Mistaken Match: Marrying the Enigmatic CEO; Chapter 2382

Mistaken Match: Marrying the Enigmatic CEO

Chapter 2382; Into the Maze

“This whole Eightfold War Grid? It’s Eternal Sage Saint’s design.” Magnus explained, gesturing toward the massive layout below. “He built it off something called the Crescent Pattern, thirty-six base shifts that constantly evolve. Then, he combined that with a combat layout to create this monster. Altogether, there are over 300,000 possible configurations.”

He kept his tone steady though the weight of the information hung in the air.

“From what I’ve analyzed, the way to reach the center, the dual-core, is by locating four core points hidden in the system. Destroy those, and the terrain will stop shifting. Only then can we break through to Central Field.”

Magnus exhaled slowly, clearly reluctant to admit the next part. “As for which route leads to the actual command base, I still don’t know.”

He’d tried to keep it simple, but the group still looked unsure.

Blake frowned. “Wait, are you talking about that old martial theory? The one where movements create flow, flow forms patterns, patterns branch into system, and before you know it, you’re buried under hundreds of thousands of variations?”

Magnus gave a small nod. The model wasn’t exactly the same, though the core ideas was close enough.

“What happens if we can’t find those four core spots?” Blake asked, his voice a little tighter now.

Magnus didn’t hesitate. “Then you’re stuck in a grid. Permanently.”

He leaned forward, voice low a focused.

“I’ll stay up here and track the changes. My job is to guide you to the four core points. If I fail, it’s on me. No excuses.”

He raised his hand, fingers tightening slightly.

“Even if we pinpoint those locations, Orunis has probably stationed top fighters there. Getting to the targets will be hard enough. Taking them out will be worse.”

He paused, letting the silence say what he didn’t have to.

“If even one of those four stays intact, this entire maze kept shifting, You’ll never make to the dual core in Central Field. Worse, the longer we wait, the more unstable this place becomes.”

Emmanuel narrowed his eyes. “So, the Holy Fire organization’s full force, all 300,000 of them, is already on the move?”

Magnus confirmed. “They are, once you’re inside, another 300,000 soldiers will follow. If you’re still tapped in the maze by then, it’s over.”

Blake blinked. “Are you serious? That’s not a death trap, it’s a slaughterhouse. Emmanuel, we need to think this through. If we turn around now, maybe we will have time to make it out.”

Even Nathan didn’t try to jump in.

Magnus glanced at them, his expression grim. “He’s not wrong. You still have a choice. You sure you want to keep going?”

“This isn’t optional. This is the most critical battle of our generation. It’s a chance to crush the Eagle Nation’s plans and tear out their last stronghold near Chanaea. I’m a soldier. I don’t get to walk away from that.” Emmanuel responded, voice firm.

Then, a quiet intensity spread through the group.

“Charge!” Xarri, usually the calmest of them, suddenly shouted the word without hesitation.

“Kill!” Yorick and Santiago echoed him in unison.

Their voices were soon joined by dozens more, “Charge!” “Kill!” – until it became a rolling wave of commitment.

Blake yelled, “Screw it! If we’re going to die, we might as well make it count. I’m not running.”

Magnus raised his hand and pointed toward the slope. “Then get moving. We’re running out of time. Split into four teams. I’ll guide you to the core points, I swear I’ll get you there.”

“Roger that.” Emmanuel nodded once and moved quickly to assign squads under his authority as supreme commander.

Back near the cliffside, Gautier hadn’t followed Emmanuel onto Graypine Island. His mission was far from over. He remained behind, waiting for the Holy Fire organization’s army to arrive.

“This is almost fun. I wonder what kind of ending Emmanuel deserves. A slow death or something a bit more threatical?” he muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, Emmanuel finished assigning four squads. He built each one around a core leader, anticipating resistance at every core point.

It reminded him of their breakout from Dark Night Islands, only this time, the trap was bigger, and the consequences worse.

Squad One went first. Santiago and Liora led it. They were the strongest, no question.

Emmanuel placed himself with Sage and formed Squad Two.

Xarri and Quell led Squad Three, while Yorick and Isabella took Squad Four.

By dawn, all four teams had descended the mountain and stepped into the Eightfold War Grid.

Each captain carried a military communicator, strong enough to stay in contact across five linked islands. They weren’t going in blind.

As soon as Emmanuel’s squad entered. It felt like stepping into a breathing machine. Everything shifted, even when nothing moved.

Although Santiago’s team had entered less than an hour before them, the land had already shifted enough that they were probably miles apart.

“Emmanuel, look at this! They’re moving.” Sage stated, pointing to the stone walls. He had noticed it, too. Even if the team stayed still, the layout would reconfigure itself around them.

“With this many shifting paths, can Magnus really guide us through to the Central Field?” Sage asked, still staring at the walls.

The question hung heavy in the air. Only an hour had passed, yet it already felt impossible to retrace their steps.

Emmanuel didn’t answer. Instead, he stepped forward and launched a strike straight into one of the walls from his Dragon Breaking Palm.

He figured it wouldn’t do much, knocking one down would just make another pop up anyway.

Instead of breaking, the wall just shook under the impact. No cracks, no collapse.

What really threw him off was how it responded. The thing didn’t just hold, it soaked up the hit, draining his internal strength like it was built to do exactly that.

“That shouldn’t be possible.” Sage gasped, thinking. With Emmanuel’s strength, a wall that thick should’ve been dust by now.

“These aren’t normal stones,” Emmanuel muttered.

He focused, reading the faint energy within. It wasn’t pure Sun Stone, but it was close, some kind of hybrid. The walls were absorbing his power like fuel.

A while ago, this would’ve shocked him. Now, knowing what the God of Light was capable of, it all added up. If he’d stockpiled enough Sun Stones to build an entire fortress, this kind of defense was exactly what you’d expect.

“All we can do now is trust Magnus.” Emmanuel keyed his communicator and followed the relayed direction, about 650 feet to the left, 330 feet back, and another 330 feet to the right.

Eventually, a narrow opening appeared.

They pushed through, following Magnus’ voice step by step. No one knew how long the route would take. Honestly, if it were anyone else giving directions, even Emmanuel would’ve doubted they had a shot at reaching the Central Field in a place like this.

After a full day of walking, Emmanuel’s team had already lost all senses of direction.

Meanwhile, Santiago’s squad had found the first core point.

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