Damian bitterly smiled. Of course he understood what Leonel meant. If they remained in here for too long, no matter how convincing their previous act was, it would become suspicious. In that case, it wouldn't matter if he convinced Leonel to play along.
"There's not much I can tell you." Damian said through gritted teeth. "But I think you're smart enough to know why this is the approach we must take. The more competent we seem, the more attention the Empire will pay to us and the less chance we'll have in the long run."
Leonel had already thought as much, but this wasn't enough to convince him of anything.
"Do you think that the Empire is stupid? I doubt they're unaware that this is a facade."
"It doesn't matter if they know, they'll still underestimate us. A vague threat will always be taken less seriously than a tangible one. As long as they don't know the true extent of our depths, it'll be easier for them to neglect us."
Damian was trying to speak quicker and quicker, not wanting to give up this chance. If they could take in Leonel secretly, this would be great.
"I assume by your words that you know who I am? Unless you were really crazy enough to try this stunt after seeing the small bit I showed?"
Damian's lip twitched. 'Small bit'? How much more was there? He was already in this state!
"Yes, I know that you're Leonel Morales and know that you're a Variant. In addition, I also know of what happened at the Fort."
"Good, that makes things easier. I'll agree to join and help your Slayer Legion as long as you support me to take down Royal Blue Fort within half a year and you help me take this damned wrist watch off. If you say yes, I'll let you take me out of here as your 'prisoner'."
Damian's expression changed.
This matter was simply too big. It wasn't that they didn't want to take down the Fort. In fact, if they were willing to pay a small price, it wasn't impossible to take the Fort down even without Leonel's help. The issue was that it wasn't worth it.
The Slayer Legion still wasn't ready to appear boldly in the real world just yet, so what good was the Fort to them? It would do nothing but make them an immobile and vulnerable target.
In addition, the Governor Duke, the true powerhouse of the Royal Blue Province, wasn't here. So, at best you'd be taking down his son who hadn't even really grown into a man yet. This was another reason why it wasn't worth it.
"I know what you're thinking." Leonel said expressionlessly. "But, is it really as you're thinking? You're on this expedition right now to scavenge the broken pieces of fallen buildings… Wouldn't it be much better to directly snatch the technology of the Royal Blue Fort?"
Damian's eyes suddenly shone bright at these words. If it was looked at from this angle… it was indeed possible.
The truth was that he had quite a bit of freedom when it came to what exactly to do with this group. Their value wasn't very high to the Slayer Legion and they were essentially here just to train and hopefully become useful in the future. If he wanted to attack the Fort, he could make the decision alone…
Taking a deep breath, Damian's eyes sharpened with resolution.
"I can't make the decision to remove your Shackle, but I can agree to attack the Fort with you after some more preparation. But, since you're such a high profile recruit, it will be necessary for you to gain a more… thorough clearance."
Leonel paused for a while, looking at Damian quite intently. It was to the point the latter couldn't help but squirm.
"Alright. I hope you keep your word."
Damian sighed a breath of relief when Leonel finally removed his rod and foot from his body.
On the outside, the rebels were quite anxious. They had no idea that such a conversation was happening. Everyone one of them believed that an intense battle was taking place within that cage of earth.
When the fluid earth finally began to crumble, they all held their breaths before bursting into a chorus of cheers.
Damian stood at the front, proudly walking with Leonel's rod in one hand and a rope formed of fluid earth in his other. Attached to the end of this rope were Leonel's bound hands. He stalked forward slowly like the prisoner he was.
No, actually, upon closer inspection, his feet were bound as well. He was only moving because their lieutenant was sliding him across the ground with his ability. How magical.
That was their lieutenant! He was so powerful!
Captain Sela felt as though a weight had been lifted from her chest and she couldn't help but smirk. Though, since half her face was covered in bloody, burnt and peeling skin, she looked even more unattractive than she usually did.
Damian smiled brightly. "Captain Sela, for your role in this you'll definitely be rewarded well. It might not be impossible for you to become a Colonel."
Captain Sela felt giddy with excitement. She put on an expression that might have been adorable on a 5 year old girl but looked simply ridiculous on her before she sent a sneer Leonel's way.
Leonel, however, had his head down, his eyes aimed toward the ground. Beneath his drooping hair, his calm, calculating gaze was hidden.
In the distance, Gerolt, Malt, Lisa and Davy clenched their fists tightly. They didn't know what all this spy talk was about, but they did know that Leonel had saved them all not just once, but twice. First with the A-grade threat and then by taking out the three B-grade Invalids.
Even beyond this, his ability had saved them who knows how many times during their rounds. It was just that he was so good they never ran into trouble so even they didn't have an exact number…
However, they were too weak. There was nothing they could do to help him.
In the end, they had known Leonel for too little time. They were unable to bring themselves to risk everything for his sake. And, even if they did try to… What exactly could they accomplish?
Of course, the person in question, Leonel himself, wasn't bothered by such things. He was an understanding person for the most part, so he wouldn't hold grudges for something like this. It was only as simple as that their friendship would likely never deepen beyond this surface level.
That said, Leonel wasn't even actively thinking about such things. He wasn't even aware of their complicated feelings.
At this moment, his Internal Sight was completely focused on the corpse of the man, turned gorilla, turned back to man. He wanted to check on as many clues as he could at the 'crime scene' before things were moved around.
Something still felt fishy about the whole thing.