Seeing Elijah’s piercing glance and his raised spear, Austin was not afraid at all. He continued to keep his back straight.
“Uncle Elijah, the temptation of acquiring two cities is indeed huge. I probably wouldn’t refuse if I was you. If you want to use my life in exchange for the two cities, I’m willing to make that sacrifice.”
Austin clasped his hands calmly.
“What? Aren’t you afraid of death?” Elijah narrowed his eyes. “Or do you think that I don’t dare to kill you?”
“Of course, I’m afraid of death. If I could choose, I wouldn’t choose to die either,” Austin replied calmly.
He continued, “Plus, you’ve been on the battlefield for many years, killing all kinds of enemies. If you want to kill me, it won’t take much effort for you to do so.”
“Since you’re afraid of death, why are you so calm?” Elijah was a bit confused.
“Fear of death is one thing, but having the courage to face death is another. I’ve prepared myself for the worst ever since I entered,” Austin replied seriously.
“Plus, there’s no way I can escape if you want to kill me. It’s better to face you head-on, not to mention I can avoid some suffering.”
“Interesting.” Elijah suddenly smiled and slowly lowered his spear. “They said a fierce father would not raise a tame son. I finally got to witness this today. The Rhys family does not have a single weakling.”
“Thank you for your praise.” Austin tilted his head.
“Alright. I’ll stop joking around. Julius’ men did indeed come looking for me. However, I already killed him.”
With a snap of his fingers, a few guards soon dragged a corpse to Austin’s feet.
“This is the man that Julius arranged.” Elijah kicked the corpse in disdain.
“Uncle Elijah, are you not planning to take over Julius’ offer of two cities? I can’t beat his proposal,” Austin said.
“Although I’m not a good person, I won’t do something so treacherous. I owe your father a favor. If I killed you, wouldn’t it make me the same as an animal?” Elijah replied indifferently.
“You’re such a righteous person. I respect that.” Austin clasped his hands respectfully. Austin was so confident partly because his eldest brother was there. Other than that, he also knew Elijah well.
Elijah was a decisive person. If he truly wanted to kill someone, he wouldn’t waste so much time talking. Instead, he would kill the person as soon as he saw them.
“Alright. Stop praising me. Although I didn’t kill you, it doesn’t mean I’ll help you,” Elijah replied indifferently. “I do respect your father. However, you haven’t gotten my recognition yet.”
“Feel free to state any conditions. If I can do it, I’ll definitely not refuse!” Austin said earnestly.
“Okay. Let’s forget about all personal affairs and only talk about business!” Elijah replied meaningfully.
“I believe you know the dangers involved if I follow you to betray and resist Julian, Grand General of the Iron Stallion Cavalry.
“My troops will suffer heavy losses with a single mistake. How do you plan to compensate for that?”
“I can represent the royal family and give you a city!” Julian answered.
The Eight Sovereigns of West Lucozia had their own territories. Usually, neither side was willing to yield to the other when there was interference.
Gifting Elijah a city would mean disrupting this balance. It would cause plenty of trouble in the future. However, Julian couldn’t take it into consideration right now.
“A city is still not enough.” Elijah shook his head.
“Uncle Elijah, what else do you need? You can just let me know,” Julian replied.
“I want 800 soldiers in the Black Dragon Army. Pick the best of them!” Elijah answered.
“800 best soldiers in Black Dragon Army?” Julian furrowed his brow.
West Lucozia’s Black Dragon Army were extremely experienced soldiers, the elite among the elite.
Elites in the Black Dragon Army could refer to themselves as the king of soldiers.
For Elijah to want 800 kings of soldiers was going too far.
After all, each king of soldiers would undergo years of training. All kinds of rare resources would be used for them to train.
The manpower, money, and materials used on the soldiers were immeasurable.
“What? Are you not willing to?” Elijah asked. “You should know that if this was Julius, he would accept if I asked for 3000 elite soldiers, not to mention
800!”
“Julius has a large army and many soldiers. I don’t have a foundation, so I naturally cannot compete with him.” Austin sighed.
“That’s why I only want 800 elite soldiers. I’ve already considered your father when I proposed this condition.”
Elijah yawned. “Of course, you can discuss it with your mother if you cannot decide. However, I’m not sure if it’ll be too late by then.”
After hesitating for a moment, Austin nodded in the end. “Okay. I agree! If you can help us in the rebellion, I agree to give you 800 elite soldiers from the Black Dragon Army!”
“Very good!” Elijah couldn’t help but laugh after hearing that. “A man should be fearless. What’s 800 elite soldiers to you? When you inherit the throne, the entire West Lucozia will be yours!”
“Is it a deal, then?” Austin narrowed his eyes.
“Of course!” Elijah answered proudly. ” I don’t have many virtues except for being able to keep my word. From now onward, my troops are at your disposal!
“Thank you!” Austin let out a sigh of relief.
“Also, I decided to gift you something since you didn’t dilly-dally,” Elijah ordered some writing materials and quickly wrote a letter.
Then, he gave the letter to Austin with a smile.
“If I guessed correctly, you’ll be going to Marquis Lincon’s territory later. I have a good relationship with him. With this letter, your chances of convincing him will greatly increase.”
“Thank you, Uncle Elijah!” Austin clasped his hands gratefully.
“Alright. Time is ticking. Go on with it. “Elijah waved his hands in dismissal.
“Goodbye!” Austin said before leaving with his men.
Elijah had agreed to team up with him. This meant only one person was left- Lincon, Marquis of Riverside!
Lincon was different from powerful military commanders like Elijah. He was originally a civil servant.
He rose from a humble position to become a regional marquis.
Lincon was capable and extremely smart. No one could outwit him in West Lucozia!
If Austin could get Lincon’s support, he could add a strategist to his cause.
