The pouring rain struck Huxley's raincoat, producing a crisp, rhythmic sound.
Huxley's gaze settled upon Jacob, scrutinizing him carefully. His eyes were profound, carrying a hint of terror and coldness, as if he possessed the ability to peer directly into people's hearts.
Jacob felt a chill run down his spine, a faint coldness spreading across his back.
"Hello, Jacob." Huxley's voice carried a hint of gentleness, giving off a feeling reminiscent of a warm spring breeze.
The corners of his mouth curved slightly upward, revealing a deceptively pleasant smile. Anyone unfamiliar with him would surely be fooled by his approachable demeanor.
"Huxley."
Jacob watched Huxley with caution and wariness, his eyes filled with unconcealed vigilance.
He had heard Raya mention Huxley's name before.
According to Raya, although Huxley was ranked only tenth within God's Coffin, his true strength was actually quite formidable.
It should be noted that the rankings within God's Coffin are almost entirely tied to strength. For example, Priest-12 occupies the bottom position among official God's Coffin members, and his strength is even inferior to some reserve members who don't possess a Legendary Pokemon.
However, there are also a few God's Coffin members who don't care about their ranking. Huxley represents one such exception.
It is said that initially, Huxley served as a Priest-3 Reserve member, and even at that time, he already possessed strength rivaling the lowest-ranked official members of God's Coffin.
Now that he had become an official member, his strength should logically be even greater. Initially, he had even achieved the ranking of Priest-6.
Logically, as time passed, Huxley's strength should have continuously improved.
Not to mention challenging the top five—he definitely had the strength to rank among the top eight. Yet Huxley didn't care about rankings at all. He actively proposed lowering his position, dropping from the initial Priest-6 all the way down to his current Priest-10 ranking.
Although Huxley's ranking within God's Coffin wasn't particularly high, his strength was absolutely not weak.
Raya had also mentioned that with her current strength, even if Cresselia reached Champion-level, she would absolutely stand no chance against Huxley.
"Dr. Jacob, don't be nervous." Seeing Jacob's wary expression, Huxley smiled gently and waved his hand, signaling Jacob to relax. "I came here this time at the request of God's Coffin-3, specifically to meet you. Just now, I merely had Alora greet you."
"President Huxley, I can't quite handle your method of greeting," Jacob said with a cold expression.
Who would greet someone by directly attempting to kill them? If Iron Valiant hadn't intervened, Jacob would already be lying dead here.
"Dr. Jacob is too humble. Aren't you standing here perfectly fine and unharmed?" Huxley Huxley replied with a smile.
"I merely heard that you defeated Preist-12 head-on and wanted to assess your strength firsthand, which is why I had Alora make her move. If I truly wanted to eliminate you, it wouldn't be Alora's turn," Huxley said casually. "Oh, by the way, I've long heard that you possess an extremely powerful Champion-level Pokemon capable of directly suppressing Preist-12's Articuno. Today, I finally had the good fortune to witness it myself."
"What's the name of this Pokemon beside you? Is it Iron Valiant? It looks somewhat similar to both Gardevoir and Gallade."
Listening to Huxley's words, Jacob frowned deeply and directly changed the subject. He didn't want to discuss Iron Valiant with Huxley. "President, just get straight to the point. Let's skip the small talk."
"Very well. Then let's get straight to business. I came here to accomplish two things: first, to invite you to join God's Coffin on behalf of the organization, and second, to invite you to join the Dawn Society." Huxley's gaze remained fixed on Jacob, making it impossible to discern his true intentions.
"Inviting you to join God's Coffin is official business. As for inviting you to join the Dawn Society, that's my personal matter." Huxley's voice continued without pause.
"You should know that my son, Yousef, died unexpectedly not long ago, and there was a conflict with the Association. Because of this incident, Westin has been bothering me recently, not even realizing he's being used as a pawn."
"Although a Patrol Team captain died within the Association, I also lost a son. Logically, I should be the one seeking retribution from the Association, but he's been relentlessly hounding me instead..."
At this point, Huxley seemed to realize he had drifted off topic. "Apologies, I've wandered a bit. Let's return to business. Because of my son's death, the God's Coffin-10 Reserve position has become vacant. Conveniently, many people within God's Coffin value your potential and specifically sought me out to extend this invitation for you to join God's Coffin."
When speaking of his son Huxley's death, Huxley's face displayed no emotion whatsoever, as if the person who died bore no relation to him at all.
Jacob couldn't detect any sadness on his face. He even spoke and laughed casually with Jacob, which made Jacob frown deeply with concern.
Either Huxley was extremely shrewd and capable of completely masking his sorrowful emotions.
Or Huxley lacked empathy entirely and truly didn't care about his son's death, with the passing of even his closest kin unable to stir any emotion within him.
Regardless of which possibility was true, Jacob felt a hint of fear toward Huxley.
At the very least, Jacob absolutely couldn't casually discuss the circumstances of his son's death with others and invite someone else to take his son's former position.
"Having finished with official business, let's discuss private matters." Huxley looked at Jacob, a smile playing on his lips, and continued: "As long as you agree to join the Dawn Society, I guarantee that upon joining, you will assume the position of Vice President. Besides myself, you will be the person with authority in the Dawn Society. Normally, I rarely manage day-to-day affairs, so as long as you come, all matters—big and small—within the Dawn Society will be decided by you."
Listening to Huxley's words, Jacob felt surprised internally, but his face remained calm and composed.
The stakes Huxley offered were already quite substantial, but Jacob also understood what truly mattered. He had a bright future ahead of him and absolutely no need to join a notorious organization like the Dawn Society for short-term gains.
Moreover, he and Huxley shared no connection whatsoever. Their relationship couldn't be called that of mortal enemies, but they were certainly adversaries. In any case, Jacob would not join the Dawn Society.
As for joining God's Coffin, he had Raya as a reliable connection, so there was no need to take Huxley's route.
Raya was far more trustworthy than Huxley. After all, their relationship was quite complex and multifaceted.
"Sorry, I currently have no plans to join either God's Coffin or the Dawn Society..." Jacob refused politely but firmly.
"Jacob." Seeing Jacob reject his generous offer, Huxley directly waved his hand, interrupting Jacob's words, and spoke as if to himself: "You can take some more time to consider it. When you've thought it through, you can contact me anytime."
"Jacob..." At this point, a smile suddenly appeared on Huxley's lips. "Although this is our first meeting, I see my own reflection in you. We are the same kind of person."
"Your eyes are also filled with ambition and desire."
"Goodbye, Jacob."