"Huohuo, though possessed of a mechanical body, I too have felt a flicker of fear."
"Does Lady Xueyi get scared too?"
"Facing demons that can manipulate life at will, I fear... never being able to work alongside my sister again."
"Fear is one thing, but a beating is still necessary!" With Stelle's current strength, dealing with a Heliobus should be a breeze.
What? You say this is an unexpected encounter, and we might lose due to lack of preparation? What a joke! [Trailblaze] is all about fighting the [Unknown]!
...
The scene shifts; everyone has successfully dealt with [Ignarous].
"My thanks to the Lord Judges for clearing the obstacles for me and collecting the Heliobus fragments."
Cirrus's manic laughter echoed in everyone's ears. Bertnis quickly put on his earplugs, refusing to let even a bit of noise intrude.
"Hey! Who brings so much stuff to a fight!"
"Don't be so surprised, Miss Stelle. This is standard procedure for the Church."
Ignoring Cirrus to the side, Bertnis publicly showed off his personal items to Stelle.
The Book of Eternal Virtues, Doctrine of Eternity, damaged silver armor, and... a milk tea cup?
"I feel... unprecedentedly powerful!"
"Such a huge eyeball; looks so disgusting." Bertnis chose selective blindness—out of sight, out of mind—and put the helmet over his head.
After a fierce battle...
Cirrus originally intended to use an ultimate move to drain the essence from everyone present.
But it was counterplayed by Stelle using the necklace. Just as it was about to be sucked in, Bertnis suddenly popped up behind it and beat it back to its original form with a club.
"...Urghhhhh! Don't you dare think about sealing me into the array!" Cirrus, unable to win, played dirty and burrowed into the body of a Netherworld Token.
Matters came to a temporary pause. Stelle called Cirrus to a corner alone.
"Bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard! You, that red-haired guy, and those Judges!"
What era is this? Still playing the pig to eat the tiger? This was what Cirrus couldn't understand the most; it was purely treating it like a fool.
"One day... one day I will find a chance to tear you to shreds, chew your bones until they creak, drain every ounce of your strength, and then spit you into a crack in the ground like phlegm..."
"Look, you're getting agitated." Stelle took out her phone and started messaging someone.
"Say, Cirrus, do you want to return to mommy's embrace?"
Stelle cheekily extended her hands toward Cirrus. The time spent possessed had almost developed a bond.
"Hmph! When it comes to maliciousness, humans are not in the least inferior to Heliobi!"
"How about... you come out of this child's body first?"
Cirrus was still smart, knowing to bring a hostage along.
"Child? As a Netherworld Token, the life he has experienced is far more than yours."
"As long as I am trapped here, I will not leave his body. The Judges can paste divine talismans and smear potions on this body all they want; it doesn't matter. As long as the Ten-Lords Commission wants to save their subordinate's life, I have room to bargain."
Stelle smiled disdainfully: "Shameless boasting. What tricks can you play now?"
"There is still much I can do. I will exist forever. Before the Alliance was established, I had lived for countless years. After the Alliance fades away, I will still exist for countless Amber Eras."
"I can wait. Wait for you to let your guard down, wait for the array in Fyxestroll Garden to collapse. Time and opportunity will always stand on my side."
Cirrus stared straight at Stelle and stopped speaking, insidiousness and calculation flashing in his eyes.
Because he was possessing a child, this action actually looked a little cute to Stelle?
"Cirrus, are you sure you don't want to chat with mommy a bit longer?" Stelle asked tentatively. She had brought Cirrus to a hidden corner; a sensible Heliobus would have slipped away by now.
"Besides the few of us in Fyxestroll Garden, when the Creation Furnace shattered, other Heliobi escaped without a trace. Where are they now? And what kind of trouble will they stir up all over the Luofu?"
"Hehe~ I look forward to seeing the Ten-Lords Commission scrambling." Cirrus said without concealment; it was caught now anyway.
Stelle extracted the keywords: there are other Heliobi...
Thus, she took out her phone again and sent a supplementary message to someone.
"Ah, it's heartbreakingly boring. Even the occasional flying insect passing by has become a joy."
Cirrus's eyes went blank, and he suddenly changed his tone, as if he had already been sitting in Fyxestroll Garden for some time.
"Enough idle talk. You finally escaped from the Creation Furnace with great difficulty. Right now, your kind are enjoying themselves all over the Luofu, yet you are trapped here unable to move... Are you resigned to this?"
"Hahaha~ Goading won't work on me. You want me to help you betray my own kind?"
Cirrus suddenly fell into a long silence, sizing Stelle up repeatedly.
Hiss... it really seems a bit unfair. Why should it be trapped here?
Cirrus waited a while before speaking: "I have a condition. I want to resume the contest between the Great Heliobus [Ignamar] and the General from back then. As long as you can bring the current General of the Luofu before me... everything is negotiable."
Stelle also fell silent. Going to get Jing Yuan by herself? That might be a bit difficult.
Uncle Yang, March 7th, and the others were resting on the Express; there was no need to trouble them for this matter.
"What? Does this stump you? It seems your determination to make a deal with a Heliobus isn't enough~"
Veins popped on Stelle's forehead. Every word this guy said was a roundabout way of rejecting her. In that case, don't blame her for getting nasty!
She couldn't invite the Luofu General, but watch her call someone even more powerful than the General over for you.
"Fine. You're sure it's a [General], right?" Stelle took out her phone and sent a request for help right in front of Cirrus.
Cirrus nodded, secretly thinking that this sister really had some influence, to go invite the current General of the Luofu alone.
...
A few minutes later, Adrian arrived yawning, holding a bag of colorful [Specialties] in his hand.
"Eh?" Stelle was visibly stunned. Wasn't the boss she summoned Freesna?
This... this isn't right, is it???
"Ah, she has other matters to deal with, so I came over."
Stelle was visibly disappointed. She had overestimated her status in Freesna's heart, thinking that after the battle on Jarilo-VI, they had a life-and-death friendship.
Sigh~ As expected, [Eternity] Emanators aren't as simple as she imagined.
"...This is the contemporary General?"
Adrian: ?
"Looks like he just woke up; looks incredibly weak. Where's Tengxiao? How did he choose such a guy to succeed him?"
"However, asking the Xianzhou people to hold a martial arts contest to decide on a new General isn't realistic either."
Cirrus muttered to itself. The Luofu is hopeless; might as well let them Heliobi be the General.
Adrian turned his head, "What did you say to this kid? How did I become a General after waking up?"
"Haha~" Stelle laughed awkwardly, unconsciously scratching her head, then leaned close to his ear and explained in a low voice.
"What? You want me and it to have a showdown in this Fyxestroll Garden?"