Chapter 435: Brewing war at the start.

The grand elder and the other leaders of New Earth stood outside the entrance into the largest tent, sweating through their formal attires and trying very hard not to look worried.

Unlike the other Somnivores_ who all wore gloomy, sour-lemon faces and looked like they had just eaten bad chilli peppers_ their Supreme Leader, Almeida, actually had a soft, friendly smile on his face.

He stretched out a pale arm to shake the grand elder’s hand. The grand elder stared at Almeida’s hand in sheer disbelief. The alien’s fingernails stretched into talons, gleaming like bright blades. Their length promised speed, violence and a predator’s elegance in every gesture.

How does he even use the toilet? the grand elder thought to himself. Aren’t those nails uncomfortable?

Almeida caught the old man staring and let out a gentle chuckle. "Ah, looking at the nails? On my home planet, the longer your claws are, the more respect you command."

The grand elder stroked his grey beard, nodding in deep understanding. "Well, in our world, respect comes with age... and usually a lot of back pain."

Both men burst into genuine laughter, and just like that, the thick, heavy awkwardness in the air melted away.

Off to the side, Beauty’s voice chimed inside Zyra’s head. [Host, one hybrid identified.]

An image of Ivar appeared at the corner of the screen in her head

Zyra’s eyes narrowed. The guy looked oddly familiar, like a cousin you only see at awkward family reunions.

Hunter hurried over to her side, leaning in close to whisper. "Hey. That Somnivore over there...the leader, is my father...his real name is Almeida."

Zyra’s jaw dropped. "Really?! I knew John was not it."

Hunter then jutted his chin toward Ivar with a lazy shrug. "And that guy over there is my half-brother. Honestly, he was weirdly nice during the car ride here."

"I’ll be damned." Zyra chuckled, "I was wondering how I knew him and the whole time he was just my brother-in-law. You do share a resemblance."

Hunter gave her a disapproving gaze.

People started to move into the tent slowly.

Zyra quickly told Beauty in her mind to put an invisible shield dome over the tent. "If they think that they will do something funny and vanish...I have another story for them."

The knights stayed outside, staring down at the Beast valley task force. What the aliens didn’t know was that Zyra’s men all had beast-pockets tucked neatly under their armor. If these Somnivores tried any funny business, they were about to get a very unpleasant surprise.

The chairs were arranged in a giant circle so both sides could stare each other down comfortably.

As soon as everyone sat down, human waiters rushed in carrying trays of delicious snacks and cool drinks_ all secretly laced with oath sap to force everyone to speak the truth.

The grand elder smiled warmly, stepping up as the spokesperson. "Welcome! Now, as humans, whenever guests arrive after a long, tiring trip, our tradition is to feed them before we talk serious business!"

Before anyone could touch a single pastry, Erik made a loud sucking teeth sound.

Anukin aggressively slapped the tray right out of a poor waiter’s hands, sending pastries and juice flying everywhere. "We aren’t hungry for your human food!" he snapped.

The grand elder’s friendly smile instantly vanished. His face went completely dark. "Is this how you respond to our hospitality? We spent hours preparing these! Even if you don’t want to eat or drink, there is no need to waste our food."

A dark, moody vibe rippled through the human side. Nobody disrespected food on New earth. They knew very well the feeling of starvation.

Almeida pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. "Anukin, apologize." he ordered.

Anukin let out a scoff and folded his lips.

"Apologize or face my wrath!" Almeida’s voice boomed.

Anukin’s lips trembled, he did not want to apologize to the humans but was afraid of what Almeida could do to him. He looked on his left to another alien_ Erik who nodded at him as if telling him to do as told.

Anukin swallowed hard and looked at the grand elder, "I apologize." ℴ

Almeida followed Anukins’ gaze to the grand elder. "My sincere apologies. As you can see, not all of my people were raised with basic manners."

Almeida reached out, picked up a fresh cup from another tray, and took a big sip. "I am drinking this not because I am hungry, but because I respect the effort your people put into making it." He bit into a slice of mango cake, his eyes lighting up. "Oh. Oh wow, this is actually amazing."

Seeing their boss eat, a few other Somnivores nervously grabbed some food. Within seconds, they were stuffing their faces and praising the snacks.

Ivar munched on a crispy cracker and grinned at the room. "Listen, when we finally sign this peace treaty and start trading, I am personally taking over the snack export market. I’ll be a very rich alien!"

A few human leaders burst out laughing at the joke, shaking their heads.

While everyone was giggling about snack economics, Zyra didn’t laugh at all. She kept her sharp eyes locked onto the rest of the moody Somnivores who were still sitting together, arms crossed, looking very, very irritated and refusing to eat or drink.

System keep an eye on those ones over there, Zyra ordered silently.

[Yes host.]

Once the last crumb was dusted off Almeida’s pristine robes and Ivar finished licking pastry sugar off his fingers, the room quieted down. The lighthearted chatter evaporated instantly.

The waiters quickly cleared the empty trays, stepping carefully around the squished pastry on the floor from Anukin’s earlier dramatic outburst.

The grand elder cleared his throat loudly, resting his hands on his wooden cane. "Well now. Since everyone’s stomach is full and the hospitality protocol is complete, I believe it is time we discuss the reason why we are all crammed into this tent."

Almeida wiped his hands with a napkin and sat up straight. The casual smile he had worn during snack time vanished, replaced by the calm, piercing gaze of a leader who had lived for centuries.

"Agreed," Almeida said, his deep voice carrying easily across the circular arrangement. "We did not cross the veil just to sample your baked goods, as delightful as they were. We are here to establish a truce and I will not dance around our true purpose for a single second. My people need our ship returned to us, and your people need to stop living in constant fear of dying young because of a pointless war. It is very easy and we can settle this in five minutes."