As the saying goes, if the sky falls, tall people will stand up.
At the moment, all the top combat forces of the Schicksal are lying down, and only Delta, barely hanging on, is lying on Wendy's back, breathing but silent.
As the Herrscher of Reason and the leader of the Anti-Entropy Alliance, Welt believes that he is the tallest person on the scene, so he naturally speaks out.
"You..."
"Wait! Let me do it. You don't know anything. Don't turn a good situation like the Second Eruption."
Cocolia stuffed the two black boxes into her chest, handed Kella to the person behind her, and then squeezed to Welt's side.
Welt's face froze. He wanted to explain something, but finally held back and closed his mouth silently.
After obtaining the initial approval of the three elders of Anti-Entropy, Cocolia asked them for the detailed battle report of the Second Great Honkai for the purpose of collecting intelligence and studying Sirin.
After reading it, she sharply criticized the series of foolish actions—comments that Einstein and Tesla, bound by personal connections and heartache, could not bring themselves to make.
This sharp critique eventually reached Welt, thanks to the tacit approval of Einstein and Tesla's big mouth. The humble and honest leader of Anti-Entropy awkwardly expressed his approval and acceptance.
So, Welt stepped back, and Cocolia stepped forward.
"Ahem! Long live the World Serpent~~"
"..."
The elf-like little puppet seemed to be speechless by Cocolia's surrender.
"Haha! Just kidding, trying to create a friendly atmosphere for our conversation. To be honest, you scared us all. So, do you want to sit down and have a cup of tea?"
"I am a mechanical lifeform, I do not need to eat."
"I know your name, I know your identity, I know you. You are a combat ELF of the previous era, the strongest artificial lifeform that matches the strongest warrior of that time. Welcome, Lord Shamash. So, do you want to have tea? The black tea made by my daughter is super delicious!"
"You have to pay for your request. I have only one purpose for coming here, the Gem of Serenity. Give it to me."
After a pause, Shamash stretched out her little hand directly, without taking the opportunity but signaling Cocolia to deliver the goods.
Cocolia narrowed her eyes slightly, and the corners of her mouth hooked into a calm and dangerous smile.
"We agreed to fight the enemy together and then distribute according to the merits. Now you are so impressive, but if I give you the gemstone, will Otto who has lost his dignity let me go? Moreover, how do we calculate the sacrifices and merits of my subordinates? If you make a request, you have to pay the price. What can you give me?"
"..."
This time, Shamash's pause was noticeably longer, seemingly at a loss for how to answer.
Welt's eyes lit up, as if he saw a turning point, and tried to analyze and learn from Cocolia's speech skills.
But the next words made everyone feel uneasy.
"I'm not here to negotiate with you. Obey or perish. You have only these two choices."
"No, no, this is not a good idea. No matter how powerful your military force is, you must know that this world is still maintained by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy. You have been dormant since the early days of civilization. You must have your own plans. No matter how confident you are, being enemies with the whole world will definitely make it difficult for you to move forward. You don't want this result, right?"
"..."
Shamash frowned slightly, as if she was really touched.
After a long time, she slowly said.
"What is your request?"
"Request? Humph, boring topic."
Cocolia changed the subject.
At this time, Sin, who was ordered to find something, finally came back trotting. Together with Ninti, she put down the tea table and stool in front of Cocolia and brewed black tea.
Cocolia sat down and leisurely pointed to the mini steel chair made by Sin on the table opposite. Shamash floated over silently and sat down.
On one side were many bigwigs of Anti-Entropy, and on the other side was Shamash, who had just demonstrated her terrifying power. The two sides sat opposite each other in the sound of the waves, finally creating an atmosphere for negotiation.
"From the data I have, the Honkai is clearly intensifying. As civilization evolves, the enemy of civilization is also evolving faster. The End of the previous civilization is now approaching our era. And now, you are the strongest lifeform contemporary humans have ever seen. I am one of the highest levels of Anti-Entropy, and there are four S-rank Valkyries around you and me who can almost represent most of the foundation of Schicksal. Is it interesting to talk about conditions and interests in this kind of occasion, right?"
"What do you want to say?"
"The three of us have been entangled around this gem for several days and nights. We have fought and quarreled, but these are just trivial matters after all. Shamash, you have your mission, and we have our long-cherished wish, but if civilization reaches its end first, everything will cease to exist. Time is passing, and this is true for everyone. Instead of being deadlocked in a meaningless struggle, don't you think... cooperation is a better choice?"
While telling the story, Cocolia also signaled Sin to set up a seat and let Delta sit.
The three parties gathered together, and Cocolia's meaningful words made this fight, which should have been tense and life-and-death, suddenly change its flavor.
The situation has become bigger.
Whether Welt, Rita, Theresa, or Anti-Entropy or Schicksal, they dared not interrupt at this moment, but deliberately or unintentionally made a gesture of holding their breath and listening.
Shamash lowered her eyes and said lightly: "This is not something for me to talk about and judge."
Delta touched her bandaged chest and followed closely. "In theory, this is not my job either."
Cocolia smiled and nodded: "But this can be a certain foundation. There must be a beginning, and opportunities are rare, so why not start here first?"
The three looked at each other, and Shamash and Delta stopped talking.
Cocolia raised her eyebrows, took out the black box containing the Gem of Serenity from her chest, and said:
"How about we start with the focus of this dispute? The Gem of Serenity, I need it because it is the key material of the X-10 experiment, and it will reveal the real method of curing Honkai Disease for me. I will rely on it to create a special medicine for Honkai Disease, and what this means to humans, I don't think I need to explain too much. What about you, what do you want to achieve with this gem?"
It is a very noble and glorious purpose. Not to mention the people on the Anti-Entropy side, even Rita can hardly blame Cocolia from this aspect, and even admires her determination and belief in bravely challenging Otto for this.
Delta glanced at Shamash and saw that she was silent, so she said slowly with a bit of reluctance like being forced to work overtime:
"The Schicksal is for humans to create Herrschers-like humans, just like me, and to bring the power of the apostles that should belong to the Honkai into the hands of humans. From now on, it is no longer the stronger the civilization, the more terrible the Honkai, but the more terrible the Honkai, the stronger the human beings. As one rises and the other falls, the offensive and defensive forces are different. For the first time, we will be invincible in the war against the Honkai."
It is also an irrefutable purpose, with such a large pattern and high intentions that even Welt, who was reluctant to sacrifice innocent people, could not say loudly that Schicksal is messing around.
Both organizations stated their respective goals and openly revealed confidential information that should not be known to the public. So everyone focused their attention on Shamash, who was silent for a long time, and wanted to know what kind of lofty theory this mysterious and powerful force would say.
Who knew that Shamash directly picked up the flaming sword that had just been put down, and the tea placed in front of her boiled and evaporated in front of everyone.
"Give me the Gem of Serenity."
Without any explanation, Shamash just stretched out her little hand again, releasing the scorching heat that distorted the air, asking for the gem in Cocolia's hand.
Cocolia wiped the sweat from her forehead, shook her head and sighed, then deliberately amplified her voice and asked.
"Looking at your attitude, can I say that as the culprit of the Nagazora City incident, you want to create another man-made Eruption?"
As the voice echoed throughout the venue, Himeko, Theresa, and Bronya's faces turned pale one after another.
The next second, an extremely sharp breath suddenly came to Shamash's side, and the Valkyries with better eyesight saw the dazzling golden hair.
"Boom!"
"Please spare her life, don't hurt little Angel!"
Before everyone could see what this fearless little girl looked like, an ancient golden sword engraved with mountains, rivers, flowers, plants, and trees suddenly inserted and resisted Shamash's flaming sword.
"Aunt, help me!"
"But she is Jinwei's old friend and our benefactor!"
"Help me, Aunt!!"
"You... benefactor, why are you so excited? Don't hurt my nephew!"
Amidst Angel's hoarse roar and Ji Lin's panicked voice, a powerful force and scorching breath intertwined, disrupting the entire venue beyond recognition.
Cocolia had already retreated behind Welt and Ninti, and Delta also returned to Wendy's back again, but except for these people, the rest of the onlookers were knocked unconscious by the sudden powerful impact.
When everyone regained their composure, the three people who had clashed had already fought overseas, the huge flaming sword and the overwhelming sword energy took shape, interweaving into a dreamy and terrifying picture in the sky.
"Welt, Ninti, drive them away and rush to the direction of Saint Freya on the premise of ensuring your own safety!"
Cocolia sneered and gave orders without hesitation.
Ninti is a good daughter who listens to her mother, so of course she has nothing to say, she nodded and flew out.
Welt couldn't figure out the current situation. Seeing Ninti, who he cared about, go out, he naturally had no time to think too much, and followed Cocolia's order without hesitation.
Then Cocolia decisively threw the black box in her hand to Delta.
"I would rather you sacrifice a few more Valkyries than see another Nagazora City. Choose the lesser of two evils and take the gem away. Also, tell Otto whether to let go of past grudges or to fight each other. Let him think it over clearly."
"...You are just trying to divert the trouble."
"Then will you take it or not?"
"Wendy, let's go first."
Delta made a decision quickly. A layer of invisible ideal fluid wrapped Wendy and herself, then they rushed directly into the sea and disappeared quickly.
"What's wrong with Mount Taixu not being able to help me, you idiot Gray Serpent? You don't understand human nature at all. Mount Taixu is very useful! I wanted to drive away the wolf and swallow the tiger, but I didn't expect to attract a giant dragon. It's really bad luck." Cocolia turned away with a dark face and cursed.
Soon, only a group of old, weak, sick, and disabled Valkyries were left here, looking at each other, at a loss.