Chapter 1045: Only a Game

"No, any rotten plan coming from that demon would bring about only suffering and pain. He can't be left in charge of the war! There'll be no one left alive to pick up the pieces."

Murong Xue was outraged and stormed into Main Hall, fanatic in her conviction. The others were still trying to come to terms with what they saw to stop her.

For the first time, Ouyang Changqing's ego was so crippled, he could not attend to the girl of his dreams. He sighed to Wu Qingqiu, "I've never seen those old guys bow to anyone in my life. That best disciple of yours is a freak of nature. Since you're around him all the time, isn't his style influencing your cultivation and mind?"

"We're still safe, since he didn't get to reach Double Dragon Manor when he presumably died. Our minds had yet to be corrupted, ha-ha-ha..."

Wu Qingqiu's group flinched and let out a dry laugh. Ouyang Changqing nodded, "What a stroke of luck, for if it were me, just being constantly compared with such a freak would give me a stroke from all the anger. Just how did he get to lead the four lands..."

Ouyang Changqing sat down with a dull gaze. Murong Xue just drove right into the Main Hall. She saw Ling Yuntian and other Genesis Stage experts pushing their Yuan Qi in Zhuo Fan's acupoint and soon his cultivation was released.

Zhuo Fan stretched a bit and nodded with a grin.

Murong Xue glared at him, but bowed before Ling Yuntian with a request, "Sect Leader Ling, you said you were only going to hear his plan. Against my principles, I choose to respect that decision. But his mind is warped, so how can you let him take control of the four lands' armies? There are too many lives at stake. The slightest mistake will lead to a genocide!"

"Miss Murong, that's exactly why we have all come to this decision to let Sir Zhuo be in charge. Only he can fight a genius like Baili Jingwei. Miss Murong, would it be possible to address your bias to Sir Zhuo?" Ling Yuntian regarded her with a cold eye, fed up with this zealous girl.

Murong Lie no longer took her side after Zhuo Fan made him a believer out of his skills, "Xue'er, this is for everyone's good, so don't let emotions or your moral obligation, cloud your judgment. None of us could suffer the consequence of losing this war."

"Then I request for Zhuo Fan to be under constant supervision, to stop him from abusing his authority. Every order needs unanimous approval before it is to be carried out. It's the least measure of safety we can have to prevent his poison from seeping into the masses."

Murong Xue stared burning daggers of hatred at Zhuo Fan. With not even her own brother taking her side, she knew Zhuo Fan had them wrapped around his finger and she could do nothing to change that. She could only compromise, no longer demanding his swift execution and instead try to curb his authority.

The others looked hesitantly towards Zhuo Fan. It would be a good idea to have a safety net in this chaos, stopping everything from devolving any mistake into a catastrophe.

So they turned to him to see his take on it.

Zhuo Fan spoke uncaring, "Have you all forgotten my first condition back in the dungeon? Complete control. And now you want to restrict me? Humph, fine, I'll just quit..."

"Uh, wait, Sir Zhuo, that's not it at all. Just..."

Ling Yuntian was panicking, glancing at Murong Xue, "It's only miss Murong's idea for an extra precaution. In the case when sir overlooks something, we can easily address the issue before it devolves."

Zhuo Fan raised an eyebrow in mockery, "Overlook? Ha-ha-ha, true, no one is perfect and infallible. I will be sure to make mistakes..."

"Then does sir..."

"Not happening!"

Just as Ling Yuntian saw hope, Zhuo Fan snuffed it out, flying into a rage, "Sect Leader Ling and miss Murong, what do you take war for?"

The two had no reply ready. They were mere cultivators and knew little about war and all its aspects.

[Isn't it mere fighting the other over resources and land? What else can it be?]

Zhuo Fan's eyes shone coldly, "War is a game!"

"A game?"

Murong Xue flared, "You're treating the horror and suffering the people endure on the battlefield as a game? This is absurd! How do you intend to win this war if you can't even take it seriously? Sect Leader Ling, I still believe he isn't right for..."

"Miss Murong, you're the one underestimating war!"

Zhuo Fan shouted over her, "War is only a game. All the people, assets and locations are the pawns of the player. To win the war, one must use the least of his pawns to grasp most pawns of the enemy. Life and people have no place in it. A commander having a heavy conscience over these trifles can never win. And when he loses, the casualties mount in piles."

Murong Xue's lip shook, unable to retort.

Zhuo Fan's gaze was ice, staring her down, "What war out there doesn't have casualties, using your own people's lives in exchange of the enemy's? This is war in it's purest form, a concept no one can deny. Miss Murong goes on and on about suffering and pain, then do you believe with that you can win on kindness alone? Taking command yourself will be the worst choice, making you an aid is handicapping the commander. For victory, yes, I may trade a large number of lives, but your kindness will stop my orders and result in a larger bloodshed. You want to save the people, or win the war? Which is it?"

"Uh, I think that winning the war means saving the people, ha-ha-ha..."

Murong Xue's eyes flashed with determination, but it was Ling Yuntian who stepped in to speak what everyone else believed.

But all here knew winning the war and saving the people hardly were connected. Central area's army was marching on northern lands but the people might survive.

All this talk was to give oneself a just cause, if nothing else.

They just wanted to win the war and not save the people. Murong Xue's stance was thus in conflict with everyone else's from the start.

"As we gave our word to let Sir Zhuo decide everything and he doesn't agree, we will have to veto your request..."

"Wait."

Zhuo Fan held up his hand, looking from Murong Xue to Ling Yuntian, "Sect Leader Ling, I'm not doing this to hold all power, but because the circumstances demand it. All here know that Baili Jingwei is leading the other camp, with nothing holding him back. I need to do the same, and not out of arrogance in my infallibility, but that even if there are things overlooked, you might not notice them but will distract me from doing my job with your actions."

Ugh!

All tensed and gave a dry smile, "Sir Zhuo, what are you..."

"Ha-ha-ha, sorry, it may be hard to accept, but it's the truth. We are all clear on the fact that the war is a game between me and Baili Jingwei. No matter what move we make, only we grasp the full implication it entails. Anyone watching would be blind to its intricacies, so it's best to not interfere. Just do what I say and don't ask questions."

"Are you calling us fools?" Bu Xingyun's face twitched and fell, "We can't even join the fight between you two?"

Zhuo Fan smiled, "We each know ourselves best, which is why this is the second reason I don't need assistance, ha-ha-ha..."

"Ha-ha! That's a mockery if I ever heard one! You just got out of jail and started acting smug. See how I throw you back in..." Bu Xingyun grew enraged as he let anger get the best of him, even attacking.

Ling Yuntian jumped before him, "Sect Leader Bu, you're in the Sea Bright Sect, can you please have some of the courtesy of a guest? Sir Zhuo could've just as well been a simple guest and you'd have still had no right to treat him like this!"

Bu Xingyun's mouth twitched, gnashing his teeth as he glared at Zhuo Fan.

"Sir Zhuo, forgive me, Sect Leader Bu is a bit rash. Don't mind it."

He let out a deep breath sighed and bowed to Zhuo Fan.

Zhuo Fan smirked at Bu Xingyun, "No worries, I've seen my fair share of mangy curs. I don't have time to pay attention to all the barking, ha-ha-ha..."