Obtained Mark - Main. King of Fear (cont.)

Therefore, Cocolia must act in the shadows.

Furthermore, considering that in Cocolia's view, the Anti-Entropy conservatives will inevitably try to stop her, and Schicksal is also likely to take advantage of the chaos to seize the gems, she will definitely seek help from the Allies after her backup plan fails.

That would give the World Serpent an opportunity to enter the game.

Considering K423's importance to Otto, and the universally accepted notion that Otto is almost superhumanly intelligent [although after analyzing so much data, I realized that his mishaps were commonplace, and his failures were often due to good luck], it's clear that when he realized the Gem of Conquest was already in Changkong City, he couldn't have simply sent a few agents there.

Rita and the silly goose then had a reason to arrive smoothly—at this point, what Theresa said was nothing. Even Herrscher might show up, and letting S-class rank members slack off at headquarters would be pure war criminal behavior.

So here, instead of the original story where Otto says "Theresa, don't let me down" and then lets Theresa take the lead, it becomes Otto himself acting as the behind-the-scenes operator, overseeing everything.

Since it Kallen, he should focus more on the battlefield.

Furthermore, in the background setting, the people who came with Lin Yu were actually killed by Cocolia's people. So after Cocolia killed these people, she must have known that Schicksal had entered the arena, and she had to speed things up.

Under these circumstances, everyone was pushed to their limits.

Cocolia needs to drive Raiden Mei insane before she can recover her composure in order to cause the Third Honkai Outbreak.

To save his best friend's daughter and the millions of people in Changkong City, Siegfried must drop everything to rescue Mei.

Lin Yu didn't want to die in any sense, so he could only try to prevent Mei from collapsing so easily.

Kiana, realizing the problem, had to take action—once she did, many others would follow suit.

Seeing that the situation was improving, Otto would definitely pay more attention to the battle, so he even invited Fu Hua to Changkong City.

I knew that Old Yang, who was lying in wait, couldn't stay in the pit any longer, so he had to come over too.

Tesla and Einstein realized that things were out of control, so they knew they couldn't hold back anymore—holding back meant the gems wouldn't be safe, millions would die in Changkong City, and ME Company would most likely be destroyed or taken away, a truly horrific tragedy.

Now that things have come to this point, the actors are almost all assembled, so we can start the show.

What's really awkward is that Mei, the female lead in this scene, is completely unaware of her own importance.

In this chapter, although the main character is constantly moving, it still has a bit of an ensemble drama feel to it.

While it may be considered a positive by some, this is not a particularly safe way to write in online novels.

A skilled writer can create incredibly compelling ensemble pieces where every character is brilliantly portrayed. However, someone lacking the skill will likely struggle with ensemble writing, resulting in limited screen time for everyone and a poorly written piece.

Unfortunately, I am not a very capable writer, so I immediately adjusted my writing strategy after finishing the "Escape from the Sky" chapter.

As for whether everyone actually noticed this... I don't know.

Another thing I should mention is that Siegfried was able to unleash a Heavenly Fire spell and still have the energy to move afterward, purely because Lin Yu had healed him.

Based on what he said after using the activator for the first time, "If it weren't for this potion, I would have been burned to ashes," Siegfried was crippled with a single sword strike before using the activator. After Lin Yu healed him, Siegfried was in a state that was better than before, but not as perfect as during the Second Honkai Eruption period.

Normally, Siegfried wouldn't be as strong as he is in the book; being able to unleash Skyfire is already a miracle achieved at the cost of his life.

[The Chaos of the Nine Nether Netherworlds]—This section contains approximately 77-119 chapters, beginning with Otto being successfully deceived and ending with the conclusion of the great war.

Of course, this chapter features a lot of plot elements that are outside the main outline.

Although the Nine Nether chapter was originally a plot point that was destined to be written [after all, in my opinion, it would be inappropriate to avoid Chiyou, as Kevin's condition would be maxed out after eating the sashimi, which would cause serious problems later], the details had not yet been finalized at that time.

In the storyline, the Trio have successfully joined the team for various reasons. Unfortunately, Bronya is clearly inferior to the others in the storyline because his mother is not very capable.

There's no way around it. Yuno's mother will die, Changkong City will experience Honkai, Mei's father will be tricked, Kiana will be deceived by Cocolia, Lin Yu will be attacked by Cocolia's men, and Himeko will be wiped out by Titans if she doesn't use her Nexus subordinates.

Although not everyone knew Bronya's true identity at this time, if she were to join the team normally, her status certainly couldn't be elevated—there was absolutely no reason for that.

Furthermore, because Bronya joined the Far East Branch, she could clearly sense here that the Titans Cocolia had were truly not powerful enough.

One Divine Key holder plus Nexus Himeko is enough to crush Cocolia's forces on the battlefield. Add to that the Herrscher of Thunder, the Simulated Herrscher, and Lin Yu, B-Class knight who can defeat Herrscher, and it's inevitable that Bronya will be sweating profusely.

After all, she and Cocolia truly had feelings for each other, and someone with feelings for each other wouldn't immediately think of sacrificing family for the greater good.

So from this stage onwards, Bronya is under immense pressure – without putting in extra effort, this kind of pressure would be unbearable for anyone.

However, at this stage, her romantic storyline hasn't reached the point where it needs to be intensified.

Normally, the three people who have the highest favorability towards Lin Yu in this chapter are Rita, who can't see her younger brother during training at headquarters; Kiana, who is protected by Lin Yu; and Mei, who has already Mei Lin Yu at night, not because she is too cowardly.

Considering that Rita is on a mission at headquarters, most of the romantic storyline should revolve around these two people.

But then an unexpected event occurred.

Yuno was originally a supporting character who was supposed to be saved if possible, otherwise saving Mei but not Yuno would seem like a double standard. But after writing her, I found it surprisingly easy to write.

Then, as I was writing, I realized that Yuno's ability to create plants and use poison perfectly matched the two abilities of [Creation] and [Withering].

Only after writing this part was the plot of her using the Tranquility Gem to enhance herself finalized, which later became the Herrscher of Death Awakening arc.

At this point, writing becomes easier, and my combat strength is enough to keep up with the main group [of course, forget about keeping up with Lin Yu], and I also happen to be one of the most understanding characters [after all, both of them are actually true vengeful spirits]...

If she hadn't long wanted to kill Cocolia, her enemy, and take away the culprit who killed her mother after the fight against the Honkai, her relationship with Lin Yu would have been the easiest to develop naturally.

However, precisely because of this, Yuno always took the initiative in the later stages of the game after realizing that "everyone likes the senior" but she herself did not engage in PvP.

She was destined to die, so she definitely hoped that more people would stop Lin Yu, whom everyone except Lin Yu himself thought was a vengeful ghost.

Furthermore, in Yuno's eyes, suicide is definitely not a good thing or something that should be done.

However, sometimes people pursue not the maximum benefit calculated rationally, but the action that makes them feel most comfortable based on their emotions.

Or rather, for some people, the greatest benefit is their own pleasure.

For a vengeful person, the feeling of revenge is definitely the most satisfying.

Others might feel saddened by Yuno's suicide, but people like vengeful spirits are often either half-mad or completely insane at their core. If you try to reason with a madwoman and tell her not to choose the most satisfying option, you need to have enough weight in her heart.

Besides Yuno, another unexpected character is Fu Hua.

As mentioned in the character positioning section, Fu Hua was never intended to be written as a supporting character to the female lead from the very beginning.

After all, they really had no ideas.

But after writing the beginning and finishing a fight, I realized that I could actually write more.

Moreover, the expansion is a very easy way to expand upon.

In my eyes, although Fu Hua was working for Otto, she felt guilty towards her comrades in the Far East Branch.

Lin Yu's vengeful persona, combined with Fu Hua's guilt towards everyone, can easily create a powerful chemistry.

In addition, Fu Hua genuinely had the idea of 'mentoring' Lin Yu when she saw a promising talent. She hoped to help Lin Yu adjust his mental state while teaching him Lin Yu energy, which would not only give the protagonist a new enhanced move but also strengthen their relationship.

After thinking about all these things, I added Fu Hua to the female lead's side.

In terms of plot structure, the Nine Nether Netherworld Chaos chapter is the chapter in which the protagonist rises to power. Given the improved writing style, the protagonist certainly cannot enter the game in his strongest form.

After all, Siegfried had been healed. Under these circumstances, no matter what, the Anti-Entropy conservatives could not allow Cocolia to continue causing trouble. With Old Yang already reduced to a second-class cripple, Siegfried was the most suitable candidate to go to the Nine Nether.

Meanwhile, if I write Theresa as she is in her normal state, how weak can she be? So as long as she is present, together with Siegfried, Heavenly Fire: Unleashed, and Divine Prayer Barrier, I think Chiyou will be basically dead after taking two sets of ultimate attacks.

In this situation, for everyone to feel that 'the protagonist is the protagonist,' he must still shine even with two senior actors present.

What can we do now...? We can only escalate the Chiyou.

The entry of the World Serpent into the game is a plot point that I believe I must write, as it concerns the Venerable Lord's sashimi. As the world's number one Kevin fan, the administrator Gray Serpent will definitely try to get his hands on this thing.

As for how to increase the stakes, there are only so many characters available, and without resorting to deus ex machina, we can only choose one from a few unlucky individuals.

Unfortunately, the most suitable person was Miss Xiola.

Furthermore, considering that the protagonist knows the plot, the awkward scene in the original work where Kiana and the others broke two seals and released Chiyou without understanding the situation will definitely not appear in this book.

So, for Chiyou to emerge, there had to be a scapegoat to release him—which ultimately resulted in Xiola breaking Chiyou's seal, only to find out something was wrong and she couldn't escape in time.

As for why Chiyou's state doesn't match the original text, that depends on the specific circumstances.

In the original story, Chiyou's body contained Kiana, Mei, Bronya, Himeko, and others. Leaving aside a few weaker individuals, Kiana and Mei, according to the timeline, were respectively a weakened Sora and a Rei who could use all her power within five minutes.

Even if Chiyou is Honkai Beast without intelligence, in my opinion it at least has instincts, so with two Herrscher inside its body at the time, Chiyou definitely wouldn't dare to do anything reckless.

But things are different now. Only one person, Xiola, has broken the seal, and her Divine Key, the Seven Chiyou of Seven Thunders of Retribution, is not only unafraid of Chi You, but can also directly absorb it to strengthen herself. After being strengthened, she becomes more ferocious under Ji Lin's control, making her not only more difficult to deal with, but also less wary of the Herrscher from the outside world.

Driven by instinct, Chiyou's behavior differed from the original story, which I don't think is too far-fetched.

As for the other plot points, they were all just setup for that final punch.

Even after Chiyou was strengthened and both senior figures activated their Great Void Force, they still couldn't defeat Chiyou. At this point, having Lin Yu take action would prevent his personal strength from becoming too overwhelming, while still making the audience feel that the protagonist is at least useful.

The protagonist doesn't need to be the strongest, but if he can't be cool when he should be... what's the point of having him?

After this punch, this chapter came to an end.

Of course, a subplot, which isn't strictly a subplot, is also introduced here— Otto's ecstasy.

In Otto's eyes, after Lin Yu began to make a name for himself in Changkong City, his actions brought Otto a lot of convenience, and at the same time made Otto realize that this person was a talent.

Between 2014 and 2017, Otto had already developed some of the initial plans, so as he got closer to his wish to revive Kallen, he also began to pave the way for Theresa.

Lin Yu and Himeko were the people Otto thought were suitable to stay by Theresa's side and help her. Lin Yu's reputation was already good enough after defeating the Herrscher, but Otto definitely wanted to continue to promote Lin Yu for Theresa's sake.

This underlying theme is actually a clue later on.

Otto felt he had gained a lucky charm.

But from God's perspective, this is not a lucky star, but a death star that has fallen in front of him and he has not yet realized it.

From a program production standpoint, I think this contrast will definitely create some entertainment value. As for the actual situation...

Judging from the posts, the feedback is probably not too bad.

In addition, Kiana's role in this chapter is actually quite minor.

After all, Kiana can't have it too easy if she has to lay the groundwork for future storylines.

At school, everyone would protect her and some people would even give in to her, so going out is the best way to increase her intensity.

Only when she has something she's conflicted about and wants will Sirin have a better chance of standing out—if she's impeccable in her heart, and the pufferfish doesn't have a chance to emerge, then Otto will be the first to get anxious.

Therefore, Kiana's terrible suffering in this chapter is something that can't be helped at all.

After all, I had already determined that the battle would take place between early 2014 and early 2015, and the problem would be resolved within a year. So if we didn't hurry up and strengthen Kiana, it would be very complicated if she awakened later.

Of course, in this chapter, the hidden dangers have already emerged.

The Raven has flown away. If she were to be recruited by the other side with so much intelligence she was carrying, the problem would be very serious.

Moreover, considering that Raven's survivability is already top-notch, the probability of her defecting to the enemy is extremely high if the situation is not right.

However, I hadn't calculated that far ahead at the time, which was a rather serious mistake.

The analysis of the subsequent chapters will be released later. I will try my best to update normally tomorrow.

Chapter Content Review and Summary [Part 2]

Continuing from the previous episode.

The chapters "[Anti-Entropy Invasion] " and "Herrscher of Death Awakening] " will be discussed together.

After all Herrscher of Death, these two storylines are connected in the manga, and the number of chapters in this book Anti-Entropy, from chapter 120 to 160, is indeed not very large.

I didn't really intend to write the Anti-Entropy invasion chapter this way at the beginning.

The original plan was that while Lin Yu was attending the banquet at Schicksal's side, Cocolia would send people to attack, and Lin Yu would only return halfway through the attack.

However, considering that the plot of "[Damn it, everyone else is getting beaten up and you're still drinking and flirting with girls?]" is too ridiculous, we immediately changed the plot after discovering the problem.

Anna was a character who wasn't initially designed to have a storyline, but it turned out that there wasn't much to write about at the party, so they decided to write about a girl instead.

Originally, there should have been a standard storyline later on, including the awakening of a unique Lawful Transformation, the resolution of the crisis, and the further development of their relationship.

However, there wasn't a chance for her to become a Herrscher on her own in the later storyline. If Herrscher becomes a Herrscher on her own were to encounter Constraint Barrier after Lin Yu appears, it would be too formulaic. So they put her in the Twilight of the Fool arc for a big explosion.

It can only be said that I didn't think that much when I wrote this character, and it turned out to be a case of overthinking.

Returning to the main plot, due to the change in the pacing, it became Lin Yu directly returning to save the day.

Since the changes have already been made, the troop deployment and formation also need to be changed.

Yuno and Kiana will spar, and if neither of them can beat Joyce Clone, Lin Yu can come to the rescue.

As for Himeko, it was just something I did along the way. Since she doesn't have a romantic storyline, it's fine not to give her too much screen time.

Fu Hua could travel alone, so she was tasked with dealing with the second Joyce Clone.

Theresa has no romantic subplot, Mei's romantic subplot is full, and Bronya's romantic subplot is not yet ready to take off. These three together form a Theresa squad that wipes out a Joyce Clone, and that's the end of it.

On a side note, let me add a few words about the timeline.