Could he win?
Of course not.
He was absolutely, guaranteed to lose.
"And you still dared challenge Angron? He's a Primarch!" Hua Falin nearly laughed herself angry when Bruce calmly admitted he might die.
"That's why I have you, my chief Apothecary." Bruce looked at her with complete confidence.
"I'm an Apothecary, not a wish-granting machine!" Hua Falin snapped. "If he smashes you into little chunks, how am I supposed to save you? Stitch you back together piece by piece?"
Bruce thought about that very seriously for a moment.
"If you can do that, I guess that would work too."
"Forget it…" Hua Falin scratched her head, then came up with a plan. Turning to everyone else, she waved them away. "All of you, out. Leave this to me."
"???" Everyone stared at her in confusion.
"What are you looking at me for?" Hua Falin folded her arms across her chest. "I need to extract the commander's gene-seed first, so both you and I will have something to show for this afterward."
Then she turned to Bruce and ordered, "Hurry up and lie down on the table. I promise I won't make it hurt."
"Ohhhh—" The crowd finally caught on and began to file out.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Bruce hurriedly stopped them. "I asked you to come with me to the Conqueror, not make executive decisions on your own!"
"Who's the one making executive decisions here?" Hua Falin shot back. "You're the one running off to pick a fight with a Primarch. What's the point? It's not like you can actually win."
You dying is one thing. But what happens if it drags me down with you? If the Primarch kills me too, I'm finished!
As far as Hua Falin was concerned, for the sake of her own life and tomorrow's sunrise, it was only rational to activate Plan B immediately.
No matter what, they had to get Bruce's gene-seed out first. That way there would at least be something to hand over to Curze. If even the gene-seed was lost, her already precarious life was truly over.
"There's a huge point to it," Bruce said patiently. "Sure, I can't beat a Primarch, but I only need to stall him. Do you really think I'm marching off there to die?"
"Then what do you call it?" Hua Falin demanded.
Bruce looked around. The others had roughly the same doubtful expressions.
With a sigh, he finally explained.
"You're all misunderstanding me.
"I'm not challenging Angron on a whim. It's the only way to stop him."
"He's a gladiator. He's a madman. He's a vicious attack dog. Someone like that needs to be treated with respect, but also confronted hard. Show weakness and he'll bite your throat out. If I hadn't made that proposal, we'd probably already be fighting by now, and the casualties would be sky-high."
Challenging Angron really was one of the few workable options. If Bruce had the power, he would not have bothered with any of this and would simply have gone in and strangled the problem to death with brute force.
Unfortunately, he did not.
So this was the best alternative.
"You sound like a mad dog yourself," Hua Falin muttered.
What kind of person treats his own life like this? Sure, I want his gene-seed for research, but if he dies, who's funding my work? Who's backing my projects?
He's not just throwing his life away—he's smashing my rice bowl too!
"Relax." Bruce's tone softened. "That's why I need your help. If something really does go wrong, then you'll be the one bringing me back."
Hua Falin froze.
Then, in spite of herself, she felt a strange warmth in her chest.
So he actually means it.
Damn it. If the commander trusts my medical skill that much, what am I supposed to say?
Fine. Then I'll stake my life on it too.
If he really does get blown into pieces, I'll put him back together if it kills me.
"And there's something else I need," Bruce added, snapping his fingers. "Marisa!"
"I'm here!" Marisa leapt out from the crowd, broom over her shoulder, then struck a dramatic pose with two fingers raised. "Say the word, Commander! What sort of spell do you need? I guarantee I can give Angron a proper surprise."
"Explosion magic!!!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"Shut it! Are you trying to get all of us killed?" Bruce barked at the overexcited red mage-girl.
"This time, you're coming too."
He pointed at Marisa. "Once we board the Conqueror, you and Hua Falin are a team. I want you to get your hands on one of those Butcher's Nails. I have a use for it."
"Of course, if you've got the nerve, bring back more than one. Keep one for yourself and study it if you like. Just don't put it in any of our own people."
"No problem!" Hua Falin nodded eagerly.
Why didn't you say so from the start, Commander? I adore you!
"Hold on!" Marisa clenched a fist in protest. "I don't get it! Why am I the one stealing things? Do I look like the kind of person who steals?"
Commander, that is slander!
"I never said steal," Bruce corrected. "I said take."
"That's still stealing! And why me, specifically?" Marisa pointed accusingly at the others behind her. "Why not them?"
"Because this mission is important," Bruce said in the solemn tone of a man conferring great destiny. "It determines whether we can defeat the World Eaters in a situation where we're completely isolated. Marisa, to me, you're our trump card. Understand?"
"Well… if you put it like that…" Marisa wavered.
Stealing something… I've never done that before. So how is he this sure I can pull it off?
"And if this works," Bruce continued smoothly, "I'll give you a whole squad of your own. You'll be its captain. I've even thought of the name already."
He declared it grandly:
"Blood Ravens."
"Fine!" Marisa gave in at last. "But if we get one of the Butcher's Nails, I'm keeping one too!"
"No problem." Bruce held out his hand.
The deal was struck.
So what if it's just grabbing something? Easy. Is there really anything Marisa can't acquire?
"Wonderful. Then when do we leave?" Hua Falin asked impatiently.
"Now."
Bruce turned to the grave-faced Alfred and gave the next order. "Alf, prepare a shuttle. And notify the Conqueror that only eight of us are coming aboard. I want Angron to see my sincerity."
The old configuration. A new team.
Eight people, heading straight onto the Conqueror.
Enough.
Unless Angron threw away all pretense of honor and opened fire the moment they came aboard—in which case, well, there would be nothing anyone could do about it.
If he discarded all dignity and face like that, then losing was losing.
"Commander…" Alfred tried one last time. "Isn't this too reckless? If the Primarch learns about it, she'll never agree."
"She will," Bruce said with certainty. "Because we're going there to solve a problem, not to throw our lives away meaninglessly. As long as the result is right, does the process really matter that much?"
"…Understood." Alfred realized he could not persuade him and simply accepted the order.
He had already prepared himself to die aboard the Conqueror beside Bruce. If the commander died and he survived, the Primarch would probably execute him anyway.
If that was the case, then it was better to die bravely.
"Still…" Hua Falin rubbed her hands together. "Boss, are you sure you don't want surgery before you go? Seriously. If I pull out your gene-seed now, there's still time."
"Stop cursing me," Bruce said. "I told you already—I can't beat Angron, but I can win the duel. Just watch how I do it."
"Fine…" Hua Falin muttered, suddenly under immense pressure. "Then I'll do my best to recover an intact gene-seed afterward."
If the commander really died, the survival of the Remilia and their special company might depend entirely on whether his gene-seed could still be used.
"May I ask something?" Wu Zhi said. "Commander, setting aside you, your three bodyguards, Lord Alfred, Lady Hua Falin, and Marisa… that's only seven people. Who's the eighth?"
Bruce paused.
Then he noticed every single person present staring at him with bright, eager eyes.
Weren't you all convinced I was marching to my death? Why are you this excited? Or do you just want front-row seats to an eight-man cage match?
"You lot decide for yourselves," Bruce said at last, ruthlessly tossing the matter back to them. "We board in half an hour."
Before heading to the Conqueror for the duel, they could settle it among themselves first.
A warm-up.
The Astartes instantly lit up and started gearing themselves up.
Of course they wanted to go.
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 155)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter200)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter110)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter230)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 77
From Junkman to Wasteland 66
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 46
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 200
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 65
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 180
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/5
The Way the Umamusume Look at 68
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 230
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 65
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 76
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
Uma Musume: The Dark Trainer 220
Uma Musume: A Calamity Born fr 154
I, a Reincarnation-Loop Player Volume4/30
The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 120
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 135
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 110
I Can Copy Unique Skills 100
Summoning an Evil God, but the 70
Supernatural Multiverse 100
My Harem Is Indescribable 90
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 95
"I'm just a Valkyrie passing through." 68
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 105
Still playing traditional Honk 69
The Most Filial Son Under Heav 80
What Should I Do After Switchi - Volume2/3
Reincarnated as a Demon, Skill 70
Hell-Difficulty Dungeon? 55
Transmigrated as Sukuna 75
Checking In in Demon Slayer 80
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 85
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 70
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 65
A Saiyan Stands Above Marvel 70
What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 70
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 65
Why did they assign me to Uma 65
MYGO Beauties 65
DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 55
The Gacha Merchant Who Started 65
Honkai's Otherworld? Wait—Who Are You People?! 45
Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 45
The Uma Musume Who Became 40
I'm Definitely Not the King of 45
After Maxing Out Every Class 45
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