Seeing Kiana blow away a large tree with a straw, Aaron sighed slightly.
He didn't think Kiana's strike would hurt anyone else.
After all, from the beginning, not long after he was with Rita, he felt a gaze constantly paying attention to him.
The other party hid well, but for Aaron who possessed Magnetic Field Power, detecting the other party wasn't difficult.
And this hidden guy was obviously a veteran; the surveillance spot she chose clearly didn't have ordinary crowds around that might hinder her.
The problem lies in...
"Hey, you alerted the snake in the grass."
"I'm not happy, can't be bothered to care about that much."
After responding to Aaron grumpily, Kiana said with an attitude of not caring at all.
"That guy's gaze was very annoying. And now that people from Schicksal have come knocking, others who have been digging for our intelligence will probably come knocking one after another today."
"Tell them with this action: don't come bother us if you have nothing to do—this way, your next actions will also have fewer troubles."
"Normally, that is the case. But the problem lies in..."
After glancing at the distant River Thames, Aaron said indifferently.
"Today I am here to rob the Divine Key in their hands; at such a time they definitely cannot back down."
"Anyway, after Mei and Bronya arrive, you and them—"
"You don't want to say let me take them and hide far away, do you???"
"Otherwise?"
............
At this moment, the extremely speechless Kiana felt her already not-low blood pressure rise by at least another twenty percent.
"Then why did you make the three of us come here!"
"...Didn't you say you wanted to come out and play?"
"I—"
Although that statement is correct, do you have any grasp of the situation!
Ahhh, so annoying!
"Alright, don't be so stressed."
Who exactly is the reason I'm so stressed (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
"You guys are mainly here to relax today. This matter... aside from Bronya, inherently has nothing to do with you guys."
Ah, enough already, this guy is still like that.
Except for pulling us along to act together when short-handed last time, he doesn't intend to let us intervene in other matters at all.
Using Shambhala to plant coordinates everywhere, sneaking into Singapore to hypnotize certain high-level officials, purchasing supplies—he took on everything big and small. What is this!
Am I really just a useless Tuna in your eyes (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻
"...Forget it, I don't care about that much anymore."
After suppressing these grievances completely, Kiana asked Aaron coldly.
"Who exactly do you plan to rob? Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, do they have stuff you have your eye on?"
"To be honest, there are quite a few treasures in those two organizations. But those things can't temporarily help me achieve my goal."
"Schicksal and Anti-Entropy possess technologies mastered after researching Honkai-related matters, data left by the Previous Era for the warriors of the Current Era, and some powerful Divine Keys."
"But those things aren't of much use to the current me. Also, that guy Bronya has already established an intelligence network in secret. Although she didn't say it, this intelligence network should be used to help us collect intelligence."
"I coerced her with some not-so-honorable means and reached a contract with her. Although transaction-wise she definitely profits heavily, that premise is that I can complete the transaction with her."
"She's working so hard for me, I'd feel bad not paying her wages, right."
"...I completely don't understand what you're saying."
But I know very well, you bastard definitely plan to do something that looks very dangerous!
At this moment, Kiana truly fell into conflict.
Since getting Dante's template, she had been bitterly practicing the moves passed down in the template, slowly increasing her fusion rate.
After raising the fusion rate to twenty percent, her strength had obviously also improved rapidly compared to before.
Although according to the System's prompts, the fusion rate's improvement speed would get slower and slower later on, and there might even be an awkward situation where the fusion rate declines, that was a matter for later.
But it was also for this reason that she dared not mess around even more now.
After her strength improved, she could certainly help her companions in more places.
But relatively, if she were to cause trouble, the destructive power would also become greater.
Kiana definitely wouldn't cause trouble on purpose, but if she acted rashly without Aaron stating the plan... the probability of interfering with Aaron's plan wasn't low either.
"Alright, not letting you participate isn't because I don't trust you."
Sensing the dissatisfaction in the girl's heart, Aaron looked toward the area near the River Thames and discovered over a dozen figures.
"Mainly, a little accident might occur this time. If an accident occurs, I'll be fine, but you three might encounter different degrees of danger."
"...What about you?"
"Sorry, in that situation, I'm definitely the safest person among the four of us."
Looking at Kiana's incredibly puzzled eyes, Aaron said very frankly.
"Trust me. Kiana, I am not lying."
After gazing into Aaron's clear eyes for three seconds, Kiana turned her head away helplessly.
"Tch, I can't be bothered to care if you live or die. Just don't let Mei and Bronya fall into danger, and I won't bother with these things."
"And wait, a fight will probably still break out. You and Mei are fine, but Bronya and her quantum mech can't guarantee their own safety in this kind of chaotic battle."
"Cover her a bit. This unlucky kid's old lady isn't anything good; she'll probably lay a cruel hand on this unlucky kid sooner or later."
"...Does Cocolia really have no feelings for them?"
Listening to the words Aaron spoke, Kiana asked with inability to understand.
"No matter what, these children were all adopted by her personally, right? Even if you tell me she sent those children to be experimental subjects, I'm still a bit..."
"Don't believe it, right? Normal. After all, your worldview is normal under Mr. Siegfried's upbringing."
"But Cocolia's worldview isn't normal. You ask me if there are feelings between her and the children, I can tell you, definitely yes. Cocolia absolutely treats these children as her own biological offspring... mn, at least her heart inevitably judges so."
"Biological offspring??? And she really sends them to do experiments with a high probability of death???"
"Yes, this is where her abnormality lies. She will feel heartache for the children's passing, but she will still prepare herself mentally in advance and let the children participate in these experiments with a high probability of death."
"If nothing else, before Bronya participated in the experiment, Cocolia even intended to let her say goodbye to her companions in the orphanage."
"This woman has the emotions of a normal person. Where she is truly abnormal lies in that 'scale' in her heart."
"In this woman's judgment. If the death of a few children can allow the remaining few children to survive safely, then she will unhesitatingly, with a feeling of heartache, let those few children participate in experiments with a high probability of death."
"And when this scale is used to measure the value of other people's lives..."
"Heh, compared to all of humanity dying together in front of the Honkai, what is the cost of a few million people dying when creating a Herrscher."
At this moment, although Kiana heard Aaron's words laced with a sneer, she didn't see any sarcastic expression on this young man's face.
Aaron's expression was incomparably indifferent.
But Kiana could see that in Aaron's pupils, flames of anger were undoubtedly burning.
Mn, every time Cocolia is mentioned, Aaron always gets angrier than usual.
"So, since this unlucky kid is so miserable, and she's working so hard, I have to fulfill the thing I promised her sooner."
"Alright, I know—you feel that much heartache for her?"
"As an orphan, isn't it normal not to want to see a fellow orphan unlucky enough to be used by others."
"...Sorry, brought up your sad past."
"Ha, what's there to be sad about."
Recalling his past, Aaron said with a scoff.
"Compared to the unlucky eggs at Cocolia Orphanage, I was already very lucky."
"At least the orphanage director who raised us just liked to slack off. Aside from liking to slack off, letting us grow up strong without leaving any roots of illness in our childhoods makes him unknown times better than Cocolia."
"Alright, no more chatting. You also restrain the expression on your face a bit."
Sensing that trace of pity from Kiana, Aaron said to Kiana.
"Whether it's me or Bronya, neither of us needs the pity of others. Especially that brat, she doesn't look like she talks much, but she's the sharpest among the four of us."
"If you let her detect that you are pitying her, this will only hurt her more."
"I~ know~—you don't talk much usually, but at a time like this, you're wordier than anyone."
Following Aaron's line of sight, Kiana said with an attitude of not caring.
"We aren't three-year-olds."
Give me a break, you and that Bronya put together are barely adults. If I'm not careful, what if it really explodes.
Looking at the vicinity of the River Thames not far away, Aaron easily saw those hidden 'Gray Serpents'.
Gray Serpent, one of the World Serpent cadres, and also the founder of World Serpent.
Of course, this Cyber-Bro had broken away from the low-level tastes of power struggles since birth. After founding World Serpent, he completely disregarded his authority as a major shareholder, directly honoring Kevin Kaslana, the strongest Fusion Warrior of the Previous Era, as the Liege, obediently becoming Kevin's subordinate.
And within these tens of thousands of years, having a massive number of avatars allowed the power of World Serpent to penetrate everywhere across the globe.
According to Aaron's estimation, Schicksal and Anti-Entropy, barring any accidents, should also have World Serpent people, and some might have even infiltrated close to core positions.
Him coming here this time... well, actually, it wasn't that he wanted to deliberately target World Serpent.
But now, the System and Hell had successively reminded him that he had developed a problem.
If the problem has been pointed out by others, Aaron definitely has to think of a way to solve it.
Sorting out power is easy to say, but actually doing it isn't easy.
The powers he primarily uses now, aside from item-type Teigu and Noble Phantasms, are mainly fighting by combining the [Kaslana Bloodline], Magnetic Field Rotation, and the Power of Dominance.
Although he can now use multiple powers to fight simultaneously, using multiple powers simultaneously and combining powers are two different things.
And a shortcut to sorting out power exists in this world.
In the manga [Inheritance] arc, before Su said goodbye to Bianka, he once passed the power of the Seed of Sumeru to Bianka, helping her control the power of the bubble universe within her in a very short time.
If Aaron's deduction is correct, then as long as he meets Su and explains his intention, under the condition of persuading Su, he has a chance to use the power of the Seed of Sumeru to control the multiple powers within his body.
As for how to persuade Su... that can be discussed after meeting.
Before that, he has to get the Second Divine Key first.
The Second Divine Key counts as World Serpent's lifeblood, so at this stage, World Serpent will inevitably come to stop him.
Gray Serpent can inject potions to turn himself into an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, and a certain cat modified by Jackal also has the ability to obtain Emperor-class Honkai Beast combat power in a short time.
Of course, these aren't the main point.
These things, in front of Aaron and the others, don't count as any threatening combat power at all.
What truly makes Aaron wary is mainly the Seven Thunders of Retribution in Raven's hand.
Although in 2014, the Seven Thunders of Retribution is still in a semi-damaged state of [Not fixed, so bullets are precious and cannot be fired multiple times], if this strike blasts down...
He could win against the Herrscher of Thunder before, aside from the two having little difference in strength, the Herrscher of Thunder being too easy to trick was also one of the reasons.
If at a critical moment, Raven fires a shot at his unguarded vitals, he doesn't dare guarantee he won't die on the spot.
Moreover, Rita has already appeared in London, which means Schicksal also knows he is here.
Otto's first plan requires the Gem of Serenity.
And Otto's second plan requires the Cosmic Juggernaut.
As a result, of these two items, one is in his hand, and one is targeted by him.
Oh, Kiana is also by his side.
It's all gathered.
After Otto discovered his tracks, he likely has already assembled troops, dispatching a mixed battalion of Valkyries and mechs to kill their way over.
Normally, Otto would probably consider if making a move in the territory of the Five Permanent Members would have bad optics.
But now there are several elements here in London related to his resurrection of Kallen; at such a time, Otto inevitably won't have a shred of hesitation anymore.
It is precisely for this reason that Aaron needs Kiana to protect Bronya, this unarmed unlucky kid.
Her Project Bunny, in a chaotic battle with Emperor-class beasts, mech units, various Valkyries, and himself, is useless.
"Mei said she has already arrived nearby, then we—"
"Mn, let Mei get ready, and then..."
After taking out the Excalibur he had never used from his storage space, Aaron injected power into the Holy Sword in his hand.
"Kiana, stand back, and close your eyes."
"Ah? Oh, I know."
Seeing the golden Holy Sword in Aaron's hand suddenly erupt with a burst of gale, Kiana instinctively took a step back.
Mn, this sword, looks... why does it look like the [Sword of King Arthur] that Stinky Dad talked about?
Mn, wait, is the legend of King Arthur actually true?
Then how is this sword in Aaron's hands?
This guy, exactly how many things has he done while hiding it from me!
"Mn, this isn't FGO, so I can't be bothered to recite the liberation chant. Ex—"
Accompanying the Holy Sword in his hand erupting with incomparably brilliant light, Aaron used it to slash out a sword strike directly toward a certain space above the River Thames.
"Calibur [Excalibur]!"
The golden flowing light turned into a gigantic 'blade', slashing heavily toward the space above the River Thames.
The shockwaves erupted from this single strike alone had already directly evaporated the River Thames.
Gray Serpent, waiting for Aaron to approach the Key of Blankness nearby, was completely shocked by the scene before his eyes at this moment.
No, wait, wasn't this guy coming for the Key of Blankness?!
Leaving aside how exactly this guy knew the specific location of the Key of Blankness, why could this guy blast out such a terrifying strike so unscrupulously!
At this moment, Gray Serpent suddenly realized he had subconsciously ignored something before.
Since this man named Aaron might have already mastered the intelligence of the Key of Blankness, then he definitely also knows there is an energy barrier protecting the Key of Blankness on its outside.
To make the Key of Blankness reveal its true form, one must first break the energy barrier on the outside of the Key of Blankness.
And this man obviously knew even this point.
Fewer people in World Serpent know this matter; extremely few cadres know the existence of the Key of Blankness, and only he, Gray Serpent, knows the strength of the energy barrier outside the Key of Blankness.
Damn it, surely some Gray Serpent had intelligence stolen by this guy, otherwise these things can't be explained!
Accompanying this destructive strike, the defensive barrier outside the Key of Blankness: Cosmic Juggernaut was directly broken by Aaron's strike after liberating the Holy Sword.
And at the same time, as the barrier was broken, a short combat puppet appeared in Aaron's line of sight.
"This gentleman! Please, you must stop!"
After seeing the combat puppet manufactured based on the Liege, Gray Serpent immediately had a body actively expose its tracks and appear in front of Aaron.
"Ah, we've reached this step, and you actually say you want me to stop?"
Looking at Gray Serpent who jumped out before him, Aaron, having put away Excalibur, looked indifferently at the cyborg before him.
"Right here and now, you aren't joking, are you?"
"This gentleman—"
At this moment, Gray Serpent, ceaselessly thinking about how to persuade the other party, said immediately.
"If you only want to borrow the power of the Key of Blankness, then our World Serpent is willing to actively lend the Key of Blankness to you."
"...So generous?"
At this moment, an obvious shock surfaced on Aaron's face.
"Then, the price?"
"...Ha, price."
At this moment, looking at that touch of shock in Aaron's eyes, Gray Serpent said immediately.
"Just handing it to a friend, what price is needed!"
"Mr. Aaron may not know, but our World Serpent has been paying attention to you for a long time. You successively resolved two large-scale Honkai events; to this world, you are undoubtedly a hero figure."
"And our organization is inherently an organization that opposes the Honkai. Heroes capable of protecting humanity from the hands of the Honkai are undoubtedly friends of our organization!"
"Your previous actions have clearly indicated your stance."
"You want to borrow the power of the Key of Blankness, inevitably also to oppose the Honkai. Then since your ultimate goal is to oppose the Honkai, we don't mind lending the power of the Key of Blankness to you for use."
Holy crap, if I didn't know what kind of person you are, I would have almost believed your nonsense.
And now, although the tone is fine, compared to your confident attitude in the game, this tone of yours is obviously panicked.
Ha, when at a disadvantage, this is indeed correcting one's attitude to speak properly.
At this moment, hearing Gray Serpent speak a string of words like reciting Shenzhou clappers, Kiana was directly stunned.
Before the operation, she thought the target Aaron wanted to rob was some heinous villain.
But looking at it now, this cyborg brother is actually willing to actively lend the thing Aaron wants to rob to him...
If the other party were a heinous villain, then Kiana wouldn't mind dealing with them using not-so-honorable means.
But this cyborg before her is so easy to talk to...
There is a common saying in Shenzhou that goes well: don't hit a smiling person.
This person is so polite; Kiana, who was originally prepared to fight, felt a bit embarrassed instead at this moment.
"Aaron... this brother seems very sincere."
"If we rob their stuff directly, isn't it a bit excessive?"
"Kiana..."
Glancing at the slightly guilty girl beside him, Aaron said helplessly.
"It's a good thing your moral standards haven't lowered, the problem is your IQ should just about be exercised a bit, to see if it can be improved."
"Hey! Are you taking me for an idiot?!"
"Duh—you believe all these words from this guy; I've never seen anyone as easy to fool as you."
At this moment, glancing at Gray Serpent, Aaron said disdainfully.
"If he really intended to make friends with us, he would have appeared before I made a move."
"Now he pops out to say such a big pile of words only after the Key of Blankness appeared; this obviously isn't sincerely planning to make friends with us, but just out of necessity because the item is about to be taken."
"...Mr. Aaron, I feel I need to remind you."
At this moment, Gray Serpent, suppressing his anger, said to Aaron.
"You guys are robbing! Robbers have come, if I don't think about hiding the things well, do you expect me to obediently offer the Key of Blankness with both hands?!"
"But can this thing count as yours?"
After a brief thought, Aaron walked very calmly toward that combat puppet.
"The Key of Blankness: Cosmic Juggernaut is a Divine Key left by the Previous Era organization [Fire Moth] to the Fusion Warrior [Su]. You, a cyborg abandoned by Fire Moth who later even sometimes ran off to engage in anti-human organizations, have the nerve to say this is your stuff?"
"...Sir, I advise you not to act recklessly."
At this moment, watching Aaron walk very calmly toward the combat puppet, Gray Serpent signaled the other Gray Serpents to prepare to inject the potion while saying to Aaron.
"Since you already know of Mr. Su and the existence of Fire Moth, then presumably you also know the illustrious name of our Liege Kevin Kaslana."
"Oh, he is very badass."
"So you see..."
"But he isn't here; isn't this just a puppet?"
Aaron, instantly activating [Lion Never Perishes] and employing the Meta-Morph Factor, leaped directly into the air, killing his way directly toward the combat puppet before him.
"If Kevin were really here I definitely wouldn't dare act recklessly, the problem is this is just a puppet... If I get scared by a puppet, others will probably laugh themselves to death at me in the future."
This guy, does he really have confidence or does he not grasp the situation.
And... this is the Liege's Meta-Morph Factor.
I didn't believe it when I got this intelligence before, but looking at it now, either Schicksal is messing around or Anti-Entropy is acting wildly.
They really found a way to awaken the Meta-Morph Factor and put it into actual combat.
If Aaron really fights with the Liege's combat puppet, I don't know if he can win, but we are definitely going to lose on our side.
Unless we finish the battle quickly, otherwise Schicksal's Valkyries will come killing their way over with mech units; our high-level combat power isn't enough, and the Key of Blankness will inevitably be taken away.
[Raven, prepare for combat.]
[Prepared long ago, the problem is that man looks careless, but actually his operational openings are too few.]
Watching Aaron who was already fighting in a group with the combat puppet, Raven only felt an incomparable headache.
[Speed is too fast. If I want to seize an opportunity here, he at least has to suffer not-light injuries before I have a chance to make a move.]
[And you know the state of the Seven Thunders of Retribution; currently in a damaged state, she cannot fire powerful attacks continuously in a short time, so I only have one chance.]
[Raven, I really want to say I will fight for an opportunity for you, the problem is that according to the intelligence you gave me before, that descendant of the Liege isn't to be trifled with either.]
[That is the case.]
[So on my side I will let the manifested Emperor-class go over to clean her up, let her be neutralized before going to interfere with Aaron. Chances are few, you must grasp it well for me!]
[I know. Also, telling you one thing in passing, Schicksal's troops look to have finished preparations long ago.]
[I estimate in not too long, Schicksal's troops will arrive in London. So we really have to finish the battle quickly.]
At this moment, Gray Serpent made all of himself inject the potion, directly transforming into various Emperor-class Honkai Beasts.
"...Sure enough, Aaron was right."
Sensing those auras that suddenly became stronger, Kiana directly drew Ebony & Ivory, aiming the muzzles in her hands at those Honkai Beasts before her.
"Emperor-class... compared to a Herrscher, they are much weaker."
Kiana, directly pulling the triggers, used bullets reinforced by mana to directly tear open the bodies and torsos of these monsters.
But for Gray Serpent who had no pain sensation, these attacks insufficient to significantly interfere with his combat power wouldn't be put in his eyes yet... my ass!
The pistol this little girl is using isn't a Divine Key... no, it doesn't even count as a Soulium weapon.
However you look at it, these are two ordinary pistols, hey!
How can the destructive power be this outrageous!
Raven's intelligence just now indeed had no problems... no, maybe this little tyke didn't plan to kill Raven at all; that strike was just a casually thrown straw.
Is the power she's using now to casually smash Emperor-class Honkai Beast bodies with firearms her true strength?
And, there is no mistake...
Not a Honkai Energy attack.
In this world, is there a combat energy system more powerful than Honkai Energy?
Not just that kid, even the mysteries on this little girl are truly too many.
But now, we have no time to investigate the mysteries on these two guys.
After seeing a trace of dissatisfaction flow onto Kiana's face, Gray Serpent felt the situation was even more wrong.
Over there Aaron and Kevin's combat puppet haven't determined a winner yet, but this expression of Kiana's... implying you aren't satisfied with the destructive power caused right now?
No, this is Emperor-class!
Emperor-class that S-Rank Valkyries might not necessarily win against if they come!
At this moment, Gray Serpent felt his usually calm persona completely collapse because of his currently shattered worldview.
For so many years, it wasn't that he hadn't monitored the Liege's descendants.
It's just regrettable that, for so many years, among the Kaslana family aside from Siegfried, few could awaken 'the Kaslana family's true power of salvation'.
Also for this reason, he didn't put Kaslana family members other than Siegfried in his eyes.
Kiana, as the child of the geniuses of both the Kaslana and Schariac families, having strong potential isn't strange.
But the problem is this girl isn't an adult yet, right?
How is she even fiercer than Siegfried back in the day???
Even inheriting talents from both parents simultaneously, this little girl's combat power is too strong.
When I investigated before, I didn't discover she had this kind of terrifying strength.
This little girl possessing such terrifying power within a few months... this is obviously impossible.
Understood, before Siegfried lost his tracks, he definitely used a Spartan-style education method to train this girl to death.
No wonder she calls her missing father Stinky Dad.
No wonder...
She possesses such terrifying power.
........................