The Oracle Paths

Chapter 1199  How Can I Still Smile?

'Great General Firentz, but everyone calls him Master Firentz,' Will continued, following Jake's gaze. "He's better known as a Soulmancer than a warrior, but he's especially famous because of his illustrious brother, Grandmaster Lorentz. Still, don't underestimate him. His front is one of the few besides yours where human losses have been kept to a minimum. He's both a competent fighter and an excellent strategist. He's not particularly ambitious or greedy, so his presence alongside Cho Min Ho is hard to explain. Maybe he genuinely believes that a stand-in Soulmancer King is necessary to keep the army's morale up, or that we need to stay united by avoiding internal friction. Whatever the case, unless he's masterfully hidden his true intentions or been meticulously manipulated, he shouldn't be our enemy."

Hmm, so he's testing the waters, just like Radahn, Jake realized as he sized up the robed man once more.

According to Meribelle, most of the Soulmancer Enclave was supposed to be on his side, so it didn't surprise him much. He had no intention of blowing his cover.

If there was any good news, it was that when scanning Radahn, Sheanu, and Firentz, Jake noticed no anomalies in their status. They weren't under any magical influence, and no unidentified energy had wormed its way into them without their knowledge.

Another notable point: of all the Players present, only Cho Min-Ho, his bodyguard Kang Jun, and his producer Zelorian Quen were also free of any influences. Everyone else in the tent, soldiers and natives alike, suffered from the same altered states as those outside.

That meant on the scale of their army—numbering over a billion units—Jake, Ceythie, Sank Uk, Ekho, Meribelle, and the few Myrtharian Nerds present were the only ones above suspicion. This already smelled like a setup...

Of course, he had no intention of spoiling the enemy's plans. On the contrary, he was thrilled to play along. Truth be told, he'd come here for one reason only.

Jake shifted his gaze back to Cho Min Ho, stared intently, narrowed his eyes, then chuckled. Strangely, the Korean did the same, mimicking his behavior in a disconcerting way. The generals watched their silent exchange with perplexity, but no one dared interrupt their odd little game.

A few seconds later, both of them smiled, but Cho Min Ho's grin was by far the more radiant.

"You're really gutsy," the Korean complimented with satisfaction. He had confirmed that the Jake in front of him was real.

"And you're really cunning," Jake shot back, letting a hint of frustration seep into his voice. Inwardly, he was sneering. You think you're the only one with shapeshifters in your faction?

As anticipated, the Korean sitting across from him was a fake. The copy was nearly perfect, down to the spiritual signature, but in the end, their essence was too different. The Doppelgänger Cho Min Ho had used to replace himself here wasn't strong enough to fool Jake's senses while in Oracle Device mode.

If not to be sure, why would he have bothered visiting someone he'd already seen solo a few hours earlier? Now, he knew this front existed only to keep him occupied.

And that's exactly what I want, Jake chuckled inwardly while declaring, "I'll handle the Southern front, and you take the Northern front. As for merit, no kill-stealing or I'll show no mercy. One last reminder: the goal of this war is to end it, not to kill everyone. If we can secure their surrender while minimizing losses, that's the strategy to prioritize. Are we clear?"

The other Players and generals weren't fans of Jake's firm stance that allowed no room for argument, but given his proven strength and status, they swallowed their remarks. Cho Min Ho, for his part, remained impassive throughout, merely nodding. What good was it to protect his ego? Only the final victory mattered.

In the end, no plan or strategy was discussed. Immediately after the two Soulmancer Kings sized each other up and exchanged compliments, Jake and his group turned on their heels and left the pavilion as they'd come. Only Ekho cast a final dark look at Great General Sheanu before trotting off to catch up with them.

Once outside, Esya laughed, "Ah boss, I missed your power moves. Even those arrogant generals were crapping their pants! I still think you should've killed that Sheanu. That kind of scum is a danger to all women!"

The younger of the two princesses had always had a fiery temperament, and this Ordeal had frustrated her to no end. Obeying the orders of macho, muscular, bearded barbarians for days—fighting and sleeping nonstop in scandalously unsanitary conditions—had worn her nerves thin. And let's not even mention all those rookie virgins who seemed like they'd never seen a woman!

Ironically, the two sisters had ended up in the army of the Wargod Raiders. They'd had plenty of opportunity to witness their depraved acts and inhuman war crimes. Before they became numb to all this debauchery, they'd killed more allies than enemies, slightly affecting their Ordeal Rating.

On the flip side... it was also thanks to their violent and fierce responses that Sheanu had finally noticed and promoted them. The sadistic general was a twisted individual, but he liked women with backbone. Whether he intended to pluck the two tender fruits when they were a bit riper remained a mystery, but in the meantime, it had allowed them to climb the ranks.

Enya and Esya were currently 10,000-Man Commanders, each controlling two full regiments—the last rank before Division Commander and then General. The natives under their command had clearly turned over a new leaf, not even daring to keep a single piece of loot for themselves and treating their female prisoners like perfect gentlemen.

As for Will, he was in charge of the entire logistical chain across the different fronts, responsible for supplies and everything that allowed an army to operate long-term. It might seem like a dull position, but it was far from an achievement within everyone's reach.

It was a safe gig, far from the front lines, so candidates were plentiful. Many were willing to pay a hefty sum for such a post, so it required even more competence to land it... or more cash, whichever.

Asfrid had pulled off the same feat but in the intelligence department by joining the Soulmancer Enclave directly. Her talent—and that of the Eltarians—for soul-searching was simply unmatched.

"You seem different," Enya declared abruptly, her tone more measured, more factual than her sister's.

Will and Asfrid grew serious, the jovial atmosphere sparked by Esya evaporating.

"How so?" Jake asked.

"I don't know... I can't quite put my finger on it, but your face seems more expressive than I remember."

"That's possible, but I doubt it," Jake didn't bother denying. "In my opinion, it's mostly you who've changed. For you, it's been four years, but for me, it's only been a year and a half. If you deduct the time I've been training under time dilation, it's actually only been a few days since our last meeting. Unlike you, I haven't experienced enough significant changes to change deeply."

Stopping, he looked at Esya and said, "You seem cheerful and excited like four years ago, but it rings hollow. I'm willing to bet you haven't smiled once these past few days."

He then turned to Enya and continued, "You've always been the calmer of the two, but now you're too calm. So much so that your emotions are spilling over like a bucket about to overflow. Let off some steam."

"And me?" Will chimed in, eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Jake turned to him, then fell silent.

"Hey! You've really got nothing to say?"

"Your nails are caked with dried blood. The stench of sweat, excrement, and corpses in the camp doesn't even make you flinch. Your gaze remains cold and jaded, even when you smile. The Will I know didn't look this exhausted and weary of everything."

The merchant's face darkened upon hearing that. Dropping the pretense, he revealed in a hoarse voice,

"For you, the war in this Ordeal lasted only a few days, but for us, it's just been more of the same grind. Not only is the war raging with the incessant assaults of Space Digestors outside, but the Sinewshade Virus epidemic isn't letting up—in fact, it's getting worse. The diplomatic immunity of B842 has ended, and the Overseers of planets B836 to B841 have decided to migrate to us with all the factions capable of making the journey after their own planets were deemed too dangerous to reclaim. We also have to deal with traitors like Pyrrakles who play tyrant, and vultures who literally treat our members like walking blood bags—like Vasilis and all the other supremacist vampires that Wyatt and his clique brought over, thinking they'd help by taking refuge with us. Without Phirune, Enya and Esya's father, we might've already fallen, either killed or enslaved by one of them.

"After watching all the comrades under my watch fall or betray us one after another, how can I still smile?"