Chapter 318

"Simply put, it's not too exaggerated; it's just a necessary test to go through in saving the world." Ai Yue, regaining his composure, gave a nonchalant smile. "Although it is indeed a bit troublesome, it's still within my capacity, so don't worry."

"How could I not worry? You're always like this..." Elysia said, then suddenly sighed, "Oh well, you're not going to change anyway—so, is there anything I can do to help?"

Ai Yue instinctively tried to shake his head, but Elysia, who had anticipated his move, grabbed his head and held it in place, Mobius him unable to move. "Don't shake your head, don't say no, or I'll tell the whole world what you're doing!"

After saying those seemingly tough words, Elysia's tone softened immediately. "Please, can't you just pretend you were lying to me?"

Hearing this, Ai Yue couldn't help but chuckle. He had seen Elysia use this tactic of combining soft and hard approaches many times before, and in theory, he should have become immune to it by now. However, looking at the girl's pitiful appearance, Ai Yue still found it difficult to refuse.

"It will happen, but not now." In the end, Ai Yue just sighed. "The most important thing right now is to focus on the Herrscher matters, right?"

Among the Honkai disasters that humanity faces, Honkai Beast are simply the easiest type to deal with. They have physical forms but no intelligence, and their strength has a limit. Even their numbers are not superior to those of humans.

In other words, even if Elysia hadn't weakened the Honkai Beast, as long as countermeasures were prepared in advance, these guys wouldn't be difficult to deal with. In comparison, the threat of the Honkai Beast was not even as serious as the Black Death.

At least in the 15th century, the death toll from a horrific plague was something that Honkai Beast might not be able to match even after ten years.

But even more terrifying enemies lie ahead than the Honkai Beast and natural disasters—the Herrscher.

Therefore, Elysia's most important responsibility in this plan is to cooperate with Ai Yue and others to complete an "optimization" of the Herrscher.

"That's more like it." Elysia released her grip with satisfaction, revealing her usual smile. "As for the Herrscher, don't worry, everything is going according to plan!"

"That would be for the best." Ai Yue smiled and turned his gaze back to the image in the Observer Center. "Next, we'll make some minor adjustments."

Unbeknownst to many, the civilization depicted in the scene has undergone a dramatic transformation—cities are gradually taking on modern forms, roads have become wide and smooth, cars have replaced traditional modes of transportation, and thick smoke billows from massive factories in the suburbs.

The Second Industrial Revolution had begun quietly.

With the emergence of various new technologies that play a crucial role in promoting the development of civilization, the entire Post-Civilization has entered a century of rapid development. During this century, countless talents have emerged in various fields, driving the world forward.

Although the rapid development of science and technology has also caused many problems, thanks to the efforts of countries and organizations such as Schicksal and the Shenzhou, the world has remained generally stable.

Then came a crucial juncture.

Berlin, 1952.

"What a prosperous city!"

High up in the building, a white-haired girl leaned against the window, gazing down at the scenery before her. Her face held an expression of curiosity and inquiry. Judging from her appearance alone, no one would guess that this girl had already looked like this half a century ago.

"Kallen, be careful." The blond youth sitting next to her smiled and looked at her. "The buildings here are quite sturdy for most people, but they're very fragile in your hands. Don't get excited and fall down."

"Do I look that immature?" Kallen puffed out her cheeks slightly, glanced at him, and said, "Otto, even now, you don't still see me as a child, do you?"

Otto raised an eyebrow but did not respond. However, this silence was undoubtedly an answer in itself—even after the passage of time, the girl had always maintained a pure and steadfast heart. It was precisely because of this childlike heart that she sometimes revealed her innocent side.

To put it bluntly, it's easy to give people the impression that they never grow up.

"You rascal... never mind, business is more important." Sensing the deeper meaning in Otto's silence, Kallen glared at him, but then lowered her head to observe outside. "So, where is that 'First Suitable Candidate' that Mr. Ai Yue mentioned?"

"No matter where he is, you can't find him this way, can you?" Otto refocused his attention on the research in front of him. "Anyway, he will naturally appear when the Great Honkai occurs, so why bother?"

Although Otto said this, he still subconsciously looked out the window. After all, Kallen knew nothing about the truth of the matter, but Otto was completely different. He knew very well that the "First Suitable Candidate" that Ai Yue mentioned was actually the first Herrscher born in this civilization, the Herrscher of Reason.

Although this Herrscher can be considered a Herrscher of humanity, Otto couldn't help but feel worried when he thought about some of the things he had done.

"That's different!" Kallen said seriously. "Think about it, even Mr. Ai Yue doesn't know his true identity. If we can find out in advance, wouldn't that mean we're even better than Mr. Ai Yue in this regard?"

"First of all, I don't think the teacher could possibly be unaware; they just can't tell us for some reason," Otto shook his head slightly, shattering Kallen's fantasy. "Secondly, even if you did find a suspected target, how can you prove that he is the person we are looking for?"

"Finally, even if I win in this aspect, I don't think it proves that I'm better than the teacher."

"Don't worry about it!" Kallen stubbornly shook her head. "We've been here for days, and we've been stuck inside all the time. If we don't find something interesting to distract us, I'm going to go crazy!"

A week has passed since they went here to await the arrival of the "First Suitable Candidate" as instructed by Ai Yue. During this week, Otto and Kallen have stayed in this Schicksal branch base in order to keep a low profile.

Compared to Otto, who often sits all day, Kallen clearly finds it hard to tolerate this life of staying cooped up in the house. Her so-called "search for a suitable candidate" is nothing more than finding something to do.

Upon hearing this, Otto stopped what he was doing, and after a moment, he put down his pen and stood up. "In that case, how about we go out for a walk?"

"Really?" Kallen's eyes lit up immediately, and she turned to look at Otto, but then hesitated and said, "But won't this cause trouble?"

"These days, very few people remember me," Otto chuckled nonchalantly. "But you, Kallen, if you don't disguise yourself, you're very likely to be recognized."

"Who do you think this is because of!" Kallen glared at Otto again, then gave a subtle smile. "In that case, how about the old way?"

As a symbol of Schicksal, Kallen Kaslana, who has made countless contributions to protecting people's safety throughout history, is still the only saint sung about by people from generation to generation even in this day and age. Her sculptures can be seen everywhere, and Schicksal can even make a fortune every year just by selling Kallen- related merchandise.

This means that if Kallen doesn't disguise herself, she's easily recognized wherever she goes. Although most people believe Kallen is already dead, just looking like Kallen is enough to attract a huge crowd.

Fortunately, this situation can be resolved with just a simple change of clothes.

However, Otto showed a resistant expression—because usually, the two of them would pretend to be a close couple or siblings when they went out, but Kallen usually chose to dress as a man, so Otto would have to dress as a woman instead.

Although this was a piece of cake for Otto, it was clear that for a fully developed man, dressing as a woman was not an easy thing to accept.

Fortunately, at that moment, a sharp alarm sounded, saving him from danger.

"Waaaaaah!!!!"

As the alarm, specifically for "special disasters," blared throughout the city, people on the streets skillfully took refuge in the nearest buildings. Immediately afterward, specially designed buildings lowered their iron gates, sealing off doors and windows, forming shelters to protect the people inside from the threat of Honkai.

Even the room where Otto and the others were located had its windows sealed off with iron gates, plunging the entire room into darkness, with only a table lamp providing illumination.

However, the two of them were not alarmed, after all, such an alarm meant that the person Otto and the others were waiting for was about to appear.

According to Ai Yue, the "First Suitable Candidate" will appear during the Honkai disaster that sweeps across Berlin.

"They're finally here!" Otto, who had been ready all along, rushed excitedly into the next room. A huge electronic device displayed various data. "Kallen, the target has appeared in area K. The scene is now in your hands!"

"Understood!" Kallen, now in battle mode, didn't hesitate. She clenched her fist and lightly tapped her chest, then a dazzling light transformed into a radiant armor enveloping her body. "Valkyrie Kallen, prepare to move out!"

The next second, under Otto's control, the iron gate sealing the window slowly opened, and Kallen smashed through the glass without hesitation, shooting towards the area designated by Otto.

Meanwhile, white lights were rising into the sky from every corner of Berlin—the members of the Schicksal Knight stationed in Berlin were taking action.

Otto watched Kallen's departing figure, instinctively tightening his grip on the cross he wore. "I hope everything goes well."

Just then, a voice suddenly entered his mind. "What, you still don't trust me?"

"Teacher?" Otto turned around with a look of surprise upon hearing the familiar voice, and sure enough, he saw the elusive Ai Yue sitting behind the desk, reviewing his research. "What brings you here?"

"Of course I have to be there for this occasion," Ai Yue glanced at Otto, "Otherwise, how can someone feel at ease?"

"Haha, of course I unconditionally believe you, teacher!" Otto immediately declared, but then a hint of worry appeared on his face. "However, as you know, in the original timeline, the losses from this disaster were..."

The Honkai that occurred in Berlin was the first Honkai of such a scale in the history of Post-Civilization. The most direct result was that half of Berlin was reduced to ruins, and more than 300,000 people lost their lives. It was an extremely tragic disaster.

This meant that even though Otto knew that Ai Yue was there to back him up, he still dared not let his guard down. In fact, there were as many as four Schicksal Knight stationed in Berlin that year. In addition, Otto also placed many devices developed by Schicksal to suppress or absorb Honkai Energy in Berlin in order to control the scale of this disaster.

However, he was also worried that if the energy intensity of this Honkai Energy did not reach the original scale, causing the First Herrscher that should have been born to fail to arrive smoothly, or if its power was weakened after its arrival, it might affect Ai Yue's subsequent plans.

"Don't worry, that won't happen." Ai Yue smiled. "No one here will die today, except—"

As Ai Yue finished speaking, he suddenly appeared beside Otto, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Some things do indeed need to be done in a different way."

"Huh?"

Chapter Twenty-Six: The First Herrscher - Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Version

The First Herrscher of the Post-Civilization, and also the first "Herrscher of Reason," Welt Joyce.

In the original setting, Welt was identified as the sole survivor of the first Great Honkai 3rd, but he lost all his memories and only possessed a vast amount of knowledge that was difficult for ordinary people to grasp. He appeared to be just an ordinary person who had lost his memory in the disaster.

But in reality, all the hints in the plot are telling the same thing: Welt's identity before this was extremely mysterious and could not be found no matter what, as if... he never existed at all.

And that was indeed the case. Even if Kallen had searched all over Berlin before this, she would never have been able to find Welt, because Welt Joyce was only truly born after this disaster struck.

He was a miraculous being born from the minds of 300,000 people under the influence of the power of Honkai.

The power of Honkai granted him the ability to possess a physical form and to understand and absorb human knowledge. However, faced with the resonance of the will of 300,000 people, this power could only ultimately submit to the human spirit, thus creating such a unique Herrscher.

Welt Joyce was able to become Herrscher fought for humanity because his soul was born from the resonance of the human will.

"In other words, this is Herrscher of humanity obtained at the cost of 300,000 lives, right?" After hearing Ai Yue's explanation, Otto showed a knowing expression. "So, what method do you plan to use to avoid the sacrifice of 300,000 people?"

Otto didn't even need to hear the whole thing to know that the "other way" Ai Yue was talking about was aimed at avoiding the sacrifice of innocent people. After all, it would be too naive to give up saving 300,000 lives for the sake of a Herrscher. Not to mention Ai Yue couldn't do it, even Otto couldn't do it.

No, if you think about it carefully, Otto from the original timeline might actually have done it.

"It's simple, exchange quantity for quality." Ai Yue smiled and said bluntly, "Three hundred thousand ones are about the same as six hundred thousand half ones, or three million tenths."

"That's too much of a difference, isn't it?" Otto looked helpless upon hearing Ai Yue's overly simplistic and crude method of quantification. "Even if I don't fully understand it, I know these are completely different concepts. It's not that simple."

Since Kallen did not experience the incident in the original timeline, Otto did not focus his research on the human soul. Even so, he knew that the human will was the most difficult thing to quantify.

Not to mention the power a person can unleash in extreme situations, a power that even they themselves cannot imagine.

In this situation, quantifying the souls of 300,000 victims into a single, unified unit and attempting to compensate by absorbing a small portion of the spiritual power of many more people is undoubtedly doomed to failure.

Let alone one-tenth of three million people, even if that number doubled, Otto doubted whether it could produce the same effect.

Moreover, Berlin only has a population of just over two million; where are we going to find three million people?

"With your current abilities, it's difficult for me to explain to you," Ai Yue said, seemingly unconcerned. "However, just watch me do it. Have I ever failed to do anything I said I would?"

This matter was indeed not as easy as Ai Yue made it out to be; in fact, it was even more complicated than Otto had imagined. The biggest prerequisite for accomplishing something akin to a substitution was obtaining permission from the Will of Honkai.

After all, the power of Herrscher is not arbitrarily bestowed, much less born in a disaster that is known to have no outcome.

Fortunately, Ai Yue was able to obtain this permission—after all, the current Will of Honkai was a biased referee he had arranged.

Therefore, he was able to ensure that the most crucial elements remained unaffected—and as long as the Herrscher authority descended as scheduled, the remaining issues would be quite simple.

Because Ai Yue could "reverse cause and effect".

If this were a timeline unfolding in reality, it would be difficult for Ai Yue to do such a thing, because its outcome has not yet occurred, and there is no way to make a reverse connection—but this is a timeline being reshaped, where the future at this point in time has already happened.

It is precisely based on this that Ai Yue was able to use the existence of "Welt Joyce" as a premise to "characterize" this Honkai disaster.

In contrast, the former is like a prototype of a figurine created from imagination and creativity without any prior knowledge, while the latter is a finished product made using powerful capabilities and precious materials after obtaining the former's 3D modeling data.

Of course, there is a certain difference between facts and metaphors. For example, Ai Yue's current actions are essentially creating a completely new origin for Welt, not using his data to create a replica.

When the two arrived at the center of the Honkai Energy eruption, the area had already been taken over by the Knights of Schicksal. A continuous stream of Honkai Beast poured out from the center of the eruption, but not a single one was able to escape the area sealed off by the Schicksal Knight.

No, strictly speaking, there was only one person who sealed off this area—that was Kallen Kaslana.

The Valkyrie, clad in pure white armor and wielding a golden cross, stood on the ground. Under her control, thirteen spears sprang from the golden cross, forming a circle that enveloped the epicenter of the explosion. Countless chains of light connected the spears to the cross, their ends swaying in the air like hunting serpents.

All Honkai Beast attempting to escape the blockade would freeze upon impact with the chains, becoming bound in place before gradually collapsing and disintegrating. A few agile Honkai Beast might manage to slip through the chains, but they couldn't escape the swinging tails in the air, thus dying even faster.

In this situation, it's less about the Schicksal Knight assisting Kallen in sealing off the area, and more about the others simply putting on a show, with their attention focused on the surrounding shelters to prevent anyone from approaching and causing trouble.

This piece of equipment is the "Oath of Judah," Divine Keys that Otto created using the "Artificial Herrscher Core of Constraint" given to him by Ai Yue after he had mastered his skills.

Although the blueprints for this equipment were still provided by Vill-V, the fact that Otto was able to forge it already demonstrates his current capabilities.

"Otto, and Mr. Ai Yue! What brings you here?"

Holding the Judgement of Thunder, Kallen was incredibly sensitive to the flow of energy. The moment Ai Yue appeared with Otto, she had already cast her gaze upon them. Upon noticing their identities, she immediately showed a look of delight.

But Kallen soon became hesitant, lowering her voice. "Is there something we didn't do well enough?"

In Kallen's memory, Ai Yue had never personally taken action. He would only observe silently from the shadows during every crucial mission, seemingly covering for everyone. Therefore, when he arrived in person, her first reaction was that they had not done a good job, which was why Ai Yue had to personally step in to resolve the situation.

"Of course not, you did a great job." Ai Yue patted Kallen's head. "It's just that this is something I have to do."

He then walked past Kallen toward the center of the energy-dense eruption, and neither the chains nor the Honkai Beast could hinder him in the slightest.

Kallen even noticed that as Ai Yue approached, the seemingly endless Honkai Beast began to thin out.

"The energy... has solidified?" With the power of the Judgement of Thunder, Kallen finally sensed what was happening before her eyes. "How... how could this be done?"

When Honkai Energy is active, it can not only affect the human body, but also create a large number of monsters.

Therefore, when this energy is in a "static" state, it naturally loses its ability to "reproduce".

Kallen could also do something similar, but that would require the self-destruction of the Judgement of Thunder to activate its maximum power, and even then, it would only be effective against Honkai Energy of a certain magnitude and within a certain range.

To achieve such a large-scale "stillness" effect simply by appearing here, like Ai Yue, would probably require even ten Oath of Judah activated at their maximum power simultaneously.

Not to mention, the ultimate power of the Judgement of Thunder is not something that just anyone can control—there are probably no more than ten people in the entire Schicksal organization who can use this weapon perfectly.

Compared to Kallen, Otto was clearly more shocked because he Kallen more and therefore understood more clearly what this phenomenon meant.

The power of the Herrscher of Binding is among the strongest of all Herrscher. It can be said that this Herrscher is an absolute "Honkai killer", and it even gives people the feeling that "the Will of Honkai will created a father for himself".

The fact that Ai Yue could do this without exerting any effort means that if he wanted to, the concept of Honkai would be something he could destroy with a flick of his wrist.

However, Otto quickly came to terms with it—after all, without such power, how could the timeline be rewritten?

While the two were still dumbfounded, Ai Yue had already arrived at the true center of the energy burst.

He was unaware of the psychological impact his situation had on the two of them; after all, it was merely an opening act for what Ai Yue was about to do.

No, considering this is merely a passive effect resulting from his release of power, it probably doesn't even qualify as an opening statement.