"I know it ain’t much, but this is the best we can do without dooming your region." Dominic sighed while returning to his seat, "The Hound is just one pawn from dozens belonging to each Bishop... there are seven Bishops ruling our soil and oceans. As long as we don’t have the necessary strength to survive their wrath as natives, we can’t place our hope on the Saviors helping us against them."
Levi and the rest understood that this wasn’t easy on Dominic too... as the supervisor of the SAS Headquarters, he possessed the highest form of authority on Earth, having even direct contact with the Saviors and possibly the supervising Radian if he had something good to offer. And yet, he was just as helpless as them if not more.
"I want you to listen to me... if you truly feel outraged, I need you to focus on nothing but your growth." Dominic said solemnly, "Channel the anger into growth... and once you reach their level, you will never need to tiptoe around the Bishop or any other bastard out there that wants us dead."
"Easier said than done."
Tyrese scoffed under his breath, not affected by his motivational speech... it wasn’t just him.
"What? Feeling discouraged already?" Dominic added with an indifferent look, "I am an Ecliptic Daywalker and I believe I can become a Radian Daywalker in a couple of years at most if some dots align... if I can do it, if I reach their level, why can’t you?"
This time, Tyrese kept his mouth shut... sure, becoming a Radian Daywalker appeared like a cloudy dream viewed from a distance.
But with Dominic being around, that distant dream became somewhat clearer whether they liked to admit it or not... after all, if he could do it, so could they, as long as they put in the work.
"Listen... for now, forget about the Bishops, the Hound, and the other big guys... I want you to focus on what you can do at the moment to help yourselves and our planet, and people as a whole... in about two months, there is going to be a Faction vs. Faction War Event within the Great Campaign." Dominic spoke seriously, "I know that you have just gotten out of an unenviable situation, but I think this is the time for you to actually push harder than ever, not relax... you have tasted a breath of death, and I encourage you to keep it fresh in your mouths."
Hearing this, everyone locked in and listened to what Dominic had to offer.
"This kind of event is held once in the qualification period... it’s not a standard Raid. It’s four teams vs. four teams from both factions... If the Raiders Faction won, you will earn their treasuries combined, which I believe their value can cross past one million Solar Aegis Coins... In addition, the winner teams will earn their qualification slots in the final tournament right away, not requiring to continue gathering points." Dominic paused, "It’s a massive opportunity and only the top four teams in the current ranking will have a chance of joining it."
"It is indeed a great opportunity to earn our slot and a decent bite of resources to push our growth higher... however, I have heard that such an event almost always includes a twist that ensures infighting between the teams within each Faction..." Evangeline frowned, "Most crucially, only one Faction can survive the Death Game."
Arthur and the girls’ pupils thinned out a bit... even Levi wasn’t comfortable with the notion of joining forces with Yanhuan’s team, which would most definitely be picked, and two other random teams in a Death Game that enforced them to work with each other to survive while at the same time putting a twist to make them turn on each other.
However, as deadly as it sounded, Levi knew that it was going to save them an immense amount of effort and hard work if they won it... after all, the more Raids they participated in, the higher the chances of landing on one that might get them killed or at least lose a few members along the way.
Death Games weren’t a joke to be spammed nonstop and expect to win them all the time.
"I know it’s a difficult decision to make, but I do hope you think about it..." Dominic added, "I want only the best of the best to represent us in the event to ensure our win, considering that every major or small win we get against Conquerors on the big screen will make the unbound nightcrawlers either avoid our planet or leave it to an easier one to conquer."
"Weakness invites weakness... that’s the law of the jungle." Feng Ling nodded in support, "Our planet was invaded because we used to be weak... we had nothing going for us but our technology, and unfortunately, it’s useless in the CRS Platform, which decides our fate. But now, it’s different... if we can’t deal with the Bishops, we must at least repel the rest of the nightcrawlers from picking our planet to invade... even if your efforts stopped only a few hundreds or thousands, it means that we have reduced our burden."
When it was spun like this, Tyrese and the rest of the pessimists had their approach changed a little... sure, the risk was still high, but he was right.
Avoiding the big fights, which would have high viewership, meant leaving this opportunity to other teams weaker than them... if they were to lose, or worse, get their asses absolutely demolished, the tens or hundreds of millions of viewers would be left with a single thought implanted in their minds.
Earth was free for the taking.
This would increase the number of nightcrawlers pouring in, making it nearly impossible to slow down the Shadow Dimension’s corruption.
"Always remember... our real fight is against the corrupting atmosphere, and we must do whatever it takes to slow it down... only then will we have a chance to reach the necessary strength to fight the real battle against the seven tumors."
...
After Dominic was done, he told them to think about it thoroughly and sent them away, leaving only Jasmine and Levi behind... Whether they decided to join the Faction War or not, it was up to them in the end.
With them gone, Dominic kicked off the discussion about the treasury... he requested from Levi to let him view the loot she gathered, and he approved of it.
He knew that Dominic wouldn’t find what he was seeking after.
As expected, the treasures looted were great alright, and yet, he still shook his head in disappointment... nothing was great enough to make the Radian seek Azhukar’s dimensional wallet.
Then, he told them to split the treasures as they saw fit since Levi did bring in the Sun Amulet even if it was broken. In simpler terms, the contract’s terms still stood, and this allowed his team to keep 100% of the loot.
After they were finally dismissed, Levi and Jasmine took the elevator together and headed to their assigned rooms in the Conference Area. It was also within the central city but exclusive only to the teams approved in the Conference.
After thrashing Yanhuan and what happened in the ancient site, there was no question about Levi’s team’s capabilities.
Ting!
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime... Levi stepped out first, Jasmine right beside him, talking through signs with each other.
However, Levi stopped mid-sentence the moment he noticed Yanhuan waiting in the hallway with his teammates... they were leaning casually against the wall like they had been there for a short while.
Yanhuan had his arms crossed and a smug look on his face he tried his best to hide.
"Well, well," he said loudly, his tone laced with polite but disguised mockery. "The heroes of the great exploration finally return... Three teams, and still a massive failure. I’m impressed."
Levi didn’t even slow down. His head remained affixed as he walked forward toward his assigned room.
"Not in the mood, Yanhuan... please, just go." He said, sighing...
He had just received the news of his instructor passing away, the last thing he needed was to deal with Yanhuan, whose ego was clearly beyond bruised after their last fight... if it was even proper to call it a ’fight’.
Yanhuan pushed off the wall, stepping right in front of him.
"Not in the mood? You should’ve thought about that before leading everyone into disaster. Your lack of experience cost us an A Grade site... and the lives of multiple talented Daywalkers." He scolded sternly, "I admit you’re strong... but strength doesn’t matter as much inside ancient distorted sites. Experience is the key, and you still sought to make your first exploration be an A Grade site."
Levi stopped for a moment, his expression turning frigid by the second.
Upon hearing this after everything that Levi had done... for himself and for the safety of others, he didn’t know why, but it rubbed him the wrong way.
Usually, he wouldn’t mind such nonsense, knowing deep down that baseless words would never hurt him... however, not this time.
He felt a dark cloud turning chaotic in his heart and soul... it agitated him beyond reason, leaving him to start walking straight in the direction of Yanhuan, his visage as cold as a winter night.
"Yanhuan... I am not going to repeat myself a third time." Levi uttered word by word while continuing to step closer to him, "Get, out, of, my, way."
"Or what?" Yanhuan sneered, "This is the World Tree... everyone is free to express their opinio..."
Alas, before he could finish his sentence, his eyes flashed white for a split second. Amid the ear-piercing pitch, the only sounds his ears caught were the gasps of his teammates and the small crowd nearby.
As he felt his cheek tingling nonstop, Yanhuan touched it while staring at Levi’s vibrating palm with a stunned expression.
’Did... did he just slap me?’