Chapter 1727: Three Groups

This chapter is updated by Novels.pl

[Please read the author’s thought]

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"What? Regretting your life choice?" Wang Wei asked. He could not fathom such heavy karma.

"Don’t say such a blasphemous thing," Maitreya chided. She was an orphan raised in a nunnery. All her life, her very essence, is linked to Buddhism.

"Don’t tell me you don’t even feel a tad bit of dissatisfaction," Wang Wei commented.

"I’m different from you," Maitreya calmly uttered. "While you seek freedom and try to block as many karmic ties as possible, it’s not the same for me. As a monk, the process of acquiring and fulfilling karmic ties is a form of spiritual practice. So, while you see Buddhism’s Grand Goal as a burden or a plot, I see it as a means of spiritual ascension."

Wang Wei sighed as he shook his head. "Sometimes I envy such a carefree and optimistic state of mind." With his mind, he viewed everything with suspicion, so he could never be like Maitreya.

"And I envy your ability to see the world from a pure logical and calculating manner," Maitreya smiled. "We all have our strengths and weaknesses."

"True." Many of the closest people Wang Wei knew had a quality he truly admired and wished he had: his wife’s knowledge and confidence, Qiyuan’s wisdom and ingenuity, Yan Hai’s arrogance and determination, Wang Chong’s resoluteness and single-mindedness, and Li Ming’s quiet but unwavering willpower.

"Anyway, thank you for this information," Wang Wei stated. She did not say anything about repaying him. At this point in their lives, their relationship was beyond a simple give-and-take; their fates were intertwined on a cosmic level.

"Hopefully, it’s enough to upset the karma," Wang Wei nodded.

"Hopefully."

Maitreya was still injured, so their conversation did not last long. Meanwhile, Wang Wei continued paying attention to the battle. He could tell things would quickly die down as most of the array nodes had been tested, and with the Star Manifestation Lord’s injury, even the Infinite Divine Court showed signs of retreat. Regardless of Wang Wei’s analysis of the situation, the battle still lasted another 10,000 years before it ended, which, in the grand scheme of these immortal beings, was a short period.

As soon as the Tribunal Lords gave the orders, everybody returned to the base, and a meeting of the highest order — meaning that even people severely injured and recuperating — was required to participate. This time around, everybody sat facing all Nine Tribunal Lords, while Wang Wei sat on the front row with the Primordial Saints; his seat was even slightly higher than theirs.

The meeting was quiet for a while as the Tribunal Lords discussed something. Finally, the Time Cardinal finally spoke: "First order of business: what an atrocious performance." The tension in the room instantly rose to the highest peak despite none of the Lords releasing their auras.

"Did you think this expedition was a joke?"

The Primordial Saints had no words. Their performance before Sovereign Dao Eyes was indeed atrocious. However, it could not be helped. Most of the people present were coerced into joining, and so far, they haven’t seen any benefits.

"So that you know, Grand Dao is willing to accept a 80% casualty rate of all the troops to achieve success in this expedition." The crowd’s expression turned grave after hearing this. A twenty percent survival rate? No one wanted to accept such an outcome — especially the Saints. Although they couldn’t tell whether these words were true or a bluff, no one wanted to test out the truth.

"I hope this is the last time," the Time Eater finished. He waved his cat’s paw, and each individual received a scroll. "I’ve brought many resources with me. You can use your military merit to exchange."

Wang Wei glanced at the scroll in his hand and frowned. He didn’t mind the amount of merit available, since he didn’t know the criteria, but he was immediately dissatisfied with the content. The list of Paragon and the resources below were extensive, but there were fewer than 30 items in the Primordial Saint items, most of which are healing or protective resources.

There were only a few things that mildly intrigued him, which included 1 Saint Heaven Will and a few completed Transcendent Methods. However, the warning behind these techniques is that they are not universal, meaning a high chance of failure, and that even success would result in a weaker foundation.

’The Flesh Quintessence should provide me and Wang Chong a better foundation to create our own method, but is this list enough to entice these Saints to work for them?’ Wang Wei observed his surroundings and noticed these people’s reactions: greed, desire, ambition, and more. ’No, something is wrong. This list should not be this appealing to them. That means their list is different from mine.’ He wanted to ask Maitreya immediately, but stopped himself: now was not the right time.

"You should be satisfied now, right?" Time Cardinal coldly asked, and everybody nodded. "Good." He raised his hand to snap. A brilliant sight followed as time reverted backward. In a matter of seconds, all these Primordial Saints with severe injuries rooted in their [Existence] reverted to a non-injured state. More importantly, many of those in Limbo, preparing their resurrections, also returned to the world of the living in peak shape; the only exception was those who experienced True Death.

"The first heal is free, but from now on, you can only rely on yourself," the Time Cardinal stated. His feline pupils shifted to Wang Wei. "You did an excellent job. Without your plan, we would have to fight for longer, and our casualties would be much higher."

"I’m only doing my job," Wang Wei said, showing the utmost humility. As for whether he truly meant it? That did not matter.

"Having a duty and excelling at it are two different things." While Wang Wei’s selection as the Commander was primarily a move with higher implications in mind, he was indeed qualified for the position. After this battle and with the Cardinal’s praise, he now had enough prestige to eliminate any further resistance from these arrogant Saints.

"What do you suggest we do now?"

Wang Wei took a deep breath before standing up:

"Since we’ve tested all the nodes, I’m assuming we now have the means to enter their array forcefully?"

"Yes."

Wang Wei flickered his finger to manifest a map of the current war situation, primarily the two arrays representing each side.

"In that case, I plan to divide our troops into three groups: the first group will penetrate the enemy’s array. Their mission is to gather information and shut it down from the inside.

"The second group will activate the 13 pillars and lure the enemy to attack us. Group B’s mission is to hold off the enemy Tribunal Lords and buy enough time for everybody else. We have the number advantage, but I recommend linking the Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle Array with the 13 pillars to increase our advantages."

The thirteen pillars that Wang Wei immediately ordered installed on this timeline were part of the Grand Plan. As such, he was confident their activation could lure the enemy into attacking it. The best schemes are open plots: the enemy knows it’s a trap, but they have no choice but to jump into it because they cannot afford the consequences.

The Time Cardinal calmly listened while secretly nodding. Wang Wei’s plan so far has been the same one they discussed, minus the part about upgrading the Heaven and Earth Origin Cycle Array. Although he guessed Wang Wei simply wanted to use this opportunity to increase the protection around him, he did not comment on it. However, the cardinal was intrigued by the last part of this mission.

"The third group?" he asked.

"Since we have the number advantage, we should use it," Wang Wei stated. "The third group should invade one or two of the Grand Constructs and try to regain control."

"Explain your reasoning."

"There are few," Wang Wei continued. "The obvious one is we will weaken the enemy if we can regain control." A significant source of the Saints’ strength is how much authority they can forcefully usurp from the Grand Constructs, so if the Infinite Divine Court loses even one, they will suffer.

The Tribunal Lords secretly nodded. One of the reasons the court lasted so long was that they had access to true Grand Constructs, while they could rely little on those the Erudite Duchess created. At some point, they also planned to address this issue, but Wang Wei brought it forward.

"The main reasons are for the benefits," Wang Wei continued. "I don’t know what the situation is like for other timelines, but the Grand Constructs in this one contained the true essence of a Dao Quintessence. So, whether we use them to study or absorb them, the potential benefits are endless."

Wang Wei’s words reminded these Tribunal Lords. Most of the Grand Constructs in the Infinite Trichiliocosm are empty shells, with no true essence of a Dao Quintessence. And the ones that do contain it are either heavily guarded by the Grand Dao or do not contain enough truth for their cultivation. But this timeline is different.

Not only do they not have to worry about the consequences of acting on these Grand Constructs, but there also seems to be plenty of essence for them to cultivate.