The two large groups set off in a grand and imposing manner. Along the way, most civilians quickly made way upon seeing so many police officers, all wearing stern expressions as if they were marching onto a battlefield.
Seeing this formidable display, local loiterers and thugs were so frightened they turned and fled immediately.
Only after the members of the Special Service had marched past did the thugs cautiously reemerge from various street corners, muttering among themselves:
“Holy cow, I've never seen so many cops moving together. Did something huge happen?”
“Who knows? Maybe some gang got busted?”
“I don't think so. Why would they need this many people to deal with a gang?”
“Who knows?”
As they were talking, another set of footsteps echoed. It was a large group of members from the Church of the Earth. Normally, a crowd of police officers would be far more intimidating than a group of churchgoers, but these Earth Pathway members were exceptionally tall and muscular. Gathering together like this, they presented an equally terrifying sight!
The thugs who had just come out scattered once more, retreating back into their little corners.
“My god, what is going on today?”
“Heavens, I feel like today is not a good day to go out. I'm heading home, brothers. I'm out of here.”
Soon, the Special Service arrived near General Jerome's residence. The Mobile Squad that came this time was the same one from the previous simulation. The captain was still the white-haired, blue-eyed woman named Jessica, a Rank Five Listener of the Law Pathway.
Before they even got close, they could see rows of “Soldiers” standing in tight formation outside General Jerome's residence, almost completely filling the street.
Each of these “Soldiers” was dressed differently. Some looked like ordinary working-class citizens, some looked like thugs, while others wore suits, appearing polite and refined like aristocratic gentlemen. Previously, it was these diverse individuals who had lurked in every corner of the city, acting as “contact persons” to distribute Devil Pathway potions everywhere.
Euphemia did a quick count. These Soldiers stood ten to a row, with ten rows in total, meaning there were exactly one hundred of them. She remembered very clearly that her grandfather's letter had mentioned that one must never fight a fully prepared 【General】, and that they should reduce the number of the opponent's Soldiers as much as possible.
In that case, the current situation was simply terrible!
Jessica, the captain of the Mobile Squad, wore a solemn expression. She had also read Euphemia's grandfather's letter. Instead of acting rashly, she called out first, “General Jerome, do you know what you are doing?!”
“As a general of this nation, not only are you failing to serve your country, but you are also plotting a disaster to overturn an entire city and massacre tens of thousands of innocent citizens!”
“It is not too late to turn back. I can take you to see His Majesty the King and speak on your behalf. Since you have not yet made an irreversible mistake, His Majesty surely will not be too harsh on a general!”
The moment Jessica finished speaking, a burst of hysterical laughter erupted from the crowd in front of them. “Haha, hahahaha! You say I haven't served my country?!”
The Soldiers parted down the middle to make a path, and the red-haired, red-eyed General Jerome slowly stepped out. Then, his laughter stopped abruptly. He glared furiously at everyone from the Special Service and roared, “You have no idea how much I have sacrificed for this country!!!”
“Back when we didn't even know if the War Pathway potion was safe, I volunteered to be among the very first batch of test subjects!”
“For the next eight years, I was stationed on the front lines! I didn't return home even once! Even when my mother passed away from illness, and even when my wife gave birth to a child of unknown parentage, I still didn't go back!”
“My legion and I have repelled at least fifty terrorist attacks for the Kingdom of Tarapaca and handled at least thirty border skirmishes with the Pentagram Alliance!”
“In battle, I have come close to death nearly ten times, yet I never took even half a step back! I dedicated my life to this nation long ago! So now, what right do you have to say I haven't sacrificed for this country?!”
Jessica, the Special Service members, Euphemia, and even Freya, who was eavesdropping from a distance, fell silent. General Jerome's words were entirely true. But because of this, Freya became even more puzzled as to why this General was doing such a thing now.
Jessica said, “If that is the case, why are you doing this now? Personally destroying a first-tier city of the Kingdom of Tarapaca? Is this your way of showing patriotism?”
General Jerome calmed his agitated emotions slightly and said, “You are absolutely right, this is indeed my way of showing patriotism. Besides, who told you that destroying this city was my goal? No, this is merely the process, a part of the ritual.”
Euphemia was taken aback for a moment, then blurted out, “A ritual... The Rank Five to Rank Six promotion ritual?!”
General Jerome said, “Personally creating a purgatory and consuming the potion within it—that is the promotion ritual for Rank Six of the War Pathway.”
Euphemia's brow furrowed. “So, what does that have to do with patriotism? Isn't this purely a selfish act driven by your own desires?”
Hearing this, General Jerome grit his teeth and said, “Then do you know that the Pentagram Alliance has pressured the Kingdom of Tarapaca multiple times and gathered a massive number of soldiers at the border? Anyone with eyes can see their wild ambitions!”
“Under such circumstances, when I went to request additional border supplies to prepare for the impending war, do you know what that foolish, incompetent coward of a King said? He actually ordered me to retreat with my legion!”
“He is actually prepared to agree to the unreasonable demands of the Pentagram Alliance! He wants to sign a humiliating treaty, surrender without a fight, and cede a vast expanse of border territory, along with at least three cities on it, entirely to the Pentagram Alliance!”
“I cannot accept this! Everyone on the front lines was prepared to defend our country, even to fight to the death, but at this critical moment, that piece-of-shit King in the rear actually betrayed us!!!”
As for why General Jerome chose to prepare this promotion ritual in Auxerre, the reason was actually very simple.
First, everyone knew that the War Pathway was the official pathway of the Pentagram Alliance. Once General Jerome's plan succeeded and his promotion was complete, he would immediately initiate his backup plan: spreading rumors among the nobility that this was an attack orchestrated by the Pentagram Alliance.
Given the frequent friction between the two countries recently, and since these nobles could not actually go to the Pentagram Alliance to verify the truth, the story would be highly credible. Afterward, General Jerome, whose influence would grow significantly after promoting to Rank Six, would use the nobles to protest to His Majesty the King, perhaps forcing the King to change his mind.
Why choose Auxerre? Because this first-tier city was important, but not too important. A disaster of this scale would deeply hurt the Kingdom of Tarapaca and stir up a rebellious spirit among its citizens, but it would not deal a fatal blow to the nation.
General Jerome said, “Sacrificing one city to trade for a vast territory and the three cities on it! This is a necessary sacrifice!”
For a split second, Euphemia felt almost convinced, but she quickly snapped out of it and said, “All of this is nothing but your own delusion! Even if you succeed, who can guarantee that His Majesty the King will agree to your demands?”
It was easy to see from the previous separation of church and state that the King was someone who valued power immensely, and the Kingdom of Tarapaca was a highly centralized nation. Therefore, even if General Jerome succeeded, he might not be able to convince the King.
She said, “No matter what, this is no excuse for you to burn down a city!”
Destroying one city to save three—at first glance, it might sound like a bargain. But human lives could not be measured by numbers. In theory, the life of one person was equal to the lives of three people; there was no hierarchy of worth.
Besides, who was to say that everyone in the three cities ceded to the Pentagram Alliance would die? The Pentagram Alliance surely wouldn't massacre the cities. On the other hand, if General Jerome succeeded, everyone in Auxerre right now would die—that was an absolute certainty!
General Jerome ignored Euphemia and looked at the actual decision-maker of the Special Service. He said, “Captain Jessica, what do you think?”
Jessica clearly showed a look of hesitation, but she quickly steeled her resolve and said, “Miss Euphemia is right. No matter what, this is no excuse for you to burn down this city!”
Hearing this, Jerome couldn't help but wear a helpless expression. He sighed and said, “It seems the negotiations have failed. Then again, I never expected to convince you in the first place. At least I have stalled for enough time. Farewell... everyone.”
Meanwhile, two blocks away at the 【Cobdo National Academy】, all students had been given the day off following the police warning, leaving the entire academy completely deserted.
In the hills behind the school, the Adjutant who had previously crossed paths with Freya and Euphemia was currently kneeling on one knee. With his hands clasped together, his spirituality surged as he murmured, “I offer my body in devotion to you, my General!”
This was another ability of the Rank Five War Pathway “General,” aside from “Battle Array”—“Bestow Devotion.”
It was a very peculiar ability. As the name suggested, the essence of this ability was to bestow another person with an ability called “Devotion,” and the target of this bestowal could only be the General's Adjutant.
The Adjutant could use this ability to swap positions and exchange lives with the General. Simply put, when the General was on the verge of death, the Adjutant could use “Devotion” to die in the General's place, allowing the General to instantly restore to full health. If the distance between them was far, the General could even directly escape danger.
However, the prerequisite for all of this was that the Adjutant had to do it willingly. Clearly, the one before them was more than willing.
It was worth mentioning that in the previous simulation where Nolan died and the Mobile Squad killed General Jerome, Jerome had actually used this ability to successfully escape and hide. In other words, that simulation hadn't actually been cleared. If Freya hadn't terminated the simulation and had instead let the full thirty days run their course, the disaster would have still occurred.
Of course, Freya didn't know this at the moment. In front of General Jerome's residence, right before everyone's eyes, the General suddenly turned into a completely different person. The Adjutant stared solemnly at the gathered officials and roared, “Form array!”
“Ha!”
All the “Soldiers” took a heavy step forward in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized. An invisible aura radiated from each Soldier, gathering in the air and condensing into a single mass that connected to the Adjutant in the center of the crowd.
Upon promoting to Rank Four of the War Pathway and choosing the General advancement path, one would obtain the ability called 【Adjutant】. Initially, only one person could be chosen as an Adjutant, but once decided, and with the General's permission, this Adjutant could use the General's abilities on their behalf.
For instance, they could command the “Soldiers” summoned by the General, or use the ability known as “Battle Array.”
After all, a General didn't need to be present on the battlefield at all times. It was only reasonable to send someone to fight in their stead, wasn't it?
Upon reaching Rank Five, the number of available Adjutants increased to two. This was also why, in the initial third simulation, Jerome had valued Freya so highly. He had genuinely intended to nurture Freya, wanting her to become his second Adjutant.
Returning to the present, the official extraordinaries led by Jessica also prepared for battle immediately. With a wave of Jessica's right hand, a blue spear crackling with lightning appeared out of thin air in her palm. She took the lead and charged straight toward the Adjutant.
“Whoops~” Seeing this, Euphemia immediately turned and ran. Meanwhile, seeing the fight break out, Freya waved to the members of the Church of the Earth beside her and said, “Let's go!”
On the way, she began to frequently use her “Bless” ability, casting various buffs on all the members of the Church of the Earth, including but not limited to “Strength Enhancement,” “Speed Enhancement,” “Toughened Skin,” “Mental Barrier,” and so on.
What, you say enemies of the War Pathway probably didn't have mental attack methods? Freya's attitude was that since she was applying buffs anyway, she might as well apply every single one she could. Her spirituality would recover to full in no time anyway, so it didn't matter.
It was no exaggeration to say that if an ordinary person received this many buffs from Freya, they could probably go toe-to-toe with a Rank One extraordinary of the War Pathway, let alone the fact that everyone here was already an extraordinary!
...
Rate on N.U.
