Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 612 - 605: A fox exploits the tiger’s might

Chapter 612: Chapter 605: A fox exploits the tiger’s might

After the meeting, Luo’er returned to the airboat with his team members. The departure required them to pass through the disinfection room again, no wonder An Liang was willing to stay holed up in the research center.

After taking off, Luo’er saw the purification army being trained below. Murong and his entourage were standing in front of Carter, presumably discussing something.

After Luo’er informed Li Si of An Liang’s warning, Li Si became serious and quickly sent for a man named Marlori to discuss matters in his office.

"Who exactly is this Marlori?" Luo’er couldn’t help asking as a member of staff left the office.

"I’m not sure, it seems he’s from the Holy City," Li Si replied.

"Holy City?" Luo’er asked hesitantly.

"Yes, the Church Court’s capital," Li Si nodded, and continued, "He is a special envoy sent by the Church Court, presumably a member of their central authority, and he directly represents their Pope."

"It seems all kinds of gods and devils can be special envoys," Luo’er remarked in astonishment.

Li Si glanced at him and laughed, shaking his head in resignation. He knew exactly what Luo’er was complaining about. Due to Marlori’s miscommunication, the advance team had narrowly avoided falling into the hands of the exotic insects.

Soon, guided by a staff member, Marlori leisurely arrived at the office. On seeing Li Si, he slightly bowed his body, expressing his so-called respect in an arrogant manner, "What is it you wish to speak about, Sir Li Si?"

"Mr. Marlori, equality and mutual benefit form the basis of our cooperation with the Church Court. If you persist in your attitude, I might consider proposing to your Pope that we swap envoys. If you fully represent your Pope’s views, then I don’t think we need to continue our cooperation," Li Si replied, visibly irritated. He looked at the documents on the desk, threatening in a calm tone.

On hearing his words, Marlori was taken aback and dropped his arrogant posture. Then, speaking respectfully, he said, "I apologize. Please excuse my arrogance. I do not intend to make things difficult for your department. I sincerely look forward to maintaining a positive relationship."

"Let’s start the meeting then," Li Si replied indifferently.

His words were intended to gauge Marlori’s status within the Church Court. If he held a high position, he would surely show it. But based on his current reaction, it was likely that he was only a spokesperson for the Pope. Hence, when Li Si threatened to sever the partnership, Marlori immediately became flustered, showing that he couldn’t bear the consequences of such a break-up.

"Mr. Marlori, I hope you can notify your Pope. According to our intelligence department, there have been two types of monsters from the Door of Annihilation in the infected area, namely exotic insects and exotic beasts. Both of these monsters carry a pathogenic virus. As such, while we are resisting the spread of Corpse Demons, we also need to control the range of movement of these creatures and reduce their active areas. Otherwise, the infected areas will only increase, not decrease," Li Si said solemnly.

"How can there be another kind of monster, What are these exotic insects?" Marlori asked with a frown.

"Exotic insects are the creatures encountered by the purification army this time. They need to hunt, so they will keep expanding their territories. The virus they carry can cause new epidemic areas. Therefore, I hope your Church Court can mobilize all its forces to completely surround and eliminate the activity areas of these monsters. There may be many Corpse Demons, but they are weak and not difficult to deal with. However, if a monster escapes, it could possibly create a new epidemic area, which would be very troublesome to deal with," Li Si explained.

"But even if the Church Court is fully mobilized, we don’t have enough forces to completely surround the infected area..." Marlori stated with some difficulties.

"Then let the secular countries participate in the war. Countries like Aud and Masya can assist. Until our research is complete, no more expansion of the infected areas should be allowed," said Li Si.

"This..." The troubled expression on Marlori’s face reminded Li Si. If he remembered correctly, the Church Court were hoping to take all the credit for dealing with this crisis. Once the Church Court suppressed the epidemic and closed the Otherworld gate, they would be seen as heroic in people’s minds, despite the Headquarters’ contribution, due to their control over public opinion. Letting countries join the war might potential split the credit, which is something the Church Court would hate to see. But they need to understand that the epidemic has evolved past the point where they can handle it alone, or else they wouldn’t have asked for the Headquarters’ intervention.

"Mr. Marlori, let me remind you once again," Li Si said after a cough, "Once the virus breaks through the Roen River defense line and flows down to Yazhi City, it becomes not just a problem for your world. Earth’s people could potentially get infected as well, turning the Church Court into everyone’s target. Then, not just the people from your world, even the people of Earth will want your heads. You people have already killed a hundred thousand Earthlings, and that blood debt hasn’t been paid back yet. If you were to become enemies with the Earthlings once again, I really don’t know what would become of you."

Facing Marlori’s questioning gaze, Li Si simply nodded and said firmly, "This epidemic is not just your problem, but ours, the people of Earth, as well. We will do everything in our power to prevent the virus from spreading and develop the vaccine and serum ASAP. I hope you can also see the bigger picture and stop being shortsighted, otherwise the losses would outweigh the gains."

"I need to consult with the Pope regarding your suggestions. Please give me some time," Marlori said after a brief cough.

"Please hurry. The location of the recent attack on the purification army is close to the border of the infected area, indicating that these monsters are approaching the edge of the infected area. If they breakthrough the defense, they might create a new infected area," Li Si warned, emphasizing every word.

"Don’t worry, the people around the epidemic area have already been evacuated. Even if the creatures do breakout, they won’t be able to infect other people," Marlori said.

"Mr. Marlori, let me remind you again," Li Si shook his head and said, "The movements of exotic insects and exotic beasts are affected by the distribution of prey. Once they break out and find no food, they will continue to expand outwards until they find prey. Therefore, unless you have cleared a radius of a thousand kilometers, it’s best not to let them break the line."

Marlori took a look at Li Si, and then lowered his head, lost in thought. After a long while, he coughed and said in a hoarse voice, "I’ll take your suggestion into serious consideration."

"I’m not asking for your consideration, but your conveyance. I’m offering your Pope suggestions now," Li Si said.

"You..." Upon hearing his words, Marlori’s nose almost went crooked with indignation as he round his eyes at Li Si, "What makes you qualified to dare to make suggestions to our Pope!"

"Sir, you’re simply a messenger, you have no place to debate these major decisions with us. Can you make decisions on behalf of the Church Court? If not, please ask your Pope to make a statement. We’re in a crisis now, I don’t want to waste more time talking to you!" Although Li Si’s tone was calm, the implied threat was far from subtle. This had Luo’er and the others mentally cheering him on, feeling a relief of pent-up frustrations.

As for Li Si, now that he had torn his face with Marlori, there was no need to be courteous with him anymore. Because of Marlori’s false information, the advance team was almost completely wiped out, and Li Si still held that grudge.