20. Otto: "Crap, They're Coming for Me" / 21. Fu Hua: "You Make the Plans, and I'm the One Who Gets Beaten Up?"

"Ain, where is Xia Ling?"

"I don't know." Einstein answered bluntly, "Her communication signal just disappeared. This doesn't seem like something that would happen after she was captured. Rather, it seems like... the communicator was simply destroyed."

"However, given Xia Ling's strength, it should have just been damaged accidentally during the battle."

Ain thought Theresa was worried about Xia Ling, and comforted her.

"In that case, let's wait a little longer..." Theresa's expression was somewhat hesitant.

"Okay, then let's wait a bit longer... huh?"

Ain's expression turned strange. "Theresa, why is your back... glowing again?"

"Glowing?" Theresa was taken aback, then immediately began to activate Honkai Energy, channeling it into the Stigmata on her back.

A moment later, Yae Sakura's figure slowly appeared, nodded to Theresa, and then disappeared again.

"Phew..." As if she had breathed a sigh of relief, Theresa's body suddenly relaxed.

"Alright, Ain, gather the Titan Unit at the Third Airport, let's set off."

"However, the target is not Heimdall Laboratory."

"Instead... over the Atlantic Ocean."

"We're retreating immediately."

Chapter Twenty Otto: Oh no, it's coming for me!

Schicksal Headquarters, First Airport.

"Your Lord Bishop!"

"What's wrong, Amber? What's the matter that's so urgent?"

Otto turned around and saw Amber running hurriedly toward him.

"The Second Herrscher has awakened in Heimdall Laboratory and is currently gathering her retinue. According to satellite data, Benares is en route to her location."

"As expected."

Otto took a small sip of red wine. "As for Theresa and the others, judging from the timing of the energy line being cut off at Heimdall Laboratory, they should have run into Sirin right away."

"... Your Lord Bishop," Amber's voice was noticeably hesitant, "Based on the current radar images..."

"Lord Theresa... seems to have run away again."

"Pfft—cough cough cough cough..." Otto clearly didn't expect Theresa to be able to run away from him a second time.

"No, why did Theresa run away again? Was it Xia Ling who taught her again?" Otto's voice was filled with undisguised doubt. "But that doesn't make sense. If she wanted to run away from the beginning, why would she have bothered coming to the Third Airport?"

"Where are they now?"

"They've already left the Schicksal Headquarters some distance away. Judging from the Hyperion's speed, they must have left immediately after cutting off the energy line."

"Is this some new kind of harassment tactic? She's making such a big fuss about invading Schicksal just to cause some disruption?"

For the first time, Otto felt like he couldn't keep up with the way young people think.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Amber said in a calm voice, revealing the news that made Otto's eyes widen. "However, it seems that because His Lord Bishop forcibly used Feather Dust to suppress Sirin's awakening, Sirin seems to have ignored the departing Hyperion and is heading towards the central floating island."

"..."

The scene suddenly fell silent.

"I see." Otto narrowed his eyes, suddenly realizing, "No wonder she took a roundabout route from the beginning, deliberately delaying her entry into the airport..."

"She knew I wouldn't let Sirin awaken immediately, but had to wait until Theresa and the others took their seats, so she deliberately stalled for time, making me repeatedly suppress Sirin's awakening..."

"Although Sirin had the goal of Gem of Conquest on the Hyperion, she still chose to come to headquarters for revenge first. Indeed, anyone would be extremely annoyed if they were forced to do this three or four times, and this also has to do with the fact that Benares was injured by headquarters before... Wait, it seems that Benares was also lured to headquarters by her?"

Otto immediately looked up. "Oh no, Amber, Fu Hua injured Benares before, right? Where is Fu Hua now?"

"After completing her mission, Miss Fu Hua returned to headquarters as you ordered, and is now approaching the central floating island. By the way, wasn't this an order you personally gave to Rita...?" Amber's voice trailed off as she realized the problem.

"Tsk, double insurance again... No matter what, Sirin will definitely be lured here."

"Sigh... Although the first phase of the plan was successful, we were still completely outmaneuvered."

Otto slapped his forehead in frustration. "Durandal and Xi are on the central floating island right now, right? Tell them to set off immediately."

"Fu Hua will probably be caught up before she even reaches headquarters. Amber, monitor her location and keep it updated to Durandal so they can go directly to Sirin."

"Then, prepare a flying vehicle for me; I want to go there in person."

"Although Durandal and Yu, working together, are enough to take down the current Second Herrscher, my goal isn't to kill her..."

"Wait, no, if I were to ask Durandal to let Sirin go... Oh no, she'd never agree to that, especially since I was also planning to..."

"What a brilliant move to use one tiger to devour another. Even if Sirin is sent to chase the Hyperion again, she will be worn down by Durandal at headquarters. Moreover, this is all based on the premise that I can persuade Durandal."

"But how could she be so sure that Durandal was at headquarters and not at Heimdall Laboratory? If Durandal had been nearby, her plans would have been completely disrupted, and in the end, we would both suffer heavy losses."

"How dare she insert such a gamble into such a complex and interconnected situation...?"

"What's wrong, Bianca?"

Sitting on the edge of the floating island, Xi swung her short legs innocently and asked, "Does the bishop have some new mission again?"

Durandal did not answer immediately, but looked at the communication on the terminal with a somewhat solemn expression.

"Your Lord Bishop, I believe I can complete this task on my own. If it is a matter of speed, I can fly there myself much faster than taking Little Xi with me in a flying vehicle."

"Durandal, I know you don't want Little Xi to participate in such a dangerous mission, but the Second Herrscher's abilities are not something you can easily handle right now."

"You have no way to counter her spatial abilities. You can't expect to be able to slowly find your way back with the help of Gnius after she exiles you to the Imaginary Space."

"Little Xi can interfere with the Second Herrscher's spatial abilities by covering the scroll in advance. She is indispensable to you. If you can master her... well, anyway, take Little Xi there as soon as possible."

"Well..."

"Don't sigh, Bianca, I'm very strong."

Although Durandal didn't say anything, Yu could roughly guess what was going on from her argument with the bishop.

"Besides, I still have you to protect me, sister."

Xi casually opened a painting, jumped into it, and only her little head was sticking out.

"If you're worried about not being fast enough, Bianca, I'm very portable. You can take this painting with you."

"Little Xi... After all, the enemy this time is Herrscher. You must not hold back your powerful scrolls. Prioritize your own safety."

Due to the urgency of the situation, Durandal didn't have time to offer much advice. Holding the scroll close to her chest, Durandal gave some words of concern.

"Don't worry, don't worry, I'm not a hoarder. I'll use it when the time comes."

Although Durandal was very worried, Xi felt no pressure at all.

After all, Xi is someone who has actually read the script. At this point in time, no matter who fights the Second Herrscher, it's definitely not her and Durandal's turn to fight. Their role is probably just to hold her off and wait for Otto to deal with her.

I wonder what excuse Otto will use to get Durandal away this time?

Chapter Twenty-One: Fu Hua: You set up a plan, and in the end, I'm the one who gets beaten up?

"Ms. Theresa, are you sure our current decision is correct?"

Ain watched the Hyperion gradually move away from the Schicksal Headquarters, she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

"Before Xia Ling went on her mission, she said something to me."

"Although there are some things I still don't quite understand, based on what I have understood, I think her decision should be fine."

Theresa's gaze remained steady as she gradually reduced the Hyperion's speed.

So, what exactly did she say?

She said...

Let's go back to before Xia Ling left the third airport.

"Theresa, there's something I need to tell you."

"What's wrong, Xia Ling? Why do you look so serious?" Theresa, somewhat puzzled.

"Well... because of our game with Otto, we probably lost from the very beginning."

Xia Ling slowly said, "After the Oceania incident, Highmore once talked to me alone. At that time, she told me a guess that Otto might not care whether Wendy would go against Schicksal."

"In her view, of all the events in Oceania, Otto was only concerned with one thing: whether Wendy could maintain her individuality."

"Because Otto orchestrated Highmore's first death, and he needed Wendy to Herrscher transformation to verify the correctness of this conjecture."

"The result was obviously very pleasing. Due to her Bonds with Highmore, Wendy was able to remain rational throughout the entire process, except for a slight change in her personality."

"Given this, Theresa, why do you think Otto went to such lengths to kidnap Kiana?"

"As far as I know, shortly after Kiana enrolled, Fu Hua transferred from headquarters to the St. Freya Academy, which means that from the beginning, Kiana was under Otto's control."

"You mean... Otto also wants to replicate Wendy's success and turn Kiana into Herrscher with self-awareness?" Theresa wasn't stupid; by connecting the dots, she quickly found the key to the matter.

"It wasn't a replica, but rather a premeditated plan." Xia Ling slowly shook her head. "Compared to Kiana, Wendy was more of an unexpected surprise for Otto."

"If this conjecture is taken as a premise, then the two years that Kiana spent in school were probably the time Otto used to cultivate Bonds with Kiana."

Xia Ling said with a heavy expression, "More than a day has passed since Kiana was kidnapped. If Otto wanted to make her Herrscher transformation, he could have done it long ago. Why did he have to wait for us to come?"

"So, the key to Otto's plan isn't Kiana, but us?" Theresa suddenly realized.

"That's right. I'm afraid that once we make contact with the energy link and get close to Heimdall Laboratory, Sirin will 'coincidentally' come out of the laboratory and come face to face with us."

"But this is an open conspiracy... We can't just leave Kiana alone..."

"Don't worry, Theresa. Since I've chosen to tell you this, there must be a way to change the situation," Xia Ling comforted her. "Although we will most likely have to face Sirin in the end, at least we can prepare in advance and weaken her power to some extent."

"However, this will require your and Ain's cooperation. Next, you just need to wait for my signal..."

As Theresa slowly narrated, Einstein's expression shifted from incomprehension to surprise, and then to contemplation...

"I see."

Finally, Ain nodded. "In that case, let's do it her way."

On the other hand, while everyone was scheming against each other, an honest man suddenly suffered a terrible misfortune.

That's right, it's our poor Fu Hua.

After confirming that Himeko and Tesla had been safely delivered to the prison by Rita, Fu Hua intended to check on the situation and then return to the central floating island to report. However, she bumped into someone she never expected.

"Kiana... no, I should call you Sirin now."

"Hmm... I remember you."

Sirin's eyes gradually turned dangerous.

"The same ridiculous attire, the same repulsive face, reminded me of many unpleasant memories."

"And this time, you have once again injured my retinue before my return."

"Heh... You'll appear from this direction, which means neither Otto nor Rita were telling me the truth?"

"Xia Ling's initial guess was indeed correct..."

Fu Hua sneered, "It seems I still trusted Otto's character too much."

"Oh, are you done rambling?" Sirin raised her finger dismissively. "In that case, pay the price for your rudeness."

In an instant, several purplish-black voids appeared out of thin air in the space behind Sirin, and from these voids, several Spear of Subspace slowly emerged.

Then, it hurtled towards Fu Hua's location with terrifying speed.

Thanks to the speed advantage granted by Shadow Knight: Moonlit Blade, Fu Hua barely managed to dodge the Spear of Subspace. However, before she could even catch her breath, more attacks rained down from the sky.

This can't go on; we need to find a way to get closer...

Fu Hua was well aware of Kiana's physical abilities. Although Kiana was significantly stronger than her peers, she was still not quite up to the task. The battle in New Zealand had already proven that even with Sirin controlling the body, she was absolutely no Fu Hua in close combat. Therefore, this time, all she needed to do was repeat the same tactic...

Despite sustaining an arm injury from being grazed by a Spear of Subspace, Fu Hua successfully found an opportunity to approach Sirin amidst the dense barrage of bullets, and she seized it.

Her body instantly passed through the gap in the Spear of Subspace, and Fu Hua's Void Grip began to glow slightly. Terrifying Honkai Energy gathered in her palm, and then she blasted it out at the unsuspecting Sirin.