Two months ago, the Empire seized the opportunity to launch a war against the Northern Country. This directly caused chaos in the thriving Northern Country, which was now divided among warlords and had become almost a scattered mess.
Although Minister Honest of the Empire was a corrupt official, his ability was undeniably strong. He saw the Northern Country's weakness at a glance and struck a fatal blow at the right moment.
It was likely that for the next ten years, the Northern Country would be unable to trouble the Empire. At most, only small remnant forces would invade the border... but this still led Esdeath's clan to the brink of extinction.
For the Empire, the Northern Tribes were temporarily not a concern, but for the resistance, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The resistance already struggled against the Empire, so they had to gather forces from all sides to have any chance of impacting the Empire.
The once-powerful Northern Tribes had been overconfident and flatly rejected the resistance's alliance request, but isn't now the perfect time for the resistance to intervene?
So, while the resistance drew the Empire's attention internally, they sent a special unit to the Northern Country to try and form an alliance again to jointly oppose the central Empire.
Besides some high-ranking members of the resistance, the Assassination Society 'Oarburgh' also sent four members to participate.
The current leader of the society, Barbara Oarburgh.
The heir to the society, Melad Oarburgh.
The leader's two disciples, Myoko and Chelsea.
The four were not responsible for negotiations, but rather for helping the resistance's high-ranking officials evacuate if something unexpected happened.
However, due to their previous mission, they were a bit far from the North. Combined with the blizzard, there was a time discrepancy in their arrival at the Northern Country, and they subsequently ran into Cerydra, Hysilens, and Esdeath...
Looking at it this way, Chelsea and the others were truly unfortunate!
"Do you know what you're saying?"
Cerydra's words immediately agitated the people present; Chelsea even cried out loud.
"We came here to invite the King of the Northern Country to join the alliance, and you're actually asking us to kill him?"
"How could such a thing be possible!"
As fellow disciples, both Myoko and Chelsea voiced their refusal, but Cerydra didn't care at all.
Just two novice Assassins. Although they had promising futures, they didn't yet have the power to make decisions for Oarburgh. The final say rested with Barbara and Meela.
"..."
"We agree."
After a moment of silence, Barbara and Meela sighed helplessly. The two had exchanged countless glances, asking if the other could break the current situation, but the answer was always negative.
Especially Barbara. As an Assassin with decades of combat experience, she had never seen anyone possess such powerful strength—completely crushing her with just one strike... Was she really human?
Even though Cerydra was the one in control, the four from the Assassination Society knew very well that the strongest among the three was undoubtedly the woman called 'Daughter of the Sea' Hysilens!
When did such a powerhouse appear in the world? And she didn't even seem to be a Teigu User?
After noting the other party's name, Barbara resolved to update their intelligence system as soon as she returned; otherwise, many people in the resistance would likely suffer.
"Eh? Why did you agree?"
"If we don't agree, aren't you afraid they'll kill us?"
"Oh, right... haha..."
To have an equal negotiation, one must have comparable strength, and Hysilens... she had single-handedly thrashed all four of them.
In other words, Barbara's group had no right to negotiate at all. They could only agree to any of Cerydra's demands; otherwise, who knew what kind of future awaited them? They might even end up as food for those Danger Beasts.
Upon hearing their potential fate, the two young disciples both gave awkward smiles.
"I'm not some kind of demon. Since you've accepted my commission, I will give you your reward after everything is over."
Never mind that Cerydra and Hysilens were currently penniless and even had to rely on Danger Beast meat to survive; no one could say what the future would hold. Who knows, maybe she would succeed?
"You're just untying us like this? Aren't you afraid we'll run away as fast as possible?"
"I'm not afraid, because you simply can't escape." Cerydra's face showed a confidence that Barbara couldn't understand. "I believe you've already experienced the Daughter of the Sea's strength firsthand; you won't want to experience it a second time."
"Besides, we were friends to begin with. Don't let small things cloud your judgment. I sincerely hope you all remain my friends in the future, which is why I don't want you to do anything out of line."
Cerydra's words were very clear; even Myoko and Chelsea could understand them.
Now, there was absolutely no way to run.
Even if people from the resistance came, they might not necessarily be able to escape. They could only hope that Cerydra truly wanted to be friends with them...
"Can I ask a question?"
A moment later, Meela broke the hard-won silence, drawing everyone's attention to her.
"I'll allow it. Ask!"
After receiving Cerydra's permission, Meela took a deep breath and looked seriously at the small but imposing girl before her.
"Why do you want us to kill the King of the North? What exactly are you trying to achieve by going to all this trouble?"
Meela's attitude was very serious, and this question even piqued Esdeath's interest. Everyone waited for Cerydra's answer.
"That's two questions, but never mind... since you want to know, there's no harm in telling you."
Cerydra had already laid out a detailed plan, but she wouldn't tell these Assassins the specifics. However, a simple explanation was fine.
"Once the King of the North dies, the North will surely fall into chaos! Throughout history, only in times of chaos can one achieve great things!"
"I need the North to become soil suitable for my conquest... That's right, what I seek is 'Conquest'! To reconstruct the 'Law' of the world!"
"I came, I saw, I conquered—!"
Ignoring the stunned crowd, Cerydra continued her speech until the last word fell, and then a burst of applause came from not far away.
It was Esdeath.
There had been no prior communication or hint; Esdeath had naturally started clapping after hearing Caesar's words...
Caesar tilted her head and watched Esdeath, whose eyes were shining with brilliance, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"What pleasant applause. Dux Frigium, do you wish to follow me and conquer together?"
Esdeath's response to Cerydra was an excited smile...