184: Chapter 184 The Holy Grail can only be obtained by one person! Must a hero sacrifice himself?

"Everyone present, what you command are the most powerful modern armies on this planet—tanks, fighter jets, aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines... You are the shield and sword of human civilization."

"However, facing an unreasonable 'erosion' like the 'Abyss'—which could even be said to be launched from the level of laws—your only strategic role is containment."

Jiang Ming Mirror Image One pointed to the location of Mirror Tokyo, which was the only point of light representing the 'gate'.

"At all costs, utilize every bit of firepower you can muster to construct a line of defense made of steel. Your mission is not to attack, nor to eliminate, but to delay. Like a dam, stop the spread of the black mud and hold Tokyo, this final gate."

These words made the faces of all the proud generals present turn pale, yet they could not refute them.

The war machines they took such pride in had actually been reduced to... cannon fodder in this war.

Jiang Ming Mirror Image One's gaze slowly moved away from the generals' faces and looked toward the other side of the conference table.

Li Bai, Newton, Furina, and Jeanne d'Arc, who was bowing her head in silent prayer.

"The true deciding factor lies with you."

"What I am about to say may be too cruel for you."

"There are less than twenty hours left until the 'Beast' fully descends. During this time, you, along with the Savior Jeanne d'Arc, must kill Arjuna at any cost."

"After the battle ends, the final victor can make a wish upon the 'holy grail' hanging high above Tokyo to completely erase the 'Abyss'."

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the meeting room loosened slightly; it was as if a ray of light had pierced through the desperate darkness.

However, Jiang Ming Mirror Image One's next words completely extinguished that ray of light.

"But only the final victor can make a wish upon the holy grail."

"Therefore, someone must be sacrificed."

"Among the three of you, two must offer themselves as the final fuel, sacrificed to the victor... or they will have already perished in the battle against Beast Arjuna."

Dead silence.

Complete and utter silence.

If the previous despair stemmed from the fear of an unknown enemy, then the silence at this moment was because this was not just death; it was asking the heroes to personally strangle their own wishes and walk toward a destined destruction for a world that had nothing to do with them.

The generals from Eagle Nation, the Polar Bear, and other countries did not object; they didn't even show a hint of shock.

As soldiers, they understood the bloody weight carried by the word 'sacrifice' better than anyone.

Furina subconsciously hugged Lord Uther in her arms; the familiar who was disguised as an octopus plushie seemed to feel its master's fear as its tentacles tightly wrapped around her arm.

Newton kept his head down, his prism staff reflecting wildly shifting data. No one knew if he was calculating the success rate of this plan or simulating another possibility.

Just as the suffocating silence was about to crush everyone...

"Haha... Hahahaha!!"

A burst of wild laughter broke the suffocating silence without warning.

It was Li Bai.

The swordsman in green robes suddenly laughed toward the sky. Not a hint of fear could be heard in his laughter, only an unprecedented sense of desolation and heroism.

Under everyone's stunned gazes, he slammed his long-empty wine gourd onto the conference table with a heavy 'thud'.

"For the sake of the common people of this world, what does it matter to abandon my own single wish!"

The Poet Immortal abruptly raised his head, two flames burning in his eyes, his voice clear and resonant throughout the hall.

"If it can exchange for peace in this mortal world, then this holy grail—I, Li Bai, have no need for it!"

That cry of 'no need for it' made the eardrums of all the generals present ring, leaving them so ashamed they could barely lift their heads.

On the other side, Newton finally stopped his calculations. He pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose as the frantic data streams in his eyes returned to calm.

"From the perspective of probability and game theory, this is the optimal solution under the current predicament. For the survival of truth, for the survival of humanity as the observer... I agree."

Everyone's gaze finally landed on that petite figure.

Furina took a deep breath. She let go of the plushie she was holding tightly, struggled to straighten her back, and adjusted her somewhat messy top hat.

"Since the audience is already in place and the lights are lit..."

"As the most shining star on the stage, as the 'deity' who guides all living beings, I must of course present the most perfect finale for this grand drama!"

"I agree!"

Jeanne d'Arc, who had been silent all along, finally spoke.

Her divine golden pupils swept over the three Servants who had already reached their resolve, her voice carrying a mercy that transcended the mundane.

"This is one of the contingency plans. Before that, we still have a chance to seek a victory with a smaller price."

"But the resolve you have shown today, the human order will remember; history will remember."

...The supreme meeting ended.

There were no stirring mobilization speeches, nor was there thunderous applause.

The generals of various nations didn't waste a single word, quickly returning to their respective posts to begin integrating troops and mobilizing resources with unprecedented efficiency.

The resolve to sacrifice, like a silent radio wave, quickly transmitted from the top level of the headquarters to the massive military camps and into the heart of every soldier.

On the broad flight deck of China's No. 003 Fujian Carrier.

Li Bai and Zhang Ruoxu sat opposite each other with an ancient chessboard between them.

There were no words.

Only the crisp sound of chess pieces landing on the board.

"Clack."

"Clack."

This game of chess had nothing to do with winning or losing, only with life and death. Between the two of them flowed a tacit understanding and composure that had long since transcended language.

In the nearby temporarily constructed closed laboratory, it was a different scene.

Newton had plugged himself into every available supercomputing system, with countless data cables connecting his body to the massive server matrix.

He filled a giant blackboard with dense formulas, ranging from quantum mechanics to string theory, from thermodynamics to information entropy.

Before the war began, he wanted to find a logical loophole—even if it only had a one-in-ten-thousand chance of existing—for the unsolvable 'BUG' that was the 'Abyss'.

And on top of the towering containers at the dock, far from the noise of the crowd.

Furina sat alone on the edge, her legs dangling in the air, swinging them gently and aimlessly.

Her three familiars—Lord Uther, Madam Heivima, and Miss Xebelda—had all returned to their original forms, quietly surrounding her and accompanying this lonely Hydro Archon in their own way.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ming Mirror Image One walked through the massive military camp.

He saw countless soldiers silently wiping their weapons and checking their equipment.

He also saw even more people in corners, using pen and paper to write what might be the last letters home of their lives.

There was no crying, no rioting.

Only a heart-palpitating tranquility like the one before a storm.

Jiang Ming Mirror Image One stopped his steps and closed his eyes.

In the next second, a calm but firm thought ignored the barriers of language and the obstruction of steel, clearly echoing in the minds of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the camp simultaneously.

"I know you are afraid, and so am I."

"But please remember, we don't need to attack, we don't need to conquer."

"We only need to stand here, nailed down like spikes."

"Because behind us is our home."

...