Looking at the two girls with unfriendly expressions and the calm Leo Ash, Li Sushang, although she didn't believe the three were engaged in any 'private retreat', had to objectively admit that she was in the wrong for inexplicably showing up and destroying the door.
As she thought about it, the apology on the young woman's face deepened.
"Although it was a matter of urgency, I... was indeed presumptuous."
"If I have offended you, I ask for your forgiveness, Martial Uncle, and..."
Looking at Leo Ash, Li Sushang suddenly spoke with a slight sense of grievance.
"I came looking for you, Martial Uncle, just to request a meeting with Grand Master."
"Since Grand Master could teach Brother Li and the others the Edge of Taixu and carry out other activities, her injuries must have completely healed."
"I just want to see her once and ask her some questions in person. Is that request so unreasonable?"
"What do you think?"
Looking at the slightly aggrieved young woman, a chill appeared on Leo Ash's calm face.
"Although your mother did wrong under the influence of a certain traitor, betraying and assassinating her own master is undoubtedly a grave sin."
"Perhaps Master and you had already 'settled the score' after your battle five hundred years ago, but that doesn't mean that I and my junior sister Wendy, as her disciples, will be as forgiving as Master about what happened in the past."
"Besides, as I see it now, even without the old grievances, you are not qualified to meet with Master."
"After all..."
"Given Master's killing intent toward Otto, she is already showing you great mercy by not taking her anger out on you."
Hearing the words of this young Martial Uncle, Li Sushang couldn't help but sigh.
*As expected, it's because of the things the Raksha did before.*
*Just how many bad things did he do for every person I meet who knows anything about him to curse him out like this?*
In fact, at this point, Li Sushang had almost no confusion left in her heart.
When good people, bad people, allies, and enemies all say Otto is not a good person, then in that situation, he's basically not a good person.
Even without confronting Otto face-to-face, Li Sushang probably already knew the true answer to the question in her heart.
But... she still felt a little uncomfortable.
There were some things she would never be content with unless she heard them from Immortal Red Kite's own mouth.
A martial artist's thoughts must be clear and unhindered, and right now, Li Sushang, trapped by a single thought, felt that if she didn't get to the bottom of what Otto had done in the past, she might succumb to demonic deviation in the days to come.
"However, seeing how sincere you are, it's not like I can't give you a chance."
At that moment, Leo Ash took out the Grips of Taixu, transformed them into the Xuanyuan Sword, and suddenly pointed the blade at the martial artist before him.
"Spar with me once. After the fight, I will consider whether or not to introduce you to Master."
"Of course, if you can defeat me, I will take you to Mount Taixu right now and let Master answer the questions in your heart."
Hearing Leo Ash's words, a sharp light instantly appeared in Li Sushang's eyes.
"Martial Uncle, are you serious?"
"Naturally."
Looking at the eager Li Sushang, Mei and Yuna, who initially disliked this girl for interrupting their gathering, suddenly started to feel sorry for her.
Alright, although from the conversation between Leo Ash and Li Sushang, this seemingly young woman wasn't actually that young in age.
But from her words and actions, neither of them felt that this person was some mature, ancient monster.
No matter how they looked at her, they could only see Li Sushang as a naive little girl.
As for Li Pu behind Li Sushang, he had already taken out his communicator, ready to call for the Taixu Sword School's dedicated ambulance.
During her time in Shenzhou, Li Sushang had helped the Taixu Sword School a great deal.
Even though he knew the Immortal Red Kite disliked this grand-disciple, it was an undeniable fact that the Taixu Sword School owed her a favor.
*Sigh, a one-on-one fight with the strongest knight, and it looks like Lord Leo Ash doesn't intend to hold back.*
"Brother Li, don't panic."
Seeing the unconcealable panic on Li Pu's face, Leo Ash smiled and said to him.
"Don't worry, no one's going to die. You don't need to call the medical staff."
"That may be so, but..."
After glancing at Yuna beside Leo Ash, Li Pu immediately hung up the communication.
*Never mind. The Herrscher of Death is right here. If Lord Leo Ash really doesn't intend to kill her, then saving this young lady would be a piece of cake.*
*If he does intend to kill her—well, what can be done? It's her own fault for being so clueless.*
*Although in Shenzhou, the Immortal's name far surpasses Lord Leo Ash's, in terms of actual combat records, Lord Leo Ash's achievements are clearly more than a notch above the Immortal's.*
*Sigh, a humanoid monster who can cut down a Herrscher and end an Eruption in minutes... against someone like that...*
*—How many moves can Miss Sushang last?*
......
*A few minutes later, at the Taixu Sword School Martial Arts Arena*
Li Sushang, who had been transported here by Leo Ash using the Quantum Teleportation System, truly felt that the technology five hundred years later was much more convenient.
She had originally thought that the instant teleportation technology World Serpent used on her back then was something only a few people in the world could master.
But now it seemed that the technology World Serpent had used on her wasn't so precious after all.
If nothing else, this Martial Uncle of hers clearly had mastered this technology as well, and seemed to be quite proficient with it.
Li Pu just gave a coordinate, and her Martial Uncle instantly teleported everyone to this arena.
As for the others present, apart from Leo Ash holding the Xuanyuan Sword, the other three silently retreated to the side.
Looking at the eager girl in the arena, Li Pu truly felt that the more excited Li Sushang was now, the worse her mood would be when she got beaten up later.
*Sigh, this young lady still has no idea what kind of future she's about to face.*
*Out of everyone to challenge, she chose the strongest in the world... isn't this just asking for a beating?*
"So, Martial Uncle—can we begin now?"
"Naturally."
Looking at the young man before her, Li Sushang took a deep breath of fresh air and suddenly began to frantically condense Honkai Energy in her palm.
Faced with this level of Honkai Energy, Li Pu, the weakest of the five present, his expression instantly changed.
*Oh no, this is bad.*
*This level of Honkai Energy...*
*—Why are you unleashing Sword God right from the start!*
*Sigh, if you get serious and piss off Lord Leo Ash, this...*
*—If you're this reckless, I really can't save you if you get killed.*
Before her duel with Leo Ash, Li Sushang wasn't actually as confident and calm as she appeared.
Putting aside how good her brain was, Li Sushang was, in any case, a genius martial artist.
A genius martial artist could judge an opponent's strength simply by sensing the true qi they emitted.
And when talking with Leo Ash earlier, just by sensing the true qi constantly radiating from his body, Li Sushang felt as if the man before her was a great mountain pressing down on her, making it hard for her to breathe.
*Martial Uncle is strong. So strong that if we have a normal one-on-one duel, my chances of winning... are practically zero.*
*So, I don't need to bother with probing with conventional moves. I'll just go straight for my ultimate technique!*
"It shapes all things, yet cannot be shaped itself!"
After uttering this mantra-like incantation, a phoenix emblem condensed from Honkai Energy instantly appeared behind Li Sushang.
Watching his martial niece, Leo Ash wasn't surprised by the decision she had just made.
Although using a finishing move like 'Sword God' right from the start could easily be interrupted during the casting process, leading to a backlash against the user, it was indeed the best tactic for Li Sushang to try and heavily wound Leo Ash from the get-go.
But unfortunately, no matter how good the tactic, it was useless in the face of an absolute disparity in power.
If he were to fight seriously, Leo Ash could activate the Field of Binding and cover himself with the Phantasmagoria, simultaneously nullifying the destructive power of Sword God on both the Honkai Energy and mental levels.
But if he used a move like that, his opponent probably wouldn't concede defeat.
Although from a combat power perspective, our side is already much stronger than it was at this stage in 2014 in the original story, having another powerful fighter to combat the Honkai is always a good thing.
So Leo Ash not only had to win, but he had to win so convincingly that Li Sushang would be completely subjugated.
Therefore...
—Since you like Sword God so much, I'll return the favor with Sword God.
Seeing the phoenix emblem appear behind her, Leo Ash also floated into the air, condensing Honkai Energy onto the Xuanyuan Sword in his right hand.
"It shapes all things, yet cannot be shaped itself!"
Chanting the exact same mantra as Li Sushang, Leo Ash at this moment gave everyone a completely different feeling from her.
Unlike the righteous Li Sushang, Leo Ash, who had secretly activated [Glyph - Lord of Dread] to augment his own power, now clearly exuded an evil aura.
Not only that, but the emblem that appeared behind him when he cast Taixu Sword God had also changed from the more positive phoenix to a bat that clearly didn't look like a good thing.
"Martial Uncle, you'd best be careful of this sword of mine!"
"Oh, likewise."
In the next instant, they both thrust their attacks at their opponents.
"Edge of Taixu—Spirit Skandha!"
"Phantasmagoria—Sword God!"
As they both completed their attacks, the sword auras they released materialized in mid-air as two giant swords and instantly collided.
However, although Li Sushang had used her strongest move with all her might, a look of horror uncontrollably appeared on her face when she saw the giant sword she materialized being effortlessly shattered by Leo Ash's move.
She would lose—she had already mentally prepared for that.
But in Li Sushang's mind, even if she lost, she shouldn't have lost so miserably.
However, the cruel reality before her told Li Sushang that after they both used Sword God, her Sword God couldn't even block his.
The 'giant sword', merely cracked by Li Sushang's attack, now flew directly towards the exhausted her and pierced into her body.
In the next moment, Li Sushang, pierced by the giant sword, felt no pain.
But at the same time, everything before her eyes changed.
.......
When Li Sushang regained her consciousness, she suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar place.
And in front of Li Sushang, a red-haired woman had a look of surprise on her face.
"Is that, an intercontinental ballistic missile?"
And beside her, a blond woman...
No, that's not right.
Looking at the large hole in the blond woman's chest, and the clearly metallic body underneath, Li Sushang immediately confirmed that she was not a human with a flesh-and-blood body.
"No, it's worse than that."
Reanna Brigantia, in extremely poor condition, spoke to her companions with a grim expression.
"In recent years, inspired by the First Eruption, headquarters has secretly developed a bomb that can instantly recreate the explosive force of an Eruption—the Honkai Fission Missile."
Seeing the look of utter shock on her blue-haired companion's face, Reanna immediately continued to explain.
"The Honkai Fission Missile uses a physical chain reaction to artificially condense and release a massive amount of Honkai Energy in a short period of time, thereby achieving the effect of destroying everything around it."
"Because of this, this weapon is considered by its developers to be the ultimate trump card against Herrschers."
Even though he had understood his companion's words, the expression on the blue-haired man's face clearly told everyone that he didn't want to accept the desperate reality before him.
"Once that thing explodes here..."
"Then, not only will we be in danger, but the city that our comrades protected with their lives will also be annihilated."
Watching the group already discussing how to save the city, Li Sushang felt a complete sense of unreality.
Right now, her mind was filled with only a few questions.
*Where is this?*
*Who on earth would do something so insane as to slaughter an entire city???*
"Excuse me!"
Watching the group discuss, Li Sushang suddenly interrupted them and asked.
"Is there anything I can do?"
"Unfortunately, Sushang."
Looking at the girl, Reanna shook her head slightly and said to Li Sushang with a helpless expression.
"Although your Sword God is a very powerful move, it is not enough to stop the Honkai Fission Missile launched by Otto Apocalypse."
"Leave everything to us for now. You..."
"—should go find shelter first."
*What—the Raksha, he actually did something like this?*
Watching the blond woman ascend into the sky with the propulsion devices built into her mechanical body, only to be instantly vaporated by the high temperature, Li Sushang stared blankly as the blue-haired man took action.
The heavily injured blue-haired man also rushed into the sky, opening a massive energy barrier to block the remaining Honkai Energy.
Their actions were something that even the most powerful heroes from the stories Li Sushang heard as a child could never have accomplished.
But now, as Li Sushang watched the man fall from the sky, she felt no positive emotions in her heart.
*All of this was done by the Raksha?*
*Dropping a weapon with such intense true qi on a city with so many innocent civilians...*
*—What on earth is going on in that guy's head?!*
The man's heroic deed did indeed protect the city in the end.
But his heroic deed, naturally, was not without a price.
After entrusting the core within his body to a child, the man finally closed his eyes in peace.
And Li Sushang, watching all this, was about to do something when she suddenly found that the scene around her had changed again.
......
Opening her eyes again, the young woman saw two people fighting in the sky.
And from the Honkai Energy erupting from them...
*Hmm, wait, isn't that the First Herrscher that the Raksha said was a bad guy?*
"Hey! Sushang, what are you still standing there for?!"
Siegfried, who was running like mad, looked at the heavily injured Theresa in his arms and said to Li Sushang.
"Retreat! Leave this to Welt!"
"He's a Herrscher just like the Second Herrscher. Trust him, he definitely won't lose!"
"But... No, I want to stay!"
Remembering how she had mistaken him for a bad guy last time, Li Sushang now spoke to the white-haired man who looked much younger but whom she had indeed met before.
"You go first, I'll stay and see if I can support him."
Hearing Li Sushang's words, Siegfried hesitated for only a moment before taking off in a sprint again.
"Don't do anything reckless. Once I get Theresa to safety, I'll come back to help you and Welt!"
In the ensuing battle, Li Sushang saw the First Herrscher gradually losing to the Second Herrscher.
And Li Sushang, who was observing the battle and waiting for an opportunity to strike, also noticed something else.
The man before her was clearly the child who had been entrusted with the core by the blue-haired man.
He had simply grown up now, which was why he was on the battlefield fighting the enemy in this form.
As the two fought fiercely, the First Herrscher was gradually pushed into a disadvantage.
Seeing the First Herrscher already coughing up blood, Li Sushang didn't dare to delay any longer.
Although she didn't know what was happening right now, from the expressions on their faces, the Herrscher with purple hair was clearly not a good person.
At this moment, Li Sushang looked at the fallen First Herrscher and, without a moment's hesitation, directly condensed Honkai Energy into her Sword God.
However, before she could recite the self-hypnotic mantra, a Lance of the Void suddenly shot out from mid-air, aimed directly at Li Sushang's abdomen.
"Wha—"
Her Sword God forcibly interrupted, Li Sushang was now forced to endure the backlash from her own true qi.
And Sirin, who had noticed Li Sushang, was also distracted by this powerful Honkai Energy, giving Welt and his companions an opening.
A few seconds later, after Welt and the others dealt with Sirin with a silver bullet, Li Sushang, whose condition had slightly improved, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But soon, Li Sushang, who had wanted to smile, could no longer do so.
Welt, who had activated the Zeroth Power of the Star of Eden, was suddenly interrupted by a man who appeared out of nowhere.
And the already heavily injured First Herrscher, now under a sneak attack, was naturally unable to continue his assault and deliver the final blow to the Second Herrscher.
Clutching her abdomen, Li Sushang looked at the masked man who had appeared on the battlefield, and her heart gradually grew cold.
Although the other party was wearing a mask and had even altered his voice, Li Sushang recognized him at a glance as the Raksha, Otto, for whom she had felt great affection.
In Li Sushang's eyes, Otto not only let the Second Herrscher go, but he also injured the First Herrscher who was fighting her.
Li Sushang, who already knew which side each of them was on, truly couldn't understand why Otto would do something so detrimental to his own side.
Next, Li Sushang saw Welt telling Siegfried and her to flee the scene, preparing to sacrifice himself for the greater good.
In Li Sushang's eyes, the First Herrscher, whom she had once been hostile to, was now clearly a hero betrayed by his own people.
And Otto—that guy was clearly a major villain!
After this incident ended, the scene before Li Sushang's eyes changed again.
And this time, Li Sushang was still on the snowfield, but her companions had changed.
"Siegfried, I have a way to make that Honkai Energy disappear in a short amount of time."
In front of Li Sushang, a woman with long silver hair spoke to Siegfried, who was already showing signs of Honkai Beast transformation.
"I'll find a good spot. You stay here and seize the moment the Honkai Energy disappears!"
"Cecilia, wait—"
Hearing the worry in Siegfried's voice, Li Sushang instantly understood the relationship between the two.
"Damn it!"
Watching his beloved wife leave, Siegfried slammed his fist on the ground and said in frustration.
"Of all times, why is she being so reckless!"
Then, realizing there were others present, Siegfried immediately changed his tone and said to Li Sushang.
"Sushang, you should leave quickly. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling."
"But, right now..."
Looking at the Honkai Energy erupting in the sky, Li Sushang, completely confused, asked Siegfried.
"The Second Herrscher, she..."
"She was indeed defeated by me just now, but at the last moment, perhaps because of the explosion of negative emotions in her heart, her Herrscher Core erupted with such terrifying Honkai Energy."
At that moment, Siegfried looked at the Honkai Energy in the sky and said with deep regret.
"At that last moment, I hesitated... I shouldn't have."
"Even if she is a pitiful girl, she is also a demon who has slaughtered tens of millions. I should have defeated her immediately."
*Slaughtered... tens of millions of people, a demon???*
*This, this girl, was let go by the Raksha, right? Which means...*
Her brain having shut down, Li Sushang no longer wanted to think about it.
But Siegfried looked at the Honkai Energy in the sky and, as if talking to Li Sushang, yet also as if talking to himself, muttered in a low voice.
"That guy who looked like my ancestor, before he disappeared, said something about how after the Second Herrscher's core energy goes berserk, it will continue to spread until it devours half of the Asian continent..."
The thought that the lives of billions in Asia were in his hands ignited an incredibly high fighting spirit in Siegfried.
Squeezing and compressing all the Honkai Energy in his body to the extreme, Siegfried aimed the Might of An-Utu, which was now connected to the Cores of Reason and Flame, at the Second Herrscher's body in the sky.
"As long as the core is sealed, this farce will be over, so..."
"Welt, fight alongside me!"
As the man swung his heaven-splitting sword, the strike successfully completed its mission.
And Li Sushang, stunned by this blow, never imagined that the seemingly carefree white-haired man from before possessed such terrifying power.
Even after he swung that sword and his body was consumed by the flames that erupted from the greatsword, Li Sushang still felt that if she were to face that move, she would be reduced to nothing but dust.
"So strong... but..."
"Sushang, you..."
Cecilia, who had returned to Siegfried's side, looked at this companion who couldn't escape, and a trace of sadness appeared in her eyes.
"I will use the power of Abyss Flower to heal your and Siegfried's bodies, and create a sufficiently strong shield."
"I hope... you and Siegfried can survive this."
"Wait!"
Looking at the woman's injuries, Li Sushang asked Cecilia in a trembling voice.
"Isn't the battle... already over?"
"Yes, our battle with the Herrscher is over, so..."
Looking at a certain point in the sky, a bitter smile appeared on Cecilia's face.
"We, who have unleashed such great power and might even threaten Lord Bishop Otto, should also be 'sacrificed,' right."
"When I was dispersing the Honkai Energy just now, I already sensed a Honkai Fission Missile flying towards us."
"Although I don't know Lord Bishop Otto's reason for doing this, but..."
"—Right now, he clearly doesn't want us to live."
*The Raksha again???*
Listening to Cecilia's words, Li Sushang watched as the Honkai Fission Missile really did fly towards them from the sky, and she was completely dumbfounded.
*Wait, we already won, so what on earth is the Raksha doing???*
Although she knew that these constantly changing images were not real.
But watching these warriors who fought against the Honkai being screwed over by Otto time and time again, Li Sushang suddenly felt—her intuition told her that all of this was real.
Right now, Li Sushang couldn't understand at all why Otto would do these things that were of no benefit to him whatsoever.
*The Honkai is endangering humanity. If everyone else is wiped out, he'll be wiped out too, right?*
*Isn't the Honkai Fission Missile a weapon meant to fight the Honkai?*
*Why does it seem like this weapon is specifically used to attack human heroes?*
*Isn't the Raksha the Archbishop of the anti-Honkai organization Schicksal?*
*I knew he wasn't a good person, but I never imagined that the things he did in the past could be this outrageous.*
*Right now, I feel like the Raksha's behavior...*
*—really looks like a Honkai spy who has infiltrated humanity.*
....