There was a bonfire in front of the wooden house by the lake. That poor bear killed by the FA organization became their dinner. The surviving mercenaries and armed forces sat by the fire along with the remaining assassins. They were merrily eating the bear and drinking vodka. There were men singing and dancing. No one was grieving over their sacrificed comrades.
When they had not yet received their money, the dead comrades were still in their thoughts along with their widows and children. But now that they had the money, who cares? With more loss to the battle, the less they had to split.
The Grey and Russo sisters were huddled up in the wooden house. They did not dare to exit.. Under intoxication, the men would not be above sinning despite already being paid. Who couldâve guaranteed that those vile men werenât plotting anything involving them? No one could guarantee anything under the influence of alcohol.
âDo you think heâll come back for us?â Rosa broke the silence.
Stella answered, âIsnât it obvious? Heâll never come back here.â
âWhy?â Theresa continued, âHe was willing to save us with three million USD. Itâs more than what most can earn in their lives. If he doesnât come back, why bother paying the money at all?â
âYeah. I really thought he wouldnât but he actually did,â said Giovanna.
âHe sells military weapons for a living. That sum is nothing to him. I think heâs just guilty that he abandoned us.â Stella continued, âBut I do suspect that the commanderâs disappearance has a lot to do with him. Donât you all find it weird?â
âI too have my suspicions but hadnât I mentioned before? To be able to take out so many of them, he must have men hidden within the forest. But that really doesnât seem so,â replied Giovanna.
âEnough, letâs stop discussing this.â Theresa said, âLetâs deal with the situation at hand.â
âWhat do you mean?â Stella looked at Theresa.
âYouâre the smartest out of us four. You must know what Iâm referring to.â Theresa went on. âWe swore to him. According to ancient knight traditions, we now serve under him. Loyalty, courage and sacrifice are a knightâs virtue. Are we really going to offer him our loyalty, courage and sacrifice from now on?â
âTheresa, he threatened us!â Stella yelled. âWe are the knights of the Knight Hospitaller, not his! Heâs not even Catholic! How are we supposed to serve him?â
âBut we knelt and swore in the name of our God. According to our traditions, we are his knights. Going against the pledge makes us no different from the non-believers,â exclaimed Theresa.
Stella frowned at her words. âTheresa, are you saying this because he did that filthy act on your body? He humiliated your body yet you took a liking to him, is that it?â
Theresa was set off like a loose cannon. âWhat on earth are you saying? Come on, say it to my face! Iâll shove those words right back down your throat!â
âEnough! Shut up!â Giovanna was incredibly irritated. âHow about this, we raise our hands to vote. Those who agree to be his knight, put your hands up. Those who donât, keep your hands down.â
âI say yes to this! If we betray the virtues of a knight, how can we be considered as one?â Theresa raised her hand.
Stella didnât.
Giovanna wanted to raise her hand. But as soon as she noticed Stella, she followed suit. She was Stellaâs older sister and she would have to stand on the same side. She and Stella represented the glory of the Grey family.
Rosa wasnât planning to raise her hand. But as soon as she noticed Theresa raising hers, she quickly followed suit. She and Theresa were proud representatives of the Russo family.
The scene was ridiculous. Two pairs of twins, one side agreed while the other didnât.
âHmph!â Stella scoffed. âTheresa, letâs place a bet. Xia Lei will never come back here. I bet heâs already on a plane back to China. And you, the Russo daughters are still stuck on arguing the virtues and traditions of a knight. How can you not find any wrong in your choice? This is such a joke.â
âWhat if he does come back?â Theresa mocked. âAre you going to stick to your pledge and serve him as his knight?â
âIf he does come, Iâll do that. Iâll be his knight.â Stella continued, âBut he doesnât, you will need to steal the sacred relic from him. Are you sure you want to proceed with this bet?â
âYeah!â Theresa agreed without hesitation.
Seeing that, Rosa couldnât help but worry. âIdiot, have you considered the consequences? How are you going to steal it from him? Thatâs close to impossible!â
Theresa bit her lip. âIâll figure out some way. Plus, Iâm not losing yet!â
âRight, youâll find âa wayâ.â Stella continued to mock her. âBeing his knight, Iâm sure youâll have lots of opportunities to be in close contact with him, you might even go to bed with him.â
âYou...â Theresa immediately jumped on her.
The two ladies started to pull at each other while the other two tried to calm them down. Chaos erupted in the wooden house.
At this very moment, they could hear someone speaking outside the door. Some laughter accompanied it.
âWhoa!â A man exclaimed exaggeratedly. âMy friends! How can you not invite me to a bonfire? Thatâs not fair!â
The four ladies in the wooden house fell silent. They were all too accustomed to this voice. Xia Lei was here.
âHaha!â The mercenaryâs leader laughed. âMister Xia, where were you at? What happened? Did you know how worried we were? We searched the entire fifty-kilometre radius for you! Weâre close to getting on the train to search for you at the Kremlinâ
Xia Leiâs voice rang once again. âThe FA organization had a secret troupe. They killed off Mister Arthur and his team. I went to track them down but they managed to escape.â
âIs that true?â The leader gasped, shock evident in his tone.
âOf course itâs real. Must I swear by my words?â said Xia Lei.
âMister Xia, we were abandoned by the Gods. We donât care if Arthur is dead or alive. We just care about you. As long as youâre alive, weâre happy! Hahaha!â
âMister Xia, youâre a generous man. Being able to work with you is a pleasure,â said the leader of the armed force.
Xia Lei replied, âMoney is just a small matter. Iâm just terribly sad over the loss of so many brothers. Mister Arthur was a good friend, Iâm sad now that heâs gone.â
âMister Xia, thereâs no need to be sad. Come, letâs toast. Alcohol will drown your sorrows away.â
âMister Xia, let me fill your cup!â
âMister Xia, please have a slab of bear meat!â
âOh my friends, how could you give me the bearâs penis?â
âHahahaâŠâ
In the wooden house, the four ladies frowned.
âThat bastard actually came back.â Giovanna continued, âI mentioned this earlier. Thereâs no way he was the one who wiped out all thirty elites and Arthur!â
Displeasure was plastered all over Stellaâs face.
âHa! Stella, donât forget our promise!â exclaimed Theresa.
Stella only rolled her eyes at Theresa.
âMister Xia, please have more! This is premium vodka!â Someone urged.
âThank you, but I already had too much. I must go check on my people,â declined Xia Lei.
âMister Xia, thereâs no need to worry. We didnât lay a single finger on those four girls,â said someone else.
Approaching footsteps were heard.
The four ladies looked to the door in unison. Inexplicably, though they knew it was Xia Lei outside the door, they were very nervous.
Before all of this happened, they were enemies. Now, the line between them was blurry, it gave way to the start of something more ambiguous.
The door opened to reveal Xia Lei. He only paused for a brief moment before he entered the building, shutting the door in the process.
The four ladies had their eyes on him, but no one greeted him.
Xia Lei stripped off his coat. âMy knights, are you not going to come over and get my coat?â
âWeâre knights, not maids,â hissed Stella.
Theresa hesitated but decided to approach him anyway. She took his coat and hung it over a metal nail that was hammered to the back of the door.
Xia Lei gave her a smile. âThank you.â
Theresa only nodded in response, she remained silent.
A long, difficult journey awaits to tame these four monsters, but Xia Lei was in no rush. He plopped his rear onto a chair. âMister Arthur is dead, Iâm terribly heartbroken by it.â
Stella interrupted him. âI donât feel a single hint of grief from you. You were even having fun and drinks with those vile men just now.â
Xia Lei was unfazed. âI was just being courteous. My sadness is not something I show easily.â
Stella was rendered speechless.
âAlright, letâs talk about some business.â Xia Lei proceeded to say, âNow that Mister Arthur is dead, I have no idea what your plans are. When are you all going to take action?â
Giovanna answered, âArthur used that computer to contact the headquarters but it got confiscated by the mercenaries. We canât contact the headquarters like this.â
âNo one else from the Knight Hospitaller headquarters reached out to you?â
The four shook their heads in unison.
âHow about you get the computer back to us? We can contact the headquarters like that and theyâll send someone over to get us,â suggested Stella.
âHahahaâŠâ Xia Lei couldnât hold his laughter. âIâm not about to leave this place on the Knight Hospitallerâs transport. Iâm the only one left and I donât trust you all. Letâs just use my way to get home.â
âAre you planning to ski your way home?â sneered Stella.
Xia Lei dug out his satellite phone. He dialled a number and the receiver immediately picked up. He then conversed in Russian. âHello, Mister Ivankov. One million USD, can you fly your plane to us again? Mm-hmm⊠Alright, call me again after youâve decided on a landing point.â
The call ended.
The four ladies glanced at Xia Lei weirdly.
âWhy are you looking at me like that?â Xia Lei shrugged. âIs no one going to serve me some water? I want hot water.â
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