Chapter 168
Chapter 168
“What are you doing? Not leaving yet?”
The Pirate Empress’s words caused a stir among the legion commanders. Despite her high status, they believed they were no less formidable than her.
“If there’s nothing more to discuss, let’s conclude the meeting here. I need to welcome a guest. No objections, right, Chief of Staff?”
The Supreme Leader asked Werner, who nodded and dismissed the meeting, exiting the conference room.
Following the second-in-command, Aisha and Electus had no choice but to leave as well.
Yan, the last to leave, glanced around the room, sensing a tense atmosphere between the Supreme Leader and the Pirate Empress.
Thud.
With Yan gone, only the Supreme Leader and the Pirate Empress remained.
She pulled up a chair and sat down, facing him. “You’ve played quite an interesting game, haven’t you?”
Her aura enveloped the room, a force on a different level from the legion commanders.
Rumble.
The conference room shook as if hit by an earthquake, and a commotion arose outside the door.
The Supreme Leader smiled wryly at her. “Glad you enjoyed it. But why come all this way? To declare war?”
The Pirate Empress had knowingly walked into a trap, yet she ventured to the heart of the Revolutionary Army’s base.
Her nature was such that she could laugh off minor issues, but once enraged, she was like a tsunami, engulfing everything in her path.
The Supreme Leader readied his mana for an attack, watching her closely.
She flung an envelope at him.
Slap!
He caught it, twisting his lips at the immense energy within. Unprepared, it could have wreaked havoc inside him—a true display of a second-class superhuman’s adaptability.
The Pirate Empress looked slightly surprised as he held the paper without harm. “Caught it?”
“Quite the prankster, aren’t you?”
“Less than you, I suppose.”
“Is that so?”
He flicked through the envelope, reading its contents. His expression hardened.
“…Joining the Revolutionary Army?”
“You suggested it. So I’m taking you up on that offer. Any problem?”
The paper was an application for membership.
The Supreme Leader looked at her with a sunken gaze, unable to fathom her intentions.
‘Does she plan to destroy us from within?’
It was hard to discern the Pirate Empress’s motives—she was not one for schemes.
She had joined the Revolutionary Army solely for a deal with Yan.
After a long silence, the Supreme Leader spoke. “Let’s cut the chase and speak our minds.”
His eyes flashed. “What’s your intention, joining the Revolutionary Army even knowing it’s a trap?”
The Pirate Empress’s lips curled up at his candid confession.
“A petty grudge can be set aside against a colossal enemy like the Empire.”
“Stop joking. Speak your true mind.”
“Scared? That I might swallow up your forces?”
Her provocation was bold, but the Supreme Leader was no easy man.
He smirked. “You think that’s possible?”
Roar.
In the aura-filled conference room, the Supreme Leader began to assert his presence.
The clash of their auras raged within the room.
After a while, it was the Pirate Empress who relented.
“As you said, let’s end this pointless power struggle.”
“Then speak your truth.”
“I made a deal.”
“A deal?”
The Supreme Leader tilted his head, puzzled by the ‘deal’ she mentioned.
But she continued nonchalantly. “Yes, a deal. The one you failed to honor.”
“Ha, I wonder who you dealt with. Did they find the son you’ve been searching for? Aren’t you ashamed of being used again?”
He scoffed, knowing that finding her son would secure her fierce support.
‘Even with the Revolutionary Army’s resources, we failed to find a name in three years.’
There were two possibilities: either their intelligence was lacking, or her son was already dead.
The Supreme Leader believed the latter.
But the Pirate Empress lifted her chin indifferently. “Doesn’t matter. Because…”
Her eyes flickered.
As the mood shifted abruptly, the Supreme Leader’s face stiffened.
Regardless, the Pirate Empress spoke her piece.
“Don’t even think about harming Yan, the one I’ve made a deal with. I might forgive you a hundred, a thousand times for what you’ve done to me, but if you take away my last hope, you’ll have to face both the Empire and the Pirate Fleet.”
She stood up firmly, issuing a warning, then left the conference room, her coat fluttering behind her.
The Supreme Leader watched the door she exited through.
“Yan, huh…”
He recalled the face of the man who had interrupted Aisha’s leading questions earlier.
According to Werner, he maintained connections with key figures in the Empire and could influence their intelligence agencies.
‘Now that I think about it, he seemed to know something when he stepped forward earlier…’
The Supreme Leader chuckled and shook his head.
With the Pirate Empress’s protection, Yan had become untouchable.
His gaze turned icy.
“Well, looks like I’ve been outplayed.”
* * *
The Pirate Empress swiftly tracked Yan’s energy and made her way towards it.
After a five-minute stroll, the figures of a young man and an elder came into view.
It was Yan and Owen.
They were in the midst of a brief meeting, discussing how to fan the flames that Yan had ignited.
Owen nodded, having heard all that needed to be said.
“Alright, I’ll do as you say, let’s wait and see. And it was a pleasure meeting you, Pirate Empress. Hope to see you again if the chance arises.”
With a nod to the Pirate Empress, Owen took his leave.
The Pirate Empress watched him go with an expression of admiration.
“Hmm,
“Is this sufficient?”
“Thank you, Lady Pirate Empress.”
Yan bowed his head in gratitude to the Pirate Empress.
After all, it was he who had summoned her to the headquarters of the Revolutionary Army.
Having thrown the spark, he risked getting burned himself.
Thus, calling the Pirate Empress was a form of insurance, and she had proven to be more helpful than expected.
Who would have thought she’d even issue a warning to the Supreme Leader, making him untouchable?
The Pirate Empress looked around and clicked her tongue in appreciation.
“To think such an organization was hidden here, indeed, you were right to hold the Revolutionary Army in higher regard than the Pirate Fleet before me.”
From her perspective, it was quite the revelation.
Even the legion commanders here were ranked above the captains of the Pirate Fleet.
Moreover, though she had forced her way in, the gatekeeper and the rank-and-file members were no ordinary pirates.
Yan smirked.
“I’ve caused a small fracture; soon, you’ll witness something interesting.”
“Ha-ha-ha, is that so?”
“Yes.”
“Then my business here is done?”
“The rest will be taken care of by time. In the meantime, why don’t you rest at my estate, Lady Pirate Empress?”
At Yan’s suggestion, the Pirate Empress’s eyes sparkled.
“Are you ready to search for my son?”
Yan nodded.
Not long ago, he had contacted Bella to come to Armenia.
Three days had passed, so it was about time for her arrival.
“Let’s begin the investigation.”
With that, Yan, who had stirred a great upheaval within the Revolutionary Army, departed for his estate with the Pirate Empress and Cruel in tow.
* * *
In the Dominion of Armenia.
A young man with an animated face stood at the entrance of the village.
“Is this… Armenia, the place famed for its synthetic elixir?”
The appearance of a stranger drew sidelong glances from the ordinary villagers.
With a neat face and curly hair, topped with large glasses, the man stood out.
After a while, the villagers turned back to their tasks, unconcerned.
If he were a troublemaker, the young knights guarding the village would surely apprehend him.
Indeed, since the synthetic elixir became known, various spies and ruffians had infiltrated, but the young knights swiftly captured them and took them away.
Their assured protection meant the villagers need not fear the outsiders as potential criminals.
The curly-haired man entered the village with curious eyes, looking around.
He had heard it was a small village, but it was larger than expected.
Over two hundred houses, a bustling market, and lively streets.
“Was Armenia’s infamy all just empty talk?”
Once a harsh land where even slash-and-burn farmers struggled to survive.
Contrary to rumors, this place was a vibrant city in its own right.
Then something caught the curly-haired man’s eye.
At a shop with a ‘Leather Goods’ sign, workers were skinning a monster’s carcass.
A common sight here, but not for the curly-haired man.
He approached the busy shopkeeper with sparkling eyes, asking questions and receiving answers.
“Wow! They say this domain is run by the empire’s most promising, and indeed, the thinking here is so progressive!”
He too was a researcher, seeking ways to benefit people using monsters.
Most lords shunned him, finding his work distasteful.
But here! The villagers did not fear the monsters; they utilized them as a unique local product.
And if he was right, the synthetic elixir produced only here…
The man swallowed hard.
Just then.
Thwack!
Someone grabbed his shoulder.
It was one of the trainees who had followed Yan, now a knight of the Second Order, maintaining peace in the village.
The knight scrutinized the curly-haired man with sharp eyes.
“May I see your identification, please?”
The man responded with a bright smile.
“Oh, yes! Of course! Just a moment, where did I put it…”
As he rummaged through his pockets, his face gradually turned pale.
“Uh, oh…”
“Do you not have it?”
“I… I’m sure I brought it?”
The curly-haired man looked up at the knight, his face ashen.
“It seems… I’ve dropped it somewhere.”
The knight sighed deeply and shook his head at the man’s words.
Isn’t this the same pattern as those who’ve come with a purpose recently?
With a tone of indifference, the knight handcuffed him.
“You will now be taken to the interrogation room for investigation. If we find your identification later, we’ll need to return it, so please tell us your name?”
“I really lost my ID, you know? I brought it with me, but I lost it in this village!”
“Yes, yes, I understand. Your name, please?”
The disbelief in the knight’s eyes made the curly-haired man’s face fall.
“…Isaac.”
He would later become known as a renowned dark mage.
