Thousand-Person Ruler's Personal Opinion

The other Honkai Emperors were also killed at almost the same moment.

The swarm froze for a moment, as if it had suddenly crashed. Then, they scattered in all directions without direction, indiscriminately attacking friend and foe, screaming and flying chaotically in all directions.

The Ironclad Squads regrouped separately, deploying their incredibly sturdy Adamant Shields.

The targetless swarm, though still frequently crashing against the shields, was far, far better than the original encirclement. At the very least, the Ironclad Squads no longer had to worry about their own safety.

But everyone was silent, their teeth gritted in frustration, helpless.

"All units, obey my command. Fix yourselves to the ground by any means necessary. Your reinforcements have arrived."

Just then, Cocolia's irrefutable and powerful command came through.

The next second, dark spheres appeared one after another in the sky, like black holes, rapidly attracting the frantically scattering swarm. These small Honkai Beasts were drawn to the nearest spheres, sticking to countless companions, crushing and grinding each other to death amidst sharp, ear-piercing screeches.

When the abnormal gravity subsided and the blizzard dissipated, in the clear sky, several giant spheres made of the swarm's corpses floated, like a dozen small satellites rising from the ground.

A golden-haired little girl cradling a doll hovered in the air, her white trench coat flapping in the wind.

She looked down, her mechanical, lifeless purple eyes gazing at the giant bear corpse that resembled a hill.

"Boom!"

An invisible force instantly destroyed everything, completely pulverizing the giant beast's physical body, sending countless fragments flying into the distance.

Then, the girl's figure disappeared.

However, the Ironclad Squads were not in the mood to pay attention to this strange and terrifying little girl. Instead, they piloted their Titans, which had varying degrees of damage, and flew towards where the giant bear corpse had disappeared.

A damaged, one-armed Titan lay prone on the ground, protecting a narrow but incredibly stable safe space beneath it.

The Ironclads jumped out of their cockpits one after another, coming to the one-armed Titan and working together to drag out the motionless Kuerla.

Everyone could see that Kuerla's exoskeleton was covered in various impact scars, with even a few holes punched through. These were clearly injuries sustained from small Honkai Beasts during the bombing run.

Kuerla's blood poured out of these holes, completely staining the drag marks beneath her.

"Quick, remove the exoskeleton!"

"Medical personnel, stand by!"

"Captain, don't be afraid, you'll be alright!"

A team member removed Kuerla's helmet and saw her pale-as-paper face with messy hair.

"Cough!"

Kuerla coughed up a mouthful of blood, her eyes snapping open. However, she ignored the teammates around her and turned her head to look at the damaged Titan beside her, which was fixed in its posture.

"BT..."

The scene suddenly fell silent. Even those removing the exoskeleton tried their best not to make a sound. They just stood in silence, creating as quiet a space as possible for the pair.

"Kuerla... static... I am... are you... static... safe..."

"Ah, I'm safe."

"Kuerla... safe... are you... protocol three... static... protect Ironclad... static!"

"You've completed your protocol. It was an honor to fight alongside you... So, did you hear what I said?"

The one-armed Titan responded no more, simply lying there silently, like an incredibly sturdy steel sculpture.

Kuerla remained silent and slowly closed her eyes.

'Is this performance a bit too much? I see some of the Ironclads are crying...'

'Mhm... Let Kuerla keep her promise and wear some revealing black stockings to dance.'

'Sorry, everyone, this isn't really for you to see, it's for the Executors.'

'Powerful performance, excellent intelligence, absolute loyalty. This is how we demonstrate the selling points of Titan BT72. Although we don't plan to sell the puppet and increase the risk, with this capital, Cocolia will have no obstacles within Anti-Entropy and can proceed with image whitewashing and transformation with ease.'

'Wow, the Ironclads over there are really crying. I feel so bad.'

'Stay calm. It will happen to them sooner or later. Facing dangerous and unpredictable Honkai disasters, we can't always protect them unscathed. Consider it getting used to it in advance.'

The Angies sighed with apologetic regret. Although they had expected it, the performance affecting spectators they didn't want to affect was indeed not to their liking.

I'm free today. Wish me peace, and wish everyone peace. 3

Chapter 45: Angies Attempting to Whitewash

"So, it will take another 5 years for Titan BT72 to achieve mass production and promotion?"

During the post-battle executive meeting, the executives had mixed reactions to the timeframe Cocolia proposed. Generally, the conservatives felt a sense of relief, while the radicals frowned.

"Ideally, yes. Mechs with such superior performance and intelligence, paired with a qualified Ironclad, can suppress S-rank Valkyries head-on – you don't think we've completely overcome all technical difficulties with a mech like this, do you? I don't have that kind of ability."

Cocolia held the reluctant An in her arms, stroking her absentmindedly. She looked slightly tired and continued slowly, "I need 5 years to continue working on the mass production technology for BT72, as well as train Ironclads and research supporting tactics. Once these tasks are completed, I will naturally provide this power to you all, depending on the situation."

As for what would happen 5 years later, when the plot would go completely off the rails, whether she would bring it out or not would have plenty of explanations.

Cocolia lowered her gaze, pinched An's tender white cheek which had puffed out in displeasure, and revealed a gentle smile.

"That's perfectly reasonable."

Dr. Einstein said calmly.

The other executors nodded in unison.

However, most of them were lost in thought about Cocolia's meaningful phrase, "depending on the situation."

What situation did she mean?

It clearly meant whoever could provide Cocolia with more benefits!

The executors had no objections to the rule that capable people get rewarded.

Moreover, the statement "directly suppress an S-rank Valkyrie" hit a major pain point for them. What threatened their lives the most wasn't Honkai, but those S-rank Valkyries who could break through the Titan legions' interception—they had been deeply unsettled by Schicksal's decapitation tactics for too long.

On this point, perhaps only Einstein and Tesla, who were at the North American headquarters, possessed vast amounts of war technology, and could summon the Leader at any time, were exceptions.

Therefore, after seeing their colleagues' knowing reactions, the executors' eyes began to gleam. They felt the pressure of competition and started plotting how to curry favor with Cocolia first.

"If there's nothing else, you're dismissed. I'd rather deal with the aftermath of the war than argue with you all."

Cocolia waved her hand impatiently, boldly displaying her authority as the person in charge during this meeting.

However, most of the executors were either coveting the power of the Titan BT72 or harbored apprehension towards the little girl who had dealt with the swarm Honkai Beast but hadn't mentioned it at the meeting. In any case, they were all intimidated by the power Cocolia had displayed and had nothing more to say.

Only Tesla suddenly leaned his entire face close to the screen, his expression grim, and said, "Wait! You still haven't told me what's going on with that girl, why she..."

"Dr. Tesla! And Dr. Einstein, if you have time recently, I sincerely invite both of you to visit Siberia. I have many very important matters I wish to discuss with you in depth."

Cocolia directly interrupted Tesla's aggressive questioning. After extending the invitation, she decisively cut off the signal.

And she could imagine the raging Dr. Tesla, after witnessing that familiar power, overturning tables in his fury. Thinking of this, Cocolia couldn't help but curve her lips in pleasure.

"Mom, you're smiling so slyly, like a bad woman!"

"Ohoho! Mom has never been a good person, don't you know that best, my little cutie who is about to be eaten by Mom!"

Cocolia said, squeezing An tightly into her expansive chest and getting close to the girl's warm body amidst her startled screams.

"Don't bite my face, are you a puppy?"

"(?ω?)hiahiahia! A cutie like you is born to be eaten by Mom! Starting with your sweet, soft cheeks. You can't escape, heeheehee!"

"How annoying!!!"

On this day, Rosaliya and Liliya, who had just recovered from their illness, peeked from the doorway, hugging each other in fear and not daring to enter the room.

And Tesla and Einstein arrived much faster than Cocolia had imagined.

On the third day after the war ended, the Iron Cavalry returned to the largest snow mountain base in the Siberia region to rest. After Cocolia visited them, she met the two beautiful and charming seniors in her office.

"...How are the casualties this time?"

Upon seeing Cocolia return, Tesla suppressed his temper. He asked with a displeased expression but genuine concern in his heart.

Cocolia raised an eyebrow, gesturing for An and Liliya beside her to prepare tea and refreshments. She casually picked up a dazed Rosaliya, sat in her boss's chair, held Rosaliya, and said with a weary expression, "The interception was timely, and the Iron Cavalry performed excellently. We had no internal casualties. However, the cold wave did spread to New Siberia. Although we carried out disaster relief as quickly as possible, a small number of civilians will likely still die from the sudden drop in temperature."

"Mm, if you have any needs, feel free to tell us, and we'll help as much as we can. And, at least this time... you did a great job."

Tesla crossed his arms, a little displeased, but still praised her sincerely.

An and Liliya soon returned with the tea and refreshments.

Cocolia invited the two seniors to sit down. In the stifling silence, she said directly, "That child is the final result of Lord Joyce's genetic research."

"What did you say!?"

"Don't glare at me like that, it wasn't me who led it."

Cocolia said with an air of righteous indignation.

Tesla slammed the table.

"***If you didn't do it, then who did? Do you think we haven't investigated? Should I have the Leader come and ask you personally!?"

"Lord Joyce's genetic research began when the radical faction emerged and has continued for decades behind your backs. I've only been with Anti-Entropy for ten years, and I've only been in a position of power for the last three or four years—please use your brains, Doctors. Could such power be created without decades of long-term research?"

Cocolia explained with extreme calmness. However, Rosaliya in her arms trembled at the sound of the table being slammed, which caused Cocolia to frown while comforting her.

An's gaze immediately sharpened—talking to Cocolia so loudly in front of her, did that mean she considered An Mar as dead?

As a pure combatant, An began to stir restlessly. Fortunately, Cocolia reached out and pressed down on her head, preventing Tesla from being beaten.

"Dr. Tesla, there are children here, please mind your demeanor and words, otherwise, I, as a mother, will be very angry."

Cocolia said lightly, skillfully scratching Rosaliya's chin, quickly making her forget her fright and giggle.

Tesla's pent-up momentum was immediately stifled, like a rampaging flamingo whose neck had been gripped.

This was the weakness of good people. Even though they felt it was right to question and scold loudly, with innocent and adorable little girls nearby, Tesla had to restrain his expression. After taking a deep breath, he gave Rosaliya a forced, apologetic smile.

Seeing Tesla's momentum falter, the long-silent Einstein finally spoke:

"Although a significant portion of the investigation results point to you, I understand power games and risk transference. That child's abilities are astonishing, at first glance, just like another Welt—in terms of conclusion, indeed, you make more sense; it must be power gained through long-term research."

The intelligent Dr. Einstein clearly couldn't have imagined that it was the power formed by a Thousand-Person Ruler possessing the Herrscher of Reason's clone and achieving perfect fusion.

Cocolia nodded, her expression unchanged, and said:

"Believe it or not, I genuinely didn't have time to do so many bad things. After taking over, I simply halted that slow-yielding research, then, based on the principles of resource conservation and humanitarianism, I preserved the existing results. That's all."

"Lord Joyce holds unimaginable significance for us and the Leader. So, I hope you truly halted it."

"If I hadn't stopped, would I dare expose it to you directly? Alright, I trust your wisdom; I don't want to discuss this further. Can we talk about the main business now?"

"No, before that, we want to meet that child."

Einstein said calmly.

From reason and logic, Einstein could accept Cocolia's statement, but how to ultimately convey it to Welt Yang and what course of action to recommend, Einstein felt it could only be decided after communicating with the child.

"I actually hope you can have a good chat with her."

Cocolia muttered with a headache-inducing expression, as if she knew many hidden details, and nodded.

Chapter 46: If We Had Children

"Hey, bird's nest head, do you really believe Cocolia's nonsense?"

On the way to the top of the Snow Mountain base, Tesla, seizing the opportunity while no one else was around, pulled Einstein's arm and asked somewhat furtively.

Einstein returned from her thoughts and reverie, her ocean-like deep blue eyes glancing sideways at Tesla, her expression calm as she said:

"She didn't say she didn't do it, she said she didn't have time to do it."

"Huh? What does that mean?"