Read Novel Full Chapter 1378: The Cost of Entry
Chapter 1378: The Cost of Entry
[Alexander: What are the odds?]
Alexander was clearly tempted. Being the first to ask about the success rate betrayed his excitement. Even if the Clown and the Witch were only avatars, destroying them would be incredibly satisfying.
[Edward: The odds are high.]
[Edward: But for us, it’s a strategic blunder.]
As the Deputy Commander, Edward remained the voice of cold reason.
[Edward: If we burn resources wiping out this Cult detachment, we’re just doing the Sea Race a favor. We give them room to breathe. Once we recover, we’ll just be facing a stronger Sea Race.]
[Edward: Killing the Clown now means throwing away our leverage. We need the Cult of Four to grind the Sea Race down.]
[Edward: In short: we’d be using brute force to fight two wars back-to-back, instead of letting our enemies destroy each other.]
It was a harsh reality check. Attacking now meant fighting a gauntlet match: The Champions Alliance versus the Cult, followed immediately by the Champions Alliance versus the Sea Race.
[Edward: Most importantly, if we kill them, we lose our ticket inside. Finding the true forms of the Clown and the Witch will become exponentially harder.]
Edward’s analysis was sharp. They had to weigh immediate gratification against long-term gain, and they had to decide fast.
[Alexander: Leonidas, back up. Explain the Pontiff offer clearly.]
Alexander pivoted instantly, his mind clearing.
[Leonidas: It’s simple. They want to recruit Atlantis. If we help them crush the Sea Race, they cut us in for a third of the maritime territory.]
[Leonidas: And the kicker: they promised to recommend me to their Archbishops for a seat as one of the Twelve Pontiffs. A seat with actual administrative power, not just a figurehead role.]
The cards were on the table. Now, everyone waited for the Deputy Commander’s verdict.
[Kraken: By the way, why aren’t we asking Arthas?]
Kraken, ever the observant one, noticed the heavy silence from their strongest member.
[Hulk: Bro is busy.]
[Leonidas: Arthas is tied up.]
Orion and Leonidas replied in unison. They knew exactly where Arthas was. His entire focus was locked on the Minor Hell world.
Unless there was a direct invasion, Leonidas, Alexander, Edward, and Orion spent most of their time in a semi-dormant state to conserve Divine Power. But Arthas was always awake.
He was guarding the Ever-Burning Volcano, commanding the war on the periphery of the core zone, and pouring his remaining consciousness into the World Dragon egg to absorb the laws of the Minor Hell world.
Arthas was grinding. He didn’t have the bandwidth for this.
Maybe it was Orion’s recent ascension that triggered him, but Arthas had thrown himself into cultivation with manic intensity. When he finally emerged from his seclusion, the Alliance might be welcoming a Demigod at the fourth stage.
[Kraken: Got it.]
[Edward: Pass on the ambush.]
After a long pause, the Deputy Commander dropped the gavel.
[Edward: We can’t afford the cost, and we can’t leave our posts. The optimal strategy is to let the Cult of Four and the Sea Race bleed each other dry. We sit on the fence and loot the corpses.]
Edward’s reasoning was bitter but true. "Can’t afford it, can’t leave." That was their reality.
They couldn’t afford it because, aside from Edward, the rest—Arthas, Alexander, Leonidas, Orion—were all "new money" Demigods. Their foundations were shallow, their reserves of Faith Energy thin. Constant high-level warfare would drain them dry and stall their progression.
They couldn’t leave because they were all juggling too many plates. Arthas had Minor Hell. Orion had the Titanion Realm war and the upcoming invasion of Eldoria. Leonidas and Alexander had their own burdens; the Dragon Race had been inviting Leonidas to Xanajar, the Paradise of Myriad Dragons, for ages, and he still hadn’t found the time to go.
The bigger their empire grew, the thinner their manpower stretched.
[Edward: And don’t think penetrating the Cult of Four will be easy.]
[Edward: That organization was founded by four Gods. They aren’t amateurs. They will have mechanisms to ensure loyalty—magical contracts, soul binds, you name it.]
Edward spoke from experience. He was a member of the Saint Gran Council, an organization backed by a God of Magic. He knew how deep those waters ran. Characters as powerful and silent as the Clown and the Witch didn’t just join a club for fun; they were bound to it.
[Edward: Leonidas, you think you’re infiltrating them? Be careful they aren’t inviting you in just to shackle Atlantis.]
[Edward: Think about it. If you join them, that "one-third" of the ocean they give you? It’s just them taking money from their left pocket and putting it in their right pocket.]
[Edward: You jump around, thinking you’re making moves, but eventually, you just end up on someone else’s dinner plate.]
It was a warning and a dissection of the trap.
For the Demigods like Leonidas, Alexander, and Orion, it was a sobering reminder. For Kraken, it was terrifying. He was just an Arch Lord. If entities on the level of the Four Gods took an interest in him, there would be nowhere to run.
[Leonidas: So... we just let them go?]
[Leonidas: Damn it. That feels wrong.]
Despite Edward’s logic, Leonidas felt aggrieved. Passing up a fight went against his grain.
[Alexander: Let them grind against the Sea Race first. We help a little here, steal a little there.]
[Alexander: If they actually move forward with the Pontiff recommendation, we can petition the Commander for assistance before you accept.]
Alexander, now calm, offered the middle ground. If the Commander—the highest authority behind them all—got involved, the risk became manageable.
[Hulk: If Alexander is right, and that offer is real, get ready for the hazing.]
[Hulk: The Cult isn’t going to hand a Pontiff seat to an outsider without a test. They’ll probably demand the three Grand Marshals of Atlantis undergo a "baptism" or ritual.]
[Hulk: That’s when they’ll try to leash you.]
Orion typed what he truly believed. If he were in the Cult’s shoes, inviting a powerful enemy into the fold, he wouldn’t trust them for a second. He’d rig the game, set up a gauntlet, and ensure that by the time they sat in the chair, they were thoroughly broken in.