The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 85

Chapter 85

“Exactly! If we just hire the most powerful international assassins or mercs …” Claire exclaimed.

“Then no one would stand a chance against us, right?” she added.

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Claire smacked her forehead in realization, like she’d just unlocked the gateway to an entirely new world.

For students like them, assassins and mercenaries were the sort of people one only encountered on the front page of the news–never in real life.

That was exactly why Maxwell, Hannah, Zane, and Claire had always avoided the secret masters on campus, keeping their distance out of respect and caution.

If it hadn’t been for Nova’s return, they probably would never have crossed paths with any of those secret

masters.

“Zane, you’re the president of the Taekwondo club and honestly…” Claire started.

“Some folks in our Free Combat Club get a little skill and start showing off, but they don’t think things through like you do!” she continued.

Claire was throwing shade at Nova.

She even went so far as to praise Zane from their rival club, flashing him a big thumbs–up.

From start to finish, Claire’s whole spiel was about making Nova look brainless.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s hire someone already!” Maxwell blurted out.

‘Man, I can’t stand the way Claire and Zane talk,‘ Maxwell thought to himself.

But as someone in Maxwell’s shoes, he figured this was probably the smartest play.

“But how do we even go about hiring someone like that?” Hannah asked, her voice turning serious as she joined the conversation.

Feeling Zane’s hopeful look begging for a compliment, Nova just shot him a frosty glare.

Honestly, she almost pitied these guys–were they naive, or just plain clueless? For a second, she didn’t even want to burst their little bubble.

“With the kind of international pull you all have? No chance of hiring anyone,” Nova said, her voice ice–cold. She spoke up just as the others were lost in thought, breaking through their silence.

It wasn’t just that she was the number one mercenary–and she was right here

among them.

Maxwell and Zane didn’t have nearly enough clout to get anyone from the top hundred mercenaries on the global charts to even look their way, much less take a job for them.

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Chapter 85

Let alone Damien Thorn–the deadliest assassin in the business…

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If they tried to hire Damien, they’d be putting their necks on the line–there’s a real chance he’d decide to take them out instead.

In the end, they were just a bunch of teenagers.

This was the age for goofing off at school, falling in love, and daydreaming about romance–not trying to deal with the messy stuff in life.

Honestly, they just saw the world through rose–colored glasses and thought everything was way simpler than it really is.

“Nova, seriously, what the hell are you getting at?” Claire snapped, not bothering to hide her irritation.

“So you’re saying we’re not big enough to hire anyone? You think we’re just nobodies or what?

“Who do you think we’ve been busting our asses for all this time? It’s not for ourselves!

“If it wasn’t for Hannah, I’d honestly let you fend for yourself!”

Claire jumped on Nova’s words, unleashing her anger without holding back, determined not to let a single chance to tear into Nova slip by.

Zane scowled, biting back his irritation.

From the moment Nova showed up, she just had this way of stealing all his attention.

No matter what, she’d keep him on his toes–teasing one second, then shooting him down the next.

‘Man, does she just really hate me or something?‘ Zane muttered to himself, half annoyed, half confused.

‘Seriously, is she so dead set against me that she can’t stand to hear a single good idea, just itching to turn me down and run off the moment I open my mouth?

‘Damn it!‘ Zane snapped, frustration boiling over.

‘Just wait–I swear, you’re going to be mine, no matter what!‘ he promised himself with fierce determination. Maxwell and Hannah traded confused glances, both turning their eyes to Nova, trying to read her reaction. They figured Nova just couldn’t stand Zane–so no matter how good his suggestion was, she’d never even give it a chance.

“Nova’s got a point. You guys really don’t have the pull to hire the big players,” Felix said, his voice steady but blunt.

Felix might just be an assassin from a pretty minor squad, but he was still an insider in the business.

As he listened to the conversation, Felix grew increasingly awkward–finally, he couldn’t hold back anymore and broke his silence to clear things up.

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Chapter 85

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Just then, Isaac, the resident computer whiz, fired up his laptop and pulled up the Crimson Web.

Felix took the laptop, brought up the main page, scrolled straight to the assassin and mercenary rankings, and turned the screen so Zane and the others could see for themselves.

“Number one on the assassin rankings–the world’s deadliest assassin, the mastermind behind the Shadow Sanctum, code name ‘Damien.’ Nobody knows who Damien really is, and except for his crew, no one’s ever actually seen him.

“But he’s the one calling the shots for the most feared assassin syndicate in the world–the Shadow Sanctum,” Felix explained.

Felix switched over to the mercenary rankings and, with a little flourish, pulled up the top spot for Zane and the others to check out.

“Ranking first among mercenaries–the boss of the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps, Mercenary Bloodforge. With her, it’s all secrets. Apart from the fact she’s a woman, nobody knows squat–her face, her age, it’s all blank.

“Word on the street is Bloodforge is some old lady pushing sixty–rumor has it she’s too ancient to run missions anymore.

She’s basically dropped off the mercenary map for almost a year, nobody’s seen or heard from her in the underground for ages,” Felix added, tapping the screen for emphasis.

After that, Felix snapped the laptop shut and kept talking.

“People like them? They only take the missions they want–no one in this world can force a top mercenary or assassin to do anything,” he said.

Felix chuckled. “And trust me, from what I know, with their reputation in the underground, they don’t even get out of bed for less than a hundred million per job.”

After a couple seconds of silence, Felix quietly finished,

“US dollars.”

Zane, Maxwell, Hannah, and Claire just stared with wide eyes–like a bunch of clay dolls seeing the dark side of the world for the very first time, totally frozen.

They were so dumbstruck, jaws hanging open, unable to get out a single word.

Then it finally clicked–they realized every word Nova had said was the truth. They’d been living in denial, clueless and naive, completely blind to how deep the rabbit hole really went.

“Turns out you knew all about this, Nova. Figures, since you grew up

abroad…

“Guess overseas news always covers stuff like this, right?”

Maxwell stared at her in shock.

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Chapter 85

But halfway through his sentence, Nova’s eyes narrowed, cold and alert.

Felix immediately noticed. “Nova, what’s up? Are they coming back?”

He blurted, “Should we make a run for it?”

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“Run?” Nova repeated, like the idea was completely foreign–and honestly, a little amusing to her.

She shot Felix a confident, almost teasing smile.

“I’ve made it this far without ever once running away. That’s just not my style,” she said, voice filled with calm swagger.

“You guys should go find somewhere safe to hide,” she told them, making it clear she wasn’t asking.

Then, without hesitation, Nova strode two steps forward, her tone turning crisp and decisive.

“I’ll handle them myself–right here,” Nova declared, cool and confident.

Zane, Maxwell, Hannah, and Claire barely had time to react–let alone ask what was going on–before Nova was already gone.

Her figure flickered and vanished in a heartbeat, then she was tearing off toward the entrance of The Greenwood at full speed.

Outside The Greenwood, two mercenaries pressed themselves tightly against the wall, ears tuned for any movement inside.

They were poised and ready, every muscle tense, waiting for the perfect moment to launch the next phase of their assassination.

The next moment, a woman strode out from behind the door, bold as ever.

Her footsteps were so eerily quiet, the two mercenaries almost jumped in shock. Instinctively, both swung their guns up, one to the left, one to the right, muzzles locking onto Nova’s forehead, ready to pull the trigger.

Bang! Bang!

Two gunshots rang out.

With those barrels inches from her head, Nova didn’t show the slightest hint of fear–she stood there, calm and unshaken.

Instead, Nova stayed impossibly cool–her hands flashing out to grab both gun barrels pointed at her head, effortlessly shoving them upwards.

The mercenaries fired, but Nova redirected their shots into the sky, the bullets whizzing harmlessly overhead.

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