It wasn't just the Doctor, actually. Because Lucian had come to Sumeru, Arlecchino was now also on her way there.
But Arlecchino had drawn a troublesome assignment: handling communication with Lucian.
Come on, this guy Lucian runs rampant across the world, and most importantly, every time he dashes off, he only remembers to bring the boss and forgets the allies.
With no other choice, Arlecchino could only ride her horse chasing Lucian across the world—"historically known as"—Arlecchino Chasing Lucian Under the Moon.
So at this moment, Arlecchino was still on horseback, hurrying along the road.
The current situation was that after Lucian released this story, the Great Sage had undoubtedly become the target of public outrage, though he himself was still unaware.
In Sumeru, everything appeared calm and peaceful; not many in Sumeru knew about the animation.
However, outside Sumeru, a "general mobilization" had already occurred, with quite a few people coming and going on the roads rushing toward Sumeru.
Navia had messaged Lucian on her way; he saw it but didn't stop her.
It was good that she was coming—it saved the need to seek reinforcements later; they could directly go for "F2A" (full assault).
Sumeru was the Great Sage's turf, after all; his ability to impose information blockades was still quite effective. Almost no one in Sumeru had seen this short film, so they couldn't become allies.
Dori could bypass the blockade, but she couldn't do it too openly. Those who could see the prophecy were ultimately a minority; Lucian still needed more hands to counter the "army."
The Thirty-Man Squad in reality wasn't like the scattered pairs in the game—that was truly an army. Even Alhaitham and Cyno facing them head-on would suffer losses.
If those two could each be an army on their own, they wouldn't have resorted to outsmarting; they could've just stormed in.
Storm right into the Akademiya—this Jade Emperor... no, this Great Sage's seat, he's sitting it, why can't old Al take it!?
Alright, Alhaitham really couldn't sit it; he hated overtime, and the Great Sage was far too busy.
Moreover, what Lucian wanted wasn't defeating the Akademiya's guards, but subduing them—that was even harder.
At present, to deal with the Great Sage, someone had to handle the Thirty-Man Squad. Foreign nations couldn't really send troops over, so it had to rely on these "socially idle individuals."
Sumeru's "army" couldn't be turned yet, because their loyalty to the Dendro God was nonexistent to begin with—turning them wasn't even feasible.
They were a mercenary-style army, mercenaries from the desert at that.
This bunch of mercenaries didn't believe in the Dendro God to begin with. To turn them, one would have to write out the story of the Scarlet King.
But under the Great Sage's blockade, spreading influence was truly troublesome. It wasn't like they could go door-to-door delivering without being noticed, right? With that time and energy, it would be better to just fight directly.
After the fight, enter the Akademiya, and the sages will naturally debate the dharma for me.
In short, the Akademiya had to be assaulted; there was no way around it.
Since the Greater Lord Rukkhadevata's abdication, the Akademiya had cycled through multiple Great Sages, all of them bastards, beasts, parasites.
But if Alhaitham were the Great Sage, it would be different! He wasn't a bastard, beast, or parasite!
So he had to personally lead the troops to suppress the bandits—no, I mean, to quell the rebellion! Purge the king's side!
Imagine this: one day, you're out with your wife, eating hotpot and singing, and suddenly the Akademiya drags you into a dream to mine!
So days without a Great Sage are the good days!
Moreover, to let the people of Sumeru see Sumeru's story, the Great Sage was the obstacle.
The academic clique monopolizing knowledge would eventually be toppled—why not today?
Alright, it truly wasn't today, because everyone had only just set off and hadn't arrived yet.
Lucian could indeed teleport people over, but not everyone had his teleport waypoints. At most, he could bring Navia and the others.
But that was fine too—leaving a few days' time was perfect for Alhaitham and them to formulate a plan.
The Wanderer's side would wrap up around these few days as well, so they could resolve things together.
A few days later, everyone arrived one after another, and under Lucian's arrangements, they met with Sumeru's F4.
Only Arlecchino hadn't arrived yet; she was still riding toward them.
It wasn't that she was slow; she'd first returned to Snezhnaya to report in.
Setting aside Arlecchino still on horseback, Alhaitham and the others had already begun discussing the plan.
Lucian actually didn't care much about this; they just needed to show up on time when he needed them.
It wasn't to protect Lucian, but to cooperate with him in showing off.
It wouldn't do for Lucian to boldly show off to the Great Sage, only for his outside teammates to fail to coordinate after half a day of it—that would be awkward.
It'd be like two little brothers agreeing to team up and smack their big sister, only for the older brother to run off, leaving the younger one locked in the room. How embarrassing.
Speaking of which, among those who came, there were also two Archons. Ei sat obediently beside Lucian, while Venti stealthily observed.
The reason they were so well-behaved was naturally because Lucian had required it. This matter hadn't reached the point where Archons needed to act yet; they could just watch.
But if it were Ei, she could participate in the "I Have Ascended to Divinity" affair, and it would conveniently fulfill the "contract" with the Wanderer.
For this "resistance army," even if Ei didn't act, just having this great deity sit there filled the "resistance" with confidence.
One could only say it was hitting the guaranteed pull: after eighty draws on the Great Sage and he still doesn't surrender, you get Ei's slash.
By the way, Ei's visit this time had her sister's permission, but Ei truly wasn't allowed to bring the Shogunate Army; she came alone.
This left Kujou Sara fainting alone in Inazuma. The General was going on an expedition, and she, as the General's attendant, couldn't follow!
No—!!!
Dereliction of duty! Dereliction! This is my failing!
She even had a pile of official duties right now; she couldn't follow even in a personal capacity— no time.
She'd thought becoming a general of the Shogunate Army would let her follow the General, but in the end, it was Arataki Itto, this socially idle individual, who got to accompany the General.
Was this reasonable? Wasn't this a form of NTR!? My General~! Waaah!
Hurry back~! The road ahead is tough; I'll wait for you at home!
Kujou Sara felt so stifled inside. With no one around anyway, time to make a fuss!
Alone at home, Kujou Sara hugged a body pillow printed with the General's illustration, grieving in secret.
Being at her own home, she naturally assumed no one was around, so she paid little attention to her poise.
But Yae Miko, watching from the shadows, found it amusing and secretly pulled out a Kamera to snap a few shots. Guess where Kujou Sara's official duties came from?
Ei hadn't notified Kujou Sara before leaving, so naturally, she hadn't assigned any duties.
So where did these duties come from? Yae Miko had no idea, oh—perhaps they were genuine.
Yae Miko figured: since you're all having fun without me, I can only find my own amusement.
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Character Voice-Over · Kujou Sara: About Following the General
"Why is it that every time, I just can't catch up... It always feels like some force is deliberately stopping me?"