Humans are in chaos, despicable outsiders.

Imotek neither dodged nor evaded, throwing a straight punch in return for the blonde knight's oncoming fist. Their fists collided forcefully—

"Hmm? Interesting..."

The figure expected to be sent flying did not appear... The seemingly intense and violent clash of fists gave the World Serpent's Little Lord only the feeling of punching a soft, powerless pillow.

"Hoo hoo... You're right, the ancestors of the Kaslana family, weapons were sometimes indeed a limiter for warriors—"

Having abandoned the knight's lance, a weapon that relied on steel against steel and prioritized maximum damage at the expense of finesse, Durandal unexpectedly displayed dexterity in his hand-to-hand combat.

"Receiving, transforming, and releasing... In the terms of our modern China, that's how it should be—I just don't know if our ancestor has ever seen it—"

Bianca assumed a standard Chinese martial arts stance, ready to receive the girl's next attack.

"Heh... I'm curious who taught you that—"

Imotek's eyebrows twitched as he looked at the familiar pose...

"Hua, well, that's not surprising—"

With a twisted expression on Durandal's face, the Lord of the World Serpent landed on the ground, striking a similar pose to her...

"Uh... Ancestor Kaiwen, you also...?"

The blonde knight princess glanced cautiously at the woman in front of her who was striking perfect poses, and immediately felt immense pressure.

"It's just a fellow traveler's technique... I know a little bit about it. What—if you don't attack first, don't blame me for striking first..."

As soon as she finished speaking, a swift punch came hurtling towards the knight's face. Durandal instinctively tried to block the punch with the same technique, but was instead thrown straight away—

Just as the two fists were about to collide, Imotek's fist, along with its owner's slight sidestep, shifted its angle, transforming from a fist into a palm and entangling with the blond knight's outstretched arm...

Grip firmly, stand steady, and engage your core.

A Kaslana human cannonball was sent flying—

Chapter 283 The Legislator of the Golden Tree

"It's still a bit lacking... but there are quite a few commendable and surprising aspects—"

Imotek's calm, unwavering voice commented on Durandal, who rose from the smoke and ruins. Although it sounded like praise, the monotone tone made it seem as if this "ancestor" was actually cursing.

"What, do you want to continue—?"

The woman stood before the gates of the Destiny branch. The once tightly shut gates, reduced to scrap metal in the midst of their battle, now stood guard. From the swirling yellow sand surging in from outside, several black figures emerged...

"Of course! I'm not one to run away in the face of battle, let's go again—!!!"

Slightly disheveled, Durandal summoned her two clones this time, engaging in a righteous three-on-one battle.

"Heh, when it comes to refusing to admit defeat, she's just as stubborn as all the Kaslana family members..."

Looking at the colossal King, amplified several times in size by Honkai energy, "Kevin" revealed a faint smile, as black ice crystals began to spread from her body in concentric circles...

--

"Achoo—is it really inappropriate for us to show up and support the Lord at this time???"

Amidst the swirling snowflakes and black ice fragments, a jackal, having just sneezed violently, glanced at the gray snake, raven, and night owl beside him, who seemed completely unaffected, and muttered a complaint...

The semi-fused warrior Raven, the mechanically ascended cyborg Grey Serpent, and the Night Owl, who also has extensive cybernetic modifications... The mortal Jackal felt out of place among this group of superhumans, and even wanted to add a blanket.

"Didn't you insist on coming to see the show? Why are you complaining about being cold now???"

The men standing nearby glanced at the jackal a few times, as if to say, "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"The main reason is that since the young master is personally taking action, Yifan naturally wants to experience it firsthand..."

"Really? How are you feeling?"

The raven glared at the jackal shivering in front of it—Ms. Cleo, the jackal who always dressed in Egyptian style, had never seen such a frigid, icy place before...

"Your Excellency fought brilliantly; I won't be coming again next time."

It looks pretty good, but it's a bit tiring.

The shouts of the group were drowned out by the wind and snow and Imotek's battle in Durandal; no one noticed the brief incident that had just occurred between the World Serpent's executives...

Just as the farce between the two was nearing its end, the battle on the other side was interrupted by the sudden appearance of another guest... As Durandal was once again knocked back, leaving a deep trench in the ground, a blond figure joined the duel...

“What a wonderful battle. Please step back for now. Durandal, it is more appropriate for me to personally entertain this distinguished guest who has come from afar.”

"So, distinguished guest from the 'Snake,' the revered master of the world's snakes... what is your opinion?"

Bishop Otto Apocalypse, the chosen one, intervened in this duel. Whether for the safety of the Thousand Worlds Vehicle that had not yet been transferred, or for a key he himself craved, he had a reason to be there.

“Ah... Otto Apocalypse, Bishop of Destiny.”

"From birth, humans have two hands... one hand to take, and one hand to give—"

"And there is fire in your eyes, the flame of desire, the burning, scorching longing within you... What do you want from the snake, and what are you willing to give up... their bishop, Otto Apocalypse?"

The two waved their hands simultaneously, dispersing the Valkyries and World Serpent executives surrounding the crowd. The tension that had been hanging in the air dissipated considerably, but the oppressive atmosphere between the two became even more so.

"Heh... All I want is a key in Lord Kevin's possession, a trivial matter to you."

"Oh?"

“I desire the key to the Tree of Imaginary Numbers through the Thousand Worlds One Vehicle; this is what I yearn for. And what I can offer Lord Kevin is a promise—”

"The serpent needs no promises from anyone, not even the Bishop of Destiny... All we need is one word: surrender or perish—"

Imotek completely forgot the strange feeling that the person in front of him was his father and coldly responded to the conditions proposed by Otto Apocalypse.

"Hahaha... Lord Kevin, you're joking. Why don't you hear my terms first?"

The blond man gave a confident smile, seemingly quite certain of his outcome.

"Please—I hope you are not wasting my time, Your Excellency the Bishop."

.....

--

Beneath the Tree of Imaginary Numbers, the figure on the golden throne gently stroked the silver-haired girl in his arms... seemingly comforting her in some way...

"Alright... Wuni, I've sent her to deal with Jiuxiao—"

The blonde woman's voice had lost the ethereal and sacred quality it possessed when speaking to strangers... her words were filled with nothing but helplessness.

"Hmm... Master, please let me lie down for a little longer..."

Wuni snuggled contentedly against the blonde girl's lap... then, as if remembering something, asked a question.

"Lord Snow... when will that other you... that Lord Imotek, realize that something is wrong with him?"

“Naturally, it was on the day of the crowning... Gods became men, and men became gods; ah—Imotek, my friend, my half... oh no, actually I should call her Metatron...—yes, I wasn't lying.”

"Speaking of which, why did you suddenly change your mind back then...?"

Wuni tilted her head in confusion, looking at Snow with his eyes lowered, seemingly puzzled.

"Changed your mind...? Hahaha, is it possible... that my child—I had this in mind from the very beginning...?"

“The Apocalypse family never makes promises they cannot keep, nor do they need to tell lies to deceive others… I am merely ‘deceiving’ myself—this is just ‘another established fact’ composed of countless necessary foundations.”

"...Wuni, my child. Do you know... that the collective will of 300,000 people in a city can completely sever the connection between God and the Heralds, then—what if that number were expanded to an entire civilization...?"

The girl leaning on the throne could feel her "blood" slowly spreading through civilization. "They" had formed a subtle connection with her, silently sustaining the girl's burning humanity, ensuring it would never run dry...

"An individual may be despicable, but when elevated to the level of a civilization, a race—they are inevitably noble, they are inevitably great... We may not be able to trust any individual human being, but you can always trust the golden will emanating from this proud civilization that constantly struggles to survive amidst natural disasters and hardships..."

"—I am the supreme one on the golden tree, yet my crown should not be placed on my head by Him—'They' will crown me, and 'I' will place the crown on my head..."

Chapter 284 I Shall Be With Humanity

"So, sir... haven't you considered what the other version of yourself, whom you deceived, would think if she knew the truth?"

Nestled in Snow's arms, Wuni, with an expression that seemed to say "You're the one who's really in control," raised another important question—

"Oh? That Imotek, who was clearly the self with a divine aspect, but whose brain was short-circuited and left in a bloody pit by me using the memories of those who had not yet finished living within the Kaslana family's stigmata for tens of thousands of years~?"

The god on the throne revealed a mocking smile, a smile of pleasure at the success of a prank and a scheme.

"She's having a great time in the original world, isn't she? She inherited my memories and relationships, and has a super-organization even older than Destiny itself. She even stole my Destiny Bank card and key before she left... Oh, and she also took a unique set of coordinates from the original world, almost making me lose my way in the Sea of ​​Quanta—"

"And to cooperate with her, I even personally staged a drama in front of St. Freya's old friends, a drama that almost severed ties between blood relatives—well, I even got into a fight at the Nine Heavens of Penglai Temple for it... Although in the end, I think I didn't lose out at all..."

The figure reclining on the throne spoke in a cynical tone about everything he had done... without the slightest regret, as if it were all perfectly natural.

"What you're saying translates to—the person you love isn't the person you love, the person you value isn't the person you value, and all the relationships you cherish aren't your own... Everything Imotek possesses is merely a derivative of Snow Apocalypse's personal will..."

"The last person to do this was your father... In another week, what will happen to Mr. Otto Apocalypse, sir? You don't need me to remind you, do you...?"

"Yes, yes, yes... The Herrscher of Knowledge—besides the inspiration I received from Welt Joyce, I also have to thank this Herrscher of Knowledge~"

Snow seemed to have thought of something, so he clapped his hands and snapped his fingers, his tone melodious and relaxed.

"Wu Ni, we have two pieces of good news—"

"Lord Snow, I suspect you never have any bad news to report..."

Wu Ni curled her lip, wondering what other strange and unknown tricks her revered god might have up his sleeve—

"The good news is that because she is a deified self, she can't instantly become three times stronger like others—and since I hold the power... she can't take it from me anyway; so the peak of her combat power as the other 'me' is her current state, so there's nothing to panic about. No matter how you deduce it... the conclusion will always be that she can't beat me..."

"Another piece of good news is that, if at the beginning I was maintaining my already dwindling humanity by faking death and falling into a deep sleep... now, the feedback I receive from the authentic world is enough to maintain this delicate balance—and the scales are even gradually tipping in my favor."

"But this also means that you will be completely bound to the fate of the human race..."

Another voice sounded beside them, and a girl who looked exactly like Wuni appeared before Snow...

"This is inevitable, but it will also be irrelevant... just as I left a promise for myself in my memory..."

"May all who take refuge in you be joyful, and shout for joy always, for you are their protector. May all who love your name rejoice in you—"

"They have your blood in them, so they will surely ascend to heaven, and they will always be with you—past, present, and future...forever and ever."

Snow Apocalypse sat on her throne, gazing intently at the golden tree behind her, murmuring softly. Golden particles of light drifted between her and the tree, as if exchanging some kind of message...

The Apocalypse family never lies; they will be completely honest with you, revealing their grandest visions or their smallest desires. This family can never be trusted, for their name is a tapestry of power and intrigue... because they... never lie.

"—My will will surely be fulfilled, my will will surely be fulfilled...."

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