"Kong Ming, do we have any hope of retaining our influence in North America?" Emperor Tianhao asked.
"No, my lord. We have no hope," Zhuge Liang replied bluntly, causing the emperor to sigh.
"Why are you so sure? It's not set in stone!" Owl retorted, clearly reluctant to abandon North America.
"Before I answer your question, Lord Owl, may I inquire if you can win against a Hell Lord who can use his full power?" asked Zhuge Liang.
Hearing Zhuge Liang refer to the Hell Lord, Owl knew what he was implying. After all, it was Owl who had provided all the data he had collected about Daniel Emberweave to Zhuge Liang and the Qing Empire.
"Are you trying to imply that, without eliminating Daniel Emberweave, we have no hope of retaining our influence in North America? I'll have you know, Daniel is just one man; he can't be everywhere at once! We can distract him, call him to the other side of the world, and prevent him from coming to North America until we regain what we've lost!" Owl said with irritation.
"Lord Owl, if you do that, you'll lose even more, and this plan will not work," Zhuge Liang stated, making Owl feel even angrier.
Zhuge Liang didn't care about what Owl felt. He had disliked this mage from the first time he was resurrected. For some reason, he had never liked this mage named Owl. Ignoring Owl's irritation, Zhuge Liang continued with his explanation.
"According to your sources in both North America and the Hightower, Daniel Emberweave's current objective is to unite America into one body. So, his goal directly clashes with your interests, Lord Owl. Even if you lure him away, he will not be gone for long. He will return shortly, especially if things get out of hand in America. He might come back to solve the problem himself.
Don't forget, you still can't match Daniel Emberweave's power and can't win against him in a frontal confrontation. Remember what happened when you crossed the line by trying to abduct his daughter to use her as leverage against him.
He came directly to you, and nothing in your arsenal within the Alchemont clan grounds could stop him or even slow him down. If you hadn't quickly grasped the situation and retreated the moment you heard about Daniel Emberweave's approach, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now," Zhuge Liang said, his words silencing Owl.
Seeing Owl's reaction, Emperor Tianhao intervened, not wanting to alienate their new ally.
"Kong Ming, do you have any way to bring our plan to fruition? A plan that will return the world to the Era of Gods. That way, my long ambition for immortality would take a step forward. What do you think about using the seal on the moon, as Lord Owl suggested?" asked the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, I must disagree with the plan to use the seal on the moon. It is too dangerous," Zhuge Liang said, gently shaking his head.
"Do you have an alternative, then?" Owl asked, seemingly unconvinced. The plan to use the seal on the moon came from his lord, Hades, the God of Death. He believed it was the fastest way to achieve the state of the Era of Gods and doubted any other plan would suffice.
"The first is Don Ardito Veneziale. He had a scuffle with Daniel Emberweave because of his son. Currently, he is on probation because his underling made a mistake and let his wife, Koyuko No Tokugawa, get captured by the Hojo Clan.
The second is Aryan Sharma, a normal person who doesn't even know about the Curtained World. He has an inconvenience with his family; he is the illegitimate son of Rajendra Sharma, the current patriarch of the Sharma family, which was once a prosperous noble family."
"You mean we take his family hostage and force him to comply with us, right?" Owl asked, familiar with such tactics.
"No. If we take his family hostage, he wouldn't comply; in fact, he would celebrate it. Aryan Sharma hates his family. He is a very successful businessman with excellent acumen, thanks to his deceased grandfather, Anirudh Sharma. After his grandfather's death, he couldn't care less about the rest of his family.
The only person he cares about is his mother, whom he has already brought to live with him in Sector Alpha City," Zhuge Liang explained.
"Then why are you telling me about his family? His mother probably has at least one battalion of Astral PMC soldiers protecting her," Owl retorted.
Zhuge Liang remained calm and continued his explanation.
"Don't you see, Lord Owl? His mother might still have some connection with Rajendra Sharma. Yes, Rajendra is not a good father and a bad husband; he uses violence against his wife, whom he sees as inferior caste. From the sources His Majesty gathered, before Aryan was born, his father was a passionate young man whom his mother loved. But everything changed after he fell prey to drugs and gambling.
I suggest we contact Rajendra Sharma to be our agent first. He is deep in gambling debt, so it would be easy to approach him this way," Zhuge Liang suggested.
"I see, that makes sense. What about the second plan?" Owl asked, his eyes full of hope.
"The second plan," Zhuge Liang paused as the screen changed to display the UN symbol, "is to push for World War III. This time, Daniel Emberweave will be the Axis, and we will be the Allies," Zhuge Liang said.
"But before we delve deeper into it, we need to weaken him first," Zhuge Liang said with a smile. The screen displayed images of three people: Lust, the Witch of Lust, Christopher Ward, and Nicholas Sullivan.
"These three individuals, while not deeply associated with Daniel Emberweave, each play a significant role in protecting him and maintaining his image," Zhuge Liang explained.
"Among these three individuals, the one who provides the greatest support while receiving the least protection from Daniel Emberweave is..." Zhuge Liang pointed at Lust with his feather fan.
"Lust, the Witch of Lust.... She may not be critically important to Daniel Emberweave himself, but she plays a significant role in maintaining the secrecy of the Curtained World. Eliminating her would likely cause Daniel problems with the Hightower if he or his subordinates slip up regarding maintaining the secrecy of magic."