At this moment, the swarm on the battlefield below had already slaughtered all the extraordinary minotaurs.

  The vast insect army split into six divisions, advancing toward the six nearest cities within the enemy's divine realm. Along the way, every village was wiped clean, a catastrophe far more terrifying than the locust plagues of William’s past life.

  “You won’t even reveal your demigod projection?” Henir’s voice was stiff as he looked at the insect before him.

  “Heh, if you have something to say, say it quickly. Can’t you see I’m busy? My divine power income is increasing by tens of thousands per minute—can you afford to waste my time?” William’s tone remained calm and unhurried.

  But his words made Henir’s blood churn, filling him with the urge to cough up blood.

  “You damn bastard, you're profiting off of me!”

  No matter how he raged internally, he had no choice but to lower his head under the current circumstances.

  Suppressing his fury, Henir forced himself to sound composed as he spoke: “I’ve heard that in this region, if a demigod encounters a Lungwa or a human civilization demigod, they can buy their way out.”

  “That’s not true. What you’re referring to only applies within those two races. I don’t know where you got that false information, but from what you’re saying, you’re looking to buy your way out, huh?” William paused slightly before his voice suddenly took on a more enthusiastic tone.

  “You’re lucky you ran into me. Even though the information you have is false, I don’t mind letting you keep your divine realm core and ten thousand followers—if your offer is good enough.”

  “I do honest business, fair and transparent. I have an excellent reputation, a true model of integrity. Of course, the price you offer has to satisfy me.”

  Henir was momentarily stunned by the drastic shift in William’s tone, nearly at a loss for words.

  “I have a Mind Gem. If you withdraw your forces and let me leave, it’s yours. Otherwise, I’d rather destroy it than let you have it.”

  To emphasize his sincerity, Henir’s demigod projection displayed a sky-blue, spherical gemstone in his hand. Occasionally, radiant colors shimmered across its surface, exuding nobility, mystery, and an indescribable beauty that captivated all intelligent beings who laid eyes on it.

  Seeing this projected Mind Gem, William narrowed his eyes and fell silent for a moment before murmuring thoughtfully,

  “Where did you get this? The market value of a Mind Gem is close to five million divine power. I find it hard to believe yours is genuine.”

  “It’s absolutely real! I had it appraised at a market in the Divine Exchange Continent, and someone was willing to pay 4.5 million for it, but I didn’t sell.” Henir, fearing William would devalue it, spoke urgently.

  This was the weakness of wild demigods—they lacked access to proper trading channels and marketplace coordinates in the Divine Exchange Continent. Even selling a Mind Gem was a struggle, often resulting in them being taken advantage of.

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  “I found it inside a fragment of a divine realm while I was traveling through this region. It’s completely authentic.” Henir revealed the gem’s origin to add credibility to his claim.

  William carefully scrutinized Henir’s demigod projection for a while, then suddenly felt that this demigod might actually be lucky enough to stumble upon such a rare treasure. After all, his skin was so damn white.

  “Damn it, do lucky bastards get to do whatever they want?”

  Suppressing his burning jealousy, William decided to maintain his professional composure as an honest merchant and properly “deal” with this European-level luck before him.

  Since he held absolute advantage, he had no intention of being polite during negotiations.

  With that in mind, William resumed his unhurried tone and spoke softly:

  “Withdrawing my forces is impossible. At most, I can allow you to take away whatever part of your divine realm hasn’t been occupied yet, along with your divine core.”

  “Of course, the Mind Gem has to come first—otherwise, I can’t verify its authenticity.”

  Hearing William’s terms, Henir’s eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and he blurted out in shock,

  “Impossible! If you take the Mind Gem and then go back on your word, I’ll have no way to—”

  Before he could finish, William interrupted him.

  “Heh. And what can you do about it now?”

  “You won’t even show this much sincerity, and you expect me to believe you’re serious about making a deal? Don’t tell me you planned to hand over the Mind Gem only after you severed the connection?”

  “The moment you sever the connection, you can activate a teleportation card and escape instantly, right?”

  “Do you think I’m that easy to fool? Sounds to me like you’re just trying to scam me with a possibly fake Mind Gem.”

  William then softened his tone slightly and continued,

  “Unlike you, I am an honest businessman. Every word I say is backed by my credibility—it’s absolutely true.”

  “Think it over. I’m in no rush. My followers still need some time to fully occupy your divine realm.”

  “We’ll complete the transaction whenever you’re ready, and at that moment, I’ll halt my followers’ advance.”

  “If you’d prefer, you can wait until I locate your divine realm core before making your decision.”

  “At that point, my offer to let you go still stands. However, you’ll only be able to take ten thousand followers and ten thousand square kilometers of divine land with you.”

  Holding absolute negotiation power, William deliberately tied Henir’s hesitation directly to the loss of his divine territory, creating immense psychological pressure.

  At the same time, he wore an expression of an upright and trustworthy merchant, making it clear that he wouldn’t budge without solid collateral.

  Henir’s face darkened like a stretched-tight rope, scrunched up in sheer frustration.

  William had struck at every key point, securing an absolute psychological advantage.

  His only bargaining chip, the Mind Gem, was rapidly depreciating the longer he hesitated.

  Handing it over now might still be worth half his divine realm—effectively a 20% discount deal.

  Wait any longer, and William might just locate his divine core.

  By then, this 500,000 divine power gem would depreciate even further into a desperate clearance sale.

  Most crucially, William showed no sign of being desperate for the Mind Gem.

  He even implied skepticism about whether it was real, making Henir feel increasingly cornered.

  This was the final straw—William’s attitude shattered Henir’s psychological defenses completely.

  “I have no choice. Giving up the Mind Gem now is my only chance. I have to gamble.”

  Resolving himself, Henir’s demigod projection immediately dissipated.

  In the next instant, his true demigod form appeared directly in front of the Stinger Dragonfly William was controlling.

  Gazing at the hovering insect, Henir spoke with deep resignation,

  “I just hope you’re truly a man of your word.”