[Punklordian Regards(Consumable)]
[Type: Curio]
[Rating: Four Stars]
[Jab this item into the target's body, ensuring a contact area exceeding 30% and maintaining contact for over one second to be considered a successful use.]
[Upon activation, the Aether Key inside will one-way lock onto the target's position (including clones) and execute a data-based attack via Aether Editing. Due to limited energy storage, this Curio can simultaneously track up to 50 targets, with a maximum total of 999 attack targets.]
[Note: This attack requires a data-space connection. If the link is physically severed, the attack will automatically fail.]
[Remaining Uses: (0/1)]
--+--
That's right—this "Punklordian Regards" was one of the items Lynelle had drawn from the system.
Before the operation began, whether it was her luck finally turning or some unseen benefactor lending a hand, Lynelle's ten-pull—split into two sets of five across different banners—had surprisingly netted her three purples.
One was Arlan, whom she'd already used earlier. Another was her second trump card—the Punklordian Regards.
But when Lynelle first drew this thing, it gave her quite a headache. Though the effect seemed powerful, it had two critical flaws.
First, the usage conditions were harsh. Stabbing the item into the target's body with over 30% contact area for more than a second? Given Lynelle's abilities, pulling that off in combat was… challenging, to say the least.
Second, while the attack count seemed impressive, the trade-off was that each individual strike was relatively weak.
Under the protection of the Void Archives, such attacks would barely scratch Otto himself.
So… Lynelle decided to think outside the box.
Hey! If I can't deal meaningful damage to you, Otto, then surely I can wreck your unconscious Soulium clones, right?
No matter how powerful Otto is, he can't simultaneously control nearly a thousand Soulium bodies at once.
Likewise, if I launch a widespread, indiscriminate attack on all of them, there's no way he could react in time.
And so, the plan was born.
According to the system's feedback, the damage from Punklordian Regards had rendered nearly four-fifths of Otto's Soulium bodies useless. The ones that remained were mostly clustered near the headquarters.
While Lynelle's attack couldn't completely destroy Soulium, and the damaged bodies could still be recycled as raw material, reprocessing a single Soulium body cost a fortune.
Moreover, with almost all the Soulium bodies stored around the world wiped out in one fell swoop, it would take Otto years to rebuild his clone network to its former global-response capability—and that's not even factoring in Schicksal's financial strain.
After all, war is fought with money. Fresh from the Second Eruption, with global Soulium puppets completely scrapped, it's easy to imagine the dire straits Otto would face afterward.
But that wasn't Lynelle's concern. She was just a newbie who'd been isekai'd for less than a month.
Managing a mutual defeat with Otto was already a remarkable feat. Just look at old man Welt—he'd been fighting Otto for decades and still got beaten every time.
As for the last item she drew… it was more like insurance for extreme circumstances. But Lynelle really hoped she wouldn't have to use it.
After all, though its effect was powerful, this item was essentially for mopping up after a disaster. And if things had reached that point, the situation leading up to it probably wouldn't be… very optimistic.
"Otto's been dealt with. At the very least, he won't be messing with us with a new body anytime soon."
Rising from beside Otto and giving the Soulium body a kick aside, Lynelle turned a worried gaze toward Sirin.
In just one minute, Sirin's condition had changed dramatically.
Thick, crystallized Honkai energy enveloped her layer upon layer, forming a massive cocoon that recklessly radiated Herrscher authority.
"Welt, what happened? Where's Otto? Why has Sirin turned into… this?"
Meanwhile, Cecilia and Siegfried arrived from nearby. Even though they'd mentally prepared themselves, the scene before them still startled them.
"Let me explain…"
Einstein's voice came from the screen Welt held.
"Otto used some unknown method to simultaneously activate all five Cores within Sirin's body. If a Herrscher only has one Core, this state wouldn't be as severe—it might even boost their power to some extent."
"But Sirin's problem is she has five Cores inside her. Aside from her native Void Core, her synchronization with the other four is only mediocre. As a result, she's completely unable to control the wild Cores running wild within her."
"The conflicting Authorities are repelling each other. Sirin can no longer suppress the Cores as she used to—she may have even lost consciousness. The consequence of this is… severe Honkai disasters breaking out across Siberia."
"Since both we and Schicksal evacuated the area beforehand, there haven't been casualties in the affected zones yet. However, the Honkai eruption triggered by five Herrscher Cores activating at once won't be limited to Siberia. Within a few hours, half of Asia could be swept into this terrifying catastrophe."
"So what should we do?"
Lynelle stared intently at the screen. "You're not going to suggest we abandon Sirin, are you?"
"There is a way, but to be honest, it's very dangerous. And due to certain external factors, we might end up facing two disasters at once."
Einstein's voice grew serious.
"According to reliable intel, Schicksal headquarters has fully entered combat readiness. Judging by their internal weapon movements, Otto likely plans to launch Honkai fission missiles at Siberia. If you don't leave now, you probably won't get another chance."
"Just tell us the method."
This time, it was Cecilia who spoke. A resolute gleam already shone in her eyes.
"Before she left, Sirin told me… she hoped that the next time we met, she could still call me 'Mama Cecilia.'"
"Whether she admits it or not, in that illusion, I was her mother… So I can't let such a simple wish go unfulfilled."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.