Capítulo 24: First meeting with Samira Blaze

Xenovia Vorah, the eldest daughter among all of Strax's siblings, is described as a goddess of the moon and darkness. She has never displayed any broad emotion in public, never had any interaction with high society, and above all, never bowed her head to anything or anyone.

Her powers are unknown; all that is known is that she possesses the Matriarch's Sword, the Night Abyss of Nyx. A sword forged by the flames of a Primordial Black Phoenix and sealed within it, a weapon so terrifying that not even the Patriarch can lay his hands on it without being affected by the corrupt flame that resides within the sword.

Xenovia Vorah, the Black Empress.

Despite being indisputably the strongest, she has no desire to have power superior to that of the Patriarch or anything of the sort. She is simply herself, without ulterior motives or plans, being unparalleled and, in direct line, equaling the Empress of Thalassia herself.

She has completely disassociated herself from the future Matriarch line, completely denying the succession war that occurs behind the scenes. However, now, with the declaration to bring Strax back, Xenovia is once again involved in the war for the sheer convenience of the others, who consider her a threat.

She is the greatest threat of all.

A bird that flies aimlessly to the depths of the Abyss without any fear.

She never showed interest in anything or anyone... But now, however... Strax has been turned into a massive target, despite being considered a complete stranger to the family and its affairs with the Kingdom.

Xenovia is a risk.

And because of that, the other siblings have begun to point their weapons at Strax. However, despite not understanding how this family worked, the Strax of now is no longer a failure. The permanent knowledge of his past life made him aware of what could be happening, and everything was predicted in minute detail. He wasn't the smartest man, but he had seen scenes like this too many times, which gave him a certain advantage. Although the mechanisms of this world were still not within his knowledge, aristocratic mechanisms of families like this were easily something he could handle, even without knowing about the problems that would come.

"She wouldn't call me back, we're not close. In fact... she never showed anything for me... except for that day," he thought, remembering how Xenovia knocked his older brothers to the ground after they hit him.

"Is something big happening? Yes, she hardly would talk to me if it weren't a big problem," he commented to the wind as he sat in the Baroness's private room, awaiting Jason.

His thoughts were disturbed by the feeling of discomfort; he had cleared his mind several times trying to think of a reason for his summons, but nothing made sense to him, and it was driving him crazy.

"Xenovia..." Strax murmured before hearing footsteps coming from the other side of the door; his cultivation had improved to the point where he could at least sense up to 10 meters from his body.

A slight knock was heard, followed by a male voice. "It's me, Young Master," Jason's muffled voice was heard, and Strax nodded for his entry. "You may enter."

Soon the door began to open, and Jason appeared with a grim face. Strax already imagined what it could be; as he stepped aside, Strax saw a woman with orange hair.

[Analysis]

[Name: Samira Blaze]

[Age: 30 years old.]

[Cultivation: Master Stage Body Cultivator.]

"She's quite competent. What's a woman like this doing in this remote corner of the world?" He questioned himself, analyzing the woman. She had long orange hair and wore a battle attire with armored pauldrons. Her body was well-toned, with many muscles, after all, she was a body cultivator.

Strax stood up to properly greet his guest, but before that... he saw a notification.

[An undercover mission has been generated. No information will be transmitted. Upon completion, extra rewards will appear.]

"Undercover mission in..." He thought, but he didn't have time. "I believe Jason has already introduced me to the lady, but I'll introduce myself properly. I am Straxx Vorah, the youngest son of Duke Vorah." The woman analyzed his body completely and, before anything else, commented lightly: "It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Samira Blaze, the Leader of the Flame Guild."

'She's dangerous,' Strax thought at the same time he felt a familiar sensation, as if nothing could happen to him, a feeling of comfort.

"So, shall we negotiate?" Strax asked with a smile, and the woman sat down at the table. "I've already stated my price to your Knight. Nothing less than Twenty Aions of gold," Samira said with a smile. "Alright, you're hired." The room fell silent, even Samira looking at him incredulously.

"What do you mean?" She questioned. In fact, this was good for her. Why was she still questioning something?

"Hm? I don't have time to deal with a mercenary like you. You're just here for fun. If money were needed, you'd be in the capital. A master-level cultivator? Please, you just want challenges ahead of you to feel alive," Strax said. Samira's face turned completely dark. She was too shocked to speak. In less than ten minutes of conversation, she was completely read.

"With you..." before she could question, Strax just smiled and said, "It will be a pleasure to work with you, Miss Little Fire." Strax said, and Samira's whole body trembled with anger, and... another place melted after being called "Little Fire".

"L-L-Little Fire??" She questioned loudly, and Jason looked at that scene, shaking his head. "It's not possible, young master. You just hired one and you're already trying to get your claws into another?"

"Yes, I will call you that, Little Fire. Now go get ready. We'll leave tomorrow morning," Strax said, and she was starting to get furious at being treated this way. "How dare you? Who do you think you..." Before she could question, Strax interrupted: "I am your master. Go get ready or I'll find another to accompany me from the guild, Little Fire." Samira just accepted and left, stomping heavily on the ground.

"What was that?" Jason questioned. Just a short while ago, he could barely handle that woman, and he barely negotiated... now... Strax seemed to have completely dominated her.

"Hm? Don't you know how to talk to women like that? It's simple. She doesn't even care about money. She just wants entertainment. She probably accepted this contract as soon as she saw the reward on my head. She just wants to have fun. So, I started the show for her. Women like her like to be challenged. Probably now, she'll try to be the best possible and prove herself so that I treat her with more respect."

"How do you know that? You only had contact with Beatrice!" Jason said quickly, trying to understand how Strax worked, but he just shrugged. "I just know, and you should get ready. We'll leave tomorrow," Strax said, and Jason sighed heavily. "Alright, young master."

[You have successfully initiated the undercover mission]

"Predictable System," Strax said as he sat in the chair and put his feet up on the table. "Now... what will I do with those points?" He questioned, seeing the number on his screen, but that would have to wait for the next day.

[Image of Samira]