Chapter 471
After she and Kevin left, thousands of Humanoid Honkai Beasts, led by Mei, immediately arrived, leaving them with only a devastated landscape.
The slain Broodmother Type Honkai Beast and the destroyed hatching pools need to be rebuilt. Several towering Honkai crystal tower seem to mock that their defenses have been seen through. Of course, Mei has achieved her goal by being able to restrict Freya from using natural disaster attacks and willpower.
"Stop Kevin and Freya..."
At this point, Mei felt somewhat powerless; both sides in this battle knew each other too well.
To use a chess analogy, it's like knowing a game is destined to end in a draw; the two players simply start making their moves according to that game plan.
Kevin's violence cannot be stopped, or rather, Kevin and Freya can only defend against one of them. If the plan is to prevent Kevin's violence, then they will be trapped by Freya's natural attacks and Distorted Space. As a result, even if she has a way to break the Distorted Space, her and Freya's next strategy will be greatly delayed.
The goal of establishing a second base on the Australian continent will also fail completely, and may even lead to a protracted war with the Alliance on Earth.
This would prevent her Honkai Civilization from achieving its next goal, so both FU and Mei chose to focus all their efforts on defending Freya.
Mei issued the order, believing that the alliance between Kevin and Freya was equally troublesome.
The worst part is that Hua is also on the other side.
"We must keep Hua trapped. At this stage, we cannot allow Hua to join them."
Fu Hua's willpower attribute is very troublesome. It is a power that will never lose in a battle of wills. If someone is pulled into a battle of wills by Fu Hua, it is equivalent to being pulled into a battle in which Fu Hua can only draw or win.
Mei didn't want to be dragged into a battle of wills with Fu Hua at a crucial moment. Although she and Fu Hua had already made all the arrangements, if she were to be drawn into a battle of wills by Fu Hua, then her response to Freya and Kevin would become sluggish.
"Himeko, you must keep Hua under control."
"Knew."
On the other side of Mei's contact, there is another new battlefield—the battle in which the two new Herrscher, Domination and Consciousness, led the Tai Xu Seven Swords and Cheng Lixue, the strongest Valkyrie of the original Schicksal A-rank, to gang up on Fu Hua, and now Himeko has joined them.
Freya was well aware of Fu Hua's predicament, but Fu Hua was able to hold back the two Herrscher, Domination and Consciousness, as well as the Tai Xu Seven Swords and Himeko.
Well, Cheng Lixue's combat strength is not a factor to consider, but Fu Hua can hold Himeko back, Kevin will be able to be more free.
After all, the Honkai side can't possibly strengthen Himeko and the other Humanoid Honkai Beast indefinitely.
The only one Kevin felt he needed to deal with seriously was Himeko. Fu Hua wasn't much stronger than Kevin (HX), yet she needed so many people to gang up on her. This also proves that the humanoid Fu Hua Humanoid Honkai Beast ganging up on Fu Hua weren't strong; their main attacks on Fu Hua came from mental attacks.
Freya could foresee that Fu Hua would be in a terrible situation, but given Fu Hua's abilities, she would be fine.
In Freya's eyes, this game of chess, destined to end in a draw, has been dragged into a so-called protracted war, which is detrimental to both the Honkai Civilization that will later occupy Earth and the new human civilization that will be able to occupy the moon.
In fact, Kevin was right; Freya had indeed concealed a lot of information.
Furthermore, she did not believe that Mei and FU had created countless Honkai crystal tower to fight against her. As long as Kevin continued to destroy, Freya's Distorted Space and Cataclysmic Attacks would be enough to destroy the entire Australian continent.
But this only destroyed the enemy's second base; it couldn't affect Mei and FU's real headquarters at all.
This is why Freya knew the game would end in a draw, yet still chose to play her pieces in a way that showed tacit understanding with her opponent.
Of course, if Freya is still trapped in the parallel world and Kevin is entangled with Mei and Himeko, then FU really wouldn't mind gaining more spoils.
"This is indeed a game of chess whose outcome was already predetermined."
Kevin was recklessly using his power, but he vaguely guessed at this possibility.
551. Uh, weren't you just thinking of defecting to the enemy?
Kevin's destruction continued, but with the computational power provided by Aurora in the future, even though some Honkai Beast possessed the ability to interfere with space, Freya was still able to teleport Kevin away.
In order to buy time for the evacuation, Freya and Kevin adopted a hit-and-run strategy.
Although FU and Mei had taken precautions, they ultimately couldn't overcome Kevin's incredible strength.
To reduce Kevin's destructive power, Mei even activated an anti- Honkai barrier that covered the entire continent. When Freya saw the anti- Honkai barrier with the same effect as the Divine Grace Barrier released by [Judas' Oath], she couldn't help but laugh.
"Now, FU and Mei will suffer huge losses."
Although this was a draw with a predetermined outcome, the benefits gained by the two sides that ended in a draw were not entirely the same.
At least when the Alliance won the conquest of the Previous Civilization city, they didn't have to lose their territory on Earth, but now they have to give up everything on Earth.
If we consider this outcome, the Alliance has indeed suffered a huge loss. But in reality, human civilization on Earth has little to do with the Alliance, and Freya doesn't care about the lives of the rulers of various countries. She only pities the innocent people at the bottom of society.
Although the Honkai side seemed to have gained land for development and made a fortune, Freya's alliance certainly did not lose out either; rather, Freya took this opportunity to leave Earth with everyone, successfully getting rid of the burdens of the rulers of various countries and the Illuminati.
For Freya and FU, this was a win-win situation, because the real loser was the Illuminati as a third party. Freya even happily let Welt receive the people of various countries.
This not only fulfilled Welt's desire to save ordinary democracy, but also expanded the size of the alliance.
After all, what follows will be a showdown based on the Moon and Earth.
Freya is also thinking about FU's next step.
She now basically sees FU as a super-enhanced version of Otto.
Freya could indeed see FU's current purpose, but it was difficult to see FU's full plan. The two sides had completely unequal information, not to mention that Mei was on the other side's side.
"Hey Kevin, did you get cheated on?"
"..."
Kevin was wielding the Greatsword of Annihilation borrowed from Siegfried when he heard Freya's words from behind, and the flames, weakened a hundred or a thousand times by the anti- Honkai barrier, suddenly stopped.
Then, he glared fiercely at a certain outspoken young girl.
"Shut up."
Immediately afterwards, Kevin, who was already capable of producing miracles with sheer force, suddenly seemed to have been given a buff, unleashing even more ferocious destruction.
The Honkai Beast blocking his way, whether they were new Humanoid Honkai Beast clad in armor or enormous Honkai Beast, were all no match for him.
The raging flames resembled a fiery dragon with its jaws wide open, devouring the lives of its enemies.
Seeing Kevin suddenly become so ferocious, Freya subconsciously thought that the anti- Honkai barrier had failed, so she fired a Herrscher's Spear at the distant Mother Nest Honkai Beast.
The Herrscher's Spear, originally over ten meters long, shrank to seven or eight meters in a second, and its diameter also shrank by 30%. Then, a second later, the spear became shorter and thinner again. Before long, the lightning spear formed by the Herrscher's power turned into chopsticks.
Freya saw that the lightning spear she had just summoned had completely dissipated before it even hit the Honkai Beast in the Mother Nest. She couldn't help but turn her head to look at the flames that showed no signs of weakening.
"Did I give him some strange enhancement buff?"
Freya sighed unconsciously.
Although it wasn't beneficial for Kevin to destroy the Mother Nest and Honkai crystal tower on the Australian continent, as the Alliance would eventually have to leave to develop, Honkai down the Honkai's development was a good thing.
Freya couldn't say for sure how likely the Alliance and the Honkai would continue their fight after the war ended, but in general, it was always good to be more prepared.
Just as Freya was hesitating whether to add fuel to the fire, she noticed Mei arriving with a large group of Humanoid Honkai Beast. She promptly teleported to Kevin's side, grabbed the grumpy Kevin, and teleported him to the next location.
In fact, Mei and FU definitely have no relationship, and Kevin was not cheated on, but that doesn't stop Freya from using this to provoke Kevin. She didn't expect it to be so effective at first. Now, as soon as she was teleported to another coast of the Australian continent, Freya immediately provoked Kevin.
"By the way, do you think FU might create a new body to study the reproduction of Honkai Beast with Mei?"
At first, Kevin would go all out because of her words, but when they were teleported to another coast for the fifth time, Freya spoke as always, but this time, Kevin didn't respond at all.
"...That's enough, Freya."
"You've gotten used to it? Well, that's true, if you want to make a living..."
"Even I can't go all out continuously. Also, don't keep bringing this up. Even if I know it's not true and you're just trying to provoke me, the same thing won't work if you keep saying it."
Kevin once taught Kiana to use hatred and anger, and he naturally knew the same methods himself. However, the long years had made it difficult for him to get angry, and only when fighting against the Honkai would a calm anger burn within him.
However, Kevin hadn't expected Freya's words to be so provocative. Even though he knew Freya was joking, he was still enraged by what Freya said.
Although he successfully unleashed his power, after five consecutive attempts, Kevin suddenly felt incredibly empty and could no longer produce miracles with his strength as before.
"Uh, is this the sage mode? No way, no way, you only do it five times a night? Rita and I do it at least thirteen times."
Freya continued her taunting mode, but Kevin really couldn't muster any more anger. Although he swiftly cleaved a Humanoid Honkai Beast in two and then killed a Mother Nest Honkai Beast, he was completely devoid of any rage.
"Tsk, really useless, half as many as I expected, less than fifty."
"..."
Kevin's usually expressionless face showed a rare hint of bitterness. Freya's personality was too much like Fu's in some ways, and bickering with her always reminded him of the days he spent with Fu.
The thought of facing off against FU and Mei made Kevin want to join them.
"Uh, you're not planning to defect to the enemy, are you?"
Seeing Kevin's strange expression, Freya said with a complicated expression.
To be honest, if she could, she would also like to defect to the enemy. She originally had a plan to join the Honkai, but the Valkyrie who had been fighting against the Honkai for countless years would not agree, nor would the members of the Anti-Entropy organization, led by Welt.
Although the members of the alliance have undergone repeated modifications, their Honkai factors have exceeded normal levels, essentially making them semi- Honkai Life forms; even so, they still consider themselves human, with Valkyrie being the most prominent among them.
Freya respects the Valkyrie's thoughts and has never wanted to change Valkyrie beliefs. Since they still want to fight the Honkai, Freya will provide assistance.
Stung by Freya's words, Kevin nodded slightly. As Freya teleported him to the next area that needed to be destroyed, he spoke calmly.
"Mei is there... I know she is definitely the real Mei."
"... Would it make you feel a little embarrassed if I said that Mei, who is now our enemy, is likely only composed of memories and a small amount of soul information, and that her soul should be in the Sea of Quanta right now?"
To be honest, Kevin does feel a bit embarrassed right now.
"To be honest, it is indeed true. An individual composed of the original memories and a small amount of soul information is not much different from the original individual. In fact, our souls are deteriorating every moment, meaning that our own soul information changes. Only someone with extremely severe obsessive-compulsive disorder like Bishop Otto would demand that the soul be completely identical..."
"What's the meaning?"
Upon arriving in the new area, Kevin immediately swung the Greatsword of Annihilation at the distant buildings, and the flames transformed into a fire dragon under Kevin's control, sweeping everything away.
Kevin's attention was now drawn to Freya's next words, even though he particularly disliked Freya's scientific tone, which was characterized by deliberate pauses at important points, deliberately keeping things a secret at crucial moments.
This is like a famous detective who finds a clue but insists on calling everyone together before revealing the answer.
Can't you just say it right away?
Freya couldn't possibly understand Kevin's feelings at that moment. She kept him in suspense for a moment before continuing.
"To put it in a way you can understand, if you compare the soul to a cassette tape, the sounds and images recorded on the tape are memories. If you completely destroy a cassette tape and then piece it back together, even though it's covered in tape, is the cassette tape still the same person?"
"The so-called reincarnation is like erasing the recording on a tape and then recording new sounds and images. Does that mean the current tape is still the same tape as the original one?"
"The Miss Kallen whom Bishop Otto previously denied was actually the tape used to record sound and images in the cassette tape, which was repaired and pieced together; because the tape was repaired, Miss Kallen was unable to accept those memories that belonged to her, and those memories that originally belonged to her were very unfamiliar to her."
"Of course, there should be a better analogy. If you want to understand, this is enough. Mei's current state is like FU cutting off a piece of her tape, attaching it to a new tape, and then inputting Mei's memories into the tape. To be honest, the soul is not Mei's soul at all, but the soul itself is just a special kind of substance. To define who is who, we still need to rely on memories to distinguish them."
"In other words, she really is Mei."
Kevin interrupted Freya's long-winded speech, which annoyed Freya. It has to be said that this kind of reckless person really displeased researchers; they simply did not understand the 'satisfaction' that researchers needed.
"Don't underestimate me, I really understand. According to your explanation, part of Mei's soul belongs to the real her, and the rest was filled by other souls that FU found. She has all the memories of being with us."
"Yes, in fact, Miss Kallen is also in this state, but Bishop Otto just refuses to admit it. Actually, the Sea of Quanta is like a recycling company. What he went to the Sea of Quanta to look for was just to find the tape that recorded Miss Kallen's memories from the recycling company."
Kevin nodded after successfully destroying a Mother Nest Honkai Beast; unlike a certain bishop, he didn't have obsessive-compulsive tendencies.
"I think, therefore I am. The other person thinks she is Mei, and you and I also think she is Mei. That's enough. I will find a way to bring her back."
"Uh, weren't you just thinking of defecting to the enemy?"
Freya placed her hand on Kevin's shoulder and teleported before Mei arrived.
In the Honkai faction, only Mei can hold Kevin back. Even with Himeko's doubled power-up, she can only slightly restrain this brute.
Of course, Kevin wasn't really a brute; he was intelligent, and Freya couldn't even come close to him in terms of combat wisdom.
But his power is indeed best suited to deal with the current situation, which makes FU and Mei feel overwhelmed.
"Stop making fun of me, my reason is the same as yours."
"That's true. For us, fighting the Honkai is an instinct ingrained in our blood. It's too late to switch sides now."
Freya couldn't help but laugh.
She could find a thousand reasons to betray the Honkai faction, but when faced with such a choice, Freya would never choose to join the Honkai faction.
"There is a high probability that we will engage in an arms race with Mei and FU. Even if they do not consider us as enemies, it is impossible for us to unite with them."
"I understand. Don't worry about whether I can do it or not. Don't tell anyone else about this."
Kevin said with a stern face.
"You don't need to play the bad guy. I will continue to emphasize that they are fake. Only in this way will we have a reason to continue fighting."
Freya looked into the distance. Although she couldn't destroy this land with all her might because of the Honkai crystal tower, and besides, she had to save her power for the final evacuation, she really wanted to give FU and Mei a hard time, but in the end she shook her head.
Freya ultimately did not disregard everything because of FU's actions.
Kevin's ability to understand and accept this shows that he is not a reckless fool who disregards everything.
The tacit understanding between the two sides led the battle to the outcome they both desired. Although Bishop Otto considered them all imposters, the new Humanoid Honkai Beast created by FU were genuine. Freya was unwilling to reveal this to too many people.