Chapter 247: Command Authority
There was no way to refute it…
In front of Xia Lian’s unusually wise eyes, Mo Tan and Yu Cheng were silent.
At this moment, lies and sophistry had no room to play. Even if the Holy Maiden in front of them hadn’t seen through everything, her words alone were enough to leave the two players speechless. Since Xia Lian had openly expressed her doubts, it only meant that she had noticed enough problems and anomalies, and too many to hide.
Even if Mo Tan, in his 'chaotic neutral' personality, were standing here, he would come to the same conclusion.
Yu Cheng, needless to say, was completely bewildered at this point.
【However, this is not terrible news. Not to mention that Pa Ke Xi, the lady worshipped by the Dawn Sect, already knows that we are not natives. Even Xia Lian, who has noticed some anomalies, hasn't shown any hostility towards us. I can feel it… she is still friendly. But even so, revealing the concept of players entirely at this critical juncture is definitely not a wise move. But if I only reveal a little… 】
Mo Tan took a deep breath. He first sent a friend request to Yu Cheng, asking the somewhat flustered girl to remain silent, then looked up at Xia Lian, who was smiling meaningfully in front of him. On the surface, he was calm, but inside, he was panicking.
Of course, he was nervous, and he couldn't help but be nervous. Like most of us, even if we have already thought about how to say or do something that will have a significant impact, and have already prepared our draft, it's normal to have an accelerated heart rate and break out in a cold sweat before actually doing it.
Even though he knew very well that he and Yu Cheng would not be in any danger, and he understood that Xia Lian (probably) was not an unreasonable person, and he also knew that if worst came to worst, she could still let Yu Cheng communicate with Dawn Goddess Pa Ke Xi to exonerate them, these facts did not conflict with his current state of panic…
It's like bungee jumping, visiting a haunted house, riding a roller coaster, or walking on a very high glass skywalk. Although we rationally know that these activities are safe, and their accident rate is only a few tenths of a percent (well, even horror movies can occasionally scare people to death), this doesn't stop many people from still panicking!
And at this moment, Mo Tan's temperament, personality, and psychological quality were not particularly special compared to ordinary people. Perhaps as 'Mo', he could bungee jump with a calm mind. Perhaps as 'Tan Mo', he would cause extremely poor physical and mental experiences for staff and other tourists when visiting a haunted house. Perhaps as 'Mo', he would blow up a roller coaster… Well, that probably wouldn't happen. But now, as 'Black Vatican,' who possesses most human weaknesses, he can clearly fully enjoy the fun of the aforementioned activities, so we can conclude from this…
Mo Tan's current panic is normal, reliable, well-founded, and righteous!
Anyway, back to the main topic…
“You can relax a little.” Xia Lian seemed to read Mo Tan’s emotions. She showed a very atmosphere-easing, cheerful smile and said slowly, “If it’s truly difficult to say, you can keep it to yourself for now. However, you must at least tell me how the results of this period came about, and if there’s a way to replicate them.”
Mo Tan sighed: “Alright, I think I can explain…”
Xia Lian nodded in satisfaction. She lowered the finger that had been twirling her hair and looked at him with an inquiring gaze: “Mm-hmm?”
“Yu Cheng and I…” Mo Tan paused, rubbed his forehead, and said in a low voice, “And some other people, are a little different from most people.”
Xia Lian blinked: “Like that girl named Yu Ying?”
“Uh, yes, that’s right.” Mo Tan was very curious when Xia Lian found out, but he didn’t ask immediately. He just continued, “Yu Ying is one, and there are some others. For certain reasons, when we, these kinds of people, become relatively familiar with each other, we can transmit messages over long distances. You can understand it as magical letters with spatial power, but without any restrictions or delays. We’ve been using this ability for real-time communication during this period. Um, that’s pretty much it.”
Xia Lian didn't show too much surprise. After combining what she had heard on the way, she asked Mo Tan with interest, “So, all those low-rank professionals you arranged in the rescue teams are… um, are they all the same kind of people as you?”
“No.” Mo Tan shook his head and shrugged, “The people who can communicate with us in real-time usually don’t exceed three per team. Everyone else is normal.”
Xia Lian nodded slightly: “Alright, I think I understand. Taking the team we met today as an example, the Elf female warrior named Putao, the Half-Orc Shaman Priest named Tirio Windfury, the Dwarf Priest named Shi Lezhi, and the Ranger girl named Robin Han are all like you, right? So it has nothing to do with race or age…”
“Yes.” Mo Tan nodded and spread his hands, “It has nothing to do with any of those things, but I haven’t figured out how to explain it to you yet.”
Xia Lian chuckled: “No matter, I was just curious how that Elf girl, who must be at least three hundred years old, could be involved with a Half-Orc who looks no older than fifty. Now I finally understand a little.”
Mo Tan gave a dry laugh and didn't follow up.
“And then?” Xia Lian asked after her laugh, “How did you get the situation to this point?”
Mo Tan was stunned: “Haven’t I already finished explaining?”
“Huh?”
This time it was Xia Lian's turn to be stunned. She tugged at the tip of her ear and looked at Mo Tan with narrowed eyes: “You only told me about the communication…”
Mo Tan nodded vigorously: “Yes, yes.”
“And that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“What about other tricks?”
“How could there be so many tricks…”
Looking at Mo Tan’s genuine expression, Xia Lian clicked her tongue, and after a long while, she pointed to the map beside her and the chess pieces on it, asking, “So, on the premise that you can contact every team at any time, you secretly wiped out the Mutants in the surrounding area from this room? Not only did you suffer no casualties, but you also rescued most of the survivors you could find in the vicinity?”
“Mo Tan didn’t do it secretly, oh~” Yu Cheng dared to speak now. She smiled timidly at Xia Lian: “Everything else Holy Maiden said is right.”
Xia Lian pursed her lips and nodded, her expression becoming much more serious than before. She turned sideways and looked down at the heavily marked and scribbled map on the table, examining it carefully for a long while before looking up at Mo Tan and saying softly, “It seems I need to raise my evaluation of you again…”
“Raise my evaluation?” Mo Tan gave a wry smile and shook his head, “I just hope you don’t think we have ulterior motives.”
Xia Lian smiled faintly: “I’ve never thought you had ulterior motives. Whether it’s Wang Yu, or you, or Yu Ying who almost died at the hands of Mutants protecting civilians earlier, or those who are willing to cooperate with the knights in their adventures, I have never doubted any of you.”
Yu Cheng blinked, leaned closer to Xia Lian, and whispered, “Holy Maiden, didn’t you realize I had a problem a long time ago? Why didn’t you think I was a bad person? I’ve been hiding…”
“You?” Xia Lian pulled Yu Cheng into her arms and then rubbed her little face hard: “You are the cleanest, purest, most guileless silly girl I have ever met. Besides, you are also the God-blessed one of the Goddess. This has nothing to do with how special you are. Everyone has their little secrets. The previous Pope even gave his love rival laxatives when he was young. Many things are not worth delving into.”
Yu Cheng struggled out of her embrace, and although she felt Xia Lian’s example was a bit off, she still laughed easily: “Thank you, Holy Maiden~”
“Uh, what about me?” Mo Tan also relaxed, and asked Xia Lian with a chuckle, “Am I also quite clean and pure?”
The latter rolled her eyes at him: “Didn’t think so.”
“Uh, then why did you…”
“Aren’t you Wang Yu’s old flame?”
“…”
“Alright, no more jokes. Anyway, whether you two are old flames or not has nothing to do with me.” Xia Lian waved her hand, then said to Mo Tan seriously, “Let’s not talk about things you’re not comfortable discussing. I have a very serious matter to talk to you about now.”
The latter nodded: “Uh-huh.”
“Uh-huh my foot.” Xia Lian covered her face and sighed, looking at Mo Tan’s eyes through her fingers: “How do you think Misha County will develop at this pace?”
Mo Tan frowned slightly. He didn't answer immediately but lowered his head and pondered the question he had considered for a long time. After a while, he asked in return, “I remember when you and Yu Cheng first encountered the Plague, you requested assistance from the Holy Sanctuary. How long will it take for them to arrive? What kind of assistance is it?”
Xia Lian pondered for a moment, then spread her hands and said, “About half a month, it’s a support team composed of High-Rank Divine Officials and a dozen High Priests. Their combat ability is limited, but they are more professional in healing. Hey, don’t sigh yet, there’s nothing we can do. When we requested support, there were no Mutants yet…”
“Alright, our only support won’t arrive for another half a month, and they’ll be of little use in fighting the Mutants.” Mo Tan rubbed his forehead with a wry smile, then began tapping the table idly. After about half a minute of silence, he looked back at Xia Lian, not holding out much hope: “Does the Holy Sanctuary know about the Mutants? Have they made any… well, gratifying arrangements?”
This time it was Xia Lian’s turn to sigh. She shook her head helplessly: “No arrangements. Although I had already sent people to transmit the intelligence back through the nearest Mage Guild before I left, the Holy Sanctuary has also been facing some difficulties during this time. On one hand, there’s Mount Sumir to the north, where a large number of Evil Cultists have been found. They caused great destruction, and even a Prophet fell there. Now, the Light Capital is organizing manpower to rush there, and the situation at Severed Head Cliff is also not optimistic. We have to keep an eye on it constantly, so Misha County here…”
“I understand.” Mo Tan didn’t let Xia Lian continue. He glanced at the map on the table and asked decisively, “Can you tell me about the situation in the south now?”
…
Ten minutes later
“Alright, alright~” Mo Tan leaned back in his chair weakly, speaking to Xia Lian in a tone that was almost in the grave: “You just asked me what the future of Misha County would be like if things continued this way, right? Well, personally, the best outcome would be for the northern and central regions to be preserved, with everything south of New Bud City falling. In this process, the civilian casualties will be a terrible number. Optimistically, at least three large cities will fall. That’s pretty much it.”
Yu Cheng gasped, and asked in a low voice, “Mo Tan, you said this is… the best outcome…?”
“That’s right.” The latter casually threw the quill aside, sprawled across the table without any pretense, and replied dully, “There are too many Mutants in the south, and the number of civilians infected with the Plague is also rapidly increasing. Even if we exclude those who were killed immediately after transforming, the daily increase in these monsters is still terrifying. If it weren’t for Holy Maiden Xia Lian and those four hundred Holy Knights’ continuous efforts during the previous period, the situation might be countless times worse. So my suggestion is… to push the Holy Sanctuary to send some High-Rank combat power over. If that’s not possible, then we should quickly rescue people, as many as we can, and then slowly fight a war of attrition.”
Xia Lian, who was sitting in front of him, smiled faintly: “I used to think that too.”
“Before?” Yu Cheng tilted her head, asking curiously, “What about now?”
“Now I’ve changed my mind.” Xia Lian casually grabbed a handful of chess pieces from the table, pushed them all in front of Mo Tan, and asked him gravely, “If I give you command of all the Holy Knights, and unconditionally support all your plans, and am even willing to be commanded by you, how far can you go?”
Mo Tan was stunned, then slowly pointed to himself like an aged sloth: “Me?”
“Exactly, you.” Xia Lian nodded seriously, “Whether it’s large-scale recruitment of low-rank professionals, civilians, or even those infected who aren’t prioritized for treatment, or directing the Holy Knights or myself to do anything, it’s all fine. Your plans will not be questioned, any of your proposals and tactics will be implemented immediately, and all your ideas will be unconditionally supported. Under these conditions, how far can you go?”
Fine beads of sweat appeared on the forehead of this ‘shadow Commander’ who had been making quite a few small moves recently…
Five seconds later, Mo Tan, who had reacted, subconsciously wanted to refuse. He felt that he absolutely couldn't handle such pressure!
Then he saw a friend message flash across his vision…
‘You can do it! Mo Tan, you’re super amazing! (ω)’
…
Five minutes later
“Before tomorrow night, all low-rank professionals and civilian volunteers in Hofur City and Mida City must be assembled. Within two days, our current ‘urban-rural combined force’ must reach the Gudami Plain south of New Bud City, and scatter as many of those monsters as possible before they gather…”
Chapter 244: End
