Chapter 606: Chapter 606: The Negotiation Broke Down

In the end, everyone's gaze completely fixated on Zen.

Wearing a deadpan look on his face, Zen appeared as if his mind was wandering somewhere else.

Upon catching a glimpse of Zen's expression, Maurice, as well as the other ogre war lords, all had to force themselves to remain composed, patiently waiting for him to say something.

These war lords had been living for dozens, and some even hundreds, of years. At this point, each and every single one of them was gazing at a man who was barely even twenty years of age, anticipating what he was going to say. Truly, this was such a peculiar event.

The ogres all had fiery tempers even from the time of their birth. One of the top-level war lords couldn't take it any longer and outright said, “Brat, haven't you made up your mind already? Five seats should already be more than adequate to give face to the human race!”

The name of this top-level war lord was Bradley, and he belonged to the top ten top-level war lords of the ogres. Out of the 128 seat owners, he was ranked fourth, meaning to say, the power and standing he held were second only to Maurice within the ogres.

Taking a brief apathetic look at the top-level war lord, Zen was still thinking about what would be the best course of action to take. A hint of a scornful smile even slipped onto his face.

“We can discuss this matter the easy way or the hard way. However, it's quite apparent that you'd rather choose the latter. If you continue acting like this, then you can just forget about those five seats. Even if it is just one seat, we still have to consider it carefully. And it's five seats that we're talking about here.” Noticing the contemptuous smile on Zen's face instantly ignited a fire inside Bradley's heart. He was beginning to fume with rage.

As everyone around them would know, ogres tended to have a short fuse. That was in their nature.

Realizing that the state of affairs wasn't looking good, Fabian and Jarrod became all strung up right away. Just where in the world could Zen be planning to go with this?

Even though they were both thinking that, at this moment, they really couldn't say or do anything about it. Considering the fact that they were in the middle of a negotiation, they couldn't really afford to let the other party think that they didn't have much faith in themselves. So, they had no choice but to zip it.

However, Fabian failed to keep it all to himself. As discreetly as he possibly could, he told Zen through the use of his life vitality, “Zen, maybe it would be best for us to agree with what they're offering. After all, we're already quite satisfied with having those five seats.”

Zen was able to hear him clearly, but he simply acted as though he never heard anything.

“Brat!” Eventually, it was Bradley's turn to lose his patience. He sprung up from his chair, feeling so irritated.

It was at this moment that Zen finally opened his mouth. Staring intently at Maurice, he remarked, “Peaceful coexistence?”

Then, he proceeded to jeer at him, saying coldly, “When I stepped foot onto the first floor of the Tower of Sin, it didn't look like you wanted to live in peace with me. When I entered the second floor, it still didn't seem to be that way either. The third...the fourth...And even when I finally reached the tenth floor and went out of the Talent Tablet, it still didn't seem like you were intending to live in peace with me. It was only after I used the power of the Cursed Land to kill the two war sages of the ogres that you suddenly changed your mind. Now, you're telling me that you want to consider having a peaceful coexistence?”

After hearing Zen's remarks, Fabian and Jarrod instantly became even more ill at ease. It was made clear that they got a completely wrong idea, because, at first, Fabian simply thought that Zen was intending to ask for even greater benefits for the human race.

He never would've imagined that Zen would be planning to do something entirely different. What could he possibly have in mind?

There was a bizarre look on Esther's face, as she was wondering whether her ears were just playing tricks on her. 'It appears that Zen's thirst wouldn't easily be quenched. He still couldn't be satisfied with just getting those five seats. But that somewhat makes sense. After all, he is a man that our mighty queen has been fond of. How far into the future is he peering? He never really has his eyes dead set on such an insignificant Tower of Sin in the first place. I guess it would be safe to say that even the seemingly boundless Sea God Continent wouldn't be enough for him to make the most of the talent he possesses.

The stage which has been destined for this person must be the entire universe, and nothing less than that!'

Esther thought to herself. Compared to the humans, she was pretty calm.

A smile had been displayed on Maurice's face all this time. He had already tried his best to look friendly. After Zen finished speaking, Maurice's expression gradually turned gloomy. “Since you don't intend to live in peace with us, what do you want?”

The corner of Zen's mouth slightly rose. “The ogres give up all their seats and get the heck out of the Tower of Sin!”

As the words were coming out of his mouth one by one, Fabian, as well as the other humans present, had all been kept at the edge of their seats, holding their breaths. Esther, on the other hand, lowered her stance, preparing herself in case something happened, worrying that the ogre war lords might not be able to take it anymore and start a fight. And it wasn't just Esther, but all the other war lords of the Demon Night obviously became apprehensive, with their hearts pounding uncontrollably. ṙἈℕóＢЕȘ

The statement Zen had just made left everyone around him in shock. Ogres went there, genuinely intending to cooperate with humans, and yet there he was, asking all of them to leave the Tower of Sin. The audacity this brat had! How could this be happening?

Through all of that, Maurice was still unyielding in his huge seat. And despite the grim look he had on his face, he still wasn't showing any signs of being upset.

Be that as it might, the top-level war lords of the ogres who had just been quietly standing behind Maurice couldn't take the humiliation anymore. But the most infuriated one of them all was the second ranked ogre, Bradley. The immense rage he felt was written all over his face, and his majestic aura was spilling all over the place. He was prepared to make a move if need be.

Aside from Bradley, the other top-level war lords were also heaving uncontrollably as they had their attention focused solely on Zen. They couldn't wait to get their hands on him and devour him completely.

Upon noticing that his companions were already raring to make the first move, Maurice waved his hand to dissuade them from doing so. Then, he went on and said in a rather subdued voice, “You want us to step out of the Tower of Sin. That is something we couldn't possibly agree to. That is such an outrageous demand. You're asking for too much. Choose something more reasonable.”

“Too much?” Upon hearing such an audacious statement, Zen couldn't help himself from chuckling. “You wanted to have me killed. Wouldn't you say that was too much? If I were not strong enough to defend myself, I can say for certain that I would have died hundreds of times by now. I have no intention of killing every single one of your kind. I only want you out of this tower. I wouldn't really call that too much.”

Maurice was completely baffled by his crude remarks. Given that Zen had the nerve to say something like that, it would either be because he had so much faith in himself or because he was a stupid idiot who just wanted to run his mouth. It was clear that the latter had no chance of being true. From the way things looked, Zen was so confident that he could deal with the ogres with ease. To be able to make such a declaration, Zen must be so brave.

“Since time immemorial, we ogres have never been afraid of any other race. Our top-level war lords have ceaselessly emerged in the Tower of Sin, and not once have we ogres ever lost our seats in the tower before. I can't comply with your demands. Choose something else to ask for.” At this point, Maurice had been deeply amazed how he was being able to control his temper.

“Don't waste time on him anymore. As I've told you a couple of times before, just kill him and everything will be over and done with!”

Bradley, who had been standing behind Maurice, had enough of Zen's rude behavior. His brawny physique flared and appeared in front of everyone watching. The cultivation of a top-level war lord burst forth like a tidal wave that was several hundred feet high rushing toward Zen.

The second Bradley made a move, Esther responded in kind. A sheer net suddenly materialized before Zen to protect him.

'The negotiation broke down!'

That was the first thing that came to everyone's mind as they prepared themselves for the skirmish that was looming.

Fabian and Jarrod seemed so out of it. They had been left so dumbfounded, as Zen had scared them out of their wits just now. Zen ended up ignoring their advice! As the old saying went, “even a rabbit may bite when cornered.” The ogres were truly so prideful that there was no chance they would agree with Zen's demands.

Among everyone present, only Maurice and Zen were firmly sitting still, peering straight into each other's eyes, as if they never noticed how Bradley and Esther had already begun making their moves.

In spite of the fact that Bradley came darting toward Zen, he only got there halfway and couldn't even manage to get close to the net which Esther brought out, and an indistinct force instantly stopped him in his tracks.

“Insolent human brat, when I tear you into a thousand pieces, you will surely regret opening your mouth!” Bradley frenziedly yelled.

Furiously struggling, he tried so hard to break free from the imperceptible force which was keeping him bound. That being said, it ended up being such a futile attempt, making him look like a puny bug that helplessly got caught in a spider's web. The harder he tried to get away, the tighter the chain that seemed to be binding him became.

Even the powerful war sages had no hopes of escaping this invisible force. Considering that Bradley was merely a top-level war lord, what could he possibly do to break free from its clutch?

Without even bothering to give him so much as a single glance, Zen just casually blurted out, “Kill him.”

Poof!

Just like that, the invisible force instantly ripped Bradley's body into bits and pieces. Brown blood splattered all around the hall. The scene of Bradley's death was utterly horrifying.

Witnessing it firsthand caused all of the top-level war lords present to lean back in horror, taking in a deep breath.

It wasn't just the top-level war lords of the ogres who felt horrified, even the top-level war lords of the Demon Night and the human race visibly had fear embedded onto their faces.

The control Zen had over the Tower of Sin was far beyond what anybody could've expected it to be.

The strength Bradley had been endowed with was ranked fourth out of the 128 seat owners. He was only second to Esther of the Demon Night, Maurice of the ogres, and another top-level war lord.

Taking into consideration the fact that Zen was capable of borrowing the power of the Tower of Sin to easily lay waste to Bradley, then, it should go without saying that he also held the power to annihilate every single creature inside the tower.

Truth be told, even Esther and Maurice themselves wouldn't be able to hold a candle to Zen.

Mighty warriors wouldn't just jump at the jaws of death. In spite of being certain that Zen wouldn't lay a hand on her, Esther still looked so fretful, unsure of what could happen next.

As for Fabian and Jarrod, their thoughts were all over the place. They had no idea how to explain what they were feeling after having witnessed all of that.