(Meanwhile, Within a Su Family Flagship, Su Tang’s POV)
Su Tang felt genuinely surprised to see the Cult Army still thriving so many hours into the war, as the livestream continued to show their forces not merely enduring but advancing with stubborn persistence, a development that quietly exceeded even his most generous expectations.
"This is... interesting," he mused, as from the very beginning the Su Clan had never wished for the Cult’s failure, yet had always doubted their competence, knowing full well that the Chakravyuh was not something conviction alone could overcome, which was why they had assumed the Cult would at best sow chaos before being crushed, buying just enough time for the Su Family to complete their planetary raids without interference.
And yet, here they were.
Most of the planned raids had already been completed with efficiency, resources secured and resistance neutralized ahead of schedule, while the Cult Army continued to advance rather than collapse, pushing deeper into territory they had never been expected to reach.
"This is... almost inspirational," Su Tang said, as his gaze remained fixed on the massive projection before him, a faint curve forming at the corner of his lips while battlefield telemetry updated in real time.
Beside him, Su Yang folded his arms as he studied the same feed with a fascinated interest, his expression clearly proud as he saw Leo make thousands of Transcendents kneel all at once.
"What do we do now, Father?" Su Yang asked, as his eyes flicked briefly toward Su Tang before returning to the livestream.
"We’ve already completed all the raids we planned for this window.....
Do we now capitalize on the extra time and hit additional planets, or do we head back home for now?"
He asked, as under normal circumstances, it would have been a sensible suggestion to continue raiding, and yet Su Tang shook his head in rejection.
"No...."
The Su Clan Patriarch said firmly, as he began to stroke his chin.
"The war has reached a critical point now.
And continuing raids at this moment would be shortsighted,"
Su Tang replied, as he shifted his glance from the livestream projection towards Su Yang.
"Don’t be alarmed, son.
You don’t fully understand the Chakravyuh’s internal mechanics yet, so it’s natural you don’t see what I see..."
Su Tang continued, his voice sounding calm and unhurried.
"But since I understand exactly what’s going on over there, let me just say....
It’s quite fascinating."
He explained, as Su Yang blinked in confusion.
"I don’t yet understand why Soron hasn’t been executed, nor do I fully grasp how the Cult Army is progressing this quickly through the Chakravyuh rings.
However, what I do understand is that the Righteous Faction is under far more strain than the livestream makes it appear."
He commented, as it was at this point that Su Yang decided to interrupt.
"What do you mean?" Su Yang asked, as his brow furrowed slightly while he leaned forward.
"Let me give you some context, Son, so you can see it too.
You see, each ring of the Chakravyuh is sustained by a specific tier of warriors," Su Tang explained, as his gaze never left the battlefield.
"Masters and Grandmasters on the outer layers.
Transcendents further in.
Monarchs anchoring the fourth ring.
And Gods and Demi-Gods at the core...."
"Right now, with the Cult attacking the Third Ring, what most onlookers believe is that even if they somehow get through the Third Ring, there’s no way they get through the fourth as well, since a ring full of Monarch’s is exponentially harder to breach compared to a ring made up of Transcendents.
However, that’s not entirely true...."
"You see, the way the Chakravyuh works is that, with every ring that collapses, the burden required to maintain the formation doesn’t vanish.
It radiates inward."
His fingers paused briefly against his chin.
"At present, the Gods and Demi-Gods making up the innermost core are absorbing most of that strain, which is why the mortals further out can still function normally.
But if the Third Ring collapses, then the burden would become too great for even the Gods to bear for extended amounts of time, which means that they must share it outwards....
And the only ones left to share it with..."
Su Tang continued, as he let the sentence hang deliberately.
"The Monarchs," Su Yang said, as realization finally dawned in his eyes.
"Exactly," Su Tang replied, as he gave a slow nod.
"That is why this war has just become interesting.
Until now, I believed the Cult could only disrupt the board.
But I did not think they could really play on it.
However, from this position, as things stand now, I do believe that they have at least a 5% chance of winning, which is pretty decent all things considered."
Su Tang concluded, as Su Yang gasped in understanding.
"So you think.... Maybe, just maybe, this war might prove to be the end of the Righteous Faction?"
He asked, as Su Tang looked hopefully towards the livestream and nodded.
"Could very well be....
And just on the off chance it is, I really don’t wish to miss seeing it live.
Which is why I say that the raids can wait.
We have already achieved everything that we needed to achieve to ensure the survival of the Su Clan.
From here onwards, let’s just sit back and enjoy the show, just on the off chance that the underdog does end up winning this fight."
Su Tang said, as Su Yang turned back toward the projection as well, his earlier detachment gone, as he now watched the livestream like it were a once in a millenia historic event.
’Come on Leo, get the job done.... Fucking put an end to the Righteous Faction for good.’
Su Yang rooted on, as he silently prayed that his friend could keep pushing forward without faltering, long enough to turn this improbable momentum into something irreversible before the universe found a way to correct it again.