Zeke said to Phoenix, “I told you we're borrowing them. Let's go.”
Fine.
She grumbled in exasperation, “I just don't get it. Why do you need so many Spirit Stones? The ones we have are more than enough for our troops. Tell me the truth. Are you thinking of conquering the Northern Faction? If so, I'd advise you to drop the idea. The Northern Faction Centuria is under the purview of the faction's Legatus. You'll be on his hit list if you take down his army. Plus, now that you've taken down the Southern Faction Centuria, its Legatus surely has his eyes on you. You're already in hot soup.”
He replied, “Your imagination has run too wild. I'm not interested in the Northern Faction. I just want you to introduce me to the Northern Faction's Centurion. I want to convince him to allow us to join the Northern Faction.”
Huh?
Flabbergasted, Phoenix sputtered, “You want to join the Northern Faction? Who the heck will believe that?”
“Just focus on introducing us to the Northern Faction Centuria and getting us into the Northern Faction. Don't worry about anything else,” said Zeke.
“But—” Phoenix's curiosity would not be satiated.
Zeke cut her off and said, “Could you keep quiet for just two seconds? Can't you see you're being annoying?”
Phoenix was so angry that his words caught in his throat. Hmph! You'll only regret it later if you don't take my advice now. Mark my words! You'll eventually come begging for my help. You stupid blockhead. You won't get away with telling me off. Just wait and see!
The Southern and Northern Factions were separated by a buffer zone approximately ten meters wide.
The two factions usually left each other alone, unless one party entered the buffer zone or crossed its border, triggering a war.
With that in mind, Phoenix carefully led Zeke and the others across the buffer zone. Thankfully, they did not run into any obstructions during their journey.
Their joy was short-lived. Soon after traversing the buffer zone, a horde of people rushed out from all directions and surrounded them.
“Stay where you are! Don't move!” yelled an unkempt, bony man at the head of the group.
Phoenix glanced at him and drawled, “Ah, it's Monkey. Don't tell me you don't recognize me anymore.”
Monkey looked her up and down and said, “Well, hello, Ms. Phoenix. Aren't you supposed to stay put in the Southern Faction? Why did you come to the North?”
“I'm here to meet your Centurion. I need to discuss something with him.”
Monkey replied guardedly, “You may discuss any matters with me, Phoenix. I have full authority to represent our Centurion.”
“I'm bringing some subordinates to defect to the Northern Faction. Are you sure you can represent your Centurion on that decision?” retorted Phoenix.
What?
Monkey and his men were shocked and voiced their doubts over the sincerity of her request.
“You were doing just fine in the Southern Faction, Phoenix. Why do you suddenly think of joining the Northern Faction?”
“Is this a plot to infiltrate the Northern Faction?”
“Don't come looking for trouble, or you'll only suffer in the end. We in the Northern Faction never go easy on our enemies.”
Phoenix shot back, “You're all a bunch of fools. If I were plotting against the Northern Faction, I wouldn't pick such an obvious method. I'd have done it ages ago in the dark.”
She added, “Bring me to meet Centurion, Sebastian. He has tried many times to convince me to join his side to no avail. I've finally agreed to his request after thinking things through. If you somehow cause me to change my mind, you'll all be in trouble when Sebastian investigates the matter.”
Unease flitted across Monkey and his men's expressions.
Phoenix decided to pull out her trump card. With a wave of her hand, she declared, “Forget it. The Northern Faction doesn't pounce boldly on new opportunities. We won't have a brighter future by joining them. Let's go back and twiddle our thumbs in the Southern Faction.”
It did the trick. Monkey grew anxious.
He knew Sebastian had awaited Phoenix's defection for a long time. In fact, the latter had sent people to convince her at least ten times.
She had finally changed her mind, and if Monkey ruined Sebastian's longtime wish, the man would surely skin him alive.
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