Andre lowered his hands slightly and turned to face the man who had just spoken, his manners impeccable.
"Hello, Vice Class Leader."
Auguste was far less careful. "Richard, how are things in the Plague Territory? Whether our plan succeeds hinges on the Plague Lord's faction."
If Bai Xiaowen had been there, he would have recognized Richard: the Star Alliance Awakener he had encountered on the Aaron Plane, who had entered it as "Prince Richard"!
It was Richard who had first told Bai Xiaowen that the Star Alliance existed.
His words—"Above the Star Alliance stand the gods; beneath it stand all living beings"—had laid bare the superiority Star Alliance Awakeners felt toward Earth's natives.
Yet Richard showed none of that arrogance before Auguste and Andre. He smiled. "Rest assured, Class Leader. Everything is going according to plan."
Auguste nodded. "Good. Today, we used Bersuvi Castle as bait and caught all the elite forces in one net: the Knosolis Tribe, the Imperial Western Expeditionary Army, and Nicholas IV himself. If the plague virus works as well as you say, those infected will soon turn into Plague Undead and strengthen our forces."
After a pause, Auguste continued, "More importantly, the Surface World has lost its power to resist. Without Nicholas IV and the Imperial Regular Army, the vast Gorseflower Empire will fall apart. With this plague army leading the way, we can rapidly expand our forces by feeding off each victory."
"Then we can march into the Underworld," Richard said with a smile. "The Drow Elf Empire has suffered heavy losses too. It won't be able to stop the Plague Undead."
"Once we've largely unified both worlds, we'll band together to kill the Plague Lord and set things right in the name of the Conservative Noble faction." Auguste grinned. "If we pull off