Chapter 387

Alright, alright, whether this plan succeeds or not is tied to our lives; if you all still want to spend two more days bathing in the deep forest's glory of His venerable self, then say a couple more sentences.

Taking advantage of the mighty aura from violently beating the defiant, after finishing a brief outline of the plan, Du She then, at the fastest speed, finished explaining his full arrangement for the second assassination of the princess.

However, facing her proposal, all the Wood-level Envoys this time exchanged glances; although they all felt somewhat uneasy, not a single person dared to speak.

Tsk, I've scared myself silly……

Or Du She slapped the armrest, issuing a rebuke mixed with a threat in one sentence.

"Speak! Or are you saying you no longer care about your own lives?"

Only then did someone boldly raise a hand to raise an objection.

"My lord, I think your personnel arrangement might have a small mistake; our scouts in Lin River Territory actually number fifteen……"

He stammered through the loophole he'd found; seeing the lord silent, he also went on to explain the remedial measures he'd thought of.

"My lord, you…… what do you think?"

In the suffocating atmosphere, three seconds later, Du She nodded.

"Not bad, I've adopted it."

In an instant, sighs of relief filled the hall; the speaker even felt his spine about to go limp.

But now that the matter has been raised, several more people raised their hands to speak, after all, this is a major affair—who wouldn't care about their own lives?

And Du She truly kept his promise, calling each name and listening to each opinion; after adopting most of them, he completed this action plan.

"How?"

All one can say is that people are base; just moments ago they were beaten senseless by someone's big stick, unable to care for themselves, yet after hearing a few opinions they felt——

"Oh, Lord Du She cares so much about our opinions; actually, people aren't so bad after all."

"It's turned around! I've long been a die‑hard Du She fan!"

Thus the Wood‑rank emissaries all bowed, convinced and sincere.

"Lord, your brilliance! We will definitely follow you!"

As for why Du She, who just moments ago was vicious enough to want to take all their lives, has now become a remarkably easy‑to‑talk‑to leader.

This, of course, is also part of the "plan".

Although as the church's sharp edge, Flower‑rank emissaries are regarded as ultimate weapons capable of independent action, and as leaders who can rally a force at any moment, fully developed in virtue, intellect, physique, aesthetics, and labor.

But people are still people; even a plant‑based neurosis messed up by the gods is still human, so the five‑attribute chart inevitably shows some bias—at least Du She will surely be more like a killer than a strategist.

Therefore, the true drafter of this plan is neither Du She nor Cloi, but an unseen pair of hands.

The plan will have loopholes, because being too perfect would not fit Du She's character and would raise outsiders' suspicions.

Besides that, it's also meant to lure out any potential opponents within Du She's ranks, and to give these tool‑like subordinates a sense of participation, serving as a carrot after the big stick is swung.

Now that the plan has been settled, the first step is to quickly deploy it and begin action; thus the Wood‑rank emissaries from each outpost swiftly left the conference hall and headed for their respective distant locations.

The last to leave, Du She brought Cloi back to his dwelling—a strange chamber, like the others, constructed entirely of plants and stone.

The first thing she said after closing the door was.

"Why didn't big brother come?"

Cloi standing in place. jpg

Her mind involuntarily recalled the three sentences Ji Ming had given her before she set out for this place.

"What, why don't I go myself? You'll know when you hear what she says; anyway, I can't stand this form of address—I'd feel sick."

"Besides, talking with smart people boosts your IQ, with fools it drops, and with a lunatic…… you might just stay that way for life!"

"So you must absolutely avoid trying to chat with her, especially trying to understand her words; otherwise, if you adopt her logic, you'll become a lunatic too!"

Back then she didn't understand, but now she finally grasps why the Higher God said that—this plant‑person girl really is a bit……

But since they asked, this sort of trivial matter couldn't just be ignored, so she replied with a sentence.

"He…… he's busy, so he didn't come."

Du She burst into tears on the spot.

"Ah? How could he not come? I was planning to ask him about the Soul‑Throne Sanctum; as a devout believer I don't even know what the god's statue looks like—that's downright rude—and I'm also very curious about the Pioneers, I've always wanted to know……"

Watching Du She launch into a deadly rhythm, chattering on excitedly, Cloi let out a sigh in her heart.

"……I knew this wasn't going to be good; if I'd known, I wouldn't have come!"

Meanwhile, as Cloi and Du She opened up to each other in very friendly colleague exchange, the Wood‑rank emissary who had been beaten into a lump was rescued from unconsciousness.

"Damn……"

Although Du She did show some mercy, as a hulking brute who had put all his points into vitality, his health bar was naturally long, so reducing him to near‑death required an especially ruthless hand.

Thus, after he sucked in cold air to mobilize the magic on his body, completed a self‑check and repair, he found that many of his parts had already been smashed beyond repair, with no possibility of fixing them!

"Bastard, this is absolutely deliberate!"

The one codenamed Bai La couldn't stay any longer; he hastily took some wound‑healing medicine and dragged his heavily injured body out the door.

He intended to look up a few colleagues he was on decent terms with, see if they could band together to drag that damned Du She down!

Then——

"Friend, I deeply sympathize with your situation, but I think you're also at fault; how about Lord Du She apologizes to you, and you kowtow to Lord Du She?"

"I don't think that's necessary; we're about to launch the second round of assassinations right now—changing commanders mid‑battle is no good."

"Who the hell are you? I don't even know you."

Faced with everyone's ruthlessness, coldness, and unreasonable troublemaking, Bai La, who had first suffered bodily injury then emotional hurt, completely flared up.

He gritted his teeth, stamped his foot, in extreme anger.

——Hmph, I'm not playing with you guys anymore!

In the non‑existent but should‑exist BGM "A wounded heart is like glass shards," his whole body is full of rebellious spirit, thus also full of backbone, he chose to run away from home!

By sheer coincidence, as a qualified leader, how could Ji Ming possibly leave the loyal Wolf Treasure to venture alone into enemy territory?

He actually came, but he was truly afraid of Du She's brother's great law, crouching outside to observe the situation; if things went wrong, he would boldly strike.

But seeing the Wood-rank emissaries from all over relying on various means of transportation to swiftly leave this forest, he reckoned his plan had succeeded.

But just then, he saw on the nearby mountain road a guy who could go to WWE for reemployment, a burly man like a battle-worn version of Dwayne Johnson, running over puffing.

Such a amusing scene made Ji Ming laugh; he reckoned this brother must have been hit by Du She, after all there was still a fresh red slap mark on his face.

Having laughed enough and just about to retreat, his good hearing accidentally caught the other's muttering.

Huh?

His guess was correct, because this person was greeting Du She's parents, whom he estimated had long turned to ash, and also asking about her future reemployment direction and lifelong affair.

But amidst the vulgar language, there was a sentence that Ji Ming found very interesting, causing his heart to stir and giving birth to a splendid idea.

Then, Bai La only felt his vision darken; the next second, a dim figure like a shadow, impossible to see clearly, appeared before him.

He, immersed in the solo comic talk, was startled; upon taking a closer look, he was so frightened his soul nearly fled, and he mustered a breath of qi and blood and threw a punch straight over.

"Fuck your mother, who are you!"

One can only say the Forest Church truly lives up to being a thousand-year-old establishment; its foundation and training level are stronger than that Shadow lot of raw recruits, and they even know the principle of strike first, ask later.

Unfortunately, if you can't win, you can't win; even if he was mighty enough to swallow mountains and rivers like a tiger, he could only be treated by that mass of shadow as a ragged sack and thrown to the ground.

Having suffered secondary injuries, Bai La lay on his side on the ground, painfully opening his mouth and closing his eyes, panting from pain on one side while stubbornly keeping his mouth shut on the other.

"Bastard, I will absolutely not surrender; if you have the ability, kill me!"

... Well, I guess I now understand why Du She, despite her youth, can already be a flower-rank, while you, old as you are, can only muddle about in the wood-rank circle.

The first thing she did upon waking was to bite her poison sac to commit suicide; if it weren't for Grandpa having refined his soul magic, she'd probably still be tied to a bed like a manic patient.

And you, you're still harboring hopes of luck.

He's probably even pondering whether he can surrender at light speed to save his life—truly shameless!

But this is a good thing for Ji Ming, after all, if the Forest Church from top to bottom feared no one dying, it would truly be terrifying.

So, since normal communication was possible, Ji Ming entered the coaxing stage.

"Kill you? Why would I kill you, friend? I came here with goodwill."

"Friend?"

Bai La caught that word, sized up the newcomer from head to toe, and his heart jolted.

Like a shadow, could he be from the Shadow Church?

But he still suppressed the fear in his heart, deciding to seize this opportunity to save his life.

He slowly rose, brushed off the dust on his body, and put on an air of nonchalance.

"Look at your method of concealing your identity; you couldn't be……"

The shadow floating in the air trembled.

"That's right, I'm a member of the Shadow Church."

"Haha, as expected!"

Bai La was overjoyed, thinking this person was still easy to deceive; with just a little trick of words, he gave away his background.

His courage and confidence were way up, Bai La instantly returned to full health, striking a pose as if he were the father today.

"So you're from the Shadow Church? Who are you? I recall you lot don't especially like to ruin our good deeds, do you?"

Then suddenly the other party said.

"I am the Shadow's Chosen."

Thud.

"Ow ow ow……this this this……how come there's a stone on the ground, making me fall."

Now Bai La didn't dare to act pretentious; this heretical god's chosen is also a 'chosen one', and according to the rules between the major churches, the basic respect owed to another's own son must be present.

So he naturally chose to lower his head and earnestly ask this adult, whom he absolutely could not beat, what he needed.

"I want to represent the Shadow Church and talk with your side's person in charge; could you please give me a heads-up?"

"Sure sure sure……"

Bai La echoed in agreement, but just as he was about to lead the other onto the path to find Du She, he hesitated.

Although our side hasn't openly fought the Shadow Church, the conflict between the two sides is objective, already having shed much blood, and the vast majority of it belongs to the other side.

Thus the church had long suspected that the other side intended to reconcile, and counting the days, it should be this recent period; at the very least, they should have come to talk.

And since talks were necessary, they had to be frank and proper; thus the person making contact would surely be able to claim the merit of 'gaining new cannon fodder'.

Could it be that I have to hand this merit over to that little girl Du She?

"No!"

I must give this merit to the one I respect most……

Thinking of this, he laughed heartily.

"Sir, this is the place where orders are issued; they only handle the military deployment of the Huiguang region. If you want to further discuss, to talk in depth, to find someone trustworthy and true to their word, you should actually go to another place."

The Shadow's Chosen, who seemed not to understand this matter, did not question him but instead followed the conversation and asked.

"Then the place you spoke of……"

"Please! I'll take you there right away!"

Even as brave as Wei Yan, one must wait for the prime minister's passing before daring to rebel.

Bai La could be beaten like a grandson by Du She and still cause such a ruckus, naturally because he has another mountain at his back.

Originally, you couldn't see him in Huiguang, but who told Du She's side to have such slow main quest progress?

The Holy See over there quietly sent him over, to act as a behind-the-scenes overseer, assisting Du She in killing the princess, or…… eliminating both together!

Ji Ming couldn't guess the Forest Holy See's arrangements, but upon hearing that Huiguang still had a Flower-rank emissary, he felt somewhat like using a child's fishing rod to catch a ten-pound fish—disillusioned.

But since this other Flower-rank emissary had come secretly, naturally he wasn't close by; he hid in Bai La's shadow, and after a long carriage ride, he finally arrived at the destination.

Moreover, he feared that he would suffer severe injury, that Bai La, whose five viscera and six bowels were shattered, would die on the way, and he also threw him a bottle with only two or three sips left of the Fourth Generation Rejuvenation.

Good stuff, it's also my sincerity.

……This bottle was previously poured out for someone else to drink; nobody has touched the bottle's mouth, please be aware.

Bai La didn't dare hesitate too much, half-believing and half-doubting, he took a sip, and was instantly amazed.

This thing…… this thing is……

Yingzi still had that emotionless tone.

The loot seized from the Pioneers' hands, friend, we could have stood together.

……Understood!