Chapter 226: Chapter 174: Alien Makes a Move! (Two-in-one, 2/5)_3 The other three targets, of course, couldn’t be acquired without effort. However, they too were being covertly watched over by several powerful individuals. When faced with sudden assassination attempts, these powerful figures immediately sprang into action. But reactions varied in speed! The attackers had meticulously planned their strike, catching the Earth Alliance off guard and thus a step slower. Whether the targets could be saved depended entirely on the individual capabilities of their protectors. Although these protectors had been chosen and invited precisely because they were trusted to possess sufficient protective capabilities, it remained a gamble. The assassins dispatched by the enemy certainly weren’t mere nobodies; they were individuals deemed valuable enough to be deployed for such missions. Even if Earth’s leadership had preemptively assigned protectors, there was no guarantee of the level of assassination the protected individuals might face. Nor did they possess an abundance of top-tier protective forces. They could only strive to be as thorough as possible. However, the dispatched protectors had to, at the very least, be capable of retaliating and annihilating all assailants if an assassination occurred. Trading one life for several assassins, plus forcing the enemy to expend a significant amount of resources—whether this constituted a net loss or gain was difficult to determine. For the individual targeted, it was undoubtedly a devastating loss. After all, their life was forfeit. From a broader perspective, however, if you weren’t someone of extraordinary potential, your single life, traded for the exposure of numerous Aliens, meant your sacrifice held significant value for the overall strategic situation. Though it sounded cruel, this was the reality. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 Witnessing the Aliens dispatch twenty assassins to eliminate four targets, it was clear that this wave of Aliens was destined to suffer losses, regardless of whether their assassination attempts succeeded or failed. The only exception would be if one of the four successfully assassinated individuals happened to be the one who had triggered the sound of the great path. In that scenario, Earth would indeed incur a greater loss. After all, Earth had already gone to great expense, sealing the Teleportation Ground for this specific person. If they still failed to protect them, it would naturally be considered a calamitous defeat. But while the Aliens were covertly investigating, were Earth’s people not doing the same? On their home turf, the level of detail in the intelligence Earth gathered was absolutely incomparable to what the Aliens could obtain. Regarding whether the protected individuals were the ones who triggered the sound of the great path, Earth’s side had a fairly good idea. At the very least, they currently believed the person who triggered the sound of the great path was likely among the scions of aristocratic families, rather than within the academy system. This was because the four-star and five-star professionals within the academy system generally didn’t meet the criteria for triggering the sound of the great path three times, unless someone was deliberately concealing crucial information. However, merely to draw more of the Aliens’ fire, Earth’s leadership had to pretend that the individual who triggered the sound of the great path was indeed within the academy system. Although this strategy would expose many elite students to lethal threats, as previously stated, for the sake of the greater good, individual sacrifices were sometimes worthwhile, even necessary. On this point, more often than not, one’s agreement or disagreement was irrelevant. This was no longer about sacrificing for one’s country; it was about sacrificing for the planet, for the Star System. It was all for the sake of humanity’s boundless and bright future. When the stakes were raised to such a level, one could hardly complain about the decisions made by the higher-ups. After all, Earth’s leadership also consisted of mortals, not God, and thus could not possibly manage everything perfectly or cover every eventuality. They could only make choices that represented the best trade-offs for the overall interest. Actions that benefited Earth, even if detrimental to specific regions or individuals, were things they could accept and were prepared to implement. Currently, with elite students facing assassination attempts, the leadership would naturally do everything in their power to protect them. However, if they failed to save them, the perpetrators must be annihilated! They could not let the students die in vain!