"...I understand."
Dan Shu explained the current situation concisely.
She needed Gin, a man of devout faith in the Medicus, to intercept and harbor a portion of the core Disciples being transferred out from the secret Grotto-Heaven.
"Afterward, I will completely destroy the Grotto-Heaven beneath the Alchemy Commission to prevent the followers of the Reignbow Arbiter from tracing their whereabouts."
As the saying goes, one must prepare for the worst. When the secret underground Grotto-Heaven was first constructed, Dan Shu had the master artisans of the Artisanship Commission use a structure that would never be applied to a normal Grotto-Heaven.
Specifically, in a special emergency, the folded deconstruction could be made to collapse, actively imploding the entire Grotto-Heaven space. This would trigger a massive earthquake of a spatio-temporal nature—perhaps one could call it a 'Spatial Quake'—destroying everything inside, including the eight paths connecting to the outside world.
"I hope Mr. Gin can lead them into hiding, biding our time for the next opportunity to over-turn the Xianzhou." Dan Shu lowered her posture, making her request as a junior follower of the Medicus. With the lifespan of a long-life species, as long as they waited, a suitable opportunity would surely arise again one day!
"And what about you?" The voice of Mr. Gin, cold yet dignified, came from the other end of the communication.
"I..."
Just as Dan Shu was about to answer, she heard hurried footsteps behind her. A Disciple ran over in a panic.
"Master Head, this is bad! Two more Mashin Mechas have joined the Cloud Knight front! The war beasts have been completely wiped out, and our brothers have suffered heavy losses!"
"What?!" Hearing this, Dan Shu's expression sharpened. She turned and peered through the long-range viewing equipment on the Guanyi Terrace.
She quickly spotted the two mechas. A samurai-style mecha painted in red, black, and gold held twin blades, easily slaying the war beasts they had secretly bred.
Meanwhile, another mecha painted in black and gold—majestic and domineering like a Dragon God of Swords—simply stood there, and yet the members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus didn't even dare to launch a charge.
"Mashin Mechas..." Dan Shu could feel the imposing aura of the King of Swords, her right hand clenching into a tight fist.
"Master Head, what should we do?" the Disciple asked nervously.
"Pass down my order: contract the defensive line inside the Immortal Mist!" Dan Shu did not lose her composure.
"Yes!" The Disciple turned to deliver the command.
"I will stay behind until the very last moment." After the Disciple left, Dan Shu took a deep breath and slowly replied into the communicator.
"No!"
Mr. Gin let out a heavy shout. After two seconds of silence, his voice rang out again.
"When I saw the Ambrosial Arbor's revival, I thought I had encountered a god. I felt it could lead the followers of the Medicus toward the Path of Color, but the reality doesn't seem to be so..."
Gin's tone was sincere and earnest. Dan Shu felt one of the words was a bit off... well, she probably just misheard. Before she could think further, the words continued.
"I saw those Mashin Mechas. They are strong! They are cool! So, Head Dan Shu, you have no obligation to face an enemy you fundamentally cannot win against. You understand me, right?!"
"'Fundamentally cannot win'? I don't understand that." For Dan Shu, ever since her dear friend Yunfei was sacrificed to the divine arrow of the Reignbow Arbiter during the last war against the Denizens of Abundance, all that remained in her heart was hatred for the Reignbow Arbiter.
And a deep resentment for the ignorance of the Xianzhou people! Besides, a Lord Ravager has yet to make a move. It's not certain that there isn't a turn for the better or a chance to flip the board.
"Yeah. You must win, as a follower of the Medicus!"
Giving a solemn and powerful response, Mr. Gin hung up the communication. He then realized that the Little Savior had stopped swinging the Sword King Dragon Sword at some point and was looking at him with a subtle expression.
"What is it?" Caelus stuffed the communicator into his pocket as if nothing had happened. Fortunately, the internal space of Ryujinmaru didn't block the signal, otherwise, he might have missed the Master Head's important instructions.
"Caelus-cub, did you grab the wrong script? Clearly, the other side are the villains, right?" The Little Savior expressed that she was on the side of justice.
"Who says villains can't be inspirational? Look at how many doggies and bears you've hacked to death along the way. Clearly, you've killed more, so you look more like the villain."
The Little Savior looked back at the Abundance Spirit Beasts missing limbs and torsos along their path. She blinked and nudged her younger brother with her elbow. "Hey, Caelus-cub, do you think roasted Abundance mutton would taste good?"
Caelus's brain stalled for a moment at Stelle's jumping train of thought. He shook his head. "I don't know. How about we catch two alive and try a barbecue after the event ends?"
Waves of light flickered in her brilliant golden eyes. Stelle, whose initiative was always maxed out, piloted Ryujinmaru to find a sheep-type Abundance Spirit Beast in the nearby battlefield.
Ryujinmaru's massive mechanical palm snatched the spirit sheep. The Sword King Dragon Sword on the right arm swung, carving off a slice of mutton.
Under the influence of the power of Abundance, the spirit sheep rapidly recovered. A clump of mutton fell to the ground, stained with dust.
"Oh—!" Watching this, Stelle's eyes lit up. She slammed her right fist into her open left palm as if a lightbulb had appeared over her head.
This baffling behavior made the fox girl standing on Ryujinmaru's shoulder tilt her head, her emerald eyes filled with confusion. "Benefactor~ what are you two doing?"
Communication between Caelus and Stelle inside Ryujinmaru's internal space could only be heard by those outside if they chose to transmit it; otherwise, it was just internal voice chat between the two.
"Tingyun, I've discovered a way to make a fortune!"
"A way to make a fortune?" Phantylia was stunned. Weren't you just surrounding and wiping out the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus? Why mention making a fortune all of a sudden?
"Caelus-cub, Caelus-cub! We can try selling roasted mutton skewers later!"
"Infinite mutton!"
"No, not just mutton. Let's keep a few of every species of Abundance Spirit Beast. When the time comes, customers can order and we'll cut it fresh, fry it fresh, roast it fresh. We'll have a whole animal series BBQ buffet, charging only 998 Credits per customer."
"We can even let the customers pick the part they like and cut it themselves!"
Th gold light in the Little Savior's eyes grew brighter and brighter as she excitedly described her grand blueprint for hegemony, gesticulating wildly as she hit her stride. "A business with zero capital! We can definitely make it big and strong!"
Caelus froze, his face full of disbelief. He looked up at the gray-haired girl in shock. "Hachi-Stelle, you... are you really a genius?!"
Don't say it, don't you dare say it—this method might actually work!
"Tingyun, do you want to join our Star Rail BBQ Buffet?" Stelle turned her head toward the fox girl on her shoulder, who wore a 'what the hell' expression, and asked expectantly.
"Haha... if the Benefactors wish, this little woman can invest a sum." Phantylia's smile didn't reach her eyes, her eyelids twitching incessantly as her mind felt like it was exploding.
Are these two gray-hairs even human? Even as a Lord Ravager under the Destruction Aeon, she had never imagined that Abundance Spirit Beasts could be used this way.
Eating meat bit by bit until they die... damn it... the Abundance Spirit Beasts might not be human, but these two gray-hairs are real dogs!
"Great, great!" Stelle nodded happily, preparing to catch a few live ones. As she piloted Ryujinmaru forward, she hesitated. "It's dangerous ahead. Tingyun, do you want to wait here for our good news?"
Stelle didn't know Tingyun's 'true identity,' but from the empathy shared with Caelus, she could sense something was wrong with Tingyun. The reason she still cared was because she cared about the Crystals on Tingyun.
"Oh my~ there's no need. One wouldn't dare to casually disobey the orders of the General and the Master Diviner. The command this little woman received was to lead the way for the Benefactors, so I must see it through to the end."
The fox girl let out a light laugh, looking at Ryujinmaru with a hint of admiration. "The Benefactors handle these small fries with ease. This little woman feels that the Benefactor's shoulder is the safest place. As long as the Benefactor is here, no one can harm me, right?"
Stelle crossed her arms: "That's right, I really am amazing!"
Caelus: "..." Why did this Phantylia suddenly start acting like a 'green tea' girl?
The two gray-hairs continued forward while discussing their future Star Rail BBQ Buffet. As for that core group being transferred out of the secret Grotto-Heaven? After finishing this job, who knows what rank Sushang, that Cloud Knight private second class, will be promoted to~
"Phew..." Dan Shu let out a long breath after hanging up. This way, even if the plan failed, the seeds would remain. The heritage of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus would not be severed in her generation!
Next, she would use the defensive line of the Ascension Mist to stall the Cloud Knights. As long as enough Cloud Knights were dragged into the mist, new Mara-struck soldiers could be created.
Though Dan Shu couldn't command Mara-struck soldiers who had lost their sanity, they wouldn't attack the Disciples but they would attack the Cloud Knights. That was enough.
But what about the Mashin Mechas? As if on cue, what she feared most arrived.
As Dan Shu pondered how to deal with them, she looked up in surprise. "Wind... it's starting to get windy?!"
The weather on the Xianzhou was controlled by a complex, large-scale climate regulation system. Weather forecasts were extremely precise, and residents could even vote to choose the weather.
As the headquarters of one of the Six Commissions, the Alchemy Commission Grotto-Heaven never had weather with heavy winds or rain. Yet now, a gale suddenly surged.
Dan Shu felt a flicker of joy. The wind came out of nowhere, but the timing was perfect. No matter which way it blew, it would maximize the lethality of the Ascension Mist against the Cloud Knights.
However, the smile on Dan Shu's face soon froze. The wind swirling the smoke didn't blow toward the Cloud Knights; instead, it gathered together. Dan Shu's gaze locked onto the convergence point drawing the smoke, and she saw a jade-colored divine bird.
"Oh no! It's that Mashin Mecha that can control the wind!" Dan Shu's face instantly became incredibly ugly.
"Taking all this smoke to the nearby sea, right? Leave it to this young lady~!" Having received the communication from her partner, March 7th used Torijinmaru's Wind Wave to carry the Ascension Mist toward the Scalegorge Ancient Sea bordering the Alchemy Commission.
"It's gone... Master Head, the Ascension Mist is all gone!" Two elite members of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus turned pale, their faces filled with terror and despair.
Long-term planning, all for naught. This resentment drove Dan Shu to her final counterattack: "Take the Ascension Elixir."
The Ascension Elixir was a pill she and some fellow followers had perfected based on a remnant formula. It was a formerly forbidden drug that could greatly increase the power of the Immortal Path, though refining it was difficult.
The entire organization didn't have much in stock, but if they didn't use it now, they might never get the chance. It was both a final stand and a way to buy time for the escapees and Mr. Gin to hide.
As Dan Shu and a group of elite Disciples swallowed the pills, a sharp, stern female shout rang out behind them.
"Dan Shu! How dare you collude with external enemies!"
Dan Shu turned to look. It was Fu Xuan, who had broken through the Disciples' defensive line like a hot knife through butter after the mist dissipated, leading the Cloud Knights along with the two massive Mashin Mechas: Ryujinmaru and Senjinmaru.
"Master Diviner, I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly." Dan Shu expressed some regret, her gaze circling around before landing on Ryujinmaru.
She knew that inside this Mashin Mecha were the individuals who played a pivotal role in this entire incident: the two gray-haired Nameless.
"Was it you two who punched through the spatial barrier of the underground Grotto-Heaven, letting the Ancient Sea water flood in and destroy the Ascension Elixir Powder?"
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