Chapter 237: Chapter 231: Negotiation, Trap

The man watched him, his face grim, but Alvin Morgan remained perfectly composed.

“Aren’t you afraid you won’t make it out of the Eastern Highlands?” the man threatened, his gaze fixed sharply on him.

Alvin Morgan seemed unconcerned. He glanced at Aurora Sinclair beside him and smiled. “If we dared to come in, we naturally have the means to get out.”p

The man glanced at Aurora Sinclair, and his heart clenched. ’This girl’s power is terrifying.’

“What are you doing here?” the man asked cautiously after a moment of thought.

“Looking for someone.”

“Who?”

“A Veridian woman.”

The man’s expression instantly hardened, his gaze turning hostile as he looked at Alvin Morgan.

After a long while, he finally said, “There are no Veridian women in the Eastern Highlands.”

The smile on Alvin Morgan’s lips widened. “Is that so?”

Just then, Lina said with a dark look, “Brother, they’ve been to the West District.”

The man’s expression grew even darker, his eyes locked on him in a fierce glare.

Alvin Morgan smiled. “Relax. I only want the person. I have no interest in anything else.”

“And if I refuse to let her go?”

“You can try.”

The air was thick with tension, ready to ignite at any moment. Lina watched them nervously as the energy fluctuations emanating from Aurora began to climb.

Alvin Morgan’s voice grew colder. “As for our terms,” he said faintly, “we can help you become the Lord of the Eastern Highlands. And we can offer you a path to survival.”

The man sank back into contemplation. His expression was grim, his lips pursed in silence.

Meanwhile, Alvin Morgan had stopped looking at him. He took Aurora Sinclair’s hand and began to leisurely admire the murals on the living room wall.

’Typical Western mythological themes.’

“I agree…”

The man finally spoke.

「The next day.」

During a meeting of the four captains, the bald, one-eyed man proposed that Aurora Sinclair and Alvin Morgan go with him to confront the White Bear Mercenaries and demand compensation.

Mas Black refused at once, his expression dark, but the bald, one-eyed man retorted sharply:

“Refusing means you have a guilty conscience. Black, this is the Eastern Highlands, not Crestland. It’s not your place to interfere.”

“You…”

The female captain stepped forward and declared, “The Eastern Highlanders aren’t afraid of death! All elites will go! If the White Bears really did kill the Lord on purpose, this is a blood feud.”

The belligerent Eastern Highlanders nearby roared their approval, causing Mas Black’s expression to sour.

He didn’t want to antagonize the White Bears. If they brought so many people, the White Bears’ men would inevitably see them as a threat.

“We don’t need to bring so many people. We’re just going to negotiate…”

“Negotiations require equal bargaining chips and resolve,” Alvin Morgan replied faintly.

***

「On a hill 30 kilometers outside the White Bear Mercenaries’ territory.」geo

A fully armed man held a pair of binoculars, looking in a certain direction.

He saw a convoy of vehicles stop cautiously outside their firing range. Dozens of Eastern Highlanders in black cloaks got out.

Each person was fully armed, carrying numerous heavy weapons.

The man’s expression gradually darkened. ’Judging by their attire, these are all elite Eastern Highlanders.’

Each one of them had survived by taking drugs, their bodies significantly enhanced. Their Combat Power was not to be underestimated.

The boss had acted so ruthlessly precisely because he feared nurturing a future threat.

They used to act according to the lab’s whims, but now the lab’s power was gradually weakening.

The Lord of the Eastern Highlands had even managed to develop an S-level sedative on his own. He’d used it to blackmail the lab into giving up more power.

That’s why the lab’s financial backer, IBG, had funded the White Bears to secretly eliminate that Lord.

But after all this time, that one-eyed idiot still hadn’t found the formula for the S-level sedative. ’What a useless piece of trash!’

A vicious glint flashed in the man’s eyes.

「Meanwhile.」

The bald, one-eyed man led them cautiously to the White Bears’ current encampment.

The White Bears had brought a lot of people this time, all of them fully armed.

The two sides stood seven or eight meters apart, facing each other.

A blond, blue-eyed man spoke with a cautious expression, “Regarding the accidental injury to the Lord, our boss is deeply apologetic. We’ve just been overwhelmed dealing with the Black Wolf Mercenaries recently. This is our compensation…”

The man gestured to his subordinates, and several large mercenaries came forward carrying five or six silver cases.

They opened the lids. Inside were many new weapons and ammunition, as well as stacks of Maso Coins.

A glint appeared in the bald, one-eyed man’s eyes. He struggled to suppress his greed, put on a stern face, and asked sharply, “Let’s not rush the compensation. There’s something you must clarify. Was the bounty for the Lord’s head on the black market placed by you, the White Bears?”

The man frowned, replying with apparent surprise, “No, that’s obviously a trap.”

The bald, one-eyed man turned to Aurora Sinclair and Alvin Morgan. “What do you two say?”

Alvin Morgan smiled and pointed vaguely in a certain direction. “There are quite a few people over there.”

The man’s expression changed. He quickly raised his gun, but Aurora Sinclair disarmed him with lightning speed.

A cold sensation touched his neck; she was holding him hostage.

The dagger in Aurora Sinclair’s hand gleamed with a cold light, looking incredibly sharp.

The faces on both sides changed drastically, and they quickly raised their guns at each other.

A battle was about to break out at any moment.

Just then, the walkie-talkie on the man’s body suddenly crackled to life.

“Captain, the situation’s changed! The Black Wolves have launched a surprise attack! We’re pulling out of the ambush circle…”

As his voice spoke, the thunderous roar of cannon fire erupted from the direction Alvin Morgan had just indicated.

The Eastern Highlanders’ expressions changed again, their eyes filled with fury at being deceived.

In a sudden turn of events, the bald, one-eyed man and his subordinates suddenly opened fire to the side, but a prepared Lina moved first, slitting their throats.

The White Bears opened fire.

“Defend!” Lina yelled.

But the gunfire stopped just as quickly.

The White Bear Mercenaries were seen collapsing to the ground one by one, convulsing.

A black shadow weaved bizarrely between them, and wherever it passed, bodies fell.

It was over before it had even begun.

Lina’s face went pale with shock. Her heart felt as if it had been seized, the blood in her veins seemed to reverse its flow, and a cold shiver ran down her spine.

A boundless fear seemed to rise from the depths of her heart, slowly spreading through her entire body.

’Such overwhelming power… and my brother and I actually courted death by challenging them?’

With Aurora Sinclair’s help, the White Bear Mercenaries’ encampment was quickly overrun by the Eastern Highlander elites.

All the White Bear Mercenaries from the encampment were bound and forced to kneel in a row, ready to receive “God’s judgment.”

And this “God,” at this moment, had become Aurora Sinclair.

After witnessing her terrifying strength, Lina and the other two captains tacitly accepted this.

Aurora Sinclair looked at Alvin Morgan and shook her head.

Alvin Morgan said, “Take their gear. We’re retreating.”

“We’re not killing them?” Lina asked.

“If the Eastern Highlands don’t want to be hunted down by the International Mercenary Alliance, it’s best to shed less blood.”

Lina could only suppress her dissatisfaction and order everyone to lower their guns.

This time, they had reaped a huge haul from the White Bear Mercenaries’ encampment. Not only did they confiscate a large amount of heavy weaponry, but they also acquired several modified off-road vehicles.

The group returned, fully loaded with spoils.

“HAHAHA… This haul will keep us well-off for half a year!” one of the captains bellowed with laughter.

“I can finally buy my old lady a nice piece of floral cloth.”

“Do you even have a fucking old lady?”

“Fuck off—plenty of women are willing to be with me.”

…

The dirty jokes were endless. Alvin Morgan glanced at Aurora Sinclair beside him, secretly relieved that she couldn’t understand them.

SUDDENLY—

The vehicle jolted violently a few times.

A massive roar deafened them for a moment.

When they looked up again, they saw flames soaring into the sky and thick black smoke billowing in the direction of the Eastern Highlands.

The color drained from everyone’s faces. For a long moment, no one could process what they were seeing.

“DRIVE FASTER—”

Someone screamed, their voice cracking.

The vehicle’s speed instantly shot up.

The closer they got to the Eastern Highlands, the louder the explosions became.

“Brother—” Lina screamed in a panic.

She jumped out of the vehicle before it had even come to a complete stop.

The Eastern Highlands’ underground laboratory had become a massive crater.

Alvin Morgan’s face paled. He grabbed Aurora Sinclair and ran straight for the old castle.

Arthur and the mysterious woman were both inside.

Billowing black smoke and surging waves of heat—the old castle seemed to have been devoured by tongues of flame.

Half of the castle was destroyed, leaving only broken walls and ruins in a scene of utter devastation.

’Could these weapons have been supplied by the Masovian government?’

Some injured Eastern Highlanders were trying to douse the fire with wooden buckets, but it was useless.

“Wait for me here.”

Aurora Sinclair picked up a wooden bucket of water and poured it over herself.

She looked Alvin Morgan in the eye, her expression serious, and said solemnly, “Don’t follow me.”

Alvin Morgan’s hands suddenly clenched into fists.

Her figure had already charged into the sea of flames without a second thought…

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