Everything at the Silver Moon Observatory was arranged, and the newly acquired equipment lay quietly in the expanded "warehouse" in the Dark Plane, accompanied by those "little toys" that had long been prepared. The sense of stability Artoria felt from having a clear path, combined with the urgency to put what she had learned into practice and face challenges, made it impossible for her to continue staying peacefully in the quiet observatory.
"Teacher, Queen Keisha, I am ready." After entrusting the subsequent detailed design work of the hyperion to the Heavenly Base King's engineering department and completing the final check of her equipment and knowledge reserves before departure, Artoria sent a short message to Hexi and Queen Keisha via encrypted communication.
The reply came quickly, in Hexi's voice with a smile: "Got it. Go to the gathering point at the central square of the Heavenly Court, and a ship will pick you up. Don't be nervous; just think of it as... a long trip to broaden your horizons."
Artoria took a deep breath, took one last look at the Silver Moon Observatory where she had lived for a long time, and tightened her grip on Minerva's hand. Minerva returned a gentle, supportive look. The two smiled at each other and activated the teleportation to the core area of the Merlot Heavenly Court.
The central square of the Heavenly Court was not the bustling gathering place Artoria had imagined. It was unusually quiet and solemn, with huge Angel sculptures casting solemn shadows under the light of the Eternity day. At the edge of the square, a "Heavens Blade Department" fast transport ship, with smooth lines, a silver-white body, slightly larger than an ordinary Angel assault ship but much smaller than a main battleship, was quietly hovering, its engines emitting a low and steady hum.
What surprised Artoria was that the area next to the transport ship was not empty. In addition to a few service Angels who were conducting final checks, there was a ten-person squad standing solemnly. They were all wearing standard silver armor, with snow-white wings on their backs, their auras condensed, their eyes sharp, and just standing there, they naturally exuded an aura of being battle-hardened. What made Artoria's eyelids twitch even more was that she could clearly perceive that every one of these ten Angel Warriors had energy fluctuations that were unusually powerful and stable, far exceeding the ordinary guardian Angels she had contacted before, and even... not inferior to those elite Ancient Angels she had felt from afar at the Guixu Barrier!
Third-generation Super Soldiers! And they were definitely a battle-hardened, well-coordinated elite squad of third-generation Super Soldiers! Artoria was shocked; this lineup... seemed a bit too big?
An Angel who looked like the squad leader stepped forward, facing Artoria and Minerva, placing his right hand on his chest with clean and neat movements: "Lord Artoria. Lord Minerva. By the order of Queen Keisha and Heavenly Base King Hexi, the First Special Operations Team of the Heavens Blade Department's Seventh Legion, ten members in total, are ordered to accompany and protect you, waiting for your dispatch. Our team is responsible for all safety matters on this trip. Captain, Zhui Feng."
His voice was calm and waveless, but carried an unquestionable sense of reliability.
"Uh... Hello, Captain Zhui Feng, and everyone." Artoria replied somewhat awkwardly, but her heart was surging with huge waves. A complete elite squad of ten third-generation Super Soldiers as an overt escort? This was not a travel configuration for "broadening horizons"! This was simply assigning a strategic assault team as her bodyguards! What on Earth did Teacher Hexi say to Queen Keisha?!
Seeming to see Artoria's surprise, Captain Zhui Feng added a sentence, his tone still flat: "It is our duty. Please board the ship."
Artoria suppressed the waves in her heart and, together with Minerva, boarded the fast transport ship surrounded by the Zhuifeng Squad. The space inside the ship was spacious and comfortable, obviously specially modified, with all living facilities available, and even a small simulated training ground. But Artoria could feel that this seemingly ordinary transport ship, its armor, engines, and internally hidden weapon systems, were probably far superior to ships of the same level.
The transport ship slowly ascended, passed through the multiple defensive barriers of the Heavenly Court, turned into a silver stream of light, disappeared into the vast sea of stars, and headed towards the Chi Wu Star System.
Deep in the Merlot Heavenly Court, there was a place that was completely different from the solemn and magnificent royal court, hidden and quiet. There was no cold metal or smooth jade here, only natural hot spring steam, exotic flowers and plants dotted in between, and simulated moonlight sprinkled through the sparse branches and leaves, like a paradise. This was an absolutely private space belonging only to Queen Keisha and Hexi, which they jokingly called the "Secret Garden."
At this moment, in the natural hot spring pool in the center of the garden, the steam was curling. Queen Keisha leaned casually on the smooth rock by the pool, her long golden hair draped over her shoulders, wet and messy, and her usually majestic and solemn face looked much softer in the steaming vapor, but those golden eyes were still as deep as the Universe. Hexi lay half-reclined in the pool, her silver hair floating on the water like a waterfall; she closed her eyes, seemingly enjoying this tranquility.
"She has set off." Hexi's voice broke the silence, with a trace of imperceptible sigh.
"Hmm." Queen Keisha responded, reaching out to scoop up a handful of warm spring water, watching the water droplets drip from between her fingers.
"Earth... is so like the hometown in her description." Hexi opened her eyes, looking at the non-existent moon in the simulated night sky, "Blue Planet, oceans, land, various lives, civilizations striving to develop... She said her hometown had also been coveted by malice from the starry sky. But they themselves used blood and sacrifice to drive away the invaders. Because they had that kind of strength and that kind of determination."
Her tone carried a complex emotion: "But the Earth here is only a pre-nuclear civilization. They haven't even touched the threshold of the aerospace era. Facing an interstellar invasion fleet like the Taotie, they are difficult to parry, let alone this time... it is a stage where the gods gather. Demons, Styx, Lieyang, Super Seminary... you sing and I appear on stage, each with their own ulterior motives. Earth is just the most fragile but crucial piece on the chessboard."
"Tell me, when Artoria arrives there and sees all this, what will she do?" Hexi turned her head and looked at Queen Keisha. At this moment, there was no Queen of Heavens Blade, no Heavenly Base King, only two elders who cared about the same junior.
Queen Keisha was silent for a moment, her golden eyes reflecting the shimmering light on the water.
"You are her teacher; you know her character better than I do." Queen Keisha said slowly, her voice rare and gentle, even with a trace of warmth, "This child has her own persistence and softness in her heart. She knows that from the moment she took over the 'star dome', from the moment she chose to stay in the Heavenly Court, from the moment the knowledge she brought was accepted by the Angels, in the eyes of most beings in the Universe, she had already been labeled as an 'Angel'. No matter what she thinks or how hard she tries to be an independent individual, others will not believe it. Anything she does will be interpreted as an extension of the Angel's will."
"She doesn't want to bring extra trouble to the Angels, and doesn't want to make enemies for the Angels for no reason because of herself." Queen Keisha's tone contained a trace of clarity that saw through everything, and also a trace of faint pity, "Even if she knows clearly that with the current strength of the Angels, they are not afraid of any trouble or any enemy. She always thinks of others first. What a good... obedient child."
Hexi's eyes dimmed slightly. Yes, she knew her student too well. Soft on the outside and firm on the inside, delicate in thought, valuing relationships, but also because she had experienced loss, she was particularly afraid of implicating the people she cherished because of herself.
"However," Queen Keisha changed the subject, her tone flat but incomparably firm, "If she arrives on Earth and sees the suffering there with her own eyes, sees those mortals struggling to survive under the game of the gods, sees that blue Planet that is so similar to her hometown but so fragile... If she 'likes' it there and wants to do something..."
Queen Keisha raised her head, her gaze seeming to penetrate the steam of the hot spring, penetrate the barrier of the Secret Garden, and cast it towards that distant, turbulent star field.
"Then, the Angels are willing to'stop the war' for her."
Four words, light, but heavy as a thousand jun, carrying the unquestionable promise of the King of Gods.
"The justice of the Angels has never been stingy with protecting the weak and punishing the evil. But large-scale, direct military intervention requires reasons, requires weighing, and even more, requires considering the consequences. But if it is 'her' will..." Queen Keisha looked at Hexi, a sharp light flashing in her eyes, "Then this reason is sufficient. The Angel fleet can stop for her, or fight for her. As long as she wants, as long as... Earth is worth it."
The corners of Hexi's mouth curled up slightly, her eyes filled with complex emotions mixed with pride and worry. Queen Keisha's promise meant that if Artoria really decided to protect Earth, the Angels would not hesitate to change their original, relatively restrained observer stance, intervene directly, and with a tough posture, intervene in the Earth's disputes, using the Angel's sword and fire to support a sky for her. This "favoritism" had already exceeded the category of conventional allies or favors.
"It's just," Hexi's brows frowned slightly again, "The water on Earth is muddier than we see. Those old antiques of the Super Seminary, those survivors of Deno... They have their own calculations and their own grand plans for 'revival'. Earthlings, or rather, those people like Du Kao, may not appreciate it, and may even refuse 'Angel's protection'. They want to rely on themselves, or rather, rely on the 'gods' they have cultivated."
Queen Keisha nodded slightly, not surprised by this: "The obsession of Deno, the cold indifference of the Super Seminary... these are all expected. If Artoria sincerely wants to help Earth, she will inevitably come into contact with these and see them clearly. She will understand that some kindness will be rejected, some sacrifices will not be understood, and some persistence... in the face of interests and concepts, is pale and powerless."
"This will make her... heartbroken, and it will also make her grow." Queen Keisha's voice lowered, with a kind of vicissitudes and calmness that saw through the world, "Hexi, this is the path she chose, and it is the necessary path for her growth. We can give her support, give her a backing, give her space to make mistakes and try, but the road, after all, must be walked by herself, the scenery must be seen by herself, and the scars must be licked by herself. You and I can only watch, and when necessary, reach out to help, or... clear some obstacles that are too excessive for her."
Hexi was silent. She understood what Queen Keisha meant. Flowers that can withstand the wind and rain cannot be raised in a greenhouse, and overprotection will only stifle the possibility of growth. Artoria needs to experience, collide, and personally experience the complexity and cruelty of this Universe to truly mature and truly be powerful enough to carry everything she has, as well as... everything she might want to protect in the future.
It's just that, as a teacher, as an elder who watched her step out of despair step by step, that worry and reluctance, like hot spring water, always lingered in her heart and could not be dispelled.
For a long time, Hexi closed her eyes again, sinking her body into the warm spring water, leaving only half of her face exposed to the water surface. Her voice was very light, but carried an unquestionable decisiveness, coming through the steaming vapor:
"A fourth-generation god is not enough."
Queen Keisha turned to look at her.
"Add another layer of protection in secret." Hexi opened her eyes, silver light flashing in her eyes, with the calmness and domineering belonging to the Heavenly Base King, "Must ensure that no matter what happens, no matter how the situation deteriorates, she can retreat completely. Earth can be a testing ground, but it must never be her burial ground. Even if... it requires exposing some power we originally didn't want to use."
Queen Keisha looked at her quietly, not answering immediately. The steam of the hot spring rose and dissipated slowly between the two.
Finally, Queen Keisha nodded almost imperceptibly.
"Agreed."
One word, settled the final guarantee.
The Secret Garden returned to tranquility, with only the faint sound of the hot spring water flowing gurglingly. But beneath this tranquility, it was a silent but unbreakable web of protection laid by the two kings for the child going on a long journey.
The stage of Earth, the chessboard of the gods, is about to welcome a special visitor who carries the "favoritism" of the Angels, her own "persistence," and a "trump card" whose weight even she herself may not be clear about.
The storm is getting closer and closer.
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