The following day (20 days until the wedding…)
Ryan woke up early at left the inn before Stacy could harass him.
Yesterday after Velmuuth and Emily had left, Ryan returned to the inn only to be bombarded by Stacy.
He had to admit that he was also curious about her experience on earth, but he had more significant issues than earth to figure out right now.
He had only managed to sneak away from her after promising her to visit after the Military Summit.
Today was the start of the Summit, and he knew it would be a struggle, seeing as Leon had no choice but to follow the phoenix princess' demands.
However, Leon had been gracious enough to provide him with the details of the ones they would be matching up against, which made planning a bit easier.
The team, his squad, was facing first was known as the ShortWieners, a team his squad had faced four times in the scrimmages yesterday, coming out with two wins and two losses.
As Ryan made his way from the inn to the Military Summit's training area, he did his usual routine of stopping every few hundred feet and activating his bloodline for a split second.
He had made this a habit after being followed for so long when he noticed two strong auras to his left.
Usually, he would have disregarded and not paid attention to this, as messing with a strong cultivator's business was asking for a quick death.
But when he felt a fourth aura, he suddenly stopped, recognizing it.
The aura sent a chill down his spine, something that not even an S-Ranked cultivator could do.
But although this person did have higher cultivation than him, her cultivation didn't make him shiver. It was her identity. 'Why is Dr. Rubenstein here?!'
The vicious snake woman was currently talking with two people Ryan didn't recognize, but even though they were wearing masks, he could make out their appearances with his bloodline.
They both had tattoos of the Dawn Pavilion engrained on their arms, which gave him a sinking feeling.
Ryan bit his lip in thought. 'If Dr. Rubenstein is here, something will happen with the tournament.'
Deciding to hunker down and observe the trio, Ryan turned his attention to their conversation.
"We need thissss to be flawlessss," Dr. Rubenstein said. "The Holy Phoenix Empire cannot know of our involvement."
"We understand, Dr., everyone will be under the impression that this was Dawn Paivlion's doing," one of the figures said.
"Only three weeks until the final phase of the plan can be set into motion. I can't wait," the third one trembled with excitement.
Dr. Rubenstein chuckled. "Indeed, a joyoussss event."
Pulling out two pills, Dr. Rubenstein handed one to each figure. "Now, both of you take these pills. There can be no capture; no one can know who actually killed the gray phoenix princesssss."
The third figure took the pill and stuffed it into her pouch as swiftly, but the second hesitated but took the pill after some hesitation, putting it into her spatial bag with a heavy breath.
Dr. Rubenstein licked her lips and clapped. "Very good, now go. She must die before the first event happens in the Military Summit."
…
Ryan frowned. "What should I do?"
Ryan knew if he tried to save Zizi, he wouldn't have enough time to participate in the first round of the Military Summit, which would cause his spot to be forfeited,
Assuming the gray phoenix princess was Zizi, the same one he identified as the most likely to betray the Holy Phoenix Empire for him, Ryan could either save her, hoping she could see through the falsehood of the fake Dawn Pavilion soldiers.
Or he could continue participating in the Military Summit and go for the promised skill as long as he kept progressing.
As Ryan was about to decide, he got a prompt.
[Quest Update]
[Quest: Military Tactics]
[Update: Quest can now be completed by saving the gray phoenix princess]
[Bonus: A bonus will be rewarded if the fake soldiers of the Dawn Pavilion kill the orange and pink phoenix princesses and get away with it]
[Note(1): For the bonus to apply, the Holy Phoenix Empire must think it was the Dawn Pavilion who caused the killings]
[Note (2): Quest can be completed as normal as well]
Ryan licked his lips. 'Well, I do like a bonus.'
Ryan had already seen the military tactics abilities stats and if he could get an upgraded version of that, he would be one happy man.
Rereading what he had to do with the bonus, Ryan saw that he only needed to make the Holy Phoenix Empire think that it was the Dawn Pavilion who caused the killings, he didn't have to make Zizi think so as well.
If he made Zizi aware of the truth, it would be easier to help her switch sides.
Making his choice, Ryan diverted his path, following the two figures that walked away from Dr. Rubenstein.
…
After following them for fifteen minutes, Ryan saw the two figures stop and start setting up what appeared to be an ambush.
'I guess they know which path the princesses will take to the Summit's training arena,' Ryan figured. 'I doubt the princesses have too many bodyguards, as who would dare attack them in their own capital.'
Sure enough, only twenty minutes later, Ryan saw a group of no less than 10 cultivators flying on swords heading in the duo's direction.
When the group entered Ryan's bloodline range, he spotted Zizi and decided to act.
[It's showtime, girls!] Ryan shouted telepathically to Izzy, Lizzy, Grace, and Zoey.
Ryan had planned everything out while waiting, now was time to see if his natural military tactics could pass the test.
Lizzy and Grace played the role of containment as they surrounded the fight.
Although someone from the group had to be alive to report that it was the 'Dawn Pavilion' who attacked, Ryan had to make sure if someone else saw his or one of his girl's identities, he could stop them from leaving.
Zoey played the role of the distraction, a massive explosion going off as soon a second after she exited from Ryan's palace.
The blast didn't cause much damage but pushed the group apart.
That was Ryan's cue, flying toward the group and catching the dazed Zizi.
As Ryan was wearing a mask right now, Zizi wanted to scream but was stopped by Ryan clasping a hand over her mouth.
As Ryan escaped, he sensed the two fake Dawn Pavilion soldiers, who had appeared stunned from the sudden explosion, leap into action and target the other princesses, who stood out among the debris due to their extravagant clothing.
Thankful that his assumption about them being okay with killing any princess, not just Zizi, Ryan breathed a sigh of relief.
As he looked down at Zizi in his arms, Ryan's breath caught as he saw Zizi's eyes red and puffy, tears flowing down her cheek.
Stopping a mile from the initial attack, Ryan lowered himself to the ground while holding Zizi like a princess with one hand and removed his mask. "Zizi, are you alright?"
Zizi, who was silently sobbing, looked up and opened her mouth.
Her mouth hung open as she looked at Ryan as though looking at a deity.
"Raven?" Zizi muttered, still starring at Ryan.
Ryan tilted his head, then touched his hair. "My name is Ryan, but you can call me raven if you'd like."
Lightly chuckling, Ryan poured energy into his eyes and looked back at the battlefield to see the current situation.
The last part of his plan was going perfectly as Ryan saw Izzy cutting the throats of the two princesses.
Izzy, of course, having the part of the true killer.
The Fake Dawn Pavilion soldiers were A-Ranked cultivators, like his girls, but according to Yoko, his girls got a boost when they formed a bond with him, even more than the racial boost.
It wasn't something she could say in words, as she claimed Ryan wouldn't understand it, but she used the words 'upgrade to their foundation' as a placeholder for now.
Zizi closed her mouth and looked off into the distance. "What's happening? Why are you here?"
"The Kheaweth Empire sent people here to assassinate you, and I couldn't sit idly by while such a lovely woman was murdered," Ryan responded.
Zizi wiped off her dress and looked back at Ryan. "Is that why I just saw your people kill my sisters?"
Ryan widened his eyes and prepared to turn his sword from flying mode into battle mode when Zizi started laughing.
She clutched her stomach and fell to the ground as she laughed, staring at the heavens. "I'm finally free of them, free of the two monsters I used to call sisters."
Ryan didn't know if the girl had just gone crazy or if this was some type of show, but Ryan didn't lower his guard as he tentatively got ready for a fight.
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