But since Ryan couldn't tell her why they programmed him to win vs. the Grand Prince, he told a half-truth.
"Aurora, do you find anything strange about Mila?" Ryan suddenly asked.
Aurora raised her eyebrow and looked at the hologram.
Scrutinizing Mila's face, Aurora's eyes suddenly lit up. "I believe my son used to play with her at a young age. Although I would have recognized her in person because I usually recognize people based on their auras, I would have never known if you hadn't pointed it out to me."
Ryan nodded. 'Looks like my torturer's information was correct.
Ryan then said the 'alternative theory'. "We believe the Grand Empress would use that to your disadvantage by sending someone to bet with you."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Aurora asked.
"We believe that the Grand Empress wants the invasion pass in your possession, so she can invade the Dawn Pavilion after it becomes a heavenly blessed kingdom," Ryan replied.
Aurora frowned. "I wouldn't be so naive to bet my heavenly invasion pass on a mere duel, even if I was certain of the outcome."
Ryan chuckled. "Even if they swore by the heavens that they had vital information on your son?"
Aurora froze. Her son was her weakness, and the more she thought about it, the more she found it plausible that she would fall for it if someone came up to her with that deal.
"Okay, now that we know the backstory, what's the plan?" the Zol'Gan Empress asked, eager to hear the plan.
Ryan then started saying the modified version of the plan, save for a few details that couldn't be disclosed to keep his identity a secret.
"The plan is pretty straightforward. First, we give the Grand Empress what she wants," Ryan stated.
The opposite side of the table frowned and looked at each other, Becca doing an excellent job showing her chagrin.
"Although I was following you until this point," Becca slowly said, "giving my mother what she wants sounds like a dangerous proposition."
Ryan nodded. "Normally, I would agree, but this is a rare opportunity to take down the Kheaweth Empire and possibly the whole of the Holy Alliance."
"How?" Aurora asked.
The eyes of Aurora and the Zol'Gan Empress blazed like an inferno as they eagerly awaited Ryan's following words.
Ryan stood up and started to pace. "We know she will start a war against the Zol'Gan Empire and the Dawn Pavilion."
Ryan stopped walking and turned towards the three mighty women. "But why is she confident to go against such a large force?"
Aurora's eyes lit up in understanding.
If she transferred the Dawn Pavilion to her son, the Dawn Pavilion would genuinely be the most potent force on Ravier.
Although the Grand Empress had the biggest cultivation base, the Multiverse wasn't a place where a single person reigned supreme by themselves.
It was the power behind that person that mattered the most.
"The reason she has the confidence… is me. She thinks she controls me, thinks she can use me like a puppet and get away with it," Ryan said, his tone turning colder.
His hatred toward the Kheaweth Empire slipped into his tone as he snarled. "They think I am their tool to use. They think they crafted me to be their bitch."
"But I'm nobody's tool to use, and I say we give them the war they want."
Ryan then looked his mother, Aurora, directly in the eyes. "I won't give up until they're all dead."
Silence filled the room as Aurora slowly nodded. "What do you have in mind?"
Ryan grinned. "I will beat the Grand Prince, and you will let the Grand Empress take the invasion pass. Then, once the Grand Empress issues an attack vs. the Zol'Gan Empire, you will transfer ownership of the Dawn Pavilion to your son, who will be there, and he will join the Zol'Gan Empire's side."
Ryan then looked at the Zol'Gan Empress. "You will then transfer control over the defense to me in front of the Grand Empress, giving her more confidence in the matter."
The Zol'Gan Empress nodded. She had been filled in by her daughters about what kind of man Ryan was and wasn't worried about handing him control.
"The Holy Phoenix Empire will then join the Kheaweth Empire's invasion force, and the war will begin," Ryan finished.
Seeing everyone nodding, Ryan then laid out what everyone should be doing next week to prepare for the wedding and the war to come.
He acted like a true leader, and since everyone else there accepted his authority without question, Aurora felt like she should also take a gamble on the young man.
Ryan first had Becca continue getting stronger, as she was currently S-Rank. Although her cultivation wouldn't rise to SS-Rank before the wedding, she could train her auxiliary skills or specialty, which was even more critical because she was an Overlord.
He gave the Zol'Gan Empress the mission of working with Ester and Sienna to understand the Kheaweth Military and infiltrate their systems and personnel as deeply as possible. At the same time, they still had access since Ryan would have them declare their siding with him at the wedding.
While they could serve as good spies, Ryan felt it would be too obvious they were on his side once he started displaying that he had some secrets he kept from the Grand Empress, and she looked into his past.
He would instead drop the Kheaweth Empire morale by having their highest ranking general and a Duchess defect, then risk losing them.
Ryan also had to think about his future off of Ravier.
These women were indispensable to him now, so losing one off the start would be a devastating blow to his consciousness. He genuinely cared about every one of his harem members and harmed his overall future strength.
To Aurora, he didn't order her to do anything. Instead, he asked her if she would be willing to go over the Dawn Pavilion's resources with Vimmi, his dragonkin servant.
Ryan needed to know what he was working with when going up against a powerful force like the Grand Empress and two empires.
He reminded everyone that they should get their families out of either empire if they were there, but only Emily, Ester, and Zoey had relatives inside the Kheaweth Empire.
The meeting then broke up, and people went their separate ways.
Ryan, of course, had the most important job of all.
He had to confirm that Mila was the Grand Prince and how he was related to her.
"Well, that meeting went well. Hopefully, our plan goes smoothly," Ryan muttered as he flew on his sword.
Yoko, who had watched the whole thing, only shook her head. 'How could things ever go so smoothly?'
===
The Kheaweth Military Academy (7 days until the wedding…)
Ryan flew toward the academy with a new wristband that Ester had provided him.
His identity showed he was a noble that was simply visiting the school.
This was relatively common as prospecting noble students often came onto campus, so the guards at the gate merely waved him through.
Ryan had several stops inside the academy but had a whole week to prepare, so he was in no rush.
But right now, Ryan's main goal was not to be found out.
Ryan had instructed Yoko to make it seem as though his tracking device that the Kheaweth Empire turned on again and was leaving the Red Dragon Empire and currently traveling to the Kheaweth Empire.
If he were found now, he wouldn't have a way to explain why the tracker had an error.
Ryan was about to head to the information hub when he overheard a conversation that instantly piqued his interest.
"Have you heard of the enhancer competition coming up?" A girl asked her friend.
"Who hasn't? It's the enhancers from all three of the Holy Alliance's academies competing to see who has the best loads around," the other girl answered, licking her lips.
"You're disgusting," the first girl said, playfully pushing her friend.
"Hey, all I'm saying is that even the faction leaders have taken notice of the competition, and Queen Mila herself said that she would bed the winner if it were from our Kheaweth Empire," the second girl said. "If Queen Mila is interested in it, a little girl like me would be lucky to have a taste."
Interested, Ryan butted in and said, "Excuse me, ladies, I overheard your conversation. Where exactly is this competition taking place?"
Hearing a male voice, both girls were prepared to give Ryan a beating for interrupting them, but when they turned, they gapped at Ryan's gorgeous face.
Ryan had activated a pleasant face before interacting, just to ensure he would get the answers he sought.
"Well, hello, handsome. Are you a freshman this year?" the second girl said, hurrying up to Ryan and laying her hand on his chest.
Ryan clasped her hand and slowly moved it down until even the girl's face turned scarlet, and she forcefully moved away from Ryan.
"Yes," Ryan lied. "But I've been ill for a while and haven't heard about this competition."
The first girl huffed and muttered, "Stupid men and their ability to get sick. Why don't you just cultivate and save yourselves the trouble."
Ryan ignored the imbecile and hoped the second woman was more mentally sound.
Thankfully it looked like she was, and after she had calmed down from overexcitement, she said, "The competition starts tomorrow and is hosted here in our military academy."
The girl continued, "As I said, it's the competition of the Holy Phoenix Empire, the Red Dragon Empire, and the Kheaweth Empire's young enhancers."
"Can anyone join, or is it just students?" Ryan asked.
"Wow, you don't know anything," the first girl said, rolling her eyes. "Not only do you have to be a student, but you also have to be in the top 10 of your year."
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