As things unfolded, Xi Wei was no longer in the mood to sit back and watch the drama unfold.
Clearly, the leaders of the Valla Empire had noticed his church.
Although he had been mentally prepared to be discovered during the Twin City Cup, he had been exposed far too quickly, much sooner than he had expected.
He would never place his hopes on the Valla Empire, since any leader of the Valla Empire would realize the connection between the Church of Games and Tierra, which had been destroyed over a decade ago.
Still, Xi Wei was not afraid of the Valla Empire's own power. He was confident in his believers even if war broke out now.
That did not mean that the Valla Empire's military was weak. In fact, the fact that they could swallow the most fertile land of Tierra meant that Valla's military was quite powerful.
If war broke out immediately, the Players would be crushed by Valla's legion as if they were nothing more than twigs.
Indeed, it was only the early days of the war.
The strongholds of the Church of Games would fall one by one, and the fall of Lancaster and Tunaya, even the Players' continuous retreat would be foreseeable.
If it had been half a month ago, Xi Wei probably wouldn't have much of a solution other than quickly evacuating the Players' starter village and placing his hopes on the Western Continent or the Valley of the Tragic Dead to preserve the spark of believers and hope for a comeback.
After all, this was different from a clash between gods, and a battle that would literally destroy the very foundations of the world.
But things were different now, because Xi Wei had a treasure that Valla could hardly break.
It was the former Elven Synchronized Intellect Nation, now known as the Sky Horizon!
That thing could fly in the air and move quickly on its own. Normal sky riders would either not be able to catch up to it, or be shot down by the Players or the Sky Horizon's firepower if they did!
As long as the Sky Horizon did not fall, the Players' roots would still be there. As long as they survived the first wave of defeat and didn't drop to level 0 in one go, they would soon make a comeback!
On the other hand, even if Valla's army crushed the Players in numbers, they would not be able to replenish as quickly. Not only that, some of the higher-level troops would be gone with each death, and they would only weaken the more they fought!
Moreover, the Valla Empire had fought a war against the Grand Duchy of Rominos earlier on and had already lost a considerable number of soldiers. The pressure on the Players was definitely not as great as when they were at their peak.
As long as the balance between the two sides tilted slightly in favor of the players, the outcome would be decided.
That was why Xi Wei did not fear the Valla Empire.
The Temple of Glory's stance was unclear, but it was unlikely that they would interfere with the Church of Games. The Gospel of Life and the God of the Sky had nothing to do with him, while Lord Hades and Magic Purple were eternally neutral, while the Earthweaver held an inexplicable kindness toward him.
From the start, Xi Wei was only worried about the Brilliant White Church and the God of Light they worshipped, Lionheart.
The Brilliant White Church was almost as aggressive as medieval Christianity back on Earth, and was even more threatening than the God of War's believers. They had been stirring up trouble in various small countries in the dark, and would have certain archbishops or the like come out to save the day, boosting their reputation and guiding their believers to force those countries into a theocracy with divine authority.
Although they couldn't be so direct against major countries that possessed considerable military might, they would still infiltrate them and slowly increase the Brilliant White Church's influence among the citizens and nobles, eventually achieving a similar effect.
If they didn't have a powerful church like the Temple of Glory as a competitor, the entire Eastern Continent would have fallen under the Brilliant White Church's indirect rule.
Being a professional shit-stirrer, the Brilliant White Church would probably jump out and make a fuss about it. If the higher-ups of the Brilliant White Church really paid attention and supported them, the Church of Games wouldn't be able to handle them unless they sought refuge with Kratos, the God of War, or the Earthweaver.
"If push comes to shove, I'll just have to try causing friction in other places and drag the Valla Empire into a quagmire to buy as much time as I can …"
Xi Wei stroked what was probably his chin with his tentacles as he thought of a solution.
The Valla Empire wasn't stable in the first place and had many hidden threats. Using quests to motivate the Players to blow up those threats should buy them a lot of time.
As long as he could buy enough time, a divine war might break out. When that happens, the gods wouldn't even be able to look after themselves, and the Valla Empire might not attract the attention of Lionel, the God of Light.
☆
While Angora rambled on and on, adding one or two useful bits of information amidst the trash talk so that the Players wouldn't be able to get information as quickly as possible and wouldn't lose their patience and get rid of him, the Players finally overcame all obstacles and tracked the Minister of Intelligence's residence.
"Some Hunter Players have scouted the terrain here and made a map with [Hundred Hunts]. They've uploaded a screenshot to the forums, so confirm it and sneak in from both sides!"
Simba began to issue orders to the Players who came with him, just as Edward did.
Perhaps it was because he had left a good impression on the newbie Players with his steady and orderly movements during the Crookes event, none of them were trying to start a fight.
Or rather, none of the Players with experience were participating in the quest. Edward's party had yet to return from the Trinia Forests, while Mufasa had gone to Codo Bosra as if he had something on his mind. Zonyan's party was preparing to conquer the Grayclaw Tribe at the Western Continent, while Princess Leah and her subordinates were cramming knowledge with Old Vanke. Terry and Jom were searching for a starting point based on the Bode Giant's tracks, while the Koi duo, Terrosche and Silva, were taking in refugees in Wickidor …
As the Church of Games grew stronger, the first-rate Players shouldered their own mission and blossomed all over the continent, spreading the God of Games' teachings.
That also allowed Simba and the others of the new generation to quickly mature, no longer having to live under the protection of the first-rate Players like before.
"Lily and I will sneak in from the front and try to make some noise according to the situation. Zazu and your Miss Vela would take the chance and lead another party to invade from the rear courtyard in the south …"
"It's a good plan, Simba," Zazu said, finding it hard to speak. "But there's a problem."
"What is it?" Simba looked at him in confusion.
"Miss Vela is already sneaking in …"
Zazu said, pointing at several unlucky guards who had fallen to the ground with arrows sticking out of their butts.
"…"
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