"What I'm a bit concerned about is that when you mentioned desert folk reinforcements, you glossed over it. Have you considered how to bring this surprise force into Sumeru City?" Alhaitham asked.
"Sounds like you already have a plan?" Victor Wang countered.
"I originally planned to have Cyno pretend to arrest the Eremites in his capacity as the Grand Mahamatra, so they could cross the Wall of Samiel and enter Sumeru City without registration. But an arrest operation would require coordinating with the soldiers at Caravan Ribat. That means a real fight, with casualties."
"Then let's use my method for that part," Victor Wang said as he took out [Endless Thirst] and showed it to everyone. "This is a mysterious power from the East—Liyue's Sub-Space Creation artifact. I can pack the entire Eremite force inside and bring them into Sumeru City without anyone noticing."
"Feasible." After watching Victor Wang's demonstration, Alhaitham nodded.
"Then what about the rest of your plan?" Victor Wang asked.
Alhaitham lowered his gaze to the tabletop, calculating constantly in his mind. "I have some vague ideas, but we can't get around The Doctor."
The Doctor was an obstacle no plan could bypass. In the face of absolute power, there was always a limit to what intellect alone could achieve.
Dehya spoke up. "The Doctor and The Balladeer—our enemies are two Fatui Harbingers. The situation is grim. Even though the Lesser Lord Kusanali said it's not convenient to deal with The Balladeer for now, it's best for us to act while the two are separated. The Balladeer should be in Sumeru City and unable to move freely, so that leaves us watching The Doctor and seizing the moment he leaves."
Lumine offered a suggestion. "We can look for Tighnari. He's still trusted by the Akademiya. He might be able to get information on The Doctor."
"This is almost the most critical link," Alhaitham said, still deep in thought. "As long as we can find an opening, the plan I have in mind afterward can be carried out."
"Care to explain?" Cyno asked curiously.
Alhaitham then laid it out. "We will break into Sumeru City on Jnagarbha Day."
"The Jnagarbha Day is when the Akademiya uploads a period's worth of research results and decrees into the Akasha in the form of Divine Knowledge Capsules. Even the sages and the Akademiya's core members will be busy with it. The personnel inside and outside will be especially chaotic—it's the perfect time to blend in. Once the Grand Sage leaves his office to personally oversee the upload process, we can go to the control terminal and release the Lesser Lord Kusanali."
Paimon scratched her head just listening to it. "Isn't that a bit too simple and brute-force?"
Alhaitham continued.
"That's only the plan on the surface.
The scholars and sages of the Akademiya all rose to their positions through intellect. We can't expect them to be fools, especially with the Akasha assisting them. They will likely anticipate our actions.
Following their line of thinking leads to the plan in the shadows—at that time, I will pretend to still be carrying out the investigation into Lumine and hand her over to the Akademiya for punishment.
If they don't see through my act, all the better. Lumine will certainly be taken to the Akademiya's confinement chamber, while I will still be able to move freely within the Akademiya.
If they do see through it, at worst I'll be imprisoned as well, and our plan can still proceed."
"Huh?" Paimon looked completely lost. "If you're all locked up, isn't that the end of it?"
It wasn't just Paimon—no one else understood what Alhaitham was aiming for either.
"This is where the real plan lies, beyond both the overt and covert layers. Didn't you say the Lesser Lord Kusanali has sealed her consciousness? Before we officially move against the Akademiya, we must awaken her in advance, so that once we find her, we can immediately rely on her power."
"But what does that have to do with us turning ourselves in to be arrested?" Paimon asked.
"I will specially modify Lumine's Akasha so that, at close range, she can attempt to access the Lesser Lord Kusanali's consciousness through it. The Akademiya's confinement chamber is conveniently not far from the Sanctuary of Surasthana, and there will be no interruptions, with more free time to do exactly that."
"I see… So, you getting caught is also to awaken the Lesser Lord Kusanali's consciousness?"
Alhaitham shook his head again, once more defying Paimon's expectations. "No. If I'm exposed, I will pretend to make a desperate gamble and use the Divine Knowledge Capsule we obtained earlier."
"But wouldn't using that thing make you go mad?" Paimon blurted out.
Alhaitham revealed the remainder of his plan.
"Only pretending. I'll modify my own Akasha so it can display an abnormal, contaminated state. I won't truly go mad, but I'll take advantage of the act to do things no one would suspect.
The contents of the 'Art Prohibition' Divine Knowledge Capsule were something I was ordered to draft back when I was still with the Akademiya. Until the next Jnagarbha Day, it's been kept on the Grand Sage's desk, and it will be uploaded into the Akasha on that day.
I will create an identical Divine Knowledge Capsule, but this time, I'll embed misleading information within it. Then, under the pretense of madness, I'll mix this fake capsule into the batch scheduled for upload on Jnagarbha Day.
Once the upload is complete, we simply need someone to violate that Art Prohibition. The security personnel will receive incorrect handling protocols, and the misleading information will spread directly into their minds.
That misleading message will be: 'The Lesser Lord Kusanali has escaped the Sanctuary of Surasthana. Immediately proceed into the city to apprehend her.' With that, the Akademiya's security forces will be cleared out."
Dehya couldn't help asking, "That simple? Will it really work?"
"From your perspective, it may sound unbelievable. But to those who have long relied on the Akasha, everything that appears in their minds is truth."
"…When you put it that way, it does make sense."
"So, this plan also requires an 'artist'—someone to trigger the Art Prohibition right in front of the Akademiya. We just happen to have a writer here, and coincidentally, one of his books has already been banned by the Akademiya."
Victor Wang froze. "Me too?"
Alhaitham answered firmly, "No problem. That prohibition was written by my own hand. After that debate at the Akademiya gates last time, you were added to the list as well."
"But I'm pretty good at fighting… Wouldn't it be a waste to use me as bait? There's actually a more suitable candidate—Nilou would be perfect."
"I don't mind either way. Besides that, we'll also need someone to impersonate the Lesser Lord Kusanali and lure the misled Akademiya guards into the Eremites' encirclement. Once that happens, the Akademiya will be completely empty."
When the plan was finished and no one spoke, Alhaitham asked, "Do you all have no objections?"
"Seems airtight."
"Agreed."
"It's worth trying."
"Then that's settled?"
"As for division of labor," Alhaitham said, "I'll need some time to modify the Akasha and fabricate the Divine Knowledge Capsules we'll use."
Victor Wang followed immediately. "I'll go contact the Eremites, help them get familiar with entering and exiting the sub-space, and I'll also need to prepare a batch of ships based on their numbers."
Finally, Lumine said, "Then Dehya, Cyno, and I will go find Tighnari now to get information on The Doctor's movements."
===BREAK===
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