Quadruple split.

Chapter 2753 Questions and Answers

Game time: 20:07 PM
Blood Barbarian Region, east of Eagle Claw Gorge, central area of the Holy Church Joint Investigation Team's headquarters, command center
"Waiting for them to make a mistake? Ha, judging by the timing, they should be starting their operation soon..."

The temporary commander of this team, Hess Dongya, the standard-bearer of the Sun Church's Knights of the Apostles, glanced at the [Slaughter] fortress in the distance, which was only a blurry outline in the darkness, and then turned to the 'special adjutant' behind him to confirm: "That should be right, isn't it?"

"Uh-huh?"

The human girl with long black hair, who looked somewhat timid, suddenly came to her senses. After carefully recalling Hess's question, she nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, yes, the operation is about to begin. Hmm, let me check the time... two minutes left, ah, less than two minutes left!"

【…】

Hess frowned slightly, looking at the girl who had been sent to her side by Sister Clara Champs-Élysées as proof of 'trust'. Besides being a novice nun of the Dawn Cult, she also held the important position of Messenger of Otherworldly Beings. Although she was somewhat dissatisfied, she couldn't express it.

It's worth noting that if Richard Lane were openly daydreaming in front of Hess at this moment, Hess would definitely beat him up without hesitation. If it were someone of a lower rank than her, he would be dismissed and demoted to a low-level soldier.

But this 'special adjutant' happens to be an otherworldly being, and a very rare one at that—an otherworldly clergyman trusted by the Black Brahma priest. In Hess's estimation, even if there were other such people around Gospel Mountain City and Sister Clara, their numbers would definitely not be many.

Most importantly, although this little nun looks ordinary, Clara's decision to send her here is itself a sign of recognition and trust. Therefore, Hess will have to carefully choose his words, let alone dismiss her.

"cough."

Finally, the usually dashing and ruthless Iron-Blooded Flag Bearer coughed lightly, took a deep breath, and gave what she thought was a very kind and indeed quite friendly smile. She then asked the Dawn Sister in front of her, who seemed to be drifting off into thought again, "Um, what's your name?"

"Hmm...hmm? Ah? Me?"

The other person paused for a moment, then gave a bright and cheerful smile and replied confidently, "My name is Lu Zhishen the Rebellious!"

Hess blinked, and after a while, he repeated uncertainly, "You said your name is... uh, the rebellious Lu Zhishen?"

Clearly, although Hess didn't get the joke in the otherworldly girl's words, given the extremely high similarity between Chinese and the common language, even just from the perspective of language sense, she felt that the name 'Lu Zhishen' might be a bit too unrestrained.

"It's not Lu Zhishen."

The seemingly quiet and petite girl shook her head, but before Hess could even breathe a sigh of relief, she solemnly corrected him: "It's the rebellious Lu Zhishen!"

Hess: "..."

The rebellious Lu Zhishen: "What's wrong? Hess... uh, Commander? General? Captain?"

"Just call me the standard-bearer."

Hess rubbed his temples and sighed softly: "So, betrayal... Lu Zhi... um, Miss Lu, you seemed a bit distracted just now, is something on your mind?"

"Well."

Lu Zhishen (to avoid ruining your reading and imaginative experience, the title will be changed to "Miss Lu" from "Rebellious Lu Zhishen") scratched his head awkwardly and muttered, "Um... I'm sorry, I was a little distracted just now."

"It's okay. I don't mind."

Although he was quite bothered by it, Hess was still very gentle with the girl in front of him, who had a good attitude and held an extremely important position. He even smiled slightly and said in a calm tone, "This situation is actually quite normal. It's not just you; I'm the same way."

Miss Lu blinked, and then after a few seconds let out a soft exclamation: "Wow! So, Standard Bearer Hess... uh, Sister Hess is just like me!"

"Actually, it's okay if you don't change how you address me."

Hess sighed helplessly, then stopped dwelling on it and continued to comfort her, "In short, we're not the only ones; everyone goes through this."

Miss Lu was stunned for a moment, then asked in bewilderment, "Does...do everyone do this?"

"While it may not be everyone, most people are like this, so you don't need to doubt yourself or overthink it."

Hess gently patted Lu's shoulder and comforted her, "We are the same, but precisely because of this, after experiencing certain things, we will all grow and become better versions of ourselves."

Miss Lu was taken aback again, then immediately shook her head vigorously: "We're not the same!"

"Nothing is different."

Hess's gaze sharpened slightly, and he said seriously, "If I can do it, there's no reason why you can't."

"no!"

Miss Lu was completely numb, waving her arms and shouting, "If you can't do it, you just can't do it!"

"Of course it can be done."

Hess's expression turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "If you want to do it, you can."

"But this is completely beyond my control!"

"How could that be? The most important thing is your will!"

"I'm from another world, it's impossible for me to be with Pastor Richard!" / "You have to adapt to the battlefield, not the other way around!"

"……Eh?"

"……what?"

Both of them were stunned.

"Wait a moment."

Hess abruptly raised his hand and said seriously, "You...aren't you uneasy about the impending war?"

"What the hell?"

Miss Lu stared wide-eyed, bewildered, and said, "Weren't we talking about how handsome and gentlemanly Pastor Richard is, and how much we wanted to date him?"

"What utter nonsense!"

Hess was immediately agitated and exclaimed, "Where is Richard handsome? And his so-called gentlemanly manners are completely... no, why am I telling you this? I just think you might be worried about the war!"

"Pastor Richard is handsome to begin with, he's a handsome guy from every angle!"

With her hands on her hips and neck stiff, Miss Lu retorted, then said nonchalantly, "What's there to worry about in war? My great-grandfather tells my grandfather about war every day, my grandfather tells my father, and my father tells me. When you encounter bad guys, there's no reason not to fight. And in a fight, there's always bloodshed, injuries, and deaths. If being afraid were useful, I could at least help everyone. But the key is that being afraid is useless. I'd rather assist you, handle logistics, pass on messages, and when it really comes down to it, I can heal you and rush to the front to shield you who only have one life left."

"Uh……"

Although Hess, as the standard-bearer of the Sun Church's Knights of Protection, had also obtained information about the 'otherworldly beings' and knew that these people had different worldviews and were indifferent to life and death, Lu's incredibly insightful remarks still greatly surprised Hess, and she was even slightly moved when she heard the last sentence.

"But no matter what, there is one thing I will absolutely not back down on!"

Before Hess's emotion could even last a second, Miss Lu put her hands on her hips and said with a serious face, "Pastor Richard is really handsome!"

Hess smirked and said coldly, "I don't think so."

"And he's very gentlemanly." "It's all an act; he's a very promiscuous man."

"He's promiscuous because he hasn't met someone he truly wants to love, someone who can make him turn over a new leaf."

So? Do you think you can become that person?

"No way! I already said I'm from another world. No matter how much I'm obsessed with my two-dimensional husband, I can't actually date you guys. For one thing, we can't even kiss. How could it last?"

"...You seem to have a pretty good attitude about it."

"But you have a chance, Sister Hess!"

"I?!"

Hess was so angry he laughed, pointing to his own nose and asking, "Why should I?"

"Because you and Pastor Richard are from the same world."

Miss Lu looked intently at Hess, her face full of envy, and said, "I'm just too far removed from Pastor Richard, there's no point in even trying. But Sister Hess, you're different. You're from the same world as him. If you were to pursue him..."

"I?!"

Hess's eyes widened, and he suddenly raised his voice: "Pursuing Richard Lane? That Dawn Cult libertine? That womanizing fool? That glib-tongued idiot? What makes me think I can do that?"

"Hey Hey hey!"

Just then, Reverend Richard Lane, who had just finished training and arrived at the last minute of the time allotted by Hess, pushed open the door and walked in looking disheveled. He said with a wry smile, "Why do I hear people talking bad about me as soon as I get here! What do you mean by a promiscuous fool, or a glib-tongued idiot? This is a work setting, why are you attacking me personally because of those dubious rumors?"

"Pastor Richard—"

The next moment, the once spirited Lu Zhishen suddenly lowered her voice by eight octaves, blushed slightly, bowed to Richard, and revealed a sweet and innocent smile that had absolutely nothing to do with her game ID, 'Rebellious Lu Zhishen': 'Hello.'

"hello."

Richard immediately returned the greeting to Miss Lu, and said in a very cool and gentle manner, "You must have had a hard time these past few days. Working alongside Standard Commander Hess must have been tough."

"No, Sister Hess is a very nice person. Although she seems strict, she is actually very gentle. She was just having a private chat with me."

Miss Lu immediately shook her head and smiled, saying, "I think we get along very well."

How could we possibly get along?

Hess smirked, then narrowed his eyes and glanced at Richard, asking in a slightly cold voice, "So, how much of what you just heard, Officer Richard?"

"I heard you launch a brutal personal attack against me."

Richard politely bowed to Hess as well, and said calmly, "One day I will let you know that I am neither a fool nor an idiot."

Hess: "...So you don't deny being promiscuous, a libertine, and a smooth talker at all, right?"

Richard: "...You're calling me a libertine?!"

"Humph."

After letting out a slight sigh of relief, Hess, expressionless, got down to business and asked Richard succinctly, "Are our troops ready?"

"No."

Richard's answer was equally concise.

“If I remember correctly, you should know very well that there will be some activity ‘over there’ tonight, and I have explicitly instructed you to make proper arrangements, even to the point of publicly announcing your position as a staff officer.”

Hess narrowed his eyes dangerously and said softly, "Now, Richard Lane, if you can't convince me in ten seconds, then..."

"It won't take ten seconds, my lady."

Richard gently interrupted Hess, explaining in a calm tone, "I only have one thing to say: I 'completely obeyed your orders.'"

Hess stared at Richard's smiling, vertical pupils and said, "But our troops are not prepared."

"Yes, our troops were not prepared, in fact, they did not need to be prepared."

Richard smiled slightly and said slowly, "Based on the intelligence we have, Eagle Claw Gorge will likely be exceptionally lively tonight. Under such circumstances, as the Joint Investigation Team, which cares about the safety of the two Holy Princes and countless comrades in Dunbua City, we certainly cannot remain indifferent."

Hess nodded and asked, "So?"

"Therefore, 'preparation' is always unnecessary."

Richard raised his hands, crossed his index fingers to make an 'X', and explained: "After realizing that the scale and nature of the 'friction' are different from before, the Blood Barbarians in the [Tonglu Fortress] will naturally try to find out the other side's strengths and weaknesses. And this inevitable 'probing' process can't be rushed any faster. In other words, for a long time, we can assume that 'the other side' will not face extreme danger."

"Go on."

"After that, as Eagle Claw Gorge became increasingly lively, we naturally realized something was wrong and tried to find out what was going on, such as sending out some scouts or gathering our troops. For a well-trained team, this doesn't take too long."

"Stop talking nonsense and get to the conclusion."

“We can still gather our forces after we become aware of the conflict, because that time is not enough for the Blood Barbarians to make the decision that they must eliminate the enemy at all costs. On the contrary, if we arrive at the scene immediately and show the Blood Barbarians a survey force that is ‘well prepared and ready for battle,’ the provocation would be too strong.”

"Can't you?"

"Okay, but there's no need, because it won't make things better, and it could create additional trouble."

"What trouble?"

"I don't want to know, because I don't like any trouble."

“…Very good, Chief of Staff Richard.”

"Thank you for your recognition."

"Your thinking is very clear."

"To my shame, this is just a superficial understanding I've gleaned from someone's competition."

"So you think they'll understand our 'slowness'?"

"This is not a matter of understanding or not."

"What's the problem?"

“That’s not a ‘problem,’ but rather the ‘answer’ that he had already graded long before I even picked up the quill and saw the test questions.”