In Leslie's heart, a cold intent to kill had already formed.
The man in front of her knew too much.
If she couldn't fully understand his intentions, she wouldn't be able to rest easy!
Feeling the aura Leslie exuded, which almost completely isolated the courtyard and the duke's mansion, Owen realized that Leslie probably had mastered some sort of domain ability.
This was her stronghold, where she could use various terrifying methods.
Owen already felt that his magical circuits were being locked by some technique.
Clearly, Leslie had murderous intentions towards him!
To a conspirator like her, the greatest fear is having her schemes exposed, especially the worry of being seen through by others!
If what he says next doesn't satisfy Leslie, given Owen's understanding of her, she would undoubtedly kill him without hesitation!
At this moment, even though Owen had anticipated this, his breathing was slightly rapid.
After a brief moment, he steadied himself and softly shook his head, saying:
"The Order of Ice is not the only [Order] capable of seeing through people's secrets."
"The reason you can threaten so many people to work for you, creating meticulous and flawless plans, is because you possess the Order of Ice, which helps you see into others' pasts."
"I have mastered the Order of Fire, which has similar abilities. Though my mastery of the Order of Fire is not as proficient as your mastery of the Order of Ice, the reason I know your past is because the Order of Fire continuously guides me."
Owen spoke with great conviction.
In reality, he was making it all up.
The Order of Fire did not have the ability to perceive the past or future. But Leslie didn't know that, and neither did anyone else.
So, he decided to gamble and use this to deceive Leslie!
After Owen finished speaking, Leslie's favorability directly dropped to 1, reaching the most dangerous critical point!
"The Order of Fire can also see the past and future? So what? You're here just to deliver the [Order] to me. It's perfect timing since I also need the Order of Thunder and the Order of Fire right now!"
As Leslie spoke, her alabaster finger pointed directly at Owen's forehead. The bone-chilling cold seemed to freeze even the void.
Owen neither dodged nor activated his mana for defense. Instead, he confidently said:
"You won't kill me!"
"Oh? Why not?" Leslie asked coldly.
Owen shook his head and said, "You've done all this just to overthrow the Azure Kingdom's royal family. Killing me won't help you; it will only create more trouble."
"Aren't you afraid of death, knowing so much?" At this moment, Leslie's killing intent almost became tangible.
Although, as Owen said, killing him wouldn't be of much help in overthrowing the royal family and might even affect her original plan, Owen knew too many secrets. As long as Owen lived, her plans and goals would face more risks!
Seeing that Leslie's favorability towards him was about to drop to zero, Owen suddenly said seriously, "I can help you!"
Leslie's finger, which was about to pierce Owen's brow, stopped. She hesitated slightly and asked, "How can you help?"
Owen pondered for a moment and said, "You now have enough power. The reason you don't dare to act is because you fear the top expert in the Royal Council of Elders. Even if you exhaust all your resources, you won't be a match for him. But if we cooperate, within a year, that expert will no longer be a threat."
Seeing Owen speak with such seriousness, Leslie was shocked.
In her estimation, it would take at least four more years for her strength to reach a level where she could contend with that top expert.
However, considering Owen's astonishing rate of improvement, if he continued to advance at such a rapid pace, it might indeed be possible within a year!
The sooner this matter is dealt with, the better. Currently, many new talents are rising within the royal family.
The longer it drags on, the more difficult and risky it becomes!
If Owen is truly willing to help her, it would undoubtedly be like adding wings to a tiger.
But why would Owen help her?
She never took others' help for granted!
Owen's unsolicited assistance made her very uneasy.
Seeing the flicker of uncertainty in Leslie's eyes, Owen knew that she was already tempted but didn't trust him due to her suspicious nature.
So, he said slowly, "The reason I'm helping you is because you don't seek to become the ruler of Azure Kingdom after overthrowing the royal family. You want to gain military power and destroy Kyrik to avenge your family!"
"You are not a simple opportunist."
As he said this, a complex emotion flashed in Owen's eyes.
Leslie was not actually Duke Charles's biological daughter but was born in the Kyrik General's household.
At that time, the General was conquering all directions, and his prestige in Kyrik was growing day by day.
Although the General had already sensed the suspicion of outshining the master and handed over his military power, preparing to retire to the countryside, unfortunately, the King of Kyrik had already harbored strong murderous intent towards the General's household.
Thus, on the way to retirement, the General's household was ambushed! Regardless of whether they were men, women, old, or young, they were all killed on sight! To prevent any survivors, their heads were all chopped off...
This scene had an unprecedented impact on the young Leslie at that time.
The sight of her father, mother, and siblings being beheaded haunted her dreams like a nightmare!
Therefore, Owen could understand the fire of anger in Leslie's heart and her ruthless determination to seek revenge at all costs.
"And the most important reason is that I need your help to find a way to break the seal on the Godslayer Staff," Owen said, flipping his hand to reveal the Godslayer Staff and gently stroking it.
The seal on the Godslayer Staff had seven layers in total, and six needed to be unlocked.
This secret was known to no one but himself. He didn't want to divulge this information, but the Godslayer Staff couldn't remain sealed forever.
Given the current situation, the best way was to leverage the intelligence network of Leslie's Chrysanthemum Hotel to find the method to unseal it.
Hearing this, Leslie felt a sense of relief. Owen had a request for her, which was what she hoped to see. In her view, a partnership without mutual interests was like a rootless duckweed.
Seeing that the coldness on Leslie's body had unconsciously diminished, Owen slowly extended a hand to her.
"If you don't mind, shall we try to cooperate?"
Staring at Owen's outstretched hand, Leslie was silent for a long time before she spoke, "The path with me will be very bloody and full of danger.
As someone with a promising future, aren't you burdened by the thought of abandoning the light for the darkness?"
Owen laughed freely, "To hell with the burden. I only follow my true desires. Without strength, what's the point of talking about romance and dreams? Only by surviving does everything have meaning!"
At that moment, a vivid scene unfolded in Leslie's mind.
Ten years ago, when she first obtained the Order of Ice, she suddenly saw a vision of the future where the imperial capital lay in ruins, the people wailing in misery, the earth seemingly stained with blood, and countless skeletal remains holding mage staffs, howling in the wind!
It was as if this continent had suffered an indescribable catastrophe.
The casualties were devastating!
Sometimes, when she closed her eyes slightly, she could see countless mages begging in pools of blood.
She saw women and children weeping bitterly among the ruins.
She couldn't make out the faces of the powerful enemies, only sensing that all the mages of that time had their spirits utterly shattered.
And now, this world was a scattered mess!
Only by uniting them could there be a chance to battle the unknown formidable enemy.
She never believed in the fairy tale of people being born united.
There was only one way to unify them: to defeat them all into submission.
If anyone refused to submit, then they should be killed!
Overthrowing the Azure Kingdom royal family and annihilating Kyrik, though driven by her personal vendetta, was merely the first step of her journey.
That mysterious enemy was unimaginably powerful, treating everyone else like ants.
Her premonition, however, was something no one would believe. But the man before her, he was strong enough, he should understand!
Thinking of this, Leslie smiled gracefully and grasped Owen's hand:
"Well then, let's have a successful cooperation!"