In a hidden location, Star Lord Vincent was holding a glowing glass orb that shimmered in purple light. At this moment, a cold voice rang from it: "I've done my part. Now, when are you going to make your move?"
Vincent didn't instantly reply; instead, an ethereal voice suddenly rang directly into his head, and he repeated the voice's words without hesitation, "Patience is the key to greater things. You have waited so long for Path of Legend that a little more won't hurt you. In fact, you are only making things easier for yourself."
"Don't preach to me, Star-Lord of ATLAS!" The cold voice rang again from the glass orb, "Don't forget our deal."
Vincent again repeated the same thing as the voice in his head, "How could I? I've already shown you my sincerity, and we even have a contract. Furthermore, I won't dare mess with someone like you. Others might be ignorant about your background, but I know my limits." "As long as you know. I'll be waiting for your good news." The cold voice replied with a hint of warning before the glowing orb suddenly went dormant and appeared like an ordinary glass orb.
Vincent suddenly sighed in relief. This was extremely nerve-racking for him, not to mention uncomfortable to an extreme degree. Usually, it was him manipulating others on his whims, but now, the same thing had been happening to him ever since he had encountered that existence.
"Why did you seem anxious?" An amiable, ethereal voice suddenly rang in his mind with a hint of amusement.
Vincent forced a smile and replied, "Just who is this person you had me talking to all this time, and what is this strange orb? It's clearly not made with any of the Star Hackers' technology."
"Oh? Finally, couldn't you keep your curiosity to yourself?" The voice asked nonchalantly, clearly not bothered by Vincent's queries.
Vincent took a deep breath before he replied, "I'm just being careful, and I also want to be more helpful to you, my lord. Just who is this person you want to hunt, and why are you going through so much trouble?"
"Even if I tell you, you won't understand." The voice didn't have any intention of revealing the crux of the matter, as it said reassuringly, "This matter is far out of your reach. You should be glad that I'm only giving you a simple mission to be my proxy while you stay in the protection of your cozy home.
"Besides, the difficult part is over, and it won't be long before everything falls into place. You'll get both the traitor of your race and the reward that I promised. Who knows, if you perform well, I might even consider letting you become my right-hand man. Of course, only if you're willing and don't want to go to the middle galaxies." The voice chuckled towards the end as if merely making a joking comment.
However, Vincent's expression was slightly paled as he suppressed his rage and discomfort and subtly answered, "I'm too old, my lord, to serve someone like you."
"Age is but a number to me. Still, I respect your choice." The voice dismissively replied before suddenly saying something that sent shivers down Vincent's spine, "Your son isn't half bad either. How about you sell him to me, and I'll prolong your life up to 10,000 years?"
Vincent's eyes widened when he heard the last part as his heart raced, and he even started to consider selling Nelsen to the owner of this voice. If it was before, he might've not even hesitated to accept the offer.
However, he knew behind this gentle voice was a devil-like existence, and making a deal with him was like singing a death contract. Even his freedom was in question, and putting his only son into this hellhole would be akin to shooting on his own feet.
Not to mention, he didn't let the possibility of what if once this person had Nelsen, he wouldn't discard him. Although 10,000 years of life was extremely tempting, he needed to make sure to live to enjoy his life. He knew if he had no use, he would've long been discarded after what happened last time. He was in this mess because of his own actions.
Furthermore, if things went according to plan, he would already have the ticket to the legendary plains, so prolonging his life wouldn't be difficult at that time. He also knew prolonging his lifespan like this had major drawbacks.
What if he turned into a puppet or something else entirely once he accepts the lifespan? Nothing was free in the Zodiac Plains, and existence like the owner of this voice was even more dreadful.
Lastly, when he thinks about how this person wanted Nelsen, he suspects that there might be something to his son that he didn't know about. So, it was even more reason not to let him encounter this voice.
"I-I... I'll think about it, my lord. Besides, my son is extremely lazy and always messes things up; he might not be able to follow your orders." Vincent didn't refuse nor accept in a subtle way so he wouldn't offend the other party.
"Heh, I know what you're thinking, but I don't care. Remember, do not speak with this person without me or... heh, I don't have to tell you twice, yes?" The voice gently asked, a creepy coldness hidden behind it.
"I understand!" Vincent quickly agreed as he had already been warned about this at the start of this strange endeavor.
Once the voice vanished, Vincent sighed in relief as he started to massage his temple in frustration.
However, someone else was sitting in the seat in front of him, and he said, with an amusing look in his shrewd eyes, "He really got you good, huh, Geezer?"
Vincent annoyedly looked at his son and said, "You have no respect for your father. I should've accepted the offer."
Nelsen's eyes flashed with curiosity, "What offer?"
"Selling you for 10,000 years of lifespan." Vincent casually revealed the offer he just received. Nelsen's eyes widened with disbelief as he jumped from his seat and agitatedly shouted, "What in the hell! Old ghost, if you dare to sell me, I'll commit suicide! Don't forget we are on the same side! You can't be this heartless to sell your own son for some bullshit lifespan! We both know it's too good to be true! And your cute granddaughter will hate you to death!" 'If I don't know better, I would've really considered if my wife was cheating on me with some clown!' Vincent felt some of his frustration vanish after seeing Nelsen's reaction, and he wanted to tease Nelsen even more, but his mood turned gloomy again when he remembered this was no laughing matter.
"Don't worry; I'm not going senile yet. I won't sell you for a measly 10,000 years. Of course, if it's 100,000, I might've considered it." Vincent impassively replied.
Nelsen looked at Vincent with disbelief and suspiciously asked, "You really rejected the
offer?"
"Do you think I would be telling you this if I had accepted it?" Vincent asked, looking at Nelson with exasperation.
Nelsen finally sighed in relief. It made perfect sense, and knowing his father, he knew the old man wouldn't reveal something like this.
Nelsen finally sat back before he looked at Vincent's appearance. He seemed to have aged to a great degree ever since he had encountered this 'Boss' of his. Although he wasn't always on good terms with his father, after Vincent admitted his wrong, he didn't resent him anymore. After all, he was also a father now and knew how it felt when your child walked on a different
path than yours.
"Sigh, I always knew your ambitions would be the end of you. Why can't you be like me and remain out of trouble?" Nelsen sighed ruefully.
"If you had the same experience as me, I don't think you could think the same." Vincent retorted faintly.
At this moment, Nelsen suddenly dropped his lackluster attitude and solemnly questioned, "Do you think whatever he's making you do is related to the war in the conflict plains?"
Vincent wasn't surprised by Nelsen's speculation as he also had the same trail of thoughts and replied with uncertainty, "I don't know, but I have a feeling that there is a 90% chance that it is related. But I was told to stay away from the Conflict Plains and also keep the Star Hackers
at bay."
"I think everything can be handled, but the 'Zodiac Soul Contract' that he made you sign with this person of interest is the true problem here. We have never heard of it and don't know how powerful it is compared to the Zodiac Oath Contract." Nelson frowned when he mentioned this, as Vincent hadn't kept anything from him since that day.
It was a countermeasure placed by Vincent himself just in case something happened to him, and that person tried to manipulate his son into doing something under the pretext of revenge or something else.
After thinking about it for a while, Nelson finally said, "I guess I can't let my meat shield die
like this."
Vincent was startled when Nelsen called him 'meat shield' and wanted to strangle this bastard
son of his.
But his expression changed when he suddenly received a message from one of the clan
members.
Nelsen also noticed the change in Vincent's expression and asked in an irritating tone, "Now
what?"
Vincent looked at Nelsen, clearly worried, before he grimly told him, "Don't freak out. Your idiot daughter seemed to have snuck out of the base!"