Chapter 359: Day 777 – An Overdue Talk With Clarissa

Chapter 359: Day 777 – An Overdue Talk With Clarissa

I followed a messenger back to Clarissa’s command post hidden just North of the dungeon in the zone at coordinates (1,0). It had taken a bit of doing to work my way through the command structure after Captain Mitchell, but I was Champion Michael.

Thankfully there were no threats involved, just direct orders. The biggest issue was that people had a very large latitude to operate under currently with command going to the units and the commanders in the field.

They would report back information and get information in turn from the headquarters, but there was very little direct oversight or micromanaging. It was this cell structure that Clarissa was using to insulate herself.

There were even further steps she had taken. No messenger went directly back and forth between the field and Clarissa’s headquarters. There was an exchange point in Purgatory. The city was back to its randomized nonsense and only upgraded to level 3.

It wasn’t worth the time or risk to upgrade it further and Neo Brasilia to the South was level 4. So I went from the command post at the intersection where I had met the rebels with one messenger to Purgatory and then handed off to a second messenger.

After all that work around, I was finally about to talk with Clarissa again. It had been ages since we had spoken. I had sent her messages through proxies and I had received information from the soldiers, but it wasn’t the same as a face to face meeting.

I was still carrying Fu Ge and the child, but the light travel had been easier on them along with frequent restorations in the cities we stopped at. Qi Ji Long had become withdrawn in the last day, but at least he wasn’t crying. The crying really annoyed me.

The messenger was in front and began shouting out pass phrases. I had barely noticed the soldiers concealed under enchanted blankets in the area. Smart, that was probably the good doctor. We passed through easily enough and came to what could only be described as a shaft built into the ground with large carts built to hold up the ceiling.

The entry way had also been covered by a blanket, but had been removed. There was a small entry room with guards stationed here, sitting on chairs, but they stood and saluted as I entered.

I set Fu Ge down but left the kid in his carry pack. I turned to the two soldiers at the entrance to the bunker who had saluted me. “Both of these people need to be looked after, while I speak to Clarissa. They are not to gain access to anything sensitive, but they are to be treated as guests. This man is a translator, and the kid is a VIP.”

“I can watch him,” a female soldier said. I nodded at this and pulled the kid out of the pack and then pried the cuff off my arm.

“Hand,” I gestured at her.

“Is it really necessary,” she asked.

“Yes. That child cannot be allowed to leave, or wander away for any reason. If that cuff comes off without Clarissa’s permission or myself, it had better be with your arm and your life. Understood soldier?” I asked.

“Um, yes, sir, uh, Champion Michael. Who is-“

“The kid is top secret, need to know. Don’t ask any questions. Hand,” I said again. She held out her hand. I bent the metal cuff around it. “Alright, let’s go,” I told the messenger who nodded at me.

The underground bunker was actually quite built out. I passed four separate rooms to either side. No doors on any of the rooms. I noted one had supplies, another an astrolabe, a sleeping room, and a conference room. I came to the last room at the end of the hallway which had a door.

“From the direction of the last airship that means the Avatar’s Nation is in the Northwest of the Dragon Empire and the Systemic Lands,” I said.

“So, five factions. Or six if the rebels of the Dragon Empire count?” Clarissa asked me.

“No, they are worthless. They have no city and no combat effectiveness. So, we control, what, six cities?” I asked.

“Yes. The NUCS controls one along with the Free City of Hong Kong, and the Dragon Empire controls nine, or eight now since you took a city,” Clarissa said. She hadn’t touched onto the fact I had the Divine Empress’s child and what we would do with him. That topic was clearly being saved until the end.

“The problem is I can’t win,” I blurted out and then sagged in my chair. “The Divine Empress’s stats, skills, and meta-points are too much for me to contend with. I don’t see any good path forward.”

“That is unfortunate. I have been thinking on the issue, but with everything you have said, it...well I was hoping she had invested more into her people and her empire, but that clearly isn’t the case,” Clarissa replied. We sat there in silence for a bit, mulling over the situation.

There was no good answer. It was like asking a country in Africa, how they plan to defeat the US or China. People would just look at them and laugh. But when you were the small nation without the power to fight head on, you realized how screwed you were.

At least in a full war the weaker side could engage in asymmetrical warfare. But that wasn’t going to cut it here. The Divine Empress needed to be killed personally. If she died, everything else could be sorted out.

Assassinations were out, since she would Sense them coming from a mile away most likely. Direct combat was out, again due to her insanely high stats. Skills were out, since she had clearly prepped her skills beforehand to maximize their usage and cost requirements. She had the benefit of taking her time while the rest of us were trying to catch up, but stuck in her cloud of dust.

“So, you want to use the child?” Clarissa asked me.

“Yes. We put a bomb into him. Then boom! At least it will deal emotional damage,” I replied.

“Anyone else would could have reasoned with. What about returning her child with the threat of going after him if she doesn’t back off?” Clarissa asked me.

“I would have agreed with that before I saw her throne made of screaming heads and what she did to the Avatar. Any agreement with her is worth nothing. Since once we lose the kid she would have all the power.”

“Then she backs off and we care for the kid ourselves?” Clarissa asked.

“She will look. And our threats won’t mean anything if we go through with them. And if we did go through with them, we would be screwed.” That was why I hated hostage situations. There was no good way to make a credible threat. Cutting off body parts didn’t mean much since that could be healed with a restoration. Curse damage might be a possibility. Something to consider.

“I see, she is completely deranged you believe, and it isn’t just your feelings for Naran?” This time Clarissa used her deadpan voice to ask me a harsh question. I winced at it, since it was partially true, but there was no taking back what I had seen.

“There is just no way to negotiate with her and survive. She would just murderize everyone in her path. And hoping she backs off and lets us keep her kid. I wouldn’t bet on that for all the points in the Systemic Lands,” I replied.