Substantial Gains

Du Chen inwardly chuckled. What a coincidence! He was just thinking of dealing with Thomas, the second-in-command of Thornwood Valley, and now His Holiness the Pontiff himself had issued an edict under the Holy Alliance's name, ordering him to declare war on Thornwood Valley! Although the Holy Alliance was currently loosely structured, with various kingdoms paying lip service to His Holiness the Pontiff while subtly defying him, this edict in hand granted Du Chen the moral high ground of defending humanity. Whatever he did to Thornwood Valley would be entirely justified!

After his initial amusement, Du Chen's mind stirred once more – this edict was riddled with questions!

First, while declaring war on Thornwood Valley certainly warranted a Crystal-tier secret order, was it truly necessary for two Godfathers to deliver the command together?

Second, Thornwood Valley was indeed a den of villains, deserving eradication! Yet, they had always kept to themselves within the valley, never stirring up trouble. Did His Holiness the Pontiff really need to provoke them actively?

Finally, why had His Holiness the Pontiff specifically chosen Francis? Of the Papal Curia's three primary Battle Gods and the various Military Officer Godfathers from different dioceses, who wasn't more suitable than him?

Pondering this, Du Chen said nothing, merely turning to admire the flowers and plants in the garden, utterly at ease. He even picked up a flower branch, sniffed it, feeling completely content!

A faint, almost imperceptible wry smile played on Bairu's lips, as if saying, "See? What did I tell you? Francis isn't foolish; he won't accept the order so easily!" Mas, the Battle God, however, paid no mind to this. He strode forward, grabbing Francis by the collar. "What are you doing looking at flowers, kid? Look at me! Take the order!"

Du Chen ignored Mas, turning his head to Bairu instead. "Elder Brother Bairu, let's speak frankly!"

Bairu chuckled, "Mas, the Battle God, let me have a few words with young Brother Francis. You can let go now!" He smoothed his long, golden curly hair and jovially pushed Mas away.

"Young brother, what you most want to ask, I presume, is why the two of us are delivering this order together, isn't it? Heh-heh, it's actually quite simple. This mission involves many top-secret matters of the Crystal Temple, which I have no right to know. Mas, the Battle God, must personally discuss them with you after you accept the order! And from the moment you accept, I will serve as the Papal Curia's designated military supervisor for this operation, accompanying you to complete the entire mission and assessing your merits. Mas, the Battle God, meanwhile, will act as a liaison officer, assisting you with logistics and intelligence!"

"Military supervisor?" Du Chen's brow furrowed.

Bairu hastily explained, "Don't misunderstand, the role of military supervisor is a long-standing tradition of the Papal Curia. Young brother, you can consult the Papal Curia's historical war records and codes of law; my role as supervisor is absolutely mandated by law, not an act aimed at you... And throughout the entire operation, you'll be in charge of everything. I'll only observe, not interfere!"

Du Chen nodded. Bairu wouldn't dare deceive him with something so clearly documented. With his first doubt assuaged, he asked again, "Why has His Holiness decided to declare war on Thornwood Valley at this particular time?"

Bairu pulled Du Chen to sit on a stone bench, his voice dropping to a very low whisper – in truth, the entire garden had already been secured for secrecy since the start of their private discussion.

"Young brother, you and I have cooperated for many years, and we both know perfectly well what kind of people we are. So, I won't beat around the bush with official jargon... Compared to Divine Emperor Prince's Holy Alliance, what are your thoughts on the current Holy Alliance? There are no outsiders here, young brother, so feel free to speak your mind!"

Du Chen rubbed the tip of his nose and calmly uttered a famous saying from his past life, a perfect description of the Holy Alliance in this one: "When hearts scatter, it's hard to lead the team!"

"Spot on!" Bairu burst into laughter, then his expression suddenly turned serious. "His Holiness is very displeased with the current fragmented state of the Holy Alliance. He plans to convene a Blood Oath Alliance on Mount Durun, under the banner of resisting demons, to recreate the glorious era of Divine Emperor Prince's Holy Alliance!"

Du Chen's fingertips trembled. "Recreate the glorious era"—it sounded good, but what did that era truly signify? Back then, Divine Emperor Prince commanded universal obedience; his authority was absolute, truly above tens of thousands. With a single word, none dared to defy him! Frankly, Sama IX's ambition could no longer be contained. Pontiff? No, what he truly wanted to be was... Divine Emperor!

Bairu's voice dropped even lower. "Precisely, His Holiness aims to become Divine Emperor! To be frank, not long ago, Mas and I, wielding the Golden Token of Slaughter, helped His Holiness eliminate many troublesome figures, but that's far from enough! A Divine Emperor must be the co-ruler of all humanity, yet there are still three major human powers who don't acknowledge His Holiness the Pontiff's existence – the Old Lion and the Young Martial Venerable of the Azure Heaven Continent, and finally... Thorn! Wood! Valley!"

The Old Lion, of course, referred to Lionheart King Alonso, while the Young Martial Venerable was Alonso's current adversary, the new monarch of the Sober Empire, Hook, son of the late Azure Heaven Martial Venerable Robert!

Du Chen let out a cold laugh. "In that case, it's perfectly logical for His Holiness to deal with Thornwood Valley. However, I want to know, once I've dealt with Thornwood Valley, will His Holiness also send me to attack the Azure Heaven Continent, to kill my brother Arthur?! Hm?!"

Bairu hurriedly said, "No, His Holiness the Pontiff has no contingency plans against the Azure Heaven Continent. The ideal scenario in His Holiness's mind is to eradicate Thornwood Valley, have the continents of Einz and Yakun jointly revere him as Divine Emperor, while for the Azure Heaven Continent... to be frank, that's a tough nut to crack. His Holiness wants to bite, but his teeth aren't strong enough. As long as the Old Lion and the Young Martial Venerable allow His Holiness to save face, that'll be enough!"

Du Chen smiled. "I understand now. There are three reasons for dealing with Thornwood Valley: first, to eliminate dissidents; second, to 'kill the chicken to scare the monkeys,' serving as a warning to all monarchs; and third, to use the eradication of this sanctuary for villains to highlight His Holiness's venerable achievements, correct?"

Bairu offered a faint smile. "Put plainly, that's precisely it!"

Du Chen pointed to his own nose. "Why choose me as the Marshal?"

Bairu smiled mysteriously. "Rather, why choose you as the Marshal, me as the military supervisor, and Mas as the head of intelligence and logistics!"

Was there a difference between these two ways of asking...? Of course there was! A sharp glint flashed in Du Chen's eyes; he had understood something!

"It seems you've understood, young brother! I might as well be even more direct with you – in half a year, at the Blood Oath Alliance on Mount Durun, His Holiness will undoubtedly ascend to the Divine Emperor's throne. However, the monarchs of Einz and Yakun are no pushovers. According to the administrative structure of the Holy Alliance back then, below the Divine Emperor were several Marshals and the Grand Speaker of the Alliance Council. While those monarchs will certainly acknowledge His Holiness's Divine Emperor status, they will also vie for the positions of Marshal and Grand Speaker... To put it plainly, they'll aim to occupy the high-level core positions and undermine the Divine Emperor!"

Du Chen snorted, "So, the Durun Alliance in half a year will be a complete reshuffling of human society! And at that assembly, my own status as Francis among humanity will also be clearly determined, correct?"

"Precisely! The Durun Alliance will redefine the structure of human society. At that time, not only your status, young brother, but also mine and Mas's positions among humanity will be determined together!" Bairu's eyes burned with a fervent zeal for The Prerogative. "Young brother, His Holiness the Pontiff doesn't want to see himself undermined at the alliance, so he's surely making arrangements for his trusted aides to seize positions like Marshal and Grand Speaker at the assembly... You, me, and Mas are all considered the Papal Curia's own people. His Holiness wants us to ascend to greatness, to become Grand Marshals and Grand Speakers, but we... also need to provide him with some perfectly legitimate reasons!"

Du Chen offered a faint smile. "Thornwood Valley is a gathering place for the world's villains. To put it dramatically, eradicating Thornwood Valley would be a service to all mankind. With that prestige, the three of us, as great benefactors who jointly wiped out Thornwood Valley, can legitimately ascend to power... What clever thinking from His Holiness!"

He mused inwardly, *Bairu, you've left out the latter half of your statement, haven't you? Eradicating Thornwood Valley certainly offers many benefits, but it's my Durkus City that will dispatch troops, and my army that will suffer losses! The Pontiff's move is both to give me a taste of power and to use Thornwood Valley to weaken my steadily growing influence! At the same time, once I've accepted this 'sweet deal,' I'll be obligated to support him as Divine Emperor at the Durun Alliance... What truly cunning machinations!* *Next, to ensure I don't annex Thornwood Valley, allowing my power to swell again, and thus weaken me as much as possible, Bairu should say – 'Regarding Thornwood Valley, no living captive must be left!'*

Bairu clapped Du Chen's shoulder, his eyes still burning with fanaticism, his voice filled with allure. "Young brother, just imagine: once Thornwood Valley is wiped out, the three of us will be humanity's great benefactors! In the future, we'll be Grand Speaker Bairu of the Holy Alliance, Grand Marshal Mas! The Holy Alliance Leader Grand Marshal, the God-blessed Prince, Saint Francis the Revered Crown... For all this, what does it matter if we leave Thornwood Valley utterly devastated, not even a chicken or dog remaining? Oh, right, His Holiness demands that not one remain; Thornwood Valley must not have a single living captive!"

Du Chen rubbed his nose, smiled, then turned and strode away!

"I'll give you my answer before dawn tomorrow!"

Bairu froze, then suddenly furrowed his brow, muttering, "Francis, I still underestimated you!"

Mas asked, bewildered, "What are you mumbling about?"

"Alas, brother, you still don't understand! His Holiness wants to strike a deal with Francis – he'll give Francis some bargaining chips, allowing him to attain a high position at the Durun Alliance! In return, Du Chen, the Divine, must support His Holiness in becoming Divine Emperor, while Francis also bears the losses from attacking Thornwood Valley... Francis doesn't get dizzy in the face of substantial gains; he's not easy to deal with!"

Returning to the inn, Du Chen urgently ordered a halt to all recruitment. The core members of Durkus City convened an emergency round table meeting in his bedroom to discuss whether to dispatch troops to Thornwood Valley!

However, since Martin and a few newcomers had just arrived, and Frinda's loyalty, despite being guaranteed by the title of 'Savior,' ultimately came from the Saint Dak family, Du Chen explained the situation with some reservations during the meeting. Finally, he slammed the table and declared, "To fight or not to fight, let's hear your thoughts!" For some reason, as Du Chen looked at the people seated around the round table, he felt an overwhelming yearning for Queen Liana... *Sigh*, in the past, when he encountered such matters, Liana usually resolved them with a single word. Why would he need to convene a top-level round table meeting now? *Damn it*, a sudden thought popped into Du Chen's head: *What if... I just go and snatch Liana back, tie her firmly to my side!?*

Thinking this, Du Chen himself chuckled, yet he truly wasn't used to being without Liana!

The round table meeting was silent; no one volunteered to speak first. After waiting for a moment, Du Chen's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. He pointed at Frinda, calling her by name: "Miss Frinda, as a newly appointed official of Durkus City, don't you wish to demonstrate your capabilities?"