Didn't you go to Teyvat to earn money to support me?

"Su Chang, have you told Shenzhou about the plan?"

"What do you take me for? I was only summoned here yesterday. Do you think I had time to inform my master?" Li Sushang said unhappily. "Besides, even if I had known beforehand, I wouldn't have said anything. This has nothing to do with Shenzhou, and I'm not betraying Shenzhou."

"Then why did you rush over here in such a hurry?" Otto laughed.

"Because I'm afraid you'll go after my junior brother who's not yet married to me."

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Otto Apocalypse

Li Sushang shook her head, her twin ponytails bobbing up and down. Actually, these weren't twin ponytails; according to the little immortal Cheng Ling Shuang, they were called "childhood pigtails." Although Li Sushang's appearance was fixed at fifteen years old, whether a fifteen-year-old girl could still be considered a childhood pigtail was debatable.

"I'm afraid you'll target my junior brother who's not yet married to me. Although Master doesn't like him, he's still a genius young man in our Divine Land. Oh, the point is, a young man, not a genius." Li Sushang hugged the large white rabbit that didn't match her age at all and said lazily, "I'm here not just to help you, but also to keep an eye on you. After all, if Master finds out that you've plotted against him and killed him, I can't stop you."

"Would a little immortal really fly into a rage over a son of the Shaniat family?"

“In your eyes he is the son of the Shaniat family, but in Master’s eyes he is just a Chinese.” Li Sushang pouted. “You openly target our Chinese talents. If Master didn’t know, she would let it go. But if she did, she wouldn’t be able to swallow this insult.”

Otto smiled silently.

Li Sushang, the second-in-command of the Supreme Freedom Sect, is also the disciple of the Little Immortal Cheng Ling Shuang. She has also mastered the longevity method of the Taixu Sect and has maintained the appearance of a fifteen-year-old since five hundred years ago.

Although she was from Shenzhou, she was also a Valkyrie of Destiny, though she was rarely known outside of Destiny's high-ranking officials. She spent most of her time in Shenzhou cultivating and guarding the border with Cheng Ling Shuang, and only during this period of upheaval in Destiny did she barely manage to fulfill her responsibilities as a Valkyrie of Destiny.

The Divine Continent didn't have much of an opinion on this, because the cooperative relationship between Li Sushang and Otto wasn't something that had developed overnight, but rather spanned five hundred years. Five hundred years of camaraderie made it impossible for Li Sushang to be out of sync with destiny; it was better to let her serve as a lubricant between the two superpowers.

The young female knight, dressed in a moon-white and blue-and-white floral dress, put her hands behind her back and lazily strolled to Otto's left. She glanced casually at the tombstone he had been looking at earlier, and then saw that familiar name. Her originally cheerful expression turned slightly melancholy.

“Kalen Kaslana, five hundred years have passed, yet your longing for her has never changed.”

"Oh?"

"Still so stupid, still so dull. Hey, you're already an unfathomable bishop, so why do you have to look so helpless every day?" Li Sushang said, crossing her arms. She was used to this gesture, not to show off her huge breasts, but because compared to her petite figure, they were not only heavy but also quite perky, making it tiring to just stand there.

"Feel sorry."

"There's no need to apologize to me," Li Sushang said, somewhat annoyed.

Otto smiled and changed the subject, "Speaking of which, I heard that in order to abduct Pandora, the little immortal promised Aisha in front of reporters from various countries that if he went to the Supreme Freedom Gate, he would marry you to him?"

The young heroine's face turned unusually serious. "Don't listen to her nonsense. I'm over five hundred years old. I'm old enough to be that little guy's great-grandmother!"

“He seems to be about your height. You’re not going to grow up, and he doesn’t look like he’ll grow up either. You’re both from China, and you’re a perfect match.” Otto smiled slightly. “I can understand the little immortal’s good intentions, after all, you’ve been single for over five hundred years.”

"Otto!" Li Sushang stomped her foot in anger.

"Just kidding."

Li Sushang glared at him resentfully and gritted her teeth, saying, "My junior brother is quite famous on the internet, and he's incredibly handsome... humph, he's pitiful to look at. Aren't you afraid I'll actually fall for him?"

"What am I afraid of?" Otto chuckled.

"Me! Then you just wait until I marry my husband and return to the Divine Land, and I'll never be your destined Valkyrie again!" she said angrily. "I don't believe you won't regret losing someone like me!"

"Yes, yes, yes, please don't do that, I'll regret it for the rest of my life." Otto could only shake his head and comfort the girl with a smile, "You still have such a childish temper. More than five hundred years have passed, how come you haven't even learned a little bit of cunning?"

"You should say that to yourself," the young heroine muttered, stomping away angrily to the side. She pulled out an old-fashioned flip phone from her pocket. After much effort, she connected to the internet and enabled the MMS function, only to find that Cheng Ling Shuang had sent her several more photos.

"Why do you keep sending me pictures of that junior brother? We're not even married yet! Master, you clearly want to see them yourself, so why do you have to drag me along..." She opened the MMS, frowning as she stared at the blurry photos that were obviously stolen from the Saintess Lake Forum. After scrolling through several, she complained, "Tsk, isn't he supposed to be the most popular little pony? How come he looks taller than me! If he's a cute boy, can't he be shorter than me? Doesn't he know that makes the girl lose face?"

Otto turned to look at the core members of the Destiny's upper echelons behind him. Even though he and Li Sushang had just been chatting and laughing, these people remained silent. All of them knew what was about to happen today, meaning they absolutely trusted Otto's presence.

Rita, dressed in a black maid outfit with rose patterns, quietly stepped onto the stage and whispered, "Your Excellency, everyone is present except for Theresa, the head of the Far East branch, Planck, the head of the North American branch, and Maria, the representative of the Shaniat family. Schicksal did not notify these three forces either."

“As expected,” Otto said calmly, then glanced at the empty seat. “Where’s Bianca?”

"Lady Durandal was just checking to ensure there were no outside surveillance or security risks in the Hanging Gardens. She will be there shortly." Rita bowed. She couldn't say that Durandal had just finished taking a bath, nor could she say that she was actually not interested in participating in this gathering at all, as that would displease everyone present.

Everyone knows that Durandal is Otto's most valued Valkyrie; of the three S-rank Valkyries, she is the one Otto trusts and admires the most. With the growing rift between Cecilia and the Bishop, Durandal has become a pillar of support for many in Schicksal. Only someone as exceptionally talented as her has the potential to take over Cecilia's burden, and only she has the hope of breaking free from Cecilia's shadow.

She's only nineteen years old, and she's already number one on the Valkyrie rankings. Given time, she'll surely become the true "number one".

Otto glanced at the twenty or thirty people present, then casually sat down on the grass, patted the ground, and laughed, "What are you all standing for? Sit down and listen."

Everyone sat on the ground. The girl named Shigure Kira, with long, snow-blue hair and a white dress, sighed softly and said, "It seems that His Holiness the Bishop is determined to be independent, but I don't know why he has to take the Shaniat family as hostages."

Salome, the "Groom," said calmly, "Because the Saintess herself is the most unstable factor. Only by controlling her family can we prevent her from acting rashly. The bishop has always been such a cunning person. After all, the Saintess is so naive that she can't imagine that the bishop is already plotting against her... Ha, this is what is called the Bishop of Destiny."

"You should be grateful we worked for the Holy Maiden. If we were working at headquarters, just that one sentence would have had countless Valkyries tear your mouth apart," the red-haired girl, "Chaos Offspring" Shub, chuckled. "You should know that Otto's popularity isn't much lower than the Holy Maiden's, especially since this is headquarters, where everyone is Otto's man."

"The sacrifices Your Excellency made for the Mandate of Heaven are surely unimaginable to you lackeys of the Shaniat family. In that case, shut your mouths. I don't want to lay a hand on you in the cemetery," the Western European branch chief whispered.

"Are you threatening members of the Snow Wolf Squad?" Patrick, the "genius," narrowed his eyes.

"The Holy Maiden is a thing of the past, the Snow Wolf Squad has long been disbanded, and even Cheng Lixue has returned to Shenzhou! A mere A-rank Valkyrie shouldn't put on airs in front of us!" The South American branch leader chimed in, speaking softly, "I know you Snow Wolf Squad members are loyal to the Holy Maiden, but this time we didn't say we were going to harm the Holy Maiden's child. We're just hostages. Don't you understand what hostages are? We called you back to be witnesses!"

"Isn't it morally reprehensible enough to take someone's child hostage?" Shub chuckled.

“But if the bishop’s words and actions don’t match, and he does something unexpected to these children…” Salome said in a low voice, “In South America, you also call her ‘Saintess,’ can you just stand by and watch her daughter and son-in-law be manipulated by outsiders?”

These words caused many Valkyries to fall silent for a moment.

Finally, the South American branch leader ended the topic, saying softly, "Today is a very important day, let's talk less."

They spoke in hushed tones, trying to avoid Otto overhearing, knowing that his body was made of Soul Steel and that his physical abilities, including sight and hearing, were no less than those of an ordinary Valkyrie. However, Otto paid little attention to his subordinates' whispers.

He knew perfectly well that human nature was unpredictable, and that even his most loyal subordinates would yearn for that beautiful saint. The bishop and the saint controlled the entire destiny, and although Cecilia did not hold power, her influence was still astonishing.

This is also why he had to train Durandal.

Just then, the rooftop door opened, and Durandal, dressed in a military overcoat and clad in metallic high heels, strode in. The strong wind from outside the building rushed in with her, her golden hair flying wildly. Her beautiful face remained expressionless. Seeing so many people present, she pinched a strand of her hair and said calmly:

"Sorry everyone, I'm late. I overslept."

No one believed Durandal would oversleep; she said so simply because she had things to do but was too lazy to think of a reason. Durandal was such a confident and powerful woman; she was the future of destiny, and she didn't need to explain herself. Everyone knew she was working tirelessly to become "the true number one."

Rita smiled slightly. She knew that Durandal had really overslept. Everyone had been standing there for half an hour when she finished taking a shower.

So everyone present was silent for a moment, then someone clapped, and then everyone clapped.

"This is the prestige of being 'number one'," Li Sushang said, looking at Durandal who strode in like a star surrounded by admirers, with a hint of envy. Although she was also an S-rank Valkyrie and considered herself quite talented, she was still nothing compared to Durandal. She had spent five hundred years achieving S-rank, while Durandal was only nineteen years old this year.

Although Durandal appears to be four years older than her.

"It's good that you're here. You're our most important ace," Otto said with a smile. "Find a place to sit."

Everyone sat down on the lawn of the Sky Garden. For a moment, no one spoke, only the sound of the torrential rain falling on the glass dome could be heard. Durandal suddenly remembered a line from an ancient Chinese poem she had learned long ago: "Large and small pearls falling onto a jade plate," which probably referred to this situation, making one's mood heavy.

She couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted, because today's topic was probably one of the most astonishing in the past five hundred years of Destiny. And she couldn't avoid it; she was a blade, a blade that would carve out a new world while also aiming at those from the past.

At this moment, Otto stood up and bowed deeply to everyone.

As the Bishop of Destiny, he had no need to bow to anyone; even in the United Nations General Assembly, he was accustomed to shrugging and chatting casually. All the Valkyries suddenly felt immense psychological pressure. As the Bishop who had ruled Destiny for five hundred years, the most mysterious and unpredictable man in the world, his bowing meant he was about to do something that would shock the world or cause unimaginable tragedy.

“I know many people harbor some dissatisfaction or even resentment towards me,” Otto said.

Opening lightning strike.

“After my father’s failed eastern expedition five hundred years ago, I took over Destiny and used Soul Steel Body Technology to eke out a living for more than five hundred years, maintaining my unshakable position as bishop,” he said. “I acted willfully and ruled dictatorship, bloodily purging those families and individuals who disobeyed me. I made Destiny almost my de facto one-man show, to the point that even the Far East Branch, the North American Branch, and other departments resentfully abandoned me.”

“Your Excellency is too kind,” the Nordic branch chief said immediately.

Otto smiled and waved his hand.

“That’s true. It’s hard to say that I, who am in charge of the Mandate of Heaven, don’t have my own desire for power. I have indeed done many things poorly, so it’s understandable that people resent me. Moreover, my faults are too numerous to list. Even now, I am close to parting ways with the saintess of the Shaniat family,” Otto said. “Cecilia, even I have to admit that she is far more charismatic than I am. She deserves to be loved more deeply than I am, but I am pushing her and her family out of the center of power in the Mandate of Heaven.”

At this point, many people dared not continue, as it concerned the grudges and feuds of the three pillar families, which was not something they could interfere with.

“But if you think I’m saying this because I’ll regret it, you’re wrong.” Otto smiled, sat down, and looked at the torrential rain. “It’s so familiar. It’s raining again. It was a rainy day like this in 1477, the day the saint died in front of me.”

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Chapter Thirty-Eight From this day forward, this place will be a paradise on earth.

"Don't let my appearance fool you; I look thirty. You all know I'm much older. You are the newborns of the 20th and 21st centuries, while I come from the 15th century. Among you young people, I'm like an old ghost," Otto said. "That's not a bad thing for me, because I still retain the memories of that cruel era. For five hundred years, Destiny has flourished, our power has spread throughout the world, and we have become the highest authority on the transcendent side. I don't think I have failed the expectations of the Valkyries of the past."

“You’ve done an excellent job. Even as a Chinese, I have to commend your ability to navigate the global situation so skillfully. You’ve managed to develop a power that could only influence a few island nations into the world’s number one extraordinary force, to the point that even the United Nations has to give you some face.” Li Sushang shrugged.

“Your Excellency’s achievements have certainly not disappointed anyone,” Rita replied with a smile.

Otto gestured for everyone to be quiet, then smiled. "But is that enough?"

Everyone looked at him with puzzlement, and Otto closed his eyes.

"Before we go on, I'd like to ask everyone, how do you evaluate the development history of Destiny? That is, the history from the beginning of the Common Era to its retreat into the background in the fifteenth century?"

Everyone remembered it, but no one answered, because such a basic question certainly wouldn't have a basic answer.

"That was a glorious period of history, but one that no one wanted to experience," Otto said calmly. "Of the three earliest Schicksal families, Apocalypse was actually only responsible for logistics and support. The real core families were the Knights and Saintesses, namely the Kaslana and Schariac families. In those years when human civilization was still in its darkest period, the influence of Honkai was more severe than it is now, because back then, humanity didn't have any decent science and technology to fight against Honkai. Even small Honkai Beasts couldn't be resisted by ordinary people, so superhumans were crucial in those years."

“When I was young, the influence of Destiny in the world was probably far greater than it is now, because back then Destiny could command Europe, and all countries were subject to the Papacy. But power comes with obligations, and Destiny’s obligation was to become a high wall for humanity, so the Valkyries of the three great families went to war time and time again. To you, those sacrifices are just numbers in history books, but to me they were too close, close enough to see their faces as they died, whether in fear, anger, or despair, and to see the blood that splattered from them, so I can’t forget them.”

The cadres exchanged glances, waiting for the main topic to begin, so they assumed this was probably Otto's impromptu speech. But then they all paused slightly in surprise.

"In the Kaslana family, Aunt Helena died in battle, Uncle Francis died in battle, and Aunt Elaine died in battle. Among my generation, Carlos died from Honkai energy infection, Claudia died in battle, Laura died in battle, Gaspar died in battle, Kallen died in battle, Sophia died at the age of three, and William had his lower body eaten. Sarah, who called me uncle, died in battle, and Rena was crippled."

"The Shaniat family was sparsely populated at that time. Julia, Sandra, and even their adopted daughter Eleanor couldn't be saved. Even the Apocalypse family, which rarely participated in the battles and served as a logistics unit, lost my brothers and sisters, Bianca, Jane, and Ferdinand, all of whom died fighting the Honkai. I watched as stretchers with wooden signs were carried off carriages at the Xinlun Manor. Their blood seeped through the white sheets. I wasn't allowed to lift the sheets because they rarely had intact bodies. Often, what was delivered was just a pile of rotten flesh chewed up by silicon-based lifeforms."

The breathing in the Hanging Gardens seemed to slow down. The officials listened silently to Otto's not-so-vehement account, unable to answer or comprehend it. This unfathomable, dashing man on the stage had such a tragic past. He had memorized the name of every victim, tormenting himself for over five hundred years, seeing the faces of his loved ones dead in every midnight dream.

“But it was a necessary death. In that era, only the Valkyries capable of fighting the Honkai could make the sacrifice, so I am saddened, yet I know there is no going back,” Otto said softly. “But what about now?”