Chapter 1670: Conscription

"Lord Cardinal," Maitreya immediately bowed politely. It took a moment for everybody to process the fact that a humanoid cat suddenly appeared before them, but after hearing the respect and reverence in their Saint’s voice, everybody — including Wang Wei — followed soon.

"Be at ease," the Time Cardinal calmly stated. Wang Wei had a terrible feeling, but he forced himself not to react. He also fully applied his Mind Protection Technique.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Maitreya asked.

"I’m here on the order of Grand Dao," Time Cardinal calmly stated as a token with the characters for "conscription" materialized on his paw-fingers. "Maitreya, Kong, and Wang Wei — you have been formally conscripted for Operation Dark Gate. In exactly 10,000 Yuan Epoch from this day, we will attack the Infinite Divine Court’s timeline NP89076H. And before you ask, no, you cannot reject. Anyone who refuses will be exiled from the Primordial Timeline."

The room immediately became eerily quiet. Wang Wei was resisting the urge to curse out loud. Every time he tries to blend into the shadows, something forces him to take the spotlight. It was starting to get annoying, but sadly, until he’s a Saint, this will probably continue for a while.

"Lord Cardinal, is this wise?" Maitreya asked.

"No need to worry. This conscription is not just for you, but for most of the Saints in this timeline and other talented individuals."

"I understand."

"Excuse me," Wang Wei asked. "I don’t mean to be rude, but what exactly can weaklings like Kong and I do in such an event?"

"I’m glad you asked," the Time Cardinal said as he slowly turned to glance at him. "At the instance of our landing, all the Saints will be occupied with other enemies. Your job is to lead the army and destroy our target. And as fate would have it, Grand Dao has designated you the main strategist for this expedition."

Wang Wei’s lips twitched. "Why, though? While I’m confident in my abilities, there have to be people with more experience than I to lead."

"No one has experience invading another timeline, and you were chosen because you are the most likely to adapt to any situation," the Time Cardinal explained. "What? Not confident? You saw what the Fate Lord did. Do you think you’re inferior to him?"

"Nice try, but I’m not trying to end up like them," Wang Wei countered. No matter how brilliant the Fate Lord was, in the end, he still died. His legend ended before it could truly amount to something. Unless he had no other choice, Wang Wei did not want to bridge the gap between Immortals and Saints through his wisdom.

"You can always accept the exile."

"I’m honestly considering it."

"Well, it’s up to you," the Time Cardinal shrugged. If Wang Wei left, a lot of the future would diverge in a positive direction for the cardinals and Grand Dao. So, he was fine with either choice.

"Don’t listen to him, he will be there," Qiyuan suddenly said. "But may I ask, what is our objective?" Timeline NP89076H was not included in the information Kong shared with them.

"After Grand Dao isolated the Divine Timeline, entry and exit became a challenge, even for Saints. The key to their court’s immense access to so many universes and realms is the [Eternal Time Gate]. The primary material for the gate is called Reverse Black Stone, and it’s produced on only two timelines, the primary being NP89076H. Our objective is to eliminate their manufacturing base and thus, limit their military capabilities."

"Such an operation could change the tide of the war," Qiyuan commented.

"How are we supposed to fight the Infinite Divine Court if they have a larger military than us, have more experience, and they are probably expecting our attack?" Wang Wei asked.

"They won’t expect us, and they will not receive reinforcements."

Wang Wei frowned. He understood what the cat meant about not receiving reinforcement as could be achieved as long as these Saints blocked the timeline. But how could the enemy not be prepared? The court should be aware of Kong’s experience and have already sent reinforcements to ensure the security of these bases. After looking at the cardinal for a moment, something dawned on him:

"Time Manipulation?"

"Exactly. We will land at a time node before their reinforcement arrives and isolate the entire timeline."

"Alright. It started to look like this was not a haphazard plan."

"Anything else?"

"Yes," Wang Wei nodded. "Can I —"

"Here." The Time Cardinal threw a talisman at him. "These are records of 26 successful and failed invasions of the Infinite Divine Timeline. Study them and learn from their methods."

"Only 26?"

"They wouldn’t be a formidable opponent if we could gather more."

"That’s a nice way of saying we are on the weaker side of this confrontation," Wang Wei countered.

"Everything is about perspective. To you and me, we are currently at a disadvantage in this confrontation. For others, the Divine Timeline is just a nuisance that is distracting from the real threat.’

’The real threat? Is he talking about my future self?’ Wang Wei thought. ’However, I do not believe for a second that the Highest Sovereign is just a nuisance.’

"Do you have any more questions or concerns?"

"Can I send a clone or avatar?"

"If you wish, but it will not change much."

"Meaning?"

"As long as you raise your strength, the threat of other Paragons is minimal. As for Saints? Unless you have the right method, their [Existence Hierarchy] does not care whether you’re a clone or not," the Time Cardinal explained. "Not to mention when we isolate that timeline, the blockade will be at a fundamental level and against all existing concepts, which means the chances of a clone or avatar being able to separate themselves from their main body will drastically increase because they are in that state of absolute isolation."

"Of course, there is no loophole," Wang Wei rolled his eyes, not caring how rude he appeared.

The Time Cardinal noticed Wang Wei had no more questions, so he turned his gaze toward Maitreya and handed her a talisman. "These are the requirements for troops you must bring to the mission." The list was extensive, containing an exact number of Primals, Peak Paragons, Boundless, Normal Paragons, and so on. However, Maitreya frowned after seeing the numbers.

"Isn’t this too much?"

"We’ve considered the fact that you will have to deal with the current invasion, and your requirements can be considered quite lenient compared to others."

"I understand, but what about the Eternal Ascension World? What should they do during my absence?"

"You have 10,000 Yuan Epochs, don’t you? Deal the enemy a big enough blow to force them to recuperate," the Time Cardinal calmly stated. "Now, if you’ll excuse me." He disappeared, but no one saw how he did. Was it space manipulation? Time Manipulation? Did he become invisible? Did the world move around him? No one could detect.

"Damn it," Maitreya cursed. If they don’t solve this issue, the world will be left vulnerable. What’s the point of weakening their enemy if they lose control of the Destiny Center World of the Primordial Timeline? Such an approach does not seem to make sense. So, either these cardinals have a lot of faith in Maitreya and Qiyuan, or something else is at play.

Wang Wei suddenly sighed deeply. "I was so fed up with this conversation that I forgot to ask if we would get paid for our services."

"We most likely will," Maitreya replied. "While exile is a severe threat, it’s not enough to force these Saints to work for free."

"This is not as reassuring as you think," Wang Wei said. While the Saints might get paid, it may not be the same for the lowly Paragons.

"Don’t worry about that for now," Qiyuan said. "Use the sect’s merit reserves to push your cultivation to the limit. And if you need something else, don’t hesitate to ask."

"I will," Wang Wei nodded. As soon as he realized what kind of situation he was in, he was already planning for the worst-case scenario, including the fact that one of his Time Nexus might occur during this event. As such, Wang Wei had already prepared preliminary plans to protect himself, and the first step is to master the remaining two grand constructs as soon as possible.

"Does anybody else feel like the cardinal was not telling us the truth?" Kong finally spoke.

"He’s probably telling the truth, but not the full picture," Qiyuan added. This invasion of Timeline NP89076H was not as simple as ruining a key material of the Infinite Divine Court. These Primordial Saints do not operate on such a small and simple scale.

"In the end, it doesn’t matter, does it?" Wang Wei added. They were too weak to get involved in the bigger picture. "Anyway, I’m leaving. I should use the fact that I might die soon to get some sympathy and love from the woman of my dreams."

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