The moment the Titan's iron fist smashed down, Grey Serpent was utterly stunned.
Sure, he'd anticipated Wendy might fight back—maybe she'd sense his killing intent, spin around, and snipe him dead in one clean shot.
But he never, ever expected to be taken out by a giant metal fist.
"Oh, crap."
Only then did Grey Serpent realize: the girl flirting with Wendy on the rooftop earlier had long pink hair.
"Quantum Titan, execute final protocol—self-destruct now!"
Almost the instant he recognized Lynelle, Grey Serpent—with his wealth of combat experience—immediately made the optimal call.
When dealing with the Herrscher of Corruption, you couldn't afford to take chances with control over mechanical constructs. If he didn't self-destruct now, another iron fist would soon come crashing down.
"Quick to act, I'll give you that. Too bad your eyesight's so poor."
Lynelle chuckled lightly. "Trying to self-destruct now? Too late~"
And yet…
Several explosions still echoed through the space.
"Hm?"
Lynelle's brow furrowed slightly.
"These Grey Serpents… I see. So that's why I couldn't take control directly."
In fact, the units that successfully self-destructed were all Titan mechs still fully quantum-shifted, not yet observed and locked into this reality.
That's why their explosions were only audible but couldn't be corrupted by Lynelle.
Of course, Lynelle hadn't tried to corrupt those quantum-state Titans just now—she'd aimed to seize control of Grey Serpent himself.
But that move had failed.
Her corruption power seeped into Grey Serpent's body, yet it didn't take effect immediately.
There was only one explanation for that: this Grey Serpent wasn't mechanical.
Although the power of corruption could also control humans, its response time was several times slower compared to machinery, which it specifically countered.
Among the remaining Grey Serpents here, two weren't pure mechanical constructs, but something closer to "wetware."
"My apologies, Miss Lynelle—"
The lead Grey Serpent immediately stepped forward, bowing slightly with deference. "Before coming to Oceania, we truly did not anticipate your presence here. Our intelligence was lacking."
Wendy shot Lynelle a questioning look.
Though the girl didn't speak, after all this time together, Lynelle could easily read her meaning—something along the lines of:
'You flirt with girls all over at Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, fine, but how are you connected to World Serpent too?!'
"Ahem…"
Forcing herself to ignore Wendy's "resentful" gaze, Lynelle turned to Grey Serpent.
"Flattery won't help. Even if you knew I was in Oceania, would you really have stayed away? I know better than you how badly you need this Herrscher core."
"In that case, we would have employed more… gentle methods. In fact, it's still not too late."
Grey Serpent made a show of sincerity as he asked:
"Miss Wendy, Miss Lynelle… would you consider joining World Serpent?"
"Of course, don't refuse just yet. I am well aware that both of your Herrscher cores possess certain… flaws. Miss Lynelle, your core's output is forcibly locked at a rather low value, and Miss Wendy remains confined to her wheelchair to this day."
"If you join World Serpent and assist us in rescuing our Sovereign, I can promise you this: we will help you fully master your Herrscher cores and undergo Ascension. Moreover…"
Grey Serpent looked at Lynelle. "The two of you may also enter our world's most secret legacy—the Elysian Realm—and receive gifts from the Previous Era."
"Alright, alright, no need for the mysterious act. You're just talking about letting us into the Elysian Realm. Honestly, even if you didn't agree, I could get in myself if I wanted."
Under Grey Serpent's stunned gaze, Lynelle shrugged nonchalantly.
"Besides, I know far more than you think."
"For example, I know that within your Grey Serpent network, only some of you have awakened self-awareness, while the rest are used as mere tools and expendable bodies. Even with so many Grey Serpents here, only two of you are the real 'Grey Serpent,' right?"
"Th-That's impossible!"
Grey Serpent's eyes flashed bright red, and he instinctively took a step back.
"This… this was unknown even in the Previous Era… Even with the Stigma of the Previous Era's Herrscher Elysia, you shouldn't possess such intelligence! Wh-What exactly are you?!"
"What I am doesn't matter, Grey Serpent."
A slight smile played on Lynelle's lips. She'd been on the receiving end of cryptic talk for so long—now she was finally experiencing the fun of being the one speaking in riddles.
"What matters… is your choice."
"Friend or foe? Choose. Out of respect for your identity and for you personally, I'll give you this one chance to choose and prepare."
"..."
Grey Serpent fell silent for several long seconds.
Then… the World Serpent soldiers accompanying him almost simultaneously pulled a syringe from their chest rigs and stabbed them into their own bodies.
"My apologies, Miss Lynelle."
Grey Serpent gave a bitter smile and a slight bow.
"The arrow is already on the bowstring—it must be fired. Moreover… we still believe that even now, the advantage lies with us."
"Once we return to the World Serpent base, I will personally apologize to both of you and request our Sovereign to establish contact with you."
"So it still comes down to a fight… But is this your trump card?"
Watching the several giant Honkai Beasts appear around Grey Serpent, now facing off against the Titans, Lynelle's eyes flashed with disgust. "Jackal's technology is truly repulsive."
"I couldn't agree more."
With that brief exchange over, battle erupted instantly. But unlike before, with some Titans switching sides, the numbers between Lynelle's side and the Grey Serpents were almost evenly matched.
"Wendy, open fire at will!"
Lynelle leaped behind Wendy's wheelchair, crushing a card in her hand. "I'll handle any enemies that get close—just focus on shooting!"
"Got it!"
The engine inside Wendy's wheelchair roared to life. "Lynelle, hold on… Eh? Wait, your appearance…"
Seeing Lynelle's hair shift from pure pink to a black base with pink inner streaks, and her clothes transform into an extremely revealing bodysuit, Wendy nearly lost control of her wheelchair.
"Watch the road, you dummy!"
Lynelle lightly tapped Wendy's head while materializing a massive scythe in her hand. "It's just a different look, no need to get so excited."
"…"
Wendy silently pulled out her rifle, Deadzone. What could she say? That one glance upwards just now… almost made her nose bleed.
From her angle, Lynelle's outfit was downright lethal.
After all, the transformation card Lynelle was using now was…
The first main damage-dealer of Star Rail—Seele.
"That shape-shifting ability of hers again…"
Grey Serpent grimaced inwardly. So far, every observed transformation Lynelle used was different—fighting her meant relearning her mechanics every single time.
He waved his hand lightly, and several Honkai Beasts that still retained their senses immediately broke from the front line, charging toward the two.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
It had to be said: once the distance closed enough, Wendy's attacks lost the eerie unpredictability they had at long range.
From afar, no one could guard against a special bullet that made no sound, but up close, her aiming motions could be read, and with preparation, her sniping lost its ghostly edge.
So Wendy simply opted to use her sniper rifle like a submachine gun. After all, her bullets were genuinely expensive to make, and their power was nothing to scoff at.
As for Lynelle… she was even more absurd.
This time, the card she used perfectly compensated for their lack of stealth and unpredictability.
From Grey Serpent's perspective, one second Lynelle was behind Wendy's wheelchair, and the next she instantly appeared behind some unlucky Honkai Beast, slashed once with that exaggerated scythe, then vanished back to Wendy's side.
So Grey Serpent and another Grey Serpent nearby subtly exchanged a look. Then, one of them instantly burst into a sprint toward Wendy's position.
"Hah? Still not giving up?"
Lynelle snorted lightly, her scythe reappearing in hand as she aimed at this "suicidal" Grey Serpent.
"Disappear among the sea of butterflies, illusions of the past!"
As a large head flew past, Grey Serpent's surroundings were instantly surrounded by several afterimages of Lynelle.
His enhanced armor lasted only a fraction of a second longer than the Honkai Beasts' silicon shells.
But that fraction of a second was all Grey Serpent needed.
The moment Lynelle left the wheelchair, another Grey Serpent, positioned at a tricky angle, immediately drew a strangely shaped hand cannon and aimed it at Wendy.
This was one of Grey Serpent's trump cards—the anti-Herrscher specialized weapon that appeared in the original story: the Rod of the Underworld.
In the original storyline, the Rod of the Underworld didn't debut until the mid-part of the main story. As a weapon specialized against Herrschers, it successfully took Mei's "first blood," only for Mei to learn from it and use it to take down Ana.
Though Mei never used this bug-like "Herrscher killer" again afterwards, that didn't diminish its remarkable function.
Because this weapon wasn't meant for direct damage—it was more like an "EMP" targeting Herrscher cores.
When activated, it could disrupt the connection between a Herrscher core and the Imaginary Space, causing the imaginary singularity inside the core to briefly go offline, which in turn caused the Herrscher's Honkai energy to fall into complete disarray.
For a fully Ascended Herrscher, such an attack would only be a minor disruption.
But for Herrschers like Wendy and Lynelle, who hadn't undergone Ascension and hadn't even fully mastered their core's power… it could even cause the Herrscher core to go out of control and run wild.
That was also why Grey Serpent didn't use this weapon on Lynelle directly, but waited for an opportunity to use it on Wendy—this weapon hadn't undergone actual combat testing.
If they accidentally injured or even killed Lynelle, they couldn't bear that responsibility.
But…
Neither Grey Serpent nor Wendy, who had sensed the attack, knew one thing.
Lynelle's current character card came with two incredibly overpowered special effects.
[Resurgence: When the user successfully defeats an enemy unit, they can trigger Resurgence, instantly teleporting to any location within 100 meters. If this teleportation places the user near an enemy unit, it automatically triggers one attack.]
In the fraction of a second after Grey Serpent fired the Rod of the Underworld, Lynelle's figure—to the wide-eyed astonishment of both Grey Serpent and Wendy—instantly appeared in front of the projectile and swung her scythe down.
However…
As mentioned, compared to conventional weapons, the Rod of the Underworld worked more like an EMP electromagnetic pulse.
That is, once caught within its effective range, destroying the carrier didn't change much.
So… amid a crackle of electricity, Lynelle, who had just teleported to slash the bomb, instantly fell "thump" from the air to the ground, motionless.
"Oh no!"
The Grey Serpents broke out in a cold sweat.
Although the Rod of the Underworld didn't hit Wendy, well… the original plan was half-successful.
Good news: Wendy's powers were indeed going out of control.
Bad news: they were now directed at them.
"Lynelle!"
Amid Wendy's cry of anguish, violent gusts of wind began swirling around her body, so intense that the originally cyan airflow compressed into a dark blue-black hue.
Carried by the currents, Lynelle was gently lifted from the ground and flew into Wendy's arms.
Seeing the girl's pained expression under the current's effect, the fire in Wendy's eyes burned fiercer. The dark blue-black whirlwind even began emitting a sizzling, tearing sound.
"How dare you… How dare all of you!"
"I'll make you pay!"
"Mwah~"
But at that very moment, the Lynelle in Wendy's arms suddenly opened her eyes mischievously and, looking at the enraged Wendy, without hesitation "sneak attacked" her with a kiss.
Wendy: "?"
Grey Serpents: "?"
Lynelle: "Ehehe~"
"Lynelle, you… you're okay?"
Forgetting her embarrassment at being kissed in public, Wendy immediately looked down at Lynelle with concern. Even the chaotic energy around the girl calmed under the glow of Lynelle's Origin Signet.
"I'm not okay."
Lynelle stated matter-of-factly. "That's an anti-Herrscher weapon. I'm a Herrscher too, of course I'm affected. My Herrscher core is in complete chaos right now."
"It's just… it doesn't affect me as much right now. After all, that weapon targets Imaginary Energy."
"But when I'm using this form… Mhm~"
[Daughter of the Sea: When using any character card named "Seele" in the Honkai world, the energy used is automatically replaced with a special energy absorbed from the "Sea of Quanta" through the system's channel.]
Although Lynelle was using Honkai Star Rail's Seele, perhaps due to a little tweak Kiana-chan added when modifying the system, the trait in the system's judgment was fully bound to the name "Seele."
So… while using this character card, a quantum singularity quietly formed inside Lynelle.
You're disrupting the imaginary singularity? What does that have to do with the quantum singularity inside me?
I've joined the Sea, lol!
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 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.