[Please choose—]
[1. Agree to Ron's request. Select several guards for him to form an elite squad to enter the Fragmentum.]
[2. Oppose Ron's request. Demand that he stay by your side and continue to act as your personal guard.]
[3. Do not respond. Offer neither support nor opposition. Ron will act autonomously based on the simulation's logic.]
Seeing the text on the screen, Bronya's eyes filled with confusion.
Clear out Fragmentum creatures? Why would Ron make such a choice in this simulation?
The dangers of venturing deep into the Fragmentum went without saying... Even she, who had successfully set foot on a Path and become a Pathstrider under the protection of the Amber Lord, had hit a wall at every turn inside the Fragmentum, unable to gain any advantage.
To advance into the Fragmentum, even the entire Silvermane Guard army in full formation could only push forward with extreme caution, and they had no hope of actually winning...
The last simulation had shown that Ron was just an ordinary person when it came to combat.
If he were to take the blue and white card slackers under her command into the Fragmentum, they would likely just be swarmed by its creatures and utterly annihilated.
Staring at the text, Bronya's fingers froze.
Her plan before starting this simulation was to do nothing, to fully support all of Ron's choices and follow his lead.
But this request...
She hesitated for a long time before finally moving her finger and tapping the first option.
Although she didn't understand why Ron wanted to advance into the Fragmentum, his abilities had been fully demonstrated in the last simulation. He must have a deeper reason for doing this.
It's best to give him my full support for now...
---o---
At the same time, on the other side, Ron wore a brilliant smile.
"It worked! I can't believe Bronya actually delegated authority to me, letting me lead a team into the Fragmentum..."
"Just for Bronya's trust in me this time, I have to carry this run!"
"As long as I can grind enough combat and leadership experience, won't Cocolia be a piece of cake?"
Ron had already formulated a plan.
The last simulation revealed that Cocolia would eventually be lured deep into the Fragmentum by the Stellaron and would only return after being fully assimilated.
And getting Bronya to agree to a coup would require a full two years of grinding affection—by the time that was done, Cocolia would already be in the Fragmentum. What would be the point of a coup then?
As long as Bronya didn't follow her mother deep into the Fragmentum this time, the position of Supreme Guardian would inevitably be hers.
Therefore, it was better to take a different approach during these two years.
Ron looked at the text and the few blue character cards that had joined his team, full of confidence in his plan.
[Bronya has carefully selected several veteran guards for you, who have joined your team.]
[You gave a speech before them, swearing an oath to the Preservation of Belobog and the purging of the Fragmentum.]
[Inspired by you, their morale has increased.]
[You lead the squad into the Fragmentum for the first time.]
...
[Your personal guard, Ron, has completely purged the peripheral passages, defeating a total of x710 Fragmentum creatures.]
[Ron's squad has gained combat experience. Ron's leadership experience has increased significantly.]
Reading the text on her screen, Bronya's eyes widened slightly.
She had thought Ron was purely an intellectual type. After all, in the last simulation, he had died at the hands of the Guardian's Shadow and had never even set foot on a Path, remaining an ordinary person...
But she never expected that in this simulation, Ron would walk a different road and possess such immense combat strength.
Although Captain Gepard led the main army to the front lines, meticulously clearing any Fragmentum creatures along the way, this was still the Fragmentum.
Killed creatures would reform after a period of time. Over the past year, a considerable number of them had reappeared outside the logistics district.
Yet Ron, with just five men—the most experienced of whom was only a veteran of two battles—had completely cleared the Fragmentum creatures from the peripheral passages and the snowy plains around the city...
Now, on Bronya's panoramic map, there wasn't a single red dot representing an enemy around Belobog. There was only the blue dot of Ron's squad, moving like a colored pen, painting over the map.
All the red around Belobog had been painted over by this pen, turning into a blue that represented safety.
[After a year of fighting deep in the Fragmentum, your personal guard, Ron, has developed a new method of military training based on his combat experience.]
[He has compiled the military doctrine into a manual and handed it to you.]
[You have obtained the item: "One-Punch Guard Training Method".]
A book radiating a brilliant purple light appeared on the screen, bearing the title "One-Punch Guard Training Method" in large characters.
Curious, Bronya tapped on the book, and a choice pop-up appeared beside it:
[Please choose—]
[1. Promote this military doctrine.]
[2. Destroy this military doctrine.]
Why would I destroy it? The name was strange, but its purple glow alone proved it was no ordinary training method...
Bronya treated option two as if it didn't exist and directly clicked on option one.
The text on the screen continued to scroll:
[You greatly praise the "One-Punch Guard Training Method" and promote it widely throughout the logistics district.]
[The guards in the logistics district have changed their training regimen and resonated with the teachings in the manual.]
[They have come to understand that the best defense is a good offense, and the Path of Destruction beckons to them.]
[However, under a fleeting glimpse from the Amber Lord, they all set foot upon the Path of the Preservation instead.]
[Your Affection for Ron has increased. Your trust in Ron has greatly increased.]
What on earth is written in this doctrine that it could make all these guards receive the blessing of the Amber Lord and set foot on the Path of the Preservation...?
Bronya stared at the text, slightly stunned, an overwhelming sense of unreality washing over her.
Although she had also become a Pathstrider, she had only just recently set foot on the Path. It was only through the subtle influence of the Architects and Cocolia that she had, in a dream, finally glimpsed that golden, headless colossus...
But this training method didn't just lead the guards to a Path—it had actually drawn the gaze of the Amber Lord!
Even if it was just a fleeting glimpse, it was still the attention of an Aeon...
While Bronya was still in a daze, the text on the screen had already changed.
[The long-term incursions into the Fragmentum have provoked a backlash. Lost motes of light are twisting and taking shape, coalescing with the sands of memory to form cold phantoms.]
[Under the deliberate manipulation of the Stellaron, the Fragmentum in the peripheral passages has drained all the Imaginary energy in the area. An endless tide of Fragmentum creatures now surges towards the pass.]
[According to historical records, the last time Belobog faced an offensive of this scale, the Thirteenth Supreme Guardian deployed every single Silvermane Guard in the city.]
[In a bloody, desperate battle, the guards suffered thirty percent casualties and abandoned the city's outskirts just to barely hold the defensive line.]
A new scene appeared on Bronya's panoramic map.
A deep crimson color, like a great river bursting its banks, surged towards the pass.