The thought of 'Jingliu' chatting with Gopher Wood not too long ago suddenly popped into her mind.
Wonder how he's doing now.
"How's Gopher Wood been lately?"
"Him? He's not too fond of Mikhail, but he gets along well with Tiernan."
Kamu's words gave 'Jingliu' a slight pause.
How in the world did those two end up in the same conversation?
"But I feel his heart isn't really in Harmony—or at least, not purely in Harmony."
"...Is it really appropriate for you to say that?"
"What's inappropriate about it? The Trailblaze and the Hunt were brought in by Tiernan and me, you know. Penacony isn't as pure as you think."
Kamu shook her head with a smile, then dropped a bombshell that left 'Jingliu' utterly speechless.
Wait, what?
What in the world is going on?
They sent in one Tiernan, and now all the other factions are ready to rebel too?
"Well, anyway, Penacony is stable for now. Feel free to visit whenever you have time, Miss Bai Ming."
"Absolutely, I will."
'Jingliu' nodded.
She made a mental note to drop by someday.
Come to think of it...
From the sound of it, Tiernan and Mikhail seem to hold significant sway.
That means the Astral Express should be invited ahead of schedule, right?
Just not sure exactly when.
Baiheng saw Robin off.
She divided the bread from the bag among the three of them, then continued discussing the Abundance and the situation with the Xianzhou.
Currently, the movements of the Abundance were relatively easy to track.
The real problem lies with the mastermind behind it all.
What do they want? And why did Celenova go there in the first place?
If Celenova really ends up joining the fight against the Xianzhou, Baiheng worries that 'Jingliu' won't be able to handle it alone.
But 'Jingliu,' having recently gained a significant boost in strength, reassured Baiheng not to worry.
--+--
Meanwhile.
Celenova, having altered her course, was in contact with Phantylia.
"So this is your plan? An all-out free-for-all between the Abundance, the Xianzhou Alliance, the Galaxy Rangers, the Land of Light, and my legion?"
"Aren't you short on troops? These are all high-quality material. If we can convert them into the legion, their quality would far surpass ordinary Voidrangers."
Phantylia's laughter echoed through the communication line.
To completely eliminate the risk of her legion being corrupted by Bai Ming, Celenova hadn't even reclaimed the wreckage of that batch.
Tossing all that wreckage into the forge for recycling could have replenished a significant portion of her forces.
But Phantylia, for reasons unknown, contacted Celenova after learning about the situation, claiming she had a great plan to provide Celenova with troops.
Skeptical but curious, Celenova changed her route.
After some time, Phantylia finally laid out her entire plan.
Infiltrate the Abundance, guide those already scheming to unite and amass forces, launch a desperate, all-or-nothing decisive battle, aiming to directly seize a Xianzhou ship.
But considering the Rangers and the Land of Light—those cosmic troublemakers—to prevent the Denizens of Abundance's assault from failing, Phantylia sought out Celenova.
She wanted to borrow Celenova's remaining legion to bolster their own combat strength.
Then, once the battlefield reached a stalemate, casualties on both sides would skyrocket, allowing Celenova to reap the spoils of war and replenish her forces.
Moreover, since most involved were Pathstriders, the Voidrangers converted from them would be far superior to ordinary ones.
And regardless of whether the Denizens of Abundance won, as long as the Xianzhou suffered heavy losses, Phantylia could seize the opportunity to infiltrate the Xianzhou Alliance by assuming someone's identity.
A beautiful plan in theory, but reality is rarely so kind.
Phantylia's scheme sounded promising, yet beyond it lay a critical issue.
"So the most important question: how do you plan to deal with the Hunt's light arrows?"
Looking at the grand picture Phantylia had painted, Celenova calmly raised the key problem.
Others might be manageable, but the Xianzhou could genuinely summon the Reignbow Arbiter's light arrows.
Though those arrows were indiscriminate, annihilating everything in their path.
If the battle dragged on brutally, Celenova could indeed absorb a massive wave of troops.
But if the Xianzhou summoned the Reignbow Arbiter, how was she supposed to block that?
And under those light arrows, not even wreckage would remain. Even if she blocked them, Celenova would still come out at a loss.
So Phantylia gets to infiltrate the Xianzhou in style, while Celenova plays the fool?
If this issue wasn't resolved, Celenova would turn around and leave.
To this, Phantylia responded with a mysterious smile, gesturing for Celenova to calm down:
"Simple. Just make sure the Xianzhou can't reach Lan. The Hunt isn't the Xianzhou's babysitter."
"To summon the light arrows, they need to send a signal to the Aeon on the battlefield. When the time comes, I'll intercept that signal."
The device capable of signaling an Aeon isn't something easily dealt with.
But destroying that specific device—or even just disabling it during a critical period—would render the Xianzhou's ultimate trump card useless.
Having planned this assault, she had naturally considered this problem.
"And given the Xianzhou Alliance's habits, they wouldn't rely on an Aeon's power unless they were at a severe disadvantage. So you can rest easy."
"Even in the worst-case scenario, you can always abandon me and leave."
"..."
Hearing this, Celenova neither approved nor dismissed Phantylia's plan.
This Phantylia... due to her innate talents, her direct combat abilities were somewhat lacking, but she loved delving into other areas, scheming deeply.
Frankly, Celenova couldn't appreciate her habit of neglecting the Legion, playing spy, and stirring up internal conflicts for fun.
Oh, and that other one, Asat Pramad.
Leading a massive force, capable of easily destroying star systems, yet insisting on slowly advancing, suppressing, and dragging things out.
A complete waste of troops.
In comparison, Bai Ming, who preferred direct action, seemed far more agreeable in terms of combat style.
At least that one also favored overwhelming force in a fight.
Responding to Celenova's silence, Phantylia chuckled lightly:
"Since you have no objections, we'll need your legion to draw the attention of the Xianzhou and the Rangers."
"Hmph. You'd better deliver on your promises."
Celenova's arrival had undoubtedly been noticed by the Xianzhou.
After all, those Rangers were practically tailing her.
And Phantylia intended to use this, having Celenova attract attention while she made the final preparations at the last moment.
As for Celenova, she wasn't thrilled about being used by Phantylia, but things had come to this.
Seeing the potential benefits, and as a colleague, Celenova wouldn't just turn and leave.
After all, the troop surge Phantylia described could indeed address her urgent needs.
Otherwise, whenever she recalled Bai Ming's form and her own experience of being easily captured, Celenova felt profoundly insecure.
That was why she was cooperating with Phantylia.
If not for this, she'd have no interest in Phantylia whatsoever.
Ending the communication, Celenova gazed through her ship into the depths of space.
Her mind flooded with images of her crushing defeat at Bai Ming's hands.
"...The gap in power is too vast. I need more, stronger troops."
Though her strength had recently improved, it clearly wasn't enough to suppress Bai Ming.
And that one's close-combat skills were formidable.
To bring ruin upon Bai Ming, she needed a mightier legion and greater personal prowess.
Celenova wouldn't confuse priorities; her strength had always lain in legion warfare and the ability to channel collective power into herself.
"Bai Ming, just you wait. The humiliation you brought upon me, I'll return it a hundred—a thousandfold!"
Celenova's gentle face was now etched with killing intent.
All of it, forced out by Bai Ming.
--+--