Seraphs of the Emperor’s Judgment

Chapter 123: Cooperation

"Hi there~ Did I disturb your sweet dreams? If I interrupted, I'll say sorry here."

These frivolous words from the other party made Haomo and Kerisa's brows instantly twist together, while Robin revealed a thoughtful expression.

Bahram remained silent for two seconds, then responded:

"Who are you guys."

"Ha, this question is very bizarre. Is there any difference between our identities and yours?"

"It was you who killed Ford."

"You say that as if you guys haven't killed people either? But whether or not that person you're talking about was killed by us, I'm not certain either. We simply found this on a corpse."

Bahram took a glance at Haomo. The other party nodded, indicating that he could continue speaking.

Thus, he pressed the talk button once again.

"What is your objective?""My objective is very simple. Judging from the corpses outside, you guys should only have half your men left, right? It is impossible for this number of people to survive until the fifth day. You should be clearer on this in your heart than I am."

"We currently have a stronghold, and also a machine gun. If you want to come seize the point, you are more than welcome to try."

"No need to bluff against me. If we had wanted to attack you, you all would already be corpses by now."

"Oskar, speak straightforwardly."

Suddenly, Robin beside Bahram spoke up.

The other end of the walkie-talkie subsequently fell into silence. It took quite a while before that voice rang out anew, though its tone was much more restrained.

"Who are you."

Robin did not reply, but instead tilted his chin toward Bahram.

"He is one of our team members. If you have words, speak them straightforwardly."

"Ha, and here I thought I had run into an acquaintance. Alright, then I'll speak straightforwardly. I propose that our two sides cooperate."

"Cooperate?"

Bahram was stunned for a moment. It wasn't that he hadn't had this thought, but under this kind of environment, it was nearly impossible for two teams to generate a sense of trust, nor was there any foundation for cooperation.

Now that the other party suddenly proposed this, could it be some sort of scheme?

"How do we cooperate."

He asked cautiously, and also made a hand gesture toward the other several people, preparing to cope with combat at any time.

All at once, apart from him, everyone else stood up, gripping the guns in their hands tightly, ready to engage incoming enemies in combat at any time.

"I didn't see any dogs, nor did I see a machine gun, much less any armor. I'm guessing... you guys definitely didn't bring dogs either. If you had brought Grenades, you wouldn't have been suppressed by the machine gun to such an extent. So your team should have the flare gun and flare shells, right?"

Bahram did not respond, but the other party seemed to feel that he had tacitly agreed, saying amidst low chuckles:

"So your confidence isn't that machine gun, but the Battle Automata, right."

"Speak straightforwardly."

"Roughly two kilometers away from you, there is a foothills stronghold."

"And so?"

"I hope you will assist us in seizing that place."

Bahram could not help but sneer. He felt that the person on the other end of the walkie-talkie was either a lunatic, or an idiot.

"Do you think we look like such accommodating people?"

"Ha, of course this isn't uncompensated. As repayment, we will also assist you in defending the stronghold. We can be considered an offensive-and-defensive alliance."

Bahram nearly laughed out loud.

"Are you kidding me? We currently have a machine gun, we have a stronghold, and we also have more trump cards. Although you have a larger number of people, the Camo Cloaks cannot make our defenses more solid. If even we are unable to hold off the enemies like this, your arrival wouldn't be of any help either. Conversely, we would have to seize a stronghold for you, and the price paid might be very great. This is not an equal alliance."

"Mhm, you're quite good at bargaining."

The voice on the other end of the walkie-talkie became hearty and bright.

"Alright, then I will add another bargaining chip."

"I'll have to see if it's worth it."

"At a position almost one kilometer away from that foothills stronghold, we discovered the tenth secret stronghold."

As soon as these words came out, the team members surrounding Bahram all cast sidelong glances. Even he himself felt greatly surprised.

"Impossible. Without the secret map, how could you guys discover it."

"This isn't difficult. Two teams of people neither went to seize points, nor did they go searching for safe campsites. They were just wandering around that place. One could guess even without using their brain that they must be camping out waiting for that secret stronghold. And in order to conceal themselves, those two teams also both chose the Camo Cloaks."

Hearing the other party say this, Bahram roughly had a good idea in his heart, but this didn't mean that he trusted the other party.

After all, there was a very high probability that they were the ones who killed Ford.

"But what benefits does that have for us."

"Think about it. The amount of people you currently have is so few; defending any single stronghold independently will be very difficult. But if it was a secret stronghold it would be different. That place is even safer."

"Your meaning is, you will yield the secret stronghold to us?"

"Of course. To each their own needs."

"What a fine 'to each their own needs'. Then what do we need to pay out?"

"Simply put, the position of that foothills stronghold isn't bad, and additionally happens to be defended by a bunch of lucky bastards using a machine gun. Under normal circumstances, it is basically impossible to charge up the surrounding terrain. Sneaking up secretly is also very hard, because that place basically has no vegetation cover."

Bahram immediately guessed the other party's intentions.

"Therefore, only the Battle Automata can charge straight up from the front."

"Yes."

"This is our final trump card."

"I know."

"Once we use it, if your side goes back on your word, then we will be completely helpless."

"But what benefits does this have for us? What we want is only that stronghold, not to eliminate more people. Eliminating you guys has absolutely no meaning for us; it will only vainly increase casualties."

"How should I trust you?"

"Ha, that team member of yours seems to know me. You might as well ask him and understand my character for a bit."

Bahram took a glance at Robin.

"I need to discuss this with them for a bit."

"No problem. In order to express our sincerity, we will camp in this vicinity. You guys can get a good sleep now. No need to worry about being sneak-attacked by people in the middle of the night. Goodnight."

After finishing listening to the other party's promise—which was unknown whether it was sincere or a threat—Bahram closed the walkie-talkie with a complicated expression on his face.

Then, he summoned everyone before him and roughly explained the entire situation.

"No way! Absolutely out of the question! That bunch of guys are sneaky and suspicious. They definitely aren't any good stuff!"

Kerisa immediately expressed his opposition, and those two upper-hive boys largely maintained the same attitude as well. After all, these people had just attacked them not too long ago.

The attitudes of Haomo and Robin were relatively more ambiguous.

"But that secret stronghold he spoke of truly is very suitable for us."

"We have a machine gun and a Battle Automata here. What the hell are we afraid of!"

Kerisa immediately issued a rebuttal.

"What if other teams using Battle Automata launch attacks?"

"Then fight!"

"Everyone has an automaton. Wait until the automaton's usage time passes; do you think the 6 of us can fight 10 people? Even if we do win, how many will be left?"

"This—"

Bahram's attention was entirely focused on Robin's body.

"Robin, you know that person?"

The boy who hadn't spoken much the entire time nodded his head.

"I know him."

"What kind of person is he?"

"An egotistical maniac. But he has a bit of cleverness, and generally his words count."

"How do you know that kind of guy?"

Kerisa unwilling to be lonely joined the topic again, but Robin completely ignored him at all.

"However, whether to cooperate or not; the decision rights are still in your hands, Bahram."

Bahram nodded.

"Everyone pay extra attention tonight; don't sleep too deeply. I have to think about it for a bit, and make a decision tomorrow."