Considering all the circumstances, this current wave should be the Third Abundance War from the original game's history, right?
Feels about right.
Then, Dan Shu's close friend, Yukong's close friend, Fu Xuan's master, Feixiao's teacher, and nearly half of the Xianzhou Fanghu end up dying in it.
And originally, the Abundance War didn't seem to involve the Destruction faction.
But now, Celenova's been added to the mix, along with someone suspected to be Phantylia fanning the flames from behind the scenes.
That's not just a minor bump in difficulty—it's a whole new level.
Hmm… 'Jingliu' kinda wants in on this.
Not for any particular reason, really.
Mainly, after confirming that Lan won't smack her with THEIR bow, 'Jingliu' just couldn't resist the itch to join the fray.
A corrupted Lightning Lord? Sure, it sounds pretty villainous, but it's also seriously cool.
How could she not take such a contrast-filled powerhouse out for a spin somewhere and put on a real show?
Otherwise, she'd feel like she'd totally wasted pulling this card.
And just her luck—the opponent happens to be the Abundance, who rely on sheer numbers to win.
Isn't that just perfect?
Swarm versus Abundance.
Plus, with the Xianzhou Alliance watching from the sidelines, just imagining their reaction to the corrupted Lightning Lord almost made her burst out laughing.
Damn, with a stage this perfect, if she doesn't show off now, then when?
Who knows when she'll get another large-scale battle like this again.
Fight!
Gotta go all out!
Not just fight—gotta put on one hell of a show while we're at it.
So, buzzing with excitement, 'Jingliu' shared her idea with Ruan Mei, who expressed great interest and said she'd come watch when the time came.
She even pulled 'Jingliu' into chatting about various Swarm breeds, acting all eager, as if she were the one engineering the bugs herself.
You could tell Ruan Mei had been craving this for a long time.
After saying goodbye to Ruan Mei, 'Jingliu' headed to the Halovian world suffering from a Stellaron disaster.
Worth mentioning—This world isn't weak at all.
Both individual strength and technological level are well above average.
At the very least, they could genuinely hold their own against the Stellaron disaster.
And according to Robin's backstory, this world resolved the Stellaron disaster, and the survivors were rescued by the Family.
Which means, even without the help of the Interastral Peace Corporation, they handled the Stellaron on their own.
Even if the cost was a bit steep.
So, when 'Jingliu' arrived at the expected location and saw the rather prosperous Halovian world, it really wasn't all that surprising.
If they weren't at this level, they wouldn't have been able to handle the Stellaron disaster in the first place.
Only two people came to greet her.
Baiheng, and that Galaxy Ranger whom 'Jingliu' had personally sent into Penacony years ago—Kamu.
Baiheng, who was just about to say hello, froze on the spot.
"Jing… wait, Bai Ming? This time, how come you're…"
To think the long-unseen sister she missed so much was actually Bai Ming playing a role—it threw Baiheng's mind into chaos for a moment.
She almost couldn't resist rushing over and hugging her tight.
"Well, this time the identity is Jingliu, and not just any ordinary Jingliu either."
'Jingliu' winked at Baiheng.
That gesture made Baiheng realize that the person before her really wasn't the actual Jingliu.
Right then, it was only from the ring on 'Jingliu's' left hand that Kamu realized—the person before her seemed to be that 'Miss Celenova' she'd met centuries ago.
"You… you're the Celenova from back then?"
"Recognized me? Long time no see, Miss Kamu."
'Jingliu' raised her left hand and shook it slightly.
That silver-white ring—Kamu still remembered it.
"It really has been a long time…"
Kamu never expected to reunite with the 'Celenova' from all those years ago, centuries later.
"How's Tiernan been lately? And you, Kamu… you don't look very old either."
Who knows what life-extending method she used, but Kamu didn't look like a young girl—though she was definitely far from old.
"I had a bit of an accident a while back, so I've got some extra time. Tiernan and Mikhail are completely old men now."
"Hanging on till now, their bodies probably don't have many years left. But thankfully, they made it to the 2158th Amber Era you mentioned, Miss Bai Ming."
Kamu said this quite casually.
But then again, on Penacony, after physical death, the spirit can continue to exist in the dreamscape.
It's not like being completely separated by life and death.
Those two old men were willing to extend their lives mainly because of the prophecy Miss Bai Ming left back then.
The 2158th Amber Era.
In recent years, they'd been wondering what would happen in this Amber Era.
But now they know.
This era is when the Astral Express sets sail again!
When those two old coots found out, they got ridiculously excited.
Kamu hadn't been in Penacony lately, so she had no idea what mischief those two might be up to.
"Uh… ah, yeah, right, exactly."
'Jingliu' nodded with a subtle expression.
Although "Jingliu's" original meaning was that the Astral Express would return to Penacony in the 2158th Amber Era, what's done is done—no one will ever know about this beautiful misunderstanding.
Let's just go with it.
"Catching up can wait until Tiernan arrives and talks to you in person, Miss Bai Ming. For now, let's discuss the intel on the Lord Ravager."
Kamu didn't linger on reminiscing.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she brought up the news about the Lord Ravager.
"What our IPC comrades can confirm right now is that there's a mysterious presence behind the Abominations of Abundance pushing all this."
"The Abominations of Abundance themselves probably had ideas long ago, but they only started large-scale movements recently. The Xianzhou has already entered a state of readiness."
Kamu's expression wasn't exactly relaxed.
'Jingliu' asked curiously, "This is on a big scale?"
"Big doesn't even cover it. The Abominations of Abundance have practically thrown everything they have into this."
"Add in the mastermind behind the scenes and Celenova, and this battle won't be easy for the Xianzhou. But if we win this one, the Abominations of Abundance won't be much of a threat going forward."
Baiheng, standing nearby, was clearly also worried about the Xianzhou's safety.
Even though she was technically a Xianzhou traitor now, she still felt a sense of belonging toward the Xianzhou itself.
Baiheng wanted to rush to the Xianzhou's aid, but she knew her identity was sensitive and showing up wasn't appropriate.
As for how the IPC plans to support them, that depends on what the Xianzhou says.
But no matter how it ended, the battle was bound to be brutal.
All signs from the Abominations of Abundance's side indicate they're going all in.
Most likely, they plan to overwhelm the difference in strength between Emanators and non-Emanators with sheer numbers.
And that's not actually impossible.
Emanators are just powerful people—they can't exactly be called Aeons.
If they want to run, no fleet could stop them, but if they don't run and just keep throwing bodies into the grinder regardless of losses, even Emanators can die.
Especially someone like a Xianzhou general—definitely not the type to run away.
But then again, this wasn't the original history where the Xianzhou was isolated and without support.
Not to mention the IPC and the Land of Light—she's here too, isn't she!
Seeing Baiheng's worried look, 'Jingliu' reached out and patted her shoulder, saying, "Don't worry. I'll step in."
Hearing this, Baiheng's eyelids twitched. She hadn't dared boldly ask for the other's help—after all, they weren't exactly close.
Who'd have thought 'Jingliu' would be so warm-hearted? Baiheng almost shot tears out right then.
"Really?! You're really willing to help the Xianzhou?!"
"Strictly speaking, I just want to show off in front of the Xianzhou."
'Jingliu' held back a laugh and vaguely explained, but Baiheng obviously didn't get it.
Just as she was about to press further, a little girl came running over carrying a bag.
Her blue hair bounced with each step, and the small wing-like feathers behind her ears fluttered to the rhythm.
"Sister Baiheng, Aunt Kamu, this is bread my mom made. She told me to bring it to you."
The little girl lifted the paper bag in her hands—a delicious, comforting aroma of food wafted out.
Baiheng, her gloom completely wiped out, smiled and took the bag, bending down to pat the girl's head:
"Thank you for bringing the bread, Robin. Where's your brother?"
"Brother's helping pack the luggage."
'Jingliu' looked at this tiny Halovian girl.
She was cute and all, but quite different from the big superstar in the game.
Still, she could see Robin's talent for Harmony.
It was pretty obvious.
Kamu chimed in promptly to explain:
"This group of Halovians will join Penacony. Those with talent will return to Penacony with us. This little girl and her brother are said to have remarkable talent."
"From what I gather from Gopher Wood's intent, they're probably being groomed as successors."
"Gopher Wood, huh…"
At this point, will Gopher Wood still devote himself to Order?
In his eyes, these siblings are natural Order Twins.
But couldn't they just as easily be Harmony Twins?
And judging by Kamu's tone, it's not like she's without influence—who knows how things will turn out.
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