Liana's Chessboard and Sour Plums

Not only were Yonker and Annie struck speechless with shock, but Du Chen and Fifth Brother were also stunned for quite some time.

With this revelation, the events of yesteryear finally formed a clear picture: Wolf had obtained the Art of Artifact Annihilation and spread it widely. However, virtually everyone who received the Art later met a strange and untimely demise! Wolf lost his friends, lovers, and family, his heart filled with guilt and remorse, but also profound doubt. In his despair, he could only hope to divine heavenly secrets through the elusive art of astrology, at the cost of his own life! What followed needs no elaboration; after enduring an ambush by the Sea Clan of Bog Island, Wolf finally obtained the complete prophecy, and learned of the two crucial points for averting The Great Catastrophe: the Art of Artifact Annihilation and Mount Wanliu!

Wolf then attempted to contact the few Marshals who still possessed the Art of Artifact Annihilation and had survived, even reaching out to Divine Emperor Prince! However, these Marshals and the Divine Emperor initially refused to believe Wolf, and it's possible some unpleasant encounters even transpired. Thus, Wolf ventured to Mount Wanliu alone; though he ultimately failed, Wolf did not die on Mount Wanliu, but instead later established the Yessar Church!

Meanwhile, the Marshals and the Divine Emperor survived until the end of the great war, yet The Great Catastrophe still inevitably descended, and even the Divine Emperor did not escape the clutches of death! The Marshals, moreover, may have gone insane, only occasionally regaining lucidity. During these fleeting moments of clarity, they regretted not trusting Wolf back then and hoped to avert The Great Catastrophe using the Art of Artifact Annihilation they had mastered. So they too departed, never to return, only for a monster resembling Lynch Baton to send back the Five Treasures of Fallen Gods, conveying messages for posterity...

The words within the Emerald Seal were no exaggeration. Wolf, a profligate in his youth, traded his life for heavenly secrets in his later years for his fallen friends, then ventured into peril alone amidst a storm of skepticism, attempting to single-handedly turn the tide and halt the world-ending Great Catastrophe. What a tragic hero! He truly deserved the Marshals' assessment: The Master, the Prophet, the ultimate key figure to solve The Great Catastrophe... the savior!

And since the Marshals were uncertain of Wolf's fate, it was only natural for them to instruct their descendants to find Wolf and help him save The Great Catastrophe... Undoubtedly, the messages within the Emerald Seal all spoke of Wolf!

But...

Yonker and Annie did not know what Wolf looked like, and had directly mistaken him for Francis!

After a long moment of dizziness, Annie was the first to react. "Grandpa, something isn't right! The ancestor said that the five Marshals once misunderstood the person in the vision. This means the person in the light projection must be at least a thousand years old, but Francis is only nineteen!"

Yonker narrowed his hawk-like eyes in thought. "Annie, tell me... is it possible that Francis isn't the real Francis? But a deity with over a thousand years of life masquerading as Francis? Francis was originally an imbecile, but after he turned fifteen, his battle qi advancement has been extraordinarily rapid, and... these various peculiarities could indeed corroborate this suspicion!"

Annie paused before nodding. "There is indeed such a possibility... But Grandpa, your granddaughter thought of another possibility—the person in the vision isn't Francis, but a deity who simply resembles him! And the savior mentioned by the ancestor is also that deity!"

Du Chen chuckled inwardly. Yes, Annie had already hit upon the truth, but could they truly confirm it!?

Yonker sighed, perplexed. "Alas, every piece of information is fragmented, leaving one completely baffled... Annie, you know Francis extremely well. Examine the light projection more carefully, paying particular attention to the details—let's first determine whether the person in the projection is truly Francis!"

Du Chen's heart tightened. Was this wonderful misunderstanding about to be exposed? Yonker might not spot the difference, but given Annie's familiarity with him, she only needed to pay attention to his nose to realize the person in the projection wasn't Francis, but someone else entirely! Du Chen's heart hung in suspense.

At that moment, the light projection remained clear, but just as Annie stepped closer, the 'Francis' in the vision suddenly moved, lunging fiercely towards Annie. Annie gasped, but the figure's speed was simply too fast; even as the old man barely raised his hand to intervene, 'Francis's' face had reached the tip of Annie's nose, and then... the light projection blurred, dissolving into countless streaks of green, white, and gold radiance that streamed through Annie's eyes and into her body.

Annie felt her body growing hot, and her Spiritual Power vibrated with a humming sound. "Grandpa, this is..."

Yonker's brow furrowed, then he burst into laughter. "I understand! Genius, truly a genius! Annie, you've not only received your ancestor's guidance but also gained power simultaneously! To gain both at once, haha, you are indeed a genius unheard of in the Five Families of Fallen Gods for a thousand years!"

Annie let out a sigh of relief. "But Grandpa, I... I don't feel any increase in power, just a slight discomfort."

"Heh heh, what's the rush! How immense is the ancestor's power! Even if you only inherited a small portion, it's enough for you to assimilate for quite some time!" Yonker explained with a chuckle, then his brow furrowed again, and he stamped his foot in regret. "Alas, the vision is gone! We can no longer confirm whether the person inside was truly Francis!"

Du Chen, meanwhile, was secretly touching his nose and smiling. The vision had vanished; no proof remained...

Yonker said, "Tonight, I will summon Francis to my study. I had intended to leverage the immense help I gave him today to gain some benefits, and simultaneously hint that Margaret has arrived, forcing him to leave Emerald City quickly! But now it seems... tonight I must test his connection to the savior. How should I test him? Tell me!"

This was a lesson for the future Family Head!

Annie contemplated for a long moment. "There are only two possibilities now: First, Francis is actually the savior, over a thousand years old, in disguise! Second, Francis has no relation to the savior, but merely bears a strong resemblance! The key to differentiating between these two is... age. Grandpa, you can focus on this point!"

Yonker nodded in satisfaction. "That's what I was thinking too. Alright, let's go out!"

Though he harbored doubts, the old man was extremely pleased with the harvest of information this time, smiling as he walked out. Du Chen was even more satisfied with this huge windfall, clinging to Annie as he followed them out.

Only Annie followed behind Yonker, head bowed, a bitter taste filling her heart. In a muddled way, she had become the family's first-in-line successor and received the ancestor's power, but... was this truly what she wanted!? Sometimes, she truly envied Avril, who, though caught in a bone-chilling blizzard, was free from all burdens, her heart solely focused on Francis!

When Du Chen returned to the guest room, Liana was playing chess with the two children. Du Chen's sudden appearance gave them a fright!

"You big idiot, trying to scare this Old Mother to death!?" Liana grabbed a plush cushion from the sofa and hurled it at Du Chen's head. Du Chen chuckled, caught the cushion, and picked up Alex. "Anya, are you decent enough to show your face now? Have you figured out how many days are in February yet?"

Instead of blushing, the little one coolly lifted her head, hand pressed to her forehead, and snorted, "Amidst your taunts, a true master has comprehended a deeper realm—a true master doesn't need to count!"

This little one...

Du Chen was left speechless by his son. He then turned to Liana, his expression serious. "Just now, Anya mentioned unexpected developments, and she was right..." He then recounted everything he had seen and heard in the secret chamber to Liana.

Liana's eyes flickered with imperceptible panic, but she forced a smile. "So, Annie reaped benefits from misfortune, did she? Oh, you big idiot, someone risked their life to swap cards for you; how do you plan to thank them?" Her hand, cradling Beibei, gently pinched the little one's bottom.

Beibei, understanding the implication, immediately clapped her hands with a mischievous grin. "I bet Daddy will have to pledge himself to her!"

Du Chen, oblivious to Liana's gaze, shot his daughter a look and said to Liana, "I acknowledge Annie's favor, but it's *only* her favor that I've acknowledged!"

*You ignored her feelings for you, didn't you!?* Liana received the most reassuring answer, yet she couldn't bring herself to smile. Annie's excellence was obvious to all, and the future Family Head of the Batuk Family was willing to risk her life for a man, yet this man felt only gratitude, not affection... *Heh, the owner of that wisp of black hair, what kind of woman are you? To actually capture Francis's heart so completely that it holds no room for any other feelings!?*

Before Du Chen could perceive her thoughts, Liana's smile faded, and she said seriously, "The appearance of the savior is indeed an unexpected twist, but also a huge surprise!"

As Du Chen nodded in silent agreement, Liana pulled out a few sour plums from her pocket and slapped the chessboard in front of her. "Here, let's assume this is the Emerald Sea!" She placed three sour plums, one large and two small, on the board, pointing to the largest plum. "This is Margaret, and the two small ones are the Batuk Family and us..." Water's Embrace Lake, Batuk, and Du Chen's Divine Cult stand as three powers, with Margaret's faction dominating and Du Chen's being the weakest. This is the current state of the Emerald Sea!

"But these are only the superficial pieces on the board!" Liana then placed a medium-sized sour plum next to 'Margaret,' smiling. "Judging by Margaret not contacting the Sword Slave or Dragonfinch, she doesn't know you're in Emerald City, nor is she here for Francis! So why is she here? For Batuk? Impossible! Therefore... there is actually a fourth power in the Emerald Sea, so formidable that it's powerful enough to draw Margaret's attention to deal with them! This is it!" Her fingertip tapped the medium-sized plum.

Du Chen gazed at the four sour plums on the board, especially how the three smaller ones clustered around the largest 'Margaret,' and he seemed to dimly understand what Liana was about to say.

Liana smiled faintly. "To counter a powerful foe, there is only the strategy of horizontal alliances! Now that Margaret has arrived, Water's Embrace Lake dominates the Emerald Sea region. To oppose her, our best approach is to form a horizontal alliance within Emerald City, with the three factions joining forces to resist Water's Embrace Lake! So... Francis, what we need to do is already crystal clear!"

Du Chen rubbed his nose. "Yes, we now have two tasks: first, to find this fourth power and ally with them; second, to make the Batuk Family believe I am the savior, thus gaining their full and unwavering support!"

"Didn't you want to know what Deboning and Arthur are up to?" Liana said with a faint smile. "Deboning, who excels at tracking, is already leading the Great Triangle Navy in a net-like search of the nearby seas, looking for your fourth power! And you... just focus on deceiving that old stubborn ass, Yonker!"

Du Chen's wrist twitched; he instinctively wanted to playfully hit Liana again. But he quickly restrained himself. Heh, this 'brother' was still the same, always laying out all his escape routes before he even encountered trouble! Du Chen glanced at Liana gratefully, then asked, "What about Arthur? What's he doing?"

Liana pointed to the chessboard, smiling. "Francis, when you're playing chess, when you have the upper hand and everything is under control, what's the one thing you fear most!?"

Du Chen chuckled. "Of course, it's fearing the chess pieces getting messed up, taking everything out of my control!"

Liana smiled. "Right now, Margaret is precisely in the dominant position on the grand chessboard of the Emerald Sea! So, I need to disrupt the chess situation that Margaret has under control, to weaken her grip on the situation... Arthur, who has already mastered the first strike of the Thundercloud Array, has returned to the fleet. When necessary, the Reno Fleet will deploy the Thundercloud Storm Array, raise the Lionheart King's banner, and create the illusion of the Lionheart King's return to the Emerald Sea, putting pressure on Margaret!"

Du Chen looked at Liana's chessboard, speechless. What else was there to say? The situation and the plan had been laid out so clearly by Liana in just a few words; did he really need to rack his brain to think of anything else!?

After a long moment, Du Chen still couldn't help but pat Liana's shoulder. "Thank you!"

"Between us 'brothers,' what's with the politeness?" Liana picked up the sour plums from the chessboard with a smile, devouring them one after another. As if the plums were truly sour, so sour they made her grimace, and a faint glimmer of tears welled in her big eyes...

Just then, after a busy half-day, dusk had fallen. A servant knocked 'thump-thump' at the door. "Duke Francis, my master requests your presence in his study!"

Du Chen straightened his robe, flashing a triumphant gesture, while belatedly advising, "Ease up on the sour plums; look at how sour you've become! Dus, wake up Snoopy from the Precious Lotus Scripture. Let's go. Let's make that old stubborn ass believe that the savior's name is... hehe, Francis!"