Chapter 900: Ch 899: A Plan

Hearing Ryo's question, Shiroyasha rolled her eyes. "Oi, oi, oi, you're not supposed to say that part out loud!"

Ryo's mouth twitched. "Would the Buddha actually be okay with this?"

Shakyamuni Buddha, though also an unofficial member of Ouroboros, was in the eyes of the gods the backer bankrolling the Heavenly Army, the strongest enforcement body around.

Dump "Kalki" straight into the Buddha's lap, and the man's most likely reaction wouldn't be delight. It'd be a face like a thundercloud. Because that would mean he'd have no choice but to step in personally and go toe to toe with Ouroboros's top brass.

This whole plan sounds like "I'm about to fight myself!"

Shiroyasha rolled her eyes and came up with some twisted logic of her own. "What's that got to do with the Buddha? We just happened to donate to his temple. Is donating illegal now?"

'Sure, sure, whatever you say...' Ryo rolled his eyes right back, then asked, "But how does that connect to Ouroboros base in the East District?"

Shiroyasha snapped open her fan and hid her grin behind it. "Think about it. Why would I go there in person to dump Kalki at Sanzen? What does that say about what I'm thinking?"

Ryo furrowed his brow.

If he were Ouroboros, seeing Shiroyasha pull a stunt like that, he'd absolutely assume she had some kind of grudge against them. And after that, all it'd take was Shiroyasha dropping hints through the people around her that she wasn't happy about her territory being "unclean," and Ouroboros would know exactly what that meant.

Sure, Shiroyasha had sealed her own Spirit Rank and capped her strength at four digits these days, but the powerhouses of the Little Garden hadn't forgotten what she really was.

Back in the day, she'd ranked second among the mightiest beings in the entire Little Garden, the ShiroYoruMaou. Even after she sealed herself, she still wasn't someone you wanted to mess with.

There were only nineteen beings with two-digit combat rankings. And every single one of those nineteen was a force to be reckoned with, let alone the ShiroYoruMaou who could unseal herself.

"Still, worst case, all this ends up doing is making Ouroboros relocate their base..." Ryo trailed off, his expression turning a bit odd. He glanced at Shiroyasha, still grinning away, and asked, a little uneasily, "You're not thinking of pulling an Indra move, are you?"

Ambushing Ouroboros mid-relocation while they moved their critical base's assets, walking away with both the people and the loot. That was exactly the vicious little trick Indra had pulled, and it had been ruthless enough to snap Ouroboros's supply lines clean in half. To this day, Ryo couldn't figure out how Ouroboros would ever make up for that loss.

And if it happened again...

'No wonder she asked upfront if I had the guts for this...' Ryo grumbled to himself.

Pulling a stunt like that was basically spitting in the face of the year's reigning deity. Suicidal, for most people.

Of course, that "suicidal" label only applied to ordinary folks.

The corner of Ryo's mouth curled up slightly. "I'm in."

The wealth stockpiled at a primary Ouroboros base, and not just any base, the one overseeing the entire East District. Of course Ryo's eyes were lighting up. He still needed another hundred million points to break through his Eighth Sense! If he didn't scrounge up some quick cash, who knew how many years he'd be stuck waiting.

"Good. Got some balls on you." Shiroyasha snapped her fan shut, tapped it against her palm, and grinned. "But for something like this, more hands make lighter work."

Ryo caught on instantly. "I'll loop in Algol and Athena."

Something this lucrative, of course you'd want to bring people in to split the take. Besides, without a two-digit powerhouse backing them up, Ryo wasn't exactly feeling secure about this either.

As for why Athena specifically, that woman's brain worked fast and her intel network ran deep. Try to scheme against the Ouroboros without her in the loop, and who knew what trap they'd walk into?

Seeing this, Shiroyasha gave him a look like a proud teacher. "Look at you, sharp enough to bring the smart bombshell along."

Bombshell... Hearing that word, Ryo's eyes went a little funny looking at Shiroyasha.

Before, sure, whatever. But now "the bombshell" happened to be his own woman, and knowing Shiroyasha's personality...

"Actually, maybe I won't tell Athena after all."

"What, you trying to hog this all to yourself?" Shiroyasha blinked. They were both seasoned degenerates here.

There was a gorgeous woman worth drooling over, so why the sudden reluctance to share? It was just asking for risqué art, something he normally handed over without hesitation. Suddenly getting stonewalled. That threw her off completely.

"Wait, you don't actually think you've got Athena locked down, do you?" Then Shiroyasha froze, staring at Ryo like she couldn't believe it. "Hold on. Did something happen between you and Athena?"

Risqué art of other people's women, sure, no big deal. But your own wife's? That's off-limits.

But it's only been... how long...

"Me and her, it's not..."

Before Ryo could even finish, Shiroyasha clicked her tongue. "You actually pulled it off!"

Shiroyasha looked utterly floored. That Athena, gone, just like that? My youth, gone with her...!

"Whatever, forget Athena, I've still got others..."

Shiroyasha's tone grew more and more bitter as she went.

Credit where it's due, Shiroyasha did have one redeeming quality: she didn't share Indra's little hobby for other men's wives.

Shiroyasha then aded, "Still, we should let Athena know at least. There's intel we'll need through her channels. She's got no shortage of people planted inside the Ouroboros, after all."

Do you Little Garden gods just really love planting spies in every single faction? Ryo gave Shiroyasha a suspicious look.

At this point he was seriously starting to suspect the Little Garden ran an endless soap opera of double agents every single day.

"Got it," Ryo said. He never turned down anything that lowered the risk.

"Though the actual operation'll probably have to wait until after I get Taurus." Ryo thought it over and decided to just say it plainly.

He was determined to claim the Sun Authority of all twelve zodiac signs. It was a necessary condition for completing the Saint Cloth.

'Speaking of the Saint Cloth, though, Athena's blood hadn't done a thing for it. Guess I really did need to buy blood from the Forum after all...' Ryo thought to himself.

"Taurus, huh..." Shiroyasha's expression turned complicated.

Technically speaking, the Sun Authorities were fragments of her own Spirit Rank, things that had originally belonged to her. So hearing Ryo openly state he wanted Taurus naturally left her feeling conflicted.

"Fine. I'll get some prep work started on my end too."

Just then, Ryo suddenly went still. Without a word, he pulled a black card out of his pocket.

On the card, a pure white Ouroboros symbol was giving off a faint, glowing shimmer.

It was the signal that appeared whenever an internal Ouroboros member made contact.

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