Chapter 384 – Day 802 (Part 2) – A Corrupted Gift

I couldn’t refuse the Protector. As much as I wanted to, refusing would hinder my own forces and efforts against the Divine Empress. Clarissa had told me man power was always an issue. Also if I won, I could sideline the Protector then.

He would be sent off to grind somewhere so the memory of him would fade. What a cunning and devious opponent. At least he wasn’t the type to try and get me killed directly or indirectly from what I could tell.

Strong people would naturally butt heads and battle and die. He wouldn’t risk that unless they attacked him first. Once the Divine Empress was dead, I would need to have a long talk with Clarissa about how to handle Cai Fan the Protector.

There was also something to be said about having a weaker peer, but also a geo-political opponent so I didn’t get sloppy. And if I did die, then it would be good to have a backup. Dammit, the man was just too reasonable!

“How would this work? I could see the leader of your group being giving the position of Commander, but would they answer to you, your Congress, or my Chief Administrator?” I asked.

“They would answer to your forces but I would prefer them not to be split up too much.”

“We have units of ten with a Captain and then a Commander above them to command multiple units when needed. So you would be bringing three units and getting one Commander position,” I replied.

“That is acceptable. But they will not be sent to do grinding. They want to fight. So let them fight the forces of the Divine Empress.”

“Very well, you need me to escort them?” I asked.

“No. I can tell you would be suspicious of a trap. A letter of introduction.” It was a test as well to see how much authority I commanded at a distance. It was fine.

“Alright, I can do that.” A bell was rung and a servant brought paper and a pen.

To Whom It May Concern,

Under my authority, Champion Michael, I have met with the leader Cai Fan the Protector of the Free City of Hong Kong. His city was attacked by the Divine Empress and he wishes to further cooperation. I am provisionally agreeing to 30 combatants being allowed to assist the forces of Purgatory. His men should be allocated 3 Captain Positions and 1 Commander Position and should be capable of fighting at or above level 3. Units of ten should be kept together but should not be split up beyond that and liaison with a unit from Purgatory.

They should not be put to grinding tasks, but all top secret information should be contained. This includes summoning and all related research and development regarding this. They are allied forces, but they are not members of our armed forces.

Champion Michael of Purgatory

I then wrote a second letter explaining the situation more in depth and telling Clarissa to make use of them as she saw fit on the war front against the Dragon Empire. I didn’t include anything I didn’t mind the Protector looking at.

Once I was done I pushed both letters over to him and he read them. “Do you mind if I sign as well, that way it can be considered a temporary agreement between us?” he asked. Also, he wanted to get his name out there.

“That is fine,” I said, and he nodded. He added his name to the bottom of the letters saying he had read and agreed to the terms and also that Purgatory would not be held liable for any deaths in combat against the Dragon Empire.

I looked over what he added and it was basically a disclaimer. “You really are taking this quite seriously,” I told him.

“I don’t want misunderstandings to occur. These people want to fight. Sending them off will allow things to calm down around here.” He called in a servant and gave them the letters instructed they be delivered to the President to arrange things.

“So, you control things, not the President?” I asked.

“Just like you do in a way. But he handles the city and domestic issues. I am responsible for defense and our military decisions. I try not to step on too many toes, but sometimes it can be frustrating trying to get people to understand your vision,” the Protector said.

It was honestly a bit scary how persuasive he was and the reasonableness of anything he brought up. His single request, while solving a problem on his end, was sending people to die fighting a common enemy. While there was the saying the enemy of my enemy is my friend, I believed that the enemy of my enemy was just another person or group.

“Well the hour grows late, unless you wanted to discuss more?” The Protector asked me.

“Level 5 monsters, have you faced one?” I asked.

“Not yet. I plan to wait until I am confident, I can win. Some level 4 monsters still give me trouble when I have tested myself against them.” I could see why he hadn’t earned a meta-point yet. He was not the type to push himself unless pressed. He was a turtle to everyone else’s hare philosophy of getting stronger.

“I should probably get some rest then. Unless you have anything else interesting to share? Like where the rest of the cities are?”

“Ah, that I can answer. The boarders of this place, what you call the Systemic Lands, was worked out by the United City States when they existed.”

“How?” I asked.

“I do not know. But they claimed it was based on demographics and carefully analyzing the distribution of people that came from Earth based on remembered population data. In addition, they invested quite a bit to send an airship past the East Bastion.”

“And?” I asked.

“It never returned. But they estimated that there are probably between 32 cities and 40 cities with the number 36 being most likely if there are no duplicates. There are 19 known cities.”

“The Avatar has 2 then,” I said and the Protector nodded at this.

“Yes. We are missing the cities of India, Russia, and a good chunk of Europe.”

“That is interesting. Also, do you know about the area to your Southeast?” I asked.

“What area?” he asked. I explained the ruined zone with the flesh and floating bubbles of darkness. Also the shards of energy, floating bedrock, and how the Almighty System had intervened.

“No. I did not know. Thank you for informing. One moment.” He called a servant and quickly ordered that the troops he was sending should head directly South and not Southeast.

“Sorry about that, but I wanted to ensure no issues,” he told me. “Also thank you for sharing that information. It is gravely concerning.”

“Any thoughts?” I asked. He let out a sigh.

“My guess would be the calamity or a remnant of whatever it was. I am guessing you might be thinking the same thing.”

“Yes. I was considering if the area could be weaponized against the Divine Empress.”

“I would advise against that, since she would likely survive where you would not. Even if you have a flight skill, I would not underestimate her,” he told me.

“I won’t. Anything about the towers?” I asked him.

“They have not been cleared yet. Since they send out level 4 monsters only I am qualified. The Divine Empress would never risk such a climb herself unless she was confident. If she triumphs she will probably climb one.”

“As for the UCS. They investigated them but did not climb. I heard that trying to land on the top with an airship went poorly. They wasted so many resources researching everything and it amounted to disaster,” he replied with a sigh. “Do not get me wrong. It was a brutal, cruel, and oppressive government, but it was a counterweight to the Divine Empress.”

“You were hoping they would fight each other for a long time,” I said and he nodded.

“Of course. The UCS I could stomach winning, even if it would turn out poorly for me. But the Dragon Empire is a joke as you have clearly shown. The Divine Empress did not have an Empire, but an army of terrified slaves.”

“Any news from that direction?” I asked.

“Just that things are fracturing. It was never a stable place. She built her Empire off of the remains of the previous government that was in place at the time.”

“Well, it has been nice chatting Protector Cai Fan,” I said.

“Indeed Champion Michael. While I cannot shelter you here while the Divine Empress lives, you are always welcome to visit. I will arrange a map be provided of the surrounding zones to make your travel easy and send word out to my people you have free unrestricted travel within the boarders of the Free City of Hong Kong.”

“In addition, I hope to welcome a delegate from your nation in the future.” I had noted he had made that offer to Clarissa. “Possibly an exchange of embassies or diplomats.”

“You are clever Protector Cai Fan, but do not go too far.” He nodded at this.

“My apologies. It is just nice to talk to another leader who isn’t the Divine Empress, brainwashed, or being controlled by something we do not understand.” I nodded at this in return.

“I will say no more. But if I do return, then you should prepare yourself to fight the Divine Empress at that time. Hopefully I will kill her, but when I strike, I will need every possible resource,” I said while looking directly at the man as intensely as I could.

“I will make preparations for such a fight. How long until you expect to return?” he asked. I was surprised he had agreed to my forceful request.

“If I do return, it would be in the next 200 days,” I told him and he nodded.

“There is only so much I can improve, but I will strengthen my combat skills. I will have a servant show you to your room.” I nodded and was shown to a bedroom.

The Protector showed how skilled he was in maneuvering me. I had made a request for the future and he agreed. But when the time came, it was questionable if he would actually help. I didn’t like this situation much, since it wasn’t clear cut.

It was easy to hate the Avatar, the Astrologer, and the Divine Empress since they had acted against me, but this man’s passive nature was just teeth grinding. It was aggravating in the extreme and it wasn’t unreasonable either.

After wrecking his city, it was questionable if the Divine Empress would even bother coming back with how much of a mess her city and Empire were. She would also be busy hunting me down. The Protector knew it was unlikely she would show up here and even if she did, he would just run and hide.

I am sure he would make a claim about doing his best in the battle, but who would contradict him publicly. This Congress and President was worth as much as farts floating along in the breeze. They existed solely because of him.

But he was reasonable, and we could share information and have drinks together. The fact he was so nice and helpful made me want to hate him, but how could you hate a person for being nice and helpful? It was just that he was doing it all for his benefit in the end.

I hated the passive strategy in games. It aggravated me. I liked to be proactive, to take charge. I think that was a big reason why he both turned me off, but I didn’t know what to do. I had gotten used to putting people into either a friend or foe category, it was novel to put in a third Protector category. I would have to think on him a lot more. Good news, he probably wasn’t going to do anything soon, or ever unless he was forced to.

***-***
NOTE: Many people pointed out that Michael forgot the meta-points of the Divine Empress from when he was told by the Avatar. He did forget. He kind of remembers, but the details were lost due to the events happening and other shocking information when he learned about the Divine Empress getting pregnant by the Astrologer.

In chapter 376: I updated a paragraph and added one to make this more clear when he was thinking about her and her skills. I included the text below, so you don't have to go looking for it. I don't know if I would call it a retcon, but more of a clarification. Sorry for not being clear there.

***

I needed to be able to spam it instantly to force her to keep her distance. I had no idea how to counter her throwing needles. Moving would help, but she would have an edge there as well. I thought about her meta-points. The Astrologer had just mentioned she had two when I had spoken to her in the Forbidden City. I think the Astrologer mentioned about passively boosting her skills with a meta-point.

Frowning, I tried to think if I was forgetting something. That night had been a mess. After the heist I had too many things thrown at me and had been focused on the Avatar, then the kid, and then getting away. The meta-points involved energy but I was entirely sure, maybe. I wasn’t about to ask the Avatar again.