Mu Continent, headquarters of the Moths Who Chase the Flames.
Just over an hour later, when Ling ke's Stellaron Train arrived here, there were no more annoying clowns or underlings to deal with.
He soon met with the "VIPs" Himeko had mentioned in her message.
However...
"So that's how it is."
Inside the Observation Car, he merely glanced at the mysterious figures. He instantly understood the full details of the incident.
First of all, based on their appearances, these people were indeed the ones he had expected to escort: Dr. Einstein and her group.
He even saw Sim Hua, the Memoria, who had been working as a personal bodyguard in disguise.
But...
These people were all body doubles with their faces altered by high technology.
Out of the nine of them, eight did not show their true faces.
Only one person stood there without any disguise.
Sakura!
Or rather, Sakura's Sim.
She was now dressed exactly like her Godsbane Armor: Herrscher of Origin outfit from the game, with headphones around her neck and two katanas tucked into her waist.
One was her usual combat blade, the Spirit Blade · Frozen Hell Sky, which had previously frozen a tsunami.
The other was the one Ling ke had casually handed over earlier, the Twelfth Divine Key, the Key of Corruption, Jizo Mitama.
In recent days, Sakura, who had been lucky enough to receive Ling ke's gift, had truly become inseparable from her own younger sister.
And now, since she had appeared here...
"This is most likely a test targeted at me (Caelus)."
"If I'm trustworthy, they'll give me a real internal mission."
"But if I'm not... Heh~"
It went without saying that having the Key of Corruption on board meant a lot could be done. For example, it could temporarily interfere with the Stellaron Train, my (Caelus's) trump card.
To be honest, if it were anyone else, they would likely end up with one of two results, assuming nothing went wrong from the start.
First, they would never even realize what was happening and would accidentally pass the Trustworthiness Test.
Second, even if they did figure things out, they would still keep working for the Newborn World Serpent for various reasons.
But for Ling ke...
"This isn't a fair way to play," he said, his gaze narrowing. He sneered inwardly, "Whose brilliant idea was this?"
"You presume to test me without my consent. Have you ever considered that some people... like me... simply don't care about your so called trust?"
At the thought, a slight smirk formed on his lips.
Clearly, he had already come up with a wicked plan to "make things more interesting."
"Let me teach you a simple lesson," Ling ke said, narrowing his eyes. "Weakness and ignorance are never the obstacles to survival. Arrogance is!"
Just at that moment...
"Clang!"
The Stellaron Train, which everyone was riding in, shook violently.
In an instant, while Ling Ke quickly steadied himself, the "Substitute for VIPs" weren't so lucky.
Except for Sakura, who appeared in her original form, everyone else was shaken off balance and fell all over the floor.
However, they quickly returned to a defensive stance, each drawing the firearms they carried and vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
They all looked like elite soldiers.
Several of them simultaneously turned their gazes toward Ling Ke, who was sitting on another circular sofa nearby.
Sakura also looked at him immediately.
In response...
"Hey, hey, hey! You never mentioned we'd get such a warm welcome during this mission!"
Ling Ke didn't seem to mind. He gestured with his thumb toward the outside of the train. "For this kind of situation... you'll have to pay extra."
Just then...
"!!!"
A dark cloud of alien monsters, like a plague of locusts, flew in the air, hot on the Stellaron Train's trail.
The train had shaken violently just now because some of the monsters had launched a ranged attack.
Facing this situation...
"Doesn't this train you manifested have any weapons to fight back with?" one of the Substitute for VIPs asked.
She was the one playing the part of Dr. Einstein.
But to be honest, the way she held her pistol while half-crouched with a serious expression didn't fit the real Dr. Einstein at all.
The two of them shared absolutely no similarities in aura.
At that moment...
"This is a train, not a war machine," Ling Ke replied. "Of course, if you're willing to pay to install a few train cannons for me, I won't refuse."
"..."
This conversation was going nowhere.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The Stellaron Train was hit again by outside attacks.
Fortunately, the train was sturdy enough... after all, it was a champion of durability that could survive being swallowed by a giant True Stingworm that traveled across the stars with its physical body and still escape from its maw.
It had only been blown in half by a certain Aeon from next door who was always laughing and joking...
Uh, enough small talk.
Right now...
"Can this train keep accelerating and break through the encirclement?"
Sakura walked up to Ling Ke and asked seriously, "Of course, if you need help, I can go outside and deal with those monsters."
"Sure."
Without a doubt, the Stellaron Train could definitely accelerate further.
In fact, if Ling Ke wanted to, he could make the Stellaron Train travel from the Mu Continent to North Africa in an instant.
After all, this was a god-made vehicle capable of long-distance leaps across the starry universe.
However, considering that the Newborn World Serpent was dishonestly testing him without his permission...
"Please, go ahead."
With a flick of his right hand, the sliding door to the Observation Car opened. "I've witnessed your prowess before, Miss Sakura of the Frozen Tsunami."
"Go slice them all down in one strike!"
"..."
Sakura didn't much care for his somewhat flippant and slightly frivolous way of speaking.
Speaking of which...
As one of the few powerful beings who had never harmed ordinary people, Sakura was currently one of the Superhumans who had signed the Superhuman Act with the United Nations under the arrangements of the Newborn World Serpent.
Therefore, under the influence of the Newborn World Serpent, which now held nearly absolute power, Sakura actually served as the positive public face of the Superhuman community.
Some of her information was made public, though the important parts remained classified.
So, even though Ling Ke had spoken her name, she didn't find it strange at all.
Right now...
"I'll do my best," Sakura said, before stepping into the Observation Car's compartment.
The compartment door closed, and the side door of the train car opened.
A fierce wind rushed in, sending her cherry-pink hair fluttering.
Her fluffy animal ears were pressed down slightly by the wind.
From Ling Ke's perspective, he saw Sakura leap out from the side door.
But she didn't stop to cover their retreat. Instead, she leaped directly onto the roof of the train car.
Then...
Shwing!
A massive blue blade of light flashed.
Sakura, using only her Spirit Blade · Frozen Hell Sky, unleashed slash after slash.
Wherever her blade passed, large groups of Alien Monsters were instantly frozen solid.
Soon, the once pitch-black sky was cleared of most of its obstacles, as if an eraser had wiped a canvas clean.
As for the few Alien Monsters that had already clung to the train cars like geckos...
Hum—
In an instant, Sakura's figure vanished from her spot.
When she reappeared, she was already at the rear of the train.
Slowly, she sheathed her sword...
Clang—
With the sound of the blade sliding into its scabbard, all the Alien Monsters on the train cars were sliced to pieces.
"Wow~"
Inside the Observation Car, Ling Ke let out a soft exclamation of admiration.
He knew that the ability Sakura had just used was named "Blink" by her herself.
Even Ancestor Kevin couldn't react to it the first time he saw it.
Even a powerhouse like him would be instantly bypassed, leaving her right behind him.
It could only be said that Sakura truly deserved her place as one of the Flame-Chasers whose combat power could steadily secure a top four spot and even contend for the top three.
As a top-tier assassin, her strikes were clean and decisive, leaving no room for hesitation.
In an instant, she had already annihilated all the Alien Monsters that had been pursuing them.
Before long, when she returned to the Observation Car...
Clap, clap, clap
Ling Ke smiled and applauded. "Impressive. As expected of Miss Sakura."
"..."
Sakura didn't respond to his praise.
She wasn't good at dealing with people like him.
She simply nodded slightly, then glanced discreetly at the others who had accompanied her... those eight Substitutes for VIPs.
Seeing them all nod, indicating that Ling Ke had not made any unusual moves from start to finish, she finally breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"It seems that although he (Caelus) is unreliable, he is not an enemy," Sakura thought to herself.
On the other hand, Ling Ke...
"That's strange!"
After Sakura returned to the Observation Car, Ling Ke habitually began to review everything that had happened, and a sense of unease welled up in his heart.
At this moment, Ling Ke remained outwardly calm, but his mind was already racing. "Kali deployed quite a few troops with Dr. Einstein. How could the number of her Spawn that might be moved to a safe area be so small?"
Indeed, just now, there were so many Alien Monsters in the sky, looking like a swarm of locusts, but there wasn't a single powerful individual. They were all just for show, and Sakura had wiped them all out in a couple of moves.
In Ling Ke's opinion...
"Kali is not that kind of mindless Herrscher. She wouldn't suddenly lose her intelligence and ignore the hidden threat that nuclear bombs would pose to her plan."
"So..."
Ling Ke considered a possibility. "Is she planning to turn the tables and use the humans' counterattack to secure her victory?"
"Or... has she recently come up with another, more viable battle plan?"
He looked at Sakura, who was standing nearby, and the eight Substitutes for VIPs on the other side.
Certain clues seemed to be vaguely connecting.
Ultimately...
"In any case, based on the actual situation just now, Kali must be deliberately creating a seemingly very tense atmosphere."
"But under this false rhythm, her true purpose is... to disperse the total combat power of the Newborn World Serpent."
"And then..."
At the same time, in the North African Sahara Desert, on a desolate sand dune.
"Are you ready, Third Herrscher?"
"Don't worry. Just make sure you don't mess up, Fourth Herrscher."
A short-haired girl in a black dress stood side-by-side with a Spawn created by Kali, which had mimicked her original form.
The former was the temporary body remotely controlled by Seele.
And just behind the two...
Buzz~
A golden-orange teleportation gate opened, and a large number of white-haired girls wearing spiked armor streamed out.
At the same time, tens of thousands of Impostors appeared.
Each unit of these two armies possessed strength comparable to at least the strongest S-rank Valkyries of all time... that is, Durandal who had not yet stepped onto the Path of Abundance but had already activated the power of the World Bubble and transformed into the Immaculate Star Anchor state... equivalent to 1% of the strength of a certain Strongest MANTIS.
Perhaps, in one-on-one combat, they would be far weaker than the already grown powerhouses like Kevin, Elysia, Kalpas, Sakura, Aponia, and Fu Hua.
But compared to the others within the Newborn World Serpent, they were enough to pose a threat to their lives that could not be ignored.
They had all undergone multiple rounds of improvement and evolution, being consumables born for slaughter that combined blood and death.
If they unleashed their full power, their individual combat strength would take another leap forward in a short time.
Each one was a human Heaven and Earth Lifespan Trigger.
They did not have a future of their own.
They existed only to ensure others... would no longer have a future.
Today, the two leaders had only one goal.
Kali: "If we can't infiltrate, we attack head-on."
Seele: "Even if we suffer a crushing defeat, it will still be a Pyrrhic victory for them."
"A Pyrrhic victory means they will have no strength left to deal with anything else." x2
At this moment, Kali and Seele, neither of whose original bodies were present, issued the remote command at the same time: "All forces, attack!" x2
"Wipe out this rotten snake!" x2
"Completely sever the last hope... of this era!" x2
Image: "Executioner Stigmata: Violet"