When Aemdo spoke, he didn't lower his voice, nor did he try to avoid anything. He maintained a dignified and upright posture as he spoke, just like how he always acted, open and aboveboard.
Such words naturally angered Phantylia. In her eyes, Aemdo was nothing more than an insignificant bug.
However, when her anger drove her to attack him, the flames burning on her body grew even more intense, and to her horror, she discovered that she could no longer control her own body.
Aemdo didn't seem surprised by this situation. He had kept the same expression the entire time. Even when Phantylia launched an attack at him, he didn't make any move to dodge.
He quickly noticed the shock and confusion on Jing Yuan and the others' faces, so he took the initiative to explain:
"As an Emanator of Destruction, the Lord Ravager Phantylia indeed possesses immense power. Trying to control her is an extremely difficult task."
"However, we have also drawn considerable strength from the Path of Beauty, and after obtaining fragments of the divine body, it is not impossible to gain the strength to contend with her."
"Moreover, in this kind of environment, I hold a natural advantage."
"My power has many restrictions when used at full strength, but under suitable conditions, it can produce surprising results. Everyone, please take a look at the ground, like a mirror."
Hearing Aemdo's words, everyone immediately looked down. On the mirror-like ground, they saw the reflection of the cavern they were in. Looking further ahead, behind Phantylia's reflection, they saw another Phantylia.
That second Phantylia was almost pressed against the reflection of the one before them, grabbing her divine body as surging flames engulfed her.
As this unbelievable scene entered everyone's sight, Aemdo's calm voice sounded again, "As you can see, a reflection of Phantylia has appeared on the other side of the mirror."
"I separated that reflection and gave it life, then used it to control Phantylia from the other side of the mirrored world."
"By manipulating the reflection to interfere with reality, this is what I specialize in."
After speaking, Aemdo raised his head and looked at everyone calmly, "Before the battle begins, please allow me to restate my position. It won't take much time."
"The purpose of the Mirror Holders coming here is only one, not to oppose the Xianzhou or any other force, but to retrieve fragments of our lord's divine body."
"General Jing Yuan, and everyone from the Astral Express, even now you still have a choice. If you give up standing on the same side as Nero to oppose me, then you may leave this place."
"At the same time, I will release my control over Phantylia. You have already defeated her, and it is only right that you take your spoils. I will not favor her just because we once cooperated."
"But if you choose to continue fighting, then I must ask you to face the current Phantylia, ignited by holy fire, operating like an antimatter furnace. That will be an extremely difficult battle."
After saying this, Aemdo spoke no further. He simply looked at them, waiting for their choice.
He placed the decision before them, letting them choose for themselves. But for the Astral Express crew and Jing Yuan, there was only one real option.
As for Nero, the choice had nothing to do with him, because Aemdo's target was him.
"You're actually a pretty good person!" March said, praising Aemdo, then added, "But our Trailblaze team can't just abandon a companion. Uncle Yang, Dan Heng, Stelle, you agree, right?"
The others nodded along with her.
Jing Yuan lowered his head, briefly considering a tactical retreat followed by calling reinforcements for a sneak attack, but the current situation and the enemies they faced made such a plan hard to execute effectively.
The Mirror Holders' abilities were unpredictable, and since the Astral Express crew had already chosen to stand their ground, even with Dan Heng, they were still far from a match for Phantylia in her current state.
The crew had helped the Xianzhou a great deal and had a close relationship with Nero. Jing Yuan couldn't just abandon them.
On the other hand, because of the Mirror Holders' strange abilities, if they left now, it would likely be difficult to return here through the same path. Finding Nero again would become extremely difficult.
Feigning weakness clearly had too many limitations.
Jing Yuan shrugged.
"Even before this, someone among the Mirror Holders approached me. My answer at that time was this: Nero is a citizen of the Xianzhou. How could we ignore trouble and hand him over just to seek peace?"
Hearing everyone's response, Aemdo nodded.
"I understand your choice. Our battle is unavoidable. Then, everyone, please engage Phantylia once more. Additionally, before the battle begins, allow me to explain a few more things."
"As I said earlier, the Mirror Holders' purpose this time has nothing to do with destroying the Xianzhou. For that reason, I have specially adjusted this space."
"The upcoming battle will take place within the mirrored world, to prevent the shockwaves from affecting the Xianzhou."
"If you do not trust me and fear that I may use changes in the mirrored world to affect reality, you may also take your own measures to minimize any impact our battle might have on the Xianzhou Luofu."
Behind them, upon hearing this, Nero blinked, an idea flashing through his mind as he began forming hand seals.
From Aemdo's words and actions, his assurances were actually quite reliable. But since it wasn't something he controlled himself, Nero decided to take precautions for peace of mind.
The incantation of "Heaven Tilt" described the effect it could achieve, so using it to alter terrain or shift space shouldn't be too difficult.
Combined with his earlier experience creating a mirror cage while searching for the clones, his control over this wasn't perfect, but he wasn't clueless either.
Nero stood in the back, not very tall, so what he was doing went unnoticed. Meanwhile, Aemdo was speaking to Jing Yuan about another matter.
"General Jing Yuan, may I ask if you are aware of the Mirror Holders creating reflections within the Xianzhou?"
Jing Yuan nodded. "Of course."
"Then have you dealt with them?" Aemdo asked, adding an explanation.
"After receiving fragments of the divine bodies from the other Mirror Holders, I realized that the reflections they created essentially function as gateways."
"Combined with their abilities, they can use those reflections to open passages, sending a continuous stream of combat-capable reflections onto the Xianzhou Luofu as an army."
Hearing this, Jing Yuan nodded.
He thought, as expected, those clones were problematic. Fortunately, Nero had already captured them earlier. At this moment, Yanqing and the Ten Lords Commission should be monitoring them.
Seeing Jing Yuan's confirmation, Aemdo also nodded. Then, with a wave of his hand, several corpses in black robes slowly appeared.
Ignoring the shock on everyone's faces at seeing the bodies of the other Mirror Holders, Aemdo continued calmly, "In that case, I hope you have already destroyed them or placed them under strict surveillance."
"Although I have judged these evildoers, I cannot access their memories, so I cannot know whether they left any contingencies behind."
"To prevent harm to the Xianzhou Luofu and its people, if you have not yet issued orders, I can create a reflection on the Luofu for you, and we can delay the battle until you have handled everything."
Hearing Aemdo's explanation, whether it was the composed Welt, the wise Jing Yuan, the silent Dan Heng, or the lively March, everyone looked at him in shock.
'Putting aside why you killed your own teammates, you not only revealed their plans and potential threats to the Xianzhou, you're even willing to give us time to call reinforcements and wait...'
'Is there something wrong with this guy?'
In such a situation, everyone couldn't help but look at Aemdo as if he were insane.
From his actions and his rigid adherence to principles, even though he was an enemy, he seemed like the kind of person you could safely turn your back on.
Not even considering whether he would warn you before a sneak attack, it felt like the idea of a sneak attack didn't even exist in his mind.
At this moment, after learning that Aemdo had killed the other Mirror Holders and seeing their corpses with her own eyes, Phantylia was completely stunned.
Although her body was under control, she could still observe and think. After witnessing this shocking truth and Aemdo's maddening code of conduct, she just wanted to curse him as insane.
'I was scheming against the Luofu, Jing Yuan was scheming against me, and you were secretly scheming behind everyone's backs too?!'
'No wonder no one came to help me earlier, you killed them all, didn't you!'