MY 10,000× DIMENSIONAL SYSTEM-Chapter 161: Meeting II

Meeting II

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’The Weakest physically huh?’ General Tan was quick to catch on to the underlying meaning in Thanatos’ words.

He explicitly said physically, meaning that he was stronger in other aspects. Which was easy to infer given his abilities, and fairly simple to assume considering that it was widely known that Liches had weaker physical bodies and excelled at magic.

That didn’t make it any less unnerving though.

General Tan was a bit stumped. On one hand, hearing that this Genesis Corps wanted nothing to do with the clans and would leave them alone as long as they were left alone in return was somewhat reassuring, though he still took those words with a grain of salt.

On the other hand, willingly allowing an unregistered force to roam freely within the hidden realm that the clans had essentially claimed as ’territory’ was an issue. As even if they didn’t have any nefarious intentions, no one outside the hidden realm would allow that to slide, especially if they obtained more resources than everyone else.

He’d be foolish to think that the news wouldn’t spread when they eventually left the hidden realm. And when it did, there would be an uproar, and he would most likely face a lot of backlash if they realized that he made no moves to stop these people.

’If it were them, they’d either ask for unconditional surrender or force them to pay some sort of tax from whatever they gain before allowing them to explore the hidden realm while under strict supervision.’ He mused.

’Then there’s these people. The fact that they aren’t afraid to anger the clans is concerning. Considering what happened to the Tsar Clan, it’s clear they aren’t scared of making enemies. Meaning that they should be confident in their ability to defend themselves to an extent, and for good reason.’ Tan looked at Thanatos.

He was someone in the late stage of the Apex rank, yet even he couldn’t guarantee beating the Lich in a head-on battle. And if he had to fight the undead he controlled as well, then things would devolve very quickly. Which was concerning, considering that Thanatos hadn’t even transcended yet.

The fact that even Scion Constella warned them to treat these people with utmost caution spoke volumes about the potential danger.

In short, antagonizing Thanatos and his people was foolish, but could Tan handle the fallout if he decided not to?

Well to him, the answer was fairly simple.

’I’m not acting out on my own technically, I’m following orders from Lady Constella. So doing anything else would be stupid. I won’t face any fallout since I’m simply doing what someone of a higher authority told me to do.’ He found peace with that.

Still, he needed to do more. Whether that be establishing some form of relationship with Thanatos or gathering information. Either way, he had to leave with something.

He had limited options, but he could still gain some info based on how Thanatos responded to some of his questions.

"How do you feel about trade?" Tan ventured.

"Oh?" Thanatos didn’t immediately say no, so Tan continued.

"We have many things we can trade with, from rare materials to knowledge to even assistance and manpower." Hearing this, Thanatos tilted his head, his finger continuing to tap his armrest.

"Ah. Well, in that case, I’ll have to disappoint you. We aren’t exactly lacking any of the things you’ve just mentioned. So trade won’t be particularly beneficial to us." This response told Tan a few things.

’I didn’t tell him specifically what we had to offer, just a general explanation, but he turned me down without any hesitation. That means that they aren’t lacking in any of the things I mentioned.’ That made him a little worried. Especially with the idea that they didn’t lack information.

’How much do they know then?’ It was easy to assume they knew a lot, considering how Thanatos hadn’t reacted in any way to their arrival. In fact, it was safe to say that he knew when they would be coming, as when their ship arrived in its stealth mode, Thanatos was already on the wall, staring exactly at the ship. Even if he knew it was coming, knowing where it would be coming from was a different story as none of the Vassal clans moved together, so they came from a different direction than the Tsar Clan. Yet they were spotted so easily.

Then again, maybe Thanatos had a special undead that had incredible perception that allowed him to sense the ship’s presence before they sensed his.

Regardless, Tan still asked more questions.

"You say you won’t attack the clans unless provoked. What do you define as provocation?" He asked the next thing on his mind.

It could be a form of bias on his part, but he didn’t trust the undead, especially one as terrifying as Thanatos.

He said that he wouldn’t attack unless attacked, but that could be interpreted in many ways, and Tan intended to find out which way the Lich meant.

Thanatos on the other hand was amused by the question. Tan didn’t bother to hide the intention of this question, but Thanatos supposed that it made sense for him to want a more in-depth explanation as indeed, the definition ’wouldn’t attack unless attacked had some loopholes. So he decided to clarify.

"What mean by that is that we will not make any efforts to antagonize any of the clans unless we are being provoked, whether directly or indirectly. Moreover, any attempt to infringe or interfere with our actions will be met with aggression. We have no problems with anyone passing by so long as they don’t get too close to our base or try anything funny.’ Thanatos tilted his head before continuing.

"And in the situation where we come across something extremely valuable but haven’t claimed it yet, we will fight whoever stands in our way to obtain it." When he finished, the Mantodea shivered slightly. That wasn’t a threat, it was a promise.

Tan was largely unperturbed though, as such a thing was to be expected. After all, they were allies,.or even acquaintances. In this place where everything was valuable, it was every man for himself.

Still, with this information, Tan now had a clear idea of how to proceed with these people in the future and how to interact with them.

"Are you against the idea of having allies with any of the clans?" He asked after pondering for a moment.

At this, Thanatos just shrugged.

"You can ally with us if you want, we couldn’t care less." Tan nodded.

’They aren’t explicitly looking for allies, but they also aren’t interested in burning all bridges. So creating a relationship with them is still possible, albeit extremely difficult.’ He sighed.

After that. They talked for a while more, Thanatos not giving out any more information than Necessary, and Tan taking in as much information as he got and doing his best to fill in the gaps.

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In the end, there were still many holes in what Tan had managed to obtain, but he believed that it was somewhat satisfactory.

"I believe we’ve discussed everything that needs to be discussed at the moment. Thank you for your time." Tan was cordial and Thanatos nodded.

A small part of him was disappointed that there was no conflict. He enjoyed adding to his army no matter how small the additions were. But he wasn’t too disappointed as their seer already told him that the chances of a conflict breaking out were close to zero, and would only happen if Thanatos initiated a fight, which he had no intention of doing so.

Without saying anything else, Thanatos stood up and desummoned his throne as it melted into his shadow. He didn’t bother with making any closing statements and simply left the ship, leaving a room of tense Mantodea.

Immediately he left, the ship also turned and flew away, and a moment later he received multiple attempts at connection from his fellow cohort members.

He accepted and pretty much everyone had called him besides Prism.

"How did it go?" Kim asked sounding cheerful and Thanatos shrugged.

"Well enough. They want to establish relations with us, but the Scion they serve seems quite wary of me though." Hearing this, Silver sighed.

"Lucky you, the seer over here said that I’m definitely gonna have to fight." Despite sounding regretful, no one bought the act.

"Battle junkie, you’re excited aren’t you?" Umbra snorted and Sikver didn’t reply, but his gently wagging tail answered that question.

At that moment, Aisha suddenly joined the connection.

"Oh? The Little oracle has something to say?" Belladonna said with her usual teasing voice and Aisba glanced her way before saying.

"Master told me not to tell him when I said I had bug news, but he said I should tell you guys." Her tone was serious and everyone stopped joking.

They knew Christopher was training and wouldn’t get involved in this stuff unless necessary, but the fact that Aisha who was the best oracle had to tell them personally spoke volumes of how significant whatever was happening was.