Death... and me

After confirming what was coming for them, Roan and Tixa immediately decided to retreat before the enemy's Transition Realm cultivator's Divine Sense could see them.

'What do you want to do now?' Roan asked Tixa through a Divine Sense message. She was, after all, the one in charge of their group.

'It's hard to say,' Tixa replied. 'This canyon has many passages, so we can just retreat for a bit and take a different route from those guys. We would still be able to reach our striking point and launch the attack. However...'

Roan understood her concern. 'They will notice that their scouts ahead disappeared and notice that something is definitely off. If they come back from where they came, they might strike us from the rear. If that happens, our plan to pierce through the enemy's army to return to our own army would most likely fail.'

Tixa didn't know what to do. Should she retreat now?

Roan then gave her options. 'As I see it, this is an opportunity. You now have the perfect excuse to retreat. An ambush team from the opposing side took the same route as us. You can just say we had to go back to warn the central army. If they doubt our words, the Soul Biding Contract will be there to prove we aren't lying. No one will be punished as you had no choice in the matter. The Vigal Army can't condemn you for that even if they wanted to.'

Tixa had to admit Roan was right. She didn't want to take this mission to start with, so why shouldn't she take this opportunity to retreat? Nevertheless, she asked Roan's opinion. 'What do you think?'

'Me?' Roan faintly smiled as he told her, 'I'm here for the War Points. I would definitely take a different route and simply ignore those guys. I told you before, I'm confident I can flee even if I'm in the middle of the enemy army. During that time, I'll kill as many high-level enemies as possible to record their lives in my badge.'

Tixa couldn't help but ask, 'You don't care about what happens to us at all, do you?'

Roan looked back at Tixa as if he was looking at an idiot. 'Did I ever give the impression I cared?'

Tixa had to admit he was right. 'Fine. If we continue with the plan, how sure are you that we can accomplish it? For you to say that you would keep going, you obviously have a way to go back to our army after we divert their attention towards us, right?'

Roan nodded. 'I do. It's called negotiation.'

'What?!' Tixa was taken aback. 'Negotiation? You mean, negotiate with this division heading in our direction?'

'Yes,' Roan replied. 'Didn't you see? We aren't much different from this group. Strength-wise, neither side can say whether they would win or lose if we clashed. Then again, one thing's for sure. We would both receive huge losses, and neither of us would be able to continue with our mission.'

Tixa found the idea ridiculous. In any case, she still had to ask. 'What if they don't try to negotiate at all?'

Roan shrugged his shoulder. 'Then we fight, of course! Did you forget what I just said? It's not like we're weaker than them, judging by the size of both divisions. Whether we're forced to retreat or not, we will still have the perfect excuse to cancel the mission in the end.'

Tixa still found a problem with it, though. 'Even if the negotiations are successful, they can simply send someone back to warn the central army that we are co-'

It was then that Tixa put a hand on her face, feeling like she had been babbling like an idiot all this time. 'Oh, for fuck's sake, that's what we want to happen in the first place!'

Roan was surprised she noticed it that quickly. 'Not too bad. Indeed, isn't our mission to distract the central army? So what if the enemy tries to stop us? They obviously think we're coming to try to break their defensive line from behind. Whether those guys warn their central army about our presence or not, our objective will be concluded anyway. They will have to shift a part of their army to intercept us, and that will definitely be noticed by our own central army. Mission accomplished.'

Roan then increased his pace to return to where Rean and the others were waiting. 'In any case, the negotiation will be up to you. Their commander surely wouldn't take the words of someone at the Initial Stage Saint Realm, after all.'

Tixa nodded in response. 'No problem. I can't guarantee that a battle won't occur, but I can at least try.'

'That's enough for me. Just remember, you can't be seen negotiating with the guy. That's why I only used Divine Sense messages between the two of us. Just wait for us to open some distance from you and then turn back and pretend that you're also scouting ahead. The enemy can't attack you due to your cultivation, after all,' Roan reminded her.

Tixa did as Roan said and left their group a moment later. Meanwhile, Roan brought their own cultivators ahead, ready to fight if it was necessary. However, Tixa returned a few minutes later before giving everyone an order. "The path ahead has too many enemies, so we're taking another route. Follow me."

The division could only do as she told while Roan asked her the outcome. 'How was it?'

Tixa nodded, telling him, 'The guy noticed my presence when I used my Divine Sense and came straight at me to check. I pretended to be surprised by his appearance. He also noticed that I had a division using the same path. Just as he was ready to tell his group to attack us, I told him to stop and listen first. With that, I offered to him that both our groups could ignore each other as our objectives were the same. At the very least, it wouldn't be worth a fight between teams of similar strength, the only conclusion being a pyrrhic victory. After that, we simply agreed that we would follow a different path. Of course, he most likely sent someone back to inform them about our presence.'

Roan was satisfied with that. 'Good. Let's see how everything plays out.'