The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 12

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Chapter 12 The Code Phrase

Chapter 12 The Code Phrase

Meanwhile, Nova was already heading deeper into Frostwave Bar.

Even though there had been a commotion at the entrance, it didn’t affect others deep inside.

As Ravenport’s hottest party spot, Frostwave Bar had everything–pulsing dance floors, private booths, nightclubs, and more, all hidden away deeper inside.

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So while the incident at the entrance scared off a handful of customers, none of the other sections inside seemed the least bit affected. The crowds kept coming.

It took Nova a full five minutes to wind her way through all the different party zones before finally reaching the very back.

Up ahead, at the entrance to the bar’s headquarters, two burly, thuggish–looking guys were standing guard. When the tall one spotted Nova heading their way, he frowned and started waving her off. “Hey, sweetheart, you’re lost. This ain’t the spot for you. Turn around and head back.”

He just assumed Nova was some lost girl wandering around the club.

Nova didn’t back down. Her expression turned chilly and tough–nothing like a typical delicate girl.

Her voice was clear and sharp. “I’m here to see your boss.”

The two men exchanged glances, caught completely off guard.

Immediately, the shorter thug snapped back in a gruff tone. “What could a girl like you want with our boss? Our boss isn’t the kind of guy you just ask to see, kid. Last chance–get out before we have to get physical.” With that, the shorter thug rolled up his sleeves, looking ready to shove her right out the door. “Sorry about this,” Nova said. Her tone cut through the air–chilled and unwavering.

The two thugs froze, puzzled, unable to grasp what Nova meant.

The very next second, Nova swept her left leg out in a sharp arc, then snapped it back.

Without missing a beat, she followed up with a powerful front kick, slamming her right foot straight into the door.

The two thugs were sent flying, crashing hard into the door behind them.

Their combined weight smashed into the flimsy door, flipping it right off its hinges with a thunderous crash. Nova didn’t even spare the two thugs a glance. She simply stepped right over them and the fallen door, striding straight inside.

Past the broken doorway lay a wide, bare area, with a staircase in the far corner leading up to the second floor.

Sitting, standing, or just loitering around the place and up the stairs were a bunch of tough–looking guys, cracking crude jokes and smoking, making the whole spot reek of trouble.

It was clear these were the boss’s men–the muscle hired to keep the joint in line.

No question about it–the real action, the bar’s HQ, was definitely just upstairs.

“God damn it. Someone’s here to mess up our turf! Get her, boys.” One of the thugs puffing on a cigarette by the stairs was the first to holler. He waved his crew over as they stormed straight toward Nova.

Nova just glanced down, coolly unfazed.

*****

On the second floor, Frostwave Bar HQ, the air was quiet in a plain meeting room.

At the top seat, a middle–aged guy lounged, looking perfectly at home.

He was somewhere in his forties, flashing a chunky gold ring on his right thumb.

His looks were utterly forgettable, but one thing set him apart–a massive X–shaped scar carved deep into his

Chapter 12 The Code Phrase

left cheek.

With that massive X–shaped scar carved across his cheek, he looked straight–up menacing. This was Victor Stone, the owner of Frostwave Bar.

More than that, Victor ruled Ravenport’s underworld, the shadow lord nobody dared challenge.

He was the kind of predator who hunted other predators–a living nightmare to anyone in the game. Sitting across from him were a few of Frostwave Bar’s key players.

This was no ordinary gathering–they were here for a serious meeting.

Downstairs, the sounds of fighting kept crashing through–hit after hit, chaos piling up.

People were shouting, their voices rough and furious. “Son of a bitch. Are you here to wreck the place?”

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The voices drifting up were faint and scattered, so Victor and his crew could only catch a word here, a curse there.

No one could make heads or tails of the whole exchange.

“What the hell is happening down there?” Victor narrowed his eyes and shot a sharp look at the guy beside him.

He’d barely finished his question, and one of his guys hadn’t even made it to the door when a crash happened. Victor and his crew stared as the conference room door exploded inward, kicked clean off its hinges by a single brutal blow from the outside.

The door hit the ground with a heavy crash. And then, standing in the doorway, was a cold–eyed young woman. With just one hand, she had a man weighing about 200 pounds by the throat.

The move looked effortless–like she was hoisting an ant–as she walked right into the conference room. Even Victor and his old guard, seasoned by years of underworld mayhem, were left gaping in shock at the

scene.

A slim girl was just strangling a guy who easily looked twice her size. It was like she was tossing aside an ant -effortless and absolute.

If they hadn’t witnessed it themselves, Victor and his men would’ve sworn it was impossible.

Nova had flattened every thug downstairs, dragged the heavyweight up, and now her eyes swept coldly across the room.

She flung the big guy to the side like he was nothing but garbage.

Nova fixed her cold gaze straight on Victor, unflinching. “So you’re Victor Stone, Frostwave Bar’s owner?”

Victor really was one of the Crimson Web’s top operators in Zoria–her man on the ground.

But before Nova ever made her return to Ravenport and got herself locked up on Devil’s Isle, she’d been building her empire abroad.

She’d spent most of her years carving out territory all over the world.

Those places were straight–up chaos with constant wars and nonstop upheaval. That was prime territory for mercenaries like her to run wild.

Besides, Victor was just a small fry keeping an eye on Crimson Web business in Zoria, while Nova called all the shots for the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps.

If it weren’t for her family, she would’ve never bothered with some local pawn like Victor. No way they’d ever cross paths.

Nova’s words had barely left her mouth before Victor and his crew just stared in confusion, having no idea who she really was.

None of them had a clue that Nova was actually the founder of the Crimson Web.

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Chapter 12 The Code Phrase

All they saw was the brazen chaos she’d just caused downstairs, and that wild confidence blazing off her.

One middle–aged guy with a beer gut slammed his hand down with a loud thud, jumped to his feet, and barked at Nova, “Who the hell are you? You dare storm in, smash up our turf, and even spit out our boss’s name? You got a damn death wish-”

But Victor snatched him back before he could get the rest out.

Victor gave Nova a long, searching look, sizing her up like something rare before finally speaking, “Young lady, who the hell are you? Why did you come looking for me?”

Victor figured maybe she just had some issue she wanted solved.

But seeing Nova drop his entire crew and stride up here like it was nothing, he kept his cool. He acted a little more cordially.

He was already considering how he could recruit this fearsome young woman.

But what nobody expected was that Nova suddenly looked up, that chill in her stare unwavering. Right in front of everyone, she dropped the code phrase in flawless Aurevian, “On crimson night, we’re connected.”

‘What the… Victor thought. He could hardly process what he’d just heard.

That was Crimson Web’s highest–level code.

Victor froze in place, every muscle locked up.

His head snapped up, eyes wide, staring at Nova like he’d seen a ghost.

“Wait, so her real identity, and the reason she showed up…‘ Victor’s thoughts were spinning.

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