not the Ferocious Race but rather the Beast Race. More precisely, the Beast Race is the enemy of all Intelligent Races. This principle has never changed. Strengthening the human race will increase our ability to stand against the Beast Race, but strengthening the Ferocious Race will also have a similar effect.”

Danba’s heart trembled. Su Chen’s words had penetrated deep into his heart.

Even though the five Intelligent Races often fought amongst each other, the Beast Race was still the number one public enemy . Every Intelligent Race lived under the threat of the Beast Race; when a Beast Wave came, they would attack anybody within the wave’s radius no matter what race they were from. Apart from the Feathered Race, who lived in Heaven’s Castle far away from the influence of the Beast Race, the four large Intelligent Races were always constantly on guard against the Beast Race. The Sea Race was forced to handle the sea beasts all on their own, so they lived particularly miserable lives. Humanity, the Ferocious Race, and the Spirit Race all faced off against the beasts on the earth and in the skies.

In principle, Su Chen’s words weren’t wrong.

Unfortunately, Danba wouldn’t believe him just because of this.

His heart was only moved for a moment before he regained clarity. He shook his head and said, “That sounds very righteous of you, but it’s not trustworthy enough. The Ferocious Race is still one of humanity’s enemies. You could still resist the Beast Race by wiping out the Ferocious Race, taking over our territory, and reproducing rapidly while increasing the strength of a human individual. If you believe that you can easily wipe out an opponent, using one enemy to deal with another is extremely idiotic.”