In the time that followed, Li Sushang also saw a scene of her Grand Master fighting the Second Herrscher, only to have her all-out Sword God fail because of Otto's interference.
Not only that, she even saw some scenes that were seen in the original timeline.
In Li Sushang's eyes, Siegfried and Cecilia were backstabbed by Otto with a Honkai Fission Missile only after they had stopped the Herrscher Core's energy.
But in later scenes, Li Sushang saw what happened after the 'core went berserk.'
On that devastated land, Li Sushang could tell from the clothing of the others around that the place was Shenzhou.
And she hadn't forgotten what Siegfried had told her back then.
*After the Second Herrscher's core energy goes berserk, it will continue to spread until it devours half of the Asian continent*—this was the disastrous consequence the world would have to face if Siegfried and Cecilia's actions had failed.
In the time since she had woken up, Li Sushang had managed to learn some modern knowledge with the help of Schicksal members.
Even with her empty head, she at least knew that Shenzhou was in the 'Asian region.'
In other words, if Siegfried and Cecilia hadn't stopped the Herrscher Core's energy from spreading back then, then...
—Our homeland would have faced such a calamity?
Looking at the corpses scattered everywhere, some turning to dust, others slowly rising to their feet, Li Sushang's mind went completely blank.
She had only known before that Otto was not a good person and did bad things, but after experiencing all this, Li Sushang, now seeing the tragic state of Shenzhou after being affected by the Herrscher's energy, finally understood just how terrifying Otto's actions were.
*The Raksha not only kills warriors who fight against the Honkai, but he could also cause my homeland... no, the entire world to be affected by his selfish desires.*
*Then me, who assisted him in his actions...*
*—Am I not a complete and utter murderer?!*
On the land tainted by Honkai Energy, the swordswoman relentlessly slayed the 'demoniacally possessed people' and the constantly appearing monsters with the longsword in her hand.
But two fists are no match for four hands. No matter how strong she was, she couldn't simultaneously 'defeat the enemy' and 'ensure her own safety' while being besieged by a sea of enemies.
As a Honkai Beast's claws pierced through Li Sushang's abdomen, she felt a sharp pain and suddenly thought that this was her just deserts.
*Come to think of it, from the moment I started helping the Raksha, I became an enemy of the world, didn't I?*
*Then, perhaps this ending is just my retribution.*
As the warmth in her body gradually faded, Li Sushang's consciousness also began to blur.
*I thought I was solving problems, but it turns out I was just creating more trouble?*
*Mother, Master, it turns out I...*
*—I can't do anything at all.*
When Li Sushang regained her consciousness again, she was lying on the cold ground, her body wracked with pain.
And seeing the helpless Li Pu, the cold-faced Leo Ash, and the two girls who seemed to pity her, the now-lucid Li Sushang finally understood that this must be reality.
But although this was reality, the scenes Li Sushang had just seen still felt incredibly real to her.
"Martial Uncle, Brother Li, I..."
Clutching her head, Li Sushang wobbled to her feet and immediately looked at Leo Ash.
"Thank you, Martial Uncle... for showing mercy."
"Oh, so you know I showed mercy. It seems you're not completely clueless then."
Seeing that the woman he had beaten half to death had no intention of being unreasonable, Leo Ash also dismissed the faint trace of hostility in his heart and used a Powerful Healing Spell on Li Sushang.
This unlucky child wasn't bad by nature. In Leo Ash's eyes, she was a powerful combatant who could be guided onto the right path with a little effort.
In that case, there was no need to take his anger out on her and beat her to a pulp.
Of course, being able to be guided onto the right path with a little effort basically meant this silly kid was easy to fool.
In the original story, when she was tricked by Otto into helping him, she explicitly told Rita and Durandal, knowing that Otto was about to do something bad, 'I'll just help him with one fight, and I'll come help you after.'
And at that most critical juncture, Li Sushang, in order to help Otto, forcibly traded herself one-for-one against a fully healed Fu Hua, a top-tier combatant.
In the later battles to break the barrier and fight the False God, if there had been one more Fu Hua-level fighter, the risks the protagonist team faced would have been reduced, and their chances of winning would have increased.
It could be said that if Otto hadn't been beaten to the ground, activating the Great Western King Project provided to him by Nagamitsu, Li Sushang would have been an accomplice in helping Otto slaughter the rest of the world.
As a spectator back then, Leo Ash could certainly condemn Li Sushang for being a troublemaker from various aspects.
But now that he was no longer a spectator, but a part of this world, condemnation...
Alright, condemnation was still necessary.
But more important than condemnation was making Li Sushang understand what Otto had done.
The reason Li Sushang in the original story still went to help Otto was that she only knew what Durandal had verbally told her.
But the Durandal in the original story, although she knew Otto was a villain, the only major incident she knew about was the Great Eruption caused by the revival of the Herrscher of the Void.
So it was understandable that Li Sushang at the time didn't know the severity of the situation.
And now, to prevent this easily-fooled martial niece of his from continuing to be used as a tool by Otto, Leo Ash had to use a Sword God infused with the mana of the Phantasmagoria to show her, through illusory scenes, what Otto had done and the disastrous consequences his actions could cause.
Of course, the IF route where Siegfried, Cecilia, and Welt failed to seal the core was a personal addition Leo Ash created with the Phantasmagoria.
But the reason this IF route didn't happen was because of the opportunity the heroes fought for with their lives.
At that time, if one organized the events, anyone who had seen the story would realize that the Second Eruption was an extremely perilous battle.
From the moment Sirin was released by Otto and obtained the four cores, Welt held back a trump card when he fought Sirin the second time → Fu Hua struck with Taixu Sword God, disrupting Sirin's mental state → Welt took advantage of Sirin's instability to hide in an illusion and wait for an opportunity → Outside, Tesla and Einstein seized the chance to snatch the Gem of Conquest, weakening Sirin → Siegfried, relying on the information Welt bought time to obtain, had Anti-Entropy create an awakening agent, gaining the power of a half-Honkai Beast to defeat Sirin → With Siegfried and Cecilia too weak to defend, Welt used his soul to pilot the Moonlight Throne to block the attack from the core's explosion for them → The two of them and one core burned their life force to seal the Second Herrscher's core.
If any one of these steps had gone wrong, it would have led to Sirin not dying or the failure to seal Sirin's core.
If it were the latter case, then the IF route illusion Leo Ash created wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Since Shenzhou is near Siberia, and both Otto and Kevin had determined that 'half of Asia must be sacrificed,' Shenzhou, being near Siberia, would have been the first to suffer.
If it were the former case... even after the Gem of Conquest was taken and hidden by the Anti-Entropy duo, and Welt in the Herrscher of Reason's core was still alive, for Sirin, who saw her dragon servant die and thought she had been deceived by Cecilia, this world no longer had any reason to exist.
A fully blackened Herrscher of the Void just needed to return to the moon and start throwing meteors, and it would be hard to say how many people would die.
Of course, this IF route was too intense, so Leo Ash didn't create it.
What he wanted was a powerful fighter who knew where she went wrong and could repent, not some poor soul he had tortured to the point of a complete mental breakdown.
As for Li Sushang, who had now regained consciousness and whose injuries had somewhat healed, although her mind wasn't broken, it clearly wasn't in a good state either.
After all, for a swordswoman who wanted to be a hero to discover that she had been assisting a great villain who had harmed countless innocent people in his schemes against humanity's heroes, and still be able to say with a grin, 'It's okay, it's okay, this girl has repented'...
—If Li Sushang really said that, Leo Ash would have to worry if he had accidentally tortured the girl into madness.
"I think, after this sword strike, you probably don't need to seek the so-called answer from Master anymore."
Glancing at the still mentally unstable Li Sushang, Leo Ash continued.
"Don't question the authenticity of what I've shown you. There are even more shocking scenes I could have shown."
"He's done plenty of monstrous things in these five hundred years. I just randomly picked a few incidents involving people you know to let you understand a bit of the truth."
"Martial Uncle..."
Supporting herself with her longsword, Li Sushang, on the verge of a breakdown, asked Leo Ash.
"The Raksha... do you know why Otto did it?"
"The him I knew... shouldn't have been this kind of person."
"Heh, you still haven't given up, huh."
Looking at the girl, Leo Ash, whose expression had just returned to calm, was suddenly taken aback.
"Does his reason for doing these things matter?"
"What matters, isn't it that he is harming innocent people for his own selfish desires?"
"Many people have been harmed in the past because of his selfish desires, and many are being harmed now because of his selfish desires. If we don't stop him, even more people will be harmed in the future because of his insane desires."
"And now, you're not concerned about how to deal with the troubles this guy has created, but instead want to care about his emotional journey?"
At that moment, Leo Ash suddenly placed the Xuanyuan Sword against Li Sushang's neck and said to her coldly.
"Instead of worrying about the innocent people you should be protecting, you're worried about Otto, who used you and is currently committing evil?"
"If you still can't get your priorities straight, I might as well kill you with one strike right now, to save you from being muddle-headed and assisting Otto in slaughtering humanity later on."
"I, I, I..."
"Leo Ash, let it go."
Seeing Li Sushang's expression on the verge of tears, Mei, who was behind Leo Ash, finally softened.
"Although I don't know what exactly happened, I think this young lady already knows what she did wrong."
"Even though she acted rashly when we first met, her actions afterward were courteous. A person like her should be someone who can reason, right?"
"Reason? She knows minor courtesies but not the greater righteousness. If such a person has great power, they are more likely to be tricked by villains and become their accomplices."
"As a disciple of the Taixu school, you assisted a fool who has fallen to demonic ways."
"As a person of Shenzhou, you assisted a villain who could threaten Shenzhou."
"As a person of this world, you assisted someone who has let the Honkai develop for five hundred years, causing more people in the world to be harmed."
"Perhaps your master didn't teach you what you should do in such a situation. Then, as your Martial Uncle, I should teach you a good lesson right now—what is the right thing for you to do."
"Actually... my master did say something."
When Leo Ash mentioned her master, Li Sushang recalled Cheng Lingshuang's evaluation of her.
"She said that, like my mother, I have no eye for men..."
"Oh, so that traitor said something like that."
Listening to Li Sushang's muttering, Leo Ash put away his Xuanyuan Sword and snorted coldly.
"Hmph, so your master already warned you back then, and you still chose not to listen to her, is that it?"
"What kind of disciples did Master choose? She chose seven traitors as disciples, and then that traitor's disciple also doesn't listen to her master and goes to be a dog for some damned man."
Normally, even if she knew about the past events, Li Sushang would never allow anyone to speak of her master in such an insulting tone.
But now, Li Sushang's martial spirit was in complete disarray.
If Leo Ash hadn't held back, her Sword Heart might have shattered the moment her Sword God was broken.
"Forget it, what needs to be said has been said. I don't have time to waste on you anymore."
Turning his gaze to Li Pu beside him, Leo Ash asked.
"Brother Li, could you please arrange for me and my companions..."
"Leo Ash."
Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Mei immediately grasped Leo Ash's hand and whispered to him.
"There's no need to trouble this gentleman. The three of us can just find another place to exchange information."
"Ah, right! Brother Leo, all our Taixu Sword School's facilities happen to have some minor issues today!"
Looking at Mei clinging to Leo Ash, Li Pu, who understood in a second, immediately said to Leo Ash apologetically.
"So, my apologies."
*No, don't understand so quickly in this kind of situation.*
*Sigh, this big pillow is still emo right now, so let's just let her be.*
*I'll come back in a few days to check on her. If I can win her over, that's great.*
*If I can't, then I'll have no choice.*
*The most troublesome problem right now is...*
He glanced back at the snickering Yuna and shot her an exasperated look.
*What are you laughing at? What on earth are you planning today!*
Faced with Leo Ash's slightly blaming gaze, Yuna just smiled at him without saying a word.
*Anyway, in this situation today, once the atmosphere is right, all problems will be solved.*
*Although a clueless little girl came out and disrupted my plans and rhythm, her appearance allowed Senior to vent some of the rage in his heart, which isn't a bad thing after all.*
*The less hostility in Senior's heart, the higher his desire for certain things will be. Hmm, thus, the grand plan can be achieved.*
Watching Leo Ash, who was holding hands with Mei while still exchanging glances with Yuna, the clearly mischievous-looking Yuna, and the mentally unstable Li Sushang, Li Pu, standing to the side, let out a sigh of relief.
*Wow, although these two women aren't wishy-washy, Lord Leo Ash is really dithering in this regard.*
*Thankfully, this has nothing to do with me, otherwise I would have been utterly humiliated today.*
......