"I guess congratulations are on the way."

Looking at Arthur I smirked slightly, as he walked in my direction, before taking a seat across me.

"Maybe."

Arthur’s reply was short, as he extended his hand to take the meat that was unpacked on the table.

Though I had liked the food, I wasn’t petty enough to stop a father from eating something that was cooked by none other than his other daughter.

"Now that your core had been repaired, it’s time to start the mission. Julien has been gathering all available men from across all of our bases, so be there to manage everything."

Arthur nodded at my words, though his attention still seemed to be on the meat that was in his mouth.

"Though I would have liked to only take the best elites with me... this mission requires quantity more than quality."

Once the deal with the cults is finalised, we would begin the operation across the entire planet at the same time.

Though according to the rate of progress on that front, I think a week would still be required to ensure that everything was in its place.

There could be no hiccups, as any mistake, however small it might have been, would have disastrous consequences for us.

Not only financially, but to the entire organization as a whole.

As for the reason behind negotiating the deals with all the cults...

It was pretty simple.

We needed someone to take over the blame for whatever we were going to do.

As for why the cults would agree to accept our proposal.

Those lunatics from the cults only cared for the fame of their god, and would go to any end, to ensure that their god was feared among the public.

So... why would they let go of such a good opportunity.

Everything, right from the planning of the operation, to the expenses incurred, along with the casualties that might occur during the mission would be on us, so the cults wouldn’t even have to expend even a percent of their resources.

As for why I wasn’t using them directly in the operation for saving my own men? 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

I wasn’t going to launch a war against a nation or anything of the sort.

Mission.... That was what this operation was referred to as.

And it was basic sense that even the dumbest of the dumb should have known that missions required utmost coordination between all units.

Once the order had been relayed... there should be no rebellion among the troops.

If I had indeed recruited those lunatics... I could have received quite the force at my disposal, but the effectiveness of their strength was questionable, as the people from the cults were beyond normal reasoning.

They couldn’t be talked to without constantly engaging with them on a level... that was used to discipline some rebellious children.

Haa...

The problems were many, but for now the cults would suffice their role—by taking over the blame of our mission.

That would solve everything on its own.

It wasn’t like I was trying to actively hide the identity of D.X.

No.

The cults taking the blame was the best route in my plan—

A route that would benefit me the most.

But—

Even after everything, there was still an issue of loyalty and the chances of the plan being sold out to the authorities.

Since D.X. was still unknown, I didn’t think that any offers to defect would have been released to the soldiers working under me.

Still... Authorities were a bunch that were like rats, trying to dig every corner out there, even if there was no benefit in it.

They had massive resources at their disposal, so I was the least interested in dooming my organization out of sheer negligence.

I had already thought of a suitable measure to solve that issue, and it would be implemented after the successful completion of the ongoing mission.

Haa...

After all, leaving aside the risks involved in keeping the soldiers unchecked... at the moment I needed numbers more than anything.

Filtering out the loyal or faithful ones from the entire bunch would reduce the men available at my disposal.

But once the mission succeeds... There would be a hell waiting for everyone who had chosen to join D.X.

At the end of the day...

Culling is liked by none, hated by everyone.

"There was something that I wanted to ask you."

Arthur’s voice sounded far more reserved than before.

Was he hesitating.

"What is it?"

As I had already relayed the necessary instructions, I didn’t think there was any topic left to be discussed.

"Sophie... I think due to being forcefully trapped in the same core rank for many years, her body had begun to quickly make up for the loss. She... Sophie had recently broken into the Bronze rank, and in a day or two would soon become a Bronze 2."

My eyes froze the moment I heard Arthur’s words.

This...

Wasn’t this too fast.

I was able to evolve quickly because of the unique constitution of my body along with my ability to directly absorb the mana essence from the creatures that I had killed.

But—

Evolving this rapidly through normal means?

That would put Sophie on the same level as Noah, who was at Silver 2 only because he had started late.

No.

That would actually put Sophie even above Noah, as I didn’t think the protagonist’s speed was this quick.

"Didn’t her core overload?"

"No. I repeatedly checked it, but there were no signs of mana overload."

Arthur too was speechless at his daughter’s growth.

"Do you think that something like this is possible after being cured from mana poisoning?"

I didn’t reply instantly as my mind processed the information.

In the game after the discovery of mana stones, many were cured of mana poisoning, but none displayed this level of growth in their power.

Though in the case of royals, some had been able to quickly step on the path to cultivation, but even the boost received by those was near to negligible, not worth any special attention.

Haa...

The only reason that I could think of at the moment was—

"Was Sophie’s mother a genius?"

Arthur’s expression changed the moment I questioned about his wife, because this could explain such a rapid rise in rank.

Maybe... Sophie was a genius unlike anything the world had ever seen, and only due to being plagued by mana poisoning her talent was suppressed, but now that she had recovered—

"No."

Huh?

Arthur’s words made me look into his eyes with a frown, as I calculated the possibility of Arthur not knowing everything about his wife.

Maybe...

"Let alone being a genius, she wasn’t even a cultivator. Sophie’s mother had never awakened."

"..."

"..."

"She had never developed a core."