16. Xia Ling: It wasn't me! I didn't do it! Otto, don't make things up! / 17. Xia Ling: I get to be a multi-Core Herrscher too?

Realizing she had almost let something slip, Sushang quietly wiped away a bead of sweat.

"Well, it seems Miss Sushang Chang did a good job preparing for class."

Otto didn't mind Sushang's minor mistake and continued, "As we all know, the Tree of Imaginary has countless branches, and each branch represents a world."

"On these branches, time itself is merely a simple attribute, and the direction of time as we define it is precisely due to the competition mechanism between the Tree of Imaginary and the Sea of Quantum."

"From our perspective, time cannot be reversed, but from the tree's perspective, time is simply the direction in which these branches grow."

"The continuous growth of branches represents the continuous passage of time and the continuous evolution of the world."

"So, since we can't manipulate time, what if we directly manipulate the branches of the Tree of Imaginary and redefine the world?"

"Redefining... the world?"

Durandal murmured to herself. Otto's explanation was not obscure; in fact, he was a very good teacher, easily helping Durandal understand the profound theories that she might normally struggle with for hours.

But it is precisely because of this that Durandal was able to understand the meaning behind Otto's plan.

"That's right. As long as we can manipulate the Tree of Imaginary itself, it won't be difficult to choose a new point for the growth of the World."

"In this scenario, we could turn back the clock five hundred years and abandon these established futures, allowing the world to evolve anew."

"Abandon, re-evolution..." Durandal suddenly raised her head. "Then what would happen to our world now?"

"Actually, nothing much will happen. In the end, this abandonment is mutual—your existence will not disappear, and your environment will not change in any way."

"While this will certainly come at a price—that price will have nothing to do with you."

With a mysterious smile, Otto looked at the three people beside him.

"Alright, that concludes the preliminary explanation of the mission. What follows is the purpose of my request for you all to gather here."

"I need you to help me guard the area between the Sunrise Observatory and the Dany Trail and prevent anyone from entering—including members of the Hyperion and Theresa."

"Why?" Durandal frowned.

"Of course, it's because I need to perform very precise and targeted operations on the Tree of Imaginary."

"As you know, I'm easily misunderstood—so I don't want to be bothered by anyone during this time."

Ignoring Durandal's intention to continue digging deeper, Otto glanced at Sushang beside him.

"Li Sushang, you are in charge of controlling the Sunrise Observatory and the Saniyat Bridge. If anyone passes by, just take care of the part we agreed on beforehand."

"Rita Losweiser, you are in charge of controlling Saintess Square, Alps Street, and Dany Trail. Little Xi will be with you. Unlike Li Sushang, I need you to stop everyone who sees this."

"Durandal, you stay in the middle and make your own judgment based on the situation."

"Order relayed, dismissed!"

Otto Durandal, who seemed hesitant to speak, a meaningful look, and then decisively cut off the communication again.

Meanwhile, Ain and Theresa were discussing something else.

"Also, Theresa, there's something else that's on my mind."

Ain glanced at Judah standing behind Theresa's chair. This Golden Cross, which was taller than Theresa's, had become Theresa's undisputed symbol, and she carried it with her almost no matter what Theresa was doing.

"At the St. 537 Church, the Divine Prayer Barrier you created seemed to be no match for Judah, who was mimicked by Otto using the Void Archive?"

"Yes, that's right... and it shouldn't be a problem on my end."

Theresa said in a deep voice, "My control over this Key of Binding has improved by more than double since the Second Honkai Outbreak more than a decade ago... so I can be sure that it is not a problem with my or Judah's condition."

"If you were using Heavenly Fire or the Star of Eden, this could be explained by a difference in skill or power between the users, but you're using the Judas' Vow..."

A rare look of doubt appeared on Ain's face. "The power of restraint is the least about skills; in most cases, it's just a pure contest of strength... But doesn't that mean that Otto has surpassed you in at least one aspect, whether it's the quality or the quantity, of the Authority of Binding?"

"However, it's virtually impossible for Divine Key created from the Void Archive to surpass the original in quality... but in terms of quantity, it's equally difficult..."

Ain's thinking had unusually led her into a dead end.

However, this is not her fault. After all, Otto had already mastered the power of restraint to a certain extent, and the Herrscher of Restraint, due to their nature, are precisely the type that are least likely to be controlled by others.

However, Ain was unaware at this time that they would soon lose interest in this matter.

Because...

Outside the Hyperion at this time, the spatial environment had become extremely chaotic.

The reason for this situation is that a Thousand-Man Herrscher- version Soul Steel Otto have already taken their positions.

Chapter Sixteen Xia Ling: I didn't! Otto, don't talk nonsense!

While Ain and Theresa were having a private conversation, they learned that Otto was now in control of a group of Tesla that Domination Core, and that the final work of positioning was being completed in full swing.

Although this positioning is unlikely to pinpoint Xia Ling, it will allow them to obtain Otto's location and gain a clear understanding of the number of Domination Core Otto currently controls.

However, even though they were mentally prepared, Tesla was still taken aback when the results of the reverse tracking were actually presented to them.

"Buzz—"

Theresa and Ain, who were talking, both looked up at the same time.

"Another Level 1 alert?"

Theresa was quite familiar with this alarm sound; she had heard it once before, not long ago, when the Thousand-Man Herrscher invaded the Salt Lake Base.

When such an alarm occurs, it means that a Herrscher- class hostile target has appeared within a very close range of the ship.

"In the Hyperion, there are those who have the authority to sound this kind of alarm... It seems that Dr. Tesla has probably discovered something extraordinary."

As it turned out, Ain knew Tesla quite well; shortly after she finished speaking, an emergency call came through to her communicator.

"Hey, this is a disaster!"

As soon as Ain answered the call, the communicator emitted a sound Tesla enough to blow off a roof.

"Dr. Tesla, please calm down."

"What are you waiting for? Look at the reverse tracing results I sent you!"

"If we use red dots to represent the Herrscher of Domination of Dominion around Hyperion, then Hyperion can now be considered to have a severe allergic reaction!"

"... Theresa."

"Let's go, we'll get to the bridge right away."

"Report! Suspicious activity has been detected continuously in the one o'clock direction, suspected to be over a hundred unidentified life forms!"

"Report! The life infrared data of all observed targets are consistent with those of Bishop of Schicksal Otto Apocalypse!"

Amidst a series of alarms, reports from different operators rose and fell, each vying to inform Theresa of the increasingly dire situation.

In fact, the area around the Hyperion had already been transformed into Otto's ocean... Theresa originally thought that Otto only possessed a few dozen or a hundred cores, but Xia Ling was probably even more generous than she had imagined.

Judging from the current situation, it is estimated that Xia Ling has equipped all of Otto's Soul Steel bodies with a core.

"Radar and signal teams, continue monitoring enemy movements! Engine and gun teams, maintain your current status and stand by, ensuring the Hyperion is ready for combat at any time!"

"Theresa, there is an unidentified external communication."

Ain added, "It's most likely Otto."

"I understand... Connect the communication."

With a soft sound, Otto's face, bearing a frivolous smile, appeared on the Hyperion's large screen.

"Hello, my dear granddaughter, oh, and Einstein Doctor here too."

In the picture, the Soul Steel doll Otto bows slightly, as if greeting an old friend.

"I'm sure you're all wondering what my purpose is in surrounding the Hyperion, right?"

"The answer is simple: for the next 12 hours, I expect you all to remain inside the Hyperion to avoid any unnecessary conflict."

"Don't waste your breath on the obvious, Grandfather. What I'm more concerned about is whether your plan, which you've kept hidden all this time, can finally be exposed to the light of day?"

"Of course, now that things have come to this, I won't hide it from you."

"In the next 12 hours, my plan will enter its final stage. I will reset the timeline of our world and restore it to the era five hundred years ago, when Kallen Kaslana was still alive."

"As the price for resetting the world, the world's existing five hundred years of history will be used as fuel to support the world's rebirth."

"Of course, none of you need to worry. You are very lucky. As the fulcrum, Kolosten will not be disturbed by this state."

"In other words, you just need to wait patiently in the Hyperion for twelve hours, and the world will rewind to five hundred years ago, and I will achieve my goal."

"And you, with your knowledge and skills, can obtain the additional five hundred years that I have secured."

"Your words are as if you're saying you'll give us a chance to challenge you in the last 12 hours."

Ain said calmly.

"Oh, as expected of Doctor. Einstein, he is indeed exceptionally calm."

Otto chuckled, "That's right, I'm willing to give you that opportunity. Within twelve hours, you can get to St. 537 Church and utterly defeat me, which will naturally stop my plan."

"Of course, in this situation, my loyal subordinates and partners also stepped in to stop you all within this town."

"Partner?" Theresa heard the last word she wanted to hear from Otto.

"Oh dear, it seems my little Theresa has already guessed something."

Otto's face broke into a wicked grin. "That's right, Xia Ling, this time you've chosen to stand on the opposite side."

"As I said before, this plan is entirely beneficial to you. Miss Xia Ling is a smart woman and will naturally choose to stand on my side."

Do you think I would believe what you're saying?

Theresa clenched her fists.

"Well, that's really true... To be honest, since you all entered Kolosten, I haven't lied to you much yet."

Otto shook his head helplessly. "Seize this opportunity. As long as you destroy all the obstacles in your way, you can naturally stop my plan... By the way, Theresa, according to Xia Ling's words, she's really looking forward to fighting you, isn't she?"

"After all, she received some help from me this time, and it seems she's eager to try and defeat you."

"Grandfather, you don't need to worry about our affairs. I will teach her a lesson myself... Similarly, we will do as you wish and defeat you properly."

Looking at Theresa's resolute gaze, a barely perceptible hint of relief flickered in Otto's eyes.

"Haha, very good, Theresa... your reaction is better than I expected."

"So, just like in the Schicksal War, be an action-taker—I'll be waiting for you at the St. 537 Church."

As it spoke, the doll cut off the communication on its own, just like always.

As he moved, Hyperion fell into a brief silence.

However... it was clear that the Hyperion was not the only one that had fallen silent at this moment.

"No, buddy?"

Xia Ling, who had just returned from the system space, also secretly listened to the entire conversation through the core.

And her current feeling is... she woke up to find the sky had fallen.

"When did I ever say I looked forward to fighting Theresa? And when did I ever choose to stand against Theresa?"

"Peyande Otto, are you afraid to hit you because you feel sorry for me?!"

Chapter Seventeen Xia Ling: I Too Will Be a Multi-Core Herrscher One Day?

"... no."

After thinking it over carefully, Xia Ling became increasingly angry.

"I have to get some compensation from that dog Otto. According to my original plan, although I would have to face Theresa, it shouldn't have come to a fight."

"This guy has given Theresa a buff, so my original strategy of stalling for time by chatting is completely ineffective!"

Xia Ling casually brought up the system and analyzed the current situation while selecting from several backup plans she had prepared.