This reminded Nina Jacobs of Sherry Rennerâs Compass.
It seemed this Magnus York might be like Sherry Rennerâsomeone who possessed special items.
They had to be careful.
"So? After all that, are you going to cooperate or not?"
When Edric Holden saw that Nina Jacobs remained silent, he frowned.
"Youâve said your piece. Shouldnât you be giving me the supplies you were ordered to hold?"
Nina Jacobs retorted.
âI heard Oceane Sutton didnât leave many supplies with Edric Holden. Just as he didnât trust her, she didnât fully trust him either.â
âEdric Holden probably doesnât have many supplies here.â
âBut something is better than nothing.â
"You still havenât told me if youâll cooperate."
Edric Holden had no idea what to make of the woman before him, this Zephyra.
"Letâs handle one thing at a time. Give me the supplies first. Iâm on a mission,"
Nina Jacobs pressed.
"Looks like youâre a Dual Element user, too."
Edric Holden waved his hand, pulling several crates of supplies from his spatial storage. Each crate was marked with a label.
To Nina Jacobsâs surprise, it was actually a sizable amount.
It looked like more than enough for Vanceâs group of eight or nine.
"I heard there are over sixty of you heading to Keldorn. That place is a godforsaken wasteland, whatâs so good about it? Why donât you drop off the supplies and come with me to the Bishop Clan instead? What do you say?"
After pulling out all the supplies, Edric Holden looked at Nina Jacobs.
"You want me to follow you to my death?"
Nina Jacobs sneered.
"You said it yourselfâyou and Magnus York are mortal enemies. Once we get there, youâll just push all the blame onto me. After all, youâre âjustâ a Space Superpower User, and Iâll be the one who looks like theyâre trying to steal the credit. What do you think Magnus York will make of me then?"
Nina Jacobsâs words wiped the smile from Edric Holdenâs face.
"Looks like youâre not stupid after all."
Realizing Nina Jacobs wasnât so easy to fool, Edric Holden pulled something else from his spatial storage.
"Letâs just pretend I never said that. Zephyra, is it? I have your next location right here."
He approached Nina Jacobs, one step at a time.
In his hand was a map.
As Nina Jacobs reached for the map, a dagger glinting with cold light shot out from underneath it, aimed straight for her stomach!
CLANG.
The dagger struck something hard.
Nina Jacobs retracted the Diamond Shield she had placed in front of her and kicked Edric Holden squarely in the chest.
"Who wouldâve thought? Infighting within The Aegis Conclave,"
Nina Jacobs said, shaking her head.
"Your Aegis Conclave?"
Edric Holdenâs eyes widened in sudden realization. He asked:
"Youâre not with the Conclave?!"
âBut how could she know so much?â
âUnless...â
A sudden, sharp pain shot through his back. Edric Holden tried to roll over and get up, only to see a Zombie Rat perched on his shoulder.
A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the alley.
A moment later, only Nina Jacobs and a zombie were left in the alley.
Nina Jacobs had already stored away the nearby supplies.
Two of the crates contained Gold and Crystal Cores. The Gold allowed her to unlock two more Level Four Storage Spaces.
Adding in the small pouch of Diamond Sand from the system, Nina Jacobs stored everything away, satisfied.
Nina Jacobs looked at the zombified Edric Holden and tried to guide him into releasing the contents of his spatial storage, but she discovered he really didnât have much left in there.
About ten minutes later, Nina Jacobs had returned to the stronghold.
A crowd of people stood in the clearing, seemingly waiting for something.
"Where are Shirley Lucas and the others?"
"They went to look for supplies,"
Holden Shaw replied.
Oceane Sutton refused to reveal her supply caches, so Adrian Shaw rounded up her people. Anyone who talked would be rewarded with not only supplies, but also Gold.
One man, Joshua Singer, revealed the most, infuriating Oceane Sutton to no end.
"I see. Weâll see how many supplies they manage to find."
Just then, a man walked up to Nina Jacobs.
"Hello, my name is Timothy Spencer. Iâm a Healing Element Superpower User."
Timothy Spencer extended his hand, introducing himself with a confident look on his face.
âTimothy Spencer?â
âNina Jacobs had never heard the name, but she recognized the man.â
âHe was Elara Thorneâs husband.â
"You need something?"
Nina Jacobs asked.
"Yes, you must be in desperate need of a Healer. I can join you. As for my monthly salary, I assure you my price is very reasonable."
Timothy Spencer had expected them to welcome him with open arms. After all, he and Maya Warner were the only two Healers in the entire stronghold.
However, Nina Jacobs just gave him a cold look and said, "Beat it."
"What did you say?"
Timothy Spencer thought he must have misheard.
"Didnât you hear her? She said to beat it."
Holden Shaw frowned. âWhere does this guy get his nerve?â
âJust a moment ago, he was helping Oceane Sutton try to talk Elara Thorne down.â
With a crowd of onlookers gathering to watch the spectacle, Timothy Spencerâs face flushed beet red.
âHe was being scorned by a woman again.â
The thought that his lover and assistant was also in the crowd watching him made him immediately point at Nina Jacobs and start shouting angrily:
"You... youâre completely ungrateful! I did you a favor by even approaching you..."
Before Timothy Spencer could finish, his body went flying.
THUD!
Elara Thorne had just walked out with Adrian Shaw, only to see Timothy Spencer sprawled on the ground in front of her.
"Liana..."
Timothy Spencer coughed up a mouthful of blood and reached for her.
However, Elara Thorne merely gave him a detached glance and said, "Beat it."
Watching from a short distance away, Joshua Singer couldnât help but laugh. "Serves him right. He had it good as Ms. Thorneâs man and still wasnât satisfied."
"Seriously. I couldnât stand the sight of him. Acting so high and mighty just because heâs a Healer. Whatâs he got to be so arrogant about?"
The surrounding crowd murmured in agreement.
"Shaw! You and your people from Falken Base have gone too far!"
Oceane Sutton, who was tied up, was also brought out.
âSheâd originally thought she was the villain in this story.â
âBut it turned out these people, who claimed to be from a proper base, were even more shameless.â
âNot only did they steal all her supplies and kill her men, but now they were even scattering the people she had worked so hard to gather!â
"Our Falken Base has always been this way. You couldâve picked a fight with anyone, but you just had to mess with people from Falken Base,"
Leo Hale replied smugly.
"Rest assured, your ill-gotten gains will be put to good use for the people of our base. Not a single bit will be wasted."
Adrian Shaw said consolingly, looking at Oceane Suttonâs hate-filled face.
His words, however, only made Oceane Sutton even more furious.
"Well, weâll be on our way then. Everyone, I hope we meet again."
Elara Thorne announced to the crowd before her departure.
She planned to take the rest of her people to the nearest large settlement, Riventon Base.
As for Timothy Spencer, who couldnât even manage to crawl to his feet, she didnât bother to spare him another glance.
"Until we meet again."
Adrian Shaw said sincerely. Elara Thorne had helped them find a good number of Oceane Suttonâs private stashes.
Oceane Sutton didnât even trust her own lover, so there was no way she would have left her supplies with other Space Superpower Users.
The Grain Administration Bureau already had plenty of warehouses for storing food, and Shirley Lucas was still inside, happily collecting it all.
Of course, they had also given Elara Thorne a portion of the supplies to help her group reach Riventon Base safely.
"What about Edric Holden?"
Adrian Shaw remembered that Nina Jacobs had gone after him.
"Heâs dead. But before he died, he confessed he was from The Aegis Conclave,"
Nina Jacobs said.
"What did you say?!"
Adrian Shaw was shocked. He never expected to find members of The Aegis Conclave even out here.
"We need to hurry. According to what he said, a group has already headed over there."