Chapter 177 Otto: My Great Huang Empire is Fallen! (Sharp Screams)
"A wise choice. Escape is shameful but effective; there is no need to dwell on it."
Regarding Kiana leaving under Fu Hua's cover, Bianca offered such an evaluation.
"Fu Hua is right. If she were killed by Kevin here, talk of changing the world would become a hollow lie. The current Kiana carries not only Fu Hua's expectations but also Himeko's. Therefore... before obtaining power great enough to truly change the world, avoiding a direct confrontation is the most rational path."
Pardo Felis looked at Bianca beside her with some surprise. Sensing Pardo's gaze, Bianca asked curiously, "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just that those words surprised me. I thought that if it were Sister Bianca, you would say something about dueling Boss Kevin head-on and then dying gloriously as a knight or something..."
"If it were me, I would indeed choose to fight Kevin," Bianca answered without hesitation. "However, from spending so many days with Su Mu, I have understood a principle. One cannot always demand others follow one's own standards; that is inherently unfair."
Kiana spoke with dissatisfaction: "You know that now, yet you're still so strict with me!"
Bianca said with a smile, "I do understand that principle, but do you really consider yourself an outsider? My dear Kiana."
Looking at Bianca's smile, Kiana shivered. To be honest, she preferred seeing Bianca with a stiff face. Saying such seemingly peaceful words with a smile was simply too out of character for the Bianca in her heart! It felt like a wave of revulsion!
"Big Sister, you haven't been possessed by something, have you? Stop smiling, I'm scared."
"Strange. Su Mu said that when dealing with children, one should use gentle persuasion, preferably with a smile... Do you not find my smile friendly?"
"Not at all! Not even a little bit! On the contrary, seeing your current expression makes my life flash before my eyes!"
"How rude, Kiana... do you really think I'm the type of person who can't even tell a joke? Su Mu clearly said I have a decent sense of humor."
"So where exactly did he see a sense of humor in you!"
Kiana wiped her cold sweat, feeling that something was very wrong. Why did Bianca seem to change after coming to Arc City? Where had she ever seen such teasing before? In her memory, Bianca was always the strict, serious, and responsible eldest sister—jokes had absolutely nothing to do with her, right?
To be fair, it was indeed hard for Kiana to feel Bianca's humor. Sisters are strange like that. Either the relationship is incredibly good, like Kiana and Sirin, or it's incredibly tense. Kiana practically stood at attention just seeing Bianca; how could she possibly feel a sense of humor?
"And don't just believe everything he says!"
Kiana was somewhat helpless. Why did Bianca mention Su Mu in every breath? she was literally treating Su Mu like a teacher! Why did she listen to everything he said!
"You listen to everything he says without any judgment. At this rate, you won't even know when you're being tricked!"
Bianca looked at Kiana with a peculiar expression: "I didn't expect those words to come from your mouth, Kiana... Compared to me, you're the one who has completely emptied your brain and handed everything over to Su Mu, haven't you? I know very well that the first thing you did after I kicked you out was find Su Mu. You're the one treating him as an external brain."
These words left Kiana stuttering, unable to find a rebuttal for a moment. she didn't know why, but seeing her sister doing this and that under Su Mu's guidance made her feel uncomfortable...
"So—so what! He's my employee, and I'm his boss! Isn't it natural for him to give me advice! Hmph!"
Looking at her sister's tsundere act, Bianca smiled: "Nothing is ever truly 'natural.' As you said, he is just your employee and you are his boss. Your relationship is merely an employment contract. Don't you know that such a relationship is the most unstable? What if someone offers a massive reward to poach him? What would you do then?"
Bianca's words made Kiana's face flush: "W-we're still f-friends, okay!"
"That's even stranger, Kiana." Bianca shook her head. "Do you really think you qualify as Su Mu's friend? Think about it: hasn't it always been Su Mu helping you? What have you done for him? Shouldn't friends support each other? If it's always been his one-sided sacrifice, do you think that counts as being a 'friend'?"
"I... I..."
Kiana was completely speechless. In this moment, she realized she had been accepting Su Mu's help all along. But she had always felt it was justified because he was the culprit who ruined her "Get Rich by Losing Money" plan—she saw it as his compensation to her.
But Bianca's words made Kiana realize this was just her own one-sided thought. Su Mu himself knew nothing about that plan. In his eyes, he owed Kiana nothing, yet he still selflessly provided her with so much help...
This left Kiana's heart in turmoil. What kind of emotion did she really feel for Su Mu? she truly couldn't tell anymore.
Seeing Kiana's silence, Bianca felt a sense of relief.
The talking points Rita taught me are actually useful...
she glanced at the tightly crumpled slip of paper in her palm. It was something Rita had given her before coming here, and Rita had specifically "trained" her two nights ago. The goal was to make Kiana feel guilty about Su Mu's constant efforts, pushing her to re-examine their relationship...
Bianca was shocked at where Rita had learned these things. Rita had no romantic experience either, yet she had only given a mysterious smile.
"Please forgive me for keeping that a secret. However, there is a saying in Shenzhou: 'Three clumsy shoemakers can equal one Zhuge Liang.' It means that when three people plan together, their colliding inspirations can spark something new."
Though Rita didn't say it explicitly, she was hinting at the company's gossip trio. Bianca didn't usually care for such things, so she didn't overthink it, assuming Rita had made a deal with someone—as for the terms, she had no idea.
As Kiana fell into silence, Bianca turned her gaze back to the screen playing Honkai Impact 3rd. Although she didn't say it, she was very concerned about Kiana's future fate. After all, that was her sister. As an older sister, it was only natural to care.
In the game, while Durandal was eliminating the invading mechs, the battle on Kevin's side had ended. Kevin expressed admiration for Fu Hua's final move, acknowledging that if she had enough power, he wouldn't have won so easily.
["Rest well, old friend."]
Finally, Fu Hua turned into a feather and landed in Kevin's palm. He intended to wake her once everything was over.
"ARGH!! Old Timer! Old Timer! Don't die, Old Timer!!" Seeing Fu Hua defeated and turning into a feather, Senti felt like her world was ending! "Hateful Kevin! If Old Timer weren't in this state, if she were in her prime, you wouldn't be so arrogant! I'm so mad!!"
Seeing Fu Hua defeated by Kevin, Senti felt a surge of rage! And this Kevin still used the tone of an old friend! What a joke! Was the current Kevin even worthy of being Old Timer's friend? A guy who treats human lives like grass and uses any means to reach his goal isn't worthy of being compared to her!
"Where was Kevin when Old Timer and Kiana were stopping the tragedy in Arc City? On the contrary, Project Stigma in Arc City was executed with his tacit approval, wasn't it? I finally understand why the other Pioneers hate him! So what if he was a hero in the past? This current Kevin is just a butcher who does anything for revenge!"
[The streamer really loves Fu Hua's character.]
[Obviously, Fu Hua is the streamer's 'sister.' Seeing her sister defeated must hurt!]
[But I also think that if Fu Hua weren't in this state, Kevin wouldn't have won so easily!]
[Could prime Fu Hua defeat Kevin?]
[Hard to say, after all, we've never actually seen prime Fu Hua in action.]
[Streamer, didn't you say you'd appear as a character in Honkai 3rd too? It's Chapter 15 and we still haven't seen you. Can you avenge Fu Hua!]
"Just wait! I'm going to find Su Mu right now! I must punch Kevin's face, and Otto's too! I won't let these two who hurt Old Timer go!"
With that, Senti started making a phone call on the spot, demanding Su Mu add a scene where she beats up Kevin!
Receiving the call from Senti, Su Mu struggled to hold back his laughter. This "melon kid" (silly kid) looking so huffy was actually quite cute.
"Don't worry, your character will be very cool and flashy!" "Then can I fight Otto and Kevin?" "Well..." "Please! Su Mu! I'll do anything!" "Uh..."
Su Mu was a bit stunned by Senti's words. Why did it feel like he had heard that phrase from someone else recently?
"Do anything? Really?" "But not Old Timer! I only have this one Old Timer; I can't give her to you!" "Hey, stop treating your sister like a tradable item!"
Su Mu sighed. After giving some ambiguous answers, he finally managed to satisfy Senti. He obviously couldn't spoil too much, otherwise, given Senti's personality, she'd likely leak everything.
After hanging up, Su Mu turned back to Pardo Felis's livestream. Pardo had pushed the plot to the end, exactly at the point of the high-stakes confrontation between Kevin and Durandal. The release of this brand-new animated short caused the chat to explode instantly.
[Holy crap? Another animated short?]
[Kevin and Durandal are actually fighting?]
[I can't take it, I'm so excited! One is Schicksal's strongest S-rank, the other is the Lord of World Serpent and the Previous Era's strongest MANTIS—who is stronger!!]
In line with the audience's expectations, Durandal and Kevin didn't waste words and engaged in an extremely fierce duel! The battlefield shifted constantly, from the sky to the ground and back to the sky. The tension-filled action choreography combined with the rhythmic music was an ultimate visual feast for the viewers!
The intensity of the fight exceeded everyone's imagination. The shockwaves from their clash seemed ready to collapse heaven and earth, leaving everyone's scalp tingling! Finally, Durandal cast down a massive knight's lance from the sky with unstoppable momentum, aimed directly at Kevin below!
However, Kevin simply made a light pinching motion with his left hand. Terrifying Honkai energy collided with the lance in mid-air, destroying it instantly! Dust swirled, the earth shattered, and with Durandal in the sky and Kevin on the ground, the two confronted each other. Their surging power even caused the world itself to change color!
Finally, the screen froze on this frame of their confrontation!
[Holy crap! HOLY CRAP!]
[Kevin is so cool, and so is the Goose!]
[This is the heart-pounding battle I wanted to see!!]
[What is this battlesuit of the Goose called? Bright Knight: Excelsis? It'll be released, right? Old Thief must be releasing it!]
[I can't wait to put the Excelsis armor on my Goose! This outfit is too cool!!]
[Why is it only a minute long! The short is too short this time, is the Old Thief even capable!]
[Exactly, it wasn't enough! Old Thief, can't you just make it longer? If money is tight, just say so! we'll top up!]
The audience naturally shouted "Klass" (Awesome) at this heavyweight duel. But this one-minute duration was indeed too short, wasn't it? It was barely longer than Singular Grace! How could there be so little? It wasn't nearly enough!!
"Sister Bianca is way too amazing..." Pardo Felis's eyes were wide. "I mean, Boss Kevin has lived since the Previous Era, while Sister Bianca in the game looks like she's only sixteen or seventeen... and she can go 50-50 with Boss Kevin? That's too impressive!"
Beside her, Kiana shouted in dissatisfaction: "Wait, wait? Why?" she looked completely incredulous. "Why do I have to run away when I meet Kevin, but Durandal can go 50-50 with him! This is unfair! The treatment is way too different!"
[Honestly, I find it unbelievable too. Is the Goose the real protagonist of this story? Going 50-50 with the strongest MANTIS—isn't that just a standard OP protagonist trope?]
[Wait, how is it 50-50? Kevin didn't use any abilities; he was just brawling with raw strength and Honkai energy, right? He didn't even pull out An-Utu, did he?]
[Look, both of them clearly have power to spare. This was just a feeler, right?]
[Don't forget, Kevin went straight for An-Utu when facing Kiana! Kiana might not be able to resist Durandal, but she couldn't even shiver in front of Kevin. Doesn't that prove Kevin's strength is beyond terrifying?]
[But how do you know the Goose isn't hiding any trump cards?]
Amidst the chatter, the battle in the game was terminated by the arrival of one person. Otto suddenly appeared before them, a confident smile on his face. This calculating old fox was clearly planning something again.
While the battle here was interrupted by Otto, elsewhere... In the wasteland far from the Schicksal base, Kiana stepped onto the scorching ground, moving forward with difficulty. Her body grew heavy, and exhaustion wore down her mind. A turbid flow seemed to spread through her heart with every step—cold, hollow, nearly swallowing her whole.
Durandal's words, Fu Hua's words... The road beneath her feet grew longer and longer... she knew that moving forward was her only choice. However, a name buried deep in her heart kept pulling at her steps. Right now, the person who had always been by her side must be searching for her with an aching heart. Where was she now, and where was she going?
["Mei..."]
Whether it was sweat or tears sliding down her cheek, Kiana closed her eyes. For some reason, she suddenly wanted to go back there. Back to where destiny began, back to where she and her first met—
Back to Nagazora.
Main Story Chapter 15 ended here. This chapter wasn't long, but it was incredibly tense: Kiana escaping Durandal, World Serpent attacking the Schicksal base, Fu Hua confronting Kevin, the duel between Kevin and Durandal... It was a series of twists and turns, ending with Otto stopping the fight and Kiana fleeing North Africa to start her journey back to the beginning—Nagazora.
The story so far explained many previous setups, such as why Otto was obsessed with the Herrscher of the Void's power. It turned out he needed it to interfere with something in the Imaginary Space to find his answer. But as for his specific plan, no one knew. And Kevin—what did World Serpent's sudden attack and his appearance represent? Where would the two organizations, World Serpent and Schicksal, ultimately head? Players were full of anticipation for the next part.
After experiencing the main story, Pardo immediately opened the faction event and found she was assigned to the Great Huang Empire!
[Whoa! I'm in the Huang Empire too! Same as Pardo!]
[Haha! My Great Huang is #1 in the world! We're definitely taking this faction war!]
[I was assigned to the Schicksal Theocracy. The leader is the Hero King Fu Hua!]
[Heh! Doesn't compare to us in the Pirate Federation! Pirate Himeko is too beautiful!]
[Our Great Huang has not only the qipao Rita from Vagrant of the Streams, but also the HOMU King! And the cute Theresa!]
Everyone originally thought Old Thief Su Mu was planning some "malice" to stab the players again with this event. But with the appearance of the Olenyeva sisters, the tone of the story went completely off the rails toward pure comedy. Clearly, the style was similar to the earlier Honkai Quest. Once the Vodka Sisters appeared, the entire story became a parade of memes, which left Pardo in stitches. Even Bianca was amused by the humorous plot.
And upon seeing the evaluation of the Hero King Fu Hua as a "Shenzhou Flatboard," Kiana laughed even louder.
"Holy crap! 'Shenzhou Flatboard'! Su Mu really dared to write that? Is he not afraid of the Class Monitor's Ki-Impact! Haha! Kiana Kaslana bows to no one, but I bow to you for this!!"
As for Senti's side, she went straight for a face-to-face mockery of Fu Hua: "Hahahaha! Old Timer! Shenzhou Flatboard! 'Shenzhou Flatboard'! That fits you so well! I can already imagine the community being flooded with this meme tomorrow! You're famous again, Old Timer, hahahaha!"
Looking at her sister's unrestrained laughter, Fu Hua took a deep breath. she obviously couldn't use Ki-Impact on Su Mu, but...
"Ki-Impact... ASCEND!!" "AO-AO-AOOO!!!"
A short while later, Senti's stream was filled with screams like a slaughtered pig! Clearly, Senti deeply "enjoyed" her sister's love...
The faction war lasted for several days. To Su Mu's surprise, it was a perfect replica of his previous life. The Great Huang Empire initially crushed Schicksal and kicked the Pirates, reaching its peak. Players in the Huang faction were incredibly proud, posting on social media to brag and mock the others as being incompetent!
And then? Then came the tragedy. By the fourth day, the Great Huang Empire had been pushed back to its own doorstep. Schicksal and the Pirates were fighting their final battle right outside Huang's gate. The more arrogant Huang had been at the start, the more pathetic they were as their empire fell!
Coincidentally, Otto was also assigned to the Great Huang Empire. After all, it had his beloved granddaughter Theresa—the Starlit Astrologos TeRiRi! He intended to help his granddaughter become the Sage King!
And then? Then came the tragedy.
On the day the Great Huang Empire fell, Amber could hear tragic, sharp screams from Otto's office. she peered inside to see Otto nearly crawling on the floor in shadow... He looked exactly like someone who was about to promote in the Abyss, only to have their spot sniped in the last five minutes of the cycle.
No, it was worse than that. After a bout of shadowy crawling, sharp screaming, tears for the deceased, and ominous twitching... Otto collapsed on the floor, convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
"My Great Huang... My Great Huang!!"
He seemed to have entirely forgotten that he was the Overseer of Schicksal in the actual game.
END OF CHAPTER
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