Chapter 413 - Chapter 413: Chapter 393: The Shaped God (1/2)
Chapter 413: Chapter 393: The Shaped God
Soft music filled the air as the waitstaff, dressed in uniform and smiling, weaved between the tables and chairs.
The silver-haired girl, expressionless, stood up and left. Black Falcon and Darren Fischer were facing each other across a table in the café, deep in conversation. Suddenly, for some reason, the voices of the people around them became inaudible, as if an invisible barrier had formed.
Darren chuckled, raised an eyebrow, and said nonchalantly,
“You and I both know one thing, the Lorne Empire is the most powerful nation on the Ouden Continent, possessing unmatched strength; thinking we can defeat them with our current power is simply a joke.”
Black Falcon looked grave, took a sip of coffee, and did not reply. Darren paused, then continued,
“Even though the power of the Seven Stars Empire might seem somewhat weaker, they have managed to defend their territory for years, resisting the Lorne Empire’s offensives more than once. How could we possibly confront their God of War Emperor?”
Black Falcon nodded slightly and, setting down his coffee cup, said,
“Whether it’s Lorne or the Seven Stars, any one of them possesses absolute formidable power, enough to hold their own against a coalition of all other nations on the continent. However, these two empires are not without rivals.”
“The greatest rivals to Lorne and the Seven Stars are each other!”
He didn’t wait for Darren to object and continued,
“When a group of unarmed commoners encounter two fierce beasts, like lions or tigers, they instinctively feel fear and dare not approach them, knowing well that there’s only a path to death before these predators.”
“But what is the result of losing courage due to fear? They scatter and flee from before the lions, the slowest who are closest getting eaten first, followed by the others, until all become meals for the fierce beasts.”
Darren was silent, clearly understanding what the ‘common people’ the other was referring to implied.
It meant the numerous smaller countries besides the two empires—Eastern Four Kingdoms, Thrums Dukedom, Terrell Church Kingdom, Arcadia, Triangle City States, Silvermoon City…
Black Falcon continued to share his thoughts.
“However, if the wisest and strongest among these common people were to step forward as a leader, and then unite everyone to create spears and traps, waiting for the two fierce beasts to weaken each other in battle, then victory for the common people might indeed become a possibility!”
His eyes flashed unmistakably with a light called ambition.
Darren shook his head, squinting his eyes, and replied, “But the two fierce beasts might also not end up hurting each other and instead choose to join forces to devour those common people. Even if the common people do win, there will definitely be those who are sacrificed to the beasts.”
“Of course, it’s highly unlikely that the leader would be among those sacrificed. He would order others to sacrifice themselves… and, well, the Fischer family might just be the ones to be sacrificed.”
Darren was well aware that Thrums hoped they could become “pawns,” but becoming “pawns” undoubtedly came at a price.
Black Falcon chuckled deeply, shaking his head,
“Hehehe, it’s not necessarily so that the leader would command others to die first. If a leader wants to become king, he needs to be at the forefront, bearing the pressures and risks.”
“And we have no other choice, Darren Fischer, because the real powerhouses, who could control lions and tigers, are no longer in this world!”
“The fierce beasts will come out to devour sooner or later!”
The fact that divine beings had completely left the Claud World had long become a consensus among the upper echelons and was no longer an unspoken truth but a widely acknowledged ‘secret’.
In the eyes of the general public, however, the divine beings were still ever-present in this world.
Hearing this, Darren fell into deep thought. He had to admit one thing: the ambitions of both the Lorne Empire and the Seven Stars Empire were unabashedly expansive and massive.
Seeing Darren moved by his words, Black Falcon seized the moment and continued, “There’s also the matter that we’ll have the help of the ‘Leopard’.”
“The ‘Leopard’ you’re referring to is?” The query was more perfunctory than uncertain, as Darren could guess what it implied.
The elderly Black Falcon raised his hand, his voice low and hoarse,
“Of course, it’s the several True Gods Church… they are no longer isolated from secular power but have become entities that intervene and take action.”
“There are many within the True Gods Church, even different factions among them, and their interests are clearly not aligned with those of the two empires.”
Darren raised an important question. “Can you be certain that those ‘Leopards’ will stand with us and not with the lions and tigers? After all, they are also fierce beasts.”
Black Falcon shook his head slightly, hesitant to give a firm assurance, but sincerely said,
“I can’t be certain of anything. Anyone mature knows that without extraordinary power, we can’t fully control another’s actions, but at least we can try to rally more forces.”
Darren, deep inside, agreed with this and shook his head, saying,
“Hehe, let’s not talk about that for now. I’m more curious about these ‘traps’ and ‘spears’ you mentioned. How exactly do you plan to create them?”
The underlying meaning was clear: the gap between other nations on the continent and the two giant empires was too vast, with hardly a chance to shake their dominance.