As a matter of fact, just as Lynelle had anticipated, even though Schicksal and Anti-Entropy were quick to act, the lack of intelligence on hand meant the strategy meeting regarding the Herrscher of Dominance didn't yield many practical or effective plans.
Under the joint defense agreement formed by Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, Durandal, Rita, and Li Sushang would each lead a team to separately investigate cases suspected to be the work of the Herrscher of Dominance within Schicksal's jurisdiction, attempting to trace the trail of those one thousand puppets in reverse.
On Anti-Entropy's side, three teams led by Cecilia, Bella, and Cheng Lixue would also be deployed.
However, their mission was to identify potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited by the Herrscher of Dominance—such as decommissioned mechs, possible incitements to riot, or easily agitated groups.
And of course, the most crucial part—almost all the Herrschers, except for Seele, were placed at two locations: St. Freya and the Salt Lake Base.
They even considered the Dominance Herrscher's potential ability to suppress based on the number of Cores present, so they specifically "balanced" the situations on both sides.
At St. Freya, Kiana, who had already fused with two Cores, took the lead.
Alongside Mei and Wendy, they formed a combination of Dual-Core/Single-Core/Non-awakened Herrscher.
The other side consisted of Lynelle, Fu Hua, and Bronya—the same configuration.
This way, they avoided the combat power vacuum that would result from concentrating everyone in one place, while both sides achieved a number > 3 effect—arguably the optimal theoretical solution currently.
As for why Seele wasn't included… let's just say that the Herrscher of Dominance's attacks require real-world mediums.
For instance, when they attacked Lynelle, they even dawdled for a whole day at the Oceania Branch before dragging Lynelle and Wendy into the theater.
As for Seele's location, not only would the Herrscher of Dominance be unable to find it, but even Schicksal and Anti-Entropy probably couldn't.
After all, it was the server of the Elysian Realm.
Its security clearance might even be higher than that of Project Stigma.
However, this arrangement created a new problem…
While Seele's situation was indeed incredibly safe, due to the secrecy surrounding the Elysian Realm, Bronya was unaware of just how high Seele's "security level" was.
--+--
"Mmm, this area is pretty much patrolled… What a shame, I can't take a ride outside the Salt Lake Base. Stuck inside the base, I can't even pick up any speed."
Bronya sighed. Ever since the meeting established the current strategy, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy had sprung into action.
Correspondingly, the protection of the Herrschers was also prioritized.
For example, she'd heard that over at Kiana's place, Cecilia herself had moved in to stay with her.
The good news was that Kiana and Sirin could enjoy their mother's love every day.
The bad news was… these two night owls' nocturnal lives were completely canceled.
Especially the little shut-in Sirin—even her daily soda ration was limited by Cecilia. It could be described as bittersweet.
Things weren't so restrictive for Bronya.
The most time-consuming task of her day was continuing her lessons with Welt on using the Herrscher of Reason's authority. The only thing she was worried about right now was Seele's safety.
"Ah, whatever. I'll head back to my room for a bit first… I heard the dormitory area underwent a routine inspection today due to some safety hazard. Might as well go back and see if anything's changed."
With that thought, Bronya quickly returned to her quarters—however, as soon as she approached the door, she sensed something was off.
"The door isn't locked… Was it the maintenance crew from earlier? Or…"
Bronya frowned slightly as the heavy-duty Project Bunny manifested behind her.
Only then did the girl cautiously push the door open.
"Bronya-onee-chan!"
The moment Bronya opened the door, a familiar voice called out from inside the room—now, Bronya finally saw the figure within.
It was Seele, whom she hadn't seen in so long.
"S-Seele? How are you here…"
"Because Lynelle-onee-chan was worried about my safety, so she specially sent someone to bring me back!"
Seele's voice was full of cheer. She rushed forward and gave Bronya a big hug.
"Bronya-onee-chan, Seele can be with you again!"
"Big Sister Lynelle? Did she… make such arrangements?"
Bronya was stunned for a moment, then instinctively glanced back at Project Bunny.
But this glance was alarming—Bronya immediately realized that Project Bunny had vanished from her senses!
"What?!"
Bronya's pupils abruptly contracted, and the Herrscher of Reason's authority almost activated instantly.
However, a peculiar wave of weakness suddenly washed over her entire body.
"0.4 < 3, Bronya-onee-chan. You lose this game, you know~"
Seele's gentle voice whispered by Bronya's ear.
"How did you become—"
"Become your most beloved Seele-chan?"
Seele tilted her head, revealing a smile so artificial it was uncanny.
"It's quite simple, really. After all, puppets are malleable things. As long as someone carves into them meticulously, a puppet can naturally take on any form."
"If Bronya-onee-chan doesn't believe me, Seele can mimic a few more phrases for you? Let me think, what should I do… Ah, got it!"
Seele suddenly cocked her head: "Let's go with that line…"
"Seele will protect everyone—as long as I kill everyone before anyone else can hurt them, then no one can hurt them, right?"
"You… Seele would never say something like that!"
"That's true… Seele really wouldn't. Because she is, after all, a pure and flawless white flower, not as full of malice as I am…"
Seele playfully struck a classic puppet pose, her head rotating eerily on her neck.
"But, the more pure something is, the more exciting it is to taint it, don't you think?"
"Just imagining that hidden away Seele-chan watching as the puppet made from her dearest Bronya-onee-chan personally corrupts her—I'm already getting terribly excited… Ah, this feeling, it's even more intoxicating than the prospect of—"
At this point, Bronya suddenly calmed down.
Because she realized something: the Herrscher of Dominance's erosion of her didn't seem to be progressing as quickly as she'd imagined.
At least, not like with Ana, who was completely 'dominated' in less than a minute.
Well, the puppet's words were just so utterly infuriating that Bronya had no choice but to forcibly distract herself, lest she lose her composure.
Ironically, this very act of desperation made Bronya realize the key issue.
Judging from Lynelle's and Ana's attack situations, the Herrscher of Dominance should be quite cautious.
Yet the current defenses at the Salt Lake Base were even tighter than those at St. Freya when Ana was attacked.
If following the puppet's previous behavior pattern, it should have cleanly seized the Core and left immediately.
There was absolutely no need to chat with her about Seele here, much less describe in detail how they planned to make Seele 'fall'.
So…
This puppet, it was stalling for time?
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 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.