"Many thanks for the young lady's kindness; Yanqing appreciates it."
Encouraged by Freesna, Yanqing truly became confident. He was determined to act boldly and without worry!
"Mmh! Go for it!"
"The Church lacks talent like him..." Watching Yanqing's retreating figure, Freesna actually sprouted a mischievous thought of poaching him.
"Mmh..." Seeing Freesna looking troubled, Adrian took the initiative to help her solve the problem, proposing:
"Why don't we just organize an [Exchange Student Event] between the Church and the Xianzhou? You select a Church Knight passionate about martial arts and send them to the Luofu for a few days of internship... to experience the life of a Cloud Knight."
"As expected of My Lord! To come up with such a brilliant plan... Ah, but for this kind of thing, better talk to Blake; I'm not responsible for this part." Freesna always loved telling the truth, and being honest and trustworthy was an [Eternity] virtue passed down to this day.
She looked up at the flickering flame chandelier.
Making a [Lord Ravager] into a chandelier—which genius came up with this?
First, rule out Blake. If that guy handled Phantylia, she would definitely be locked up in the Church's little dark room, ending up like Cocolia.
But... given Blake's personality, he probably wouldn't allow a Lord Ravager to step half a foot into the Church, even as a captured criminal.
Locking a Lord Ravager in the Church would be as unbearable as a History Fictionologist dumping space junk into Nous's mechanical head—simply unreasonable.
"Don't worry, this Lord Ravager's consciousness has been trapped in the second before [Eternity]. Now she is nothing more than a tattered decoration."
Adrian looked at the Phantylia-brand chandelier on the ceiling. This was the [Masterpiece] they came up with after mutual discussion.
Rewind to a few days ago, at the Petrichor Inn.
Everyone sat around the bed without saying a word, the atmosphere terrifyingly quiet.
"So... Miss Tingyun, how do you plan to deal with a [Lord Ravager]?" March 7th knocked cautiously on the iron cage, afraid that one careless move would let Phantylia find a flaw and escape.
"Like Blake said, this started because of you, and it will be up to you to decide Phantylia's life and death." Adrian sat at the other end of the bed. It wasn't impossible for HIM to rub a black hole into existence right now and throw Phantylia in.
"Miss Tingyun, pardon my bluntness..." Welt said seriously. "If Phantylia is executed, the Xianzhou Alliance must be prepared to go to war with the [Antimatter Legion] ahead of schedule."
Before full preparations were made, Welt didn't recommend Tingyun choosing immediate execution.
"Using Phantylia as bait might lure out a second [Lord Ravager], and then we can catch them all in one net." Dan Heng agreed with Welt's idea.
"Hey! Since erasure won't work, why don't we consider [Sealing]?" March 7th took out a piece of Six-Phased Ice emitting cold air.
"Can this thing hold an Emanator of [Destruction]?"
"Aiya~ How do we know without trying? This is already the best plan I can come up with." March 7th pouted. She couldn't be the only one sealed by Six-Phased Ice.
"According to Miss March's idea, sealing Lord Ravager Phantylia is indeed feasible... and it won't bring crisis to the Luofu." Tingyun considered seriously, but saw Stelle and Adrian staring intently at the iron cage.
"Hiss... I wouldn't have noticed without looking closely. The flame around Phantylia is quite bright, yet not dazzling, and staring at it for a long time doesn't hurt the eyes."
"Indeed, she is quite suitable as a night light."
Originally, they wanted to install one in the parlor car (Stelle and Adrian's room), but Himeko vetoed it with one vote.
Considering Adrian's milk tea shop with such poor lighting and extreme dimness, after unanimous decision by everyone, the current Lord Ravager-brand chandelier came into being.
"Such a marvelous idea! The Astral Express is indeed the destined ally of my Church of Eternity!" Freesna was deeply impressed by their thought process. No wonder [Eternity] and [Trailblaze] had a good relationship.
Of course, the Church would definitely not install this kind of chandelier in the sanctuary. Their sense of territory was beyond words.
It would be better to change the material of the night light to a Mask of [Elation], which could even create a hint of horror atmosphere at night.
...
Seat of Divine Foresight. Fu Xuan gathered everyone here; she had important matters to announce.
"It's good to see everyone here..." Fu Xuan had dark circles under her eyes and a hoarse voice. Seeing Stelle and the others was like seeing saviors.
"Now that this Seat is temporarily acting as General, so Jing Yuan doesn't have to overwork... I just didn't expect the first test of becoming General to be so difficult."
"Calculating casualties and losses, sending people to hunt down the remnants of the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus, explaining the battle situation to the Six Charioteers... No wonder Jing Yuan said [Sitting in this chair is like sitting on a mountain of knives]."
Seeing the Master Diviner speaking so weakly, Stelle volunteered to share some of her burden.
"Didn't Master Diviner Fu always yearn for the position of General? Leaving aside whether it's tiring or not, at least you're enjoying it, right?" March 7th asked.
"The position of General concerns matters of great importance; how can one talk about enjoyment? It can only be called adapting, hmph hmph..."
Fu Xuan knew well that all this was for her to smoothly sit on the General's throne in the future. being tired now was nothing.
"I think she just enjoys it..." March 7th whispered a complaint.
Welt went straight to the point: "The Master Diviner invited us here specially not to lament, right?"
"Of course not! Since I am acting General, naturally I must thank you for your righteous help in an official Luofu capacity. Now that matters have come to a close, it is time to be open and reward everyone."
"Wow!" March 7th perked up at this. "Are the benefits promised by the General coming? Are they coming?"
"Are they coming? Are they coming?" Stelle imitated March 7th's overjoyed expression, successfully earning a retort from her.
"Wow... being a repeater at a time like this, I don't even know what to say about you."
Fu Xuan didn't act like a riddler and spoke frankly: "Indeed, the Astral Express went through fire and water for the Luofu; your sincerity is evident."
"After discussion among the Six Charioteers, from this day forth, you are the sworn allies of the Luofu. Within the territory of the Luofu, you will receive the highest standard of preferential treatment, equivalent to Alliance envoys."
"On behalf of the Astral Express, I thank the Master Diviner," Welt replied in gratitude.
"Wow, although nothing practical was given, it sounds quite cool..." March 7th's eyes were even more expectant.
"Thanks are done. I have one more matter to consult with you. Please come this way."
Fu Xuan led everyone to an office and began to sort out the sequence of events of the Ambrosial Arbor disaster.
"No way, Master Diviner? Just finished thanking us, don't tell me you're going to assign us a mission..." March 7th suddenly felt something was wrong. Is this giving a sweet date first and then a slap?
"It doesn't count as a mission. It's just that with the Stellaron bringing disaster, the [Disciples of Sanctus Medicus] creating chaos, the [Ambrosial Arbor] reviving, and even the Antimatter Legion infiltrating the Luofu... I must submit a detailed official document of all these events to the Alliance high command for investigation."
"But being in the midst of it, I was more or less influenced by external forces, and my knowledge is biased. Therefore, I invite everyone to sort out the sequence of events with me and clarify the many details within."
"So, where should we start?"