Chapter 102 Persuading Roger
"It''s me, Zen Luo. I want to speak with Martin, if I might, please?" stated Zen as he neared the door.
As the light from the torches shone on Zen, the two soldiers could see it was him, and there was a look
of shock on each man''s face. With a grateful tone, one of the guards said, "Hey brother! I can''t believe
it. You''re alive! Thank goodness!"
Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org.
The two were soldiers of the Green Haze group, or more urately, surviving members of the troop!
Usually, Martin''s battle ns were impressive, and he took many precautions, so he never jeopardized
the lives of soldiers in his toon, and there was rarely a death under hismand.
However, in the battle that day, dozens of soldiers perished, which was a terrible blow to the Green
Haze group.
The survivors knew that if Zen hadn''t drawn the queen de locust away, none of them would have
survived.
If Martin were the only one to have drawn the queen away, she would''ve caught up to the troops after
killing Martin.
Thus, it was Zen''s sacrifice that saved the rest of them.
So, the survivors would be eternally grateful for what Zen did!
Until just now, they all thought Zen died. So, they were astounded at his safe return!
The soldiers knew that Zen was an outer disciple from the Cloud Sect, and although he was only at the
marrow refining level, Zen was stronger than other disciples at that same level. Even with his strength
though, the gap between his power and that of the queen de locust was immense. They didn''t know
how Zen escaped.
"Zen, the captain isn''t at the camp," one of the soldiers informed Zen.
Wondering why, Zen asked, "Wait, you mean he hasn''te back?"
"Oh, no, he came back, but...?" the soldier broke off his reply, not sure whether or not he should
disclose the truth.
Seeing the soldier''s concerned look, Zen was confused and asked, "But what? What happened?"
"Zen, the captain was... locked up!" announced the soldier in a sad tone as he bowed his head.
Zen frowned and in a deeper timbre asked, "Locked up? But, why?"
"Yesterday, someone changed our regr marching route. It must''ve been someone who intended for
us to travel a more dangerous trail," the soldier stopped rting what had urred, inhaling before he
suddenly furrowed his brows indignantly and with an inflection of resentment in his voice said, "Captain
Martin went to the higher-ups andined, angering his superior officer. So, he was arrested. I''m
afraid they will punish him for insubordination ordingly, by martialw..."
''How did this happen?'' spected Zen. What the soldier had conveyed to him, irritated Zen.
Someone had intentionally changed their route, endangering all of the troops in the Green Haze
toon, and almost seeded in getting them all killed! The disciples from the Cloud Sect, Roger,
Sun, and Zen almost died, while a single sh from the queen de locust brutally destroyed poor
Tank!
Examining the events in his mind, Zen became infuriated!
Granted, Zen had only known Martin for a short time, but, he appreciated Martin''s leadership skills. On
top of that, Martin courageously sacrificed himself by luring the queen locust away, saving his troops
and the disciples. It was shocking to hear soldiers on the same side as him arrested him.
"Do you know anyone with authority who can assist us and intercede to have our captain''s charges
dropped, Zen?"
"Captain Martin wasn''t in the wrong, and shouldn''t have been unfairly punished!"
All at once, both soldiers begged Zen. Albeit, the two were the most ordinary soldiers in the Imperial
Army, but, they had followed Martin for a long time and had a deep rtionship with him. In the
torchlight, Zen could see their eyes glistening with tears.
"Don''t worry! I''m going to request an ount of the events!" reassured Zen callously. Admittedly, Zen
was nobody special here or at the Cloud Sect, but, that wouldn''t stop him from trying!
After leaving the Green Haze group''s barracks, Zen jogged to the building he was assigned to and
swung the door open. He entered and saw Roger and Sun packing their things.
Sun''s jaw dropped open when he saw Zen walking into the room, and he stuttered, "Z-Zze-Zen..!? a-ar-
are y-y-you a g-g-ghost?"
Roger, who was ordinarily soposed, stood, staring at Zen in bewilderment as well.
"Oh my God, Zen! Wow! This is unbelievable! You escaped the queen de locust! Did a mastere
along and save you?" Allowing for Zen''s strength, Roger thought Zen''s surviving the queen locust
attack was impossible without the aid of a much stronger refiner.
With so many powerful generals stationed at the Dragon Fort, it wasn''t unreasonable for Zen to have
been lucky enough to run into one out in the jungle.
Roger deemed his theory to be the most reasonable exnation.
Not bothering to respond to the questions, Zen just stared at them and inquired, "Are you already
leaving?"
Smiling, Sun responded, "Yes, I''m quitting the mission."
Shrugging, Roger added in a bored tone, "I suppose. I wasn''t in it for the points anyway."
"And, what about Martin? Yesterday, Martin risked his life to save us! Do you know where he is now?"
demanded Zen angrily.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, Sun had his cheeks turned pink, and he stated, "Zen, don''t look at me!
I''m merely an outer disciple from the Cloud Sect. What could I do about this matter?"
Roger looked offended. While it was true that Martin lured the queen away yesterday, his primary goal
was to save his troops. By the same token, and for reasons known only to him, Roger didn''t need to be
rescued anyway.
True, Roger couldn''t rival the queen de locust''s strength.
However, if he needed to, he could have used his mysterious weapons and escaped without difficulty.
In point of fact, Roger could easily intervene and bail Martin out. It would be a piece of cake to rescue
Martin, and initially, he wanted to. However, when he discovered it might be big trouble for himself,
Roger decided to stay out of the matter.
But now, Zen''s words had overtones of calling Roger a coward which made him feel ufortable, so
he arrogantly rebutted, "Zen, I won''t meddle in Martin''s matter, and I advise you not to involve yourself
as well. The person behind it isn''t one you should provoke."
"I shouldn''t provoke him? Who is it? Roger, will you tell me?" Zen inquired.
"The Zhuge n is behind it," dered Roger menacingly.
Roger watched Zen expecting to see a look of panic in his eyes, considering that the top seven ns
had a well-known reputation throughout the entire empire and that they were toorge for Zen to go up
against any of them.
However, Roger saw no such fear. As a matter a fact, Zen remained expressionless.
As it sunk in, Zen guffawed and asked, "The Zhuge n, again? Hahaha! I understand now!"
"Zen, what do you mean?" curiositypelled Roger to ask.
Intending to murder Zen, someone within the Zhuge n devised this plot, without caring for any other
life in the Green Haze group. They were just utilizing the toon to push Zen into a desperate situation,
not expecting he might be fortunate and escape!
Regrettably, many innocent people died, including Tank.
Zen didn''t offer Roger a response, but, instead mockingly asked, "Roger, you are afraid of the Zhuge
n?"
"The Zhuge n? Me, afraid? Of them?" Angered, Roger''s face was flushed. Typically, he was
reserved, but, his pride was at stake, and he blurted out, "The Zhuge n might have power, but, the
Meng n is prominent as well. Of course, I''m not afraid of them!"
As one of the top seven ns, the Meng n was known for their wealth and talented members which
were on a par with the Zhuge n!
When people first heard Roger''s surname and witnessed his proud temperament and magnificent
clothing, they knew he was one of the Meng n. However, since everyone was here to hunt de
locusts, they didn''t care about Roger''s identity.
"Well, in that case, why don''t you save Martin?" challenged Zen.
"I''m not going to go looking for trouble over this! Plus, the loony Fren Zhuge came up with the scheme,"
asserted Roger smoothly. Children born into a prominent n had the intrinsic sense of self-
preservation and knew how to weigh the pros and cons in any given situation.
It was okay if Roger helped Martin as long as it didn''t lead to trouble for him, but, it was stupid to
provoke anyone from the Zhuge n just to assist Martin.
Zen''s dare was transparent. How could he think Roger wouldn''t know his true intentions?
Warily, Zen chuckled and pleaded, "Roger, help me this one time, please. I''ll remember the kindness
from you and the Meng n!"
Shaking his head, Roger Meng responded, "Zen, I''ll admit, you''re talented, but, that isn''t enough of a
reason for me to help you."
In all honesty, Roger wanted to befriend Zen, who was an umon genius even for Cloud Sect and
might very well be an influential figure in the future, but, the future was far off, and after weighing the
pros and cons Roger decided he couldn''t help Zen.
Offending Fren for Zen''s sake would be a stupid move in Roger''s opinion.
Sure, if Zen were an invincible master already, Roger would help him, but Zen wasn''t.
Despite Zen exhibiting an exceptional talent for refining, he could end up in an abyss for offending
anyone in the top seven noble ns.
Just then, a look crossed Zen''s face, and he reached into his space ring and pulled out the crystal core
he had gotten from the queen de locust. He waved it in front of Roger and Sun, eximing, "Roger,
no one saved me yesterday. The queen de locust is dead, because of me. That loony Fren tried to
get me killed several times until now, and yet, I''m still alive! I''m bound to rise higher in the future! I''m
confident I''ll be in a position to help the Meng n, one day!"
The fist-sized crystal core gleamed brightly in Zen''s hand, reflecting light onto Zen''s proud, young face!
Zen''s words sounded impertinent, but exuded confidence.
Seeing the crystal core in Zen''s hand shocked Roger.
It wasn''t that Roger cared about a crystal core, but, the fact that Zen had it meant the queen de
locust was dead! While it wasn''t clear whether or not Zen killed the queen de locust himself, it was
obvious that Zen was somehow connected to her demise!