Chapter 355 It“s over 1 Million!
Once the mist has swallowed the hapless TImeMasters, the Mountain of Enlightenment stopped moving as its body went into a still state.
All the blood-red mist then receded back towards the mountain, entering through almost all of its cracks.
A few seconds pa.s.sed by, and the fearsome blood-red miasma was now gone, with its entirety right inside the Mountain of Enlightenment.
All the TImeMasters that were swallowed by the miasma were still nowhere to be found, making the whole situation look more terrifying.
[GLORY TO THE IMMORTALS!]
"So it really is a trap…" CEO Smith muttered to himself as he watched the recession of the miasma. He and Andrea were currently situated at a safe location, hundreds of miles away from the Mountain of Enlightenment.
Both of them used a series of spells that allowed them to rapidly escape the mountain earlier, which cost them some amounts of their Time.
This spent Time were all worth it though, as out of all the TimeMasters who confronted the Mountain of Enlightenment, it was only CEO Smith and Andrea that has managed to escape the sudden rush of the miasma.
Right now, both of them are inside CEO Smith"s office, with their bodies pressed together in anxiety.
Their faces were still pale from what happened earlier, with Andrea looking much more affected compared to her boss.
"CEO Smith, what should we do now?" Now that the rebels had shown their true aim, Andrea realized that the TimeMasters must now change their approach. "Will we just let those rebels take our comrades?"
"Fret not Andrea. Every TImeMaster who did not approach the Mountain of Enlightenment earlier saw what happened." CEO Smith replied as he wiped the sweat on his forehead. He then drank the gla.s.s of red wine on his table, emptying it until its last drop. He then continued talking as he placed the gla.s.s back on the table.
"Now, every TImeMaster that is still here have realized the ploy of our enemy." CEO Smith slowly said as he wiped some drops of wine off from his chin. "I am sure that right now, they are devising a way that will allow us to beat the rebels! So there is no need for you to worry, Andrea. Our remaining comrades surely will be able to think of a good way to destroy that mountain, even without the help of Big Boss!"
"So we just have to wait until our comrades make their move?" Andrea hollowly said as she leaned back on her chair. "Is that even appropriate? Did they forget that some of our comrades have been captured by the rebels already? Will they not even spare an effort to save them?"
"Andrea, you know that they will not just rush in to save our captured comrades." Upon hearing this question from Andrea, CEO Smith only shook his head as he let out a sigh. "We are not yet sure on the full capabilities of the Mountain of Enlightenment. Does it have a defensive power? Is its miasma powerful enough to capture large amounts of TImeMasters? Can it even attack? We don"t have yet the answer to any of these questions! Andrea, if we just blindly rushed in… it might cost us more then what we can spend!"
"But that"s-"
"Do not be so agitated Andrea. Even if our remaining comrades were taking their time, it does not mean that they are wasting it." CEO Smith placatingly said as he placed his left hand on Andrea"s shoulders.
"So they are doing something useful?"
After hearing this doubt-filled question from Andrea, CEO Smith only let out a laugh as he said in a low voice,
"Actually, one of the CEO"s has proposed the use of the Future Gazing Formation" At this point, CEO Smith"s voice sounded like a whisper as he brought his mouth closer to Andrea"s ear. "More specifically, he proposed that we use it right now, before the rebels could make any more surprising moves."
After CEO Smith said these words, Andrea, whose mood was down after hearing the inaction of her comrades, looked up in surprise.
"The Future Gazing Formation? Isn"t that one of the forbidden weapons of our group?"
"Yes, it is one of the forbidden weapons of our group. But you, of all people, must know its power!" CEO Smith replied as he moved his head back. "If we use it right now, I am sure that we can devise the proper strategy against the rebels!"
CEO Smith sounded oddly cheerful as he gave this reply, as if he was fully confident on everything that he just said.
Andrea on the other hand however, still looked doubtful.
"But one usage of the Future Gazing Formation will drain around 1 illion Years of Time!" Andrea retorted as she placed her hands on her hips. "CEO Smith, spending that large amount of Time is not a good way to deal with this situation!"
"Andrea, y-"
"CEO Smith, even if we have gathered a lot of Time Essence in this world, 1 Million Years of Time is still a lot!" Andrea almost shouted these words as she glared at her boss. "Is it really worth it to spend that much against these rebels?"
"It is worth it." In face of Andrea"s seemingly pa.s.sionate rebuke, CEO Smith stayed calm as he gave this answer. "So what if they were rebels? Even if they are rebels, they are rebels who are holding a Peak Order 6 Treasure in their hands! And now, they are using this Peak Order 6 Treasure for their ritual! Even if we are a powerhouse in this world, we might suffer casualties if we just rush in blindly!"
Before Andrea could speak up, CEO Smith pointed his finger at her as he continued explaining himself.
"And do not forget about Young Mistress! Right now, she is the target of the rebels" ritual! We still need to save her, along with us taking care of that mountain." At this point, CEO Smith"s face showed some semblance of pain, as if their Young Mistress" current situation was making him feel this way. "Andrea, if those rebels did not have that Peak Order 6 Treasure, we will never have resorted on using the Future Gazing Formation. But our enemies actually had it, so we can only do what must be done, and in this case, that meant spending 1 Million Years of Time.."
After receiving CEO Smith"s somewhat pa.s.sionate words, Andrea"s eyes slightly widened as she observed her boss" face.
A frightening idea then began to sprout inside her mind, which prompted her to look at her boss in an intense manner.
"CEO Smith, tell me the truth, were you the one who proposed to use the Future Gazing Formation?" Andrea asked, as she kept her nervousness hidden from her boss.
"As expected of my secretary. Yes, I am the one who proposed it." CEO Smith sullenly said as his shoulders slumped. He sank back on his chair as he let out a tired sigh.
His confident façade from earlier has disappeared entirely, as only exhaustion could be seen on his face.
Upon seeing this face, Andrea"s heart started to feel heavy, as her worst fears had been confirmed.
"CEO Smith, you…"
"Andrea, it was my fault that our comrades were captured by the rebels. As such, it must be my responsibility to take them back." CEO Smith said as he shook his head. "Even if it means that my life will be at stake, I will still do everything to save them!"
"CEO Smith, did you-"
"Andrea, when I gave the proposal to use the Future Gazing Formation, I told them that I will shoulder the whole 1 Million Year expenditure. After all, its my fault that we have to use this formation in the first place." CEO Smith sadly said as he let out another sigh. "And of course, they agreed with my offer. After all, they will get to keep their savings, while I lose all of mine…"
"Boss! Why did you say that! You can just share the expenditure with them!" Andrea"s eyes began to water at this point, as she knew the repercussions of what her boss did. "1 Million Years of Time is a lot of Time! If you will use them all right now, then that will just leave you with-"
"Andrea, my total savings right now amount to a total of 1 Million Years, 0 Months, 1 Day, and 3 Hours of Time. CEO Smith smoothly said as he crossed his fingers. "Subtract that by 1 Million Years, and I will be only left with 1 Day and 3 Hours of Time. Now, that"s a really small amount of Time…"
"Small amount? You call that small amount? Boss, if you go on with this deal, you could possibly face death!" Andrea said through gritted teeth as she tried to restrain her emotions.
She tried to hide the pain and sadness that she is feeling right now, as she knew that her boss was serious on what he was about to do.
"Andrea, if I really die from doing this, then it is a well-deserved death." CEO Smith said as he let out a sad smile. "After all, it is due to my incompetence that all of this happened! Heck, I should have been already dead at the moment that the Young Mistress was captured! I was only lucky that I was still alive at this day…"
"CEO Smith…" Even if she knew that persuading her boss was useless, Andrea tried to muster her voice to persuade her boss one more time.
"Andrea, all the other CEO"s have agreed to activate the Future Gazing Formation right now. So I need to you leave this room to let me communicate with them." CEO Smith said as he held Andrea"s outstretched hand. "Go, I can deal with them by myself."
"Boss…"
"If you really want to help me out, then I suggest that you go and wake up Mr. Alex and Miss Alina." CEO Smith said in a light tone as he ignored Andrea"s teary-eyed expression. "I don"t know what those two are doing, but they could also be helpful in our current situation. Go on, do your best to wake them up."
"CEO! Please rethink of your decision!"
"I"m sorry Andrea, but you cannot change my mind anymore." After saying these words, CEO Smith waved his hands as he pushed Andrea out of the room.
As Andrea"s feet landed on the cold, tiled surface of the hallway, the door to her boss" room closed shut with a thud.
Andrea was left standing at the hallway, staring at the now closed door with agony present on her face.
"CEO Smith… do you really have to do this?"
Knowing that her boss is now unable to answer this question, Andrea could only slump her shoulders as she attempted to remove the excess moisture from her eyes.
She then turned her back to the office"s door as she started walking away from it, with her heart full of desolation and sadness.