FATE: Target of Grand Master

Linghu Shi understood that although Xia Yan's idea seemed to involve killing one less person than his own, it was fundamentally different.

If one is determined to kill both of them, they will inevitably fight back desperately. Even if one wins, the price will be high. However, if one is killed and the other is spared, the other person will definitely stop in order to survive. At the same time, that person will also change to the state Linghu Shi was in before, becoming the one being ordered around.

Although being used as a pawn is unpleasant, they have already come this far in the Master Trial, and none of the Masters will give up easily. Therefore, the remaining one will also fulfill his due obligations. This is the way to resolve their internal conflicts while preserving their fighting strength to the greatest extent.

After Linghu Shi understood the pros and cons, her evaluation of Xia Yan rose another level; the man in front of her was definitely not simple.

Having decided on their next move, the two didn't delay any longer and met the other two at the agreed-upon location.

When they saw Linghu Shi return with another man, Mochizuki Yusuke and Tano Aya were quite surprised, because they had previously tried to search the outer areas of Babylon but had not found any Masters.

"Miss Linghu Shi, you've worked hard gathering intelligence. It seems you've had a very fruitful trip. Would you mind introducing us to this handsome young man?"

Tianye Hecai was dressed casually in a shirt and jeans, with heavy but not vulgar makeup. She also had a great figure, with a curvaceous figure and an extremely sweet voice. Judging from the first impression alone, she was definitely a mature beauty who would make people feel good.

Linghu Shi inwardly scoffed at Tianye and Cai's superficiality, but still calmly replied, "This Master is named Xia Yan, and is also a very powerful Master. We met while investigating the palace. Currently, we can confirm that the King of Babylon is most likely Nebuchadnezzar II, and the Queen is Draco."

"Hey, Miss Linghu Shi, why is your intelligence gathering based on guesswork? Did you really do any proper reconnaissance, or did you just make up a name to fool us?"

Standing next to Tano and Aya, Mochizuki Yusuke harshly criticized Linghu Shi in a condescending tone.

Linghu Shi glanced at Mochizuki Yusuke, who had a buzz cut, but before she could retort, Tano Kazuya spoke up first: "Machizuki-kun, Miss Linghu Shi has also had a hard journey. I believe she won't lie to us. As for the intelligence being inaccurate, as long as Miss Linghu Shi has done her best, that's enough."

Although Tianye and Cai seemed to be speaking up for Linghu Shi, their words still revealed a denigration of Linghu Shi's abilities.

And so it was, Mochizuki Yusuke and Tano Kazuya continued to play the roles of good cop and bad cop, skillfully trying to manipulate Linghu Shi.

If it were someone else, they might have fallen for their tricks, but unfortunately, Linghu Shi never did.

With just these few words, Xia Yan basically concluded that what Linghu Shi said was true; the two of them had indeed teamed up, and the tone of his voice was truly unpleasant.

Seeing that Linghu Shi remained silent, Tian Ye and Cai turned their attention to Xia Yan.

"Mr. Xia Yan, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Tano Kazuya, and this gentleman next to me is Mochizuki Yusuke. We were initially worried that the three Masters combined wouldn't be able to defeat Draco, but with your addition, we are even more confident."

"He Cai, don't be too happy yet. We still don't know how strong he is. It's not certain whether he'll be an asset or a liability."

Mochizuki Yusuke's words were still very harsh; it seemed that in his eyes, nothing was worth being happy about.

"Mochizuki-kun, that's incredibly rude of you."

Tano and Aya scolded Mochizuki Yusuke, then gave Xia Yan a sweet smile.

"I apologize, Mr. Xia Yan. That's just Mr. Wang Yue's temperament; please forgive him. However, we are ultimately facing beasts. While his words were somewhat impolite, we do need to assess our total combat strength. Please rest assured, we share the same goal in this trial. As long as we work together, we will definitely pass this trial. But the prerequisite for working together is that we all understand each other's strength. When we face Draco in the final battle, we can each fulfill our roles and maximize our individual abilities. Don't you agree?"

It must be said that Tianye and Cai are quite eloquent. Her rhetoric often involves using a reason that the other party cannot refuse to cover up her true thoughts, and then guiding the other party step by step to achieve her goal.

Based on her previous logic, if everyone wants to defeat Draco, they need to work together. Working together means each person has their own role. To ensure that everyone has their own role, they need to know each person's strength and characteristics. Therefore, if Xia Yan wants to defeat Draco, he needs to tell them about his strength.

Xia Yan smiled and replied, "Miss Tian Ye is right. Everyone does need to work together and do their part."

Just as Tianye and Cai thought Xia Yan had taken the bait and were about to coax him into revealing his combat strength, Xia Yan spoke first: "Then, please tell us about your combat strength, Miss Tianye and Mr. Wangyue."

Tano and Aya, along with Mochizuki Yusuke, were both taken aback. Logically speaking, as the last newcomer to join, Xia Yan should have been subject to the decisions of the two veterans. However, they did not expect that Xia Yan would not have any awareness of being a newcomer and would take the initiative to make decisions and judgments on his own.

This was naturally unacceptable to both of them.

Yusuke Mochizuki was even angrier than before. He pointed at Xia Yan and shouted angrily, "Who do you think you are? Why should we tell you about our combat strength?"

Xia Yan feigned innocence and said, "Didn't you just say you wanted to work together? If you're going to work together, isn't it obvious that everyone should disclose their combat strength?"

Tano and Aya were speechless for a moment, unable to find a good way to refute him.

"I understand why you two are reluctant to talk about it, but I have a fairer solution. We'll go together to defeat Draco, taking turns fighting whenever we encounter enemies along the way, until we finally meet Draco and then all of us attack together. If we encounter an enemy that one of us can't handle, the next Master in line can help. After defeating the enemy, both of us will have fought. As for the order of battle, we can decide it by drawing lots. This way, we can avoid revealing our strength prematurely and help each other. What do you three think?"

Xia Yan's suggestion can be considered a way to achieve the goal to the greatest extent possible given the lack of trust among the group. Tianye, Cai, and Mochizuki Yusuke naturally understood this as well.

The two were naturally unwilling to accept that a newcomer had taken control of the situation.

"I have no objection."

Linghu Shi was the first to express his opinion.

This was partly because she genuinely agreed with Xia Yan's suggestion, and partly to tell Tian Ye and Aya and Mochizuki Yusuke that if they really had to choose sides, the current numbers were two against two.

This made Tano Aya and Mochizuki Yusuke even more unhappy.

One is a newcomer who doesn't even know his own worth, and the other is a timid guy who thinks he can turn the tables and become the master just because he's latched onto a big shot. You two dare to compete with us for dominance!

Yusuke Mochizuki, who had been playing himself the part, clenched his fists, which were cracking loudly, and said to Kazuya Tano beside him, "I told you we couldn't be too polite to this woman, but you wouldn't listen. Now they're ready to sit on our heads and pee and shit on us."

Tianye and Cai sighed and said regretfully to Linghu Shi, "Miss Linghu Shi, I thought we could at least get along peacefully for a while. It seems that I didn't make things clear to you on some core issues."

Tianye and Cai paused for a moment, simultaneously abandoning their usual sweet voices.

"We're the ones in charge here."