Necromancer, but pre-collapse civilization

Chapter 337 Everyone's Busy Life and Otto's Arrangements

　After annihilating the floating fleet that had returned to aid Destiny, Moros and Sirin quickly launched their next operation.

　After a brief exchange, the two decided to split up.

　The necromancer, accompanied by his summoned avatars of death and a horde of ghost dragons, headed straight for Sardinia.

　There, he will set about building the ritual site for the curse spell and crafting the magical crystal ball to store the soul, which he will give to Sirin.

　Meanwhile, Sirin, riding her loyal companion Honkai Beast—Judgment Dragon Benares—led a massive horde of flying Honkai Beasts to begin a sweeping operation against all organized resistance forces in the area.

　Both the Valkyrie forces of Destiny and the carrier battle groups of Anti-Entropy became her targets for sweeping.

　Before the World Serpent emerged from the water, there were no organized World Serpent forces in the Mediterranean region.

　As the stronghold of Destiny, it's not hard to understand why the Grey Serpent, who controls the World Serpent, would choose to temporarily avoid conflict, out of respect for Otto's profound wisdom.

　As for the anti-entropy carrier strike group, the carrier-based aircraft that previously attempted to interfere with the battle between Sirin and Otto's combat-use soul steel bodies were the work of this fleet.

　In order to provide support in the anti-Honkai battle in the Mediterranean region, Anti-Entropy took a huge risk and sailed the fleet originally intended to intimidate Destiny directly into the Mediterranean.

　Faced with the arrival of the Anti-Entropy fleet, Destiny's reaction was unusually calm, even friendly.

　Thanks to Siegfried's mediation and Otto's tacit approval, Destiny did not take any measures to prevent it, allowing the Anti-Entropy fleet to enter the Mediterranean smoothly.

　Of course, this is also inseparable from the lofty ideal that the Mandate of Heaven has been promoting day after day and year after year—to fight for all the good things in the world!

　Inspired by this slogan, countless people with ideals have devoted themselves to their mission.

　It was precisely for this reason that after Bishop Otto delivered his impassioned pre-battle speech in preparation for the fight against the Second Herrscher, most of the members of Schicksal realized that cooperation with Anti-Entropy was entirely acceptable in the face of the common goal of fighting the Great Collapse.

　This is the fundamental reason why the Destiny airborne fleet, which had previously returned to support the Destiny headquarters, did not take any attack action when it discovered the Anti-Entropy carrier group.

　However, just as the Honkai Queen began to seriously purge the resistance forces throughout the western Mediterranean, this carrier strike group, etched with the anti-entropy symbol on its hull, also faced...

　My own doomsday.

　Faced with the unparalleled power of the Herrscher of the Void, even the massive floating fleet that returned to Schicksal headquarters could not escape its fate, let alone the relatively weaker Anti-Entropy carrier group.

　Their fate was already sealed in this cataclysmic collapse.

　"Bella, let's go."

　With her arms crossed in front of her chest, her golden eyes glanced indifferently at the heavy Honkai energy fleet carrier slowly sinking below, and Sirin gently stepped on the huge Judgment Dragon beneath her feet.

　"Roar!"

　With a low growl in response to the queen to whom he served, Benares flapped his blue dragon wings, slicing through the sky and flying swiftly toward the Naples naval base.

　Behind her was a dense, overwhelming horde of flying Honkai beasts, like messengers of the apocalypse, rushing with Sirin to the next battlefield.

　While Moros and Sirin were busy with their own things, Otto also quietly left the secret room where the Soul Steel body was stored.

　As an archbishop who held the reins of destiny for five hundred years, he deeply understood the principle that "you can't put all your eggs in one basket."

　Therefore, in addition to stockpiling all kinds of Soul Steel bodies with different uses at the Destiny headquarters, he also scattered these Soul Steel bodies, which he could take over at any time, in secret safe houses and Destiny bases around the world.

　As it turned out, Otto's foresight was absolutely necessary.

　When the floating islands of the Destiny Headquarters were reduced to ashes by the legendary spell [Doomsday Judgment] cast by Moros, the Soul Steel bodies stockpiled in the headquarters also vanished.

　If it weren't for Otto's careful planning, he would probably be in the awkward situation of having no Soul Steel body available and would have to rely on an ordinary robot body as a temporary emergency measure.

　"Bishop Otto!"

　"Your Majesty Bishop!"

　"Lord Otto!"

　"..."

　Given Otto's exalted status within Schicksal, all the staff on duty immediately recognized him upon entering the old Schicksal headquarters in Klossen and bowed to him.

　Although Destiny had moved its headquarters to that floating land far from the chaos of the ground after the floating islands rose into the Mediterranean sky, this former Destiny headquarters still continues to operate as Destiny's last line of defense in order to prevent any unforeseen circumstances.

　Now, Otto will activate the base and utilize its value as a backup command center for Destiny.

　"No need for formalities, everyone. The situation is extremely serious, and I need everyone to do their duty..."

　After a brief but powerful speech, Otto immediately began to methodically arrange the work to come.

　He first used the Klosten communications base station to issue a mobilization order to the global Destiny forces, requiring them to do everything possible to gather at the old headquarters in Austria to meet the impending challenge.

　Immediately afterwards, Otto ordered the staff on site to prepare a hotline for him to contact Anti-Entropy.

　In diplomatic communication between countries, the activation of a hotline usually requires a rigorous appointment process; it's not as simple as just picking up the phone and talking to the other party's top leader.

　Even the rulers of ordinary countries must follow this procedure.

　Given the status of Destiny and Anti-Entropy on this planet, their hotline is naturally no exception.

　Initiating this level of emergency communication requires thorough prior consultation and preparation from both parties to ensure smooth and confidential communication.

　Now, even Otto, who has always considered himself the smartest man in the world, has to admit that he needs to unite all the forces that can be united.

　The defeat of Fu Hua, the Crimson Immortal, shocked him greatly.

　After deep reflection, Otto clearly realized that the power of Schicksal alone was no longer sufficient to deal with the disaster brought about by the Second Herrscher, who had the support of Moros.

　Otto may not care about the world, but he does care about Karen.

　To find clues to resurrect Kallen, Otto must obtain crucial information from the Second Herrscher. To achieve this, he must first defeat and control this powerful enemy.

　After ordering the Schicksal staff in Klosten to contact Anti-Entropy and arrange an emergency hotline between high-ranking officials, Otto turned and plunged into the virtual library of the Void Treasury.

　He attempted to explore within this ocean of knowledge left behind by a previous civilization, seeking strategies and methods to help him defeat and control the Second Herrscher.

　The bishop of Destiny knew all too well that this was a race against time and a battle against the unknown.

　But he was willing to pay any price, just for the one and only girl he wanted to save.

Chapter 338: The Prelude to the Final Battle

　The preparations for the battle by Destiny did not pose any obstacle to the actions of Moros and Sirin.

　Given the necromancer's alchemical skills, crafting a magical crystal ball to store the souls of intelligent beings wouldn't take him too long.

　His efficiency increased significantly, especially when he chose to prioritize crafting crystal balls rather than setting up the ritual field required for cumbersome curse spells.

　In just half a day, a purple crystal ball the size of a human head appeared out of nowhere.

　Soul Storage Sphere

　[Intermediate-Tier Magical Artifact]

　[Soul Storage: Can store one million units of intelligent life souls.]

　[Soul Release: In exchange for the destruction of this artifact, release the stored souls of intelligent beings in one go.]

　By abandoning all fancy features and focusing on the core element of soul storage, even if a necromancer's alchemy level is only intermediate, he can still create such amazing magical artifacts by piling up materials.

　Satisfied with the Soul Storage Orb, which represented the pinnacle of his alchemy, Moros immediately began working on the creation of a second magic crystal orb of the same model.

　The Mediterranean region is densely populated, with a conservative estimate of over 100 million people.

　Even if only one-tenth of them are collected, the number of Soul Storage Orbs required far exceeds the number of hands.

　Even considering the actual need for soul crystals in curse spell rituals, Moros still needs to prepare a sufficient number of [Soul Storage Orbs].

　after one day.

　After wiping out all organized armed forces in the entire western Mediterranean region, Sirin, along with her companion Honkai Beast—the Judgment Dragon Benares, flew over Sardinia.

　Guided by the ghost dragon under the necromancer's command, the corrupted queen and her powerful retinue slowly descended their altitude and finally landed gracefully at Alghero Airport.

　There, they witnessed the preparations underway for a curse ritual.

　The once empty runway is now covered with densely packed stones, and thousands of plague zombies and an equal number of skeleton archers are busy piling up these stones to build a huge ritual altar resembling an Aztec pyramid.

　This altar was enormous in scale and had a peculiar shape. Coupled with the powerful negative energy field formed by the gathering of a large number of undead, even the powerful Honkai Queen Sirin could feel its eerie aura.

　Just then, the ghost dragon leading the way suddenly stopped flying, as if it had sensed something.

　Immediately afterwards, a young figure wearing a brown cloak flew lightly from the ground to stand in front of Sirin and Benares.

　This young figure is none other than Moros, who descended into this world under the guidance of the Hero Panel to carry out the Hero Template Upgrade quest.

　"Moros!"

　The moment she saw the necromancer, Sirin's golden eyes gleamed with undisguised joy.

　It is obvious that by now, this broken queen has fully accepted him and regards him as an indispensable part of her life.

　"Celine."

　Stepping forward, gently stroking Sirin's smooth, long purple hair, Moros took out three meticulously crafted Soul Storage Orbs from his Storage Ring and placed them in front of her.

　"This is the magical artifact I mentioned before, which can help you collect the souls of intelligent beings..."

　The necromancer explained in detail how to use the [Soul Storage Sphere] to the Honkai Queen before him, and then began to introduce the progress of setting up the ritual site for the curse spell.

　"Currently, I have completed most of the basic setup work for the ceremony venue."

　Pointing to the majestic pyramid-shaped altar that was gradually taking shape, he said with confidence.

　"The main task next is to wait for the altar to be fully completed, then activate it, and set up all the necessary magic arrays to ensure the ritual can proceed smoothly..."

　As she gazed at the altar that was nearing completion, a hint of anticipation flashed in Sirin's eyes.

　She knew how vital this ceremony was to Moros, and to her.

　"So, when do we begin collecting souls?"

　After listening to Moros's detailed explanation, the Queen of Honkai raised her questions.

　"anytime."

　Meeting Sirin's slightly puzzled gaze, the necromancer explained further.

　"Although the construction of the ceremony site seems to be progressing slowly, I am actually quite confident that once the altar is completely finished, I can complete all the remaining preparations within half a day..."

　Having understood the intentions of the person before her, a resolute glint flashed in Celine's eyes, and she made her decision without hesitation.

　"Then let's begin now."

　She wielded the power of [Space], receiving the three [Soul Storage Orbs] that radiated a mysterious glow with her pale, imaginary hands.

　Then, the Queen of Collapse cast a clear glance at the tall girl beside her.

　"Bella, let's go!"

　Upon receiving the signal from the Queen to whom she was to pledge allegiance, Bella did not hesitate for a moment and immediately leaped into the sky, transforming into the Judgment Dragon Benares.

　"My Queen."

　Sirin nodded slightly to Benares, then turned to the necromancer.

　"Moros, I'll be back soon."

　He nodded to Celine and watched her and Benares disappear into the distant horizon.

　Just as Sirin led her massive Honkai Beast army to sweep across cities along the western Mediterranean coast, frantically collecting the souls of intelligent beings, the higher-ups of Schicksal and Anti-Entropy were engaged in a heated debate.

　The landline telephone has also completed its final preparations.

　"Ms. Einstein, Ms. Tesla, it is a great honor to meet you at this moment."

　At the new headquarters of Destiny in Klosten, Otto raised a glass to extend his sincere greetings to the two anti-entropy enforcers during the video call.

　"Let's not waste time, Bishop. Let's get started on the meeting."

　Einstein was not swayed by Otto's politeness; she unfolded a virtual projection of the Mediterranean region and began her analysis seriously.

　"According to our latest intelligence, the Second Herrscher has begun the destruction of human civilization. We must act quickly to stop her further actions."

　Unlike Otto, who only cared about Karen and not about the world, Einstein deeply understood the value of every life.

　Therefore, now that Sirin has begun collecting the souls of intelligent beings on a large scale, she does not want to waste her precious time on pointless trials.

　As for how Einstein learned of Sirin's actions...

　That is thanks to the advanced military satellites deployed by Anti-Entropy in the planet's geosynchronous orbit.

　Through high-definition video footage transmitted back by military satellites, the enforcers of Anti-Entropy witnessed the spectacular scene of massive amounts of grayish-white gaseous matter continuously pouring into the Soul Storage Sphere carried on the back of the Judgment Dragon Benares.

　Although she and Tesla could not fully grasp the true meaning of this scene, the danger and urgency it conveyed were self-evident.

　Regardless of the Second Herrscher's intentions, the enforcers of anti-entropy firmly believe that it would never be a beneficial act for human civilization.