Chapter 185

〈 Chapter 186 〉 Operation Meeting (2）

*

The rescue operation for Gwen.

Just like when we were in the Leim Kingdom, this mission required a delicate plan.

I was definitely stronger now than back then, but the opponent this time was a bit different.

“First, we need to set a premise.”

So, before I laid out the plan, I established one basic rule.

“We have to fight against the heroes in this operation, but unless absolutely necessary, we will not harm them.”

At that, Lucy frowned.

“Isn’t that a bit too soft? There are probably many high-ranking heroes on the Central Island.”

True, this premise could be seen as arrogance.

Given that I wasn’t sure if I could defeat high-ranking heroes in direct combat, it would be quite difficult to fight while holding back against them.

“But if we kill them, we might feel comfortable temporarily, but it will be much harder later.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Perhaps it might be possible to change public opinion.”

The current public opinion painted me as a traitor.

Completely overturning that would be impossible, but at least making it a little chaotic might work.

And the way to achieve that was to let them know that I was on their side.

“If I get the Rose Sword and retrieve Miss Gwen, I’ll attack the Demon King side right away.”

If I had Gwen, who possessed the Rose Sword, it would be entirely feasible.

At least it was that way in the Hundred Braves.

With the Rose Sword Gwen, the sword-wielding Yusera, Lucy, and myself, we would have enough power to drive out the Demon Kings stationed in the Central Sea System.

“If we harm the heroes in this process, the plan of turning public opinion will go down the drain.”

“But what can we gain by just turning public opinion a little?”

That’s…

“We may not gain much, but the High Priest will have much to lose.”

It was Ruel who answered that question.

“As I mentioned before, the High Priest’s main power base is largely two-fold. One is the heroes, and the other is the Apostle Council.”

She flicked her middle finger among the two she was holding up.

“Among these, the heroes, due to their sheer numbers, occupy most of the High Priest’s power. However, they are not blindly loyal followers; they just follow orders. Thus, they are influenced by public opinion.”

She folded her middle finger.

Then she flicked her index finger.

“Of course, the Apostle Council won’t be affected by public opinion at all. They are a group that follows the High Priest blindly. Furthermore, they have a high level of combat ability, having even defeated the first-ranked member somehow. But…”

“Just by somewhat excluding the heroes, that would be a major achievement.”

If we could turn the heroes completely around, that would definitely be best, but hoping for that was unrealistic.

“Okay, I get it for now.”

After hearing this, Lucy reluctantly nodded and asked, “So, are you prepared for that? Even thinking about the future, this decision could cost someone their life.”

At her question, I nodded seriously.

“My resolve has been set since I persuaded you all to prevent the destruction of this world.”

But I added one thing.

“However, if it looks like our lives are in danger, then you can disregard this premise. I said unless it’s unavoidable…”

Of course, it would be great if we could turn public opinion around.

But compared to my companions’ lives, that part was not as important.

Setting aside personal issues, there wasn’t a single one among my current companions who was expendable.

“Then let’s move on to a detailed plan.”

Now that we had established a basic policy, we needed to devise the actual operation.

“Sis, the map.”

Then Lucy pulled out a large map from the inventory as requested by Ruel.

It was a map detailing the geography of the Central Sea System quite accurately.

From that map, I identified three locations.

“First, this is where we are, on Library Island.”

Around Library Island, the rough area of the fog was marked.

My finger pierced through the fog and moved toward the center of the Central Sea System.

There was the largest island in the Central Sea System.

“And here is the Central Island where the Rose Sword is sealed.”

My finger pointed to an island slightly away from that spot.

“Finally, here is the Prison Island where Gwen is held.”

The Central Island and the Prison Island.

These two islands were the most important.

With their importance, we had to decide the order carefully.

“The question is whether to rescue Gwen first from Prison Island or to acquire the Rose Sword from Central Island first…”

This part was a bit complicated.

“Honestly, either way has its issues.”

Currently, most of the heroes were stationed on the islands surrounding Central Island.

So if we rushed to the Prison Island to rescue Gwen, the heroes would gather at Central Island, making it difficult to break through.

While the heroes probably didn’t know about the Rose Sword’s location, they were already a numerically strong group and could easily gather in that geographical area.

Conversely, if we attacked Central Island first, we might be able to obtain the Rose Sword quickly due to the element of surprise.

However, once we acquired it, it would be relatively easy for the heroes to predict where we would head next.

If I went straight to Prison Island after getting the Rose Sword, the island would already be on high alert.

After I laid out both sides’ problems, Ruel chimed in.

“Unless we have a relatively fast mode of transportation, that is.”

“Actually, about that…”

Just then, Sara raised another issue.

“What if Miss Gwen is taken hostage?”

That was indeed a tricky part.

But I had something in mind.

“Then we can use the Central Sea System as leverage.”

It wasn’t exactly the hero-like way to do things, but it couldn’t be helped.

“What do you mean by that?”

I replied to Lucy, who appeared baffled by the vague plan.

“The Barrier Stone of the Central Sea System is likely at the center of the Central Island. To obtain the Rose Sword, we’ll have to penetrate to the very heart anyway.”

“But if we hold that as hostage, we won’t be able to escape Central Island, will we?”

That was quite a sharp observation.

But I had already thought of that as well.

“Then we just move Central Island toward Prison Island.”

At that, Ruel looked shocked.

“You mean…?”

“Yeah, I’ll use part of the world destruction plan.”

Using that, we could actually move the Central Island itself, where the Barrier Stone was located.

“If that works, then it truly would satisfy the speed requirement, but just a moment…”

Ruel pulled out a pencil and began drawing something on the map.

She measured the distance from Central Island to the Barrier and drew a new circle with the same radius, using Prison Island as the pivot.

“This is the position of the Barrier when the Central Island is moved to Prison Island.”

Given the considerable distance between the two, the Barrier would indeed shift quite a lot.

However, not many islands would fall outside of the Barrier due to this move.

“Furthermore, all of them are located in this Fog Sea Area.”

Due to the danger of not being able to see even a step ahead, no one lived there except for us on Library Island.

So it wouldn’t matter too much if they escaped the Barrier.

“On the other hand…”

She moved her finger to the islands that would now fall inside the new Barrier.

“These islands are where the Demon King’s army is currently stationed.”

That was right.

That was also what I had been aiming for.

We would lure the Demon Kings inside the Barrier and weaken them.

Though I wasn’t entirely sure about the Central Sea System map I vaguely remembered, Ruel’s calculations had made it precise.

“Moving an island…”

“But if it succeeds…”

Sara and Lucy were both taken aback by a plan they never considered, yet seemed to be accepting it.

Now only Ruel remained.

“Ruel, can you do it?”

In the end, the one who could move the island was solely her, the one who originally planned the world destruction.

Handling the complex devices located at the very heart of Central Island would have been impossible without the Water Sage’s knowledge.

Thus, the Demon Kings were relying on her for this plan as well.

Fortunately, Ruel nodded.

“Of course.”

With that, the general plan was roughly complete.

What remained was just to establish specific operational plans.

“Then let’s start by figuring out how to infiltrate the heart and how to endure while moving the island to Prison Island.”

Establishing detailed strategies.

This took much longer than the rough operational plan we had set up until now.

Still, during that process, Ruel was very helpful.

“Though it’s marked like this on the map, given the characteristics of the residential areas, there is a possibility that it is barricaded.”

“And we should also consider the slope through the contour lines.”

She meticulously caught the parts I might have easily overlooked.

In response to her insights, Sara, Lucy, and I came up with countermeasures.

“If it’s a certain obstacle, then with the Wind’s Power, I can manage, and Ruel’s physical specs should be fine too. Sara, well… if push comes to shove, she’ll just break through.”

“What about me? Thinking about it, I can’t keep up with your speed even without an obstacle.”

“We could have Lucy carry you, right?”

But there were, of course, parts where our opinions didn’t align.

“But I use a two-handed sword, so it’s a bit tough to carry Ruel.”

“Well, that might be true. Then the one-handed sword user should carry her.”

“Exactly. So why don’t you carry her?”

Lucy pointed at me.

“Me? I don’t mind, but…”

However, it seemed Sara had issues with that.

“Then I’ll just carry her.”

“Sara?”

“I have the strength for it, and Allen uses a bow.”

That made sense.

Except for one problem.

Ruel pointed that issue out.

“Right now, Yusera’s role is primarily to confront the other heroes outside the heart.”

“That’s right?”

“Then it’s better for either you or Allen to carry me until we reach the heart of Central Island.”

Ruel needed to reach the heart of Central Island along with me.

That left us with only one choice.

“Then I’ll carry you.”

“We should go with that.”

In the end, Yusera nodded in agreement.

She was also someone who understood how to separate work from personal issues.

The operation meeting continued, and we decided to wrap it up after sunset.

“Then we’ll end it here.”

“Isn’t that enough?”

Lucy said tiredly.

Ruel reprimanded her as if scolding.

“No, there are still deficiencies. But let’s think of those along the way. We still have quite a bit of time before the operation starts.”

She was right.

We had just under a week left before the operation began.

During that time, I needed to raise my Blood Magic proficiency as much as possible.

“Ruel.”

Ruel looked at me and sighed.

“So you’re not planning to rest. I understand.”

According to her, from now on, I planned to immerse myself in training without a break.

“Thanks in advance.”

*