"Master Diviner! Huh...?"
Seeing Fu Xuan finally arrive on the battlefield, March 7th's face lit up with joy. But soon enough, she noticed something seemed off about Fu Xuan.
To be precise, she felt the Master Diviner looked a bit... flushed. Within her petite frame, there seemed to be a truly massive anger brewing.
Of course, having noticed this, the considerate little March certainly wouldn't add fuel to the fire.
The bad news, however, was that the utterly shameless Stelle, without a moment's hesitation, went right ahead and poked the bear.
Casually batting away a creeping vine sent by Dan Shu, Stelle asked with a tone of false 'flattery':
"Master Diviner, your performance in today's battle is just stellar. I feel your power everywhere."
"Your talismans make enemies duck for cover every time. When clashing energies with Dan Shu, you didn't lose a single exchange."
"The Divination Commission's apparatus never once shattered. And your glare is so fierce... Did Lynelle trick you again?"
"Gasp!"
Little March beside her instantly covered her mouth.
She's done for, done for! Master Diviner is turning red with rage!
"That wretched Lynelle, and that scoundrel General is in on it too! Just wait until I become General someday..."
Fu Xuan clenched her fists tightly.
"I'm going to dock that General's pension so hard!"
"Pfft— Cough cough cough..."
Welt, who'd been a corporate drone in a past life, nearly choked—well, let's be honest, he completely failed to hold it in.
"And you, Dan Shu! This one thought you might have some truly weighty reason for throwing your lot in with the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus."
"Yet it's the same old tune of forsaking one's humanity... You shall join the others in the Shackling Prison!"
"Guh-ugh!"
Dan Shu, struck hard by Fu Xuan's blow, was sent flying back a considerable distance. A
fter all, the members of the Express crew were no slouches to begin with, and Welt hadn't even been going all out.
Now, with the addition of the next General, Fu Xuan, in her superheated state... Dan Shu, who was never skilled in combat to start with, found herself completely overwhelmed and hard-pressed.
"Why... is this...?"
"The Stellaron's descent will bestow undying immortal forms... The one who granted us the Stellaron said so..."
"Phantylia, the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus have held up our end... The Emanator of Destruction must honor the pact. Now, do it now!"
Under the gazes of the onlookers—some shocked, some comprehending—Dan Shu fixed her eyes directly on Tingyun, who stood behind the group.
"Tch... Utterly useless."
Tingyun let out a faint, irritated hum.
It was no wonder she looked down on Dan Shu.
According to her original plan, she was supposed to take advantage of Lynelle being alone to first probe just how powerful that mysterious Emanator-level strength on her really was.
Yet here was Dan Shu, wielding the Abundance—the power with arguably the greatest endurance—lacking even the resolve and patience to buy a little time.
The fight had only been going on for a few minutes; she hadn't even managed to breach the mental labyrinth constructed by Lynelle's own power, and Dan Shu was already crying uncle.
Well, perhaps 'crying uncle' wasn't quite right. Given the grade of Abundance blessing Dan Shu possessed, she could probably pull off cosplaying as Old Man Yang a few times over without issue.
The reason she was begging for help now was purely due to her own insufficient understanding of her power. Such a teammate was truly so incompetent it left Phantylia speechless.
"Ah, forget it. Let's just consider luck to be on your side for now... Anyway, she might dodge the first day of the month, but she can't escape the fifteenth."
Tingyun—or rather, Phantylia—wearing a sinister smile, slowly walked up to Dan Shu and made a gentle, sweeping gesture.
The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, who were full of vigor moments before, immediately collapsed to the ground, wailing in agony.
A short while later, several fully transformed Voidrangers slowly rose from their bodies.
And Tingyun... her head lolled to the side as she slumped to the ground, unconscious.
"Honored guests, allow me to reintroduce myself..."
"I am Phantylia, an Emanator of Destruction. My primary objective in coming here... is to make this entire Xianzhou ship crumble and collapse from within."
"To be frank, pulling strings from behind the scenes is a far more comfortable mode for me. But since that General has repeatedly urged me to take the stage, I suppose I have no choice but to offer you all a crude performance."
"It is time I kept my appointment. Please excuse me for now. I wish you all... enjoyable fun with these pawns."
--+--
"I'm telling you, General, you could at least pretend to look a little surprised."
Not far away, the atmosphere around the two silently observing the battlefield was somewhat still.
"Miss Lynelle, why feign surprise over something we've both been well aware of? However... I truly didn't expect Phantylia would actually be drawn out by you acting alone."
"So? Now do you believe my plan is actually feasible? Whether it's for the shock value of the first encounter, or because of Phantylia's special brand of hatred for me, my plan is absolutely foolproof."
"I can certainly agree on that point."
Jing Yuan nodded with a smile. "To devise such a daring plan, you truly live up to your name, Miss Lynelle."
"But, what about the latter half of your plan?"
"..."
Lynelle silently averted her gaze. "Lynelle has no idea what you're talking about?"
"Let me guess, it's one of those high-stakes gambles, isn't it?"
"The risk isn't actually that high," Lynelle corrected. "It's just that the process might be a bit... convoluted. As long as you all don't lose your heads over it, it'll be fine."
"Haha, I personally don't mind. But your deeply-bonded companions on the Express crew might feel differently."
"Moreover, if the risk truly isn't that great..."
Though his eyes were narrowed, Jing Yuan seemed to see right through Lynelle. "...Then why haven't you told a single soul the actual details of the plan?"
"Ugh, so annoying..."
Lynelle slumped back in her wheelchair, looking like a total dead fish.
"If the plan goes without a hitch, the risk is minimal. It's just..."
It was just that, whether it was Fu Xuan's divinations or March's prophecies, they all seemed to hint that the trap she'd set for Phantylia wasn't as straightforward as she'd imagined.
But... where could it possibly go wrong?
Lynelle had considered every conceivable angle. It wasn't like a meteor was just going to fall out of the sky and end the whole story, right?
"Ah, whatever, whatever. General, just stop worrying about it. You're my backup anyway, so as the senior here, you'd better act like one and be useful!"
Lynelle gave Jing Yuan a push. "Dan Heng should be arriving soon too. You should go get ready to meet him and then head into the Scalegorge Waterscape. Oh, and that thing I asked you to find for me, you got it, right?"
"Of course."
Jing Yuan produced a small case.
"What I have here is the genuine article, absolutely guaranteed quality, not something those cheap cosplay costumes can compare to... Just remember to return it to me after you're done. If the Alliance's stubborn old fogies found out, I'd be in serious trouble."
"Relax, relax..."
Lynelle snatched the case. "My lips are sealed."
"So, shoo! Get going already! I need to change, you can't possibly still plan on staying here, can you?"
"If I could," Jing Yuan said, not even trying to hide his curiosity, "I would. Because this particular choice is just too tempting. I'm genuinely curious to see just how much of her essence you can capture... After all, this 'unconventional asset' of yours is a bit too unconventional."
"Still not allowed! Go find Dan Heng, now!"
"Alright, alright, alright..."
Jing Yuan raised his hands in mock surrender. "What a pity. It seems the big reveal will have to wait until we're on the battlefield."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.