Feel it with your heart? Judah is a very good listener?
Was that even human logic?
Azhar stared at her, horrified. She understood every individual word Theresa had spoken, and she grasped the general intent behind them.
But how exactly was she supposed to do that?
Was she supposed to bow deeply to Judah and politely ask for its approval?
Azhar didn't get it at all. But the arrow was already notched on the bowstring. While it wasn't a desperate, life-or-death crisis, Azhar gritted her teeth. She had to at least try!
Taking a deep breath, she threw caution to the wind and slapped her hands onto the surface of the giant cross.
When she watched Theresa use it earlier, there were no complex operations involved. Just placing her hand on Judah was enough to trigger a series of miraculous effects.
Azhar had worried there was some hidden trick to it—a specific hand gesture, the right amount of pressure, a precise angle, or some imperceptible secret she couldn't discern. Now, forced to improvise, she simply copied Theresa's motion.
The instant her palms made contact, her first thought was that the cross didn't feel cold and metallic like she had expected. Instead, it radiated a strange, soothing warmth.
The next moment, that warmth flowed through her hands and into her body, gently carrying a stream of information with it.
A bizarre, profound sense of familiarity enveloped Azhar. Her very first reaction to it was... tears welling up in her eyes.
A sudden throb in her heart tugged at her emotions, urging her tears to fall, making her want to cry out loud.
This feeling... Was this the same sensation she felt back when she snatched the core from the Herrscher's grasp?
No.
This was the power that had supported her in grabbing that core.
It was her mother... and the residual "bonds" left behind by the countless martyrs who had perished from Honkai corruption during the Great Eruption.
An invisible wave of Honkai Energy rippled outward, with Judah as its epicenter.
Up in the stands, Shu immediately detected the fluctuation. His attention snapped toward Azhar and Judah. After a moment of silence, his gaze shifted to someone else in the arena.
Li Sushang.
The similarities were striking.
One possessed the Xuanyuan Sword—a weapon that only she and Fu Hua could wield. The other stood before the Oath of Judah—a Divine Key that opened its doors only to Kaslanas and, inexplicably, Azhar.
Such entrusted legacies weren't isolated incidents. People scattered across different corners of the world often resonated with one another in profound ways.
For instance... the final wishes entrusted by the dead to the living.
Ah, wait. That's not quite right.
Li Sushang's parents had actually been pulled back from an alternate possibility by Yun Mengxi...
Mid-epiphany, Shu suddenly felt a sweatdrop form at his own derailed train of thought. He let out an awkward cough, then pretended to look extremely busy as he leaned over Joachim's shoulder to inspect the data readouts.
"Mr. Shu... Hello," Joachim greeted first, sensing his approach and breaking the ice.
"Hello," Shu replied with polite reflex. "What exactly are you observing?"
"Some data related to Honkai Energy... We have a large sample size now, but due to the limitations of our current tools, the data we can accurately measure is still far too scarce.
"Dr. Schrödinger is already working on developing a precision Honkai Energy detector, but... she has quite a few projects on her plate right now, so this particular problem doesn't have the highest priority."
A salute to the legendary workaholic, Dr. Schrödinger.
There was no need to worry about Dr. Schrödinger's health, nor was there any point in asking if she was tired. As everyone knew, until someone opened the door to her laboratory, Dr. Schrödinger existed in a quantum superposition of both perfectly healthy and completely exhausted.
Come to think of it, did anyone even remember that Dr. Schrödinger was originally assigned to follow him around solely to observe him? And that the candidate was originally supposed to be Van Gogh?
If Van Gogh had actually been the one to follow him back, would Otto have still dragged her into the salt mines?
Shu's mind began to wander again.
Without a doubt, yes. Even if she wasn't assigned to a lab, Otto definitely would have tossed her into the Propaganda Department or some other desk job.
Snapping back to reality, Shu stared intently at the complex graphs and charts displayed on the laptop screen, then silently withdrew his gaze.
He couldn't understand a single damn thing.
At least for now, it looked like absolute gibberish.
Back down in the arena, as the gentle wave of Honkai Energy washed over the group, everyone instantly felt their spirits lift.
"Why do I feel like there's a huge crowd cheering me on all of a sudden?" Kiana glanced back at Azhar in surprise. Bianka felt it even more acutely, marveling at the sensation.
While it didn't provide any tangible boost in raw combat power—and practically speaking, it just meant they could vaguely hear each other's thoughts—that illusion of having countless people supporting them... was absolutely incredible!
It was a massive confidence buff!
"Confidence, huh..." Shu muttered under his breath, prompting Joachim to lean in closer.
"Pardon?"
Simultaneously, the five Emperor-class Honkai Beasts finally finished loading.
As their floating armor segments began to violently orbit their main bodies, the squad—still marveling at the newly established mental link—instantly snapped into combat readiness.
This neural link seemed to come with a few extra surprises.
Bronya, now the undisputed tactical commander, swept her gaze across the team before slowly closing her eyes in the center of the arena.
Yet, she could still see perfectly.
Everything seen, heard, and even thought by everyone linked through Judah was fed directly into Bronya's mind as unfiltered, instant data.
This was no longer just zero-latency, lossless communication...
In terms of pure information processing, this was the most terrifying state imaginable short of outright precognition!
With a command system like this— A confident smirk tugged at the corner of Bronya's lips.
It was time to micro-manage!
"Three o'clock. Kiana, advance 7 meters, set up a defensive line. Principal, advance 3 meters in the same direction, prepare to support. Bianka, lock onto target: Emperor Beast Number Four. You are the main DPS. Destroy the target."
Thoughts moved at the speed of light. In less than a second, everyone received their specific orders directly from Bronya's mind.
There was zero room for misunderstanding. Even those who had never formally studied tactical jargon instantly grasped Bronya's exact intent without any barriers.
After all, this was direct communication that bypassed objective language entirely. You couldn't even lie or introduce logical fallacies if you tried.
It was the ultimate synergy. Combined with the group's mutual trust and flawless execution, the squad rapidly shifted into formation according to Bronya's will, perfectly locking onto every single enemy.
The next moment, the spinning armor segments of all five Emperor-class Honkai Beasts accelerated to a blur as they charged straight at the girls.
Shu let out a soft breath, his eyes narrowing in absolute focus.