Grand Olympia: Further Horizon - Chapter 21: Truce
The fight was over.
But a new battle has begun.
No one lowered their weapons. None let their guard slip. Even the air, thick with the stench of blood, poison, and exhaustion, felt ready to snap at the slightest movement.
And in the center of it all—untouched, unharmed, utterly in control—stood him.
Qin Shi Huang.
He hadn't raised a blade, hadn't thrown a punch. But in this moment, his presence was a quiet, suffocating force, a pressure that settled deep into the bones of those standing across from him.
Musashi wiped the blood from his face. Still holding Edward unconscious. He stole a glance at Lapulapu, who stood beside him, shield resting against his leg, his kampilan still gripped tight. Standing tall next to Zheng Yi Sao who is still lying on the ground. Lapulapu hadn't moved much since the serpent fell, yet Musashi noticed the subtle twitch in his fingers. The slight shift in his stance. He was still coiled, still ready.
On the other side, Qin Liangyu held Fu Hao's unconscious body, her spear angled loosely but with purpose. Yasuke, his imposing frame battered and bruised, kept his kanabo gripped, his breathing deep but controlled.
Jeanne was the only one who seemed to hesitate, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Not out of fear—but out of weariness. The exhaustion from endless fighting, endless distrust, endless survival. She knew the pattern well. And she knew this wouldn't end until someone severed the cycle.
Qin Shi Huang knew it, too.
And so, he spoke.
"We don't need to kill each other."
His words didn't command. They didn't threaten. But they left no room for argument.
Silence stretched between all of them, pulling at the edges of reason, at the frayed patience of warriors who had already pushed their bodies to the brink.
No one answered. So he kept speaking.
"You don't trust me. I don't trust you. That's quite normal." He smiled then, fox-like, as if he found the entire thing amusing. "But trust isn't necessary for survival. How about this! Let's make a truce."
Musashi scoffed, rolling his shoulders. His grip on his blades didn't loosen.
"And why would we agree to that?"
Qin Shi Huang's sharp eyes flicked toward him. And for a moment—just a moment—Musashi felt as if he were being weighed, measured, and played with.
"Because fighting each other here is a waste of time."
His voice was smooth, patient, as if explaining something obvious to a child.
"Your weapons are dull. Your wounds stack. Your stamina drains."
The way he spoke made Musashi's brow twitch. He hated that tone. Hated the way it was just true enough that arguing against it would be foolish.
Qin Shi Huang let one of his dagger fans sink into the ground. His free hand, adorned with clawed rings, lifted slightly—open, relaxed, but commanding.
"We all accepted the invitation, didn't we?" His voice was steady, cutting through the still air. "We all knew what we were stepping into. And I believe—no, I know—that each of us has a desire we seek to fulfill."
His gaze drifted over them, assessing. Calculating.
Musashi's fingers curled tighter around his hilts. Jeanne's grip on her spear tightened. Lapulapu exhaled slowly through his nose. Yasuke's shoulders tensed. Qin Liangyu's eyes flickered with unreadable thoughts.
"So tell me, then—why waste your strength fighting for scraps when the real prize is still waiting?"
That made them pause. The real prize.
Jeanne was the first to speak, frowning. "What do you mean?"
Qin Shi Huang's lips barely moved, yet his words weighed more than the weapons they carried.
"The first floor is divided into four quadrants—North, South, East, and West respectively."
Most of them already knew this. The Watcher had mentioned it. But why bring it up now?
"Up to the north of the 1st quadrant there lies a sea," he continued, his tone casual, but his words precise. "The monsters there? They're massive and super strong. And scattered across all over this first floor are structures—old, decayed, timeless. They don't belong here. I suspect none of this does."
George who just got here and accompanied by Billy. "A sea?"
Qin Shi Huang didn't acknowledge him. He merely continued.
"There are ruins hidden across the map. Some hold mysteries. Some hold death. But none are empty."
Musashi's jaw tightened. "And how do you know this?"
For the first time, Qin Shi Huang's smile widened—just slightly.
"I never go anywhere alone."
The words carried weight. Meaning. An unspoken truth that settled in the back of everyone's mind.
And then—he revealed his hand.
Qin Shi Huang reached into his robes, pulling out a glimmering object.
A piece of a golden medallion.
Not the one they had just fought for. A different one.
"I earned this by just discovering a temple. A ruin, buried in the earth, with walls older than anything I've ever seen." He let the words settle before adding, almost lazily, "And I didn't even have to lift a finger."
Silence.
Yasuke's grip on his kanabo shifted. Jeanne's breathing stilled. Lapulapu's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.
George, sharp as ever, was the one to ask. "And why are you telling us this?"
Qin Shi Huang's fox-like smile didn't falter.
"Because I want something in return."
His sharp eyes flickered toward the unconscious bodies of Edward, Zheng Yi Sao and the floating piece of a golden medallion.
Qin Shi Huang's voice was smooth, almost casual, yet it carried the weight of a ruler who had never needed to ask twice.
"I want you to release my two companions and give me the golden medallion. After all, I just handed you knowledge worth more than gold."
He paused, letting the words settle before offering a small, knowing smile.
"But… I've changed my mind. You can keep the medallion."
Both Yasuke and Qin Liangyu stiffened, eyes widening in shock. They had fought with everything they had, bled for that prize, and now their teammate was willing to simply walk away from it?
Qin Liangyu's lips parted, about to protest, but a single glance from Qin Shi Huang silenced her. Yasuke's grip on his kanabo tightened, frustration evident in the tension in his shoulders, but he, too, held his tongue.
"What I offer is a truce," Qin Shi Huang said, his voice smooth, unhurried, yet brimming with quiet authority. His sharp eyes swept over each of them, studying their reactions as if he already knew what they would say before they said it.
"No unnecessary bloodshed between us. A mutual agreement—cooperation when needed, information shared when valuable, and in return…"
He paused, letting the silence stretch just long enough to make them uneasy, to remind them who was in control of this conversation. Then, he smiled—small, knowing, the kind of expression that said he had already decided the outcome, whether they agreed to it or not.
"In return, you get to walk away from this without losing another drop of blood. You get to fight another day, breathe another breath, and maybe—just maybe—live long enough to see what lies beyond this cursed battlefield. I don't need to tell you that survival is more than just swinging swords and dodging death. It's knowing when to fight and when to step back. I am offering you a chance to be something greater than desperate fools clawing at each other for scraps."
His tone dipped, his amusement flickering into something sharper.
"Or, of course, you're free to decline. We can let fate decide who walks away and who gets left behind in the dirt."
And just like that—the atmosphere shifted.
It wasn't about the medallion anymore. It was about something bigger.
Musashi's brow furrowed. Jeanne exhaled, tension coiling in her shoulders. Qin Liangyu's grip on her spear tightened. Yasuke's fingers flexed against his weapon. George grew quiet. Billy smiled in amusement.
This wasn't a simple deal. This was a choice that would shape everything moving forward. Qin Shi Huang was betting on that.
And so, he waited. Waited for their answer. Waited to see who was truly willing to play the game.
George was the first to move. He stepped forward, slow, deliberate. His expression is unreadable.
He looked at Musashi. Then Jeanne. Then the others.
And finally—he turned to Qin Shi Huang.
"Alright," George said, his voice calm, but firm. "We'll do it your way."
A smile played at the edges of Qin's lips. He lifted a single clawed finger to his chin, tracing it lightly as if he had already known this would be the outcome.
"Good."
The deal was sealed.
But none of them could shake the feeling—
That they had just walked into something far bigger than they had ever imagined.