What a strange speech.
Shu raised an eyebrow. In his opinion, Otto's speech today was seriously off the mark.
It was hard to imagine that Otto, who usually sounded like Shakespeare... and might have actually talked to Shakespeare himself, would say something as bland as "you will get everything you want" in a situation where "everyone is deploying."
So did Otto have a deeper meaning?
No, this guy definitely didn't prepare a speech, right? Is this guy's impromptu speech level this low?
...I'd better believe that Otto has a deeper meaning. It's really hard for Shu to associate "Otto" with "just this."
Even though Otto had repeatedly emphasized to him during this period that "I'm really just this."
What Shu didn't know was what kind of impact Otto's perfunctory departure speech had on the others.
Desire, longing, obsession... more or less, everyone had something they wanted.
But today, for almost everyone here, that "everything" had a common, unspoken direction—to make Shu "lose" convincingly, to let him see everyone's strength, so that he could temporarily put down his heavy burden.
Shu was the first to board the wooden gangway connecting to the ancient ship's side. Behind him, everyone exchanged glances.
Kiana secretly made a "fighting" gesture at his back, and was then gently pulled by Mei, who signaled her to be more restrained.
Bronya was already holding a data pad and had begun to simulate the best position to stand after boarding.
Siegfried rubbed his face, trying to put on a serious expression of "I must have a good fight with this kid named Kevin today," although the corners of his mouth were still a little out of control. Cecilia gave him a helpless smile.
Shigure Kira let out a jealous hiss at this smile. Nicholas carried the Jizo Mitama and casually put his arm on Salome's shoulder.
Theresa and Kallen waved at the people below from the ship's side. Natasha stretched her muscles and walked onto the deck.
Bianka took a deep breath, the hesitation in her eyes replaced by determination. Rita bowed slightly beside her and said in a low voice, "Lady Bianka, please remember, although this is a 'performance,' our opponent is Lord Shu."
Fu Hua nodded slightly to Li Sushang, and the two of them walked towards the gangway together, their steps calm, as if they were just going on an ordinary voyage.
Sirin finally ended the "face-pulling battle" with Sin Mal. The two of them were puffing their cheeks and were pushed onto the ship by Rosalia and Lilia. Fréllei and Seele walked quietly beside them.
Schrödinger yawned, looked back at Ana, who was at the back of the line, stared for a while, then shrugged and followed the main group.
Ana was the last to leave the shadow. She looked up at the towering masts of "Noah's Ark," which were intertwined with ancient wood and faint blue energy. Her fingers unconsciously tightened, gripping the pendant on her chest, and then she stepped into the crowd boarding the ship.
Hum—
The low rumble did not come from the engine, but from the hull itself, from the combination of ancient wood that resonated with Honkai energy and modern technology.
The hull vibrated slightly, and then, this huge wooden sailing ship began to rise slowly, defying the laws of physics, floating elegantly and stably. As the sailing ship completely left the base, real sunlight filled the deck, carrying everyone, and pointing the bow towards Sapphire City.
"Whoosh—"
The furled sails suddenly unfurled. A gentle stream of light spread out from the top of the mast, turning into a light screen that enveloped the entire "Noah's Ark."
"The warp is about to begin. Everyone, please prepare for protection," Bronya stood at the bow, with more than a dozen light blue virtual light screens already appearing in front of her. It looked quite strange on this antique-like ship.
The next moment, a sudden feeling of weightlessness came. Everyone's figures swayed. The force was not great, and even Shu could react without any preparation and stabilize his body.
However, just as everyone had stabilized themselves, the sound of the waves reached their ears.
The few people standing by the ship's side looked down and saw the vast ocean below.
Sapphire City, in an instant!
Even with the start-up time, the entire warp only took two seconds.
Then, the "Noah's Ark" floating in the sky began to slowly descend towards the shore. On the sandy beach, a row of Titan mechs was already waiting to greet everyone.
At the head was the fiery red Titan mech. A red-haired pilot stood on the shoulder armor of the Titan mech, holding a helmet under her arm, and was waving at everyone.
Hmm? Himeko?
Shu's breathing became a little heavier. He really didn't expect Himeko to participate in this selection competition. You know, Himeko's position in the entire Fire Moth was "instructor."
Sending an instructor to the front line was already a helpless choice. Now, to have an instructor step down from her original position and become a front-line leader?
Isn't this order reversed? Shouldn't it be more reasonable for the leader to retire to the background and become an instructor?
At this moment, Otto's voice sounded on the ship at the right time.
"Everyone has arrived at the competition venue. I will reiterate the rules again. This is an unrestricted melee. You can use any method to defeat your opponents.
"Next, I will distribute the newly developed Divine Key, 'Thousand Stars of Reason,' to everyone. Those whose Divine Keys are taken away will be eliminated on the spot. After obtaining all the Divine Keys, this selection competition will end directly."
Seeing that Noah's Ark was already close to the coastline, Shu took the brand new Divine Key from Quinn's hand, and then was the first to disembark and stand on the beach.
"Shu—" A very hidden shriek suddenly came. Shu stumbled and almost fell on the beach.
Fortunately, the call stopped abruptly. Shu looked up and glanced around secretly, and finally locked his gaze on a Titan that did not have his signature.
After a quick scan, Shu's expression became even stranger.
Because the pilot in that Titan... was Sussanna.
God knows how she managed to successfully become a member of Himeko's squad in two days without knowing Himeko at all? And she even had the ability to appear here and participate in this selection competition?
Aren't you... really not pulling any strings?
By the way, why did Sussanna shout like that just now? And why was her face so red...
And just as Shu was wondering, Himeko had already caught the "Thousand Stars of Reason" that had been thrown down from Noah's Ark, hung it on her chest, and then jumped into the cockpit and started the Titan mech.
Hmm?
Shu suddenly felt that something was wrong. He looked back and saw that there was no one behind him.
Almost everyone was on Noah's Ark, looking at him. Among them, Kiana was already wearing the suffocating Key of Genesis.
At the same time as Shu turned his head, Otto's voice came at the perfect moment.
"The battle begins."