VROOM!
There was absolute silence at the back area of the military truck as Ren Nora curiously looked at the stranger who dared block his entourage.
He had an amused look on his face as he scrutinized the stranger.
Being so close to an absolute legend of Neo-Tokara, it was inevitable that Leon felt so jitters but he managed to maintain maximum composure under the gaze of the rebel leader as he calmly looked back at him.
Ren Nora’s lips curled in a smile. "Who are you?"
"Who I am doesn’t matter, what matters is that our destinies are connected by fate".
Ren Nora raised his eyebrows. "Really?" He chuckled. "Since when did chanists beco charlatans?"
Leon didn’t answer.
Ren Nora leaned back on the chair, then his face turned serious. "No matter what your motivation is, you should know that I’m a very busy man. I won’t appreciate you wasting my ti".
He looked at Leon with a stern expression now on his face and asked coldly. "What do you want?"
Subjected to Ren Nora’s glare, Leon maintained composure as he looked into his erald eyes. "Do you trust this truck?"
Ren Nora frowned. "What do you an?"
"Do you trust that no one will eavesdrop on our conversation if we talk here?" Leon had a teasing smile on his face as he maintained eye contact with the rebel leader. "Like I told you, our destinies are connected".
"If untrustworthy people eavesdrop on our conversation, you may just about lose your only hope to beco a C Rank Ascended".
BZZZ!!
Hearing that, Ren Nora’s eyes instantly turned sharp as his neon green ADE briefly erupted but Leon was unfazed as he maintained eye contact with the D Rank NetRunner.
Ren Nora looked into those deep black eyes. ’He’s confident and shows no fear, he’s not scared of ... is he delusional or what? What does he an?’
Ren Nora didn’t push it. His face relaxed, then he averted his gaze and looked forward. "We’ll talk in my office".
"Good". Leon nodded.
...
Under Ren Nora’s orders, Leon’s handcuffs were removed as he was led into the main military base of Iron Reef.
The military base was basic with multiple reinforced stone buildings, soldier barracks, and multiple watchtowers around the compound that was manned 24/7 with elite soldiers of the rebel army.
It was fenced.
Leon was led into one of the buildings where they approached an office.
[General Nora’s Office]
Leon was led inside by Ren Nora’s closest confidant, Major Kai, one of his Lieutenants who was part of the D Rank Mindbreaker NetRunners that participated in the assassination of the enemy D Rank NetRunner with him.
The Major was a middle-aged man with auburn hair and brown beard.
Throughout, he eyed Leon suspiciously. After doing a quick background search of the stranger, they realized that his na is Leon Ardent but his origin was vague and unclear, his identity was fake!
He quietly glared at Leon.
Ren Nora’s office was modest with a single sofa, an office chair, a wooden guest chair and a work table.
Ren Nora sat on the office chair while Leon sat on the wooden guest chair that was opposite the rebel leader.
As for the middle-aged NetRunner, Major Kai, he preferred to stand just beside Leon where he could easily react fast if the stranger tried anything funny.
The mont they were seated, Ren Nora calmly pressed a button on top his desk that suddenly filled the room with a vacuum-like energy, isolating it from the outside world.
Ren Nora looked at the rcenary. "You can talk freely now".
In response, Leon slowly massaged his wrists that were previously cuffed in silence, then he gestured at Major Kai while maintaining eye contact with Ren Nora. "What of him?"
Major Kai’s eyes darkened while Ren Nora’s eyes took on a dangerous hue. "My friend, you better start talking before I lose my patience".
Leon was unfazed as he calmly nodded.
He looked at the Major once more before relaxing on the chair, then he looked at Ren Nora and casually said. "You’re out of ideas right?"
"..."
Silence reigned for a few seconds as Ren Nora looked at the stranger called Leon, then he asked. "What do you an?"
Leon calmly crossed his legs and said. "Where I co from, that’s a popular phrase that says ’when it rains, it pours’, do you know what it ans?"
Ren Nora quietly looked at the rcenary.
Leon answered himself. "The phrase holds a significant taphorical and symbolic aning, referring to the tendency for multiple, often negative events to happen at the sa ti".
"The core aning is that bad luck rarely cos alone. If one bad thing happens which is the rain, it is quickly followed by several other, often worse things which is the pouring".
Leon smiled. "It also serves as a taphor for the unpredictable nature of life where suddenly obstacles or in rarer cases blessings accumulate in a short span of ti".
Leon looked into Ren Nora’s erald eyes. "It also signifies an overwheld state. It describes a state of being bombarded with too many problems at once, turning a minor issue into a major crisis".
"And it also signifies a domino effect, it represents the idea that one negative event can trigger a chain reaction leading to a cascade of problems".
With a subtle frown now on his face, Ren Nora leaned forward and asked in a deep voice. "What exactly are you driving at?"
Leon interlocked his fingers and also leaned forward, looking into Ren Nora’s deep erald eyes.
"What I’m driving at? Well, I’m driving at the fact that I know that secretly, you’re overwheld".
Ren Nora’s facial muscles twitched in a subtle manner.
Leon continued. "I’m driving at the fact that regarding the ongoing war, you’re out of ideas".
Major Kai glared at Leon but he didn’t stop.
"I’m driving at the fact that General Sylvari Charr is already figuring a way to destroy the city, and you’re running out of ideas on how to stop him".
"I’m driving at the fact that you’re slowly losing the plot".
"I’m driving at the fact that you’re now just putting up a strong front and you actually no longer have a concrete idea to attempt a C Rank Trial and succeed".
BZZZ!
Major Kai’s neon green ADE flared violently as he glared at Leon. "How dare you...?"
Ren Nora raised a hand, stopping his Lieutenant. Major Kai stopped but he was fuming as his chest heaved up and down.
Leon didn’t stop. "I’m driving at the fact that if nothing changes, you will be like the other freedom fighters who ca before you who all died naless deaths and are now forgotten by history".
He tilted his head and said in a provocative manner. "I’m driving at the fact that if nothing changes, you’ll die a aningless death".
Ren Nora’s eyes twitched violently but he stayed silent.
Leon continued, staring straight into his eyes without fear. "Like I said, when it rains, it pours".
"General Sylvari Charr is already starting to figure out the city’s defense grid, and unless sothing significant happens, the rain is only going to keep on pouring until Iron Reef and the entire Freegrid Collective is no more".
Ren Nora leaned back on his office chair, a cold look now on his face as he looked at the stranger called Leon. "And?"
"Desperate tis call for desperate asures," Leon answered in a calm voice. "Like I told you in the truck, our destinies are intertwined".
Leon’s eyes glead as he boldly declared. "I believe that I have a plan that can help you beco a C Rank Ascended!"
"..."
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