The Conquerors Path

Chapter 843: Chapter 841-Join Us.

A small talk took place as the stunning woman sat before me with that toothy smile. I have to say, up close, those unique features of hers come together to give her quite the beautiful yet sensual look, her eyes seemingly still shining with different patterns looking at me, her gaze seemingly trying to get into my mind.

For a moment, I felt a small wave, which could never be felt by normal mortals, trying to take over my mind, its simple effects stunning towards me, seemingly trying to establish some kind of contract. I smirked inwardly at it, the moment the wave wanted to touch me, I cut it, my smile widening in front of Girika, who frowned for a single instance in front of me.

”Where is Isabella, Miss Girika?”

I asked with a smile after a moment of silence passed between us, the toothy smile returning to Girikaʼs face as she spoke.

”You are more mysterious than you show, Mr. Austin,”

She whispered in quite a strong tone as she leaned a bit forward, a bit of her cleavage leaking through her dress, but I didnʼt fall for it at all. I wasnʼt distracted by her little actions as I replied to Girika.

”Donʼt change the subject, Miss Girika. Tell me, where is Isabella?”

My words were a bit more pressed this time, yet I still maintained a small smile on my face, to which, after a moment of silence, Girika spoke.

”She is giving this moment for us to talk.”

A certain thrill in her words as she said this, and along with it, I also saw those shining symbols in those changing-colored eyes of hers twisting and turning, seemingly reacting with her excitement. I leaned back, hearing her words, my expression turning thoughtful for a moment, after which I spoke.

”Looks like Isabella has already chosen a side.”

Girika just maintained her smile at my words, not responding to them, still seemingly trying to establish some sort of connection, failing at each turn as Girika suddenly spoke.

”It seems this great Austin Lionheart knows about me. I am very touched by this......!”

Her words contained a deeper meaning to them as they changed everything: her tone of speaking, the way in which she addressed me, everything took a turn. At the way in which Girika spoke, even then, I remained inert to this meeting, in no way surprised at all. With what I saw, I knew this meeting was inevitable today.

The war council had already started to make its move at me, and one of the main masterminds of the whole situation now had come up to me. Each action she did, each word she said, each moment of her eyes-all of them just trying to find more about me, trying to understand me in greater depth with all the info no doubt swimming in her mind.

”You donʼt seem too shocked by any of this,”

Girika finally spoke again since I maintained my silence. Seeing this, I replied,

”It was inevitable in a sense. Among all the leaders, Isabella is the one to be moved least by any sort of personal attachments, logic being the best work for her, so it was a foregone conclusion that she would choose the most powerful side.”

After I said this, I didnʼt stop, the fingers in my right hand going to tap through the table in front of me, my gaze holding her look as I leaned forward, a small smirk finally coming to my face as I spoke.

”You know I donʼt like people trying to mess with my people. I am pretty protective of them, you see, so I donʼt appreciate the plays you did, but I can still respect them.”

Girika chuckled at my words as she responded.

”I know that. Thatʼs why I went to the larger goal of removing myself from their own memory. I didnʼt want to antagonise you all too soon, but it would seem that was useless.”

Her words had no conflicting feelings in them as Girika leaned forward.

”But do please tell me, how did you get those hard-headed fellows of the DarkNight to work under you? I never saw that situation coming, which quickly made me change many of the paths I had in mind.”

”Thatʼs between me and them. You have no say in it,”

I directly replied, making Girika maintain her smile as she leaned back to the chair now, yet she still held my gaze on her as she started to speak.

”I have studied a lot about you. I sat through pages of information, and the more I read about you, the more of an enigma you became. If I have to label one greatest entity that poses great danger here, then it will be you to me.”

”I will take that as a compliment,”

I replied as I leaned back in the chair, maintaining that powerful eye contact. Girika just shrugged her shoulder at the words as she continued.

”Unranked level of power, unranked level of skill, unranked level of intelligence, unbeatable level of connections with your followers too. The pages of information I read about you are basically useless in many senses of the ways. What I had to find about you, I had to find by watching and by learning....”

As Girika said those, her expression turned a bit more sombre. I could feel the respect she had for me as she continued.

”The world thinks power lays in the hands of the ones that show their face to the world, the ones that shine around with smiles on their face, acting as if they are something great. And those who do all such are the true fools. Real power lays in the hands of the one hidden from the public, showing only a fraction of what they can do while hiding behind anonymity.”

As Girika reached here, her eyes shined brighter than before, those patterns on her eyes turning and twisting, while those cute-looking antennas on her head seemingly gained a little bit of shine to them.

”And you, Austin, are someone like that. I tried to find at least one level of crack that can be used to break into your highest secure gathering, yet there exists none--all of those stunning people will lay their life down for you the moment you command it. The men have undying loyalty to you, while the women seemingly are madly in love with you. Tell me, is this your planning, or is this pure charisma?”

A stifling silence after Girika said this drilled into this location, the two of us staying eye to eye, watching each otherʼs move until I spoke.

”I have to say, you are one dangerous person to have as an enemy, but you didnʼt come to meet me like this after all that trouble just to say I am great, did you?”

I spoke, acting as if Girikʼ as previous words did not affect me. Her remarks, clearly designed to provoke the ego of a man and elevate her own standing, simply didnʼt land. Well, not enough to make me falter, anyway. Despite that, I stand by my earlier assessment-this woman isnʼt someone to take lightly.

Her words were crafted subtly, each one delicately brushing against the innate ego that men possess. If you delve deep enough, youʼll learn that men, as figures of power, arenʼt the best at restraining their pride. Truly powerful men often enjoy letting the world see their grandeur, even if they donʼt voice it aloud. Their actions and the things surrounding them inevitably speak volumes about the power they wield.

Women, on the other hand, donʼt share this problem. They excel at keeping their egos in check, mastering the art of appearing inconspicuous while holding immense power in their hands. They hide in plain sight, the embodiment of silent strength. That is their speciality- wielding power without the compulsion to showcase it.

”he knows more than she lets on, thatʼs for sure. And she has excellent control over her emotions-a formidable opponent, indeed.ʼ

As I contemplated this, Girikʼ as expression softened, a sad sigh escaping her lips before she

spoke.

”Ahh... it seems youʼre not one to be easily swayed. Well, no matter. The reason for this meeting is simple: we want you to join our side.”

Her words were direct, and her intentions laid bare. A stifling silence followed as I processed what she had said, my head giving a slight nod to signal her to continue. That small motion drew a faint smile from her as she resumed.

”Youʼre, in essence, not much different from us. Youʼve only joined here recently, and as the direct and sole disciple of Eleanor, youʼre technically aligned with us. Not to mention, even DarkNight, another organisation, seems to be working for you. So, why donʼt you join us? Wouldnʼt that be better for you?”

As she posed the question, I caught a flicker in her eyes-a subtle, almost imperceptible glow. Light emanated from her, weaving its way toward me in a manner no mortal would detect. I sat there, silent, watching Girikʼas intently without offering a response. The silence thickened, heavy and unyielding, until I finally opened my mouth to speak.