Miracle Card Shop: All My Cards Can Be Actualize

— A Day Later —

— Oceanos - New Atlantis Ministry of Defense, Oceanos Branch —

Aboard the super-submarine Oceanos, in the sprawling cityscape of the vast living area at its center, stood the primary building housing key departments and services. The New Atlantis Ministry of Defense branch occupied one of the floors.

Here, Cao Cao and many of Daniel's top lieutenants sat at a round table. Apart from Penthesilea, who was absent, all of Daniel's top lieutenants were present. Vlad, who remained in Europe with the Sanguinis Clan, was here, as was James, the werewolf. James, usually a no-show, had left the U.S., where he preferred to stay with his girlfriend, Lust, the Witch of Lust, to attend this meeting.

Also present were Hermes, Atlanteus, Odysseus, Heracles, Albert, Guo Jia, Momotaro, and the newest additions to the lieutenant ranks, like Michaela, Tomoe Gozen, and Will—all those not currently assigned to bodyguard duty.

"Thank you all for responding to my call," Cao Cao began, drawing everyone's attention before continuing. "In about 20 days, our Lord will officially announce the founding of the Order of Ember to the Curtained World, along with the New Atlantis Plan, revealing our vision to the world. We've invited 1,746 mage families from across the globe to witness this occasion.

"In addition to ramping up security, we need a team to neutralize any mage families that attempt to stir up trouble during the founding event." Cao Cao explained as he displayed a large screen showing details about these mage families, including their headquarters and specialties.

Some of these families were powerful, while others were only slightly above average. But they all had one thing in common—they intended to cause trouble within the Order of Ember's territory.

"These mage families want to rule and create their own legacies. In other words, they want to carve out territory that rightfully belongs to our Lord." At this point, the expressions of those seated at the table changed. Some smirked mockingly at the feeble attempts, while others grew serious at the audacity of these mage families—Vlad, in particular, flashed a bloodthirsty grin.

"According to the information Lady Envy provided, these families are being supported by two sources: the Hightower and the Qing Empire. They've received either promises of support or tangible benefits like magical resources or funding for their magical research projects," said Cao Cao.

"But this doesn't make any sense..." James, the no show, spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "These idiots know our Lord's power. They shouldn't dare mess with him unless they're prepared for a bad end. Where's this sudden confidence coming from? The Hightower? The Qing Empire?

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Pathetic!" James scoffed in disdain.

"I understand your sentiment, but I have to tell you that their confidence is actually quite solid," Cao Cao replied.

"You're kidding, right? Are you suggesting they have the means to counter our Lord?" James asked, confused.

Instead of answering directly, Cao Cao changed the display to an image of the globe. Red dots appeared in various locations across the world: Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and South America. The only exception was Europe. Hundreds of red dots—exactly 374 in total—were spread across every continent except Europe.

Seeing this, James still looked confused. "What is this?" he asked.

"These dots represent the headquarters of the families planning to stir trouble. Do you understand now, Mr. James?" Cao Cao prompted.

James thought for a moment before replying, "There are... a lot of them?"

His response caused Maria and Albert to either clutch their heads or chuckle, as it wasn't the right answer. Meanwhile, the quieter ones like Momotaro, Heracles, and Vlad just smiled, showing no reaction.

"Mr. James..." Rena spoke up, deciding to explain. "They all have the mentality of gamblers."

"What do you mean?" James asked.

Rena glanced at the screen and then said, "As you can see, Mr. James, these red dots represent mage families scattered around the globe. Out of 1,746 families with their own legacies, about 300+ have decided to gamble."

"Since their numbers are significant and they're scattered across the world, they know even we won't be able to suppress them all. Those who succeed in carving out their own territory will force us to negotiate. In short, they're betting that others will get the short end of the stick while they succeed." Rena explained.

James tilted his head, frowning as his mind processed her words. Then he asked, "But... Why can't we just subdue them later? There's no time limit for dealing with them, is there?"

This time, Cao Cao was the one to answer.

"We could... but if we did, everyone under our sphere of influence would see us as tyrants, and they'd begin harboring... inconvenient thoughts about us. Some might openly oppose us, while others would bide their time, scheming for an opportunity to bring us down.

We're just a newly founded mage organization—not like the Hightower, which has ruled for a long time. Many will want to test us or even try to replace us. If we show any sign of weakness, they'll pounce like hyenas.

Besides, if they succeed in carving out territory from us, we won't have much choice but to negotiate with them. It's the same reason the UN doesn't go around destroying new countries that declare their independence.

What we need to do is stop them before they act. We need to suppress them and make an example out of a few—then the rest will fall in line. The issue is that they've already coordinated with each other, planning to cause trouble on the same day... the day we declare the founding of the Order of Ember," Cao Cao explained.

Hearing this, James fell silent for a moment before asking, "Uh... I know I'm not the sharpest, but... why is the Hightower doing this? I heard they were the ones who ran back to Europe and left us to clean up their mess. Now, when things are finally going our way, they come back to stir up trouble. I don't get it.

Are they comic book villains? Do they have nothing better to do? I mean... they're the ones who ran back to Europe, we didn't kick them out," James asked, still trying to make sense of the situation.

"I think it's because of resources," Rena answered as she scanned her tablet, noticing some intriguing data. She manipulated the device, projecting the information onto the big screen.

On the screen, a large pie chart labeled "Resource Consumption" showed Europe as the region with the highest consumption, yet compared to its resource pool, Europe wasn't producing enough to meet its own demands.

"As you can see, European mages are the group consuming the most magical resources, but their region can't produce enough to sustain them. They need to cause enough trouble to reclaim part of our territory under their control, or possibly... all of it. I believe that's their ultimate goal," Rena explained.

"Hmph! So... it's just greed, huh? Typical," James scoffed disdainfully.

"It's not greed, Mr. James—it's necessity. No government can survive without sufficient resources to sustain its people, and that's the problem the Hightower is facing right now. They need to do whatever it takes to maintain their power," Cao Cao clarified.

James listened but still snorted. To him, it wasn't his problem—it was the Hightower's. He didn't see the point in understanding their motives. As a simple fighter, he'd just follow the orders of the strategists when it came to operations.

Cao Cao then glanced around the round table at his colleagues.

"We need two teams: one to oversee security in New Atlantis, and the other to lead the offensive against those trying to stir up trouble. Who will volunteer?" he asked.

A hand was raised—it was Albert. "Let me handle security. I guarantee that anyone who tries us that day won't breathe past midnight," Albert said confidently with a smile.

Cao Cao remained silent for a moment. He knew Albert was eager to score points and gain favor for his Whispering Hall, but he said nothing and simply nodded.

"Alright. Make sure nothing out of the ordinary happens that day," Cao Cao agreed, aware that Albert was ruthless enough to leave no loose ends. Even though he didn't like Albert taking all the credit, he knew Albert was the best for the job.

Then, another hand went up. "Let me take charge of the operation to eliminate those trying to carve up Mr. Emberweave's domain. For this mission, I'll need Nexus Prime's support and a few of our strongest fighters, just in case things get out of hand. We don't have much intel on these 300+ mage families, after all." Rena volunteered.

"Alright... coordinate with Nexus Prime on your own, then," Cao Cao agreed before raising his voice. "Nexus Prime, you heard her. Can you lend her a hand?" he asked, addressing the camera in the room.

[Affirmative, Primate Cao... I'll assist her. We'll have plenty of experimental targets to perfect the new varieties of anti-mage weapons,] Nexus Prime replied, its electronic voice cold and emotionless.