Reborn as a Mechanist with a God-Tier System-Chapter 218: When it rains, it pours [4]

"..."

For a long time, silence reigned inside the isolated office as Ren Nora and Major Kai stared at the stranger who was now seated on the guest chair in the office again, confidently looking at them and waiting for them to break the silence.

A whirlwind of thoughts flowed through their heads.

Individually, they understood every single word that the mercenary said but when all the words were put together into a coherent sentence, they found themselves struggling to comprehend what he truly meant.

Major Kai was having a mental seizure from simply thinking deep about it. ’Is this guy on drugs?’

As for Ren Nora, he frowned as he tried to break everything down in his head. It took more than 3 minutes, but he finally internalized everything that the bold mercenary just said.

Ren Nora leaned back on his office chair, his emerald eyes gleaming with a neon green light as he scrutinized the mercenary. "Honestly, I don’t know if you’re crazy or you’re delusional".

"Aren’t we all crazy?" Leon grinned. "How else did you manage to convince the rebel army that you have everything under control?"

Ren Nora ignored his provocative words and mumbled. "Can something like that even work?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Outside, Leon maintained a calm look on his face but inside he secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Ren Nora’s question meant that his vast and formidable mental defenses were finally broken and he was now seriously contemplating the feasibility of the plan.

That was the first step towards acceptance.

Leon stayed calm and said. "If something like Purgatory could work, then why can’t my plan work?"

Ren Nora stared at the mercenary deeply. "You’re a very ambitious man".

"I know," Leon calmly nodded. "I have no choice but to be ambitious, or else I’ll live a fleeting and forgettable life".

Major Kai stared at his leader and opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he stayed quiet and pursed his lips.

Ren Nora’s eyes flickered as he leaned forward, maintaining eye contact with Leon. "You’re forgetting one thing," he interlocked his fingers with a serious expression on his face. "You’re just a mercenary that I hired, why should I trust you, a mercenary?"

"Because we’re in the same boat," Leon answered resolutely. "You may not yet believe it, but we’re fated".

"You think I want to clash against a C Rank Ascended as a mere E Rank?" Leon chuckled in a self-deprecating manner. "Trust me when I say this... I don’t want this too but you must ascend, or I die".

Ren Nora raised his eyebrows, then he chuckled. "What an intriguing man".

"I still can’t tell if you’re just crazy or delusional, or if you’re an elite operative groomed by the Omnicore Federation". His eyes turned sharp as his neon green ADE briefly flared in a threatening manner.

Leon didn’t react to this at all as he maintained eye contact with the rebel leader, radiating calm confidence.

Seeing the look in the mercenary’s deep black eyes, Ren Nora chuckled again and broke eye contact as he leaned back on his office chair.

He rubbed his forehead in a tired manner. "F*ck!" he cursed.

After a few seconds, Ren Nora suddenly stood up and turned his back to Leon as he walked in front of his window, looking outside at the tired military base that was still somehow bustling with activity.

Ren Nora took a deep breath.

"Leave," he said in a deep voice. "But stay inside the military base, you’re not allowed to leave yet".

"You’ll only leave when I give you my answer".

Leon shrugged, then he stood up, looking at Major Kai as he politely asked the Major to lead him to where he’ll be staying.

The Major had a complicated look on his face as his gaze alternated between Ren Nora and then at the strange mercenary, then he led Leon out.

He led Leon to an isolated but heavily protected room inside the military base that was close to Ren Nora’s office.

After leading Leon inside, he didn’t leave immediately.

Standing by the door, the Major hesitated for a few seconds then he said. "If you betray the General and anything happens to him," his eyes flashed with a dangerous green light. "I’ll kill you myself, I promise".

Leon looked at him, he didn’t respond.

Major Kai finally left.

...

Hours later, in the evening, while meditating Leon heard a knock on his door as Major Kai entered and led him once again to Ren Nora’s office.

Unlike in the morning, Ren Nora no longer looked as ruffled and unsettled, once again he looked like the stubborn and undaunted leader of the Freegrid Collective who was bold enough to take on mountains and survive.

The bold rebel leader of Iron Reef was back.

Once Leon sat down, Ren Nora looked into the mercenary’s eyes and said. "I can’t trust you easily".

He chuckled. "In all my years of experience running from and then fighting the Omnicore Federation, one thing that experience taught me and a rule I strictly abide by is to not trust easily".

"I’m not about to put the fate of my entire city and soldiers that put their faith in me in the hands of a mercenary that I just met".

Sitting on the guest chair, Leon didn’t react as he looked at Ren Nora.

The rebel leader leaned back on his office chair and revealed a wry smile. "You’re right, I’m beginning to feel the pressure, but you’re also wrong in one thing," his eyes gleamed. "I’m not out of ideas yet".

"General Sylvari Charr hasn’t pushed me to the wall yet, and he’ll find out soon enough that I’m not that easy to step over".

"You see, I’m not an easy meal to devour," he grinned. "I’ve got thick skin".

"What of me?" Leon asked calmly. "Will I be in detention?"

Ren Nora’s lips curled up in a smile. "No, of course not. I’m not that petty. You’re free to do your thing, but my eyes would be on you now".

He grinned. "I’ll be watching your every move".

Leon shrugged. "Then I’m good".

Without waiting for the rebel leader to say more, he stood up and looked at him. "Goodluck, I truly hope you can do it alone".

Ren Nora maintained a smile that now took a dangerous hue. "Is that a threat?"

"No, just a good wish". Leon walked out of Ren Nora’s office.

The moment he was gone, Major Kai looked at Ren Nora. "General, are you really going to just let him off like that?"

Ren Nora smiled. "I’m a man of my word".

...

Leon walked out of the military base after hours of being detained.

He didn’t walk out like a man who just suffered a big disappointment though, he walked out like a man who just achieved the preliminary phase of his plan. He walked out like a man who just successfully planted a seed of an idea.

Leon’s deep black eyes gleamed as he left.

From the beginning, based on his psychological profile of Ren Nora, he never expected the rebel leader to buy into his plan immediately.

Ren Nora was a bold freedom fighter who rose to power singlehandedly, this was someone who made a living from rebelling against the strongest faction in the entire world.

He was a genius and if there was one common factor among geniuses, it was that they were always prideful and arrogant.

From his observation of the rebel leader for the past 4 days, Leon knew that Ren Nora was a competent leader and Ascended but at the same time, he knew that he was an extremely self-confident man.

It would be out of character for him to trust easily, especially now when defeat was not yet set in stone.

Leon never expected to build instant trust, all he wanted was to plant the seed of an idea for when Ren Nora would eventually be pushed against the wall.

At least, then, Ren Nora would see him as one of his last gag options.

Leon didn’t panic because he could sense that desperate times were no longer far away, General Sylvari Charr was a formidable enemy and sooner than later, Iron Reef was going to be pushed to the wall.

’I’ve planted the seed’. He thought.

’All I need now is for Sylvari Charr to water the field while I watch the seed grow’.

Leon’s black eyes gleamed. ’It should blossom in a few days’.

...

That night, Leon had a fallout with the Order of Iron mercenary squad!