A Single Sword

Rita's smile froze.

She looked at the simple mat and blanket on the ground, then at the warm tent where Lin casually took off his shoes, preparing to crawl in.

"You mean, let me sleep here?" Her smile cracked for the first time.

"Didn't you say you wanted to observe your own ship?" Lin's face looked exceptionally innocent. "Then you can sleep there. There's no obstruction, so you can lie flat and observe continuously."

Could he be retaliating against her for saying something that was misunderstood earlier?

"You really are..." Rita didn't finish her sentence; she held back and then smiled politely, "Alright then..."

"Then let's rest."

"Whoosh."

The tent was closed without hesitation.

Rita's brow twitched slightly.

Inside the tent, Lin covered himself with a blanket, but did not close his eyes; he was thinking in the darkness.

Yan Luo died, but he still left behind a bunch of problems.

Who was the one who imprisoned Yan Luo and him in the World Bubble and gave them the monkey's paw?

Who took over his body?

Who is the "he" that Yan Luo said "don't believe him" at the end?

Are these three people the same person? If so, what is their purpose?

If Yan Luo's target hadn't always been Lin, then her threat would have been far greater than that of the Herrscher. At that time, only the Oath of Judas could have turned the tide once and for all. But in retrospect, it was too much of a coincidence. His Pseudo-Herrscher Core and the power of the Oath of Judas were similar. Not only could they resonate, but he could also use abilities that Yan Luo couldn't use.

It felt like... a pre-arranged script.

Could it have been "him" who did it?

Lin already has enough of a headache from just one Yan Luo, and now there's another "him" whose true form is unknown. Does he have to face the Honkai while also guarding against threats from outside the world?

"Mr. Lin, are you asleep?" Rita's voice came from outside the tent, interrupting Lin's thoughts.

Lin replied indifferently, "Asleep."

"..."

This maid is also a very suspicious person. According to her, the technology of her ship is the same as the Oath of Judas, which means that the warship is actually a Divine Key.

There are so many suspicious points, it's best to be extra cautious.

After a while, Rita said in a slightly trembling voice, "It's a bit cold outside."

"..."

"I was only wearing a maid outfit, and the skirt didn't even block the wind..."

"..."

"It feels like there are bugs crawling around my ear..."

The pitiful voice sounded like a complaint that wasn't too obvious, and just listening to it gave off a sense of vulnerability that made one want to pity her.

Lin sighed, got up, and opened the tent...

Then a pair of beautiful legs in stockings stood in front of him.

Lin slowly raised his gaze and saw a stunningly beautiful smiling face.

I've heard that serpent beauties call out people's names from the top of walls, using their stunning looks to bewitch people. If Rita were a serpent beauties, probably no one could resist her charm.

The feeling of calling someone's name and then going to eat human flesh at night also exists.

Lin knew he'd been tricked when he saw her smile, but he still coldly crawled out of the tent and said, "Go inside and sleep."

Rita didn't go in. Instead, she tilted her head and gave a playful smile, "Mr. Lin, I wonder if anyone around you has said something like that?"

"What?"

"A sexually frigid personality can actually easily arouse other people's desires, such as the desire to conquer and..."

"..."

"Of course, I was just joking. I couldn't sleep and wanted someone to talk to," Rita chuckled. "You'll understand, won't you?"

Lin leaned against the table where he drank, silently looking up at the crack. It was the crack that had taken him away from that world, and it was also the crack that had brought him here.

Are you thinking about someone right now?

"..."

Rita chuckled when she saw Lin's expression, "I can tell."

Then a hint of complexity appeared in her eyes. "Because I often think about someone too."

"That companion?"

"Um."

Rita's eyes held some memories she knew she shouldn't dwell on, but many things cannot be easily shaken off.

A person's past is like a wolf that smells blood, hunting them down for a lifetime.

"I was supposed to stay with him until the end of my life, but neither of us was able to keep our promise."

"... What kind of person is he?"

"A guy with a slightly perverse sense of humor."

"..."

"While I would like to point out some of his good points, what impressed me most was his mischievousness hidden beneath his innocent exterior," Rita couldn't help but smile. "Apart from that, he is pretty much a perfect person."

Rita gazed at the full moon in the night sky. "He doesn't get too close to people, nor does he stay too far away, so people don't understand what he's thinking. But at least I know he's been trying to change something, and I'm willing to change with him."

"Until he really changed..."

That was all there was to say. Before Lin could hear anything else, he heard the tent being pulled up.

He turned around and stared silently at the closed tent.

"..."

Chapter Thirty-Two: A Sword

"Call..."

Lin dragged his cross through the starry night.

The Pseudo-Herrscher Core was sealed, but his body could not revert to a normal state. Apart from his self-healing ability returning to normal, his motor skills, sleep, and eating were all inhuman.

No matter how hard he tried to close his eyes, he couldn't fall asleep. His clear consciousness was like an iron gate, separating him from normal people.

He decided to take a walk to pass the lonely night.

The Imaginary Tree, The Quantum Sea, Yan Luo, Rita, "He"...

Lin jumped onto the collapsed building in the ruins of Atra. He sat down on the ground and quietly felt the direction of the wind amidst the remnants of civilization.

He originally thought that as long as the Honkai was defeated, humanity would usher in the dawn.

Later, after gaining the upper hand in the battle against the Honkai, Lin felt that as long as humanity's internal strife ended, the suffering would no longer have to continue.

But now, what direction should he choose? What should he do to achieve the best outcome?

... But in any case, he had to choose to move forward.

He looked up at the sky. "Let's go back first..."

Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and he rolled to the side!

"Bass!"

A long sword plunged into the spot where he had been sitting. Lin, recalling the Oath of Judas, looked warily at the sky.

"Oh, you dodged it?"

A jet-black cloak blended into the night, floating in the sky, and smiled knowingly after seeing Lin dodge the longsword.

Lin unfolded the Oath of Judas and deftly grabbed a spear.

Who is this?

"Don't be nervous, I just wanted to say hello." The man spread his five fingers towards the sword stuck in the ground, and the sword trembled and flew back into his hand. He ran two fingers along the blade, and the longsword transformed into a single-edged dagger. He smiled brightly, "What's that saying again... the fastest way for men to build friendships is through fencing?"

"Who are you?"

"Hey, who are you? Who am I? Where did you come from? What do you want?" He tapped the knife lightly against his shoulder, shaking his head and sighing as if in exasperation. "Please, can't you come up with something new? Change the lines? It's so boring to start with such a long standoff every time. How about this..."

Under the moonlight and with a bloodthirsty smile, the tip of the knife was aimed at Lin's head.

"Let's skip the boring opening and fast forward to the shouting of passionate lines, like... I'm going to kill you."

"Bass!"

The friction between the blade and the air was as sharp as the chirping of insects in summer!

Lin saw that the other party was so fast that even his dynamic vision could hardly see clearly. One second they were a hundred meters away, and the next second the blade was already flashing cold light and approaching him!

The smile beneath the cloak was so striking.

This guy...

Lin swung his spear backhand, deflecting the blade, and his shoulder slammed into the man's chest!

"Ha, that's more like it." The man who was knocked aside patted his chest and chuckled as he swung his long sword twice in the air. "You're Pseudo-Herrscher, yet you can't even beat an ordinary human like me. That doesn't make sense."

Ordinary humans?

Lin stared silently at the man's feet, which were nearly thirty meters off the ground.

"You think I'm flying? Actually, no. I'm not in this plane. It's like a magnet attracting iron filings to the back of a piece of paper... Okay, I am flying. Honkai Energy explain everything. Just accept the fact that I can fly."

The man was a chatterbox; once he started talking, he would go on and on. While he was rambling on, he casually pulled out a second, identical longsword from the air beside him.

Then he had a good idea: he placed the newly drawn sword under his feet, making it look like he was flying in the air on a sword.

"Hey, what do you think of this setup? I'm flying on a sword, and anyway, these swords are styled like those from Shenzhou." He proudly showed off the sword that seemed to be glued to his feet. "For an ordinary human like me to cultivate immortality and become a Mahayana cultivator shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"Who exactly are you?" The Oath of Judas behind Lin slowly extended its chains, twisting in mid-air as if it were sentient.

"... I've already told you." The man's smile turned icy. "Don't ask again... who I am!"

Danger.

Lin heard a sharp, invisible explosion in front of him. He immediately drew the Oath of Judas and held it in front of him. Then, a strange force struck the Oath of Judas. Even though it was as heavy as a cross, it was thrown dozens of meters off the ground before stopping!

The anchor post at the base of the Oath of Judas was driven into the ground. Lin frowned as he looked at the spot that had just been attacked.

A deep mark came into view.

If it weren't for Oath of Judas that stopped the attack, he would have been cut in half at the waist.

Wind Blade?

"This move is called Steel Gale Blade Flash, a name I just came up with." The man swung his longsword again, and countless Wind Blade slashed towards Lin like invisible sharp blades, but Lin used the Oath of Judas to block them, so it did not affect him.

"Ding, ding, ding!"

The relentless blows left not even a scratch on the Oath of Judas.

"Hmm..." The man stopped in confusion, looking at Lin, who wasn't showing any part of his body, only a cross standing in place. "Isn't this a bit too shameless?"

"..."

"Alright, let's get real then."

The attack stopped, and Lin stared intently at the cloaked man, who held his sword with both hands, looking straight ahead, and assumed a sword-fighting stance.

What is he going to do next?

"Although most of what I said just now was nonsense, I really do cultivate immortality."

"Transformation into a Sword - Swift".

"Boom!"

Lin stared blankly as he was sent flying backward. The scenery in front of him changed rapidly. He couldn't understand what was happening before the spear in his hand was already knocked away.

The man stood there with a smile, wiping the blood off his sword and slowly sheathing it.