"Lucy, Molly! Just do what Magnus said. Take your team to Willowglen Village now. Don’t tell him what’s going on here - we can’t afford to distract him. Your task stays the sa. Keep digging on teorite Hill."
Emily’s order ca quick and sharp. Supplies and people had all been prepped the night before. But Molly shouted in protest, "Emily! Things are falling apart here, how can we just leave? No way! Lucy and I are staying to fight. We’ll handle the Ridgebreak Battalion first, then head to teorite Hill together."
"Do as I say!" Emily’s voice left no room for argunt. "I’ll handle Ridgebreak! And don’t breathe a word to Magnus!"
Left with no choice, Lucy and Molly finally stood up, faces tense.
Ice Regint’s situation was critical. Ridgebreak’s troops were moving fast - might be at Ashbrook Town in three hours tops.
"Move! If you don’t go now, it’ll be too late!" Emily barked again.
"Yes, ma’am!"
Both Lucy and Molly turned and jumped off the vehicle, still uneasy. The won left in the RV’s lounge shared grim expressions.
Sophia frowned. "Emily, with things like this, you’re really sending them off now? What are we gonna do about Ridgebreak?"
Emily paused for a beat. Then slowly said, "We do it just like Charlotte proposed in the morning eting - stall them. As long as we can. I don’t think they’ll hit us straight away. My guess is they’ll send soone to talk first."
"Report!" Chloe rushed into the vehicle. "Emily! Sophia! Charlotte! Ridgebreak’s delegate is at the town gates. Wants to see our leader."
"Let him in."
"Yes!"
Everyone stood up imdiately, faces set with steely resolve.
Charlotte pulled Chloe aside. "Chloe, wait!"
Stopping mid-step, Chloe looked back. Charlotte continued, "Go stop Lucy and Molly. Tell them to hold for now. Wait till Ridgebreak’s people are inside the RV, then move. We can’t let those n spot them leaving."
"Got it!" Chloe turned and darted off.
Not long after, Chloe ca back with four n. These weren’t the ones Magnus bribed last ti.
"These four are Ridgebreak’s full negotiating team," she said.
No more n outside. Emily got the ssage. She nodded. "Now go tell Molly and Lucy to be on alert. Stay sharp."
She ant for Molly and the others to leave right away. Chloe caught on instantly and stepped out of the truck without a word.
"What’s all this about? Say it straight." Sophia didn’t bother with pleasantries. She stared coldly at the four n, not even offering them a seat. "If you’re here to talk surrender, then save it. You can turn around and get the hell out now!"
"Get out? Heh..."
The four n chuckled at her bluntness. The leader, a man in his forties with a two-bar-one-star insignia - likely a major - glanced around. One of his n quickly dragged a chair over. The major sat down and looked up at the won, smiling faintly. "Heard there’re so of our comrades here. Female Special Forces Unit, wasn’t it?"
"No more crap. Say what your boss told you, then get lost!" Sophia shot back, raising her voice for emphasis.
Charlotte frowned. She knew Sophia was reaching her limit. "Sophia, go get everyone ready for a fight. Leave this to us."
"Tch." Sophia snorted but gave Charlotte so face. Dragged away by her, she muttered one last threat as she passed the four n. "Grain? You lot from Ridgebreak Battalion won’t get a damn speck from us. I’ll blow the stores before I let that happen!"
The lead negotiator, Philip Lee, didn’t look too pleased. These won were even tougher than he expected - stubborn, the lot of them.
Philip was silent for a mont. Then the smile vanished, and his voice turned flat. "Since the 13th Division of Ridgebreak Battalion is already on the move, you should know we won’t be leaving empty-handed. As for you lot... I’ll be blunt, your twelve hundred can’t hold us back. If you insist on picking a fight, it’ll only end one way. Need to spell it out?"
Twelve hundred? How did they know their numbers?
Emily and the others visibly tensed. Had soone in the Ice Regint betrayed them? Emily kept her face calm, eyes fixed on Philip. "Then I guess you also know that even if we’ve only got a hundred left, that’s still enough to torch your food supply."
"Heh, that’s right," Philip chuckled again. "Otherwise, why bother talking?"
"Then what exactly do you want?" Charlotte asked directly.
"Let’s not waste ti," Philip rose to his feet, the three n beside him following suit. He raised his voice slightly, "Our troops will be here in hours. If you’re smart, you’ll let take over command of your regint from now on. Ridgebreak Battalion won’t make things hard for you. You’ll keep so autonomy. We’ll protect you. You stay here and keep running this underground granary. You’ll just be part of our outer forces now."
"No way!"
"In your damn dreams!"
The outburst ca quick. Over ten squad leaders jumped up, anger burning in their eyes. A few already had their pistols drawn, aid dead at Philip and his n.
Philip just smiled like none of it mattered. "I get it, sudden changes are hard. I’ll give you one hour to think. After that, war or peace - it’s your call. I trust you’ll make the smart choice."
He glanced at the others. "Let’s not interrupt them. We’ll be back in an hour for your decision."
They moved to leave. But outside, Molly and Lucy were still moving troops. They couldn’t risk their operation getting exposed.
Charlotte quickly interjected, "No need to wait. We’ve got our answer."
That froze Philip in his tracks. All four turned back to look at her. Charlotte gave a brief glance to Emily and Liana, who nodded lightly. Letting out a sigh, Charlotte said, "None of us want a fight if we can help it. But we’ll need three days to get our people on board."
Philip frowned. "Get your people on board?"
Charlotte nodded, "Yeah. Like you said, our regint’s all won. Turning us suddenly into Ridgebreak’s outer force? Of course so of us are nervous. That’s natural, right?"
Her words caught them off guard. The n exchanged looks. Eventually, Philip said, "That’s not up to . I’ll need to speak with the commander. Here’s what we’ll do - I’ll head back and report. These three stay while I wait for a response."
But Molly and Lucy weren’t done clearing out yet. Charlotte needed more ti, so she kept chatting, dragging him along until Chloe stepped into the room and subtly nodded at Charlotte.
Only then did she personally walk Philip out of the underground granary.
The second Charlotte returned to the RV lounge, one of the three n left behind gave her a slick smile and spoke, "Since you’ve agreed to join hands, I suppose it’s ti to show a little goodwill, huh?"
"Goodwill?" Charlotte’s tone turned cold, her smile sharper. "Sure... we’ve got plenty to share."
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