"Oh?" Tyre straightened his body and said smiling, "Please tell us about it."
Han Shuo still had an unflappable look on his face, as if the Godhunter Alliance was no threat at all, as he slowly explained, "Inform the Twelve Dominions that the Godhunter Alliance will be gathering at the Fringe. I bet they would be more than happy to make the long journey to wipe out the Godhunter Alliance, who have always been scattered and in hiding."
"That sounds like a plan, but I'm afraid that when the Twelve Dominions come to the Fringe, they will not only wipe out the Godhunter Alliance, but we Fringedwellers as well," Tyre grimaced as he explained, "Although we Fringedwellers are not as unpopular as the Godhunter Alliance, we are not exactly well liked. Most of us Fringedwellers used to be criminals from every Dominion. I'm afraid that when their army comes, they'll wipe us out along with the Godhunters."
"That is true. Bryan, you may not know this, but there are many who feel that the Fringe should not exist on Elysium. If they think they have a chance of removing the tumour, that is us, from Elysium, they will do so. We could be hoisting ourselves on our own petard. The Godhunter Alliance could escape anywhere, but we cannot. We could be wiped out by the forces of the Twelve Dominions before the Godhunters can invade our land," Ossora explained after he sighed. He sounded rather helpless.
"Hm, don't forget that your Han Hao was once a member of the Godhunter Alliance. Once the Twelve Dominions arrive at the Fringe, they will wipe out Han Hao and his Godhunters before destroying the Fringe," Logue sneered.
"Alas, it seems we have an insurmountable challenge before us..." Tyre remarked with a worried frown.
"Then we shall fight! If we can gain early victories, the Godhunter Alliance will hesitate!" said the rather quiet Wasir suddenly.
Tyre immediately voiced his agreement, as if it had been planned all along: "This is an inevitable war. We must fight!" He looked at Han Shuo and Ossora before asking, "As long as the five of us can work as one, we have a chance against them. Gentlemen, what do you think?"
Han Shuo could tell that Tyre and Logue must have planned something before the meeting, but he decided not to point it out bluntly. He just shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Well, I'm the youngest here, so I guess I'll just follow your elders' plan. I will do my best to contribute as a member of the Fringe."
"Excellent! What a boy!" Tyre laughed heartily as if he was very pleased with Han Shuo's answer. He said, "There's a good chance that the Godhunter Alliance won't invade as a single army. So here's the plan: the five of us will each guard one side of the fringe. If one of us is attacked, we will immediately start defending and inform the others. If one of us can no longer hold off the enemy, the other four will send reinforcements... "
Tyre explained his plan in detail, covering every aspect and possibility. It was clear that he had given it a lot of thought. In short, the five of them would each defend one side of the Fringe, staying connected by magical mirrors. And if one of them came under a powerful attack, the other four would send reinforcements.
Although the Godhunter Alliance had the support of Salas, their military intelligence would still be inferior to that of the Sovereigns who ruled the land. If any faction of the Godhunter Alliance strayed too far from the main army, the forces of the Five Sovereigns would immediately gather and defeat them in detail.
Tyre's plan seemed quite sound and reasonable. Logue nodded frequently as Tyre explained. He asked no questions and voiced no objections.
Ossora disagreed with the plan. However, unable to offer a better alternative or find any reason to disagree with Tyre, he had no choice but to agree.
"Bryan, are you okay with the arrangement?" asked Tyre smiling after turning his gaze to Han Shuo.
"No problem, no problem at all! I fully and wholeheartedly agree!" replied Han Shuo after shaking slightly. It was as if he had been woken from a daydream and had not been listening to Tyre.
But Tyre was not offended. Seeing that he had achieved his goal, he laughed heartily and said, "Very well, then it is decided! We will defend the side of the border that our Omphalos Gate faces. But I believe it will be at least half a year to a year before the Godhunter Alliance can invade us. We should use this time to gather strength, energy and intelligence to prepare for the war ahead!
"Tyre, the five of us should make a joint statement to every faction in the Fringe and let them know what's happening. They also need to contribute to the defence of the Fringe against the Godhunter Alliance, which can only be done with the five of us commanding them," Logue spoke suddenly.
"Of course," Tyre grinned and replied, "In fact, I have already issued an ultimatum to all Fringe forces, large and small, that they must surrender to one of us and join our army within half a year. They can separate from us as soon as the crisis is over. Those who do not wish to defend the Fringe will be exiled."
"That's fantastic!" Han Shuo stood up and said with a broad smile on his face, "I see that you have done the necessary work for us. I guess there's nothing more for me to worry about. Alright, we will meet again when the Godhunters have reached the edge of the Fringe."
After finishing these words, Han Shuo glanced at Ossora and Wasir and left.
The Sovereigns had no further discussion after Han Shuo's departure. Wasir and Ossora took their leave, leaving Tyre and Logue in the lounge.
"Hump, that boy is definitely getting more and more domineering!" Logue smiled ominously and said, "He is the primary target of the Godhunter Alliance. If we move away from the side he is guarding, the Godhunters will naturally move in his direction and attack him. And by then, even if the Godhunter Alliance cannot finish him off, we will!"
"Don't worry, after this war there won't be any Pandemonium or House of Han in the Fringe!" Tyre smiled faintly and continued, "All right, we should use the time to bring in as many factions as possible. The combined power of these forces is extremely great, and this is a rare opportunity for us to tap into that power. We have let them do as they please for many years and now is the time for us to reap the benefits!"
"Haha, Bryan is definitely still unaware that we have already subdued most of them. I bet Wasir, Ossora and Bryan will be pissing their pants soon," Logue sneered.
*** In the Celestial Pearl Pharmacy of the Omphalos, Ossora and Han Shuo were having a drink. They sat facing each other with a coffee table between them.
"Bryan, what do you think of Tyre's plan?" asked Ossora after finishing a glass of wine.
Han Shuo gently rocked the wine glass in his hand and stared thoughtfully into the dark red wine. After a long time, he replied in a deep voice: "It is obvious that Tyre and Logue have planned this in advance. But I wonder if they are planning against the Godhunter Alliance or against us..."
"It's probably both. They are probably planning to use the Godhunter Alliance to weaken us. Huh, Tyre and Logue have committed all kinds of despicable and shameless acts. If they sell information about our defences to the Godhunter Alliance and abandon us at crucial moments, the Fringe will be theirs in the future," Ossora replied.
"I've been thinking about what you said in the meeting - that the people of Elysium do not want the Fringe to exist. That may be true, but they need the Fringe to exist. Without it, the criminals would have nowhere to go and the crime rate in every Dominion would soar. A moment of impulse, greed or even something as simple as a quarrel could turn a good man into a murderer. So there will be no shortage of criminals, now or in the future.
"The Dominions could hunt down the criminals to stop the crime, but it would be much easier if the criminals would just leave and go somewhere else. And the Fringe is a haven for those people, a place they can move to and call home. Over the past millions of years, the Fringe has been purged several times, several sovereigns have risen and fallen, and yet it has endured to this day. That was no accident," Han Shuo said, his eyes glittering.
Ossora suddenly realised what Han Shuo was hinting at and exclaimed, "You mean?!"
"There is a necessity for the Fringe to exist, and therefore the Twelve Dominions will not wipe it out. But they also won't let the Fringe get too strong. They will attack the Fringe from time to time to weaken it, but never to destroy it," Han Shuo continued.
"So you intend to go ahead with your idea and reveal the Godhunter Alliance's plan to the Twelve Dominions?" asked Ossora.
"Perhaps. But I think a round of cleansing is long overdue for both the Godhunter Alliance and the Fringe," Han Shuo did not answer Ossora's question directly. He smiled and said, "Tyre and Logue may plot, but so can we. Ossora, until then, if you get into trouble, come to my Pandemonium."
Ossora looked thoughtful and nodded. Then he took his leave.
After Ossora left, Han Shuo summoned Zovic and instructed him, "Inform every member of the House of Han that we will be leaving for the Pandemonium in three days.