"Let's go!"
Although she hadn't managed to get any specific information by asking around, Annie had learned part of the truth by gathering the Heavenly Soldiers' lingering souls and reading their memories.
The reason it was only part of the truth was, naturally, that the Heavenly Soldiers themselves didn't know much. And since even they didn't know, she had no choice but to keep dragging the terrified Sixth Zhu Sister onward, bouncing toward the heart of the battlefield.
"A-Annie!"
"I'm scared—"
"Can we go back?"
"Or could you let me go back by myself?"
Unable to break free, she had already cried several times. All Sixth Sister could do was plead pitifully.
"Don't worry!"
Sigh.
"You won't die. I'm here, so you don't need to be scared!"
v('▽ˉ)~
After reassuring her, Annie continued dragging her toward the heart of the celestial battlefield, which was several times more terrifying than a battlefield filled with gunfire. And she wasn't using any protection at all.
Still, hoping to ease the other girl's fear and anxiety, Annie thought for a moment, then decided to tell her about the process for making Heavenly Soldiers, which she had just learned while gathering their lingering souls.
It turned out that the Heavenly Soldiers weren't mortals who'd ascended to Heaven. The Heavenly Court selected suitable souls from the underworld, brought them up to Heaven, and refined them into soldiers. They were nothing but cannon fodder and expendable tools.
For example, one Heavenly Soldier's memories showed that he had once knelt in the underworld's Hall of Judgment alongside two other souls, waiting before the judge to hear the verdict that would decide their fates.
At the time, the judge had sat solemnly on his lofty seat, his gaze terrifying as he examined each soul's past through the Book