141: Chapter 141 A Difficult Choice

Time flashed by, and in the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

The first act was scheduled to last for one month, and there were 15 days left until it ended.

During these days, the Dragon Country had been working on favorability tasks for every Famous Scholar capable of recommending a Heroic Spirit, but their results were poor.

The Dragon Country was ranked eighth in favorability with the Famous Scholar [Official].

The Dragon Country was ranked sixth in favorability with the Famous Scholar [Maritime Merchant].

The Dragon Country was ranked seventh and eighth in favorability with the Famous Scholar [Clan Head] and the Famous Scholar [Abbot], respectively.

Only with the Famous Scholar [Benevolent Elder] was the Dragon Country's favorability higher, but it still only reached fifth place.

At this moment, Chen Aoyun finally discovered the true purpose of Heroic Spirits in the first act through a rule.

[Rule 8 of the First Act: You are an envoy of the empire, and you are currently searching for wise ministers and good generals for the empire in this city known as a blessed land.

Wise ministers can reorganize the court and increase military strength for the empire behind you;

Good generals can bolster the combat power of the empire's troops;

The empire is currently suffering from the threat of the wandering calamity in the north; whether they are wise ministers or good generals, your emperor (Ying Quliang) needs them.

Use the seeking worthy order to send a Heroic Spirit back to the country, and the Heroic Spirit's strike against the wandering calamity in the north will be your score for this act!]

According to the rule, wise ministers correspond to civil officials, and good generals correspond to military generals. If both civil and military roles are useful, then all Famous Scholars capable of recommending Heroic Spirits are worth spending manpower and time to pursue.

The Dragon Country currently did not have a high ranking in favorability with any Famous Scholar, so it was time to consider selecting one or two Famous Scholars to focus on.

In the room, the four members of the Dragon Country gathered to discuss.

First, they ruled out the [Benevolent Elder] whom Chen Aoyun had previously favored.

The favorability task for the [Benevolent Elder] could avoid Raiders from other countries, and the favorability with the [Benevolent Elder] was the highest among the Famous Scholars the Dragon Country was pursuing, reaching fifth place.

But the problem was that the country with the highest favorability with the [Benevolent Elder] was currently Spain.

Spain had dedicated all its manpower and time to pursuing the [Benevolent Elder], and not only was it difficult to surpass them, but another main reason Chen Aoyun decided to give up on pursuing the [Benevolent Elder] was: Spain's rankings with other Famous Scholars were all very low.

Spain had no other choice; the [Benevolent Elder] was the only Famous Scholar from whom they could obtain a Heroic Spirit.

After some discussion, everyone felt that the [Maritime Merchant] was more worthy of focused pursuit.

Not only could the task for the [Maritime Merchant] avoid Raiders from other countries, but another reason for choosing to focus on him was: the three countries currently leading in favorability with the Famous Scholar [Maritime Merchant] were: the USA, Rome, and the Ottoman.

The USA was already in first place for favorability with the [Dean], and after also obtaining first place in favorability with the [Maritime Merchant], they would have to make a choice between the two: whether to have a Heroic Spirit with 'Success in Youth' or a Heroic Spirit who is a 'Naval Warfare Genius'.

[Rule 8 of the First Act] gave the boost of 'defeat the wandering calamity in the north of the empire', which was highly likely to be land warfare, so the USA would likely not want a 'Naval Warfare Genius'.

By the same token, Rome and the Ottoman had also obtained first place in favorability with other Famous Scholars, so these two countries also had a high probability of giving up on obtaining a Heroic Spirit from the [Maritime Merchant].

In other words, if the Dragon Country could boost its favorability with the [Maritime Merchant] into the top four, there was a chance to obtain a spot for a Heroic Spirit from here, assuming other countries gave it up.

It was a somewhat frustrating way to pursue, but the disparity in levels forced the four members of the Dragon Country to think this way.

Thinking this way was not shameful; not being able to obtain a Heroic Spirit spot was what was shameful!

"Then let's decide on the [Maritime Merchant] first!"

In the small hotel room, there was a large whiteboard that Fan Ling had bought. After circling the [Maritime Merchant] among the nine known Famous Scholars on the whiteboard, Chen Aoyun continued to look at the names of the other Famous Scholars.

"We cannot place all our hopes on the [Maritime Merchant]. With the Famous Scholar [Dean], the Dragon Country's favorability is fourth, but the countries in the top three should already have suitable and powerful Heroic Spirit candidates for the type of Heroic Spirit recommended by the [Dean], so it is highly unlikely we can count on the [Dean] here."

Needing to select another Heroic Spirit to focus on, Chen Aoyun's gaze continued to wander across the whiteboard.

The Famous Scholar [Benevolent Elder] had already been passed over. Now, the only Famous Scholars left who could recommend Heroic Spirits were the [Official], the [Abbot], and the [Clan Head].

The Dragon Country's ranking with the Famous Scholar [Official] was low, and the gap in favorability had already widened; the Dragon Country was lagging far behind with the [Official], so he had to be ruled out as well.

Thus, only the [Abbot] and the [Clan Head] remained.

But the tasks for these two Famous Scholars were not easy to do.

The [Abbot]'s task was to repair the church, and personally going to the repair site to help was the most efficient way to gain favorability.

But going to the site meant facing Raiders from other countries. During this time, especially in the last two days, various countries had already fought dozens of times outside the church. Every country had become furious, and they had almost unleashed the exclusive skills of their backstage Heroic Spirits.

Not to mention that the countries that were truly furious still had their backstage exclusive skills, even if they had all been consumed, it was not something the Dragon Country could get involved in.

During these days, the Dragon Country's only way to pursue the [Abbot] was to spend money to have building material merchants provide materials to the church. Not only was this method expensive, but the favorability increase was also pitifully low.

"The [Abbot] is a no-go." Chen Aoyun put an X on the whiteboard. There was only one name left on the whiteboard, but Chen Aoyun still put an X through it.

"The situation is similar, and it's even more troublesome than the [Abbot]'s task; the [Clan Head] is also a no-go! There are no candidates left... Should we just pursue the [Maritime Merchant] as the only Famous Scholar?"

Focusing the pursuit on only one Famous Scholar was very easy to be targeted, but at present, there seemed to be no other choice.

Just as the four members of the Dragon Country were feeling helpless, a gust of evil wind suddenly blew open the room's window.

Immediately after, a sharp white light shot in!

Mistaking it for Raiders from other countries coming to kill them, the four members of the Dragon Country jumped up instantly. "Something is wrong. It's midnight right now. Which Raider from another country would dare to go out at this time? Aren't they afraid of being strangled by the rules?"

[Rule 5 of the First Act: Danger lurks under the nightfall, especially for outsiders, as it will attract calamities from the void. Please be sure to find a room to rest before night falls.]