"The anomaly in the Scalegorge Waterscape has already manifested…"
Lynelle stood at the highest point of the Alchemy Commission, gazing into the distance.
"So this is the commotion of sea-parting? Hmm… But if Dan Heng asks me later what the last thing he said to me before parting the sea was, how should I answer?"
[No worries, I have a record of your storyline here.]
Whenever the two were alone, the perky Customer Service Kiana-chan would become active again.
[The last thing he said to you was, 'But…' His final action was a nod, gesturing for you to be careful.]
"You even have storyline replay? That's a pretty robust feature."
Lynelle couldn't help but complain, "But… Kiana-chan, a question just popped into my head."
"To be precise, I realized where the most likely point of failure is in my plan."
"Say… what if I end up attracting the attention of an Aeon? How are we supposed to wrap up the storyline then…?"
[How the storyline wraps up, I don't know. But I can guarantee that even if an Aeon shows up, as long as it's not one of that select few taking direct action against you, I can keep your soul intact.]
"Huh?"
Now it was Lynelle's turn to be utterly baffled.
"Since when was the Authority of Finality this powerful?"
[Because your state of existence involves certain temporal concepts. To put it simply, I can make you 'untargetable' on this timeline… Ahem, of course, this ability of yours isn't without its side effects. It's just that those side effects are still a bit far off for you right now.]
[Anyway, go ahead and act with confidence. At worst, you'll just have to spend more time over in the Honkai Impact side until your body here is out of danger, then come back. It's no big deal.]
[As long as you aren't directly captured by an Aeon, that is.]
"Somehow, that last line of yours feels like you're just asking for trouble…"
Lynelle muttered under her breath, then pulled out the full set of clothes Jing Yuan had just delivered to her.
"At first glance, this outfit is really dashing… Say, should I get Fu Hua a matching set when I go back?"
[I wouldn't bother. Back in our academy days, no matter how many clothes you gifted her, all you'd ever see the Class Monitor wear was that same old, eternally unchanging blue training uniform.]
"Fine then. In that case…"
A card materialized in Lynelle's hand.
"I shall now deploy in the form of the Xianzhou Marshal (Fake)!"
--+--
Just as Lynelle was over there, using every ounce of her strength wrestling with chest-binding cloth in a desperate attempt to replicate Marshal Hua's… ahem, specific proportions, the group on the other side, deep within the Scalegorge Waterscape, had successfully advanced to the front of the Ambrosial Arbor.
There, they encountered Phantylia, who had successfully used the Arbor to forge a new body for herself—one that fused a high-level Abundance blessing with the power of Destruction.
"So this is why she went through all that trouble to get close to the Ambrosial Arbor!"
March 7th drew her bowstring taut and let loose an arrow, blazing with a trail of icy blue light, straight at Phantylia.
But Phantylia didn't even bother to dodge March's attack, simply allowing the arrow to embed itself in her body before her instantly regenerating flesh forced it back out.
"Yikes—how are we supposed to fight that?!"
"The frontal assault will be handled by me and Dan Heng. Members of the Express crew, please focus on clearing the Profound Blossoms on the ground."
"These Abundance Lotuses are the nodes connecting Phantylia to the Ambrosial Arbor. Eliminate them, and we can weaken her regenerative abilities!"
Jing Yuan, controlling the Lightning Lord, relentlessly assaulted Phantylia with his blade from every tricky angle he could manage.
As one of only two present with Emanator-level offensive power, Phantylia dared not simply tank Jing Yuan's strikes.
Given the nature of The Hunt's power, even with her high-level Abundance blessing, taking a direct hit would require significant time to recover from.
"Heh heh… Trying to outlast me? Jing Yuan, Jing Yuan… For all your reputation as a seasoned strategist, you are surprisingly naive in the heat of battle."
"Trying to win a battle of attrition against an Emanator-tier existence blessed with high-level Abundance? Even in your prime, I could outlast you, let alone in your current state…"
Phantylia smiled faintly, her fan sweeping up a gale-force wind that sent the group stumbling back.
"Let us see which comes first: the onset of your Mara, or you exhausting the Ambrosial Arbor's power through sheer force?"
"Or perhaps…"
"Don't tell me you're waiting for that Lynelle, the one I frightened so thoroughly she hasn't dared show her face? Heh… Well, you've chosen correctly."
"She guessed right; I have indeed had my eye on her for a long time. If she were to come, it would save me a great deal of trouble."
"There's no need for you to trouble yourself over that, Phantylia!"
The Lightning Lord unleashed another full-force strike, shattering the defensive barrier Phantylia had erected. A black hole and spiritual water followed up instantly, but they barely seemed to have any effect.
"Jing Yuan, Jing Yuan… The world says you excel at deploying surprise troops. Let me see what other surprises you have up your sleeve…"
Phantylia's voice suddenly cut off. Her perception as an Emanator allowed her to clearly sense that another person had just entered the Scalegorge Waterscape.
Most importantly, even from the depths of the Waterscape, she could seemingly hear the roaring cheers of the Cloud Knight army surrounding the area… Just who could excite the Cloud Knights to such an extent?
"Haha, Phantylia…"
Jing Yuan suddenly burst into loud laughter.
"You wanted to see my surprise troop? Well, here she is."
"Divine Foresight General Jing Yuan, paying respects to the Marshal!"
"?!"
Phantylia's face instantly paled, all traces of her earlier composure vanishing completely.
Even without Jing Yuan's introduction, she could now clearly see the figure gliding slowly towards them from the distance, and she recognized those features all too well.
Holy shit, it's Hua!
Wasn't the Cloud Knight Marshal supposed to be swamped with affairs, her whereabouts unpredictable, making an encounter virtually impossible?
Phantylia gritted her teeth hard, her massive body beginning to frantically draw power from the Ambrosial Arbor.
She was going to run!
She already had her new body.
Taking some injuries was acceptable, but if she greedily tried to absorb more of the Arbor's power now…
That was the Cloud Knight Marshal, Hua! The foremost Emanator of The Hunt! She, Phantylia, was merely a Lord Ravager who specialized in schemes and tricks.
If it were someone like Zephyro here, they might stand a chance, but her, Phantylia…
What, me, fight the Marshal? That's a guaranteed death sentence!
"Until this scourge is eradicated, The Hunt shall never cease…"
As if sensing Phantylia's intent, several feathers drifted around "Hua," and then her body suddenly ignited with a colorless flame.
"All the things of past and present, I commit to this single blade…"
It's too late… Sensing the Emanator-level pressure suddenly erupting from "Hua," a panicked Phantylia, now like an ant on a hot skillet, didn't even have time to analyze it carefully.
She hastily mustered all her power to defend against "Hua's" seemingly world-shattering sword energy.
In reality, as a master of the spiritual realm, Phantylia only needed to make contact with Lynelle's power once to realize… the "Emanator-level" attack launched by this "Hua" was merely an empty facade, powered by Lynelle burning her Fenghuang Down as fuel.
In fact, while the sword energy looked intimidating, because all its power was focused on simulating that Emanator-level pressure, the actual "sword energy" she was unleashing now couldn't even break through March's Six-Phase Ice.
But how could Phantylia possibly be stupid enough to voluntarily throw herself onto Lynelle's sword energy?
Right now, with all her power gathered to withstand "Hua's" assault, Phantylia couldn't even spare a thought for Jing Yuan and Dan Heng, who were also gathering their strength on the sidelines—She could take those two's attacks if she had to, worst case she'd be injured.
But if she dared try to tank the Marshal's strike, that was a genuine, Emanator-killing blow!
--+--
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.