The Systemic Lands

Chapter 314: Day 688 – Neo Brasilia And News

Chapter 314: Day 688 – Neo Brasilia And News

It had been a hassle, but it was done. I had managed to collect 11.2 million points in five days. Hope and Bao Wang would get 4 million each. That would be enough for them to have stats to survive a level 3 zone without me babysitting them.

They would be able to grind themselves up after that. I would invest a lot of the remaining points back into my health insurance, around 2.2 million points. The remaining 1 million points would be used to upgrade the city.

With Purgatory gone as far as I knew, I had no way to get the ninth stat of Sense. Upgrading Neo Brasilia would allow for me to do that once I returned after my very long grinding session. If we camped at the edge of a level 3 zone next to a level 4 zone, there would be no one who would easily find us.

I was counting on the fact that even if the Divine Empress survived she wouldn’t want to waste the time to hunt me down. That was the nice thing about being a bug beneath her boot. My only use had been to get to the Astrologer, her enemy.

With her tracking down the Homunculus and yeeting me into the stratosphere, there would be no need to find me again. I had made some trouble sure, but with the way I ran her Empire, I doubted she would care much.

Rebels had been running around for a long time and she did not chase them personally. She couldn’t be bothered unless they held a city. That was the key point. Access to the city store. The rebels often raided to get access to the store, but they could hold it.

So, they raided and ran. That was what led to the clashes between both sides. But for me, I had surpassed their strength. Both the rebels and the Divine Empress’s minions. It wasn’t just my stats, but also my skills.

That had been a big reason I had been able to go toe to toe with the Envoy. I was pulling the cart towards the city and a question came to mind. “Why is he called the Envoy?” I asked Bao Wang.

“Umm, that is just his title. His name has been lost. It translates something a bit different in Chinese. But basically, it means, one who speaks for the one in charge.” Well, that was the biggest non-answer ever but not surprising.

I had been plumbing the depths of Bao Wang’s knowledge every chance I got. The more I knew about the Empire, the more I would be able to find the weak points and cracks to exploit. The most dangerous thing in the Systemic Lands was a single rouge powerful person that wasn’t tied down to a city.

They could strike and retreat at will. It was a massive tactical advantage, and it was always better to be on the attack than defensive. The cities were massive weak points to any nation. While the Divine Empress had turned her capital, the Forbidden City, into a fortress, that was not going to stop me.

The answer was simple the more I thought about the theft. We would hijack a tribute cart and bypass everything that way. But I needed that Sense stat or negative energy training before hand to make sure I didn’t come across as a beacon of energy trying to sneak inside the capital.

I could then take the treasury, leaving these two behind to hold the single doorway after killing everyone inside and then going straight to the airship. I would take it and figure out a way to bring it over to the treasury.

With a pet taming rod, I might even be able to find a mimic to tame and use that on my face to look like the Envoy. No one would question me. The main issue was that I didn’t know any Chinese and I was terrible at languages.

Well perhaps after taking the treasury I would have Bao Wang and Hope accompany me as special guards or something. I wasn’t sure yet and there were more details to work out. But I felt like a plan was finally coming together.

As the Envoy I might be able to cash in all those crystals on the spot claiming the Divine Empress’s authority. But the language issue came up again. I also wanted to leave chaos behind. Well, I had Bao Wang had he was a translator back on Earth. Another reason to keep him around to teach me Chinese.

I just had to memorize like 100 phrases and then pick one from the list. Like a game, with a list of dialogue options. ‘The Divine Empress commands the treasury is to be awarded to me in her name.’ ‘You dare question the Divine Empress!’ ‘I am the Envoy of the Divine Empress, obey.’

Just get a 100 of those statements perfected and train them up. I didn’t need to know what other people were saying, I just needed to bluff my way through and kill anyone who disobeyed. The more I thought about the idea the more I liked it. Much better than a frontal assault, which could still happen.

But I wanted to get the treasury and airship first before I attempted to raise the Forbidden City to the ground. That way if I was forced to retreat, I had already accomplished my objectives.

We made our way to the West city gate. There were no soldiers in black armor there. I had gone to this gate instead of the South one to throw people off. We entered the city.

“Hey!” I heard a shout and paused. I turned to look. It was a guard in dark blue. “The light before the dawn.” I thought back on all the pass phrases Clarissa had me remember.

“Is not present so it is still dark,” I replied, giving the counter call out. The guard approached me and bowed.

“Champion Michael, we weren’t sure if you had survived.”

“Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. Well, maybe not that much. What is the news?” I asked, curious how things had shaken up and most importantly if the Divine Empress was still alive.

“Thanks to your actions the invasion stalled at Esperanza. The main force of the Divine Empress was caught up with what occurred in Purgatory. The city completely reset to level 0. No one survived.” At least it wasn’t a void zone now. Another reason I had hesitated going back in that direction.

“And the Divine Empress?” I asked.

“Unknown. There has been no sign of her, but the soldiers have regrouped in Esperanza and are preparing another push East. A team is being assembled for you to lead into the Empire,” the man said, and I shook my head.

“No. I managed to get quite a bit of information about the Empire and have my own plans. A team is not necessary. I plan to act around day 900. So pass it onto Clarissa, that any trouble she can stir up on that day would be appreciated,” I said. I smiled, she was still alive. I was glad she had made it out of Purgatory safely. If anyone could survive that disaster it would be her.

“That is over 200 days away,” the man replied.

“The simple fact is, that the Divine Empress is unkillable. Completely and utterly. If she isn’t dead, I need to work on another method to fight her. So, creating trouble on day 900 would be quite helpful. As for information. This is my guest, Bao Wang. He is going to stay with me. But you can chat him up to get all the information about the Dragon Empire, before we depart.”

“I will pass that all along. It is good to know you are still with us Champion Michael.” I gave the man a nod and slowly pulled the cart as he chatted with Bao Wang who had gotten out. Hope had gotten out as well.

“So, you want to join him and the rebellion?” I asked Hope.

“What me?” she sounded surprised.

“After all these stat points, you would be one of their highest level combatants. If you stay with me, it is going to get harder and more dangerous. I consider all these points more than enough compensation for my help,” I replied.

“Oh, well thank you. I wasn’t expecting anything. I think that I might do that. I am not ready for level 3 zones or high level fighting. But I don’t mind helping people however I can,” she said with a grin. I hoped she would be able to hold onto that as the evil empire pressed forward, missing Divine Empress or no missing Divine Empress.

Not knowing was incredibly frustrating, but I assumed she was alive and hiding like a snake, waiting to strike. She just wanted people to poke their heads out first so she could rip them off.

“I thought as much. I know the last couple of days have been hard on you, thank you for putting up with it and saving me,” I said.

“You’re welcome. So, what will you do after this?” Hope asked me.

“I am going to grind and I hope you will keep your mouth shut about where I am. Can you promise me that, not even a hint?” I asked.

“Yes, of course,” Hope said.

“I mean it. Not even the other people on our side or the rebellion. I don’t want to be surprised. Also, no talk about robbing the Divine Empress either. The only one and I mean the only one you can talk to is Clarissa if you ever meet her.”

“Clarissa, got it. Wait you mean Chief Administrator Clarissa?” Hope, you are so naïve it scares me. Like one of those people recording themselves on a phone who goes over a cliff or is barely missed by a vehicle since they aren’t paying attention to their surroundings.

“Yes, that Clarissa,” I replied. We made our way to the plaza. The guard or rebel now had exhausted Bao Wang of information. I had listened in, and he had been consistent with everything he had told me before. That should give Clarissa a leg up against the evil Empire.

I made my way to the pillars and began cashing in points. Bao Wang and Hope did the same. The guard had gotten together with a couple of others and they were quietly talking. I didn’t doubt them, since I recalled one of their faces from my home in Purgatory and they all had Caucasian features and spoke English.

I would see the Divine Empress getting in one spy, but a group like this in the correct uniforms, pass phrases, and everything else, well it just wasn’t possible.

I turned in my points and then upgraded the city from level 3 to level 4. I looked up at the sky. “Um, what are you looking for?” Bao Wang had come over and asked me.

“I upgraded the city.”

“That…well it isn’t forbidden I guess.” Not in the Divine Empire anymore.

The sky worms appeared, and I shot up into the air. I had already done this twice before, and once successfully on my own. It was easy enough to kill them without any assistance. That was the thing about fighting monsters, or PvE. It was simple once you managed it the first time. No power boosts, no changes.

I checked the store, and the Sense stat was there for purchase. I considered getting it, but not right now. When I cashed in a bunch of my points, then I would boost that stat a lot, all at once. Just doing a few points at a time would annoy me to death.