CHAPTER 1998 FLESHED STRATEGY
The Divine Doctor was not pleased by Rui's abstention, but Rui didn't care.
He had gotten the Divine Doctor to agree to participate in his plan. He had also gotten the Divine Doctor to agree to heal his father in return for his grandmother's prophecy.
He had managed to secure an agreement for both things that he cared for at the moment: Breaking out of the dungeon and getting his father healed.
Very rapidly, the tables turned as Rui held all the cards.
He was mixed about the Divine Doctor's commission. He was initially displeased at being referred to as a stethoscope, a tool. But when he rationally considered the Divine Doctor's offer, it wasn't particularly disagreeable.
He just didn't care to think about it at the moment.
He had far more important things to care about.
"Since everybody is on board with the plan, allow me to concretely go over the plan," Rui remarked. "The preparations prior to the commencement of the plan involve me standing at the exact opposite side of the center of the Mellow Dungeon at the center of the Mellow lake."
Because the Mellow Manifold essentially functioned as a small planetoid, getting the Master-level beast as far as possible from the core of the dungeon meant getting it to the very opposite side of the planetoid.
"Kane and Doc will be positioned here at the edge of the island," Rui remarked, drawing a rough drawing of the Mellow Dungeon and Manifold. "The operation will commence when you detect a fake Master-level aura from me, a sign that I have already begun using the Mind Mask technique to fake a Master-level threat to draw the beast out. The moment you detect that, Kane, you will escort the Divine Doctor to the core at high speed, got it?"
"Got it." Kane nodded seriously.
Fortunately, this was well within this skillset and experience. A high-speed evacuation was one of the things that was often expected of speed-oriented Martial Artists in the Martial industry. Thus, he was very much able to shift the Divine Doctor at high speeds and surge towards the core of the Mellow Dungeon.
"…The moment you detect the fake Master-level aura, the race will have begun," Rui remarked. "From that point on, everybody is on a clock, any delays of any kind can mean the difference between breaking out of the dungeon alive and dying in this prison."
The importance of Kane and the Divine Doctor working with speed could not be understated. Assuming Rui was able to survive like he insisted he was able to, it still meant that they needed to get things done without any inefficiency. Rui could not buy them endless time.
"The key is to use Void Step," Rui insisted to Kane. "I've already gotten rid of any creatures powerful enough to sense you despite it. Thus, as long as you avoid literally running into them, you should be able to get into the undefended core of the Mellow Dungeon after I draw out the Master-level beast."
"Gotcha; I'll have it activated even before you begin so that there is no delay," Kane reassured him. "Also, I'll need to keep it active on myself and the doc when we reach the source of the manifold, right?"
Rui nodded. "The dungeon has ensured that all enslaved creatures are constantly moving toward the core of the dungeon by creating a gradient of quality of resources such that it increases the closer you get to the core. The moment the Master-level beast leaves the core of the dungeon, the remaining creatures will immediately start migrating toward the center of the open dungeon due to the vacancy. You will need to maintain Void Step to avoid being targeted by the migrating beasts."
"Additionally, the resulting chaos that will ensue over the limited high-quality resources at the core might result in inadvertent hindering," the Divine Doctor prudently pointed out.
Rui nodded appreciatively. "You'll not only need to help him with incapacitating the source of the manifold but also ensure that both of you evade any strays."
Kane would need to multi-task and keep his awareness active at all times.
"You, on the other hand, need to focus only on the source and nothing else," Rui pointedly informed the Divine Doctor. "Leave your security to Kane and focus on disabling the manifold in the shortest time possible."
"I am Ninety-nine-point-eight percent confident that I am able to accomplish this feat," the Divine Doctor clinically informed Rui. "The only thing that could stop me is if you are unable to fulfill your end of the plan."
"Leave that to me," Rui's eyes flashed with steely determination. "I will stall the Master-level beast by any and all means necessary."
Rui had no intention of failing. He would keep the Master-level beast to himself, and he would withstand the ensuing battle with the preparations that he had made in little over two years.
If disabling the manifold required merely a minute of work, then he would stall for a minute.
If disabling the manifold required an hour of work, then he would stall for an hour.
And if it required stalling the Master-level beast for an entire day, then he would grit his teeth and weather the battle for a full whole day.
Had any other Martial Senior dared to try, they would have been diagnosed with suicidality or insanity. Yet, when Rui promised them he would buy them as much time as needed, it was difficult to deny.
Rui and the Divine Doctor fleshed out some of the niche details and possible scenarios and how they ought to react, firmly fleshing out the plan at rapid speeds as the two exchanged ideas and information swiftly at a pace beyond Kane's comprehension. (C) content.
Soon after, a week passed as Rui and Kane elevated themselves to their absolute mental and physical peaks while the Divine Doctor engaged in his own preparations for Operation Prisonbreak.
Yet, soon enough, the critical moment had finally arrived.
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