Earth's Greatest Magus

"Given the contributions they had done, the current caretaker of Earth 1002 – the Kronos family – can decide the terms." 

The words spoken by the grand overseer quickly brought smiles to the three people at the table opposite Emery. As if they had expected such development and prepared their answer, Zeus stood up and spoke to the grand overseer.

"Thank you, Grand Overseer, for being fair. The reason why we are so adamant against this matter is because we, the Kronos family, care about the safety of the original inhabitants of Earth 002."

The man continued to speak in a confident tone.

"We all know that we are still currently at war against the Elves, hence our primary concern is the invaluable Primordial Wisp on Earth 1002 – Gaia. Its power would greatly help the war effort if utilized correctly. On the other hand, leaving it unprotected with the wrong hand" Zeus glanced at Emery's side, his meaning was clear. "–could be a disaster for mankind."

Lord Izta couldn't hold himself from exploding upon hearing such blatant words.

"Just say what terms you want! We have neither the time nor the need to hear your bullshit!"

Although what Lord Izta said spelled out what others thought of the man's words, his actions were not without consequences. Seeing that the great overseer was glaring at him, Lord Izta knew that it would be unwise to continue, so he shut his mouth.

Turning his gaze to Zeus again, the great overseer motioned for the latter to speak again. 

"Continue, and keep it short, magus."

Zeus nodded obediently "Yes, Grand Overseer. Our terms are simple. We are willing to give the caretaker position and will immediately depart from the planet as soon as we harvest the Primordial Wisp."

Much to Emery and the others' surprise, before Lord Izta could even voice his disapproval, the grand overseer rejected the notion.

"Rejected. Right now the alliance prefers long-term benefits over short-term gains. The more developed the planet is, the bigger and more resources the alliance can acquire, so I can't allow you to do it."

Ignoring the change in expression on Zeus' face, the grand overseer continued. "Besides, those Primordial Wisps are getting harder to find now. So at the moment, harvesting Primordial Wisps is not the direction the alliance is aiming for."

Those words made the faces of Zeus, Kronos, and Athena turn to that of disappointment.

The silent Kronos suddenly said, "unless they can give us a benefit on par of the primordial wisp, we will not given up our claim"

"So do you have any?" asked the grand overseer, his gaze was on Emery's group. "Something in similar value to the Primordial Wisp Gaia, that's their term."

For a moment, Emery thought about the Tree of Light or the Khaos. In fact, giving away one of the two would instantly solve Earth's problems. Unfortunately, he wasn't in possession of either of them, and even if he did, he would definitely not hand them over, especially to the Kronos family.

Emery then realized that Lord Izta was glancing at him. But then, the man shook his head and said, "Unfortunately, no. We don't have such a valuable thing."

Hearing that, Kronos immediately opened his mouth. "Then there is nothing more for us to discuss. You can try again when you have something to give." 

Not wanting to let things end like this, Lord Izta quickly said the things they had agreed on beforehand. "If your claim on Earth 002, subsequently the Primordial Wisp Gaia, is based on our competency to protect it. Then it's an easy issue to solve. We would like to challenge you right here right now, and let you see how competent we are."

Before Zeus, Kronos, or the grand overseer could respond to the suggestion, the silent Jinkan said.

"That is indeed always the best way to solve disputes such as this." Turning to the grand overseer, she smiled faintly before saying, "How does that sound, uncle? If the Earthlings could really win a contest of strength against the Kronos family, then the matter was settled, isn't it? It basically means that they are the better faction to take care of the planet."

The grand overseer seemed to be contemplating the idea for a while, before he turned to Zeus and his companions asking, "Do you accept the proposed solution?"

"Are you afraid, Kronos?" Lord Izta scoffed. "Three of you against three of us. One with the most wins, takes all!"

Lord Izta went ahead throwing out blatantly provocative words. However, in reality, there was no need for Lord Izta to do so, because if Zeus' side chose to back away at this conjunction, the grand overseer would reevaluate them on the basis of cowardice.

Still, Lord Izta's words managed to raise the tension in the atmosphere. Emery and his friends were startled, as the situation earlier where the two sides tried to negotiate suddenly escalated to a duel challenge.

Noticing their expressions, Lord Izta quickly whispered to Emery and co.

"This is the best way for us. With Headmaster Delbrand here, those bastards will not dare to pull any cheap tricks. Moreover, the Grand Overseer will be our witness."

After that, Lord Izta glanced at Fuxi and said, "What do you think, old friend? Do you think you can beat that bastard Kronos? I have no problem defeating either of the other two, and if we both win our fight, we don't even need our juniors to step up and fight."

Emery watched the Eastern Sage fall silent as his mind sank into contemplation. Moments later, Fuxi turned to Lord Izta and nodded his head slightly.

Seeing the affirmative response, Lord Izta immediately became excited to the point of shouting the words he spoke next to Kronos. 

"Let's settle this once and for all, Kronos!!"

On the other hand, Kronos who had been observing the situation all this time finally stood up. The smile on his face was still there as he said.

"We are certainly not afraid of such a challenge, Grand Overseer. However, it should be done on our terms."

His arms that had been crossed in front of his chest finally separated as he slowly raised his finger in the air. While doing so, his mouth opened once again.

"One, if we win, Earth will never talk about the claim anymore. Ever."

"Fine!"

"Second, we have a big family. All have been working hard together to take care of the planet, hence it's only fair if they are all involved in this duel."

"Bullshit!"

Kronos was firm on his opinion. "No, This is our terms, defeat our family will proof their competency!"

Emery saw the grand overseer seemed excited about the prospect. He opened his mouth and calmly asked Kronos the crucial question. "How many people do you want to participate?"

Kronos' smile widened as he raised all his fingers and said, "Ten, I want a 10 versus 10; my family against the Earthlink. Oh, and of course, only those native of Earth could participate in this duel. That's obviously a must"

No matter from which angle one looked at it, Kronos's proposition was completely unreasonable. Earth had no magus-level or stronger figures besides Lord Izta and Fuxi. They couldn't even fight a 5 versus 5 in even ground, yet this Kronos wanted a 10 versus 10.

It was simply an outrageous term.

Lord Izta sharply glared at Kronos, his fists clenched tightly. Meanwhile, the latter only returned an evil smile.

It was at this moment that a person who had been silent since entering the inner room finally opened his mouth. Headmaster Delbrand broke the tense atmosphere and spoke words that surprised everyone present.

"If you give enough time for these youngsters, I think it's a very good idea." A look of contemplation appeared on the man's face for a while before he continued his words. "Let's say… 50 years. That will do good for their motivation."