That sheer size, any continent it stepped on would sink into the ocean.
Just what kind of being was World Serpent's Lord, if he could even surpass that?
--------------------------------
Without any huge waves, even the cosmos has become quiet recently.
Luofu, the Divination Commission.
Miss Fu Xuan has been quite relaxed lately. The Commission's main duty is to calculate the road ahead, selecting the most likely events from the boundless future, and guiding the Xianzhou onto the best path.
But such large undertakings are not something even the Xianzhou does often.
Thus, in recent days, Fu Xuan has had some leisure time, and she is quite happy to be idle.
After all, it still takes time to push Jing Yuan off the general's seat, and the spare moments she has are best spent calculating how to bring him down faster.
Humming a tune, Fu Xuan was just about to fetch a cup of Star Taro Tea when she saw Xueyi approach quietly.
"Xueyi? So that was the familiar face I divined this morning. What's the matter?"
Seeing it was Xueyi, Fu Xuan called out softly and asked, curious about the reason for her visit.
Judges of the Ten-Lords Commission usually operate in remote places, or at the very least with guards blocking outsiders. Their line of work is indeed special.
Xueyi seemed not to have expected to run into Fu Xuan at the Commission's gate. She froze for a moment, then said:
"This time I come for a personal matter, and would trouble Miss Fu Xuan. I wonder if it is convenient for you?"
"Since it is an invitation from a Judge of the Ten Lords, how could I refuse? But this is not the place to speak, come with me."
With that, Fu Xuan stepped away.
…
Left glance, right glance.
Xueyi never expected Fu Xuan to pick a milk tea shop as the meeting place.
But the shop was nicely decorated, each seat separated by partitions, and as long as they kept their voices low it would serve. Besides, what she wanted to discuss wasn't some matter of overturning the Xianzhou.
"One Star Taro Tea… what will you have?"
"The same as you."
"Then two Star Taro Teas."
As Fu Xuan placed the order, Xueyi's mind wandered.
This shop was good. When her younger sister returned, she would bring her here to try it.
After ordering, Fu Xuan leaned back casually.
Xueyi spoke: "I bother you this time because I wish to know how my younger sister Hanya has been faring these days."
"Judge Hanya? I recall the General approved her departure. She should be on Jarilo-VI now." Fu Xuan raised a brow as she spoke.
Xueyi nodded slightly. "Indeed. But Hanya has rarely gone out alone, and I worry that if she encounters trouble she may not know how to deal with it."
"There's no need to worry. From what I know, Judge Hanya has quite a few acquaintances on Jarilo. And besides, this was permitted by the General himself. Do you think he would let Hanya be bullied outside?"
Fu Xuan shook her head gently.
Though she always felt Jing Yuan wasted the position of general and that she could do far better, when it came to protecting his own, Jing Yuan was reliable.
Hanya had committed no major or minor offense, and this was a justified outing, it was still her vacation. Even the Ten-Lords themselves would find no fault.
"Even so, I still feel uneasy."
Of course, Xueyi knew the true reason for Hanya's trip. Though she had advised her not to do it, her sister had insisted.
Fu Xuan's gaze flickered across Xueyi.
She knew about the bond between the sisters. This was without a doubt the scene of the younger one going out for the sake of the elder, while the elder stayed home worrying.
It made her feel a touch of envy.
"You've spoken to this point, if I don't help, wouldn't it seem utterly heartless? Very well."
"Many thanks, Lady Diviner."
Hearing Fu Xuan agree, Xueyi finally relaxed a little.
A simple divination didn't require the Commission's instruments, Fu Xuan alone was enough.
…
"Hm? How strange."
Fu Xuan's expression turned odd, eyes flashing with light.
"No need to worry. It's just that the result of this divination is somewhat puzzling."
If she had to describe it, the result felt… murky.
"What does that mean?" Xueyi asked urgently.
Seeing her agitation, Fu Xuan didn't keep her guessing. "Judge Hanya is fine, but part of the information concerning her is obscured."
"Even you cannot see it, Lady Diviner?"
"Yes. I am not one who can divine the whole world in a single cast. There are many things in this world beyond my sight, it is nothing strange."
Fu Xuan never believed her art of divination was unparalleled. Even if there were an ultimate end to divination, it only added another layer of worry compared to others.
Seeing Xueyi still troubled, Fu Xuan offered gentle comfort.
"All things in the world follow their natural course. Knowing that Judge Hanya is unharmed should suffice. To go seeking further worries would only be… unnecessary suffering."
"I will keep Miss Fu Xuan's guidance in mind."
At last, Fu Xuan persuaded her.
Indeed, as Fu Xuan said, if Hanya learned that she was running herself ragged in worry, with her younger sister's temperament she would surely feel guilty. And Xueyi did not wish that.
Fu Xuan took a sip of milk tea. The sugary sweetness dulled the pain radiating from the third eye on her forehead.
As expected, milk tea could cure all things!
When a person relaxes, thoughts tend to drift.
Gazing at the lights above, Fu Xuan's eyes grew distant, her heart full of scattered musings.
Hanya, who had become undead due to the Calamity, was now free from her cage and striving tirelessly to rescue her elder sister.
And as for the problem with the third eye on her forehead, when would it ever be solved…?
She bore no resentment toward the eye bestowed by the Erudition. Without its aid, even with her abilities, she might not have survived certain situations.
Compared to that, a little pain was nothing.
But without contrast, there is no hurt.
If possible, she too wished to walk under the warm sun without burden.
"Humans are truly greedy at every moment." She sighed softly in her heart.
…...
"Greed is the gift given by the world to humanity."
Overlooking the clouds, Otto stood with hands behind his back, his tone calm.
It was precisely because human greed never ends that this world is so rich and colorful.
"On that point, I do not disagree." The meticulous blonde girl nodded slightly, her words concise.
Bianca Ataegina or also known as Durandal.
The strongest S-rank Valkyrie, commander of Schicksal's most powerful squad, Immortal Blades.
Admired by all Valkyries of Schicksal.
"Those three outsiders, what do you plan to do with them?" Earlier, Durandal had been on a mission to search for Godzilla. Upon returning, Rita delivered Otto's orders to her.
When she first heard news of outsiders, Durandal felt nothing unusual.
Having been exposed to information about world bubbles since childhood, she was immune to such things.
But she was curious: what qualities did these visitors possess, to warrant Otto's extraordinary vigilance?
It was the same kind of unprecedented seriousness he had shown regarding Godzilla.
Especially when he tasked her to determine whether Godzilla's comings and goings were time travel or simply space travel.
Durandal would not blindly follow Otto's commands. Yet in her investigation, she truly had found nothing unusual.
At first she thought Godzilla was some weapon Otto had created to fight Honkai. Later, Otto's actions dispelled that notion.
"They are a key to our world stepping into the universe."
"I think before that, it's more practical to focus on defeating Honkai." Durandal's flat words brought a helpless smile to Otto's face.
"The two do not conflict, Durandal. But you're right, our main focus is indeed defeating Honkai. That said… regarding your arrival, I've already calculated the three most probable paths forward."
Hearing this, Durandal's eyes lit up.
You could call Otto wicked, you could call him inhuman. But his brilliance was undeniable.
At least, far beyond someone like her, blessed with overwhelming talent for battle, but still with not much room for growth elsewhere.
He said he had found the key to defeating Honkai, so it must be an absolute suppression.
Suddenly, Durandal reacted, her blue eyes suspiciously looking toward Otto.
"You're not talking about Godzilla, are you?"
"Hm?" Otto looked at Durandal with slight surprise.
'A Kaslana had grown a brain?'
Without giving Durandal a chance to speak, Otto continued: "Not long ago, Chiyou's awakening was precisely driven by Will of Honkai from behind the scenes. Based on the information we have so far, Will of Honkai has undoubtedly staked its trump card on Godzilla."
"Fear?" Durandal was stunned.
Seeing her reaction, Otto chuckled lightly.
"Exactly. If it weren't for fear, the Will of Honkai wouldn't have rushed to awaken Chiyou, pouring endless Honkai energy into it to accelerate it's growth, only to cut off the connection unilaterally once it realized Chiyou couldn't oppose Godzilla. All of this clearly shows that Will of Honkai fears Godzilla!"
Otto's firm judgment wasn't baseless.
He had noticed it back when Chiyou first revived. Chiyou's growth rate was abnormal.
According to his intel, a Honkai beast like Chiyou shouldn't yet be able to reach such a peak. Based on Honkai's mechanisms, it wasn't hard to deduce how terrifying the energy poured into him must have been.
And then, to sever the connection proactively, this only proved that Honkai's will had no way of dealing with Godzilla!
As it should be. Otherwise, when the time came for decisive action, Honkai would have already made its move.
"What should we do?" Durandal asked directly.
She didn't have any particular feelings toward Godzilla.
Based on his two appearances, Godzilla had shown no interest in ordinary people, nor in destroying cities, so long as people didn't seek death on their own.
But as ordinary humans, they couldn't possibly do anything against Godzilla either.
Durandal thought it through. If she excluded the possibility that Godzilla might target ordinary people, she had no more doubts on this matter.
Now, hearing from Otto that Honkai might actually fear Godzilla only further strengthened her conviction.
No matter what, humanity will surely defeat Honkai!
...
So infuriating, truly infuriating.
Normally speaking, the will of Honkai didn't harbor other intentions.
It simply tested civilizations impartially.
If a civilization failed the test, its downfall was only natural.
But this time, the test had run into a problem.
A strange and terrifying beast had slipped past it, appearing out of nowhere in the tested world.
Rudely disrupting the trial it had arranged. And it was powerless against him.
The will of Honkai couldn't just give up. So, since it couldn't win in direct confrontation, it had to shift to another angle.
Just like fifty thousand years ago.
Stirring up human hearts, driving wedges between people, pushing the entire world into the prelude to destruction.
"The Herrscher of Domination, the embodiment of negative emotions."
But just a Herrscher of Domination alone wouldn't be enough.
It still needed a little seasoning added in.
...
Astral Express.
A glance. Another glance. And another.
Catching sight of the pink and gray hair peeking over the back of the sofa, Welt gave a helpless smile.
"If you've got questions, just ask."
"Here we come!"
As soon as he spoke, March 7th and Stelle sprang up, flipping over to sit opposite Welt, staring at him with bright, eager eyes.
"Uncle Yang, don't you want to know your world's coordinates? Even if Herta and the others don't know, Godzilla surely does. You could ask him. The only problem is whether you can actually reach that frequency."
March 7th muttered in complaint.
After all, traveling the world without moving your body, just through dreams, that was way too enviable!
Biting her handkerchief, March 7th looked teary-eyed with envy. She really wished she had that ability too!
Welt thought for a moment, then said: "To say I don't want to, that would be a lie. Long ago, I began searching for the direction of my world, but without clues I eventually gave up. As long as I travel along the path of pioneering, I hope I'll return there someday."
"Besides, for me to delay the Astral Express's journey, it would feel embarrassing no matter how you look at it."
If one had to ask why he was so certain, Welt could only say it was intuition.
And facts had proven his intuition correct, the road home had already been found.
"Also, I asked Miss Messenger to deliver my message. My people back home should already know I'm traveling among the stars. Maybe some of them even envy me."
Adjusting his glasses, Welt smiled faintly.
Compared to his busy comrades, thanks to one decision he had boarded the Astral Express and traveled across the cosmos, he was without a doubt someone to be envied.
For the former leader of Anti-Entropy to escape endless paperwork, what must Bishop Theresa of Schicksal think of that?
After answering March 7th's question, Welt turned his gaze toward Stelle.
"I'm mainly interested in what happened in Uncle Yang's homeland in the past," the gray-haired one said.
"Well... truthfully, there were many amusing daily stories in my world. But I doubt you'd be that interested in those. Instead, let me tell you about Herrschers."
"Herrschers, the apostles of Honkai. Every Herrscher's birth is closely tied to a major Honkai outbreak. Interestingly, in my original memories, the girl called the Herrscher of Thunder was taken by St. Freya Academy after the man-made Honkai in Nagazora City, and only much later did her Herrscher powers bloom."
"But now, in my memories, the newly-born Herrscher of Thunder was intimidated by Godzilla's overwhelming presence and gave control back to that girl."
The Anti-Entropy intelligence network was no joke.
Of course they had tracked down every detail of what happened in Nagazora.
With targets as big as Godzilla and the Herrscher of Thunder, how could they possibly miss it? Dr. Tesla's iron fist wasn't something to be taken lightly.
"What is a Herrscher? The apostle of Honkai's will, wielding authority..."
Not only March 7th and Stelle were listening to Welt's story. In the observation car, Dan Heng couldn't help but overhear as well.
When Welt spoke of Herrschers ruling over natural phenomena, Dan Heng froze slightly.
"Natural phenomena, the Herrscher of Thunder... physics..."
Picking out the key points from Welt's words, Dan Heng couldn't help but ask: "Each Herrscher controls some kind of authority. With such terrifying power, how did your world manage to resist them, Mr. Welt?"
Dan Heng really couldn't imagine what it would take for a civilization to oppose beings who commanded control over physical laws.
According to Welt, one Herrscher even possessed authority over space itself.
Just hearing the name made Dan Heng's mind conjure up over fifty defensive and offensive possibilities.
But comparing the power of Herrschers against their side, Herrschers should have been overwhelmingly stronger no matter what.
Hearing his question, Welt pondered for a while, mulling it over. Only after a long silence did he give his somewhat vague answer.
"As far as I know, most Herrschers, before being chosen, weren't exactly... outstanding academically."
Considering that among Herrschers there were people like Kiana, with whom he had close ties, Welt chose to phrase it gently.
Dan Heng understood immediately.
In short, most Herrschers were chosen under circumstances not unlike March 7th's own situation.
His eyes drifted to the gray-haired girl beside her.
Not counting her, she'd never even gone to school since she could talk.
"I feel like you're thinking something really rude," March 7th muttered, eyes half-lidded in exasperation.
The topic circled back to Otto, and Welt's expression grew complicated.
"I can probably guess what that man has in mind."
What else could make Otto work this hard? The answer was obvious...