Chapter 32: Was It Intentional or Accidental? (Patreon)

Victor stroked his chin. How did Feixiao end up on the Yaoqing Xianzhou? At this rate, it was only a matter of time before she became the next Yaoqing General.

This was all too coincidental, making him somewhat suspicious.

Was 'he'—his past self—doing this deliberately, or was it an accident?

After careful consideration, Victor realized that he had, in fact, done it on purpose.

First of all, 'he' had definitely gone easy on her every time, practically letting Feixiao escape.

Secondly, as Foxians, there were very few cosmic-level factions that could offer them sanctuary.

When it came down to it, there was really no choice. Only the Xianzhou Alliance, which was willing to accept Foxians, was powerful enough, and harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Borisin, could protect them.

In that case...

A strange expression appeared on Victor's face. He had a good idea of what 'he' had been trying to do.

To put it bluntly, she was currently just a rebellious Foxian girl beneath 'him'—Saran.

But what 'he' wanted was the valiant, forthright, unconventional, and invincible 'Victorious General'—Feixiao.

Compared to conquering a female slave, the sense of accomplishment—the pleasure—from conquering an undefeated female general would be absolutely explosive!

Now that he understood his past self's thinking, what else could Victor say? He could only give 'himself' two thumbs up in approval.

Especially since he himself would be the one to enjoy the fruits of this labor, Victor wished he could give a thumbs-up with his feet as well.

【Due to Feixiao's escape to the Yaoqing Xianzhou, the atmosphere between the Azure Wolf Empire and the Xianzhou Alliance once again grew tense.】

【At Victor's direction, the two sides continuously engaged in small-scale conflicts along the border regions.】

【Having closed the gap in equipment, the Borisin now had the advantage.】

【With weapons and equipment of the same level, the Borisin firmly suppressed the Cloud Knights with their superior physical strength.】

【In these small-scale clashes, the loss ratio often reached 1:3, or even an exaggerated 1:5. It often took several Cloud Knights to defeat a single Borisin.】

【The Cloud Knights did not fear death, but their generals could not accept meaningless sacrifices, so they decisively began to contract their defensive lines.】

【You employed your old tricks, dispatching numerous small squads to disrupt the Xianzhou's transport routes, attempting to trap the Xianzhou people on their starships.】

【This time, however, the Xianzhou Alliance seemed particularly patient. While contracting their front lines, they dispatched elite units composed of masters to sweep away the small wolf packs you sent out.】

【The two sides entered a long war of attrition.】

【Feixiao grew at a tremendous pace, relying on her extraordinary talent, an indomitable spirit, and a fearless drive.】

【And you, too, waited patiently for the fruit you had personally planted to slowly ripen.】

【Fifty years passed. Feixiao's own strength continued to grow, and she steadily accumulated military honors.】

【By this time, she had already become General Yueyu's Standard-Bearer and second-in-command through her illustrious combat achievements, and her strength was already on par with General Yueyu's when he wasn't using his Weiling.】

The fruit 'he' had planted was about to ripen.

Victor had a faint premonition.

Something big was coming!

Sure enough, his premonition soon came true.

【As the saying goes: the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. While you were scheming against Feixiao, the Xianzhou Alliance was also scheming against you.】

【Perhaps because the fruit was about to ripen, the final period of waiting made you antsy. You left the capital star and randomly joined a front-line squad, preparing to hunt some Cloud Knights to blow off steam.】

【Before setting out, you were still fantasizing that if you were lucky this time, you might run into Jingliu again... A little appetizer before the main course would be excellent.】

It was worth mentioning that in the simulation, Victor's sudden dark-horse rise had changed the fates of many people.

For example, Victor backstabbed Shuhu, and as a result, Baiheng, who was supposed to have perished with Shuhu, survived.

Baiheng was Jingliu's guiding light and stabilizer. With her around, Jingliu resisted the Mara-struck and did not defect.

This in turn changed the fate of the High-Cloud Quintet. Currently, the short-lived Yingxing had died of old age, and Baiheng's life was also nearing its end.

【You never expected that you would indeed meet Jingliu, but with her were Marshal Hua, five generals including Jing Yuan and Yueyu, as well as the Sword Champions and Dragon High Elders from various Xianzhou.】

【To eliminate you, this grave threat, the Xianzhou Alliance had mobilized over ninety percent of its high-end combat power, setting up this ambush in advance.】

【It turned out that as early as fifty years ago, when Feixiao contacted the Xianzhou Alliance, the Seven Arbiter-Generals had begun to plot against you.】

【The plan was jointly devised and perfected by several strategically-minded generals, then simulated over a million times by the Divination Commissions of various Xianzhou, finally settling on this fifty-year-spanning 'Evil-Purging' Plan.】

Victor suddenly understood. Even if the intelligence Feixiao possessed was crucial, she wouldn't have had enough influence to mobilize even Marshal Hua.

The Xianzhou Alliance's original intention was to ensure the success of the subsequent ambush plan, which was why they had to make sure Feixiao escaped to the Yaoqing Xianzhou.

The Xianzhou Alliance had calculated that you would never give up on Feixiao, and they also calculated that you would be willing to wait for her to grow stronger.

And the Xianzhou Alliance could use these fifty years to calmly set up this fatal trap.

He had been too arrogant, treating the simulation as just a game while underestimating the heroes of the world.

He would take this as a profound lesson.

A simulation could be reset, but reality offered no chance to reload a save. Therefore, he had to be sufficiently cautious in reality from now on.

【The Xianzhou Alliance's finishing move soon revealed its true face.】

【A dazzling 'shooting star' was seen falling from the sky toward this location. Sensing the incredibly vast Imaginary energy contained within that 'shooting star,' you understood in your heart that it was a light arrow fired by Lan, the Aeon of the Hunt.】

【Naturally, you couldn't just sit and wait for death, but the Xianzhou Alliance was well-prepared. A formation, jointly established by the Seven Arbiter-Generals and a host of Dragon High Elders, trapped you in place.】

【Next, Sky-Striking General Yueyu, General Huaiyan of the Zhuyuan, and General Youwu of the Chenming—three generals of advanced age—entered the formation to tie you down, preventing you from breaking the formation and escaping, while the others quickly retreated.】

【Before retreating, Jingliu glanced back at the formation with a complex expression. Unfortunately, her view was completely blocked by the formation. Jingliu sighed, no longer lingering, and turned to leave.】

It had to be said, this checkmate from the Xianzhou was truly inescapable.

Lan's light arrow indeed required guidance from a Cloud-Lancing Mirror. Under normal circumstances, its use was very cumbersome, unsuitable for individual targets, and only fit for large-scale strikes.

However, Lan's light arrow possessed the terrifying effect of 'inverting cause and effect.' It first determines the 'result' that the target has been hit, and the light arrow need only alter its trajectory, speed, and even time according to that result.

All the Xianzhou Alliance had to do was hold 'Victor' down to complete the locking process, and then leave everything to the Aeon.

The three generals were the final insurance, preventing 'Victor' from charging into a Xianzhou ship to take them all down with him.