Chapter 662 Defiant
“Maybe it’s easier to discuss our matters this way?” Stellario pulled out a dagger from his pocket and stuck it in the fireplace before Karl. The way Stellario did it was so easy that it was as if he was slicing butter.
The most impressive thing was that an iciness surrounding the dagger immediately made the flame in the fireplace smaller. The temperature in the room dropped. Karl frowned at the dagger. “What is the meaning of all this, Captain Mallory?”
“It’s simple. Choose one. Either you work with me, or I will end you now. Come on. Pick your fate.” Stellario chuckled as he gazed at Karl.
Karl sneered, “Are you trying to hurt me at my military camp?” He turned around to look at Kathleen and Winston. “Are you guys in the cahoots with him?”
Kathleen blew out a puff of smoke slowly without speaking, while Winston stood up and bowed before Karl. He said, “Commander… I-I’ve never come face-to-face with a high-ranking officer like you. Please don’t mind me. I’m going to say something off-topic now.”
Karl took in Winston’s apologetic look. Absurd! He is a highly skilled person in the advanced phase of God Realm. Yet, he looked no less different from an old farmer who had made his way into the city for the first time. Even though he can easily change the course of the world, he looks like a coward. This is the definition of playing dumb. Winston is not a man to look down upon.
He nodded. “Please speak, Sir.”
Winston crossed his arms in front of his chest before putting his hands into the sleeves. “Okay, then. Here’s the thing. The eight respectable families do not suffer from poverty but from inequality. Even though we shared some common interests by being this way and being in the same boat, we have a competitive relationship. We’ve tried to get those kids with cultivation on our side previously. We want those exceptional rogue cultivators too. However, some people don’t like being a part of the eight respectable families.
“What we do about that, then? To prevent people like you from joining other respectable families and proving to be a threat to us in the future, we would mostly kill these rebellious people to ensure they wouldn’t cause us any trouble. Of course, I don’t mean I have to kill you. I’m just telling you the story behind this.”
With that, Winston smiled and bowed before returning to his seat.
Karl was rendered speechless by his words.
Both Stellario and Winston want to kill me?
He looked at Kathleen, who was opposite him. “Ms. Henderson, they’re all trying to kill me. What about you?”
“Our last names are similar. Maybe you should check your family’s genealogy. We could have come from the same family centuries ago.” Kathleen chuckled. “Karl, if you agree to work with the Henderson family, I will let you join our family so you can cultivate at our place. You will be one of our core family members too. What do you think?”
Karl had yet to respond when Stellario suddenly swung his dagger out and stood up. “Damn it. Are you trying to get him to be your family member? Karl, if you work with the Mallory family, I will end this b*tch for you!”
Meanwhile, Winston stood to the side with a grin. It was as if the situation before him had nothing to do with him and that he was merely a curious onlooker.
Kathleen glared at Stellario. “Are you trying to start a war between our families by pointing your weapon at me?”
“Let it be, then. Do you think I’m afraid of you? Don’t you dare make another move, or I will cut off your head.”
“Come on, then. I dare you,” Kathleen challenged with the cigarette in her mouth.
“All right!” Stellario swung his danger in the direction of Kathleen’s forehead.
Kathleen didn’t budge. She didn’t even activate her force field. She just stared at Stellario unblinkingly.
The dagger stopped mid-air at a distance dangerously close to Kathleen’s forehead.
“Why didn’t you stab me?” Kathleen gave Stellario a half-suppressed smile.
“The Mallory family kills with poisons, not daggers!” Stellario moved slightly, and the dagger flew back to him. Then he turned and looked at Karl. “Karl, choose now. The chosen one will help you fight against other respectable families. If you don’t make a choice now, we can only end you.”
Karl gazed at the two people beside him. Kathleen was leaning against the chair elegantly without any emotion in her eyes. On the other hand, Winston’s arms were relaxed by his side as he glued his eyes to the ground.
Kathleen, Stellario, and Winston were all God Realm cultivators. They showed no sign of being aggressive.
Yet, Karl understood that they were serious about ending his life. “You guys want to end me?” He smiled at them. “You guys asked me here because you need the Eastern Army under my lead. If I’m gone, who of you can lead the army?”
Kathleen shook her wrist, and a blazing horsewhip appeared in her hand. “Karl, don’t you forget this. Before the existence of Asura’s Office, the armies from around different areas of Chanaea were controlled by the eight respectable families. Do you really think you are the only person who knows how to lead the army?”
Karl laughed at her words. He took out a tiger seal that was as big as his palm. “Asura’s Office has a system. The people who hold the seals are the eight Kings of War. You guys can take this away from me now.”
With that, he controlled the tiger seal so it flew and stayed in the air before the three. “Do you think it’s simple to break free from Asura’s Office with one hundred seventy thousand soldiers? I mean, you guys can try. Would the soldiers listen to you if it was a different person holding the seal?”
The moment he finished speaking, Karl picked up yet another baked potato from the fireplace. “One hundred seventy thousand people will come after you guys if you people end me. I know each of you has impressive cultivation. These people might have difficulty killing you guys even with their weapons. But I’m confident your family would need to fight every second until the day that these people are gone.”
One hundred and seventy thousand people.
The rest furrowed their brows when they heard the number. If other organizations or groups had spoken Karl’s words, they wouldn’t have believed it. However, coming from the man from Asura’s Office, they didn’t dare to take his words lightly. After all, the people from Asura’s Office had always had one goal in mind from when their group was formed. They wanted to get rid of the respectable families. The respectable families were one thing that they were most afraid of, but the respectable families were also the one thing that they were least afraid of.
Karl is a difficult man to handle!
The thought ran through the trio’s minds.
Karl peeled the baked potato and stuffed it into his mouth. “The situation in Chanaea is unstable now. I am more useful alive than dead.”
The rest gave in after seeing how defiant Karl was.
“Karl, now that you’ve made yourself clear, let me know your conditions.” Kathleen looked at the man with interest.
Karl lifted his head slowly. “I only have one condition. I will follow and assist anyone who can rescue my wife and child from Remdik.”
