After the brief chaos caused by the appearance of the Herrscher of Sentience, Anti-Entropy began its investigation into the Herrschers of Domination.
The target was a workshop located in the suburbs.
"Sister Sushang, this is our investigation target."
The gentle, delicate girl stood beside the martial artist, feeling an indescribable sense of security from Li Sushang's broad bosom.
*This chest is so big, her brother Brian will definitely love it, just like he loves me!*
'Seele': "..."
Having witnessed the entire thing and being able to read Seele's thoughts, the other girl was rendered speechless, immensely nostalgic for the innocent, cute, and pure little darling of the past.
Ever since Seele was carried to bed by that guy, the pure Seele of the past had vanished before her eyes in an instant, leaving only a Seele Vollerei whose mind was filled with love and lewd thoughts.
Such a drastic change almost made 'Seele' think that Seele had been poisoned by the Inner World Protagonist.
She immediately chided her in disappointment, "Seele! Can't you see what time it is!?"
"Besides, there's nothing about that scoundrel worth clinging to. The right thing to do is to leave him as soon as possible!"
Seele's little face flushed with shame at these words, but she quickly toughened up again.
"Other me, isn't it true that most of the time, you felt I couldn't handle it, so you pushed me out?"
"Th-that was for your own good, to stop you from being toyed with by that guy until you can't tell which way is up."
'Seele' stubbornly insisted.
But she also knew she was completely in the wrong on this topic, so she quickly changed the subject: "Alright, enough of this. You're about to go deeper, so you should watch your step."
Seele's attention returned to reality. The Shenzhou martial artist beside her had already used her formidable strength to conduct a preliminary sweep of the building before them.
"Alright, I've scouted it out. There's no immediate danger inside."
"Seele, let's split up and see if we can find anything valuable."
"Okay, Sister Sushang, you be careful too."
The two split up, searching for useful intelligence and clues within the building.
The Plaster Monsters that had attacked Seele last time were the creations of this workshop, so the two girls might find something.
The two girls began their mission.
Seele pressed a switch on the wall, but there was no reaction from within the workshop.
"Something's not right..."
According to the intelligence they had received, this workshop was still fulfilling orders recently, mailing Plaster Monsters to various locations.
But there was no water or electricity here; it didn't look like a place someone could live in.
Either there was no one here, or whoever lived here wasn't human.
The cautious girl moved deeper, discovering a recent order form on a desk.
The latest date on it was...
"Today?"
'Seele': "Don't even think about it. There's definitely something disgusting here!"
As if in response to her, a loud crash came from the other side of the workshop.
"Oh no! Sister Sushang is in danger!"
Before 'Seele' could react, Seele charged toward the source of the sound without hesitation.
In the blink of an eye, Seele rushed to Li Sushang's side, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the martial artist.
"Sister Sushang, I'm here to help!"
Li Sushang let out a hearty laugh, full of confidence: "Seele, thank you for your kindness, but I can handle these insolent fools on my own."
They were just a bunch of Plaster Monsters. Even if a squad of Titans was brought out from Anti-Entropy's base, she could still charge in and out of here seven times.
It couldn't be helped. The basic material of plaster limited the strength of these Plaster Monsters. No matter how powerful they became, they could not surpass the limits of the material itself.
A mere group of puppets was nothing to speak of.
The Shenzhou martial artist was just that confident.
The pale monsters, controlled by a mastermind behind the scenes, surrounded the two girls. The prudent Seele had already sent a notification to the Anti-Entropy base.
But in order to obtain more information about the mastermind, the girl chose not to make the safer choice of retreating.
As they stood on guard, the sudden clicking sound of colliding wood blocks drew the two girls' attention.
That wasn't the sound of these Plaster Monsters moving!
A puppet, its body twitching erratically as it was pulled by strings, entered their field of vision.
"Who are you? What are you?"
Li Sushang stared at the uninvited puppet, her entire being exuding a sharp sword intent.
Without a doubt, if this thing made the slightest move, a sharp blade would dismember it, turning the puppet into just another piece of debris on the ground.
The puppet's body showed no emotion, its upper and lower jaw moving with the pull of the strings: "You barge into my workshop uninvited. Shouldn't I be the one asking that question?"
He was the master of this place.
According to the laws of this country, he could even kill these two on the spot without bearing any responsibility.
But even as a Herrscher, he had some self-awareness.
Even for water to wear away stone, it requires a long time and an unimaginable numerical advantage.
For a Herrscher of Domination like him who wasn't skilled in combat, directly facing an S-rank Valkyrie would only end with him being chopped into pieces.
Li Sushang: "But you created these dangerous things. If you cooperate with us, you still have a chance."
With her azure blade at the ready, the Shenzhou martial artist was in no mood to waste time talking with this guy.
On the enemy's home turf, idle chatter was a foolish choice.
Rather than causing unnecessary variables through delay, it was better to end the fight decisively and swiftly.
Puppet: "Dangerous?"
Though it had a wooden body, one could sense an air of ridicule from it.
"Compared to you monsters in human skin, aren't you the more dangerous ones?"
The puppet's head rotated a full circle, mechanically looking at Li Sushang: "You non-humans who possess power, you use your innate strength to lord over this society, exploiting the surplus value from us!"
"I am not the dangerous one, nor are these little darlings I've created. It is you superhumans hidden within society who are the truly unstable factor!"
This was praise for the wicked and condemnation for the good.
Anyone living in the modern world who had received a modern education could fully understand the anger in this fellow's words.
But!
Li Sushang turned her head in confusion: "Seele, what did that guy just say? How come I don't understand a single word?"
What 'surplus value,' 'unstable factor'...
Please forgive her, a person from five hundred years ago, for being completely unable to comprehend this guy's profound statements.
Keywords she could understand, like 'exploitation', didn't seem like a big deal to an ancient person like Li Sushang.
Have you ever seen a real famine?
She had. It was a great disaster where even the grass roots were dug up for food. A thousand miles of barren land, with corpses littering the fields, was never an exaggeration, but a description of a past reality.
In her simple value system, being able to eat your fill and stay alive was already very good.
The reason this puppet felt miserable, felt it had been treated unfairly... was likely due to an insatiable heart.
Like her, Seele couldn't understand the words spoken by the puppet either: "Seele... doesn't know either."
One was a Shenzhou martial artist from five hundred years ago, the other was a student who had not yet graduated from school.
The topics the puppet spoke of were truly too profound for the two of them.
This reaction was like a bucket of cold water poured over the puppet's anger, and the resentment in its chest cooled in an instant.
No matter how he cursed and complained about the world, if these two didn't understand, they just didn't understand.
In that case...
The puppet gave a cold 'jie jie' laugh, then changed the subject.
First target... Seele Vollerei.
"Seele Vollerei, the girl born on that desolate snowfield."
"..."
Being suddenly mentioned, Seele didn't know what kind of trick this puppet was trying to pull, and could only remain on full alert.
The puppet paid her no mind and continued: "You were born on that uninhabited snowfield, experienced endless displacement after your birth, and were then adopted by your dearest foster mother, Cocolia."
"And what happened..."
The puppet sneered, as if plunging a cold blade into the girl's body.
"Your so-called dear foster mother was an out-and-out cold-blooded executioner, who only called you pitiful test subjects her daughters!"
"..."
With the scars in her heart torn open, Seele's eyes wavered for a moment.
But!
"Seele is no longer alone now. Seele has everyone's company, and Mother Cocolia has received the punishment she deserved!"
"That's right, your foster mother Cocolia did indeed receive the punishment she deserved. Like a stray dog squeezed dry of its usefulness, she died in some unknown corner."
Only then did the ugly puppet deliver its fatal blow: "But have you ever thought about who made you an orphan, who caused your sisters to lose their families!"
"It was Kiana Kaslana! It was the evil Herrscher of the Void!"
Without giving Seele any time to react, the puppet immediately turned its attack on Li Sushang.
"And you, Schicksal's S-rank Valkyrie. You were clearly a rising star in Schicksal, yet your body was defiled by a man, and you were even forced to come with him to this distant shore across the ocean."
"..."
Only after becoming the target of the attack did Li Sushang realize how foul-mouthed this puppet was.
"Having your body defiled by a man is one thing. At worst, you, a Valkyrie, could just marry him. Marrying a Herrscher wouldn't be a disgrace for you."
"Hee hee hee~~"
The dark laughter made one want to tear this puppet to pieces.
But Li Sushang wanted to see just how far this puppet would go.
You see, information is hidden in words. Information about an S-rank Valkyrie was not something any random cat or dog could know.
"So what? That's a matter between me and him. It's not your place as an outsider to interfere."
Family matters were not for outsiders to meddle in.
Even if she lost the bet and was really to be sent into the bridal chamber, that was still her family business.
"Outsider?"
The attack wasn't working. The puppet sighed. "Alright, alright, since you're talking to me about outsiders and insiders, I have to bring up another matter."
"Li Sushang... how does it feel to marry the same man as the murderer who wiped out your entire family? It must be quite the thrill, right?"
"You're courting death!"
Her willow-like eyebrows shot up, and the martial artist stopped holding back.
A streak of silvery-white light swept out, instantly cleaving the puppet in two, and scattering several Plaster Monsters behind it in the process.
But the puppet's foul-mouthing wasn't over: "See? You're getting flustered!"
"You know what you're doing is wrong, but you can't do anything to change it. You can't even bring yourself to kill the woman who destroyed your family."
"Li Sushang, you are nothing but a coward!"
"Shut up!"
The fury in the martial artist's heart had reached its peak. "You have no right to speak of my family affairs! Nor is Ancestral Master Celestial someone an insect like you can comment on!"
As her words fell, an invisible web of sword Qi intertwined, instantly grinding the puppet into dust.
This marked a turning point. The pale Plaster Monsters went berserk, moving their enormous bodies to crush the two.
But!
"Hmph! Useless! Feeble!"
A sharp glint shone in her amber eyes. The sword in the martial artist's hand hummed lightly, and in an instant, it swept away all defiance.
Her strength never relied on external objects!
Even with just a wooden stick or a blade of grass in her hand, it was enough for her to sweep away this rabble.
Such terrifying power was shocking, and it made the masterminds hiding behind the scenes feel how ridiculous they were.
"Why is this woman so powerful!?"
Without a Valkyrie Battlesuit, she could still casually destroy the trap they had long prepared with a single strike, rendering all their efforts futile.
Wisdom and tactics are only effective when both sides are evenly matched.
A trap that a group of ants thought they had prepared might not even withstand a single breath from a giant elephant.
Right now, they were those self-important ants, and Li Sushang was the elephant that could destroy them with a single move.
They absolutely could not let Li Sushang find their real bodies!
A silent consensus was reached, and the thought of retreat followed.
The Thousand-strong Herrscher was united when the battle was going their way, but once they encountered an unfavorable situation like the present, they were nothing more than a disorganized mob.
After all, they lacked powerful firepower and an iron will.
And their opponent... had everything.
"Perhaps we should reconsider our long-term plan."
"That's right, we should switch targets. This S-rank Valkyrie isn't the weakest one."
"..."
The voices of dissent gradually became the majority.
But a mob can never unify its opinion. The most resolute puppet stood up: "Don't panic, we still have one last trick!"
That puppet stamped its foot, then spread its arms wide as if to embrace the entire Theater of Domination.
"This great theater is our final and strongest weapon!"
...