"First and foremost, the most important thing for us right now is to figure out—what the Herrscher wants us to do." Joachim capped the marker and gently tapped it on the circled word "Herrscher."
"Until we figure that out, the Herrscher's true identity, its abilities, and so on, must all be secondary.
"At least for now, the only things the Herrscher has shown us, besides sending you through time, is that strong tendency. It has a clear consciousness, a strong subjectivity, and behind this, there is most likely a purpose.
"Normally, Herrschers are our enemies, right?" Joachim looked at the group and asked.
Himeko and the others exchanged glances, then nodded seriously.
"So far, we haven't encountered a Herrscher who has abandoned the darkness for the light. And the only one who is truly on our side... is the founder of our Fire Moth," Natasha gave a definitive answer.
Joachim decisively drew a striking red line under the word Herrscher.
"Then let's just assume the Herrscher is an enemy. Our relationship should be one of mutual destruction, especially for you.
"But the locations it chose for you are genuinely beneficial. This doesn't fit the nature of opposition. Therefore, above the goal of eliminating you, it has a more important purpose.
"Even—this more important purpose requires you, and the forces behind you."
Chen Tianwu's eyebrow twitched, and he couldn't help but puff out his chest.
What were the connections of the others?
Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical had money, a lot of money. The Taixu Martial Arts School had an excellent reputation locally. Joachim was a big shot, speaking with such eloquence...
He didn't know Himeko's connection, but it was her father, after all. How bad could he be?
It seemed he was the only mascot in the room.
"Everyone, you, or rather, everyone here, carries more weight than you imagine. But this is by no means a get-out-of-jail-free card, just a reasonable justification for our appearance," Joachim concluded the first stage.
"From now on, we don't need to be too timid in our actions. As long as we act normally, that Herrscher won't do anything. It might even help us when we encounter certain difficulties."
But it's best if that moment never comes.
This was the thought in everyone's mind. No one thought it was a great achievement to push their luck and make an enemy Herrscher help them.
"Because the Herrscher's true purpose is unclear, and I haven't received any form of notification, we don't need to deliberately hold back," Joachim enunciated his words heavily, as if he were at a press conference, afraid of being misunderstood.
He seemed to be issuing a notice to a certain being that might be watching them.
"Or rather, precisely because it has given us no hints, we should make use of everything it has given us, to do what we want to do to the best of our ability, to the extreme.
"Given such favorable conditions, if we don't go all out, wouldn't we be letting down its kindness?" A smile tugged at the corner of Joachim's mouth.
At this moment, everyone suddenly realized that Joachim was also a young man in his prime. The top-tier training had cultivated not only a humble and wise exterior, but also a proud and aggressive core.
Pride is a cardinal sin for most people.
But Joachim had always stood at the pinnacle. It could be said that no one could prove his pride wrong. His pride shone like a beacon in the chaos, beyond the sight of the masses.
Only when a path was paved to where Joachim's pride lay would people be qualified to declare his success or failure.
And so far, he had never failed!
"What we need to do is simple: save people in Sapphire City, do everything in our power to save people, then radiate our influence to the surrounding cities, and combine all our forces—
"To build the most solid foundation for the future Fire Moth!"
To pave the best path for the savior you speak of, for the Shu who carries the hopes of an entire civilization.
...Why do I trust someone I've never met, never even heard of, so much?
At this moment, Joachim suddenly felt a daze.
All his rigorous logical reasoning, and the final cause was a "belief" that abandoned thought and calculation? Wasn't that absurd?
It was very absurd!
But when Joachim saw the seated Kallen show an expression of approval at his words, all his doubts were strangled in the cradle.
In the face of disaster and mutation, the Kaslanas had always been the most stable core. The long past and countless major events had already proven that a Kaslana was the best leader. Even an Apocalypse would make way for one.
But this time, the Kaslana had chosen to follow.
The last person who, before a world-shaking change, had made a Kaslana choose to follow unconditionally—was Joyce Walter.
The absolute core of Future City, the one who had gathered the stars of humanity from all over the world in one place.
So he believed. No matter how exaggerated Kallen's words were, he believed. Even if Kallen said that person could defeat a Herrscher alone, could pin those terrifying existences to the ground and beat them...
...
Alright, the real reason was that what Kallen said was too ridiculous. So ridiculous that Joachim had no choice but to believe.
A Kaslana couldn't make up such an obvious "braggart."
That being said, the fervor in Joachim's heart did not diminish. Instead, he felt a strong curiosity towards the "Shu" they described as omnipotent.
What kind of existence is that?
Forget it, now is not the time to think about such things.
Joachim cleared the distracting thoughts from his mind, then raised his hand and began to explain the plan that everyone would be executing.
The plan itself was simple, but once detailed explanations were added, what should have been a few minutes of briefing took a full hour to complete.
The advantage was that everyone got not only the plan, but also the room to think on their feet.
Plans can never keep up with changes. There were too many unknown variables. If they were only given a simple plan, the mission could very well suffer a chain reaction of failures due to unexpected situations.
December 1st, 7:00 AM.
The sun's rays had already illuminated Sapphire City. The sunlight reflecting off the huge glass buildings created the "light pollution" unique to a prosperous city, stinging the eyes of anyone who dared to look up with its intense vitality.