"My request is simple. I need the latest intelligence on Lierre, so name your price."
Cocolia stood with her arms crossed, getting straight to the point.
Her current intelligence network was essentially ruined. To her, the current Far East Branch was no different from a demon's den.
Not only were the First Herrscher, Joyce, and Cecilia stationed there, but even Theresa—a former S-rank Valkyrie who was perhaps slightly past her prime—was not easy to deal with.
Cocolia had also heard that the members of the Conservative Faction seemed to be making small moves behind her back, and even their Anti-Entropy Sovereign, Welt Yang, was involved.
No matter how she thought about it, it had to be related to Lierre.
Cocolia felt an unprecedented sense of crisis. Her sharp intuition told her that if she continued to oppose Lierre, her final end would be absolutely miserable.
Not only would she fail to rescue Seele, but she would also create a terrifying enemy.
Her daughters might all be implicated because of her; Bronya was a living example of that risk.
Therefore, Cocolia wanted more information on Lierre to figure out exactly what kind of person she was as soon as possible, allowing her to decide on a future strategy.
"Schicksal headquarters is not like the Far East Branch. Otto's protection of Lierre is far too tight. Obtaining information on her is no easy task," Gray Serpent explained in a measured tone.
"Cut the nonsense and give me a straight answer. I don't believe for a second that you have zero interest in Lierre," Cocolia snorted coldly.
Gray Serpent had definitely been closely monitoring Lierre's every move lately. No one who knew of a person capable of resurrecting those long dead could remain completely indifferent.
If Gray Serpent, an information broker, wasn't tempted by this, then he didn't deserve to be called one.
"Don't be in such a hurry. I still need a little time to collect complete intelligence. When the time is right, I will give you a satisfactory answer."
Gray Serpent's tone shifted as he added, "However, this information will need to be traded for a Herrscher Core."
"That's an outrageous demand! Gray Serpent, don't go too far!" Cocolia slammed her hand on the table in anger.
Herrscher Cores weren't carrots you could find anywhere on the street; you couldn't just produce one on command!
There were currently only three ways to obtain a Herrscher Core.
The first was to snatch one from Schicksal, but with the military strength Cocolia currently commanded, doing so would essentially be suicide.
The second was to plot for the Gem of Conquest inside Raiden Mei. However, the Far East demon's den was not something she could easily touch, and it carried the risk of completely offending Lierre. It wasn't viable.
The final method was simple and direct: kill a Herrscher and dig the core out of their corpse.
But no matter which method she chose, they all came with immense risks of casualties.
Cocolia couldn't afford the loss. She was merely the leader chosen by the Innovation Faction; if she truly did something detrimental to their interests, she would be ousted immediately.
"Of course, that price may be too high for you to achieve, so I can provide you with information regarding the Gem of Desire for free."
Gray Serpent didn't drive Cocolia into a corner, but he had no intention of softening his demands.
Because the Sovereign needed the power of the Herrscher Cores.
After a series of negotiations, Cocolia only gritted her teeth and agreed after adding a condition that Gray Serpent must rescue Seele.
Regardless of whether the deal could ultimately be completed, it was at least a way forward.
Gray Serpent watched the grim-faced Cocolia leave before picking up a black umbrella and walking out the door, silently departing the house.
He needed to find a way to infiltrate Schicksal headquarters and get as close to Lierre as possible.
Because of Lierre's appearance, the variables were too great. Gray Serpent worried she would affect World Serpent's final plan.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, a year and a half had passed.
Located beneath Schicksal headquarters, at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea under the giant floating island.
Under the day-and-night labor of countless intelligent construction robots, a giant Cross over fifty meters tall had been completed.
Beneath the base, five ultra-large Honkai energy reactors were operating, continuously powering the machinery inside the Cross.
Next, a robot holding a small, exquisite golden Cross dove into the seabed, slowly swimming toward a recess in the giant Cross.
It then carefully embedded the golden Cross into the slot.
A brilliant flash of golden light suddenly flickered across the surface of the golden Cross, and in the next moment, it completely merged into the massive structure.
Vroom!
The entire Mediterranean Sea shuddered. On the surface of the fifty-meter-tall giant Cross, unknown Golden Inscriptions lit up one after another from the bottom up.
At the same time.
A pack of Honkai Beasts set foot in a certain village. Just as they were about to kill the fleeing villagers, flickers of white flame suddenly ignited on the sky, the ground, and the surfaces of houses.
These flames had no temperature, yet they gave off a sense of comforting warmth.
At that moment, with the exception of the Honkai Beasts and a portion of the zombies, the entire world ground to a halt.
The unintelligent Honkai Beasts and zombies did not react much to the frozen world around them.
After destroying the houses in the village and killing the humans who were now as hard as ceramic, they were immediately guided by an unseen force and began walking toward an uninhabited area.
Once they left, the destroyed village and the villagers were restored as if time had flowed backward. Then, as the pure white flames receded, the world resumed its motion.
The fleeing villagers suddenly discovered that the monsters that should have been hunting them had now vanished into thin air.
"Those monsters... they're all gone?"
"Are we saved?"
"We survived..."
The survivors were in disbelief. Some hadn't yet recovered from their terror, while others wept with joy and embraced their loved ones.
Such scenes were projected in the air within the Apocalypse Research Institute at Schicksal headquarters, along with many other similar images.
Lierre was currently standing by a precision control console. Below her stood Otto and a group of scientists whose expressions seemed to say, "Physics no longer exists."
"Fuzetsu is a special type of Barrier that isolates cause and effect. It ensures that the general public remains safe from the harm of the Honkai. Furthermore, Schicksal will be able to act more freely from now on, utilizing powerful weapons to deal with zombies, Honkai Beasts, and even Herrschers—such as Honkai fission bombs."
Lierre held a speech manuscript, her expression suggesting she wanted to finish as quickly as possible so she could clock out. She pointed at the red and yellow circles on the central holographic Earth Projection.
"The red circles here show locations where Honkai disasters are currently occurring. The yellow circles indicate the range where Honkai may erupt within the next seven days. The danger levels are divided into three ranks, with rank three being the highest, signifying a Herrscher-level threat."
Once she finished this job, she was going to quit and run!