After dragging the small aerial warship into the War Domain, Chen Luo immediately simulated the terrain from his last battle, the ruins where he fought the Emperor class Honkai beast, rather than the current high-altitude setting.
When a warship is forced to fight on the ground...
Chen Luo nearly smashed the small warchip's head in. If Little Senti hadn't mentioned it was an unmanned vessel, he would have dismantled it completely.
Unmanned warships could still be challenging targets. However, once inside the War Domain, the ship lost all signal connections and entered standby mode, utterly clueless about what to do next.
Chen Luo almost died laughing.
But this also meant he now owned a small aerial warship.
Thanks to his [Furniture Mastery], Chen Luo spent considerable effort prying open the hatch. Once inside, he immediately began modifications.
With the terrifying boost from [Omni Proficiency], he first disabled its remote control system, then thoroughly inspected its weapon systems.
Then Chen Luo noticed something absurd.
Even after storing the warship in his inventory, the War Domain didn't dissolve—because technically, nothing had died.
This exposed a flaw in the War Domain's rules.
The "duel to the death" condition was surprisingly flexible. Whether the target was a living being or not, it would be recognized as an enemy.
Only by defeating, crushing, and offering victory to the War Domain could one leave.
But Chen Luo hadn't destroyed the warship, he'd just pocketed it. The War Domain received no feedback on victory or defeat, so it remained active.
Fortunately, Chen Luo had the bar.
His bar could establish an anchor point in any world, similar to his balcony setup. No matter where he entered, he could exit through his living room.
If no anchor point was set, his disappearance location would default as the exit point, a feature he'd recently discovered.
Thus, when Chen Luo reopened the bar's door, he reappeared atop the TV tower.
Confirming no cloaked warships lurked nearby, he resumed sniping the mechs below.
[Zombie killed. 5 Primogems obtained.]
[Zombie killed. 5 Primogems obtained.]
[Zombie killed. 5 Primogems obtained.]
[Honkai beast killed. 20 Primogems obtained.]
"Huh? A Honkai beast died? Whatever."
"These mechs seem to be retreating. Is Cocolia really that stingy? Or am I not tempting enough as a 'Traveler'?" Chen Luo muttered between shots.
"They can't reach you, their artillery gets shredded by your wind blades, and their warship vanished. If I were Cocolia, I'd retreat too. But stay alert—she's vindictive and radical. Might pull something nastier," Little Senti warned.
"I know." Chen Luo nodded.
"Besides, we should leave by nightfall. This area's densely populated, but even that has limits. The zombie numbers are already dropping." He sighed.
Such effortless farming couldn't last forever. While his position was advantageous now, once the zombies thinned out, he'd have to relocate.
His promise to Kiana's group about rescuing survivors wasn't empty either. More rescues might unlock new achievements.
If his memory serves, Nagazora still had survivors, like Little Sora's group from Honkai Impact 3's main story.
This also presented a chance to contact World Serpent, since their teacher was Raven, a World Serpent cadre.
Chen Luo was very interested in World Serpent, and suspected the feeling was mutual.
World Serpent operated in the shadows, collaborating with Cocolia. Little escaped Grey Serpent's notice.
If someone claimed the World Serpent already knew of him, Chen Luo wouldn't be surprised.
Frankly, he assumed Anti-Entropy, World Serpent, and Schicksal had all detected him.
He'd made zero effort to hide, because he wanted to join them.
While Nagazora's third eruption seemed sudden, Cocolia, the mastermind, definitely knew. Otto, pulling strings behind Honkai Impact 3rd's plot, was 90% likely aware too.
World Serpent? Their collaboration with Cocolia made their awareness inevitable.
However, Chen Luo's real headache was joining all three factions without getting captured.
Anti-Entropy was settled. Their roster lacked top-tier fighters, relying mostly on mechs—threatening, but not enough to stop his escapes.
Thus, the original "villain" faction was ironically the easiest to deal with.
Schicksal was trickier, primarily because of Otto. Hence Chen Luo had sent Senti to cause chaos at HQ, diverting Otto's attention.
Their elite Valkyries also outclassed him, and joining posed problems, St. Freya didn't count as Schicksal proper.
World Serpent was both difficult and simple. Simple if he found Raven to vouch for him.
The difficult part was why should Raven help him?
Depending on whether she'd visited the Elysian Realm, Mobius might've left an... impression.
Chen Luo wasn't sure of Raven's timeline regarding the Realm, but it didn't matter. Recommending a new executive earned hefty bonuses. He doubted she'd refuse free money.
"Speaking of which, should I loot Nagazora's gold shops? Also there should be banks in Nagazora. Hmm, let's go tonight." A sudden epiphany struck.
In this near-lifeless city, wealth lay everywhere.
While money meant little to him, it could buy lives when dealing with broke mercenaries or desperate souls.
His only regret? Primogems couldn't be converted to cash.
Not that he would even if possible.
"Play 'The Wind' for me." A snap of his fingers made the bar stream the song (Venti's version).
Maybe it was placebo, but Chen Luo swore the Anemo Archon's vocals made manipulating wind slightly easier.
Hours later…
"A'Luo, the main body has arrived at Schicksal headquarters," Little Senti, who was sitting on Chen Luo's head, suddenly spoke up while he was happily farming mobs.
"So fast?" Chen Luo was taken aback.
It had only been a few hours, how had she already reached Schicksal HQ?
Even by plane, that wouldn't be enough time. As expected of the Herrscher of Sentience, truly formidable.
"Did you find Durandal? Theresa just messaged me that Kiana has arrived at St. Freya Academy, but my commission hasn't been completed yet. That means Durandal still needs to be brought there too..." Chen Luo rubbed his temples in frustration.
No wonder this commission was so high-level, difficult, and rewarding.
But it wasn't a huge problem. There were plenty of excuses to get Durandal to St. Freya, Theresa could even extend a direct invitation.
The remaining rewards would come eventually. It was just a matter of time.
"Haven't found her yet. I just hacked into a member of Immortal Blades' consciousness and learned Durandal is out on a mission."
"On a mission? That's typical."
It would actually be strange if Durandal stayed put at Schicksal HQ. Going on missions was her default state.
She wasn't exactly a battle maniac, but she was rigidly disciplined—a semi-workaholic suited the description.
"Hmm?" Chen Luo suddenly sensed movement from the small-range tracking talisman in his inventory.
What was going on? For the talisman to react like this, it meant the target was nearby.
He had originally used this feature to find Kiana trapped in the library.
As a three-star item, this talisman wasn't single-use—it could be reused. But after finding Kiana, Chen Luo had forgotten to deactivate the tracking.
"Could Kiana have come back to find me?" Chen Luo chuckled.
But as a certain possibility dawned on him, his smile stiffened.
"Hey, Senti, can you check what mission Durandal went on?" A bad premonition crept into Chen Luo's heart.
"Why the sudden interest? Wait, let me see... Hmm, seems she was dispatched to standby near Nagazora... Yeah, Nagazora..."
"Little Senti, if Durandal entered Nagazora and came within three kilometers of me, do you think she's here for tea and a chat?"
The "small-range" in the talisman's name referred to its three-kilometer effective radius.
Back then, Chen Luo had set two tracking conditions: the name "Kiana Kaslana" and a portrait.
To prevent misses, the talisman reacted to all matching targets.
Meaning, this talisman worked on every Kiana Kaslana.
Kiana had already returned to the Hyperion, while Durandal was nearby on standby. So...
"Probability is practically zero," Little Senti concluded.
"And if Durandal is this close, you're definitely her target."
"Tch. Senti, remember to punch Otto once for me," Chen Luo grumbled.
Wanting to join Schicksal was one thing, being captured was another.
After all, Chen Luo still had the World Serpent to infiltrate.
"No problem. Otto Apocalypse will pay," the Herrscher of Sentience grinned excitedly.
"Sigh. It's almost dark anyway, and the zombies here are nearly cleared out. Time to relocate." Chen Luo sighed.
After sitting atop the TV tower for hours and harvesting countless zombies, it was time to move.
Chen Luo waved amiably at some indeterminate point in the sky, then leaped off the tower.
Schicksal's tech was advanced—their satellites could see details as fine as street signs.
Though Nagazora's dense Honkai energy severely degraded imaging clarity...
Chen Luo had been perched 400 meters in the air.
Sniping zombies and mechs from that height had been satisfying, but it also made him a glaring target for satellites.
At that altitude, Honkai interference weakened, leaving him fully exposed.
Wind howled past Chen Luo's ears as he plummeted.
When he was mere dozens of meters above ground, his freefall seamlessly transitioned into a glide, sending him weaving through the urban sprawl.
Two minutes after Chen Luo vanished from the tower's peak, a blonde girl in powered armor flew up to the spot.
"Hmm? Did he sense me? Or was it coincidence?" The girl frowned at the deserted rooftop and the video feed on her wrist, Chen Luo waving at the sky.
"An otherworldly traveler... Troublesome indeed."
"Alvitr, can you lock onto his escape route?" Durandal pressed her comms and asked.
"Negative, Captain. The Honkai eruption has spiked energy concentrations in Nagazora. Below 50 meters, tracking becomes unreliable. If he's moving at street level, satellites won't help much," reported Alvitr, Immortal Blades' technician.
"Understood."
"Apologies, Captain. I couldn't assist."
"Not your fault. No need for apologies."
"Should we request backup?"
"Unnecessary. This armor has anti-tracking systems, and I've received counter-surveillance training. Leave the traveler to me."
"Roger, Captain."