Chapter 91: Surprises

[Victoria’s chamber.]

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Who is it?" Victoria’s voice, clear and sharp, cut through the silence.

"It’s me, Mum," Zoey’s soft reply came from the other side of the chamber door.

A moment of hesitation, and then the door swung open. Victoria stood framed in the doorway, her brow furrowed with confusion.

"Zoey? Why are you here so late?" she asked.

"I just... I need to ask you something," Zoey admitted, exhaling a shaky breath.

Victoria nodded, her expression softening. She opened the door wider, gesturing for Zoey to come inside. "Come on, baby."

Victoria walked to the Queen-size bed and sat down:

"Come and sit with me," she said, patting the side of her luxurious bed.

Zoey nodded, closing the door behind her. She moved to the bed, sitting down beside her mother, and then, with a weary sigh, rested her head in Victoria’s lap.

Victoria was taken aback by the uncharacteristic display of vulnerability, so She began to gently caress Zoey’s hair.

"What’s on your mind, dear?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"The auction today... are we really going to do nothing about that God wolf?" Zoey’s voice was muffled against her mother’s leg.

"He made both you and Queen Matilda lose face, and in front of all those... insufficient people."

A small, knowing smile played on Victoria’s lips as she continued stroking her daughter’s hair. "For now, we won’t do anything," she said, her voice a low purr.

"But that doesn’t mean we will be silent forever. That couple embarrassed us, and I won’t forget it. You know, right then, I wanted that girl dead. But your mother was powerless."

"You don’t have to be," Zoey said, sitting up abruptly. Her eyes were alight with a fierce determination.

"I can help you deal with them. I know we can’t attack without a reason, but what if I helped you create a reason?"

"What’s your plan?" Victoria asked, a flicker of pride in her eyes.

"I won’t be able to make a valid plan without knowing our strength first, and maybe some of our allies," Zoey explained.

"That way, they won’t get caught in the crossfire."

Victoria considered her daughter’s words. She knew Zoey was smart, and she trusted her.

"Alright," she said, raising a hand and snapping her fingers.

A thick, ancient-looking book materialized in her palm. She opened it, revealing page after page filled with names and numbers, and showed it to Zoey.

"Wow, Mum! We have that many mercenaries?" Zoey asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.

"Shh," Victoria said, a finger to her lips.

"Yes, we are the founders of the Mercenaries. We have more than any other nation, and no one knows how many Grand Class mercenaries we truly have."

Zoey stared at the staggering numbers, her voice a hushed whisper of awe.

"One hundred million Scrap Class Mercenaries. Three hundred million Common Class Mercenaries. Five hundred million Rare Class Mercenaries. One billion Elite Class Mercenaries, and ten billion Grand Class Mercenaries." She blinked in confusion, turning to her mother.

"Mum, we’re strong enough to take over the Star Nation, so why are we still second place?"

"Oh, my child," Victoria said, a soft, fond smile on her face. "The Star Nation is our oldest ally. There’s no need to fight for position."

"Oldest ally? I don’t understand," Zoey said, a look of confusion on her face.

"Matilda and I are stepsisters," Victoria explained. "The truth is, Matilda should have been the Queen of the Elves. But she gave me the seat and went to the Star Nation instead. To this day, I still don’t know why." She pointed to some names in the book.

"These are our allies in each nation. We thought the Beastify Nation would be destroyed by the Wendigos, so no place no one there... We never knew a creature like the God wolf existed. Now, we need to think of ways to handle him."

"What if we place spies in the Beastify Nation?" Zoey suggested, her mind already racing with possibilities.

"That might work," Victoria mused.

"But I don’t think it’s safe. While I’m not scared of a war, I would rather avoid it if I can." She closed the book, her gaze fixed on Zoey.

"Now that you know, what’s your plan?"

"This is tricky," Zoey admitted. "You don’t want a war with them, and my plan would be war. I need to think. By tomorrow, I’ll have a plan to deal with them without bloodshed."

"You misunderstood, dear," Victoria said, the book vanishing back into her storage.

"Saying I don’t want a war doesn’t mean I don’t want bloodshed. This world is cruel. One way or another, we’ll all have blood on our hands. I don’t want you to have it now, but others can."

Zoey stared at her hands, a long sigh escaping her lips. She stood up, a new determination in her posture.

"Okay, Mum. I shouldn’t keep you awake. I will think about what you said and come up with a plan."

Victoria nodded, her smile warm and loving. "Okay, dear. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mum," Zoey replied, turning and leaving the room. The door closed with a soft click behind her.

Victoria sighed, a wistful smile on her face. She walked to the window, gazing out at the full moon.

"My girl is growing..." she whispered, but her words trailed off.

A strange, unfamiliar smell filled her senses. She turned, her eyes landing on a small object in the shape of a pen cap on the floor. A thin wisp of smoke curled from its tip.

"What is this?" she whispered, rushing toward it.

The world swam before her eyes. Her legs gave out and she collapsed onto her bed, the last of her consciousness slipping away.

_____

Zoey walked out of the mansion, into the cool night air. The streets were quiet, the city lights a distant hum.

’That won’t kill her. It will simply wipe the memory of everything we just said,’ a smirk played on her lips. She ducked into a nearby alley.

"Next... Three-Eyed Nation’s resident."

Her body began to shift and contort. In a matter of seconds, Zoey’s form melted away, replaced by the tall, imposing figure of Jade, Commander of the Three-Eyed Nation.

____

Jolie’s opulent mansion was quiet, save for the clink of a glass as she took a sip of her wine.

"Commander."

Jolie’s head snapped up. She frowned, seeing Jade walking back towards them.

"Why are you back, Commander Jade?" she asked, setting her glass down on the table.

"I’m here about our next plan against the Beastify Nation," Jinx said, her voice calm and steady.

"Plan?" Jolie’s eyebrow shot up.

"Didn’t we just discuss that a moment ago?"

"Yes, yes we did," Jinx quickly replied.

"Then why are you really here?" Jolie’s voice was a low growl of suspicion.

"I wanted to know if you have other plans apart from the one we just discussed," Jinx said, trying to keep her facade from cracking.

’I need to think of something,’ Jinx thought to herself.

Jolie gestured to the couch. "Have a seat then," she said, her eyes never leaving Jinx’s face.

Jinx stared at the couch, then back at the Queen. "That would be improper, my Queen," she said.

"Improper?" Jolie sneered, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"You just sat up from there. How is it improper?"

BAM!

The door burst open. The real Jade strode in, flanked by twenty guards. Their heavenly-rank power was palpable, their elite-class equipment glinting under the chandelier light.

"You came here without gaining more information about the Three-Eyed Nation and our unique skill?" Jolie asked, picking up her glass of wine once more.

’Shit! This Queen is at the peak of the Heavenly Rank, one step away from the Celestial Rank,’ Jinx thought with a frown.

’These twenty men are all Heavenly Ranks, Stage 1 to 3, and the real Jade is Stage 4. This is going to be hard.’

She took a deep breath, her expression remaining perfectly calm.

"What unique skill?" she asked, her voice a calm, smooth tone that belied the panic raging inside her.