The Final Odyssey, the fantastical journey of a cat boy

"This...by the spirits of our ancestors..."

Upon hearing Huang Yan's conclusion, not only Fish and Ange, but even Yue Die, who was communicating with them via video, were instantly silenced.

After all, for the vast majority of people, the bio-weapons created in the old civilization era were the embodiment of incomprehensible destruction and devastation—the part of them that did not carry human genes was called "synthetic beasts" in this era and was regarded as a serious calamity. Bio-weapons with human forms were even more imbued with a great deal of negative connotation, and their image was almost indistinguishable from the "demons" of the medieval era of the old civilization.

And now, they are being told that the first indigenous inhabitants of Oasis Harbor actually have the blood of these "devils"! This kind of thing is not far off from shattering people's worldviews, if not completely shocking.

"But... if this is indeed true... then it explains the current situation, right?" After another round of fighting not far away temporarily ceased, Yue Die asked softly.

"Indeed," Huang Yan said. "Many characteristics of bio-weapons can be inherited by offspring through dominant genes—for example, sensitivity to specific pheromones. Technically speaking, descendants carrying the bloodline of those bio-weapons from back then, or what the fishermen call 'angel sisters,' will fall into a state of frenzy and unconsciously follow the actions of the individual releasing the pheromones if they come into contact with them in large quantities."

"The 'individuals that release pheromones' you mentioned... are those masked bastards who rapidly clone themselves?" Moon Butterfly asked.

“That’s right. We originally thought these guys were created to be used as disposable cannon fodder in attacks. But now it seems their true role is to ignite the flames of unrest,” Huang Yan’s synthesized voice was filled with frustration—for her, failing to anticipate all of this was a rather shameful failure. “Undoubtedly, that technological archaeologist from the Fayun Regency Council, Iskandar Lomonosov, knew everything about the Dark Isle from the very beginning and devised a targeted plan.”

“Let me think. First, they sent people to dig out and restart those rapid cloning devices in Oasis Harbor, producing batches of those very unstable rapid clones, and having them infiltrate the slums and fish market area,” Ange said, clenching her fingers tightly until her knuckles turned white. “At the same time, they released news that they were going to acquire Dark Isle… and the main purpose was to attract our attention, no, my attention.”

"Indeed," Huang Yan said.

"And so I took the bait just as they wanted, mistakenly believing that their goal was to control the ancient weapons within the Dark Island. Although their plan was once disrupted by the 'Red Cat' gang of thieves, and almost exposed after our arrival when the 'Short Skirt Pirates' accidentally found the hidden rapid cloning device, I failed to correctly analyze the full picture of their plan... For that, I bear the main responsibility."

"You are not responsible for this, Your Highness," Shuangye patted Anjie's shoulder to comfort her. "Without any other clues, no one would have thought that something like this would happen."

"Indeed. The information asymmetry is the reason why those guys are so fearless," Huang Yan said. "Even the fact that they held a social gathering at Coral Palace, giving us the opportunity to send Luca and Xiao Xing to steal documents, was probably part of their plan. We've been playing them for a fool all along."

"Then... the interception operation at sea earlier..."

"It was just a show to make us more convinced that we had to go to the 'Island of the Deep'—after our most powerful armored warriors left Oasis Harbor, they could calmly send out those fast clones to move around... but their main task was not to attack civilians, but to gather people with the earliest Oasis Harbor native blood and then control them with pheromones."

"Damn it!" Frostleaf angrily punched the wall beside him, denting the metal panel by two centimeters. If they had discovered the problem earlier and proactively mobilized their forces, even if they couldn't completely stop the enemy's actions, they could at least have saved most of the controlled and coerced citizens of Oasis Harbor from disaster. However, misled by the enemy's cunning, they chose to split into two groups: one heading towards Dark Island, and the other holding their ground in the Penglai Principality's embassy district. This deployment played right into the enemy's hands, allowing them to calmly complete a crucial step.

"But what exactly is their purpose in doing this?" Fish asked. "What good does it do for the Regency Council of Fayun to let the people of Oasis Harbor kill each other? As far as I know, the Principality of Fayun and Oasis Harbor have virtually no conflict of interest."

"I don't quite understand," Fish said.

"Although I hate to admit it, my lord, we are now facing a very difficult choice," Ange said, shaking her head slightly. "So far, we still have a choice: if you wish, we can choose not to activate the automatic security system here, or we can choose to activate it. If we choose the latter, they will automatically eliminate all enemies and suspected enemies marked on the screen."

"All of them? That means tens of thousands of civilian casualties caught up in this!" Fish exclaimed reflexively as he looked at the screen filled with countless red dots. "Who knows how many of the locals actually possess the original 'angel' bloodline?"

"I know. A total of 22039 people—that's the number just compiled by the security system here," Huang Yan replied instantly. "They've all been classified as 'dangerous targets,' in other words, targets that can be 'annihilated.'"

"Hey! What are we going to do?!" No sooner had Huang Yan finished speaking than Yue Die cried out in panic on the rooftop of the Penglai Kingdom's embassy. "My subordinates just reported that we only have one-third of our 12.7mm machine gun ammunition left, only 100 small-caliber mortar shells, and all three amphibious armored vehicles are destroyed! Although rifle ammunition is still relatively plentiful, we've already suffered over a hundred casualties among our combat personnel! Without reinforcements, I'm afraid we won't even last three hours!"

"And what Princess Moonbeam just said was an optimistic estimate," Baron Ruan Aofu, his expression grave and one side of his forehead wrapped in a blood-stained bandage, also appeared on camera. "In fact, the enemy seems to be focusing their attack on the embassy district. Their reinforcements are constantly arriving—worse still, they may have already captured the Oasis Harbor security forces' armory, and the number of enemies with military weapons is increasing, and—well!"

With a muffled, thunderous explosion, the video feed was suddenly filled with flying debris and smoke. A short while later, as the smoke thinned slightly, the coughing, disheveled-looking Moon Butterfly reappeared.

"Those guys brought out their howitzers! Judging by their size, they're at least 105mm!" Moon Butterfly said.

"How did you know?" Ange asked.

"Simple. Apart from the coastal defense guns fixed on the gun emplacements, the largest caliber artillery used by the Oasis Port security forces is only 105 mm!" After two more explosions came from a distance, the daughter of the Marquis of Tokatsu muttered, "Any gun with a smaller caliber wouldn't have this level of power."

"In short, the situation is deteriorating rapidly!" Nguyen Ao-fu said, constantly wiping the ash from his face. "With howitzers, the enemy's attack efficiency will increase significantly—especially since we lack all counter-battery capabilities. If this continues, we won't even last two hours."

"This is the other side of the predicament we are currently facing, my lord," Ange said. "If we don't choose to activate it, we currently have no means to immediately provide assistance to the embassy district, which is in dire straits. And I believe you can guess what the consequences of doing so would be."

"Uh..." Fish was sweating profusely from the back of his ears to his palms, and his heart began to race. Just as Ange had said, he was well aware of the consequences of doing so: although they had indeed left a considerable number of guards in the embassy district before heading to the Dark Isle, their strongest force—the training cruiser "Inaba" equipped with large-caliber naval guns—was circling the island pointlessly.

Without the support of cruisers, the biggest weakness of the embassy district garrison was the lack of heavy weapons. Even with the high-level armored warriors Moonbeam and Mint, they couldn't withstand the enemy's howitzer fire for long.

Once the embassy district's defenses are breached, those left inside will have no chance of survival. This means that many very important people, including Shana and Luca, will perish—and the resulting loss will be irreparable. Leaving aside the others, Shana alone, an extremely rare survivor of the old civilization era, possesses a wealth of unique ancient knowledge and control authority, an invaluable asset that Fish's side absolutely cannot afford to lose.

However, once the automatic security system is activated...

"Don't worry, Your Highness Fish," Frostleaf said, "Although doing this will indeed lead to very...unfortunate results, as long as we don't tell anyone afterward..."

“That’s pointless,” Ange shook her head. “Destroying our relationship with Oasis Harbor and framing me for ‘manipulating weapons from the old civilization era to slaughter innocent civilians’ is probably one of the goals of the Fayun Regency Committee. Even if we say nothing, they will systematically spread the news and embellish it ‘just right’.”

"But they have no evidence..." Shuangye quickly said.

"Evidence? Of course we do," Ange said. "To get to Dark Island, we forced our way out of port aboard the cruiser 'Inaba.' The Oasis Harbor coastal batteries and patrol boats saw us clearly, and we almost went to war. Moreover, the Oasis Harbor signal corps stationed on Dark Island, which manages the lighthouses and radio towers, also saw us."

"Even so, that doesn't prove we deliberately manipulated equipment from the old civilization era to attack innocent civilians!" Frostleaf shouted. "These people merely 'saw' us arrive; they didn't witness our actions. I don't believe that constitutes sufficient evidence..."

“Yes, in court, we’re unlikely to be convicted,” Ange said, looking at Shuangye with a helpless expression. “Simply ‘seeing’ us arrive here isn’t enough to prove we actually activated the weaponry of those old civilizations. We could, of course, explain that we couldn’t designate targets for them or control their specific actions… In fact, we could even argue that we somehow predicted the activation of the automated weapons here and came specifically to stop them, but we were too late. But they probably wouldn’t care.”

"not give a damn about?"

"Please don't assume everyone has the same legal common sense as a military police officer," Ange said to Shuangye. "Admittedly, being 'seen' and driven to the Dark Isle is not enough to convict us—but because we are nominally members of an embassy with diplomatic immunity, conviction was impossible from the start. The main purpose of those usurpers in putting us in this dilemma is to damage our reputation and legitimacy."

"Reputation and legitimacy... in other words..."

"Once a large number of ancient automated weapons flood Oasis Harbor and unleash a massacre, people will instinctively suspect that I, the princess of the Principality of Fayun who was forced into exile, am doing this out of anger because I cannot accept the Regency Council of the Principality of Fayun establishing friendly relations with Oasis Harbor through the transaction with the Dark Island. That bastard cow... oh no, the reason why Your Excellency gave that bunch of 'friendly' speeches at the social gathering was for this."

"Hiss..." Frostleaf pawed at the ground uneasily with its heels, like a horse that had caught the scent of a predator, but said nothing more.

“Yes, I don’t think we’ll be held accountable, and no one can prosecute us—because the evidence is insufficient. But the general public isn’t military police officers, military judges, or lawyers. They only follow vague emotional and moral judgments. In other words, people will assume we are the bad guys who caused the tragedy,” Ange explained. “Because the idea of ​​‘ancient autonomous weapons attacking the city’ is so horrifying, most people will selectively ignore the fact that a riot had already occurred in Oasis Harbor before this event.”

"Then... Your Highness, won't you be completely disgraced?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no," Ange said with a wry smile. "But in any case, those guys have already won. My lord, please make the decision."

"I...uh..." Fish's hands began to tremble uncontrollably—he naturally hesitated when faced with a situation where there was no right answer no matter what he did. "Is it really...is it up to me to decide?"

"You are the future Grand Duke of Fayun, the head of the Lyndenhild-Fayun family," Ange said solemnly. "Not all choices are perfect. Learning to make decisions and accept the consequences is a lesson you must learn."

Of course, Fish made a decision quickly.