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Then there was the route of starting a war, becoming a savior, and a hero who protects the nation.
The difficulty of these three methods increased in order, with the hero route undoubtedly being the hardest since it required the aspiration and recognition from countless creatures in a sufficiently dark and chaotic world, in order to gather the scattered power of faith to a level that could challenge the Divine Realm.
"You gotta have dreams, Cat Boss, don’t you think a ninth-order cat is super cool?"
Lanci placed his hand on the tiny head of Cat Boss and asked.
If he could get the cat to use the devastating ninth-order magic, it would make the enemies suspect that Loren had not only survived but possibly reached the ninth order and returned with a vengeance.
That would really capture the essence of a righteous and thrilling narrative.
"Meow..."
Cat Boss tilted its head, feeling its usually calm heart stirred with desire.
Lanci always talked to it about things that seemed impossible, leaving it feeling intrigued.
Outside the window, red maple leaves embellished the verdant courtyard, branches and leaves swaying gently in the breeze, rustling softly.
By the winding stone steps of the Great Monastery, towering ancient trees stood like a formation of guards, rich with branches and leaves, deep-rooted and firm.
As Cat Boss looked at this scenery, waiting for Lanci to finish his oat bread, their breakfast time was almost at an end.
"Cat Boss, I also need to work hard to reach the seventh order, to become a true contender in the Extraordinary and Holy Realm, then I’ll no longer be a ’squishy’."
Lanci flipped through today’s "Cerryti Central Daily," familiarizing himself with the current war situation, murmuring to himself.
At seventh order, both his physical strength and spirit would undergo a qualitative change, and given his resistance to magic, it would be hard for him even to die.
Ever since coming to the Cerryti Empire, he was filled with ambition and motivation every day, feeling as if he had been reborn; he intended to struggle for both his own and Dean Loren’s share. 𝖓𝔬𝖛𝔭𝔲𝖇.𝔠𝔬𝖒
"Meow meow meow, how’s it going?"
Cat Boss climbed onto Lanci’s shoulder and leaned in close to his face to read the newspaper together.
"It doesn’t look good."
The more Lanci read, the more his brow furrowed, occasionally grabbing his coffee to take a quick sip, preparing to finish reading quickly so he could head to Saint Kray Temple to teach.
He and Nigel had originally agreed that if Lanci wanted to get in touch with Poseen Kingdom’s spies in the Cerryti Empire, all contact should be made through poems, ads, and missing item notices published in "Cerryti Central Daily."
But now he had lost the identity of the old publisher, Lovia, and the identity of Professor Landry was rather sensitive; unless it was an urgent request for help, it was inadvisable to actively seek out agents from the Poseen Kingdom in the short term.
Even so, Lanci bought "Cerryti Central Daily" every day, and if he saw a coded message from the agents of the Poseen Kingdom, he would still try to contact them if possible.
"Does it feel like the Allied Forces won’t even last a month?"
The more Cat Boss read about the war situation, the more frightened it became.
"Actually, the Cerryti Empire might exaggerate its victories to boost the morale of its citizens, while the Allied Forces might downplay the empire’s offensives to reduce possible panic. If you balance out the reports from both sides, you might get a picture that’s closer to the truth,"
Lanci answered.
Beyond the rapidly changing strategic arrangements at the onset of the war, blitzkrieg, and large-scale offenses, the war could easily settle into a protracted tug-of-war and warfare of attrition once both sides established their strategic objectives, until after a long period of time, one side’s strategy collapsed, leading to a swift hastening of progress and determining the victor and loser.
Currently, as the aggressor, the Cerryti Empire began digesting the strategic points it had previously captured, deliberately slowing its advance, preparing to fully assimilate the new territories before launching a second round of offense. Meanwhile, the Kingdom Joint Council was also going into full defensive mode, launching counterattacks in some areas.
This kind of combat could go on for years, and both the Cerryti Empire and the member states of the council alliance would suffer greatly. During this time, if the Blood Clan kept developing and eroding the empire in the shadows, then the opportunity for a repeat of the Blood Moon Bad World would arise.
"I will spare no effort or cost to fight against the war. I cannot tolerate a world where creatures are suffering daily. Peace is an infinite responsibility to all beings; only with peace, only with peace, can the world bloom beautifully once again,"
Lanci put down the newspaper and clenched his fist, believing fervently.
"But we still have no leads on the Blood Clan, do we meow?"
Cat Boss felt that the Blood Clan in the empire was as if they did not exist at all, and with Lanci’s investigations over the past few days, there hadn’t been a single clue.
This increasingly chilled its heart.
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Clearly, the heart of the Cerryti Empire’s capital, Brilda, was the lair of the Blood Clan, yet they couldn’t figure out the process even with the answer in hand.
"Actually, in the world line the Goddess of Destiny allowed me to see, the Blood Clan would start the war a few months later, and by then, the Blood Clan would dare to step out from behind the scenes. But now, the Blood Clan has chosen to stay hidden within the Empire, indicating that their infiltration is not yet complete, and many of the higher-ups may not even be aware of the Blood Clan’s existence."
Lanci stroked Cat Boss to keep it from being scared.
Right now, even if the Blood Clan couldn’t be found, it wouldn’t matter as long as they were developing steadily within the Empire.
"Simply put, if it weren’t for my intervention, Hyperion would have been plotted against by the Blood Clan, and they would have been able to take control of Duke Migaya and save another troublesome Ancestor of the Blood Clan quite early on. The Blood Clan’s infiltration pace could potentially double."
He continued explaining to Cat Boss.
Lanci’s protection of Hyperion wouldn’t affect the overall strength of the Cerryti Empire; the only impact would be the relative share of the Blood Clan’s power within the Empire.
Nevertheless, the Blood Clan was extremely cautious.
From their strategic choices, it could be seen that they probably wouldn’t reveal themselves until their infiltration was close to 80% or even 90%, and even at levels around 50% or 60%, they would continue laying low.
If they weren’t assured of victory, they wouldn’t expose themselves, even waiting for the next opportunity, because they had plenty of time.
For Lanci at present, the priority was to ascertain which factions in the Empire had already fallen to the Blood Clan and which parts were still untouched by the Blood Clan.
To defeat the Blood Clan, it would be best to leverage the power of the Cerryti Empire itself.
Therefore, due to the circumstances, he had to climb a bit higher in the Empire for now.
"Then I’m relieved, it’s good as long as it’s in your plan."
Cat Boss felt that with Lanci as its teammate, its heart hadn’t stopped beating, but Lanci’s strength was indeed solid.
In the vast majority of versions, Lanci was the no-brainer choice.
Lanci set down the newspaper in front of the dinner table, put on a grey coat, and prepared to leave.
"Cat Boss, get in the car."
Lanci said to Cat Boss.
Cat Boss noticed that ever since Lanci met his life mentor, even his dressing habits had subtly been influenced.
It followed Lanci for a few steps.
"Lanci, you haven’t forgotten your mission, have you?"
Cat Boss, noticing the increasingly frequent air of deep professional dedication and sense of responsibility in Lanci’s expression after arriving at the Empire, began to wonder if this young man was already starting to think from the standpoint of the Empire.
This young man once got into his work with an obsession that seemed to say nothing could be achieved without madness.
Initially, the agreement was just to infiltrate the Rebirth Church to try it out, but then he wholeheartedly helped the Bishop of Hegemony win it all.
One could say he was just a step away from being president.
"Of course, I can’t forget. Right now, I’m implementing my mission. A true ace spy must deceive everyone, enemy and friend alike, and only at the moment of victory will I let everyone know my identity," Lanci answered firmly as he looked back.
"Indeed... that’s how an ace should be played..."
Cat Boss thought about it and felt it made sense.
The better Lanci played the role of an Imperial hound, the safer he actually was.
"Lanci, you must become the most evil of the Imperial Hounds, you’re different from the others, you shouldn’t waste time on the conventional path, you should deceive the world to the very end, meow!"
The more Cat Boss thought about it, the more it felt it was up to the task.
It was now a qualified Lanci trainer; with Hugh absent, just a little push on the throttle for a thrill!
