Douglas was smoking a cigarette.
He rarely smokes, but now there are at least a dozen butts lying in the ashtray in front of him. The smoke rises, making things in front of you seem unreal. Douglas has been distracted, even if he is in the conference room of the Asgard headquarters.
On both sides of the long table in front of him, a dozen senior Asgard military officials were arguing loudly. Sitting on the left and right sides of Douglas are Cario and Paul. The former is the commander of the military department, and the latter is the instructor of the Holy Spirit Warriors. Both are Douglas' right and left hands. The three extremely powerful people in Asgard didn't say a word, but the people below were arguing endlessly.
It wasn't until Kario couldn't help but slapped his palm on the solid wooden table and made a muffled "bang" that the disputing officers shut up. Cario looked at his old friend and said, "Ben, what do you say?"
Douglas lowered his head and smiled, and extinguished the remaining half of the cigarette: "What else can I say. Valkyrie is my daughter. Since Oglock wants to see me, I naturally have to make a hard trip."
"But Marshal, this is a trap." A young officer in his thirties said.
He is at the bottom, but since he can enter this meeting room, he is not incompetent. Douglas remembered him as Owen, young and promising.
"I know, I'm not blind." Douglas smiled: "But gentlemen, we have wasted nearly ten days on this issue because of Oglock's little trick. I think the discussion should be over, Tomorrow I’m leaving for Cyrus. I’m going to pick up Valkyrie and meet up with old friends I’ve seen for many years, it’s that simple.”
All the officers below looked ugly, and it was not easy to meet Oglock. That's not an old man who can be pulled out from a crowd of random people, but the ruler of Eternal Night City, the speaker of the Dark Council!
"Paul and I will accompany you." Cario grinned and said, "I think it's really pleasant to see that old Ogg so soon."
"No, I'll go alone. You and Paul stay, and Asgard still needs you two old guys to preside over the overall situation." Douglas laughed softly: "Let you two follow behind, even if I want to get away It's not that convenient either."
"He thinks we are a burden." Paul shook his head and said to Cario: "Then we can save a lot of effort."
The officers looked at each other in blank dismay. They thought that the two of them would persuade Douglas, but they did not expect them to agree. In this way, their objections are irrelevant. At this time, the door of the conference room opened. Douglas' secretary came in, seeing this scene, everyone including the marshal himself frowned. Be aware that no one is allowed in until the meeting room is open.
The secretary obviously knew she was breaking a rule, but she bit the bullet and came to Douglas' side. The secretary bent down, and said quickly in Douglas' ear, "Zero from Dawn City is here, and he is in your office. He said that he has something important to discuss with you."
After Douglas heard Zero's name, his frown relaxed, and there was even a smile on his face. He waved his hand to let the secretary go down first, and then said: "You guys continue to discuss the situation on the front line, I will leave first if I have something to do."
Cario looked at him strangely, and Douglas frowned and said, "Here comes Zero, this kid has disappeared for a whole year!"
Back in the office, as soon as Douglas came in, he saw Zero standing in front of the French windows overlooking the entire Asgard. He didn't look back, but said, "This place is still as magnificent and beautiful as ever."
Then he turned his head and smiled just right: "Long time no see, Marshal Douglas."
With a wink, let the secretary who followed behind leave. The marshal laughed: "I still like you calling me Ben, just like in Remut. Time flies so fast, a few years have passed in the blink of an eye."
"That's right, if I could, I'd like to be a mercenary back then. Life wasn't easy, but it's much easier here." Zero pointed to his chest.
Douglas sat down on the sofa honestly and bluntly: "Dawn City is developing well, why do you say that you are under a lot of pressure. Look at my situation, that is called a headache."
"If it was just a Dawn City, I wouldn't have to complain to you." Zero said pointedly.
Douglas is so old and sophisticated that he can't hear the meaning in the nonsense. He pointed to the sofa, motioned the guests to sit down, and said, "Why, it's not about Dawn City? What aspect is it about, oh, I heard that you just killed a general in Asmo not long ago. Why, Is Andre planning to settle accounts with you?"
"You're wrong, it's the two of you." Zero held up two fingers, and said again: "It's not Asmo's trouble, in fact, it's a bigger trouble than Asmo's. It's even a disaster, it's us Disaster for all."
Looking at Zero, Douglas didn't speak. Zero continued: "I know this is hard to believe, but Ben, I hope you can believe me. Soon, a catastrophe will come. So now, I sincerely hope that the war between you and the Dark Council can End. I know it's difficult, but no matter what, please try it. The sooner this war ends, the less internal friction we will have, and more resources will be available to face the next real war."
On the way here, Zero thought about many ways. But in the end, he chose to cut to the chase. When dealing with a giant like Douglas, any excuse or lie seemed so ridiculous, only sincerity could impress him.
Still looking at Zero, Douglas' eyes seemed to see through Zero's soul. Zero stared at him without avoiding them. After a long time, Douglas sighed: "You are already at the eleventh level. It's no wonder, no wonder you can sense it."
"it?"
"Yes, it. I don't know what other people call it, but I call it original sin, because it is the culprit that led to the destruction of the Fourth Era!"
Zero's pupils shrank, and he lost his voice: "You already know about Proseus."
"Proseus? Why do you call it that?" Now it was Douglas' turn to look shocked: "God, I inferred the conclusion from various signs through the research of the holy relics. Where did you know this, and even Know its name?"
"It's a long story." Zero smiled wryly, "That's what an old guy told me."
He didn't intend to explain more about Agladis, and after a few words, he said: "So, you have already felt it?"
"Although I'm a bit old, I'm not that dull. There is such a sudden strong energy reaction on this planet, even if I want to deliberately ignore it. The power level has reached our stage, and the feeling will always become sharper. Sometimes, it's really distressing, because ignorant people are always happier."
"So, Oglok will also sense it?"
"Even I noticed, how could that old guy know nothing." Douglas said.
Zero's eyes lit up: "In this case, maybe..."
"No, zero."
Douglas shook his head and smiled lightly: "Even if I am willing to end the war, Oglok will not stop here. Not long ago, the Dark Council set a trap and captured Valkyrie in Cyrus Town. They asked me to go to the town, and if there were no accidents, I would meet Oglok there. The old fellow will definitely spend a lot of money to welcome me, so you see, the war will not end here. On the contrary, it will got worse."
Zero silence.
Oglock even made such an arrangement! It is conceivable that if Douglas was invited to Cyrus, he would be attacked. But with Oglock's means, if you don't do it, you can forget it. Once you make arrangements, it will inevitably be an unsolvable dead end.
If he succeeds and Douglas dies in Cyrus, there will be no buffer between the Hall of Valor and the Dark Council. The two giants will definitely fight to the death, and they will never stop.
"What are you going to do?" Zero looked at the old man in front of him.
After a moment of silence, Douglas sighed: "If it were me twenty years ago, I would probably choose to sacrifice Valkyrie. But I am old, and you will understand when you are old. Some things cannot be resolved with reason. Deal with it. So I'm going to go to Cyrus, of course, it's not easy for Oglok to want my life."
Zero nodded and said, "That's good, I'll save Valkyrie for you."
"What?"
Douglas shook his head and said: "You don't have to do this, you can still maintain a neutral position now. Once you intervene..."
"I know the consequences." Zero interrupted him, and said, "But it's better for me to go than you. Besides, I want to take this opportunity to hear Oglock's thoughts."
"Hehe, if you want to hear what that old guy thinks, you will be killed by him at any time."
"There are many people who want to kill me, but I am still alive and well. Don't worry, I won't just die." Zero said frankly.
In his eyes, Douglas saw that natural confidence. Zero is not stupid, he knows exactly who he is facing. But even knowing that he was facing Oglock, Zero's eyes still did not flinch. In retrospect, whether it was the first time he met Zero in Remut, or the various difficulties he faced in Asgard later, Zero never flinched.
Douglas sighed and said, "So what about after meeting him? If he doesn't plan to end the war, what are your plans?"
"Then I can only stand by your side and devote all my strength to try to overthrow the mountain of the Dark Parliament in the shortest possible time and end the civil war of mankind!" Zero said firmly without any hesitation.
Douglas looked at him commandingly.
It turned out that this man had grown to this point. Before he knew it, he already had the power to control the situation!