Sean Shaw discreetly pulled his arm away and said, "Let's each share our thoughts first!"
Jumin Jing jumped in, "Let me go first! The emperor of Silver Clementine Kingdom says he never colluded with the enemy or betrayed his country—he's been framed! He even says he can take a Red Truth Pill to prove his innocence. Honestly, he doesn't seem like he's lying."
"So what?" Sean asked coolly.
"So, I think, if Southern Mystic Empire really wanted to get to the bottom of this, it wouldn't be hard. But they don't seem interested in explanations—they just want to wipe them out!"
Jumin Jing asked, "But why?"
"Who cares why!" Snow Yuan cut in. "They're coming for us anyway! Our mission is to win against the odds... Ugh! The difference in troop numbers is insane! How are we supposed to win?"
"Exactly!" Jumin Jing said. "Maybe we should just give up! We still have two more chances, right? Next time, our luck can't possibly be this bad—we won't get stuck with such a nightmare task again!"
"Then you can leave," Lucia Lu said. "No one's stopping you."
Anytime Lucia Lu talks to him, Jumin Jing is thrilled.
He grinned, "I'm just kidding! Wherever my cousin goes, I go! I would never leave her!"
Lucia Lu: ...Fine, I’ll put up with it!
"So, High God Jumin’s plan is to retreat?" Sean Shaw asked.
"Uh... Honestly, I don’t really have a plan," Jumin Jing admitted, looking straight at Lucia Lu. "Whatever you guys decide, I’ll just do that!"
"And you, Divine Lady Lucia? Any ideas?" Sean Shaw asked coldly.
Lucia looked at his expression and tone, and for a moment, she almost felt like she was imagining things.
Did swapping immortal robes make him mistake Snow Yuan for her, and her for Snow Yuan?
No, that can’t be right!
He was definitely calling her by name...
"So you’re just like High God Jumin—no ideas at all?" he pressed.
Lucia snapped back to reality and said, "I think... we should tackle this from two angles. First, we need to figure out the real reason Southern Mystic Empire wants to destroy Silver Clementine Kingdom. That way, we can prescribe the right cure."
"Yeah, yeah! Cousin makes total sense!" Jumin Jing cheered her on. "So, what's the second angle?"
"Second, we need to find ourselves a backer. That's the only way to deal with Southern Mystic Empire's army."
"If they had a backer, they wouldn't just be sitting here waiting to die," Snow Yuan said. "Right, Brother Shen?"
Sean Shaw nodded.
Lucia Lu pressed her lips together and asked, "Fifth Highness, do you have any ideas?"
Sean Shaw said, "The Southern Mystic Empire's army will be at our borders in two or three days. Our top priority is to stall them—buy us some time, then we can work out the rest."
"How do we stall them?"
Sean Shaw said, "Naturally, we use Silver Clementine Kingdom's hundred thousand elite soldiers."
"Use them how?" Lucia Lu asked. "Forget everything else—how do you stop what's on the ground from what's up in the sky?"
Sean Shaw said, "Blackwind Array."
All three of them looked totally lost.
They'd only just started learning human battle tactics and formations—they hadn't gotten to this part yet.
"The Blackwind Array uses the canyon crosswinds to create a formation," Sean Shaw explained. "Anyone flying in from the Southern Mystic Empire will have to cross the southern mountain range. There are lots of canyons there—set up the array, and their flying cavalry will have to retreat."
"Then we'll follow Fifth Highness's lead," Lucia Lu said. "None of us know how to set up an array."
Sean Shaw stood up, looking like he couldn't be bothered to waste any more words. "It's late. Tomorrow, we'll call in the old Grandmaster and the army generals and talk it through together."