novelnext Chapter 408 69 - The Grand Banquet and the Coming Storm
Chapter 408 69 - The Grand Banquet and the Coming Storm
For the first time in a long while, a grand banquet was held on the train. However, it seemed a certain pink-haired furball had let the news slip. In an instant, the once-spacious observation car became extraordinarily lively. Everyone from all three trains was gathered together in harmony. Even the three Stellaron Hunters had come along for the fun. It seemed they had also brought a man in a suit of armor with them this time. This must be the other member of the Stellaron Hunters, Sam.
This Sam character, however, seemed quite aloof. He barely interacted with anyone, only taking a photo with Kiana and her friends before spending the rest of the time playing video games with Blade...
Wait, Dan Heng, when did you start teaming up with the Stellaron Hunters? Weren't you and Blade always at odds? And, Stelle, why did you run over there too! You've pushed Sam all the way to the other side of the couch!
Wende looked at this big family on the train with a sense of helplessness, but a smile couldn't help but grace his lips.
What could he say? He quite enjoyed the liveliness.
He then dragged the still-gaming Stelle into the kitchen to be his assistant. Mei also came to help cook for everyone. With the combined efforts of a "God of Cookery" and a "Herrscher of Rice," a super-sumptuous banquet began.
Taking advantage of the banquet, Wende also caught up with Kiana and the others about the situation in the Honkai world.
After taking over Schicksal, Theresa immediately began a friendly cooperation with Anti-Entropy. Due to the siphon effect from the Star Rail universe, the remaining Honkai energy in the Honkai world was no longer sufficient to support the birth of another Herrscher. With the help of World Serpent, the joint organization of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy once again planned a mission to the moon. They successfully took control of the legacy left behind by the Previous Era, including "Prometheus No. 17."
Upon learning of the Previous Era's monumental efforts, the current civilization was universally shocked by the two long and magnificent projects.
If the Star Rail world hadn't appeared, the Honkai world would likely have had to choose one of those two paths.
Now, freed from the shackles of the "Honkai," and through a series of "archaeological studies" of the Previous Era and the development of their current civilization, the Honkai world has begun to slowly transition towards a true "interstellar civilization."
There was another point worth mentioning, at least for Wende, and that was regarding the memory data of the Previous Era's "Flame-Chasers"—the existence of the Elysian Realm.
After getting Kevin's opinion, Theresa had personally taken Mei on a trip to the Elysian Realm. Of course, she herself didn't go in. She had only heard from the future Welt that in his timeline, Mei's transformation into the Herrscher of Origin was inseparable from the help of everyone in the Elysian Realm. So, Theresa took her straight there.
After learning of this, Wende's gaze towards Welt started to become a bit strange. Why did it feel like... Uncle Yang, more than himself, was the "character" who knew what was going to happen and guided the main cast from the very beginning!
In any case, after personally obtaining the consent of Elysia (Kevin said he had no objections, as long as Elysia agreed), the Elysian Realm would become a training ground for the world's protectors.
After all, it housed thirteen of the strongest teachers!
From the looks of it, all was well in the Honkai world, and that was the best news.
Furthermore, according to Welt's predictions, the Honkai world might eventually merge into the Star Rail world over time, though no one knew the specific timeframe.
After the banquet ended, Wende returned to Line Two with Wendy and Jingliu. Before leaving, he added another lock to the door of his room on Line One. When he had returned to his room earlier, he had discovered traces of someone having squirmed around on his bed!
Thankfully, she hadn't looked at his journal. Although he hadn't written anything particularly private in it, the thought of someone peeking at his journal was, by any measure, embarrassing, wasn't it?
Hmm... not a big problem. Worst case, I'll just destroy the journal...
---o---
Tayzzyronth the [Propagation] had vanished. It disappeared as suddenly as if It had never been resurrected, yet its Path remained... only this time, the grace of [Propagation] was no longer limited to those ferocious insects but was bestowed upon all of nature!
Under the new [Propagation], many worlds on the brink of death saw new hope. Plants, symbolizing life, began to bloom and bear fruit. Animals on the verge of extinction began to pull back from the brink. And some creatures that desperately desired offspring were able to successfully [Propagate] the life they most longed for—beings with their own consciousness, not dependent on anything else!
Of course, [Propagation] under [Order] was very obedient. While "obedient" might not be the right word for an unconscious Path, its performance was indeed so.
It seemed someone's mischievous little hand had started tipping the scales again. Worlds with low birth rates suddenly saw normal reproduction, while worlds whose reproductive rates were nearing disastrous levels suddenly had the pause button pressed, and population growth was no longer explosive.
As for the insects... they were doing fine now. After being purged several times by the Antimatter Legion, the insects began to revert to their former survival habits. They returned to a state before the Swarm Disaster began, and became much more [Balanced].
Currently, of the three great evils that posed the most direct threat to the cosmos, two had been eliminated. Rupert III was defeated by the united peoples of the universe. The resurrected [Propagation] Tayzzyronth was silently devoured by Wende. In the entire cosmos, aside from a few [Aeons] who knew the inside story, everyone else was still in a state of confusion.
Huh? The insects? We were all prepared, so where are the insects?! We haven't done anything yet, how did they just disappear?
The people from the IPC were completely baffled, and the chronicle officers on the Xianzhou Yaoqing regretfully crossed out the entry for a "great victory." They hadn't even mobilized yet, so how could their military merits be gone?
As for the reason the insects disappeared...
Hello, please leave it to the Fictional Historians. Although they were also very confused at the moment, as they had no basis to work with, they bit the bullet and managed to smooth over the event in the historical records.
The gist of it was this:
In the year XX of the XX Amber Era, an unknown Aeon stepped forward and devoured the resurrected [Propagation]. Afterward, this Aeon, who wished to remain anonymous, vanished from sight.
They said something, yet it was as if they said nothing. Perhaps it was the Enigmata, seeing that the Fictional Historians were at a loss, who decided to help them out?
But in the grand scheme of things, they seemed to have gotten some parts right...
[Propagation] really was devoured. Who knew if these historians, who loved to spin wild tales, would have an existential crisis if they ever found out they had accidentally stumbled upon the truth, though they often produced such half-true, half-false accounts.
---o---
Nanook was in a very bad mood. After that whisper, he had decided to begin the true [Destruction], something he would accomplish even if it took tens of thousands of years and thousands of eras! But just as he was getting started, two rivals who were the source of his past suffering showed up to steal his thunder!
He had intended to deal with them personally, but then that "Akivili" suddenly appeared and argued with him for a whole day. By the time he came to his senses, he found that the damned Rupert III was already dead, without any fanfare at all.
And when he wanted to turn his attention to that insect [Propagation], intending to crush it with his own hands to avenge his past humiliation, the thing just disappeared? And it was supposedly devoured?
Fine, fine! You two are just here to lower my prestige, aren't you? In that case... it's time to bring true [Destruction] to this universe!
The Warforge was fired up to its maximum! Countless Fragmentum were created to be used in the Antimatter Legion's upcoming [Destruction]. The remaining six Lord Ravagers also began to lead their respective forces in a dispersed advance towards the core regions of the cosmos.
Under Nanook's will, the personal aesthetics of the Lord Ravagers could be completely set aside. They began to adopt the most efficient methods of [Destruction], offering the most sublime hymns to their god...
At the same time, the Annihilation Gang, who also believed in [Destruction], began their activities.
Compared to the Antimatter Legion, their actions were unpredictable, but they caused headaches for all the major powers. They were like pests hiding in your home; while they couldn't cause major damage, they would disgust you from the shadows!
Countless planets were being destroyed every day, and the Alliance's fleets were flying themselves ragged during this period.
The power of the Antimatter Legion was not to be underestimated. A force led by a single Lord Ravager could single-handedly take on a medium-sized civilization, and they were a major headache even for the giants of the universe.
The Xianzhou had a lot to say on this matter. They had been targeted by the Antimatter Legion more than once. Fortunately, the forces of [The Abundance] hadn't appeared at this critical juncture, otherwise the Xianzhou would have had to divide their attention to deal with them.
Against these six Lord Ravagers, the "Alliance" currently had only one solution: a direct confrontation. A purely defensive strategy would only lead to isolation and helplessness. Only by taking the initiative could there be a glimmer of hope.
To this end, at the proposal of the Xianzhou Alliance, the Alliance held a very long... very, very... long meeting.
The content of the meeting was roughly to assign the Lord Ravagers to be confronted by the various factions of the "Alliance" based on their specific strengths. The Antimatter Legion itself was a minor issue; without a general who was an [Emanator of Destruction], they were just a disorganized rabble. But an Antimatter Legion led by a Lord Ravager was a force to be reckoned with!
However, the Alliance was not without options against these six Lord Ravagers. After all...
...that "former" Lord Ravager was still acting as an "invisible guardian" inside Tingyun's body.
Phantylia was very decisive and laid out all the intelligence on her former colleagues. However, this was limited to their superficial traits. She had fundamental ideological differences with the other Lord Ravagers, so there was no need for them to know each other too well.
This wasn't unique to her. It was likely the same for the other Lord Ravagers, except perhaps for Xingxiao. After all... the Emanators of Destruction were very arrogant...
Of course, she no longer worked for Destruction. Even her blessing had been replaced. Now... you could call her a follower of Equilibrium? Or perhaps... a "follower of Order"?
Hmm... it was complicated. But that didn't matter. The games played by the big shots were not for a "little woman" like her to interfere in, were they?
What's more... these big shots were all [Aeons]...
Oh my, how frightening indeed.
In any case, the intelligence on the Lord Ravagers was delivered into the Alliance's hands in a very dramatic fashion. With this, their chances of defeating the Antimatter Legion increased.
Next was the division of labor for the offensive routes. Obviously, the Astral Express was included.
Kevin, hailed as the "greatest warrior beneath the Aeons," was naturally deployed as the trump card. He was assigned to block the advance of the Lord Ravager Fenfeng, who was renowned as a "one-man army."
Kevin had no objections to this. In fact, he was very curious about this one-man-army Lord Ravager.
Despite this, Wende still advised him to prioritize his own safety. If he encountered a situation he couldn't handle, he should immediately use the contract function to teleport back to miHoYo Planet.
Kevin merely nodded, but from the look in his eyes, it seemed he had other ideas.
The Xianzhou was matched against the war maniac "Xingxiao." Her reputation was no less than "Fenfeng's," and the Xianzhou had suffered many losses at her hands, giving them the most experience in fighting her.
As for the IPC, they confidently took on the Lord Ravager named "Tiemu." However, they later discovered that "Tiemu's" abilities had an overwhelming advantage against the IPC's high-tech warfare. Thus, the front against "Tiemu" was handed over to "The Family."
Of the remaining three Lord Ravagers, the IPC proactively took on two, while the last one was left to a mixed coalition of other forces.
With that, the public division of labor among the factions was concluded. As for what happened in the shadows...
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken. But there are always those with different thoughts.
Any discerning person could see that the Alliance's division of labor was not that simple, nor could it be. In the midst of a raging storm, self-preservation was always the top priority. And in that process, who could ignore the easily attainable benefits?