Rocco narrowed his eyes slightly, his tone becoming more serious. "Oh? Are you certain about what you're saying?"
If these men could truly open the gates to the royal palace of Montiria, then Rocco and his soldiers would have a clear path to reach Gadel without resistance.
Squeak gave a sly smile. He knew Rocco would agree once he heard the offer. "Of course, Commander. I have no reason to waste your time."
Rocco mulled it over. With their help, this would be a lot easier. "Alright, then. Let's hear your terms."
Squeak grinned, pleased that Rocco had taken the bait. "We only have one condition: once we breach the palace, you must depose King Gadel."
Then, sensing that Rocco might hesitate, he quickly added, "Naturally, once Prince Gadel is back on the throne, the position of Prime Regent will still be yours."
Rocco's expression shifted to one of intrigue. The idea of removing Gadel became more tempting, especially considering how the king had ignored him. Clenching his teeth, he finally made a decision. "Fine. I agree. But you'd better hold up your end of the deal and truly open the palace gates. If not… I'll show no mercy." Rocco's eyes gleamed with lethal intent as he glanced at the remnants of Garrett's followers.
"Rest assured, Commander. We're all in this together."
…
As nightfall approached, inside one of the Gloam Division's tents, Scar, the bald man, and several other leaders of the rebellious faction sat together. Scar, seeing that no one was speaking, bluntly asked, "So, are you all really going to trust that commander's nonsense?"
"We only have two options," Scar continued, his voice measured as everyone's eyes turned toward him. "The first is to follow through with the rebellion. If we succeed, we'll live or die at his whim. If we fail, we're all as good as dead.
"The second option is to capture Rocco and those men he just met with, hand them over to King Gadel, and await his judgment. The first path gives us a one-in-four chance of survival, but if we go with the second and manage to capture Rocco, we'll all live."
The leaders exchanged looks, each weighing the grim reality. Storming the palace and capturing Gadel seemed impossible. That left only one option…
Suddenly, to the shock of everyone in the room, Scar pulled out a small pouch of white powder from beneath his bed.
"Ghostshade," he explained, his voice low and menacing. "Even a god would die after consuming just a trace of this poison. It's colorless, tasteless. All you need is to get a tiny bit on your fingers, and if it so much as touches food, it'll blend right in. While it won't kill him instantly in small doses, it will paralyze him completely."
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