<h4>Chapter 658: The Tsar''s Gravitas</h4>


    The bone serpent drifted up into the sky, and goldenhermes lit up in the orifices where its eyes were, “Oh? Where were they headed?”


    Silence.


    “Do you still think he represents one of the Eight Great ns?”


    “This time, I’m certain that he’s back for evidential proof of the Forbidden Arts as earlier alleged. You’re right. He would never do something like that if he’s from one of the Eight Great ns. After all, the Eight Great ns’ dealings with us would only extend to matters ofmerce and profit, and it matters not to them whether we believe his ims about the Russian Underworld’s foray into Forbidden Arts or not. There’s simply no impetus for them to head back into Hell to obtain any proof of such allegations. Instead, the only one who has a vested interest in doing so is someone from within Hell’s governmental system - especially one entrusted with a tall responsibility.”


    ck Mamba responded cidly, “Because this wasn’t a big deal for Hell to begin with.”


    “What they desire is international influence. For instance… over Usonia.”


    ck Mamba smiled, and his eyes flickered softly, “And that was precisely why I didn’t outrightly reject him back then.”


    “Babulu, do you now know why I didn’t give Prefect Qin an affirmative response even though I didn’t think he was lying back then?


    “If we’re going to act on these ims of his, then we’ll need to be able to trigger the Coalition of Alkebn Underworlds to act together. Given the gravity and potential implications of the situation, we cannot afford to make any move withoutpelling evidence and further information on hand. After all… this matter is likely going to escte into something to be discussed at the Federation of Underworlds. It would be imprudent to act on an impulse, to say the least.”


    Babulu bowed, “Secondly, leverage.”


    He paused and smiled wryly, “We can’t be acting in your interests for free either. Themercial opportunities you’ve presented to us… isn’t sufficient.”


    His voice deepened, “We’re going to ask for the sky.”


    Babulu’s eyes gleamed brightly.


    “That’s right.” ck Mamba responded softly, “Do you know what to do?”


    Momentster, Babulu vanished from the grand hall. If Qin Ye were here, he would most certainly have apuded the Mythic Spirit for his astuteness.


    A little deviation was only to be expected of any person that couldn’t quite be described as omniscient. Unfortunately, this deviation would prove to be fatal.


    Just like the Russian Underworld, nobody had anticipated that Hell was currently in hot soup! Hell’s current attitude towards the situation wasn’t one of indifference and apathy. In fact, it was quite the converse - Hell viewed the situation as one of grave importance to them, so much so that it justified the personal attention of the King Yanluo of Hell himself!


    Qin Ye remained in the room, carefully drafting up the documents that he required. Time passed quickly, and a day passed in the blink of an eye.


    It’s done!


    He had managed to document everything during this short period of time, from why he first visited Daehan, to the entire incident that transpired, to his considerations of the masterminds pulling the strings from the shadows, until the final conversation with Marquis Rumyantsev. From there, he even documented the proposedpensation and the terms of cooperation. Everything was written in formal prose and in third-personnguage. Furthermore, all traces of emotions had been masterfully omitted from the records.


    Hardly. At the very least, Qin Ye knew that he couldn’t possibly have done this without the aid of Fate.


    That said, Qin Ye was nowpletely worn out. With a soft sigh, he slumped back onto the sofa weakly. Using Fate like that resulted in a huge drain on his Yin energy reserves. Over thest day or so, all he’d done was to draft up a series of documents, and yet he couldn''t help but feel weak in both legs.


    It was a scroll with a golden background embroidered with patterns of rolling clouds, and tied together with a double-stranded rope - just like the official diplomatic scrolls recorded in Hell’s legacy. The only difference was that it wasn’t stamped with a seal.


    There were a total of three puzzle pieces that he needed, and he’d finally secured himself one piece. Now, all he had to do was to wait for Ryu Changmin and Kwon Kyung-ho’s return and pray that they might have the other two puzzle pieces for him.


    Sess might mean the best possible eventuality in certain circumstances, but the knowledge that one had put his best foot forward would allow him to move forward with a clear conscience.


    “Sir.” He held a copy of the newspaper in his hands, “These are thetest newspapers.”


    And if that was the case, then someone must have wanted him to see the contents of the papers.


    That said, there was clearly no need to look too far, because everything was clearly written all over the headlines - “Duchess of Rus, Catherine the Great, has just announced the grand opening of five international-ss energy deposits in Eastern Rus.”


    “Sigh…” Qin Ye sighed softly. He’d already guessed that the Russian Underworld’s Parasitic Inkstone Mine tender was nothing more than an appetizer for the main dish that followed. But, even then, he couldn’t help but sigh in exmation at the extent to which they were willing to go in order to secure what they needed.


    Is he not afraid of the possibility that they wouldn’t have the resources to actually develop the Forbidden Arts?


    This was the ssic case of cing all of their eggs in one basket and going all out in pursuit of a certain goal of theirs. Regardless of the result, it was far more important that they’d tried their best than to regret not having done soter on.


    “But… if you’re doing so much to put your best foot forward, how can I not do the same?” Qin Ye turned his attention to the papers and began to read carefully, “At the very least, none of you pampered Tsars and Dukes have to personally lobby for change like I do.”


    That said, Hell would never make light of the situation!


    The details were all summarized in the first few paragraphs of the news article, followed by an in depth, blow-by-blow description of exactly what transpired. Qin Ye was content with skimming through the summary of the press conference, before promptly turning to thementaries section below the article.


    Nobody questioned their motives.


    Qin Ye counted about a dozen underworlds who had already registered their interest for the tendering process, including severalrge Alkebn tribes.


    His eyes narrowed, “If you’re not willing to give up on these benefits, then you’ll have topromise in some way or other. To think that they’re already padding the pot and softening theirnding before their negotiations with Hell. Does this mean that they’re absolutely certain that they would be able to get their hands on the rights to the Resentment Crystals Mine? So much so that they’re even willing to burn bridges with Hell?”


    Unfortunately, this was also bad news for Hell.


    “I wonder what the ck Mamba Underworld thinks of all these developments?” He ran his finger gently across the papers, “Is this a show of might? Or is this all part of their negotiation tactics?”


    With that, Qin Ye shelved his thoughts and nced nkly at the ceiling. No matter what, he would have to wait until Ryu Changmin and Kwon Kyung-ho returned before he could reassess Hell’s position on this matter!


    Would they outweigh the profits to be had?


    At the very least, he would have to test their mettle if he were to learn of their bottom line for real!