Read Novel Full Chapter 1638: By selling yourself
Chapter 1638: By selling yourself
It happened right after Victor faced 3rd wave of armies.
*Tell me the fucking truth... otherwise this rod goes straight through your neck.*
Victor’s voice remained calm, almost disturbingly calm, while he held the metal rod just above the anus of the bloody, skinless, headless corpse restrained on the table.
The severed head rested on a silver tray nearby, its terrified eyes trembling violently.
*I-I already told you everything!* the head screamed in horror. *I don’t know anything about Chosen Ones! I swear it! I’ve never even heard those words before!*
Victor’s expression did not change.
According to this captive, he truly knew nothing about the so-called Chosen Ones, nor the mech-suit wielding the double-edged axe. However, there was one figure the man recognised.
The tailed metallic woman.
Even then, he didn’t know many details.
*She stays close to the President...* the head muttered shakily. *That’s all I know. Some people call her the second command or alpha... others avoid talking about her completely.*
Victor slowly lowered the rod, his gaze darkening as countless thoughts crossed his mind.
Then, for the first time, a dangerous thought settled fully inside him.
Entering the Terra Empire itself.
He stepped closer to the tray.
*Then tell me how to enter your Empire.*
The head froze.
*W-What?*
*The portal. The routes. Hidden access points. Anything.*
Victor’s voice hardened.
*I’m done waiting for them to invade whenever they want.*
His fingers tightened around the rod until the metal groaned softly.
*If they want war so badly, then maybe I should walk into their Empire myself and burn everything they protect."*
The severed head stared at him in genuine fear now.
Not because of torture.
Because Victor sounded serious.
*The main portal...* the captive answered slowly, *it’s under direct control of the President. Even authorised personnel struggle to gain access.*
Blood bubbled from the severed neck as he continued.
*I entered illegally. That’s why I couldn’t leave after escaping your attack. I don’t even know how return transportation works.*
Victor narrowed his eyes.
*What about the portal inside Void Empire?*
The answer came immediately this time.
*Impossible.*
Victor remained silent.
*That place is only a transfer station,* the head explained nervously. *You people cannot enter, and if you force your way in, you will be shredded into pieces. Also, the other side is heavily guarded.*
The head swallowed hard despite lacking a body.
*Nobody crosses without permission.*
Victor stood motionless for several seconds.
Then the head suddenly spoke again, almost hesitantly.
*...Though, now that I think about it...*
Victor looked toward him.
*A long time ago, I saw prisoners dragged out from one of the portals.*
His voice became quieter.
"Not prisoners... slaves."
The room fell silent.
*They were chained. Beaten. Some weren’t even human.*
Victor’s brows slowly furrowed.
*Different races?*
*Yeah...* the head whispered. *Not just people from the Void Empire.*
Victor’s mind immediately connected the pieces together.
There were only two individuals he knew with direct ties to Terra Empire.
Void.
And Rosavere.
His eyes darkened slightly at the second name.
Rosavere possessed connections reaching across the Five Empires themselves. Influence, knowledge, hidden dealings... far too many shadows surrounded her existence.
Victor slowly turned away from the table while blood dripped steadily behind him.
A single thought echoed through his mind like distant thunder.
Was Rosavere involved in this, too?
He asked about how the Void Empire was connected to Terra but... of course, the man didn’t know that either.
And Rosavere?
No.
The captive didn’t know anyone by that name.
Which only made Victor even more confused.
Rosavere...
How had she managed to accomplish all of this while remaining inside the Empire itself?
Victor stayed silent after that.
Countless possibilities ran through his mind like poisonous currents beneath dark water. Every answer only created more questions.
Until Aqualina mentioned something simple.
The guns were not powerful enough.
That single sentence changed everything.
Because at that moment, Victor finally realised something.
****
"If you were truly inside Terra..." Amara Rosavere asked slowly, "Would you really be capable of creating something beyond this? Is it... actually possible?"
Lackey’s fingers hovered gently over a control knob.
Then he slowly turned his head toward her.
"Of course," he answered without hesitation. "If I were truly there, I could create things beyond what anybody here could even imagine."
His voice practically oozed obsession.
Not pride.
Not arrogance.
Pure obsession.
The kind born from a man who worshipped technology more than human life itself.
Amara stared at him silently.
Her expression barely changed, yet her eyes sharpened slightly.
Calculating.
’If he truly entered Terra...’
Her fingers slowly intertwined above her lap.
’I wouldn’t need to worry about smuggling Origin Core crystals anymore. Materials, machinery, energy sources... everything would become easier.’
But another thought followed immediately afterwards.
A dangerous one.
’Can I trust him enough to reveal the truth?’
That question lingered heavily inside her chest.
Because trust was something Amara Rosavere never gave freely.
Not even to family.
She barely trusted the grandfather who raised her into the woman she had become today.
Blood meant nothing in her world.
Money shattered blood.
Power devoured loyalty.
So what value would a stranger hold?
Especially a man obsessed with technology to such an inhuman degree.
What if he betrayed her for access to Terra’s knowledge?
What if he got captured and sold her secrets to save himself?
What if he willingly sided with Terra just to satisfy his obsession?
What if...
What if...
What if...
Endless possibilities flooded through her mind one after another.
Amara Rosavere was not some naive woman who could be deceived with promises and ambition.
She was the woman who elevated Rosavere Company to heights even her ancestors had failed to reach.
She changed history with her own hands.
Forged influence through blood, negotiation, manipulation, and sacrifice.
Every step upward had been built upon corpses, broken deals, and sleepless nights.
Zenith flowed endlessly through her empire.
Zenith coins stained with blood and sweat.
She knew that better than anyone.
Every single Zenith carried a story.
Sorrowful debts.
Desperate purchases.
Painful truths.
Last hopes.
Final betrayals.
Not that she cared about those stories themselves.
But she understood the weight behind them.
Because she carried that weight personally.
In this world, people would stab even their own blood relatives for a single coin.
So trusting strangers?
That was nothing more than a beautiful way to die.
’Tsk.’
Amara clicked her tongue inwardly before a single word surfaced through her thoughts.
’Origin.’
Lackey did not move.
He simply stood there beside the door, lost within his own thoughts.
At that moment, he wished more than anything that he could read her mind.
But he remained silent.
Waiting.
He could roughly guess what Amara Rosavere was thinking anyway.
Trust.
Risk.
Value.
Most of all... Profit!
Every decision that woman made revolved around those things.
Just then, Lackey’s brows slowly furrowed.
A strange uneasiness crawled beneath his skin.
He didn’t know why, but something about the way Amara looked at him felt wrong.
As if she were weighing him.
Calculating his worth.
Not as a person.
As an object.
A valuable object?
That feeling immediately irritated him.
Frowning slightly, he leaned forward.
"Is there something on my face?"
For several seconds, Amara said nothing.
She simply stared at him blankly.
Her pink eyes slowly narrowed, as though countless thoughts were silently closing into a final decision.
Then...
"Fine."
She exhaled softly, her expression carrying both defeat and faint amusement at the same time.
Lackey blinked.
"What?"
Amara smiled lightly.
"I have a way to get you into the Terra Empire."
The moment those words entered his ears, Lackey nearly dropped.
"You do?"
His voice burst out with undisguised excitement as he leaned across the table toward her.
Amara hesitated slightly.
"It’s not exactly that I’m sending you there, but..."
"But what?" Lackey interrupted immediately. "Tell me. Please."
His breathing had already become uneven.
"I’ll do anything to go there. Contracts, conditions, restrictions... I don’t care. I’ll sign whatever you want."
There was no hesitation in his voice.
No fear either.
Only obsession.
The terrifying obsession of a man willing to throw away everything for knowledge.
Amara hummed softly, a sly smile appearing on her lips.
"Actually..." she said while slowly standing up from her chair, "that’s exactly what I need."
Her expression gradually turned serious.
"As you can see, I do maintain contact with Terra Empire."
She straightened the folds of her black clothing before calmly walking toward a small water plant resting near the window.
"Of course, I am a merchant," she continued while pouring water gently into the pot. "No matter how much hatred exists between Empires, I’ve always believed war has nothing to do with business."
Water trickled softly into the soil.
"At the end of the day, money... trade... resources... those things matter more than pride or rulers ever will.
Empires survive because transactions continue."
Lackey remained silent while watching her.
Amara continued calmly.
"Today they fight each other. Tomorrow they sit together and sign agreements like old friends."
A faint smile crossed her lips.
"But merchants don’t possess that luxury."
Her tone sharpened slightly.
"Once trust breaks in business, rebuilding it becomes nearly impossible. Even if it recovers... it never returns the same as before."
She slowly placed the metal watering can aside.
"So yes," she finished quietly, "I remain neutral in all of this."
Lackey stared at her in silence.
Part of him wanted to argue.
He wanted to speak about the innocent people dying outside these walls. About sacrifices. About bloodshed. About the countless lives crushed beneath wars created by greed and power.
But he couldn’t deny her logic either.
From a merchant’s perspective...
She was right.
Even Aether itself was preparing to stand beside Void Empire despite being enemies not long ago.
Benefits changed loyalty faster than morality ever could.
Amara noticed his silence immediately.
Turning toward him, she smiled professionally.
"So I hope you understand," she said softly, "whatever is happening here... is merely a transaction."
Lackey slowly nodded.
"I understand your point," he answered honestly. "I do."
Then his voice lowered slightly.
"But please... tell me honestly."
His trembling hands clenched tightly.
"Is it truly possible for me to go there?"
Amara’s eyes briefly moved toward his shaking fingers.
The desperation inside him was obvious now.
He didn’t care about danger.
Didn’t care about politics.
Didn’t even care about morality anymore.
He only wanted Terra.
Only wanted its technology.
Amara smirked inwardly.
’Looks like you’re just like me after all,’ she thought with quiet satisfaction. ’Someone who values desire more than morals.’
Then she slowly walked toward him.
Stopping directly before Lackey, she leaned slightly closer and spoke in a quieter voice.
"There is one way..."
"W-Which is?"
Lackey’s entire body trembled with excitement, as though he could barely contain himself any longer. His eyes remained locked onto Amara, filled with desperate anticipation.
Amara smirked while standing directly before him.
"By selling yourself."
"..."
Lackey froze completely.
For a brief moment, the entire room seemed to fall silent.
Amara chuckled softly at his reaction before placing a single finger against his chest.
Then she repeated herself slowly, clearly, making sure every word settled deep inside his mind.
"By selling yourself, you could enter the Terra Empire."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"So tell me... do you still want to enter that plac..."
"I will."
Amara stopped mid-sentence.
Her expression stiffened slightly when Lackey interrupted her without hesitation.
There was no fear in his voice.
Amara blinked once, genuinely surprised now.
"Mr. Lackey..." she said carefully, "are you fully aware of what ’selling yourself’ actually means?"
Lackey hesitated for only a second.
Then he took a slow breath.
"Of course I know what it means."
His gaze sharpened with frightening determination.
"You want my loyalty, right? Fine. Take it."
His voice became steadier.
"I’ll become your slave if that’s necessary."
The obsession inside his eyes practically burned now.
"I’ll do whatever it takes to reach the pinnacle of technology."
Amara remained silent for a moment.
Even she felt partially caught off guard by the sheer conviction radiating from him. Most people hesitated when confronted with chains.
Lackey embraced them willingly.
Then slowly, a satisfied smirk appeared on her lips.
"Good... very good."
A faint glimmer crossed her eyes.
"I like your spirit."
[+500 AP]
She lightly patted his shoulder.
"But don’t misunderstand," she continued in a calmer tone. "This is simply the method required to get you there. You won’t actually become anyone’s slave."
Her voice carried reassurance now, yet her thoughts had already become cautious.
Lackey’s willingness disturbed her slightly.
The depth of his obsession had surpassed her expectations.
A man capable of abandoning pride, freedom, and morality for knowledge alone...
That kind of person could become either an extraordinary asset or... a catastrophic threat.
She needed to handle this carefully.
"Though first," Amara said while stepping away from him, "I need to speak with someone."
She walked toward the office door before gesturing for Lackey and his servant to leave.
"If you’ll excuse me."
The automatic doors slowly slid open with a mechanical hiss.
"I’ll contact you as soon as possible."
With those final words, she left the office herself, a sly expression quietly resting across her lips.
Her mind was already moving rapidly.
Connecting possibilities together one after another.
Her palm tingled faintly.
Even her left eye twitched slightly with anticipation, as though instinct itself sensed something massive approaching on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Lackey and his servant quietly walked through the dim corridor outside.
Neither of them spoke for a while.
Until finally...
"Are you sure about this?"
His servant’s voice carried genuine concern.
Lackey did not answer immediately.
He simply stared forward coldly, his expression unreadable while countless calculations and possibilities moved behind his eyes.
Then suddenly...
"Mr. Lackey!!"
A cheerful voice echoed from behind.
The moment he heard it, the coldness within his eyes softened almost instantly.
Turning around, he saw Penelope running toward him through the corridor, slightly stumbling from exhaustion. Her breathing had become uneven as strands of hair bounced around her face.
"Calm down," Lackey said with a quiet chuckle. "I’m not running anywhere."
Penelope bent slightly forward while gripping her knees, trying to catch her breath.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks when she looked up at him.
Slowly, she tucked several loose strands of hair behind her ears, subtly revealing the makeup she had carefully prepared earlier.
Prepared for someone specific to notice.
"C-Can we have lunch together?"
Her voice came out softer than intended.
"I... I still haven’t eaten yet."
Though her eyes silently pleaded with him, she still tried to maintain a professional appearance.
Lackey smiled gently before nodding.
"Of course. I still have time before your madam finishes speaking with her people."