Chapter 1684: Multiple Brains Time
As Zhen Liu continued to mull over this familiar problem of trying to do everything at once despite being only one guy, he eventually came to realize that he probably should’ve had at the very beginning of this brainstorming session.
"Wait a minute...if I’m going to be sending out the kaijin to deal with these problems in my stead, shouldn’t I actually ask them their opinions first?"
Despite the battle that had just occurred, the kaijin had come out of the conflict mostly unscathed, save some minor bumps, cuts, and bruises. Granted, if any regular mortal had received the punishment they went through, they would’ve ended up dead and pulverized several times over. Or at least end up with several dozen broken bones.
Zhen Liu knew from records in regards to past Kaijin Lords, and his own experience, that the Kaijin were loyal to an extreme fault.
Granted, their loyalty would sometimes get overridden by their own desires, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad development in Zhen Liu’s eyes.
Kaijin were made from [Desire] because it was an inherently mortal thing, and being able to express their own [Desire] was a sign that they themselves could become mortal...if they so chose to do so.
Then again, he was also aware that his kaijin were considered an oddity among the previous generations due to the "otherworldly" ideologies and technologies he implemented into them.
Regardless, now that he remembered that it would be wiser to gather multiple opinions and not just rely on his own questionable judgment, he sat his ass down in a chair and focused on the kaijin.
Most of the kaijin, that is.
He didn’t contact Archanadame or Lacerage since they were busy handling Zhen Clan domestic affairs in Stone Claw City. Nor did he contact Kit or Rodenia since they were technically independent operators in Roaring Tide.
It was just the usual suspects.
...For the sake of clarity, this is going to look like a chat log...
Zhen Liu: Alright, I got three pressing matters hovering over my head like a Sword of Damocles and I plan to divide up the tasks between all of you in squads of three. My initial idea was to send the Ragnarockers to Echoing Valley, the Mysticlassic Kaijin to go and check on the Gallop Brothers, while I went with Blazejudicator and the Doll Twins to go and check up on my cousin in Bronze Bell. Is that okay with y’all, or do you guys want to mix up your teams? I can also pull in the other kaijin, if you guys prefer that.
Hurricroak: Oooh, another new continent? Sounds fun.
Nepherage: Not that fun, Hurricroak.
Hurricroak: Why? Because we’re going to be fighting another war with an Aether Emperor this time?
Frosttusk: It’s because my old kinsmen are in the middle of the crossfire, this time around.
Hurricroak: Oh.
Zhen Liu: Yeah...I was going to initially make it so that you wouldn’t be heading that way, but I also thought you would want to go given your history and...circumstances. It should go without saying that Hakon would be brought along as well, since he still needs it be reunited with his family. But if you don’t want to because it would be too much then you don’t have to.
Frosttusk: No, I want to go. Its been a long time since I’ve seen my homeland and I feel that it would probably do me some good to do so. Even if my own kin had already come and gone by now.
Razorstella: You don’t think any of your descendants or loved ones managed to break through to the Aether King stage?
Frosttusk: More like I understand that the life of an aether warrior is dangerous and that they could’ve died fighting since I last saw them. My kin aren’t the type to die quietly.
Razorstella: Fair enough.
Frosttusk: But yes, I would very much like to go and visit my homeland. And I would be more than happy to have my fellow Ragnarockers by my side there.
Nepherage: Of course.
Hurricroak: I make no promises of leaving a good impression on anyone there in the slightest.
Zhen Liu: Okay, cool. Mysticlassic, are you guys okay with tracking down the Gallop Brothers or would y’all prefer to get involved with the Bronze Bell Kingdom. This question extends to Ba1lazejudicator and the twins.
CD: Wait, we get a say?
PD: I thought as protokaijin, we get no say?
Springerdermain: We get a lesser say. Also, you two are weirdly more developed mentally than me and Springdermain at this point, so that might be a factor.
Razorstella: I resent that statement, I was smart out of the gate.
Screamira: To answer your question, Producer, we’d be more than happy to assist the Gallop Brothers. No offense to Razorstella, but I’m fairly certain the Bronze Bell Kingdom will involve the political smooth talking that causes her to try and eat someone’s face.
Razorstella: She’s not wrong, I would probably skin someone the moment they try to hit on me. So...within the first five minutes of being forced to socialize.
Springdermain: I...I can’t tell if that’s arrogance or sociopathy.
Razorstella: Yes.
Zhen Liu: I guess that leave Blazejudicator and the Twins to go and deal with the Bronze Bell Kingdom’s brewing civil war. Are you three okay with this?
Blazejudicator: I think we should be able to do fine in such an environment even without assistance from you, Executor.
CD: Would we be pretending to be noble ladies or maids?
PD: I think it depends on what role Blazejudicator wishes to play. We could easily take the role of his servants, his daughters, or even his concubines.
Blazejudicator: You make it sound as if it’s set in stone that I will play some level of nobility?
PD&CD: You’re not?
Blazejudicator: I mean...it makes sense for an embodiment of law and order to take on such a role due to royal politics, but still...
Zhen Liu: Okay, excellent. All I need to do now is figure out which of you guys I’ll be joining.
Nepherage: Wait, shouldn’t you also be figuring out your travel companions?
Zhen Liu:... godsdammit, I knew I forgot something again.
...To be fair, voices in your head...
"Shit."
Now that Zhen Liu had the kaijin figured out, it was now time to figure out what to do with his mortal companions.
He didn’t include Lyona, Taurna, or Axer in these thoughts because the aforementioned former slaves were busy learning blacksmithing techniques from Axer, while he was growing leaps and bounds thanks to the literature in the library.
By a massive technicality, they could be considered part of the library at this point in time.
Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai had just broken through and were probably wanting to return home to showcase their new abilities and digest their gains fully. Then again, one of the core tenants of the Zhen Clan was that family stuck together, so if Zhen Yue was in trouble, they would be more than happy to go crack skulls at the Bronze Bell Kingdom.
Lythero, Olstenna, and Antonio were a little more up in the air, due to their connections to the continent, and the fact that they still had enemies that needed to be taken care of. Especially those of divine origins.
"Wait, is it possible for that guy and his followers to...fuck, I really hope that won’t be the case."
The last time Zhen Liu saw Smoking Mirror and Prince Alain interact, it ended in a bloody conflict. Hopefully that meant the blood between them was bad enough that it wouldn’t lead to yet another alliance of evil.
Then again, they did have a common enemy in the form of Zhen Liu, so that was a question to be addressed later. Besides, Zhen Liu also had a secret weapon in regards to dealing with a certain mirror bastard.
"Now that I think about it, I haven’t heard from those other three Tezcas in a while either... they’re probably fine...I hope."
Regardless of these stray thoughts and tangents, there was a very high chance Lythero, Antonio, and
As for the last two, Jinju Ren and Rianna...their travel was actually conditional of Zhen Liu’s decision.
Jinju Ren was probably more than happy to travel the wilderness and kick ass on another continent, or even stay on this one in order to help out the Gallop Brothers. But her involvement in Bronze Bell would be...murky at best, and downright diplomatically painful at worst.
As for Rianna...she was actually somewhat similar to Jinju Ren in the regard that she was more than likely to tag along for the wilderness or tracking related issues, but she show extreme disdain for the Bronze Bell Kingdom and it’s political machinations.
However, there was another caveat to the Rianna’s involement, one that hadn’t been brought up yet because Zhen Liu hadn’t noticed it until literal minutes ago.
"Why do Rianna and Serena have similar auras to them?"