The strange transformation of Amphoreus forced Jing Yuan to halt his next move and once again send out a conference invitation to the joint fleet.
The leaders of the fleet accepted the invitation almost instantly. The moment their projections materialized, Jade, representing the IPC, immediately questioned Jing Yuan.
"General Jing Yuan, do you have any information on those twelve obsidian pillars on Amphoreus?"
Such distinctly square structures were clearly related to Fu Zhu. And compared to the Corporation, Fu Zhu was obviously closer to the Xianzhou Luofu. After all, they had previously joined forces to seal the Lord Ravager Phantylia using a structure called a Nether Portal.
Coincidentally, that Nether Portal was also constructed from obsidian. It was plausible that these twelve pillars were related to the Nether.
As for why Jade chose to ask Jing Yuan instead of the members of the Astral Express, it was because she could see the same look of bewilderment on the face of their representative, Ms. Himeko.
Upon hearing Jade's question, the others also turned to Jing Yuan, expectantly awaiting his answer.
The unknown is what breeds the most fear. If Jing Yuan could shed some light on this, they might be able to find a way to counter it. Even if there was no solution, it would at least grant them some peace of mind.
To their disappointment, however, Jing Yuan shook his head before them all.
"No, I know nothing about these twelve obsidian pillars. I convened this meeting precisely because I was hoping to get an answer from Ms. Himeko. But clearly, you are also unaware, correct?"
Himeko nodded regretfully. All she knew was that the pillars were made of obsidian; she knew nothing else. Fu Zhu had never mentioned anything about them.
"I know."
Just as everyone was at a loss, a clear, cold female voice spoke up. The group turned in unison towards the source of the voice. It was Herta.
The Herta of this moment was staring at the twelve obsidian pillars on the monitor, her expression grim. Nevertheless, she began to explain.
"Some time ago, I invited Fu Zhu to assist with one of my research projects. By a stroke of luck, Fu Zhu brought me, Ruan Mei, and Screwllum into a world he had created. There, we visited a plane called 'The End,' and it was there that we saw the Ender Dragon for the first time."
Herta paused, her expression turning even more sour as a thought suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Is it possible... that if I hadn't simulated Fu Zhu's world back then, the Ender Dragon would never have escaped from the Simulated Universe into the real one? Could I be the ultimate culprit behind this whole mess...?
Seeing Herta fall silent, the others grew anxious but didn't dare to rush her. What if she was contemplating some crucial matter? Interrupting her train of thought would be a terrible idea.
Fortunately, Herta's silence was brief. After only a few seconds, she spoke again.
"According to Fu Zhu, the plane known as The End is divided into a main island and outer islands. The Ender Dragon resides on the main island. On that main island exist twelve obsidian pillars identical to the ones on Amphoreus. According to him, those irregular polyhedrons are called End Crystals. If they are not destroyed, they will continuously supply the Ender Dragon with energy. The current state of Amphoreus... it's a perfect replica of The End's main island! It has constructed this place as a dueling ground for its deathmatch with Fu Zhu!"
After hearing her explanation, the group couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. A deathmatch with a divine being? The collateral damage from the battle alone could destroy several nearby star systems!
Jing Yuan immediately said, "We have to help!"
Even setting aside their relationship with Fu Zhu as a benefactor, friend, and partner, they had to intervene, if only to protect the countless innocent star systems in the vicinity!
"We can't," Herta said abruptly, pouring a bucket of cold water on their intentions.
"The Ender Dragon is immune to all damage except from Fu Zhu and explosions. Even if you, General Jing Yuan, and General Feixiao were to attack together, it would be the same. And besides, do you really think it would allow us to so easily interfere with a moment it has waited so long for?"
Jing Yuan and the others fell silent. Just as Herta said, the Ender Dragon would not allow them to interfere. Even if they tried to force their way in, could they truly stop it?
At that moment, Robin, representing The Family, seeing the silence of the group, parted her lips and spoke.
"But we can't just do nothing and leave everything to Mr. Fu Zhu to bear. At the very least... we can destroy the End Crystals to prevent it from continuously supplying the Ender Dragon with energy!"
"Indeed. There are still things we can do to help him," Jing Yuan said, his spirits lifted by Robin's words. He immediately regained his composure and began to lay out the next course of action.
"Here is the plan. We will proceed with the previous allocation. General Feixiao and I will hold back the Lord Ravagers to prevent them from causing trouble. The task of destroying the End Crystals will be left to the Xianzhou and Corporation fleets. How does that sound?"
Jade nodded. The allocation was perfectly reasonable. Although they couldn't intervene too deeply, destroying the End Crystals from a distance with their fleet's firepower was still well within their capabilities.
Seeing Jade agree, Jing Yuan continued.
"After the End Crystals are destroyed, the fleets will shift their focus to attacking The Irontomb to prevent it from interfering with Fu Zhu. Lady Robin, I will have to trouble The Family with handling the wounded."
"No problem," Robin agreed at once.
Finally, it was the Astral Express and Herta's turn.
Jing Yuan looked at them both. "Ms. Himeko, Ms. Herta, I'll trouble you to relay this information to Fu Zhu."
As for what they would do after relaying the message, Jing Yuan made no further arrangements, leaving it to their discretion.
"Alright, leave it to us."
With this simple arrangement made, Jing Yuan waved his hand to dismiss the conference, and everyone began to execute their assigned tasks.
Aboard the Astral Express, Himeko, having just disconnected, turned to Herta and the others beside her. "I'm sorry to trouble you both," she said with a worried expression.
Herta nodded, then turned to Screwllum. "Screwllum, I'll leave contacting Fu Zhu to you. I'm going to execute the backup plan!"
Screwllum looked at Herta with some surprise, his tone tinged with disbelief. "Could it be that you intend to use the Audience System to connect yourself directly with Nous?"
Herta had mentioned this possibility to him before, but at the time, it was a contingency plan in case Fu Zhu failed to deal with The Irontomb. He didn't understand why Herta was choosing to execute this plan now.
A strained smile touched the corners of Herta's lips.
"Our dear senior was so fond of saying that Nous defined the boundaries of knowledge. I'd like to see if that big machine head of his has a solution for the Ender Dragon!"