My Salvation Game Became true?!.
Chapter 605 - 386: The Torch Organization, Ineffable Depths!_3

Chapter 605: Chapter 386: The Torch Organization, Ineffable Depths!_3

Within the meeting room of the Sword Academy, most of the higher-ups of Oasis who were fifth- or sixth-level Awakeners had arrived and taken their seats.

Time changes, and Matissa, who had ascended to Six Senses several months ago, was now the second-in-command at the Rose Academy and had been bestowed the honorary title of Dean.

In this meeting hall, Matissa’s seat was quite at the front, second only to the three Deans.

However, she, oblivious to her status, still saw herself as a young junior, feeling somewhat uneasy sitting near the front. She looked around left and right until the old Grandmaster of the Sword Academy began to speak.

"Today’s meeting is to discuss two matters."

"First, our development plan for Sword Flower City for the next few years."

"Second, regarding the upcoming summit in the City of Fallen Stars."

"These two matters are, in fact, one and the same, so everyone is free to speak their mind."

After the Grandmaster of the Sword Academy finished speaking, a Vice Dean in charge of the affairs of the Great Oasis began to speak.

"Following the Mysterious Evil catastrophe, after tabulation, we have incurred the following property and personnel losses: ..., in addition, there are the substantial expenses for hiring the Dragon Wave Mercenary Group. For the next decade or so, the financial situation of Sword Flower City will be far from optimistic."

However, compared to the bleak outlook of the Black Stone Alliance before them, although the losses of Sword Flower City were significant, they were still within bearable limits.

After all, Sword Flower City already had six Six Senses Awakeners, and the construction of its defense facilities and the foundation of the Oasis were much stronger than those of the Black Stone Alliance.

Yet even so, every high-level official in attendance frowned at the thought of the sizable mercenary payments that would have to be made for more than ten years.

Many places in Oasis needed rebuilding, walls needed repairs, and with such large expenses, they would be quite strapped for cash for a long period to come.

Of course, reneging on the debt was out of the question—they had already signed a contract with the Dragon Wave Mercenary Group, not to mention, the Blazefire Commerce Guild was overseeing the transaction. Such thoughts wouldn’t even arise in their minds, let alone dare to entertain them.

"For the coming period, the salaries of Oasis officials will be reduced by 30%. I hope everyone understands."

The Dean of the Sword Academy looked around and saw many with furrowed brows and somber faces, but no one raised any objections. He nodded and continued, "Of course, with the situation we are in, merely cutting costs isn’t enough; we have to find ways to generate revenue. Otherwise, our Oasis will gradually decline."

With the situation in Sword Flower City, if one were to satisfy only the most basic ’living conditions’, there would naturally be more than enough.

However, without sufficient resources to cultivate the next generation, the overall combat strength of Sword Flower City could likely decline instead of improve. In the perilous environment of the Ghastly Realm, a decrease in combat strength means weaker risk resistance, something no visionary can tolerate.

But how can we generate revenue?

Having just weathered the Mysterious Evil storm, many of Sword Flower City’s warriors were injured, making it difficult to go out in search of resources, and daily revenue had already dropped, let alone increasing it.

"It’s not impossible; why do you think the City of Fallen Stars is suddenly hosting a summit—their objectives... we can roughly guess. Moreover, there is also the Blazefire Commerce Guild. There may also be some opportunities there; if we can catch the wave, Sword Flower City may not only recoup its losses but perhaps even advance further."

As he spoke, the high-level officials turned their gazes toward the Grandmaster of the Sword Academy.

Although there were three Deans of Sword Flower City, this individual was the strongest in Sword Flower and the helmsman of the Great Oasis.

However, at this moment, the Grandmaster of the Sword Academy seemed to be undecided. His gaze swept across the room, finally landing on... Matissa.

"Matissa, what is your opinion?"

"Eh??? "

...

Matissa didn’t reveal any opinion during the meeting, but the headmistress of Rose Academy could tell that her student wanted to say something but hesitated.

After the meeting, the two sat together, and the elegant headmistress of Rose Academy said, "You are now an Awakener at the pinnacle of the Six Senses, you should act like one. Be confident, you’re fully qualified to make suggestions."

Although that’s what the headmistress said...

Matissa still didn’t have much of an air of a strong person. It wasn’t anything else; being one of the Six Senses really wasn’t that impressive! In the Ghastly Realm, those with the Six Senses were almost a dime a dozen.

She was still accustomed to being a small soldier, following the commands of her superiors.

However, seeing that her headmistress had said this, and since they were in private, she considered for a moment before saying, "Headmistress, it’s the City of Fallen Stars that’s clashing with the Blazefire Commerce Guild behind the scenes, right? If we need to choose sides, then I... I suggest we align with the Blazefire Commerce Guild."

"Oh? Explain your reasoning."

"The specifics..." She scratched her head in frustration; it was hard to articulate, but she could only bring up what she could say, "Some time ago, I spent a period of time at the Blazing Fire Mall, and I’ve found the Blazefire Commerce Guild to be very impressive. Also... the Blazefire Commerce Guild is friendlier towards external forces and can provide us with more opportunities."

The headmistress of Rose Academy pondered for a while and said, "It’s okay, you can be more straightforward. I’ve known for a long time that you have a special relationship with the Blazefire Commerce Guild... hee hee, don’t be nervous. It’s normal for everyone to have preferences, just like how old Sword favors the City of Fallen Stars."

"In fact, for us in the Great Oasis, as long as the conditions are right, pledging ourselves to a super Oasis is not shameful; it can even be said to be quite normal."

"Because, by pledging to a super Oasis, the super Oasis has the responsibility to provide protection... and in the Ghastly Realm, nothing is more important than safety."

"There are two duke-level nobles within the City of Fallen Stars; they were originally two great forces from the Great Oasis that leaned towards the City of Fallen Stars."

What the headmistress of Rose Academy didn’t say was that early on, their City of Sword Flowers had also wanted to pledge allegiance to the City of Fallen Stars, but they were rejected.

Of course, times change, and now the status of the City of Fallen Stars is challenged, and their City of Sword Flowers has become much stronger than before. If they were to pledge to the City of Fallen Stars, they could use this as a condition to negotiate many benefits for themselves while retaining a greater degree of autonomy.

This situation could be likened to the Shattered Sea, where superpowers pledged allegiance to the four great overlords.

"So, what Old Sword is conflicted about is whether our Oasis should maintain the status quo or move closer to either the City of Fallen Stars or the Blazefire Commerce Guild, or to formally pledge allegiance," the headmistress surmised.

"Because the recent catastrophe has frightened many people, and actually, voices within the city supporting an alliance are not in the minority, of course, there are also many who oppose."

Matissa fell deep into thought.

She said she needed some time to think and, after half a day, requested a ’contract document’ and, holding this document, she found her headmistress and briefly explained the situation.

Soon, the three headmasters gathered once again.

Looking at the ’ambiguous’ document in Rose’s hand, which ’only revealed its full content during the contract process,’ the headmaster of the War Song frowned slightly.

But before he could speak up, the headmaster of Sword Academy said, "This contract contains very mysterious and profound rules, and since it comes from the Blazefire Commerce Guild, I believe we can take a chance."

If they won the bet, all would be well.

If they lost, then it would only be...

The headmistress of Rose Academy was also a person of courage; she examined the parts of the contract that were currently visible and looked over at Matissa for a moment.

She stretched out her hand and pressed down firmly.

In an instant, the eyes of this noblewoman widened as the gates to a new world were thrown open before her.