La Mancha moved with his usual decisive speed.
After handing that bullet to 'Jingliu', he'd taken his people and left without another word.
Didn't even bother to pry further into 'Jingliu's' affairs.
What arrived next was the Xianzhou Generals' contingent.
Heaven knows what they were thinking.
All three Generals had come running over.
Yueyu, ears twitching, studied 'Jingliu' with open curiosity.
According to Jing Yuan, this 'Jingliu' before them wasn't the real Jingliu at all.
Just someone's peculiar hobby, that's all.
As for Xuanquan, she remained in that aloof state of hers, her feelings impossible to read.
Jing Yuan, wearing an easy grin, raised a hand in greeting toward 'Jingliu':
"Ah, Miss Bai Ming's Lightning Lord is truly mighty and extraordinary! If you hadn't rushed to the Fanghu's aid today, the Alliance would likely have lost another ship."
Just thinking about how this battle had drawn the attention of two Lord Ravagers—especially since one of them had apparently been scheming to infiltrate the Alliance—Jing Yuan couldn't help but shudder.
If not for Miss Bai Ming's timely assistance, who knew what price they'd have had to pay in this fight.
And since the Fanghu was the Vidyadhara's autonomous territory, if it had been destroyed here...
That would've been a devastating blow to the Vidyadhara.
Yueyu, seizing the moment, cut in and promptly performed an apologetic bow.
"My apologies! On the battlefield just now, I not only doubted your good intentions, but nearly injured you by accident. As compensation, you can name any request—as long as it's within my power."
"Yueyu, couldn't you at least wait until I'm done with greetings before launching into apologies?"
Jing Yuan sighed helplessly, then spread his hands toward 'Jingliu':
"As you can see, as long as it's not something like taking Flying Aureus away or commandeering the Yaoqing, I imagine she'll agree to it."
Yueyu's aura was remarkably similar to Feixiao's.
Gave you that distinct feeling of 'master and apprentice'.
In comparison, Jingliu and Jing Yuan's personalities couldn't have been more different.
"We can talk about that later. It's not like she actually hit me anyway."
'Jingliu' couldn't think of any request at the moment.
She kinda wanted to pet those animal ears, but had a feeling that if she suggested it, the stern Miss Xuanquan beside her would explode on the spot.
As for this Madam Xuanquan...
Well, she was the no-nonsense type:
"As the Fanghu's general, I extend my deepest gratitude for your assistance. Today's kindness will be etched into the Fanghu's memory, from top to bottom."
"Don't you think you're all laying it on a bit thick, one after another like this..."
'Jingliu' gazed at the Vidyadhara lady before her.
Suddenly wondered—in the original Third Abundance War, had she, like Yueyu, also died here?
But because the Vidyadhara could reincarnate, that's why it wasn't recorded?
Or was there some other reason?
'Jingliu' mulled it over, then decided not to pry into such personal matters.
"If you really want to thank me, let me just wander around Fanghu. I hear it's the Alliance's most famous tourist spot."
Whether it was because 'Jingliu' had mentioned her home turf, the cold-faced Vidyadhara lady's features finally softened into a faint smile:
"Of course. I can personally guide you. For our first stop, I recommend Claretgleam Bay—as Fanghu's most renowned seaside resort, it's perfect for recuperating after such a great battle..."
"Ahem. No need for the full itinerary. Better to save it for the journey."
Yueyu coughed dryly, cutting off Xuanquan's introduction.
Watching Xuanquan, who seemed almost disappointed at being interrupted, 'Jingliu' suddenly felt this Vidyadhara lady's personality might not be the cold and aloof type after all.
Didn't they say she loathed evil and commanded great respect?
She'd half-expected some typical, pointed remarks, but nothing of the sort came.
Following Xuanquan to the Fanghu's flagship, she even exchanged greetings with the leader of the Land of Light, who was just preparing to take their leave.
--+--
And while 'Jingliu' headed for Fanghu, ready to enjoy herself—
Over at the Interastral Peace Corporation.
They were efficiently broadcasting news of this Third Abundance War.
After all, the Abundance folk were part of the Three Calamities.
Though after this battle, they'd practically been reduced to gutter trash.
At the same time.
The IPC made a point in their news report to emphasize:
The broadcast footage contained memetic contamination.
Despite undergoing the Corporation's special processing, viewers were advised to watch with caution, or something along those lines.
And with the news broadcast.
The emotional energy, which had been rising rather modestly, finally started accelerating.
--+--
[Role-Play System]
[Name: Bai Ming (Lord Ravager · Jingliu)]
[Lifespan: 1200 years (Paused) + 28 days (Role-Play)]
[Transformable Characters: Big Herta (Available), Acheron (Available), Celenova (Available), Jingliu (Available), Ruan Mei (Charging: 84.1%), Sparkle (Charging: 73.8%), Hertatomb (Charging: 35.2%), Cyrene · Fuli (Charging: 0.7%), Lord Ravager · Jingliu (In Role-Play)]
[Available Draws: 0 (79.1%)]
--+--
The emotional energy, which had been crawling upward slowly, suddenly spiked several times at a certain moment.
If 'Jingliu's' guess was correct, it must be the real Jingliu—far away at the universe's other end—who'd seen the IPC news broadcast.
It just went to show, without the IPC's reach.
'Jingliu' might not always be able to harvest this much emotional energy.
--+--
At the same time.
Outside Amphoreus, aboard the Simulated Universe Space Station.
After receiving a message from AI Herta.
The Herta herself, still deeply immersed in the Simulated Universe, finally snapped back to attention.
She opened the two news broadcasts AI Herta had sent.
"A war between the Xianzhou Alliance and the Abundance? A Stellaron Hunter wanted notice? What's so interesting about that?"
Herta frowned, dragging the progress bar.
Then her finger stopped when the Propagation Lightning Lord appeared.
"...This thing... it's not supposed to exist, is it?"
The Seven Arbiter-Generals of the Reignbow—Herta at least had a basic understanding of them.
This black Lightning Lord, reeking of Propagation energy, was clearly no ordinary one.
And.
Paired with the second piece of news, the wanted notice.
Stellaron Hunter Jingliu, alongside new member Kafka, had toppled a civilization that had joined the Credit trade system, making off with a Stellaron.
Jingliu's bounty had exploded past twenty billion Credits, while Kafka, debuting on the wanted list, already commanded a ten billion bounty, and so on.
"If Stellaron Hunter Jingliu is pulling heists at the other end of the universe, then this Jingliu appearing on the battlefield... I can't think of anyone else it could be but that certain someone."
The corner of Herta's mouth twitched slightly.
"Wasn't this one supposed to be tinkering with some new experiment alongside Ruan Mei? How'd she slip out again and run wild while I wasn't looking? Does she have any idea she's wasting her brain like this?"
In Herta's eyes.
Bai Ming clearly could rely on her intellect, but insisted on running wild every so often—a habit Herta found utterly incomprehensible.
If she'd just wander around and whip up some whimsical creations from scratch, that'd be far more meaningful than going out and picking fights with people.
What a headache.
For this object of her considerable regard, Herta had a strong urge to 'correct' her ways.
But unfortunately, the woman herself remained blissfully unaware.
This frustration of seeing potential squandered was precisely why Herta always looked at Bai Ming with such a critical eye.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL