I followed a messenger back to Clarissa’s command post hidden just North of the dungeon in the zone at coordinates (1,0). It had taken a bit of doing to work my way through the command structure after Captain Mitchell, but I was Champion Michael.

Thankfully there were no threats involved, just direct orders. The biggest issue was that people had a very large latitude to operate under currently with command going to the units and the commanders in the field.

They would report back information and get information in turn from the headquarters, but there was very little direct oversight or micromanaging. It was this cell structure that Clarissa was using to insulate herself.

There were even further steps she had taken. No messenger went directly back and forth between the field and Clarissa’s headquarters. There was an exchange point in Purgatory. The city was back to its randomized nonsense and only upgraded to level 3.

It wasn’t worth the time or risk to upgrade it further and Neo Brasilia to the South was level 4. So I went from the command post at the intersection where I had met the rebels with one messenger to Purgatory and then handed off to a second messenger.

After all that work around, I was finally about to talk with Clarissa again. It had been ages since we had spoken. I had sent her messages through proxies and I had received information from the soldiers, but it wasn’t the same as a face to face meeting.

I was still carrying Fu Ge and the child, but the light travel had been easier on them along with frequent restorations in the cities we stopped at. Qi Ji Long had become withdrawn in the last day, but at least he wasn’t crying. The crying really annoyed me.

The messenger was in front and began shouting out pass phrases. I had barely noticed the soldiers concealed under enchanted blankets in the area. Smart, that was probably the good doctor. We passed through easily enough and came to what could only be described as a shaft built into the ground with large carts built to hold up the ceiling.

The entry way had also been covered by a blanket, but had been removed. There was a small entry room with guards stationed here, sitting on chairs, but they stood and saluted as I entered.

I set Fu Ge down but left the kid in his carry pack. I turned to the two soldiers at the entrance to the bunker who had saluted me. “Both of these people need to be looked after, while I speak to Clarissa. They are not to gain access to anything sensitive, but they are to be treated as guests. This man is a translator, and the kid is a VIP.”

“I can watch him,” a female soldier said. I nodded at this and pulled the kid out of the pack and then pried the cuff off my arm.

“Hand,” I gestured at her.

“Is it really necessary,” she asked.

“Yes. That child cannot be allowed to leave, or wander away for any reason. If that cuff comes off without Clarissa’s permission or myself, it had better be with your arm and your life. Understood soldier?” I asked.

“Um, yes, sir, uh, Champion Michael. Who is-“

“The kid is top secret, need to know. Don’t ask any questions. Hand,” I said again. She held out her hand. I bent the metal cuff around it. “Alright, let’s go,” I told the messenger who nodded at me.

The underground bunker was actually quite built out. I passed four separate rooms to either side. No doors on any of the rooms. I noted one had supplies, another an astrolabe, a sleeping room, and a conference room. I came to the last room at the end of the hallway which had a door.

The messenger knocked. “Enter,” a familiar voice called out. The messenger gave me a nod and left while I opened the door. Clarissa was sitting at a desk, covered with stacks of paper and tomes. Her hair had gotten a lot more gray since I had last seen her and I saw some stress lines or wrinkles on her face.

“Michael!” she said and stood up in surprise. At least her tone was happy and she had a slight smile on her face. “Come in, come in,” she said. While it wasn’t her usual deadpan, I wasn’t about to complain. I entered and closed the door behind me. We gave each other a light hug.

“Just over a hundred days since I last saw you. So long, sit, sit. We don’t have much, since everything has to be moved discretely, but you must have rushed back. Last I heard you smashed the armies in Esperanza and then moved into the Dragon Empire,” Clarissa said. I took a seat at a side table with her.

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“Yes, there is a lot to discuss. Some good, some bad. There are three, no four really big pieces of news.” I began telling her everything since the confrontation with the Divine Empress in the plaza of Purgatory.

“The Astrologer battled her, but my summoners lost connection before they could see what caused that golden blast,” Clarissa said. I frowned at this.

“Some super weapon most likely, or trap laid long in advance. It is no use to us, since the Divine Empress survived unfortunately. Good news she is missing.” I then went on to explain how I literally dragged myself to Neo Brasilia to healed.

“Hope is doing fine along with Fethee and Heba. I had them assigned to the research outpost where Doctor Katz is.”

I nodded at this. “What everyone else? Who did we lose?” I asked.

“Everyone. That blast took out everyone Michael, I barely escaped. I had been hoping to get a few key people out if the Divine Empress showed up. But it just was too sudden and too big.” Clarissa shook her head.

I continued telling her how I had captured Bao Wang and then the incident with the airship and the Chief Diviner. Clarissa confirmed it wasn’t her but didn’t add anything else. I continued talking about my heist preparations, the rebels, and finally the Forbidden City itself.

Clarissa got up once I was done and got two glasses. She then poured us both some water. I took a sip, while she did the same collecting her thoughts. “That assassin is probably from the New United City States to our North. We ran into them while scouting out through level 3 zones.”

“They are controlled by the Council of Shadows, who reports to the Mistress of Whispers. There are preliminary talks ongoing, but their stance has been fairly hostile. Since they claim we should answer to them as the surviving city of the United City States, the UCS.”

“That was the Astrologer’s nation, that was wiped out in the calamity,” I said to help refresh my memory and make sure it was right. Clarissa nodded at this.

“Yes. From what I have been able to gather, their combat forces and government are fairly weak. More rule through fear than anything else. But they do have the collective knowledge of the UCS most likely if they are claiming to be its successor state.”

“How far have relations gotten?” I asked Clarissa.

“Just at the feeling each other out stage. I haven’t met with anyone in person and have been sending a proxy. We don’t want a war or trouble with them. Also, they have another city to their West, the Free City of Hong Kong, which was neutral between the Dragon Empire and the UCS when they were fighting.”

“It is controlled by a Protector. But they are heavily isolationist. The one attempt to reach out to them was asked to turn around and not bother them,” Clarissa explained.

“From the direction of the last airship that means the Avatar’s Nation is in the Northwest of the Dragon Empire and the Systemic Lands,” I said.

“So, five factions. Or six if the rebels of the Dragon Empire count?” Clarissa asked me.

“No, they are worthless. They have no city and no combat effectiveness. So, we control, what, six cities?” I asked.

“Yes. The NUCS controls one along with the Free City of Hong Kong, and the Dragon Empire controls nine, or eight now since you took a city,” Clarissa said. She hadn’t touched onto the fact I had the Divine Empress’s child and what we would do with him. That topic was clearly being saved until the end.

“The problem is I can’t win,” I blurted out and then sagged in my chair. “The Divine Empress’s stats, skills, and meta-points are too much for me to contend with. I don’t see any good path forward.”

“That is unfortunate. I have been thinking on the issue, but with everything you have said, it…well I was hoping she had invested more into her people and her empire, but that clearly isn’t the case,” Clarissa replied. We sat there in silence for a bit, mulling over the situation.

There was no good answer. It was like asking a country in Africa, how they plan to defeat the US or China. People would just look at them and laugh. But when you were the small nation without the power to fight head on, you realized how screwed you were.

At least in a full war the weaker side could engage in asymmetrical warfare. But that wasn’t going to cut it here. The Divine Empress needed to be killed personally. If she died, everything else could be sorted out.

Assassinations were out, since she would Sense them coming from a mile away most likely. Direct combat was out, again due to her insanely high stats. Skills were out, since she had clearly prepped her skills beforehand to maximize their usage and cost requirements. She had the benefit of taking her time while the rest of us were trying to catch up, but stuck in her cloud of dust.

“So, you want to use the child?” Clarissa asked me.

“Yes. We put a bomb into him. Then boom! At least it will deal emotional damage,” I replied.

“Anyone else would could have reasoned with. What about returning her child with the threat of going after him if she doesn’t back off?” Clarissa asked me.

“I would have agreed with that before I saw her throne made of screaming heads and what she did to the Avatar. Any agreement with her is worth nothing. Since once we lose the kid she would have all the power.”

“Then she backs off and we care for the kid ourselves?” Clarissa asked.

“She will look. And our threats won’t mean anything if we go through with them. And if we did go through with them, we would be screwed.” That was why I hated hostage situations. There was no good way to make a credible threat. Cutting off body parts didn’t mean much since that could be healed with a restoration. Curse damage might be a possibility. Something to consider.

“I see, she is completely deranged you believe, and it isn’t just your feelings for Naran?” This time Clarissa used her deadpan voice to ask me a harsh question. I winced at it, since it was partially true, but there was no taking back what I had seen.

“There is just no way to negotiate with her and survive. She would just murderize everyone in her path. And hoping she backs off and lets us keep her kid. I wouldn’t bet on that for all the points in the Systemic Lands,” I replied.