Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 269 - 262: Cheng Ziang’s Analysis

Chapter 269: Chapter 262: Cheng Ziang’s Analysis

"Yue’er, quickly come down. Don’t stay up there," Luo’er shouted with concern.

Baiyue glanced at him, and once the ship stopped swaying so much, she began to slowly climb down from the mast. Halfway down, the ship started shaking again. Baiyue, caught off guard, slipped and fell from the mast.

Seeing this, Luo’er quickly reached out to catch her. Baiyue fell straight into his arms, colliding with him fully.

"Are you okay?" Luo’er asked, concern sketched across his face. Baiyue was petite, so falling into his arms didn’t strain him at all.

Finding herself just resting in Luo’er’s arms, Baiyue felt surprised and slightly dizzy. She had no idea how to react, and her face had already turned bright red.

Luo’er noticed that she was still tightly holding the camera in her arms. Bemused, he shook his head; even at such a critical moment, she still didn’t forget to take pictures and gather intel, which truly demonstrated her dedication.

The Leviathan didn’t seem to be particularly hostile to the merchant ship, perhaps because they were in shallow waters. After swallowing up the pirate ship, it ceased its pursuit. However, everyone could still see its enormous and eerie silhouette lurking beneath the distant sea surface. Its terrifying size left everyone on board feeling lingering fear, deeply etching the terror of the Leviathan and the ocean into their hearts.

The remaining pirate boats picked up their comrades who had fallen into the water and, with heads bowed in defeat, headed towards the coast. They didn’t dare to pray for the merchant ship to take them in, so their only option was to try to make it to the shore.

Regarding the actions of the pirates, the merchant ship also exercised restraint. After all, once they reached land, they were no longer their concern. It was needless to waste ammunition on these defeated pirates. Although they represented the frontier of communication between Otherworld and Earth, they received no discounts when buying ammunition.

In terms of business, the capitalists on Earth were far more brutal than the merchants of Otherworld.

After this ordeal, the captain dared not venture near the deep sea again, instead he sticked to the shallow waters, laboriously advancing and nearly running aground a few times. With all the diversions, they arrived at the white beach a day late compared to their original plan.

Once they arrived at the white beach, the merchant ship needed to refuel; otherwise, they would not be able to reach Yazhi City. While they were waiting, Luo’er received a message from the headquarters. After reading the message, his brow furrowed.

"What’s wrong?" Cheng Ziang asked from the sidelines.

"We’re not going to Yazhi City," Luo’er remarked succinctly.

"Why?" Upon hearing his words, everyone was bewildered.

Luo’er glanced around at everyone, then said solemnly, "Yazhi City is now a deadly trap, entering it would be suicidal."

"A deadly trap?" Everyone looked at each other, and Hu Daoke couldn’t help but ask, "How come? Did our mission get exposed?"

"Hard to say," Luo’er nodded, then frowned and added, "We haven’t been exposed, but they had already known who is carrying Arya’s Blade."

"Be more specific," Cheng Ziang demanded.

After considering for a moment, Luo’er said, "The intelligence indicates that the CIA has set up an ambush near the Otherworld Gate. Not only do they have people in Otherworld, they also have people in Ulysses City. The moment our people at the HQ attempt to transport Arya’s Blade to Earth, they will immediately be intercepted by both groups."

"They want to steal our thunder?" Cheng Ziang couldn’t help sneering.

"Not only that," Luo’er sighed, then continued, "After Arya’s Blade was stolen, the Church Court was furious and ordered the Count of Yazhi City to strictly monitor the activities of Earthlings and Otherworlders to prevent us from bringing Arya’s Blade back to Earth. But that’s not even the worst part. The headquarters has news - the Judgement Legion has already begun to gather in the direction of Yazhi City."

"Yazhi City is really in the limelight now!" Hu Daoke shook his head.

"So how do we get Arya’s Blade back to Earth?" Tangmo asked the key question.

"Who said we’re bringing Arya’s Blade back to Earth?" Luo’er shook his head and offered a mysterious smile.

"But didn’t the headquarters say..." Tangmo was dumbfounded at Luo’er’s smirk.

"What the headquarters wants is the Anti-Magic Glyph, not Arya’s Blade!" Cheng Ziang clarified from the side.

"Oh," Tangmo suddenly realized, "So we just have to draw Arya’s Blade and give the drawing to the headquarters."

"You’re quite smart!" Luo’er praised her with a smile.

"Hehe!" Tangmo scratched her head and laughed sheepishly.

Luo’er straightened his face and then announced, "Now we’re changing our route. Instead of going to Yazhi City, we’ll find a way to get to our usual rest stop, the Manor House."

"Wow, does that mean we get to go straight on vacation?" At the mention of the manor, Hu Daoke immediately asked eagerly.

"Yes," Luo’er responded with a nod, then adding, "Our task will be to sketch out the Rune carved on Arya’s Blade and get it to headquarters. We’ve all been exposed to those agents and the Judgement Legion, so going back would mean definite recognition."

"Oh yeah!" Hu Daoke exclaimed ecstatically.

"What is it?" Luo’er noticed Ziang frowning, deep in thought and couldn’t help but ask.

"The Church Court, headquarters, the CIA, three parties converge at Yazhi City, don’t you think someone’s missing?" Ziang pressed, his brow furrowed.

"Missing? What do you mean?" Luo’er asked, puzzled.

"Have you forgotten who attacked the Judgement Legion and Saint Bawa’s garrison when we were at Saint Bawa?" Ziang queried.

"Oh, you mean the Aud people!" Luo’er immediately gasped, his eyes widened in realization.

"What faction do these people belong to, what are they trying to do?" Luo’er now found himself equally perplexed.

"Suppose," Ziang cleared his throat and continued, "suppose they’re sent by Odelanqi, or say they’re the same group that attacked the college, then what is their real goal?"

Luo’er was silent for a while, and Baiyue broke his silence, "Initially those people were holding the college students hostage to demand that the Church Court allow the Earth’s military to station in Yazhi City."

"Right, they’re attempting to provoke conflict between the Church Court and Earth!" Luo’er exclaimed, realizing Baiyue’s implication.

"Exactly, with three forces in Yazhi City, these people could incite conflict. Perhaps masquerade as the Judgement Legion and attack the headquarters and CIA..." Ziang surmised.

"Or pose as Earth’s military and assault the Judgement Legion!" Luo’er interjected.

"And then?" Ziang prompted.

"In that case, Earth’s forces and the Church Court would end up at odds. Though the Judgement Legion holds the advantage with magic, they can’t beat the Earth military’s numerical edge. It’d take the Earth military less than half an hour to mobilize a city away from their station." Luo’er analyzed.

"Wouldn’t that mean Earth would be at war with the Otherworld again?" Tangmo asked, concern written all over his face.

"Correct," Luo’er agreed, swallowing a lump in his throat before continuing, "This would lead to all-out war between Earth and the Church Court, tearing up the peace treaty signed thirty years ago."

"Who would benefit from this?" Ziang queried straight away.

"This..." A puzzled Luo’er pondered.

Baiyue offered, "An all-out war between Earth and the Church Court doesn’t mean a war between Earth and all of the Otherworld. The beneficiaries would be the forces not combating Earth."

"Secular powers!" Luo’er exclaimed in sudden realization. "It’s Odelanqi, it must be Odelanqi. If Earth goes to war with the Church Court, the ultimate beneficiaries would be the secular powers led by Odelanqi. Since both the Church Court and Earth are adversaries, they could choose to collaborate with Earth if they wanted to break free from the Church Court, thereby gaining Earth’s support and achieving independence."

Ziang nodded approvingly then continued, "This scenario is probably an extension of last year’s college hostage crisis. These people have always wanted to frame Earth, they’re hoping for a showdown between the Church Court and Earth. This achieves their goal, so they chose to attack the Judgement Legion at Saint Bawa, even opting to use rocket launchers."

"Yes," Luo’er nodded, "We need to notify the headquarters about this information promptly and make sure they communicate with the CIA. Earth doesn’t need to involve the people from the Church Court in their internal feud. Given that neither the Central Bureau nor the CIA has any plans of going to war with the Church Court, it’s better that they exercise restraint."

And though the headquarters and the CIA have been engaged in a secret feud, it’s predominantly an internal affair. They wouldn’t want to drag this into the Otherworld’s business. If the two parties were to come to blows over the manipulations by the Odelanqi, it would be a great loss.

"Moumou, send a message to headquarters warning them about these Aud people, and inform the CIA as well, so they don’t get used and come to blows with the Church Court. The best we can do right now is to build a consensus among the three parties and thwart any such illicit intentions," Luo’er ordered.

"Understood!" Tangmo nodded, then reached for some paper and a pen to start composing the intelligence report.

"Rare for you to come up with something like this," Luo’er looked at Ziang, clearly impressed.

"Heh heh," Ziang responded smugly. "I was merely curious about why the four-party struggle for Arya’s Blade had left out one party. Plus, I found it weird that these people chose to assault within the city and go as far as to use rocket artillery in Saint Bawa. I now realize that they were deliberately trying to escalate the situation."

"Is their sole purpose of causing discord between the Church Court and Earth only to break free from the Church Court’s control?" Luo’er queried Ziang’s deduction.

"We can’t be certain at the moment. But it’s evident from the college hostage situation to the current relic dispute, these people have always wanted to pit Earth against the Church Court, constantly fanning the flames and inciting both parties," Ziang replied, his brow furrowed.

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