Chapter 1237 - Taming the Old World - Lead Keeping

Chapter 1237: Chapter 1237 - Taming the Old World - Lead Keeping

Ren could not act right now anyway...

He possessed absolutely zero mana. He had completely drained his reserves navigating the sanctuary, performing runic therapy on his own pathways, and reinforcing the massive dome. Furthermore, resurrecting Laura was not a matter of simply pushing a burst of ether into her; it was an incredibly delicate surgical operation. It required meticulously purging the corruption from a half-consumed core first, then fixing its damage, and successfully concluding the intricate transmutation process demanded a system condition Ren simply did not possess tonight.

He began to whisper a promise that he would initiate the procedure the following morning.

But Selphira immediately beat him to it.

The ancient matriarch fell entirely silent upon hearing his words... And then she stood up.

The psychological shift was profoundly abrupt, almost shocking in its speed. One fleeting second she was collapsed on the marble floor, desperately clinging to the crystal statue and sobbing uncontrollably, and the very next instant she was firmly on her feet, efficiently wiping her tear-streaked face with water mana. Her legendary composure, forged over four centuries of brutal survival, settled perfectly back into place like a heavy, familiar mantle resting upon her shoulders.

"No," she stated with absolute finality, cutting Ren off before he could finish his sentence. "There is absolutely no logical necessity to rush this procedure."

"Grandmother Selphira, it is glaringly obvious that this situation is deeply affecting you, I can attempt the extraction tomorrow and..."

"And you absolutely will not do that." Her voice had completely reverted to its unyielding firmness, radiating the strict authority of a seasoned mentor, entirely shedding the fragile aura of a grieving mother.

"Listen to me closely... I am profoundly grateful for your willingness... I genuinely am. But there are infinitely larger priorities on the board right now." She tilted her chin sharply, specifically pointing toward the geographic coordinate in Yino where the monster was relentlessly scratching its way out of the star-prison. "We currently hold a four-day advantage against the corruption. If you willingly burn an entire operational day attempting to resurrect someone who, if we are being brutally honest, is not going to alter the overarching outcome of this war, it is a catastrophic misuse of our limited resources. Especially while your own system remains severely compromised."

Ren opened his mouth to formulate a protest, only to promptly snap it shut.

Because she was absolutely right... Her tactical arithmetic was flawless.

"It is more than enough comfort just knowing that you possess the capacity to heal her, and that you will eventually recover her at the proper moment," Selphira continued, her tone softening slightly now that she had definitively secured the point. "It does not have to be tomorrow... It absolutely does not have to happen this week... She will remain right here, perfectly preserved in the crystal, patiently waiting, exactly as she has waited for countless years buried in that dark ruin. A little more time changes absolutely nothing." She turned her eyes toward her granddaughter. "And I am absolutely certain Liora comprehends the logic as well..."

Liora gently pulled away from Ren’s embrace, carefully wiping the stray tears from her porcelain cheeks.

And with a remarkably stoic expression, she offered a firm nod.

Ren watched her closely, and a profound realization finally clicked into place.

Liora was undeniably the most psychologically stable of the three ’princesses’. She possessed the highest emotional maturity, she was the absolute last one to crumble under pressure, and she was always the resilient pillar holding the others upright whenever it was necessary. And right now, watching her nod with that chillingly serene calm while her grandmother unilaterally decided to postpone the resurrection of her own mother, Ren completely understood where that unyielding strength came from.

It came directly from Selphira.

Since Selphira had effectively served as her true, authentic mother in every single capacity that genuinely mattered, Liora had subconsciously adopted her entire psychological blueprint. The unshakable composure... The disciplined capacity to ruthlessly prioritize what was necessary over what was desperately desired. The unique ability to swallow a devastating personal moment and firmly set it aside for the greater good of the continent. Liora was, in countless profound ways, a smaller reflection of Selphira.

Ren actively shoved the analytical thoughts aside. This was absolutely not the correct moment to dissect the complex psychologies of the people he loved.

He decided, instead, to quietly appreciate the massive tactical gift the two women were handing him: the profound maturity of refusing to demand he expend his critical energy on anything that wasn’t strictly necessary to extend their survival window. Neither Selphira nor Liora was ever going to selfishly demand a full day of his mana for a purely personal matter while the entire capital dangled precariously by a frayed thread.

It was an invaluable gift, that specific brand of understanding, and Ren recognized it exactly as such.

♢♢♢♢

The ticking clock demanded something else entirely: tactical planning.

"Then let us discuss the Darkness dragon," Ren announced, pivoting to face Julius and Arturo directly. "And specifically, the operational timeline."

He began running the logistical arithmetic aloud, ensuring every commander in the room could seamlessly follow his strategic reasoning.

Tomorrow, he could theoretically recover his mana-biological system to one hundred percent capacity. He would inevitably forfeit a slight margin of structural advantage on the star-prison by dedicating the vast majority, roughly three-quarters, of his daily mana output to repairing his own internal pathways instead of reinforcing the adamantium walls, but the defensive equilibrium they had maintained thus far had essentially been nothing more than a calculated precaution.

It was a tactical safety net deliberately woven to catch any hidden cards Selthia or the corruption might suddenly play.

"If I am being entirely objective," Ren admitted, "it would have been a bit more efficient to prioritize my own recovery from the very beginning. In the long run, a pristine system generates superior ethereal efficiency, and the overall output would have been higher. But executing that specific strategy would have left the beast’s escape tunnel dangerously close to breaching the surface during those terrifying first few days. And we had absolutely zero intelligence regarding whether the entity trapped inside harbored a secondary option designed to trigger the moment the bedrock grew thin enough. I simply could not risk gambling the entire continent to find out."

Julius offered a sharp nod of agreement. It had undeniably been the correct decision, even if the raw mathematics initially appeared inefficient.