The Oracle Paths

Chapter 1195  Duty Calls

The Korean thought he could use him, but he had no idea just how pragmatic Jake really was. Jake hardly trusted his longtime friends and close allies, so how could he not expect the worst after Amyʼs warnings?

At their level, it was nearly impossible to conceal their plans from each other completely, especially when they involved so many troops. Both sides had to present a strategic charade, even if it meant throwing themselves headfirst into the tigerʼs maw.

Jake had a pretty solid idea of what Cho Min Ho intended to do with him, and that suited him just fine—he had the exact same intentions.

”Weʼll see whoʼs really the smarter one in the end.” He sneered before teleporting millions of kilometers away, vanishing like he had never even been there.

*****

After a few spatial jumps, Jake arrived at the gargantuan encampment that had been set up overnight, where literally billions of warriors were stationed. From above, the tents sprawled across the arid plain like an unshaped stain, the only semblance of order coming from how tightly they were packed together—like sardines, cramped for space.

To the west, a tributary of the Lumyst River split in two, encircling the colossal encampment. The two waterways emptied into two murky lakes where Spirit and Life Lumyst Water mingled, mysteriously transmuting into one another.

The invisible line between these lakes, running north to south, marked the boundary between the Duskwight Lands and the Lustra Plains. No border sign was needed to announce the change of territory. The difference was obvious from the biomes and the Lumyst quality in the air: cracked, arid plains on one side, vibrant green on the other. Not a single tree stood on either side at this particular point.

The Radiant Conclaveʼs army camped on the opposite side of this line. Their sprawling layout was just as disorganized, but at least the tents were mostly uniform in color: white.

To the east, the two streams flowed out of the lake, rejoining into another broader tributary that ran down from the Heaven Cascade. The two rivers splitting and merging on either side created a natural prison, forcing a fight to the death until a victor emerged.

There were no mountains, no notable terrain, nowhere to hide or launch sneak attacks. The confrontation was destined to be head-on, with no room for trickery. The choice of this location showed just how determined each side was to finish things here and now.

Aside from a few bridges, there were no other ways out for those who couldnʼt levitate, save for diving into the river. Considering the astronomical number of soldiers, evacuating even 1% of the survivors in a retreat scenario would be a monumental challenge.

As Jake arrived, the first thing he saw was the simultaneous detonation of those same bridges. Both armies had tacitly agreed to cut off their only escape route.

”I didnʼt authorize that,” Jake muttered, frowning. Sacrificing cannon fodder for the greater good wasnʼt really his style, but knowingly cutting their chances of survival was even less so.

[Unless thereʼs something else at play,] Xi mused quietly.

”Ehh. Theyʼre gonna be disappointed,” Jake said, smirking enigmatically.

Jake then noticed the grim expressions on the soldiersʼ faces—both his own and those of their enemies.

For high-ranking Players like him, covering such long distances was a trivial matter, but for the others... calling the forced march grueling would be an understatement. Some fighters were still wounded from previous battles and wouldnʼt normally have been put through such extremes.

As for the Players... What struck him most was how few of them there were—on both sides. Most of those present were unwilling participants, without the rank or strength to make a significant difference. Jake spotted a few promising individuals, but they were keeping a low profile.

There were two good reasons for this. If Cho Min Ho could get reliable stats on each campʼs casualties, so could Jake and his faction. Their Mirror Universe had lost over 80% of its Players—an absolute massacre among the lower ranks.

Their enemies, on the other hand, had only lost about 42%... Meaning their camp now had around 1.5 million Players left, while their opponents still had over three times that number.

With their Oracle Hacker dead, most high-ranking Players had no chance of dodging ambushes. The Myrtharian Nerds were the exception, of course... Theyʼd taken losses, but thanks to their leaderʼs ability to mess with enemy Oracle Paths, his subordinates had proven very hard to kill.

The other reason for the lack of Players... was clearly one of Cho Min Hoʼs dirty tricks, leaving Jake to take on the Radiant Conclave by himself.

Jake was more troubled by the near-total absence of Players in the enemyʼs forces, just like during his fight the previous night. He was flattered that they respected his ability to wipe them off the face of Twyluxia, but if they wanted to win, theyʼd have to confront him eventually.

And if their plan was to blitz the capital... oh boy... they were in for a rude awakening.

After sizing up the situation, Jake teleported to what he assumed was the command center tent. It wasnʼt hard to spot: the Kintharians and Throsgenians had clearly been hard at work there.

His ”tent” was more of a titanic mobile fortress that had sprung from the ground, and there was something more to it. At a glance, Jake recognized that the rocks and metals intertwining into a solid mesh to form the walls were not native to this continent.

[Earth and Metal Lumyst reverted to their physical forms,] Xi commented, echoing his thoughts. [Looks like the Kintharians didnʼt slack off this time. The repeated assassination attempts from enemy Players probably lit a fire under them.]

Just look at Gerulf and Rogen. Those two races preferred napping to fighting, but if you pushed them, youʼd quickly find out they didnʼt mind a little bloodshed now and then. Some high-ranking Players from the opposing Mirror Universe had discovered that the hard way—what theyʼd thought would be an easy kill had ended in a brutal death.

”Rest in peace... Nah, just kidding,” Jake sneered.

He wasnʼt making much effort to hide his arrival, and as soon as he touched the ground, a cohort of generals and Myrtharian Nerds, led by Ceythie, came to meet him. The generals showed a mix of reverence and fear, while the Myrtharian Nerds were brimming with enthusiasm and camaraderie.

Among the familiar faces were Will, Asfrid, the twins Enya and Esya, his cat Crunch, and his companion Lord Phenix. The smug bird was perched on Crunchʼs head, who was currently in the younger sisterʼs arms. Lord Phenixʼs feathers brushed against her face, but she didnʼt seem to mind.

Within the fortress, Jake also sensed Jinlong and his crew, laying low. These dragons, currently in their human forms, were fiercely loyal to Will and had deserted their regiments as soon as they could to join the bespectacled strategist and ensure his safety. It made you wonder why he was still wearing his glasses.

Jake scanned the rank badges on their uniforms and nodded in approval. They had all managed to bypass the typical promotion process, which demanded a slow accumulation of merits, and had risen to the rank of General.

”Long time no see,” Will greeted him, his face showing more emotion than Jake remembered. Seeing Jake again rattled him more than he was willing to admit.

Jakeʼs eyes drifted to the twins, and seeing their teary expressions, he realized heʼd overlooked an important detail. To him, it hadnʼt been that long, but for them, it had been over four years since theyʼd last seen him, unsure if they ever would again.

”Booohh!!” Before he could react, a pink-haired blur crashed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. Clinging to him like a limpet, she sobbed, ”I missed you so much!”

Crunch and Lord Phenix had been unceremoniously tossed aside like yesterdayʼs trash, both with looks full of grievance. ʼWhat the heck, girl?! Itʼs not even...ʼ

A glare from Asfrid shut them both up. ʼDonʼt ruin the moment.ʼ

Enya kept her composure better, holding onto her princess dignity, but the joy on her face was plain for all to see. Only after theyʼd managed to pry her younger sister off Jake—who was clinging like a love-starved koala—did she step up and hug him, albeit briefly.

Her upturned nose wrinkled almost imperceptibly as they embraced before she resumed her usual impassive demeanor. She stepped back and dryly said,

”I trust you have a very good reason, donʼt you...”

”Duty calls,” Jake replied with a wink.