Chapter 71: Defiance

’Making use of the damaged orbital defenses, they used a small shuttle to approach us undetected. Not to mention that most of us haven’t recovered from the battle with the alien invaders. No matter how I look at it, this has been planned in advance.’ Michael analyzed.

Rather than getting upset for Victoria’s sake, he kept his emotions under control, wondering what he had done wrong. Sure, he didn’t have the most pleasant of interactions with Oliver, but that wasn’t his fault. Oliver was the one that ridiculed him, and Michael had simply retaliated.

The same could be said about Carlos. If the man hadn’t tried to assassinate him, he wouldn’t have beaten him to death.

’Wait, we never learned why Carlos targeted me. Is it possible that it was under Oliver’s orders?’

It wasn’t that far-fetched of a theory considering that most members of the Immortal Legion proved to be arrogant to a high degree, both in this and his past life.

’They are even worse than I remember. It must be because I am getting powerful much faster than before. This must have caused them to feel threatened in some way.’ Michael conceded.

He doubted that he was completely right, but he was sure he had grasped the overall picture.

“I have to agree with my personnel. Did you lose your mind? Entering our base unannounced with two Grandmasters to boot, demanding that I give you the general position, is idiotic no matter how you slice it.” Victoria retorted.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” Isaac said, wagging a finger in a taunting manner. “This is not done out of our own will. The higher-ups are displeased with how many losses Triton has suffered in the war. The whole moon is having their management changed.”

A grin appeared on his face. “…And the Immortal Legion just happened to insist that we are tasked with this base for no particular reason.”

“What did you just say?”

A voice cut through the commotion like butter. Ava gazed at Michael in surprise. She hadn’t expected that the words would anger him.

“…Displeased with the outcome of the war? A surprise invasion that, had we responded even a few days later, would have led to the loss of the entire moon. We prevented the loss of millions of lives, doing so with minimal casualties… And someone high in the hierarchy is unhappy with the result?”

“As I thought, I must have overestimated you.” Nathan sneered. “Did you think that this decision was made on a whim? The process has been underway for a long time. The alien invasion was simply the last straw.”

Michael halted for a moment. ’In my prior life, pretty much all of Triton was lost. So if such plans had existed, they must have been scrapped the moment we lost the moon… But with my interference, the course of history has been altered.’

It seemed that his knowledge of the future was gradually becoming more unreliable.

Oliver, still livid about the way he was treated before, spoke.

“Honestly, things look pretty bleak for your faction, Victoria. The base was being taken care of by the Golden Vanguard only to have its leadership replaced by their rivals, the Immortal Legion… I wonder how your grandfather will react to this blunder?”

Victoria frowned. She knew her grandfather very well. There was no doubt in her mind that he could have put a stop to this endeavor at a moment’s notice. However, he had let it pass, certainly with the goal of testing her.

’But what can I even do? If these are orders from the higher-ups, I can’t go against them.’

Seeing her expression, Oliver added, “This is why I said I was generous. I can revert the change and make it so that you remain in your current post… If you become mine, that is.”

The angry captains were quickly silent. They knew that the affairs between the factions were complicated, and they weren’t willing to butt in.

Oliver chuckled, seeing the change in their attitude. “I will say that my offer is pretty generous, especially…”

His gaze moved to Michael. “I wondered how you beat me in our little duel. You were in the same realm as me the entire time. I admit, you did play me for a fool. You two must have orchestrated this to get rid of me!”

All this time, there had been a doubt in Oliver’s mind about Michael’s qualifications. Not only had he taken control over a soul weapon that even Victoria couldn’t, but he also beat him one-on-one. Now seeing him in the Early Expert realm, he was certain that Michael had been suppressing his cultivation all this time.

’Was he really suppressing his cultivation all this time?’ Chloe wondered. At the time, Isaac hadn’t said anything, and it was hard to imagine a Grandmaster being fooled so easily.

’I must have been overthinking it.’ She shook her head. Everything regarding Michael must have been exaggerated, even Nathan’s reports about his capabilities.

“So what do you say, fairy?” Oliver taunted, getting closer. He extended his hand in a friendly manner.

“If you agree to stay by my side, we would still be equal. I fear if you refuse today, you will become nothing more than a concubine in the future.”

Due to his status and the people backing him, he was certain that Victoria would inevitably become his. Whatever if it was of her own violation was irrelevant.

“HAHAHA! You finally grew some balls!” Isaac laughed out loud, approving of Oliver’s words. A lot of things were riding on this relationship, so he was willing to go to great lengths to achieve it.

Victoria remained calm, observing the man before her. Even now, his eyes were filled with ill intent, throwing undisguised glances with lust at her figure.

The others remained silent. While there were a lot of things they wanted to say, it was ultimately her decision, so they left it up to her.

Truthfully, Victoria hadn’t even considered the possibility for a second. It was better to die on the battlefield right this instant than to have any kind of intimate relationship with Oliver.

Her eyes bore into his hand like a fearless lioness.

And she spat on it in an act of refusal, completely bewildering the members of the Immortal Legion, who had been certain that she was going to cave.

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