Child of Destiny

…

Atlas World, Saint Heaven Kingdom, Holy City.

David was currently staring intensely at the virtual map projected in front of him, trying to memorize everything. And at the same time, he was also trying to look for the source of unease that he was getting.

After taking a look at all of the areas that were under the Holy City’s jurisdiction, he expanded the virtual map and included the neighboring cities and towns.

A few moments later, he started frowning deeply as his unease was starting to get worse, especially when his gaze landed on the small villages scattered near the vicinity of the Holy City.

Click!

Not long after, Shiella suddenly entered the room and quickly saw the deep frown that David was wearing.

“What is with that look? If someone sees you have that kind of expression, then they will surely think that you already lose this war,” said Shiella as she across David.

Strangely enough, David didn’t turn to her nor reply to her words. He continued to study the map in front of him, making his brows frown deeper as more time passed.

Shiella also chose to remain silent when she saw him ignoring her and waited for him patiently. And after waiting for quite some time, she saw David raise his head finally look at her.

“I think we need to do some major changes to our plan,” said David with a serious tone.

Shiella suddenly frowned her eyebrows when she heard those words before nodding her head, indicating that David could go on.

“The Corrupted Cult will attack the Holy City without a doubt and it will happen soon,” he said while turning his head back to the virtual map.

Then he pointed at the mountain range near Holy City before continuing. “And their main force is most likely going to attack from here just like what we are expecting.” 𝒃𝙚𝒅𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍.𝙣𝙚𝙩

“But the more I study the map, the more unease I felt,” he paused for a brief moment before continuing “Given our preparations alongside the existing defensive capabilities of the holy city itself, I am pretty confident that we will be able to defend ourselves against them.”

“But here is the question. How about the other small cities around the Holy City? Then what about the Towns?” he added with a serious tone while also pointing to a couple of places on the virtual map.

Hearing those words and looking at the towns that David had pointed out, Shiella immediately understood what he was trying to say. He also started to see why she was feeling iffy about this upcoming war.

After that, she started looking closely at the virtual map projected in between them before, trying to study.

Not long after, she also started to see a couple of places that were pretty easy to conquer and pretty easy to turn to a new base for the Corrupted Cult.

“Even if they fail on their siege on the Holy City, taking it down will only take some time if the Corrupted Cult manages to set up a base near it,” said David after seeing Shiella seemed to get a rough idea of what he was trying to say.

A few moments later, Shiella suddenly asked. “And which town or city do you think will be their target?”

Hearing that, David opened two of his fingers while answering. “Two! There are only two options for them where they can give them a lot of benefits.”

“That may be few compared to the number of choices that they have, but these two guarantee them a win no matter what they choose,” he added before tapping the virtual map a couple of times, marking the two places on it.

Seeing the places that David had marked, Shiella immediately understood why David said that it could guarantee the success of the Corrupted Cult.

One of them was the Calderock Town while the other was the Forbidden City.

“The Calderock Town have decent defensive capabilities but it is not enough to defend themselves against a strong force like the Corrupted Cult,” said David as he crossed his arms in front of him.

“The level of NPCs there are pretty good since they are averaging between level 100 to level 140. But it is still low when it comes to fighting the high-leveled players. After all, it is still just a town.”

“Compared to Holy City that is already been promoted into a Capital City, this town is nothing but a speck of dust.”

“Don’t get offended. I know that you are currently running most of the operations on that place, but I am just being honest here,” he added while looking at Shiella.

Hearing those words, Shiella smiled bitterly before replying. “Don’t worry about it. I am also aware of our current situation. Even if I want to upgrade our defenses, I can’t do it due to the restriction that the system has.”

“Moreover, it is also going to be a waste if we invest much in that area since we are planning to relocate it to a better place before promoting it into a city. At least, that is what that little rascal is planning,” she added.

“How about you? Don’t you also have your own plan?” asked David in return.

“I indeed have my own plans, but what his plan is a little better than mine, so I decide to go with it,” she answered.

David nodded his head before going back to the topic. “Since that is the case, then we can’t afford to let that place be taken down by those guys. We have more reason to save it from its demise.”

“Demise? You are talking as if we can’t defend it by ourselves,” refuted Shiella.

“If you are planning to dispatch your most elite group, then I suggest you not to do it. You know how the undead of the corrupted cult works. If they killed a stronger player, then they will be able to create a stronger undead,” answered David.

“So, you are going to suggest dividing our forces and defending both places instead? Isn’t it the goal of our opponents?” asked Shiella.

“No, we are not going to divide our forces. Instead, we are going to commit all of our available forces at defending the Calderock Town,” replied David without any hint of hesitation.

“Hey!”

Shiella couldn’t contain herself any longer and quickly refute. “If we are going to that, then we will put the Holy City at risk!”

“Well, that Holy City is already strong enough to protect itself. And if we add the forces from the Titan Guild, then their chances of winning are going to be boosted up.”

“But based on the information that we get from our spies, the forces that the Corrupted Cult have are pretty strong, so even if they manage to defend against them, the Holy City will still suffer a lot of damage that is enough to hinder their progress.

She suddenly paused when she reached that point as she realized something. And quickly after that, she couldn’t help but look at David with wide-open eyes. “Don’t tell me-…”

Seeing her reaction, David slightly nodded his head and confirmed her suspicion. “That is right. Their goal in this operation is not to completely seize the Holy City, but to hinder its progress while also setting up a pretty decent footing where they can start their next step.”

“The Calderock Town is a pretty good candidate since it is pretty easy to conquer. Moreover, it is near the Holy City which puts them in a perfect position to launch another attack whenever they want.”

“And since they are planning to damage the City’s foundation, the Holy City will not be able to do anything even if the Corrupted Cult set up their base in there since they are going to be busy at recuperating.”

He then paused for a brief moment before continuing. “I heard that the cult set up multiple corrupted nests before and they are situated around Holy City.”

Hearing that, Shiella was finally able to see the big picture and understood the gravity of their current situation.

“Corrupted Nests, hah! Who would have thought that those places are going to come in handy even after they have been destroyed ages ago?” said Shiella as she realized that this plan of the Corrupted Cult was set up for a long time already.

After that, she turned to David before saying. “So, you are planning to destroy one of the important pieces of the puzzle to avoid the worst-case scenario.”

“Then the Corrupted Cult has no choice but to go with the second-best option which is the Forbidden City that is currently left unguarded due to the absence of its central figure, the HeadHunter Guild.”

“And that is also why you are saying that this is a guaranteed success for the side of the Corrupted Cult earlier?”

After that, Shiella started laughing bitterly before saying. “So, you are telling me that my little brothers unconsciously help those guys by proposing such a deal to the HeadHunter Guild?”

David just shrugged his shoulders before answering. “I am not sure about that. But we can say that those guys got lucky since they’ve got another option that they get.”

“That, or the guy pulling the strings from the other side is really skilled to predict all of this to happen.”

He then paused for a moment before continuing with a confident tone. “But that doesn’t mean that we are going to let things go his way.”

…