Gol D. Ace In Coiling Dragon

Right in the centre of the Anarchic Lands, floating leisurely above what appeared to be a newly constructed campus of sorts, was Fain, Byrius, and their junior brother – Lanke.

“I see,” Fain nodded as he listened to Lanke’s update. “So Ace didn’t take to the battlefield personally?”

“No, apparently not,” Lanke shook his head. “According to our scouts, neither he nor his Divine Beast partner did. None of those who took part in the battles had strength surpassing that of a mortal.”

“So he really does appear to be abiding by the unwritten laws of our continent,” Fain said contemplatively. “Even though he’s technically not a saint yet, his strength has clearly reached that level. Had he taken part, we would’ve had a reason to send saints of our own, but as things are now…

Difficult, very difficult!”

Though he hadn’t said it in so many words, Byrius and Lanke understood what he was referring to.

Although their empire easily had hundreds of warriors of the ninth rank and even a few dozen general-level warriors, if they were to send their top mortal powerhouses to attack Ace’s infantile force and stop them from expanding, it would make them look bad, and if they didn’t, they doubted whether their limited force currently stationed in the Anarchic Lands would be able to stop Ace’s so-called ‘Gold Force’.

With each division being personally led by the young geniuses of the pavilion, they were a pretty unstoppable force here in the Anarchic Lands.

“I don’t see why you’re being such a pansy,” Byrius snorted. “The experts in the Yin-Yang Pavilion have already said they don’t intend on involving themselves in Ace’s business. We should just go and grab him now.

He may be strong, but he’s not strong enough to oppose any of us!”

Fain glanced back at this seventh brother of his before sighing. Ever since the incident a year ago, where he was the lone survivor in the team that went to capture Ace and his mother, Byrius’ personality had seen a drastic change.

He had always been arrogant and overbearing, but now, whereas before, he had always thought first before taking action, now, it was like he was determined to act on each and every one of his impulses, especially the ones concerning Ace.

It was like Ace had become his greatest heart demon, even more than his former rival – Aiden Rohault.

It was the reason his master had sent him to oversee the construction of the new school instead of simply entrusting it to Byrius.

Fain was a prime saint, meaning he was only one extremely small step away from becoming a deity. Even though this was a bottleneck that prevented the vast majority of saints from becoming deities, he should still be focusing on his training, and yet because of Byrius’ change in demeanour, he was forced to take charge.

Still, instead of simply ignoring what could be considered a foolish question, Fain still took the time to answer.

“Firstly, although the Pavilion has come out and said it, it doesn’t mean we can trust them at their word. It’s unlikely that they’re lying, but just in case they are, and they’re just waiting for us to attack so they can catch us off guard, it’s better that we take the slow approach.

But most importantly, we need to make sure that the moment we take action, we’re able to kill Ace and all of his group, including Wukong, his Divine Beast, and all of his classmates.

The fact that all of them were willing to become Acolytes to support Ace speaks volumes about the strength of their bond, and although not on the level of Ace, all of them are geniuses. Even the worst of them appears to be a level above even you.

If we kill Ace today, and any of them escape and then go into hiding until they become a deity, aside from Master, all of us will have to spend the rest of our days simply waiting for death.”

Byrius snorted but ultimately said nothing. He had heard the same reports detailing the power of Ace’s classmates. Yulana appeared to be the weakest, and even though she was only a teenager, she had already broken through to the sixth rank as a mage and a warrior, fused both states of wielding and was able to insta-cast all water-based spells up to the sixth rank.

Had they grown up in the same era, Byrius knew he would only be abused by such a talent, even more than he was against Aiden.

For most geniuses, Byrius included, becoming a deity was a dream that they spent every day aspiring to make a reality, but ultimately understanding there was a better-than-good chance it would never happen.

But to those in the pavilion, it genuinely seemed like they were looking far past the Demi-God realm. Whether it was Mathias, or his master Arianna, both had comprehension of a deity, but for some reason, both appeared happy to stay as saints for as long as possible.

They didn’t understand why, but it had become fair to assume that somehow, the Pavilion had found a way to assure that each of their own would one day become deities.

Seeing that Byrius no longer had anything to say, Fain turned his attention back to Lanke. “For now, don’t do anything to actively target Ace and his group. Focus on providing better equipment to the more powerful cities surrounding Ace.

It won’t halt their expansion, but it will slow them down and weaken their force.”

.

.

.

At the same time, back in the city lord’s residence in the City of Gol, a meeting was taking place between Ace and all the higher-ups of their city.

“The first stage of Operation Duchy was a resounding success,” Cirulus beamed.

Not only had they won all four battles with lightning speed, they had miraculously not suffered a single casualty. It was a feat he never would’ve imagined previously.

He could only look to his young but miracle-creating leader, waiting to hear what he had in store next.

“Why are you looking at me?” Ace asked back. “I’m only good at fighting; you’re our grand Marshall – you tell me!”

“Grand Marshall?” Cirulus asked back in amazement.

It was a position Ace came up with on the spot, but it didn’t make it any less fitting. Cirulus had gone above and beyond, proving his loyalty and capabilities. He was the only person Ace trusted to take up the role of overseeing their military.

Ace seemed unphased by what he said, but Cirulus knew the youngster well enough by now to understand that he wouldn’t say something like that lightly. Since it came out of his mouth, he meant it.

Having someone like Ace hold so much faith in him was like a double-edged sword. It felt incredible, but he also understood the weight of his decisions. Still, he refused to succumb to the pressure.

Cirulus closed his eyes as he focused on sifting through all the information he had at his disposal, slowly formulating a plan of attack.

Ace and the others didn’t say anything to disturb the Marshall; they all just waited patiently.

“With our recent success, all our enemies will likely expect us to take advantage and make a move immediately and strike whilst the iron’s hot, but the smartest thing to do right now is to take a beat and stabilise our foundations before making our next move,” Cirulus explained slowly. “That means slowly getting rid of any spies that may be in our ranks and reshuffling our armies.”

As he said that, everyone subconsciously turned to Killian and Alissa.

After their battle, the army of the city they conquered had been all but decimated. They were the ones in desperate need of reinforcements.

“Aside from that, I would also like to make sure that each division goes through a training cycle where they’re taught battlefield tactics and both standard and special operating procedures,” Cirulus continued.

“How long will that take?” Wukong yawned lazily.

“At least six months, potentially a year,” Cirulus estimated. “But we can’t afford to take our enemies lightly anymore.

If I were them, after seeing our incredible results, I would start arming the forces of the cities surrounding us to slow us down and also weaken our forces. If we want to stay ahead, we must ensure that we’re superior tactically.”

“Nine months,” Ace voiced suddenly. “Can you get it done in nine months?”

Cirulus hesitated. He knew how important this next phase was; as such, he wanted to take his time and make sure he did a thorough job. But when he looked into Ace’s calm but confident eyes, he couldn’t help but be infected. “I’ll get it done!”

“Do you need Killian and the others in that time?” Ace asked.

“Not really,” Cirulus shook his head. “Although they’re technically the commanders of each division, they don’t really fall into the ranks of the regular army. Trying to involve them in tactics to be implemented by the rest of the army will only affect their battlefield effectiveness.”

“Perfect,” Ace nodded as he turned back to Killian and the others. “You have nine months to train as you see fit.”

“As for you,” Ace looked back to Cirulus. “Whenever you have free time during these nine months, I want you to come and find me. If you’re going to be our Grand Marshall, we need to hurry up and make you a saint!"