Fractured: I became Her【Genderbend LitRPG】

Chapter 137: Fatal Coincidence

War and progress are the eternal themes of civilization, evident throughout the first millennium of conflict on the Fractured Continent. Wars between religions, secular forces, and clashes between both spheres have filled this strange cycle with countless conflicts, some just, others not. Beyond moral judgments, their fundamental nature remains unchanged.History teaches that war can secure what diplomacy fails to achieve.

Though often, there is no need for negotiation at all.

Those who study military records of Fractured Continent History in the grand libraries will notice most celebrated battles involve defeating larger forces with smaller ones, overcoming strength with strategy. This has misled later generations about the core principles of renowned commanders and war gods.

The reality?

These battles are remembered precisely because they are exceptions. In most wars, the superior side prevails through steady, methodical tactics, too predictable to warrant elaborate retellings.

Which makes the current situation particularly intriguing.

The radicals of the Radiant Church clearly misunderstood these lessons. In this tense stalemate, they attempt desperate gambits to overcome stronger opponents. While impulsive, they retain basic judgment: unarmed devotees cannot assault guards, let alone garrisoned troops.

"Garfield and Joshua, leading the divine office, plan to raid multiple Armories of the Church of Steam. They are no longer content with the status quo." Maria stood before an unfurled map of Torrent City, marking locations with red dots.

No amount of secrecy can withstand betrayal from within.

The Purge Squad holds inherent advantages in planting moles among the Radiant Church radicals. Before his departure, Phoenix had embedded agents within the faction. Now, the Squad receives timely intelligence whenever fanatical clergy plan their moves.

"If they succeed, the balance could shift instantly."

Arms crossed, Phoenix studied the map.

As for Pastor Arthur, since this matter didn’t involve Chaos, he inherited the Squad duties Phoenix delegated without participating in the operation.

Maria had marked all known Church of Steam Armories on the map, though these couldn’t represent all their hidden arsenals within Torrent City. These were simply the ones targeted by radical devotees.

Truthfully, with Radiant Church Transcendents serving as spearheads, the unprepared guards at these Armories might indeed be overrun.

There is a stark difference between angry believers and armed angry believers.

Even a Silver-rank Transcendent, caught off-guard by a squad of armed fanatics in confined spaces, could be wounded, or unlucky enough to fall to Steel Core Shuttle fire.

"Lady Maria, what do you intend to do?" Phoenix hesitated. However misguided, these were once his fellow believers. As someone who still considered himself devout, he struggled to determine the right course.

"I want to sabotage their operation."

“Then we will provide our full assistance.”

Phoenix recalled Archbishop Mark’s instructions and clearly stated his position. If anyone in Torrent City could properly uphold the Radiant Church’s precious will to protect humanity, it would likely be Lady Maria. The Archbishop had observed Maria personally and studied the True Records of Sette Town in detail.

To remain so rational and calm under such circumstances, making brutally correct decisions, even burning her own hometown to ashes was something ordinary people could never achieve!

Exemplar.

That was the title the Archbishop privately gave Lady Maria. He believed if Maria were a devout follower of the Radiant Church, she might even prolong the Church’s influence for years to come.

“Let’s synchronize our time.”

Maria extended her wrist, revealing a bronze watch, and matched the time with Phoenix. After losing Communication Magic support from the Luminous Cathedral’s command center, their information exchange had degraded significantly. While the Purge Squad’s base had Communication Magic arrays transcribed by Phoenix, the cost was prohibitive.

Prohibitive.

To put it plainly, the Purge Squad’s current weekly expenses ran about five Gold Coin. Given the recent instability, this figure might soon increase.

Meanwhile, maintaining Communication Magic cost at least thirty Gold daily.

Those who don’t manage resources never understand their value. The squad’s funding came from the Foundation, backed by the Harvett Trading Company, but excessive spending would strain the partnership. Harvett’s investment wasn’t charity, if costs exceeded his tolerance, cooperation would suffer.

Maria had no intention of being that short-sighted.

Tonight would mark the Purge Squad’s first engagement. Though their target wasn’t the Chaos Maria had anticipated, she firmly believed the Purge name would one day make all enemies of humanity tremble in fear.

-

Now, to follow another thread.

As mentioned earlier, players arrived in Fractured World at a delicate moment. The Radiant Church’s uprising provided all players a prime opportunity. The Fourth Calamity players naturally seized this chance. Aside from a few lone wolves, most were recruited by the military sector that had also entered the game. These players would primarily specialize in life skills and support roles, building a logistical foundation for combat-focused players arriving later.

Open-beta players differed from closed-beta testers. All closed-beta players started with innate talents, while open-beta players began with blank slates.

Another group of players followed closed-beta veterans on what they called “pioneering expeditions.”

Within the Southwind Province major instance, numerous closed-beta players were already stirring up trouble.

When faced with the sudden surge of idle individuals in Torrent City, the nobles and merchant guilds conducted brief investigations and concluded these people possessed decent combat capabilities. They began issuing mercenary-style tasks, gradually escalating from simple to difficult assignments that directed these idle forces against the Radiant Church. This aligned perfectly with the players' intentions, who unanimously agreed to "beat the damn Radiant Church to a pulp..."

During these turbulent times, the former three giants from Luminous Cathedral's closed beta reunited.

Ralph, Phylin, Tyr, and Su, who had naturally tagged along with them.

Upon the game's public launch, these closed beta veterans immediately prioritized escaping the Radiant Church while pocketing whatever valuables they could grab along the way.

One of the players' traditional strengths was their numerical advantage.

After completing some initial courier missions to earn funds and gathering a portion of the public beta newcomers, the four veterans assessed they had sufficient strength. They decided to take on more challenging assignments from the United Merchants Guild's bulletin board. By chance, they encountered Cerys and other Church of Steam players posting missions, and together they accepted what appeared to be a routine protection task.

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