Chapter 844: Challenge

“As long as there’s a battle, there will be sacrifice,” Gao Yang said calmly. “So we have to consider it carefully.”

“I don’t think we should take them with us,” White Rabbit said with finality. “They are kids. This is too cruel for them. And they have little way to fight. Having them with us will only distract and hinder us.”

“I agree,” Nine Frost said.

“Me too,” Zhong He echoed.

War Tiger shrugged. “What she said.”

Gao Yang had long come to the same conclusion. He nodded. “Then we are in agreement. Lovely Lamb, Wang Weiayn, and Vermilion Bird are staying behind. All other awakeners will join the fight.”

The others nodded.

Gao Yang started allocating responsibilities. “White Rabbit, once your Intangibility reaches level 4, take Chen Ying to locate Dr. Jia’s hideout with you. Remember, just find it and don’t alert the enemy.”

“Okay.” White Rabbit gestured at him.

"Once you find Dr. Jia's hideout, the operation will officially begin. All of you will attack the Ocean River Union, while I kidnap or kill Dr. Jia on my own," Gao Yang stated.

"Just you?" Nine Frost frowned.

"Having more with me will only slow me down."

Nine Frost quickly realized, "You're right."

Gao Yang's ability to move swiftly and replicate three Talents made him uniquely suited for this task. He had successfully taken Gregor away under the noses of three organizations before. Now, with Absolute Defense, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he could barge into the Union's base alone and take a stroll while enemies struggled to harm him.

Gao Yang turned to War Tiger. "You'll be the commander of the group, War Tiger, and Nine Frost will be your deputy."

"Got it," War Tiger said without hesitation.

"I'll support Commander War Tiger well," Nine Frost said seriously.

White Rabbit posed a question, "Now, how are we going to attack the Ocean River Union? The Nine Scions used bombs last time, and it didn't work out too well."

"Yes, that's what I want to know, too," Zhong He added, familiar with the underground base of his former organization. It would be difficult to harm the Union while they were holed up there.

"Haha." War Tiger took out a cigarette, belatedly realizing he couldn't smoke here. He took a whiff instead and tucked it behind his ear. "I do have an idea."

The others turned to him, including Gao Yang.

War Tiger winked at him. "Little Yang Yang, you must know me. Why not make a guess?"

"I'll pass. It's tiring," Gao Yang replied, already having enough to think about daily.

"Don't try to pass others' ideas as your own every time, Uncle Tiger," White Rabbit shot back.

Feeling insulted, War Tiger retorted, "Are you joking? I'm the top strategist of the Twelve Zodiac Signs. Why would I need to steal other people's ideas?"

Zhong He snorted like a spectator. "It's not that we don't trust you. We just want to broaden our horizons."

War Tiger snapped his fingers. "It's easy. We challenge them to a fight."

Three seconds of silence followed.

"Clever," Gao Yang broke the silence. "That's a good idea."

"Wait..." White Rabbit gaped. "How is that a good idea? Isn't that idiotic? Uncle Tiger, don't you always say that only protagonists of shonen manga introduce themselves and insist on honorable fights, while the real world doesn't work that way?"

War Tiger tapped his temple with his index finger. "Think further, Rabbit."

"I won't. It's tiring," White Rabbit used the same comeback as Gao Yang.

Nine Frost broke out of his thoughts with a rundown. "Am I understanding the situation correctly? Surnamed Li has level 7 Prophet. None of our sneak attacks will catch them off guard. She can sense any threat to her safety and make preparations, even turning things against us. While it'll seem like we're initiating an attack, we're actually reacting passively."

"That's right!" War Tiger gave him a thumbs-up in approval.

Nine Frost continued, "Qilin's aggressive at best and a mad dog at worst. He's confident, but also anxious."

"He's confident because he's acquired Puppeteer and likely has reached level 7 with it," Gao Yang added.

"Shit," Zhong He couldn't help but curse. "Fucking ridiculous. Don't forget that he has Azure Dragon's body."

Gao Yang nodded. "I fought Black Tortoise with level 4 Puppeteer before. The Talent user's power depends on their puppets. A puppet like Azure Dragon will be troublesome."

“Still, Let’s not be too pessimistic,” Gao Yang added. “Given the way Talents work, there must be a limit to the number of times and duration of Qilin’s control over his puppets.”

"That may not be the case once he reaches level 8 Puppeteer," Zhong He said, fully pessimistic.

"That's why we can't afford to wait," War Tiger stressed. "If that's allowed to happen, there really will be little we can do."

Nine Frost nodded. "Then I'll get to my second point. I believe Qilin is in a rush, much more than we are anyway."

"In a rush to do what?" Zhong He asked.

Nine Frost smiled. "First, he's wary of Dragon. He made a surprise attack at the Twelve Zodiac Signs betting on the chance that Dragon was still hibernating, hoping to wipe you out in one go to eliminate all threats."

"But Qilin must have realized that the attack was a failure. They would find no Rune Circuits, which would mean that you, the Zodiacs, had long moved out."

"Then Qilin would have to consider the possibility that Dragon may wake up to retaliate against him, which is the worst-case scenario for Qilin. Even if he can defeat Dragon, he will have fared not much better and allowed the Nine Scions to profit in the end."

"Moreover, in the long term, Qilin must have less time than we do," Nine Frost said. "That should be evident."

White Rabbit rubbed her temples. "My head hurts even if I'm supposed to see what's evident. Just spell it out."

Nine Frost explained, "We share the goal of opening the Gates of Closure and escaping the Mist World. Our deadline is the day the end of the world comes."

"But Qilin's true goal isn't to open the Gates. Suppose he's carrying out a Plan A. Then he must complete Plan A before the end of the world comes. Thus, in the grand scheme of things, Qilin is in a greater rush than we are."

"Right, I get it now," White Rabbit said, coming to a realization.