The Oracle Paths

"Great General Ceythie, shouldn't we intervene?" A stern-looking trusted officer inquired, the furrow between his brows deeply knit.

Perched like the enemy legion's general atop a hill, the woman leading the Ironsoul Berserkers and her senior officers had not missed the massacre the Mumaks had just wreaked in their ranks. The appropriate response would be to mobilize a counterforce of similar quality.

Usually, that's how they proceeded, but the fierce Great General shook her head, her arms crossed in a stoic demeanor.

"No need. Look. The foreigner I was tasked to report on has already taken action." She finally pointed out with an ambiguous smile. "He's strong enough to sway my heart, thus shaking my unwavering loyalty to the Dusken Throne. I doubt I could harm him, even if he betrayed every value dear to my heart. Nonetheless, my resolve isn't so easily swayed. Knowing that a mere charge of Mumaks can't kill him, by letting him handle it alone, I do him no harm. As long as I trick my mind, I can act as I please."

The officers and guards at her side displayed enlightened expressions after hearing her reasoning. Unfortunately, they couldn't replicate her methods. Compared to a Great General, their minds were too weak. To resist such overpowering spiritual influence, the gap between the victim and the spell caster shouldn't be too wide.

"So we do nothing?" The officer prodded, his tone hesitant.

Ceythie grinned cruelly, "That's not what I said. Since dear old Corvac was forced to deploy the Mumaks, we have the initiative. Order divisions 1 and 2 to attack the flanks of the enemy army. Also, prepare our own Mutated Fiends. Since he chose to bring out the heavy artillery first, who am I to not return the favor?"

The officers and guards around her let out a sinister, knowing laughter in agreement, and the next moment, the rest of the second legion she personally controlled began to move, marked by a deep rumble of footsteps.

The battle, which had started gently, was about to escalate to an entirely different level.

*****

"Only 700 or so survivors, tsk." Jake grumbled, throwing a glance over his shoulder.

The saddest part was that by causing the pile-up involving a dozen chariots and their mounts, he had saved more than half. The other half had been saved by the joint efforts of his squad's Players and Amy's.

A shadowy pool suddenly expanded before him, and Hephais reemerged with a sorry look. Suppressing a falsely contrite smile, he said as impassively as possible,

"It seems fate is determined to force us to fight in the spotlight, whatever we try. If we wanted to keep a low profile, we should have pretended to be dead. Unfortunately…"

"It's just not in our nature." Jake sighed. "I know."

Jake could easily let strangers die, rationalizing that this war really didn't concern them. Keeping in mind that it would have happened with or without them, he could easily absolve himself of the deaths around him.

The problem arose when the enemy attack threatened to wipe out his entire regiment, destroying the environment in which he was supposed to climb the ranks quietly. Another ego-related flaw: He hated losing, even if it meant pretending.

Crunch and Lord Phoenix arrived immediately after, voicing his inner sentiment,

"Boss, laying low is lame!" The black cat criticized, punching the skull of a dying yet somehow still conscious Mumak. "Anyway, after what we just did, all enemy eyes will be on us. In that case, let's not hide and bring out the big guns!"

"It pains me to admit it," The turkey chimed in with a forced grimace, "But the furball is right. LORD PHOENIX MUST SPREAD HIS GLORY THROUGHOUT TWYLUXIA!"

Pong!

Hephais knocked the top of the bird's beak to silence him, earning glares. Ignoring the daggers shooting from the supposed phoenix's eyes, the assassin acknowledged,

"Boss, I know why you want to keep a low profile, but sometimes life doesn't go as planned. Probably our enemies think like you and want to delay the final confrontation as much as possible to gain as much time as they can. Cultivate their Lumyst, accumulate feats, explore Twyluxia's lore, discover its secrets, obtain new artifacts and skills… All this additional time to optimize our Ordeal ratings and progress while only a day passes in our respective Mirror Universes is indeed a boon.

"But we can see things differently. Precisely because it doesn't suit our adversaries either, it might be worth hastening the end of the Ordeal as soon as possible. Don't forget that our Players are still deprived of most Oracle System functionalities. Except for a free spirit like you, biding time represents a huge risk."

Jake didn't immediately respond, just furrowed his brows as the Mumaks in the distance started a wide turn in anticipation of a second charge aimed at finishing them off. There was truth in Hephais' words, but it didn't change the fact that their Ordeal ratings would inevitably be affected if they ended the Ordeal too abruptly.

They simply hadn't had enough time to accumulate Side Missions and explore. And by rushing like this, they would only expose themselves to greater risks.

'However… I can always bail if it gets too heated.' At this thought, his face hardened, a cold killing intent resonating with his newfound resolve.

[No regrets?] Xi finally manifested, now that his decision was made. [Once you start hostilities, there's no turning back. The Lustra Plains and the Players fighting for them will have no choice but to adjust to your new pace.]

Jake remained silent for a moment longer, then said coldly, "I'm fed up with this Ordeal. Let's finish it."

In the meantime, the other recruits of their squad had also joined them, feeling safer around the four Players. When they heard what he had just said, one of them changed expression, stepping out of the role she had played so well until now.

Realizing what he had just said, Jake swept his gaze over the natives of his squad, focusing on one of them, and nuanced,

"No need to worry. I'll do it right. This war won't end so quickly. Just try to keep up with my pace, and all will be fine."

ROOAAARRRRR!

As if to demonstrate his point, the contingent of Mumaks and chariots had just completed their turn and realignment. If their second charge was as swift and deadly as the first, the rest of their three companies would be decimated in the blink of an eye.

In truth, of the three companies, only one remained: theirs. Without Players to save them, the other two had been exterminated in the first charge with a few miracles spared.

These survivors, as well as those of the surviving company, were not fools and understood the plight they were in. Long before the Mumaks finished their turn, they had hurried to rush behind Jake and Amy's squads like a flock of frightened sheep returning to their shepherds.

Unfortunately, the Mumaks were now attacking from the opposite direction. Jake and his companions, currently at the front of the army, logically could do nothing for them.

If Jake had stuck to his original plan, they would have had to abandon them to their fate. But not anymore.

"No quarter." Jake declared, stepping forward, teleporting directly into the middle of the enemy formation. Compared to his speed of movement, the charge of the Mumaks seemed in slow motion.

Reappearing amid the Mumaks and chariots, he accelerated his cognition to the extreme by infusing his neurons with Time Lumyst, then looked at the monsters and chariot wheels, almost at a standstill. They hadn't even noticed his presence yet.

"Poor things... If things had gone as they should have, you wouldn't have had to perish so unjustly. Now, die please."