Although the Magus Civilization’s delegation said they could forcibly seize the Black Merlot Civilization’s technology brought by the Gallant Federation, they showed remarkable restraint and strict adherence to protocol during the actual talks.

A massive rectangular table was placed in the middle of the negotiation site, with representatives from the two civilizations seated on opposite sides.

The Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s technologies brought by Sein and his group had been “carefully selected”.

At first glance, these technologies appeared highly advanced and profound.

In reality, however, every single one of them was a trap.

The Eiyurant Papillon Civilization technologies provided by the Magus Civilization were all incomplete. Worse still, nearly two-thirds of the content was outright wrong!

These were fabricated technologies put together by the Magus Civilization mages, all meant to mislead the Gallant Federation.

Even when deceiving an enemy, however, one had to do it smartly.

As a result, about one-third of the technical information was genuine, though it consisted only of relatively unimportant foundational technologies from the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization.

Blending truth with falsehood was the Magus Civilization’s approach.

The Magus Civilization’s leadership agreed to the Gallant Federation’s information exchange proposal precisely because they hoped these flawed technologies and misleading research paths would derail the federal scientists’ work.

By the end of it, not only would the Gallant Federation gain little real insight from the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s legacy, but their own technological development would likely suffer serious setbacks.

To some extent, the Gallant Federation had already anticipated this “sinister intent” from the Magus Civilization.

Even so, driven by various considerations, they chose to proceed with the exchange.

Likewise, the genetic warbeast cultivation technique offered by the federation was not something the Magus Civilization viewed with particularly high expectations.

Just as the two sides were locked in open conflict across multiple battlefields, an invisible war was also unfolding inside this underground negotiation chamber.

Although Sein had been personally appointed by Feylis as one of the Magus Civilization’s negotiators and possessed deep knowledge of the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s legacy technology, he kept an extremely low profile throughout the talks.

Despite the fact that neither side truly expected much from this exchange, the negotiators still engaged in sharp and biting verbal sparring.

Each side seemed utterly convinced that they were offering world-shaking technology, while the other was presenting nothing but worthless junk.

They all looked deeply wronged; it was almost comical.

More than the genetic warbeast cultivation technique itself, Sein found his attention drawn to Bond within the negotiation chamber.

Sein was always selective in who he associated with.

While he maintained outwardly cordial relations with some Magus Civilization powerhouses, he privately held little regard for them.

By contrast, some Magus Civilization powerhouses—perhaps at lower developmental tiers—were able to draw his particular attention.

The Rank Five federal agent named Bond somehow reminded Sein of Grimm and Angreas, his two friends from Magus World.

Sein could not quite pinpoint what they shared in common. Still, he had a strong feeling that given enough time to grow, someone like Bond could cause far more trouble in Magus World than any of the federation’s other super soldiers, or even military commanders.

Aside from speaking up early on to greet Sein, Bond maintained an extremely low profile throughout the rest of the negotiations, much like Sein himself.

For now, the Magus Civilization remained unaware that Bond was actually the main force behind the exploration of the Black Merlot Civilization’s ruins.

Fermera had once told Sein that she had joined an expedition into the Grand Apocalypse World’s ruins alongside Bond. However, Bond’s exploration of the Black Merlot Civilization’s overlord-class biological warship took place after Fermera’s defection.

Bond, who had remained mostly silent, seemed to notice Sein’s focused gaze resting on him and returned it with a cold smirk.

“Interesting,” Sein could not help but mutter. He was wearing the Faceless Mask, yet Bond had still sensed his gaze. This alone suggested the man was more perceptive than he had expected.

“This is a civilizational-level technology left behind by the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization! Do you even know what a civilizational treasure is?!” Potsdam, a Rank Five mage, demanded, glaring at the federation’s representatives across the negotiation table.

They had reached the most critical stage of the talks.

Information related to a civilizational treasure was the most valuable asset the Magus Civilization had brought to this exchange.

As for the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s civilizational treasure in question, Magus World had presented partial records related to the “Infinite Energy Device”.

Regarding the Eiyurant Papillon Civilization’s two civilizational treasures, the Magus Civilization believed that the Gallant Federation had obtained some information as well, though certainly not to the same depth as Magus World.

Even so, these technologies were fragmented and incomplete. What the Magus Civilization possessed amounted to nothing more than information on the treasures’ functions and general descriptions.

As for their manufacturing principles and underlying mechanisms, those were entirely unknown.

If even the Magus Civilization had gained so little of real value, what could they possibly offer the Gallant Federation?

The so-called “civilizational treasure” information that Potsdam was arguing over was, in reality, nothing more than the Magus Civilization’s most rudimentary knowledge of the “Infinite Energy Device”.

If the Gallant Federation could really manufacture an Eiyurant Papillon Civilization treasure based on a name alone, this war would not even need to be fought.

Yet despite how superficial and hollow this information was, Potsdam treated it as a decisive factor capable of determining the outcome of the Clash of Civilizations.

They demanded not only full disclosure of all Black Merlot Civilization intelligence held by the Gallant Federation, but also the immediate withdrawal of the federation’s legions from the Arid Expanse World, Planet Aquaria, and the Shadowbat Civilization’s star domain, with all occupied territories returned to the Magus Civilization!

In Potsdam’s own words, the star domains occupied by the Gallant Federation were unquestionably part of the Magus Civilization’s territory—sacred and inviolable lands belonging to the members of the Magus Alliance.

The Rank Five mage spoke with such righteous indignation that even Sein could not help glancing at him.

The Magus Civilization truly had no shortage of talent.

Master Potsdam was clearly well-versed in the art of negotiation. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Claiming the Shadowbat Civilization’s Star Domain as part of the Magus Civilization’s territory was reasonable, given that the Shadowbat Civilization had already joined the Magus Alliance.

However, claiming the Arid Expanse World and Planet Aquaria—two medium-sized star domains—as Magus Alliance territory was pushing it.

Seiron, the mightiest being of Arid Expanse World, along with his most loyal and elite legions, had been pretty much annihilated more than two years earlier under the apocalyptical bombardment of the Gallant Federation’s overlord-class warships.

What remained of Seiron amounted to little more than scattered bone fragments, while his world-class Wasteland Armor had been reduced to scrap.

More importantly, Arid Expanse World had never signed any formal treaty with the Magus Alliance in the first place, so how could its star domain possibly be considered the Magus Alliance’s territory?

The Gallant Federation’s delegation immediately raised this objection.

As for Planet Aquaria, which was also brought up during the negotiations, the Magus Civilization recognized only Orric as the legitimate Ocean King of Aquaria, viewing the current Ocean King, Orven, as illegitimate.

The Magus Civilization sought not only to install Orric as the new Ocean King, but also to hold Orven accountable for patricide and attempted fratricide.