"Host, what are we going to do next?"
"First, force that vixen Cocolia to turn back. She caused this mess, yet she just pats her butt and runs away, taking with her the invaluable S-rank combat asset that is the aerial combat fleet? Where in the world is there such a good deal?"
No one in the world can achieve what they couldn't do before just by shouting; Fuli was no exception.
Yelling about hot-bloodedness, friendship, and bonds to suddenly explode with power and kill enemies beyond one's level—that's something that only happens in bubble universes with unstable physical laws.
He needed cards. He needed to unite all unite-able forces to gather the factors necessary to engage two S-rank entities simultaneously—the Herrscher of Thunder and her Companion Honkai Beast—and emerge victorious.
...
In the command room of the aerial carrier Belobog, Cocolia stood before the reinforced glass with her arms crossed.
The thunderclouds above were still dense, though slightly thinner than before.
The carrier had not yet left the airspace over Honshu Island. It had only been a few minutes since the battle began. Due to the harsh environment of chaotic electromagnetic fields and surging energy tides, they couldn't use methods like spatial jumps for rapid transfer and could only honestly rely on the propulsion from their roaring engines to move forward.
A few minutes were enough for them to distance themselves from the center of the battlefield, and Cocolia couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
"My Lady..."
Yuya, who was following beside her, hesitated to speak. She had used her body to shield Cocolia from many blasts while crossing the thunderstorm area just now and looked quite ragged at the moment.
"What is it, Yuya?"
The blonde beauty's tone was quite relaxed. The Belobog was originally a combat unit under her command; otherwise, Mobius, a mere Executor Candidate, couldn't have just transferred it over to pick someone up with a single order.
Simply put, the runaway cat had returned home, feeling so comfortable she wished she could stretch and burrow into a blanket to sleep until the sky turned dark.
Yuya was different.
Gripping the handle of her backup saber, she whispered, "Is it really okay for us to leave like this, leaving Schicksal's people to fight the Herrscher alone?"
Himeko's previous conversation with Theresa was flawed; she said other factions wouldn't arrive in time to support.
She overlooked Cocolia, the culprit. The Belobog was the only one with the conditions and time to turn around and provide support.
However, both Himeko and Theresa naturally didn't include her in their calculations. They knew this black-hearted blonde vixen too well.
"Yuya."
Facing her subordinate who seemed to be struggling with her conscience, Cocolia, possessed by her dramatic persona, deliberately sighed, preparing to lecture her with some grand principles.
Unlike the temp workers recruited in Nagazora City or the mechanized troops that could be mass-produced with resources, the people before her were confidants and elites she had cultivated from scratch.
She allowed them to sacrifice their lives when necessary, but fighting the Herrscher of Thunder and a Judgment-class Honkai Beast simultaneously was a different concept entirely.
Loving soldiers like sons, using soldiers like mud—for the latter, she could even abandon Seele and Bronya, so naturally, she could do the same with these subordinates.
Not to mention that this Great Eruption was her scheme to begin with. Although she lost control midway and let that green snake Mobius hijack the nest, for the culprit to step forward and stop the disaster sounded too absurd and laughable.
However, before Cocolia could voice her bellyful of grand principles.
"Hello, hello—can anyone hear me? Is that black-hearted old hag Cocolia there?"
The clean voice echoing in the control room caused the expression on her sexy, enchanting face to change drastically.
Hearing Fuli's voice, the woman's expression was three parts confusion, three parts unease, three parts wariness, and one part anger. It was as if she were relaxing in a bath, and this guy suddenly pushed the door open, rushed in, and shouted, "I see Cocolia still has her charms! Would Madam be willing to share a pillow with me?"
Kidnapping Bronya wasn't enough; now you're targeting me too?!
She quickly composed herself, scanned the surroundings, and then shouted in a low voice, "Fuli, you naturally evil brat! How did you contact this place!"
"A friend helped a little; that's not important."
Fuli brushed it off and changed the subject: "What's important is that Bronya is in my hands now."
Her gaze swept over her numerous subordinates again, who were still busy but listening intently. Cocolia frowned: "Stinking brat, what do you want?"
She didn't understand. If Fuli wanted to use Bronya's safety to exchange for benefits, he should have contacted her privately instead of broadcasting his voice throughout the aerial combat fleet so blatantly.
Private negotiations were fine, but publicly, she could never compromise public duty for private reasons and pay a huge price to redeem her daughter in front of so many people.
Special treatment was a no-go; it didn't fit the persona she had established.
"My demands aren't high."
Fuli seemed oblivious to her confusion and spoke calmly: "Now, order your subordinates to turn the fleet around and stall that Judgment-class Honkai Beast called Shesha. Once it's done, I promise to return Bronya to you in one piece."
"Good, good, good! What a 'not high' demand!"
Cocolia laughed out of anger.
Yes, theoretically, the combined combat power of the entire aerial combat fleet was equivalent to a single S-rank Valkyrie, and in terms of endurance and heavy firepower, it even exceeded one. But was that a reason for her to take the assets she had scrimped and saved for years to clash head-on with a Judgment-class Honkai Beast?
Unlike Schicksal's deeply rooted centralized organizational structure, Anti-Entropy's development model was more like the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty.
Executors were like the feudal lords of the Spring and Autumn period, possessing their own teams and troops, which were their greatest reliance when challenging other Executors.
Once their military strength suffered a major blow, the subsequent developments would basically mirror the fate of those KMT generals after their armies were wiped out.
And now, Fuli wanted her to risk her entire fortune to fight Shesha with just a few words?
She felt this brat really had something wrong with his head!
With such conditions, let alone publicly, even privately she would definitely refuse!
'I'll loudly refuse with "I cannot trade my soldiers for my own daughter!"... This will display my selflessness in front of my subordinates and leave no leverage for others.'
Having come up with a plan, Cocolia silently apologized to Bronya in her heart, took a deep breath, adjusted her emotions, and was about to speak.
Whoosh!
A ball of fire blossomed in front of Cocolia without warning.
She instinctively reached behind her back for her hidden pistol before realizing the situation was wrong.
It wasn't a physical fire, but the look in a subordinate's eyes as he looked at her.
It was the fire burning fiercely in his eyes.
Cocolia remembered this somewhat shy, baby-faced young man. His name was Aaron Bushnell, from San Antonio, Texas.
Born into a military family, both his grandfather and father had served as officers. He left the army three years ago to join her command. currently, he was a pilot on the Belobog, also serving as an air force safety officer and network engineer.
'Executor Cocolia, please lead us back as Mr. Fuli said!'
He didn't speak, but his silently burning eyes were filled with such emotion.
Cocolia was stunned and instinctively looked away from that overly intense gaze.
Then, she met another ball of fire.
This time, it was Yuya.
The beautiful girl, exquisite as a doll, also stared at Cocolia with bright eyes that seemed to burn with fire. Her slender hand gripping the handle of her backup weapon was firm and powerful, just like a warrior ready to sacrifice her life at any time!
The intense expectation made Cocolia involuntarily turn her head again.
Then—
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Fire.
Everyone present had silent flames burning in their eyes.
That was the expectation and enthusiasm, begging their commander to lead them back to the battlefield to fight to the death against the enemy!
Cocolia suddenly realized she had made a crucial mistake.
Anyone had to admit that her rise in Anti-Entropy was unreplicable.
A genuine Slav born in the Soviet Union and raised in Russia, starting from scratch in an organization based on capitalism and North America, becoming the Chief Executor second only to the Leader.
Even if Anti-Entropy existed as a confederation, her story couldn't be summarized in just a million words.
As the leader and face of the Reformist Faction, Cocolia's resume was one of the few made public, so everyone could see how this woman climbed to that position.
In the beginning, she was pushed out by other high-level members of the Reformist Faction as a shield.
"Reform"—just looking at this word, one could realize that their actions would inevitably touch upon some people's interests.
How could those in power not understand self-preservation? Plus, there were certain friendships or interest bindings among the veteran Executors, and they didn't want to offend each other to death.
So they urgently needed someone with a clean background (easy to manipulate) to push to the front to do the dirty work of offending people. If needed later, they could just cut ties and liquidate her.
Cocolia was this candidate. Her Russian origin destined her to be incompatible with the North American faction that held the most power in Anti-Entropy.
Even if she was liquidated later, they could completely use this to dump sh*t on her head.
The question then: Did Cocolia not know the thoughts of the Reformist high command?
Of course she knew.
However, she still gladly accepted the appointment, becoming the public spokesperson for the Reformist Faction.
Cocolia understood that opportunities are reserved for those who have a chance.
Now was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Since these 'big shots' dared to delegate the power of self-expression to her, even if it was just insignificant scraps, she would show these guys what a Slavic Ubermensch was.
People become hesitant and seek stability in middle age. Coupled with interest bindings and subtle obedient education, the pillars of Anti-Entropy were hard to persuade.
Realizing this, Cocolia simply abandoned the idea of winning over the middle-aged and turned her gaze to the energetic young people.
As the public spokesperson launched by the Reformist Faction, Cocolia inevitably appeared on various important occasions to express opinions.
What she did was simple: keep promises and show sharpness.
It's like a small-scale conflict between two countries. A major country's foreign ministry strongly protests and condemns it, urging the other side to take a long-term view and restrain themselves.
This is actually a move very much in line with national interests. Geopolitical games are full of twists and turns; pulling one hair moves the whole body. Some things can't be taken for granted with a wave of a hand.
Unfortunately, young people don't think like that. Hot-blooded, they only think the higher-ups are cowardly, letting a tiny country sh*t on their heads.
Cocolia seized this pain point.
Facing similar situations, she would not hesitate to retaliate with violence regardless of consequences, or even take the initiative to attack any enemy daring to infringe on her interests.
Her "shoot first, talk later" know-it-all style caused many of the younger generation to have cranial orgasms, causing her influence at the grassroots level to expand rapidly in a short time.
Additionally, uniting non-locals who joined midway like Yuya, persuading those dissatisfied with the organization's increasingly rigid structure and genuinely wanting to fight the Honkai, vertically and horizontally allying interest groups through various means, and utilizing the political contradictions between the Reformist and Conservative factions—all allowed her influence at the grassroots level to expand rapidly.
By the time other Executors realized the problem, Cocolia had already become a faction strong enough to stand up to some of the weaker among them.
At first glance, doesn't it seem great?
However, unlike Cocolia who merely needed to fake such a persona, the group of people united under her banner represented the last conscience and hot blood of Anti-Entropy!
They had not yet compromised with this terrible world. Carrying the enthusiasm to fight the Honkai and defend human freedom, they threw themselves under the command of her, a commander with no army, regardless of everything!
Because in this way, they could stay away from the twists and turns and intrigues of the upper echelons and fight the Honkai wholeheartedly, achieving the redemption of humanity with their own hands!
Sacrifice?
From the moment they stepped on this path, they had already put their lives behind them.
And now, Fuli told them:
Currently, a Great Eruption is raging in Nagazora City. The Herrscher of Thunder and her Companion Honkai Beast are destroying wantonly on human land with overflowing malice.
They are the lighthouse existing for the liberation of all mankind! How could the lighthouse just tuck its tail and run away like this?
Heroes cannot flee before battle!
"..."
The broadcast channel of the entire aerial combat fleet was silent. Cocolia, watched by countless people, fell into silence.
She suddenly recalled that before coming to Nagazora City, Yuya had humbly asked her what the mission was this time, and she had impatiently brushed it off with "large-scale social experiment."
Even to such a loyal subordinate who was willing to abandon everything to follow her to Nagazora City, she still didn't tell the truth about the Third Eruption.
Presumably, at that time, she vaguely felt uneasy.
That unease of being about to betray her base.
Unlike Theresa, who possessed unparalleled combat power, Cocolia was not known for her combat strength. Her troops were her biggest base.
Once her fake style was exposed, once she lost these lovely children...
Then what would become of her next?
Under the heavy pressure of cumulus clouds, rain arrived as promised. Starting as sporadic drops, it intensified within seconds, soaking the silently advancing aerial combat group.
Cocolia closed her eyes.
A moment later, she opened them abruptly!
"Stall? Fuli brat, who are you looking down on!"
With a wave of her hand, the trench coat on her shoulders flapped loudly as if in a gale!
Bang!
Both hands slammed onto the table, her violet eyes reflecting the faces of everyone present from left to right.
The leader of the Anti-Entropy Reformist Faction, the woman who didn't even care about Acting Leader Einstein, spoke in her usual flamboyant manner:
"We all know that so far in the Current Era, there have been a total of three Judgment-class Honkai Beasts—the first, [Chiyou], was shot down into the Nine Serenities after a bloody battle of seven days and seven nights led by the Shenzhou sage Ji Lin and her Shanhai tribe! The second, [Benares], was sealed in the permafrost of Western Siberia at the cost of the total annihilation of Schicksal's Snowwolf Squad!"
Facing those pairs of eyes burning with light, she smiled ferociously (and painfully): "It's time for us, Anti-Entropy, to take a bite out of this third one, [Shesha]!"
"Let the world see the backbone of our Anti-Entropy!"
"Lady Cocolia is truly a great person with a beast's face but a human heart!"
"Hell yeah!"
"Great Lord of Clear Soup!"
"What are you saying!"
Cocolia laugh-scolded, but couldn't help but complain in her heart:
Scheming Fuli brat, you calculated this long ago, didn't you!
She was just joking, but subtly hit the answer.
Yes, this was the intelligence advantage of a reincarnator.
As mentioned before, some time after the Third Eruption ended, Yuya, the loyal little adjutant, "somehow" had a falling out with Cocolia and then went missing.
Looking at it now, presumably, after witnessing the tragic extent of the Great Eruption in Nagazora City, she realized something was wrong, started investigating privately, and finally discovered the truth, turning against her superior.
Not just Yuya; many subordinates fell out with this superior.
Forcing Cocolia, who lost her base, not only to have a hand completely unworthy of the title of Executor but also to gamble everything by introducing the clone of Welt Joyce in an attempt to defy fate and forcibly control Anti-Entropy.
And the consequences of risky moves, everyone outside the screen knows well.
Overthrown, imprisoned, logged off early, no more screentime.
Cocolia, ignorant of all the above, whispered secretly: "Still there? Fuli brat? Hello?"
"I know what you're thinking."
This time, the boy's voice was only in her ear: "You just stall Shesha. Leave the Herrscher of Thunder to me."
Although very unwilling, Cocolia truly breathed a sigh of relief at this moment.
However, no matter how unwilling, since the words had been spoken in public, what she had to do next was to find a way to achieve it.
"All units! Turn back!"
Shing!
Drawing the command saber at her waist, Cocolia turned and stepped forward, pointing at the sky covered in dark clouds on the way back:
"Target: Judgment-class and surrounding lower-level Honkai Beasts! Operational objective—"
She slowly spat out two words:
"Total annihilation!"
"YES!!!"
...