GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?



Situ killed any new transcendents to maintain his position as the only transcendent that the Vipers have. That effectively removed his weakness and also made the boost of the entire race go to him alone. He is a single man, but he is more than enough. He alone is worth more than 30 transcendents and the tens of thousands of mana entities that the ocular monkeys have.

The ocular monkeys wouldn't even know that Situ couldn't be killed if not for the mad Emperor sacrificing himself to kill their transcendents. He is terribly strong. Each strike of his felt like the manifestation of the anger of the world. Yet, he would fight recklessly without dodging just so that he could harm his foes. 

Situ used the tactic of mutually assured destruction in all of his engagements. He doesn't have to worry about dying, so why care? The trade of a single connection for the life of a transcendent is also worth it for him. Each connection is some ordinary viper somewhere. There are millions of them available. While each transcendent of the ocular monkeys is rare and valuable. 

That's what they faced and why they lost. Situ would have ground them to dust eventually. They don't have a million transcendents to spare. In fact, they don't have more than 30 transcendents in total. So they had to give ground to Situ. 

She was the first transcendent in the entire plane, and she taught the others how to break through too. But they don't even have enough transcendents to match the Viper paragons that are mana entities. What they have cannot hold Situ back either. So how will they deal with the army of Vipers, the thousands of paragons, and Situ combined? They are the side with the most transcendents, but they are still the ones that are disadvantaged in this conflict.

'It is up to them now.' She told herself as she looked at the flying entities above her own army. 

She is not foolish. She knows how bad things are for them. She knows the odds are stacked against them. A one in ten chance of coming out of this alive is a generous estimate of their chances with the situation of things. She wouldn't have called the ocular monkeys for this battle if she did not have something up her sleeve though. Her plan will rely on the levitating transcendents. 

Paragons are strong because of their connection with their people. She can't connect with her people, so she has been trying to find a source of power to connect to. She tried and found the world to be a viable option. The world is large and powerful. If she can borrow some power from the world, maybe she will be able to match the paragons. 

She tried and finally succeeded in forming a connection with the world. It is a state she calls One with the world. With it, she can use the world itself to empower herself. She had to master herself and the flow of momentum within herself and throughout the world to synchronize herself with the world. It is what she has up her sleeve. It is their only chance.

She believes that this skill has more potential. What she has achieved is just the third step. There should be a fourth step and more. But they don't have enough time for her to create more. This third step is very powerful and it will have to do for now.

Things won't magically go in their favor because of the power of the world. She is only one person, and she will only be able to match Situ in strength. There are still the Viper paragons that are mana entities to contend with. Then there is the hopelessness of a fight with Situ. His people have to be wiped off before he can be killed. Every Viper must be wiped out, or the fight with Situ will never end. Situ will remain as long as a single Viper exists.

So the battle today is not about killing Situ. They will gain nothing that way. That's why she taught the other transcendents how to connect to the world. They were able to get it quickly due to the perfect control over their bodies. It will give them the edge over the paragons that are mana entities. 

She has planned as best as she can for the upcoming battle. The fate of the battle is in the hands of the transcendents and the soldiers that answered her call. Her job is to stall Situ while every mana entity here will be incredibly useful. The more Vipers they kill, the weaker Situ becomes.

They answered her call and came under her banner to see the liberation of the ocular monkeys. About a million ocular monkeys answered her call despite the immense casualties that they have experienced so far. She is tired, but so are they. She can't stop, and they can't stop too. Not until the battle is won. 

Someone came to her and informed her that the battle was about to start. It was Ravin that came to talk to her. She nodded at her and gave one of her rare smiles. Ravin returned the smile. She thought about her affection for Ravin and the future they might have together. She thought about the children they might have and how beautiful they would be since Ravin would be their mother.

She could have those children if she ran away to hide from the Vipers. She can live a short but peaceful life if she stops fighting. That is a possibility. Running away will also save all these people from the fate of death. Then Ravin will be safe, and they can live a quiet, happy life somewhere where no one can find them. They will have beautiful kids. 

Unfortunately, she can not run away. She made a promise to her dead comrades, and she will not rest until it is fulfilled. Her comrades are no longer alive but she is and she will make sure that their childhood dream of liberating the race will be achieved.