What?
The group of “dead” men began protesting right away.
“You want us to play dead for a few more days? No way!”
“If we stay in the cave, we'll have to eat and do our business in the same place. You're treating us like animals!”
“I'm not dead. I hereby declare that I've come back to life!”
Nevertheless, under Phoenix's order, they eventually entered the cave cooperatively.
On the other hand, the dead men under Zeke had yet to be locked up in the cave.
They had to dig their graves first on the empty plot of land at the side before entering the cave.
Since they were going to put on an act, they might as well make it more believable.
While the men bustled around, Phoenix approached Zeke and flashed him a friendly smile. “To a fruitful collaboration.”
“Mm,” Zeke responded indifferently.
His reaction irked Phoenix. Is he acting cool? How dare he give me the cold shoulder! No man in this world can resist my beauty. Keep pretending, Zeke. I'm going to see how long you can keep this act on!
Nonetheless, she told him, “I've looked into this matter, and it turns out this was the doing of someone named Platinum. I'm sure he'll launch an attack on us in a few days. Let's join hands and defeat him, then split his properties and territory equally. Deal?”
Zeke glanced at her and replied, “You can talk to Apollyon about this. I don't have the energy to oversee everything.”
After saying that, he turned around and left.
A gust of cold wind swept by Phoenix as she stood there with a stiff expression.
What the... Did he just brush me off? I've got to admit he's very good at pretending. I'll give him that, but I know for sure he'll give in sooner or later! Let's wait and see!
Meanwhile, Declan barreled all the way to Platinumion.
When he came to a spot near their territory, he suddenly paused in his tracks. Upon giving it a thought, he picked up a rock and smashed it against his own head until it began bleeding.
Next, he ripped his clothes and tousled his hair to appear more disheveled and pathetic. Only then did he move forward.
As he approached Platinumion's gate, he started yelling, “Good news, Mr. Platinum! Good news!”
Having learned his lesson, the guard spoke to Declan politely since he knew the latter mattered a lot to Platinum now.
“Mr. Cook, you're here to meet our Centurion, right? Please wait for a while. I'll inform him right now!”
“Hurry up! I have important news for him!” Declan panted.
Before the guard even could even turn around, Platinum showed up on his own. He walked toward Declan and greeted, “Mr. Cook, you're finally here. I've been waiting for you.”
He then turned to the guard and instructed, “Hurry up and escort him in. Remember to let Mr. Cook in immediately when he visits next time. There's no need to report to me first.”
“Okay, I'll keep that in mind,” the guard replied.
Platinum then led Declan inside.
After ordering someone to serve drinks, Platinum cued, “Mr. Cook, I suppose there's some progress in our plan. Am I right?”
“Yes.”
Declan chugged down the drink and continued, “They're fighting! It's so bloody. When I came here, the battle was still ongoing, and both sides had lost at least half of their men. I'm not sure what's going on right now.”
With a pleased smile, Platinum remarked, “Right. That's what I expected to happen. Thanks for informing me, Mr. Cook.”
Declan waved his hand and swallowed his saliva. “It's nothing.”
“What do you plan to do now, Mr. Cook?” Platinum asked.
“I have to return to Phoenixion. If they can't find my corpse on the battlefield, they'll consider me an escapee. I won't be able to show myself before them again if that happens. All right, it's getting late. I should head back now.”
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