At the same time, while Herta and the others were still conversing inside the medical ward, two generals of the Xianzhou Alliance had already rushed to the space station in a fiery hurry.
Outside the space station, as the station's lead researcher, Asta herself had come out at once to receive these two representatives.
She stood at the center of the reception platform, with several space station staff members behind her, all of them maintaining a certain distance.
"Excuse me… are the two of you General Jing Yuan of the Xianzhou Alliance, and General Yaoguang?"
There was a trace of uncertainty in Asta's voice.
Her gaze swept back and forth over the two of them before finally landing on the man with white hair and armor.
This Divine Foresight General of the Luofu, Jing Yuan, was someone she more or less recognized.
After all, while the man was known as a brilliant strategist, he also frequently appeared on the battlefield.
Thus, whether within the Xianzhou Alliance itself or on the galactic stage, he could be considered an iconic figure.
That face with its perpetual lazy smile, those half-lidded eyes that always seemed as though they were about to doze off.
As the lead researcher of the space station, Asta had seen these identifying traits countless times in intelligence files.
But the woman standing beside Jing Yuan was someone she did not recognize at all.
The woman wore an elegant, pale blue-white formal dress. Her long hair was casually bound with a jade hairpin, and her face was beautiful and cold, her brows carrying a distant air that made others not dare approach her lightly.
Asta's brows furrowed slightly.
General Rongtao, Yaoguang.
The Arbiter-General of the Yuque.
According to the intelligence, this general had been stationed on the Yuque Xianzhou all year round. She rarely left it, and appeared in public before the galaxy even less often.
Very few portraits or image records of her circulated on the market. Even within the Xianzhou Alliance, few people had seen her true appearance.
And now, this legendary general was standing right in front of Asta.
Or rather, the person standing before Asta claimed to be Yaoguang.
A trace of doubt rose in Asta's heart.
It was not that she was overly suspicious or insisted on assuming the worst about others. It was simply that these two generals had arrived far too quickly.
Less than half a day had passed since Madam Herta sent out the information.
And the distance from the Luofu and the Yuque to Herta Space Station, even with the most advanced starships traveling at full speed, should have taken at least three days.
Yet now, these two people were standing right in front of her, looking as though they had traveled in haste, yet their expressions were perfectly normal.
No matter how she thought about it, something was not right.
Asta's gaze landed on Jing Yuan again, then shifted toward the woman claiming to be Yaoguang. Her lips moved slightly, but she hesitated.
"Lead Researcher Asta."
Jing Yuan spoke first.
"Are you doubting our identities?"
As someone with nearly a thousand years of experience behind him, he saw through the doubt in Asta's eyes at a glance.
Hearing this, Asta's body stiffened slightly, but she quickly regained her composure.
Since he had noticed, she decided she might as well speak plainly.
"General Jing Yuan, please forgive my rudeness."
"Although I would very much like to let the two of you pass immediately, your arrival was simply too fast."
"According to my calculations, even the fastest starship would require at least three days to reach this place from the Luofu or the Yuque."
"But less than half a day has passed since Madam Herta sent her message."
She paused, her gaze looking straight into Jing Yuan's eyes.
"So I simply wish to confirm whether the identities of you two are… genuine and accurate."
There was no helping it. Special times called for special measures.
The space station had just experienced an invasion. Its security level had already been raised to the highest tier. Anyone entering the space station had to undergo strict identity verification. No one was exempt.
Even if Asta recognized Jing Yuan, who could guarantee that this Jing Yuan was not someone else in disguise?
Never mind those Masked Fools who loved deceiving people. Even a slightly capable memokeeper was not someone Asta felt one hundred percent confident she could resist.
In response, Jing Yuan had no intention of going through procedure.
If it had been Jing Yuan in the past, perhaps he would not have been too anxious. He might have let Asta slowly verify his identity.
But today was different. Today's situation was extremely urgent, and Jing Yuan did not want to waste even a single second.
"Lead Researcher Asta, your suspicion is reasonable."
"But you should also understand what Lord Jadebearer Mobius means to the Xianzhou Alliance."
Jing Yuan's voice lowered, and those half-lidded eyes opened slightly, revealing the deep pupils within.
"She is the final Dragon Sovereign of Yuanqiao, the hope our Xianzhou Alliance finally recovered after crossing the boundary between life and death."
"So…"
He raised his hand and lightly tapped the empty air with his fingertip.
A blue light emerged from his finger. Within that light was a power that made one's heart tremble.
It was the power of the Hunt.
Pure and cold, carrying an authority that made people instinctively want to kneel.
"The moment Madam Herta's information reached the Xianzhou Alliance, General Yaoguang and I, as the two Arbiter-Generals closest to the space station, had already set out."
"We did not use a starship."
"We used the power of the Hunt."
"Upon the Path, distance has never been an issue."
That was the truth of how Jing Yuan and Yaoguang had been able to arrive so quickly.
As Emanators of the Hunt, if they exerted their full strength, it was indeed possible for them to reach Herta Space Station within half a day.
Seeing this, Asta's pupils contracted slightly.
Clearly, she had also recognized that power belonging to an Emanator.
At that point, there was no longer any need for verification. Even if these two were not the real people, they were still Emanators she absolutely could not stop.
"I understand. Generals, please wait a moment. I will notify Madam Herta at once—"
Before she could finish, the space station's broadcast system suddenly emitted a piercing burst of static.
Then, Herta's voice came through the broadcast.
"Asta, let those two in."
"I'll wait for them at Testing Ground 4."
Asta froze for a moment, but soon returned to normal.
She turned around and bowed slightly to Jing Yuan and Yaoguang.
"Generals, please follow me."
Testing Ground 4.
This was the largest sealed experimental area in Herta Space Station, covering more than three square kilometers.
Ordinarily, this place was used to test all sorts of dangerous curios.
At this moment, three people stood in the center of the testing ground.
Herta, Kiana, and Dan Heng, whose identity was somewhat special.
Of course, the Prison Realm that sealed Mobius was also stored here right now.
"Madam Herta."
At that moment, Jing Yuan's voice came from the entrance of the testing ground.
Herta turned around and looked at the two figures walking inside.
Jing Yuan walked in front. His steps were steady, and that long face of his no longer carried the laziness from their previous meeting. In its place was a rare gravity.
Yaoguang followed behind him, her steps light, her bearing relaxed, but hidden within those eyes was a sharpness that made others not dare look directly at her.
Clearly, the moods of these two Arbiter-Generals had not been good recently.
Especially Jing Yuan.
In truth, when he had just entered and noticed Dan Heng, he had originally intended to greet this old friend.
But after seeing the Prison Realm that might have sealed Lord Jadebearer, Jing Yuan instantly lost the mood.
Herta's gaze swept over the two of them before finally landing on Jing Yuan's face.
"You got here fast."
"We could not afford to be slow," Jing Yuan said in a low voice.
"Lord Jadebearer's matter truly cannot be delayed."
Those words were sincere, without the slightest politeness mixed in.
After all, when Mobius had suffered an incident on the way to the Zhuming, the entire Xianzhou Alliance had instantly grown anxious.
They had never imagined that even with the Reignbow Arbiter personally taking action, he still had not been able to take down the Witch of Nihility.
What happened afterward was also obvious.
Mobius had been tragically abducted, and the grand welcome ceremony the entire Xianzhou Alliance had prepared for her had become a joke.
Of course, if they became a joke, then so be it. No matter how the Xianzhou Alliance was, it had not fallen to the IPC's level.
But the thing the Xianzhou Alliance truly could not accept was that Mobius had been captured alive by the Witch of Nihility.
At the time, the bloody scene of Mobius being pierced through had been etched clearly into Jing Yuan's mind.
Especially after the Witch of Nihility had exaggerated things further, Jing Yuan had, for the first time, felt such intense hostility.
"The flow of time inside this Prison Realm is not quite the same as the outside world."
"Time outside flows normally, but inside…"
"Roughly like this, I suppose. One month outside is enough time inside for an ordinary person to be born, grow old, and die."
Those had been the Witch of Nihility's original words.
If what she said was true, then the three-year-old Mobius had already spent who knew how many years inside that sealed space.
At the thought, both Jing Yuan and Yaoguang grew even more anxious.
Herta did not reply. She merely turned sideways, revealing the cube floating in midair behind her.
"This thing is the Prison Realm you said had sealed Lord Jadebearer?"
Jing Yuan's steps halted.
His gaze fell on that filthy cube, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
The cube covered in eyes was quietly floating there, and the eyes on its surface were still blinking, one after another, as though mocking something.
Jing Yuan could sense that from within the cube came an aura that made his heart tremble.
That was the aura of Permanence.
The aura of Lord Jadebearer.
"Yes."
Jing Yuan's voice was squeezed out from his throat, hoarse almost to the point of being inaudible.
"This is indeed the Prison Realm used by the Witch of Nihility."
Herta glanced at him, then looked at the cube. After a moment of silence, she spoke.
To be honest, although Herta always considered herself a genius with a conscience, when dealing with major powers, she could not possibly do good deeds for no reason.
Especially when dealing with an entity like the Xianzhou Alliance.
This Prison Realm alone was such an interesting curio. Never mind using it herself—even if she took it and exchanged it for resources, it could bring Herta many valuable things.
However, ever since she had seen Yuanqiao's fate in Aha's livestream that day, Herta had indeed felt a measure of respect for the deeds of that General Red Kite.
As for this final little Dragon Sovereign of Yuanqiao…
Although Herta did not want to pity others from some arrogant position, the other party's experiences truly had been a little too miserable.
Herta sighed softly.
"I'll consider this a good deed. This so-called Prison Realm will be given to your Xianzhou Alliance."
Hearing this, both Jing Yuan and Yaoguang revealed grateful expressions.
That said, the Xianzhou Alliance was a vast and wealthy institution. It was not as though they would freeload even something like this.
Jing Yuan's gaze lingered on the Prison Realm for a moment, then withdrew and turned toward Herta.
He took a deep breath and bowed slightly.
"Madam Herta, for this great kindness, I, Jing Yuan, formally thank you on behalf of the Xianzhou Alliance."
His voice was low and sincere, without any false courtesy.
"The weight Lord Jadebearer carries for the Xianzhou Alliance is beyond words. The Xianzhou Alliance, from top to bottom, will remember Madam Herta's deed today and never forget it."
After listening, Herta merely gave a noncommittal hum.
She turned her gaze back to the Prison Realm floating in midair and tilted her head, asking casually, "All right, now that the polite words are done, say something practical."
"What exactly do you plan to do with this thing?"
Hearing this, before Jing Yuan could speak, Yaoguang, who stood beside him, stepped forward first.
"Naturally, we will mobilize the full strength of the Alliance to rescue Lord Jadebearer."
"The full strength of the Alliance."
Herta repeated the phrase, her brows rising slightly.
Her gaze lingered on Yaoguang for a moment before she slowly said, "If I remember correctly, when the Witch of Nihility appeared on the Luofu, four Emanators on your side had already taken action, correct?"
That was right. Herta did not think the Xianzhou Alliance would have any way to unseal the Prison Realm.
And this opening verbal critical hit did indeed make Yaoguang's brows move slightly, but her expression did not change at all.
There was nothing to be done. Although Herta's words were indeed painful, they were also the truth.
That Witch of Nihility had indeed sealed and taken Mobius away right in front of four Arbiter-Generals.
Herta continued, "And it seems even Lan personally made a move, didn't he?"
"So, is the Xianzhou Alliance planning to ask Lan to act again this time?"
Herta tilted her head, her purple eyes flickering with an assessing light.
"If that is the case, it might not necessarily be impossible. However, using the power of an Aeon to forcibly break open a sealing curio…"
"It's hard to say how wide the resulting collateral damage would be."
In response, Yaoguang shook her head.
"No. The power of the Reignbow Arbiter is certainly awe-inspiring."
"But if such power were used to force open the Prison Realm, no one could guarantee Lord Jadebearer inside the seal would not be affected."
"I see. Then I understand."
Herta nodded and did not press further.
"But do you have any other leads?"
"If the Xianzhou Alliance truly cannot think of a solution, I do happen to know a few genius friends."
"Although their skill levels may vary, if we gather them together, we should eventually be able to tinker out some method to crack a sealing curio."
At this moment, Herta brought up her little genius group.
With the thought of helping all the way to the end, perhaps if they researched it together and then used certain technological methods, there really might be a possibility of gently opening the Prison Realm.
After she said this, the testing ground fell briefly silent.
Then, Yaoguang raised her eyes and looked at Herta.
"Yaoguang thanks Madam Herta for her kindness on behalf of the Xianzhou Alliance."
"However, the Xianzhou Alliance already has a countermeasure for this matter. If we still cannot resolve it in the end, it will not be too late to trouble Madam Herta then."
There was no helping it. For such a major matter, under normal circumstances, even if it meant owing a favor, the Xianzhou Alliance would absolutely seek Herta's help.
But right now, they did not have that much time.
If they truly let several geniuses slowly conduct research, and Mobius actually died inside the Prison Realm, that would be a loss the Xianzhou Alliance could never bear.
Herta's brows rose when she heard this.
To be honest, this answer somewhat surprised her.
The Prison Realm was right there. Herta herself had already tried, Kiana had tried, and even Acheron and Celenova had no solution.
Where exactly did the Xianzhou Alliance get its confidence?
Her curiosity was piqued, so she simply asked directly, "Oh? What method?"
Yaoguang did not keep her in suspense. She merely calmly uttered a few words.
"I obtained the assistance of Mr. La Mancha, leader of the Galaxy Rangers."
Herta froze.
The Galaxy Rangers.
They were a band of rangers who walked the Path of the Hunt, taking the punishment of evil, the promotion of justice, and swift vengeance as their goals, roaming every corner of the galaxy all year round.
And La Mancha was the leader of this band of rangers.
Herta pondered for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"Fine. That is indeed one line of thought."
She did not ask further whether the other party could truly help with this matter.
After all, this was the Xianzhou Alliance's own business. She had already done what she should. The rest was not something she needed to worry about.
Thus, the testing ground once again fell into a short silence.
Jing Yuan's gaze remained fixed on the Prison Realm, the expression on his face complicated beyond words.
Then—
Just as everyone was silent and lost in their own thoughts, the Prison Realm floating motionless in midair suddenly trembled.
The tremor came without warning, like something inside had violently struck it.
Immediately afterward, all the eyes covering its surface opened to their widest at the same time.
In an instant, the temperature of the entire testing ground plummeted.
"Scatter!"
Almost at the same time, Jing Yuan, Yaoguang, Herta, as well as Kiana and Dan Heng beside them, all instinctively scattered in every direction, pulling away from the Prison Realm at once.
The defensive curio at Herta's side was already on the verge of activation.
The talismans at Yaoguang's fingertips had half manifested.
The shadow of the Lightning-Lord had already silently condensed behind Jing Yuan.
Dan Heng had even activated his Dragon Sovereign form again.
Clearly, they all thought that the hateful Prison Realm was about to start capturing people again.
Only Kiana wore an expression as though she were watching a good show.
Then, the surface of the Prison Realm split open.
It did not open toward any person. Instead, from the bottom, slowly, like some alien flower blooming in the darkness, that sealed opening peeled outward little by little.
Light seeped out from the crack, like some kind of vitality leaking from within.
Everyone froze and held their breath.
Then, the opening split completely wide.
From the depths of that pitch-black void, a figure silently emerged.
First came two hands, then shoulders, then the entire person, as though someone had lifted her up from beneath the surface of the water.
The instant the figure landed, she failed to stand steady. Her knees struck the ground, and her hands braced against the cold floor of the testing ground, producing a muffled sound so faint it was almost inaudible.
Inside the testing ground, one could have heard a pin drop.
No one spoke immediately.
Because the scene before them stunned everyone at the exact same moment.
Without question, the person before them was Mobius, who had previously been sealed away by the Witch of Nihility.
However, her transformation was also enormous.
The previous Mobius, although only three years old, had already looked about eight or nine in appearance.
But the Mobius before them now had already grown to the appearance of a fourteen-year-old girl.
The clothes she wore could still faintly be recognized as the outfit once prepared by the Xianzhou Alliance, but they were now already in tatters.
The edges of the fabric hung open in frayed strips, like traces left behind after decades of erosion by wind and frost.
What they saw next was her hair.
At this moment, Mobius's hair had grown completely out of control.
It fell from the top of her head all the way down, spilling across the floor and spreading out until it extended past her heels.
Without a doubt, the time Mobius had spent inside the Prison Realm far exceeded the change visible in her appearance.
Yet compared to that hair, what made everyone unable to look away were the wounds on her body.
The spikes of the Prison Realm were still there.
Those pitch-black spikes had not vanished along with the opening of the seal. Instead, they remained embedded in the girl's body, one after another.
One through her left shoulder, piercing cleanly through.
One in the right side of her waist and abdomen, driven deep into the bone.
Two in her back, stabbed into both sides of her spine, their tips protruding faintly from her chest, carrying traces of dark blood that had long since clotted.
There was half a spike in her calf as well, as if it had snapped halfway during the girl's instinctive struggle at the very last moment before the seal opened.
The material of those spikes resembled some kind of solidified black metal. Their surfaces were covered in dense, tiny barbs. Once they pierced into flesh, those barbs would automatically spread open and lock themselves inside the body.
Forcibly pulling them out would only cause even larger wounds.
Anyone could tell those spikes were not decorations, nor were they warnings. They were real, genuine instruments of torment.
And yet, the most shocking sight was at Mobius's forehead.
That was right. Aside from the spikes in her body, there was another spike left behind, one that had deeply pierced through Mobius's skull.
"Pff—"
A mouthful of black blood sprayed out.
Then, those spikes finally vanished together with the Prison Realm.
And Mobius, at that moment, collapsed to the ground once more.
Join here to read ahead.
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 178)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 180)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League ( 126 )
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter110)
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From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 255
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 210
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass Volume2/20
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 305
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Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 66
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 65
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The Violent Girl Group Is Beat 130
Uma Musume: The Horse Girl Who 67
Uma Musume: From Beginner 155
Becoming a Horse Girl, I Will 85
Uma Musume: I Want All 120
I Can Copy Unique Skills 120
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My Harem Is Indescribable 105
Jujutsu Kaisen: Heroic Spirit 110
Uma Musume: Today Is Another Romantic Battlefield 110
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Transmigrated as Sukuna 105
Checking In in Demon Slayer 95
The Reincarnating Trainer of Tracen Academy 105
I Refuse to Become a Heroic 95
My Best Friend Into a Slime? 80
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What Do You Mean by Using a Lab Mod to Be the Hero? 95
Tanya Starts from Re:Zero 90
Why did they assign me to Uma 80
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DanMachi: Emiya the Giant Hero 80
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Emiya Shirou, Determined to Slay Every Curse and Evil Spirit 65
The Uma Musume Who Became 70
I'm Definitely Not the King of 105
After Maxing Out Every Class 110
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I, the Elden Sword Saint 60
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I, Sakazuki, Won't Go Down Tha 69
From Trilobites to Titans 57
Chainsaw Man: Contracted with 75
DanMachi: My Party Members Are 86
An Anime Heroine Darkened 60
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Links 70
Honkai: The Fire Devil 70
Honkai Transformation Cards Volume2/30
Age of Heroes, I'm Just a Back 60
Uma Musume Has No Weird Fan Le 74
At age 8, she co-starred with 42
Honkai: Schicksal Media 30
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