Four Split Personalities

"Incredible..."

High-ranked Holy Knight Ger gently patted his pony’s neck, soothing his somewhat edgy mount while gazing at the unending blaze in the distance, and after a few seconds, smacking his lips, he added, "Utterly insane."

Next to him, riding on the back of the wolf cub Xiaobai, Motan smiled, his weary face alternating between light and shadow from the firelight, and after a while, he shrugged and said, "It’s just a special tactic under specific circumstances. If the enemy weren’t solely mutants, those low-rank undead creatures without air attacking capabilities, or had even a bit of intelligence, the Kirov would just be an easy target, since it’s purely a product for opportunistic exploitation."

"Hehe, just expressing my thoughts, I haven’t even started praising you. No need to be modest ahead of time."

Gerbin waved his hand with a chuckle, watching the Kirov, which had just completed a batch of bombings and was accelerating towards another densely packed area of monsters near the Long Bridge of Shawah City, and remarked, "And even as a product of opportunism, this thing is a bit too much. The force of those ’daily provisions’ is even stronger than artillery. Just that round of attacks alone should equal our earlier mass charge."

Motan’s expression grew complicated, and he sighed lightly, "I actually considered letting the Kirov coordinate at the mountain pass in the third phase, but the unstable factors are ultimately too numerous..."

"Hmm?"

Gerbin was briefly stunned, then a cryptic smile appeared on his lips, and he slightly nodded, "Indeed, if we let that thing bomb the Hodi Mountain path a few times, the losses in the third phase could indeed be reduced quite a bit, at least the Holy Knighthood and the Interception corps could have much lower battle abilities; so, you feel a bit regretful?"

Motan shook his head, "No, even though it’s as you say, if I had to do it over, I still wouldn’t let the Kirov engage early."

Gerbin raised an eyebrow, "The reason is?"

"We need victory."

Motan looked up at the airship, which had started its second bombardment in the distance, and slowly said, "Kirov’s shock troops appearing in the third phase would bring too many variables. It might cause the mountains to collapse, cutting off the battlefield, or it might be shot down from the sky by our own magic or volleys of arrows. It’s also possible that it would drop too many bombs to achieve the expected results in the fourth phase. I can’t guarantee that everyone will perfectly follow orders, especially when their comrades are dying in droves. Even if it were me in the Kirov’s crew, I might throw down twenty more boxes, so if we want to achieve the most stable and concrete victory, Kirov must not appear in the third phase of the battlefield."

"Even if those concerns are just hypothetical?"

Gerbin narrowed his eyes, pressing assertively, "Even if we could possibly suffer far fewer casualties in the third phase? Even if it’s likely that the Kirov would complete its mission in the fourth phase?"

Motan calmly met Gerbin’s gaze and slowly nodded, "Yes, because I must be responsible for everyone, both survivors and those who fall in battle."

Although his answer was somewhat abstract, Gerbin nodded approvingly, then stood up in the saddle and patted Motan’s shoulder, "Did Ferman ever try to recruit you for our Justice Sect?"

Motan was stunned for a moment, and after half a second, he awkwardly nodded, "There was such an occasion."

"I also hope you would join us."

Gerbin’s look suddenly turned solemn and he said in a low voice, "As far as I know, you are just a superficial believer of the Dawn Sect. As both are divinities of the Holy Church Union, if you joined the Justice Sect, the goddess would not punish you. How about it, would you consider it?"

Motan recalled his two encounters with that goddess and weighed the possibility of being subjected to Divine Punishment after being poached, immediately shaking his head vigorously like a bobblehead.

"I’m serious, Black Vatican Priest."

Gerbin did not give up but simply stated lightly, "I understand, even though you are just a common priest now, after returning to the City of Light, you will definitely be a focus of cultivation for the Dawn Sect, especially... cough, it might not be proper for me to say this, but given how the younger generation of the Dawn is somewhat feeble, with your merits and your relationship with Her Highness the Saintess, they can’t overlook you there, but I still want to say... the Justice Sect would suit you better."

Motan blinked curiously, "Why do you say that?"

"It’s simple, despite having somewhat... um, special examples like Her Highness Xia Lian, the Dawn Sect is generally more inclined towards the domain of Divine Arts, particularly in healing and saving lives. Neither the versatile Sun Sect nor our Justice Sect can compare to them. Look at Her Highness Forget Language; she is just a novice saintess but is stronger than ten Fermans put together in driving away plagues. That’s the characteristic of the Dawn Sect, powerful Divine Arts, powerful supportive abilities."

Gerbin analyzed seriously, then shifting the conversation, shrugged at Motan, "But that’s not your forte. From what I see, your proficiency in Divine Arts... how to put it, um, isn’t that talented... well, to be honest, it’s quite mediocre, very mediocre."