“Now then, let us begin the meeting proper.” Gemini leaned back on his chair and looked at the assembled Demigods before him. “Pai-Relix, you’ll set the direction as usual. I’ll just watch and observe.”

“Yes, Lord.” Her lips twitched, and she had to look away after a few seconds of staring at him. It wasn’t because of him in particular; Gemini had taken extra care to look imposing and intimidating. Rather, it was due to little Aria, who was snoozing in his embrace…and also because there was a pillow between his daughter and his chest.

He couldn’t help it, however. Aria had made a tiny fuss when Lila tried to carry her, but at the same time, she had also made a fuss when Gemini picked her up without a pillow. Therefore, the two parents had to compromise…even if her father was the mightiest person in the whole of the Wildlands.

Gemini scanned the rest of the table, his eyes daring them to laugh or even show any hint of humour. To his satisfaction, the others looked down, averting their gaze from him completely…although the Demon Sovereign knew that once this meeting was over, they would probably laugh madly.

They were just respecting the gravity of the current situation right now, and Gemini didn’t mind that at all. It was proof of the atmosphere he had consciously fostered, and besides, when the war was over, staying on amicable terms was the only way he could reform the entire Wildlands. The tribal system was good and all, but it lacked many key institutions that would maximise the demons’ growth and potential.

As Gemini thought through the tenets of state-building, stuff he’d learned in his time at Ark City, the meeting continued on. Once again, Pai-Relix’s performance was something gratifying; she was overseeing and directing the entire meeting and handling any issues that popped up.

Logistics.

Conduct of war.

Intelligence on the Five Lands.

She handled these issues easily, working according to the general direction Gemini had set out. This was just a meeting to make sure that everyone was moving things along smoothly; the Demon Sovereign had no intention of changing how they were going to conduct the war.

Bleed, but not bury.

Starve, but not slay.

These two tenets were the main foundation of the Wildlands’ strategy in dealing with the Five Lands. Instead of providing them ample motivation to actually fight the demons, Gemini was going to starve and traumatise the foot soldiers. It was far better than killing them, at any rate, especially after seeing how the Five Lands’ forces here had resorted to robbing their comrades.

Their strategy so far had been incredibly effective, with the mass desertions were precisely proof of that, and Gemini had no qualms in absorbing these deserters into his own citizenry. To that end, he had even constructed villages for these deserters, before generally leaving them alone. Other than encouraging curious demons to talk and intermingle with those deserters, he had done nothing else whatsoever.

It was his hope that these people would eventually form the bridge of peace and communication between the two worlds…even if he had to cripple the Five Lands first. So long as the black dome held, this war would not shift in any direction whatsoever.

Patting the snoozing Aria in his embrace, Gemini leaned his head onto Lila’s shoulders. Was there anything more he could do, as he was right now? Ideas flitted through his mind, each of them imaginative and varied, but as expected, the stimulated outcomes that followed didn’t really yield any substantive solutions.

It wasn’t much of a setback, considering how he had spent entire days in stillness, stimulating various ideas and policies to yield the current state of affairs now. Furthermore, Gemini was, at the very least, confident that his current course of action would eventually lead to peace.

He just didn’t like the fact that the entire process was going to stretch over years, or even decades.

“Lord.” Pai-Relix turned to Gemini, breaking his chain of thoughts.

The Demon Sovereign lifted his head up and looked at Pai-Relix squarely. “What is it? My apologies. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“The Lord spends days and nights thinking about ways to end this war peacefully. Spacing out isn’t really that big of a deal, in light of your efforts for our sake,” Pai-Relix replied.

Gemini chuckled. “Hearing you put it that way makes me really happy.”

“Your pleasure is ours, Lord.”

“Alright. You have a suggestion, no?” Gemini jiggled the little bundle in his arms gently, and Aria shifted slightly. “Say it.”

“You’ve been wanting to propose a ceasefire, an armistice. However, the main problem lies in how there is no viable way of communication so far,” said Pai-Relix.

“Yes. The soldiers dispatched here so far are of no importance to the Five Lands, and none of us can risk going out without being attacked by those ships floating around.”

“They’re called Locomotives now,” Lila added.

“Locomotives?” Gemini blinked. “What, trains? Why would they name spaceships that?”

“Trains? Spaceships?” Everyone around the table stared at Gemini, confusion written all over their face, and the Demon Sovereign cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Don’t mind that. I was just thinking about synonyms, that’s all.” Clearing his throat once more, Gemini said, “What do you suggest, then?”

“A hostage negotiation.”

For a moment, Gemini thought that he’d misheard Pai-Relix’s words, so he smacked his ears lightly. “Sorry. I didn’t quite catch you right there. Could you repeat you words again?”

“A hostage negotiation, Lord.”

“Alright, so I didn’t hear your words wrongly then.” Gemini tried to ignore the implications of these words and how they were painted presumably him and his Demigods as kidnappers. “Carry on. How would one go about this… hostage negotiation you speak of?”

“Oh. It’s simple, really…”