That mixed authority was—the White Cell?!
Impossible! Cecilia was the first one he...
Shu's train of thought came to a screeching halt as he suddenly remembered that, besides Cecilia, there was one other person who could assemble the White Cell!
Rita!
That's right. A hundred meters away, the person currently assembling the White Cell using the Future City-edition Divine Keys left on the battlefield was none other than Rita!
This was the key move Shu had been contemplating, the one capable of dealing a decisive blow to him, to a Herrscher at their peak!
This was the final outcome Bronya had been guiding everything towards from the very beginning!
Bronya wasn't infallible. In fact, she had always considered her quick-wittedness to be poor, even worse than the blockhead Kiana's. At least that blockhead could always come up with wild yet effective solutions at the most critical moments.
She was more like a program, executing different but well-rehearsed responses to a series of "IFs."
And Shu's current predicament was identical to Evolution's back then—dragged into this situation by a massive number of "IFs" and pre-arranged responses.
Just how many "IFs" for dealing with Shu's various actions had Bronya memorized?
A total of 8,128 A4 pages, covered in text the size of rice grains!
They meticulously detailed every action of Shu's, every possible ability he might use, even his potential intentions, how to counter them, and how to turn them to their advantage!
And this—was the confidence of Future City's first-in-command, the claim that it could calculate the entire lives of millions—
The absolute computational power of the Quantum Cluster Computer!
Not only had they fed all of Shu's observed behaviors into the Quantum Cluster Computer for analysis, but Otto had also, through a mix of deduction and educated guesses, input the Herrscher authorities from the "original work" that existed only in Shu's memories.
[IF Noah's Ark deploys its sky canopy, anchor its center on Shu. Establish the 'Noah's Ark has caught up to Shu' scenario, then use [Binding] to link all allied units, nullifying all long-range movement abilities, including 'Herrscher of the Void'.]
[Use the [Binding] authority to link the Divine Keys, Sirin, and Fréllei, creating a tri-core level authority to nullify the power-stealing ability of the 'Herrscher of Domination'.]
[IF Shu uses 'Divine Grace Barrier', immediately dispatch Quinn, Kai, and Siegfried equipped with 'Thousand Stars of Reason' to strike the defenseless Shu.]
[IF Shu uses 'Herrscher of Erosion', units should cover each other and quickly create distance. Use the tri-core authority link to swiftly eliminate it, with Kiana as the core focusing on short, intense combat with Shu.]
[IF Shu uses 'Herrscher of Sentience', immediately engage with the 'Book of Time'.]
[IF Shu uses 'Herrscher of Rebirth', immediately engage with the 'Key of Genesis'.]
[IF Shu uses 'Herrscher of Thunder', the long-range specialized Titan squad will intercept with projectiles.]
[IF Shu uses 'Herrscher of Wind', Bianka will counter with a large-scale attack of equal magnitude.]
[IF Shu uses 'Herrscher of Rock', the 'Star of Eden' will counter. IF Shu creates a black hole, 'Sirin' and 'Fréllei' will jointly interfere and intercept the black hole with '[Vision]'.
Note for Sirin: The interior of a black hole is an undetectable '[Vision]'; therefore, your imagination will allow you to easily seize control and definition of the black hole.]
[Link all units with [Binding]. When Shu targets any single person with the above attacks, use the [Binding] authority to transfer the 'tri-core authority' to that unit.]
The above was roughly the content of a single page of data, and Bronya had memorized a staggering 8,128 pages just like it!
Relying on this massive amount of data, Bronya had commanded everyone, forcing Shu into this corner!
And this wasn't even the final step!
In the distance, Rita's assembly speed was fast, but she still needed time!
And although Shu was immobilized, if he gave up his attack on Theresa and Kiana and instead focused on dealing with Bianka's [Hope], he would have enough leeway to attack Rita, interrupting the assembly and eliminating her from the match.
Although that would mean being heavily injured by the combined power of [Binding] and [Evolution], it shouldn't be forgotten that Shu would only be heavily injured, while the three main forces—Kiana, Bianka, and Theresa—would be completely out of combat!
Who would be left to stop a heavily injured Shu then?
Li Sushang? Fu Hua? The Book of Time? Or...
"Divine one—" The familiar childish voice rang out again. Shu's expression froze. He looked up, his face a mask of disbelief.
Noah's Ark, which had been hovering above him, had lowered its altitude at some point.
And Li Sushang was no longer standing by Bronya's side as a sword-wielding guard. Instead, she was at the very top of the mast, one hand pointing a sword finger to the sky, her eyes closed as she solemnly chanted the sword mantra.
[IF the immobilized Shu attempts to interfere with or intercept the 'White Cell' by giving up his resistance to the 'Key of Genesis' and the 'Oath of Judah', Li Sushang will attack him with 'Taixu Sword God'.]
And Bronya's choice was—regardless of whether Shu was going to interfere with Rita or not, Li Sushang would act!
So, the moment Shu spotted Rita, Li Sushang had already begun her chant. The moment he was about to act, the Taixu Sword God was already complete!
"The extreme of change, the wonder of all things is in words, it cannot be questioned by form!"
Noah's Ark moved away from above Shu. At this moment, maintaining the battlefield with the sky canopy was no longer important. What mattered was whether this giant sword descending from the heavens could shatter his defenses!
It couldn't!
The Taixu Sword God landed precisely between Shu's eyebrows, but it was stopped cold by a thin layer of iridescent light.
Ever since learning that the Book of Time was in play, Shu had been particularly focused on his mental defenses. That's why even at its full power, the Book of Time could only cause him a momentary lapse.
To avoid giving the Book of Time an opening, he had not only almost completely abandoned the authority of the "Herrscher of Sentience," but had also used his active perception very sparingly.
And Li Sushang's Taixu Sword God had chosen a mode that specialized in mental attacks. Even at her full power, she couldn't break through the mental defenses he had set up from the very beginning!
Trying to stop me with a single Taixu Sword God? Impossible!
Then—what about two?
[IF Li Sushang's 'Taixu Sword God' is successfully intercepted by Shu and fails to break through his mental defenses, Fu Hua will use the 'Fake Xuanyuan Sword' to launch 'Taixu Sword God' again, delivering a double strike.]
"Divine one—"