The news of the Borisin's crushing defeat was impossible to keep under wraps.
The moment the Xianzhou Luofu received the intel, they sprang into action. Jing Yuan looked at Fu Xuan with a grave expression.
"Can we confirm this? Celenova is leading a brand-new legion and is steadily devouring the Denizens of Abundance?"
The Master Diviner nodded slightly. "I have already used the Matrix of Prescience to deliberate with the people from the Claretwheel Temple. They aren't lying. It's just... according to them, the Voidrangers crawled directly out of the Borisins' brains, shattering their front lines in one fell swoop."
"Crawled out of their brains? That sounds remarkably like the swarms controlled by Madam Bai Ming."
Jing Yuan stroked his chin, the memory surfacing. He was particularly struck by that bizarre, pitch-black Lightning Lord of hers; it had left a lasting impression.
"I had the same thought," Fu Xuan replied. "However, Madam Bai Ming has targeted several Lord Ravagers in the past and has a history of bad blood with Celenova. There's no reason for her to help."
Jing Yuan agreed with Fu Xuan's assessment.
Yet, this was a matter of grave importance—both for verifying the intel and for finding a way to counter such a legion. They needed to contact Bai Ming for confirmation.
"I will report this to the Alliance and attempt to reach Madam Bai Ming. Fu Xuan, please keep a close eye on Celenova's movements. There must be a reason she suddenly veered off the path of the Stellaron bursts and revealed a new legion. We cannot let our guard down just because they haven't clashed with us yet."
Precisely because he had seen firsthand how terrifying Bai Ming's swarms could be, Jing Yuan was being extra cautious.
Imagine an orderly legion where an enemy suddenly crawls out of the mind of every soldier in every formation.
Not only is it impossible to defend against, but even if you could, the entire front line would collapse instantly. It was a horrifying ability.
If the entire Legion of Destruction turned into something like that... he didn't even want to imagine how monstrous their expansion would become.
As for the Claretwheel Temple, the people could easily be relocated, but the matter of the Xianzhou's protection wasn't something that could be decided on a whim.
It required long-term planning. Jing Yuan weighed his options, promptly sent a report to the Alliance, and reached out to Bai Ming, hoping to exchange information.
--+--
On the other side of things.
'Robin', who had just returned to the Space Station, was accompanying Acheron on a tour of Izumo within the Mini-World, while waiting for Reveria to arrive at the station to study the issues of Propagation and Entropy Loss Syndrome.
She hadn't expected to receive a communication from Jing Yuan.
The news he brought was quite a shock.
'Robin' had considered many possibilities for that Eighth Lord Ravager Nanook had taken away, but she never expected the first leak of information to come from Celenova's side...
Though Jing Yuan didn't ask, 'Robin' still gave a brief rundown of her recent movements to distance herself from the Legion of Destruction.
Afterward, they discussed defensive measures.
As for a solution, the most direct way was to find a means to block memetic influence.
If 'Robin' were to do it herself, she could certainly handle it, but coming up with a scheme that an entire foreign army could use wasn't something she could produce on short notice.
If she had to say, 'Robin' could only suggest that Jing Yuan look into borrowing the power of Enigmata.
To that end, she helped Jing Yuan get in touch with the Garden of Recollection; that bunch of History Fictionologists could be quite useful when they actually put their minds to work.
As for 'Robin' herself, she was determined to scout out Celenova's situation and test the caliber of this Eighth Lord Ravager.
After all, she and Celenova had quite the history, and she didn't think Celenova was the type to just let bygones be bygones.
If she truly ignored it, who knows what kind of ultimate move Celenova would cook up while she was busy preparing. She had to take the initiative.
That being said, there was no need to rush out this very second.
The Xianzhou was keeping watch, and since the targets were the Denizens of Abundance, Jing Yuan would contact her if anything changed.
So, she decided to focus on the Entropy Loss Syndrome research first to resolve the issues with Reveria's body. She was the one who brought the girl back, after all; she couldn't just leave her hanging.
Besides, if they could discover something regarding Propagation, perhaps the strength of the entire swarm could jump another level.
That would give her more confidence when dealing with Celenova's legion.
Finishing the call with Jing Yuan, 'Robin' looked at Acheron with a helpless smile.
"I was planning to take you around and have some fun now that you're out, but it looks like there's going to be another fight."
Hearing this, Acheron reached out and gently pinched her cheek. "I knew it. You don't want me to help; you just want to play."
"Mmf..."
With her cheek being tugged, 'Robin' couldn't articulate her words clearly and could only stare helplessly at Acheron, her eyes protesting the "unreasonableness" of it all.
Acheron laughed and let go, giving the soft cheek a lingering rub. "So, when do you plan to go find Celenova?"
"In a few days. I have an old arrangement I need to settle first. Will you stay here for a while, or...?"
Acheron wasn't surprised by 'Robin's' busy schedule. "I'll stay here. Otherwise, you might try to run off and face Celenova alone while I'm not looking."
"...I wouldn't go that far."
Acheron just stared at 'Robin' with a knowing, silent smile.
Acheron didn't linger long. After seeing Reveria arrive at the Space Station, she left on her own, saying she was going to take a trip to Amphoreus.
'Robin' shifted into work mode and began contemplating the problem of Entropy Loss Syndrome.
Though the condition stemmed from a flaw in one's Path, it wasn't necessarily without a cure.
For instance, an extreme measure would be to directly flip Reveria's Path alignment.
Reveria hadn't actually touched the true power of the Path of Propagation yet; the part of her most closely linked to it was her body, which originated from the swarm.
So, theoretically, modifying her genes or simply swapping her for a new body could resolve the threat of Entropy Loss.
Of course, that was a radical approach and lacked a bit of "finesse." Reveria herself might not be willing to switch bodies.
Another method was to step onto a different Path and use that power to fill the void.
Take the Queen of the Glamoth Empire, for example: she evolved into a Giant of Light, becoming the Swarm King of Glamoth in one go.
She solved her own physical issues while suppressing the Entropy Loss Syndrome of the Iron Cavalry.
Granted, the Queen's evolution only suppressed the syndrome for the Cavalry; it didn't eradicate it.
But generally speaking, while Entropy Loss might be hard to solve for a collective, there were ways for an individual. It was just a matter of trade-offs; perfection was hard to achieve.
This was the time to consult an expert. When it came to matters of Propagation and biology, Ruan Mei was undoubtedly the best. Without hesitation, 'Robin' dialed her up.
"Hi, Ruan Mei. How's your research into Propagation going lately?"
"How do you have the time to check in on my research?" Ruan Mei smiled slightly on the screen, then shook her head with a touch of regret.
"No progress, unfortunately. It's a pity the embers of the Swarm King we revived were taken by Destruction, otherwise, I might have discovered so much more."
"Then are you interested in studying the Glamoth Iron Cavalry? I want to see if we can solve the Entropy Loss problem."
Ruan Mei recalled Herta mentioning something a few days ago—how 'Robin' had gone out and brought back a young girl, supposedly from the Glamoth Iron Cavalry.
Was she trying to help her? Still, the Iron Cavalry did have a connection to Propagation; it wouldn't hurt to take a look.
"Do you need my help? I have some time, but tell me your thoughts first."
"Me? My initial thought is to use the power of other Paths to neutralize the Entropy Loss—something like Permanence or Elation..."
'Robin' briefly explained her logic. Just as Mara-struck symptoms could be neutralized by the power of Permanence, ethics aside, the results were visible.
Furthermore, there were many rumors that both Propagation and Abundance were linked to Permanence.
She wasn't saying the intel was definitely correct, but the concept of Permanence was indeed a perfect fit for countering Entropy Loss.
After all, Entropy Loss is the gradual loss of one's own existence.
The Path of Permanence, by its very nature, carries a heavy theme of "existence." Even the Aeon of Permanence's trailer directly questioned the very seat of existence.
As for Elation...
Though she hated to admit it, if you really stretched the logic, Elation also seeks the "meaning of existence" in its own way.
If they delved into it, it might solve the problem. But honestly, the deeper 'Robin' understood Elation, the more she realized that "unpredictability" was its main theme.
Relying on Elation to solve a problem was too much of a gamble. There was a high chance that after curing you, some bizarre side effect would pop up out of nowhere.
She didn't want the price of Reveria's cure to be turning her into a Masked Fool.
Comparatively, she leaned toward Permanence.
Ruan Mei didn't dismiss 'Robin's' proposal. Theoretically, there was a chance of success.
The risk of failure lay in the fact that they hadn't yet fully grasped the mechanics of Entropy Loss.
Even if it was a side effect of a Path, its essence could be viewed as a variation of Imaginary Energy.
Phenomena don't appear out of thin air, and existence doesn't just vanish without a cause. Without understanding the principle, they couldn't guarantee success.
"It sounds like you have a deep understanding of Elation. Did recent events give you some new insights?" Ruan Mei chuckled, pivoting to a topic unrelated to the experiment.
Unlike Herta's bluntness, Ruan Mei's casual, teasing tone made 'Robin' feel even more embarrassed.
"Ahem... that was just a special necessity. But theoretically, Elation really could do it."
"Perhaps. However, I'd like to study the girl herself before making a decision. And Elation aside... how do you plan to solve the source of Permanence's power?"
In Ruan Mei's view, even if the theory worked, where would the power of Permanence come from? That Path was incredibly exclusive.
Almost all scions of Permanence could be considered the Aeon's direct descendants. As of now, she had never heard of anyone walking the Path of Permanence on their own.
And the descendants weren't fools. 'Robin' and Ruan Mei wouldn't be the only ones eyeing Permanence.
Among the scions, the strong ones like the Infernalians were fierce; nobody dared mess with them.
The weaker ones, like the Vidyadhara, had hitched a ride with the Xianzhou and were living quite comfortably. Why would they ever accept this kind of research?
To Ruan Mei's question, 'Robin' simply blinked. "We can ask the ever-miraculous IPC if they have any remains of Permanence scions in their collection. Or, we could try to craft a Light Cone."
'Robin' knew asking for such things directly was inappropriate. But checking with the IPC or seeing if the Garden of Recollection had any records was a start.
She believed that with her and Ruan Mei's talent, just a tiny fragment or a small catalyst would be enough to knock something together.
And if that failed... 'Robin' could visit Xuanquan and borrow her memories to craft a Light Cone or two.
Using the power of Remembrance to replicate the power of Permanence might be a viable alternative, even if the effect wasn't as potent.
"That might just work."
Ruan Mei hadn't intended to refuse anyway. Since 'Robin' already had a plan and a backup, it was worth a shot.
"Is the girl you brought back still in Amphoreus?" Ruan Mei decided to first see what this Entropy Loss looked like on a Glamoth soldier.
"Yeah, she's right next door waiting."
For Reveria, this was a matter of survival.
Although the immediate crisis was averted—her Entropy Loss had slowed enough to give her a lifespan comparable to a normal human—she still felt an instinctive resistance to being tied to the Swarm.
Her logic told her that 'Robin's' swarm was friendly and hadn't done anything evil, but years of war had ingrained an image of the Swarm that made it hard for her to peacefully accept spending the rest of her life as part of one.
If there was a choice, she wanted to break free from the shackles of Entropy Loss.
The research into the Glamoth Iron Cavalry—and by extension, Propagation—began under the collaboration of 'Robin' and Ruan Mei.
After testing and a degree of analysis, they began to grasp the essence of the Iron Cavalry.
Ruan Mei didn't comment on the ethics of the design, but she did acknowledge the creativity.
"I don't know who proposed this plan, but they certainly had guts—packaging the Swarm in a steel shell just to expand on a massive scale. They severely underestimated the Swarm."
"The execution was too crude. I suspect they didn't even understand the meaning of Propagation; they just wanted to use 'the Swarm' to fight the Swarm."
Ruan Mei mercilessly dismissed the Iron Cavalry's design as third-rate. That the Glamoth Iron Cavalry succeeded at all was pure, dumb luck.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL