CHAPTER 466: RAISE THE SWORD OF REBELLION TO THE HEAVENS

"All hands, attention! The Hyperion has entered a 500-kilometer radius of the HQ Floating Airport. All Valkyries, please prepare for... the final battle!"

The voice over the broadcast wasn’t Ai-chan’s, but Theresa’s, its tone almost childlike.

According to regulations, she should have repeated the announcement a second and third time, continuing until all the Valkyries were scrambling to check their equipment.

But after a long moment, she silently put down the microphone.

Gazing at the bridge, a place she knew like the back of her hand, Theresa felt a strange sense of wrongness. Her eyes scanned back and forth for a full half-minute before she finally pinpointed the source of that feeling—there were so few people...

After the Hyperion had reached a state of combat readiness, she hadn’t forced all the Valkyries of the Far East Branch to their battle stations. She didn’t feel she had the right.

Instead, she had simply told them everything she knew. From the bloody experiments at Babylon Tower, to Schicksal launching a missile to eliminate the Second Herrscher along with Cecilia Schariac, to the birth of K-423, who should never have existed, and finally, to everything that was happening now...

She had let every Valkyrie in the Far East Branch choose for herself. Those willing to stay would board the Hyperion and prepare for battle. Those unwilling could return to their dorms. Theresa promised that as long as they didn’t interfere, she wouldn’t hold their choice against them.

Clearly, the majority chose not to follow her. Alright, the vast majority.

Of course, looking at it from another angle, one could say she’d underestimated herself. For an act that was tantamount to suicide in most people’s eyes, she had still managed to gain the loyalty and support of a small few. Most notably, Kiana’s entire combat squad had shown up. Perhaps Theresa’s years of teaching hadn’t been entirely meaningless after all?

But regardless, that didn’t change the fact that the Hyperion was now severely understaffed.

The current crew complement wasn’t just below full strength; even after stripping other departments and prioritizing personnel for the weapons and power cores, they still couldn’t meet minimum operational requirements.

Ai-chan could indeed handle most of the manual controls, but this was the Hyperion’s first time using the SELENE engine.

A massive amount of her processing power had to be allocated to the power core, and the remainder was distributed among other short-staffed posts. In the end, two 270mm railguns and four close-in weapon systems in the weapons array remained offline, which completely shattered what little confidence Theresa had left.

Now, her only hope was Fu Hua’s so-called "reinforcements."

"Theresa! We’ve got a large formation of aerial mechs in the southwestern airspace!"

Himeko’s voice snapped Theresa back to the present. Staring at the radar display, crowded with dense red dots, a drop of cold sweat trickled down her temple.

The southwest—that was the location of Schicksal’s Africa Branch. The only good news was that a large portion of the old European HQ’s forces had been redeployed to the new headquarters, the Floating Airport.

At least that spared the Hyperion the danger of a pincer attack...

"Dammit! Anti-Entropy’s forces haven’t arrived to rendezvous yet... Do we have to take on the Africa Branch alone?"

"Calm down, Theresa."

Fu Hua silently moved to Theresa’s side. She had shed her Valkyrie student uniform and changed back into a long, ink-wash-colored robe. Her short hair was tied back in a high ponytail—the same way she remembered wearing it five hundred years ago, on her way to Kolosten.

Fu Hua’s steady tone seemed to possess a power that could soothe the soul; the frantic pounding of Theresa’s heart began to slow. She shot a quick glance at the "Fu Hua" who was so transformed she was almost unrecognizable. Maybe it was just an illusion, but though she had only changed her clothes and hairstyle, Theresa felt as if she had grown much taller. Perhaps her entire aura had become more mature... no, "Fu Hua" had always been mature. What Theresa felt from her now was something that transcended maturity. It could be called world-weariness, but it was closer to a kind of deathly stillness.

Theresa gulped and lightly tapped the console. "All fire-control radars, lock on. Send them a final warning. If—"

"Wait, Theresa."

This was the second time Fu Hua had cut her off. Before Theresa could say anything, Fu Hua stepped up to the control panel on her own and quickly typed in a few lines of code. On the radar screen, all the red dots suddenly turned green, the color for friendly units.

"What is this...?"

Fu Hua sighed, a hint of exhaustion in her voice.

"It seems I remembered to change the Schicksal forces in the identification system from friendly to hostile, but I forgot to change the Anti-Entropy forces from hostile to friendly."

"Oh, so that’s it."

Theresa let out a long breath, feeling a flush of embarrassment.

The more urgent the situation, the more nervous one gets. And the more nervous one gets, the more likely one is to make near-fatal, basic mistakes. Besides, neither she nor Himeko were particularly detail-oriented people... That was a close call. They had been seconds away from opening fire...

Thinking about it now, various issues came to mind. For instance, if it truly were Schicksal’s Africa Branch, their primary tactics shouldn’t be swarms of small to medium-sized tactical mechs. They should have used heavy ground fire to pin them down while deploying aerospace battleships equivalent to the Hyperion to intercept.

Still... how did these Anti-Entropy forces manage to break through the Africa Branch’s blockade?

Theresa shook her head, deciding to skip over the insignificant question.

"Himeko, hail them again. Once we confirm they’re from Anti-Entropy HQ, prepare to guide them in for a landing on the Hyperion’s deck!"

"Roger!"

Unfortunately, Theresa was a step too late again. Just as Himeko acknowledged the order, the bridge’s broadcast system crackled with static. The next moment, an unusually boisterous voice blared through:

"Listen up, you kids from Schicksal’s Far East Branch! Get a landing zone ready for my mech squadron, pronto! And which one of you fing aholes just locked onto me with your fire-control radar?! You scared the s*t out of me..."

"Uh..."

Theresa was at a loss for words. She turned to look at Himeko, who just shrugged and shook her head. They both then turned to Fu Hua.

"That’s Dr. Tesla from Anti-Entropy HQ."

As Fu Hua spoke, a sharp, stabbing pain shot through Theresa’s mind, and hazy images began to flicker in her head. She tried to search her memories, but all she could find was the scene of her confronting the Anti-Entropy members on the battlefield after the Second Herrscher’s death.

But that was enough. She remembered two women standing beside the First Herrscher. She quickly locked onto the image of the one with red pigtails.

"Is that her?"

Theresa’s memory began to clear up. She remembered now. Back then, when that Dr. Tesla saw her confronting them, she had seemed utterly shocked and had said a lot... in the same kind of rapid-fire, staticky rant as just now.

Though the memory was unpleasant, it served as excellent proof of the other party’s identity.

Theresa looked up at Himeko again.

"Bring the Hyperion to a hover and raise the energy shields. Prepare to guide them in for landing. But don’t let your guard down completely. At this range, the first wave of interceptors from the HQ Floating Airport could arrive at any moment."

Tactical mechs had a short-range dash speed several times faster than the Hyperion’s normal cruising velocity. In less than twenty minutes, hundreds of tactical mechs of all shapes and sizes had completely covered the Hyperion’s flight deck.

Himeko, along with a few Valkyries she managed to pull from their posts, guided the mechs into the hangar bay below deck.

They had flown all the way from Anti-Entropy’s Salt Lake Base in the Americas, and the Honkai reactors of most mechs were depleted. They needed to recharge using the SELENE immediately.

Fortunately, most of Anti-Entropy’s unmanned mechs could be retrofitted to carry personnel and be switched to manual control. They had used this to bring a large contingent of Anti-Entropy members, which also helped alleviate the Hyperion’s staffing problem to some extent.

"Long time no see, Theresa. You really haven’t grown a single centimeter in sixteen years!"

Tesla was smiling so wide her eyes were crescents, but her words were practically venomous, at least to Theresa...

Since she was the one asking for help, Theresa couldn’t immediately fire back, but she also had no idea how to respond.

"Ahem! Alright, Dr. Tesla, this isn’t the time for that. It’s only an hour’s flight from here to Schicksal HQ’s Floating Airport. We should get down to business and not waste time. The Far East Branch has had its share of military conflicts with Anti-Entropy. I imagine both Schicksal’s Valkyries and Anti-Entropy’s members will need some time to adjust, wouldn’t you agree?"

Einstein hopped out of a large mech. Though her words spoke of urgency, the hand brushing her hair back was still unhurried.

She had a point. Although most of the recent conflicts with the Far East Branch had involved Cocolia’s subordinates, the two organizations had been mortal enemies for decades.

The situation had only improved after the Second Eruption.

Naturally, the training for both sides included a fair amount of "hate education" aimed at the other. After all, neither side had anticipated that they would have a chance for a second collaboration only a dozen years after the Second Eruption.

"Hey, bird’s nest! Don’t you go pinning the blame on me. I wasn’t speaking for myself just now. Some freeloader who’s been mooching off us asked me to pass that message along to Theresa, alright?"

"Oh?"

Einstein raised an eyebrow but said no more.

Hearing this, Theresa replayed Tesla’s greeting in her head, and her eyes widened slightly.

"Wait, that freeloader you were just talking about..."

"Here, let him tell you himself. You two are relatives, after all. It’s been so many years; you must have a lot to talk about, right? Just keep it short. Bird’s nest is right. There’s a f***-ton to do and not a lot of f***ing time."

Having managed several sentences with "proper" and "civilized" language, Tesla finally couldn’t hold back and let a couple of curses fly at the end.

But Theresa’s attention was now completely captivated by the terminal Tesla handed her—

"Yo! Shorty! You really haven’t grown at all, have ya? Ahahaha!"

The man on the screen was sitting sideways, only the right half of his face visible while the other was lost in shadow. But it was more than enough to confirm his identity.

"Siegfried, you..."

Theresa gritted her teeth. She wasn’t Tesla, and after holding it in for a long moment, all she could manage was a very civilized complaint:

"Siegfried, you big idiot!"

"Ha? You’re calling me an idiot? Aren’t you a fool yourself? C’mon, don’t argue. It’s a fine tradition of the Kaslana family. You should be proud, just like me!"

"You... Fine. Now I know where Kiana gets that ’pride in foolishness’ attitude. She really is your daughter."

Siegfried let out another goofy laugh, but his grin seemed a bit forced, as if he were suppressing some kind of pain. Theresa assumed he was thinking about Kiana and wasn’t sure how to comfort him.

"Alright, Theresa, I heard about what happened with Kiana. Thanks for taking care of her these past couple of years... Well, I guess that’s what an aunt is supposed to do, right?"

Siegfried winked and continued, "I’ve been recovering at Anti-Entropy HQ these past few years since leaving Kiana. After all this time with them, I can tell you this with full confidence, Theresa... Dr. Tesla and Dr. Einstein are trustworthy people. They’re not like that ambitious snake Cocolia. The people here at AE HQ, they’re the real deal... Oh? I guess I don’t need to say much.

"After all, we fought alongside them and the First Herrscher back in Siberia during the Second Eruption. Sigh... I wanted to come help you myself, but I’m not in great shape yet.

"Plus, there’s this person here who keeps insisting on helping me awaken the ’true power of the Kaslanas,’ saying it’s the only way I’ll be useful in the battles to come."

"Anyway, that’s the gist of it. You guys are on a tight schedule, so I won’t keep you. See you later, shorty. Hope you’ve grown a bit by the next time we meet, hahaha!"

"Siegfried, you!"

Theresa’s brow furrowed.

When Siegfried mentioned fighting side-by-side during the Second Eruption, she felt that needle-like pain in her brain again, followed by an indescribable sense of wrongness.

But the feeling was quickly washed away by Siegfried’s subsequent words. The wrongness turned to concern, which in turn was instantly replaced by annoyance.

She stared at the now-dark screen, the idiot’s laughter still echoing in her ears, the terminal in her hand still faintly warm...

"I understand."

Theresa sighed and looked up, facing Tesla and Einstein directly.

"On behalf of Schicksal’s Far East Branch, myself, and Kiana, I thank you for your assistance. Now, shall we discuss our strategy?"

After she spoke, Theresa noticed Tesla looking at her strangely. She tilted her head, confused.

They stared at each other for about three seconds before both looking away.

Although she desperately needed their help, Theresa had been unable to fully let down her guard. In fact, precisely because she needed their help, she had been more distant, more cautious.

But with Siegfried’s intervention, at least as far as Theresa was concerned, she could now completely trust these people from Anti-Entropy.

"Ladies, let’s save time. We can walk and talk."

She turned sideways, waiting for the two of them to fall in step behind her before she started walking. She began hesitantly, "Ladies... I know this is a bit direct, but... your Sovereign, the First Herrscher... was it he who tied up Schicksal’s Africa Branch, allowing you to pass through their airspace?"

Halfway through her question, Theresa felt it was too blunt and switched to a more tactful phrasing, though it hardly made a difference.

"Sigh... Bird’s nest, looks like we have to come clean now."

Tesla’s voice was weary. Einstein glanced at her and took over with a sigh.

"I apologize, Miss Theresa. For reasons I’m sure you can understand, we’ve kept this information confidential for the past six months. But I can tell you now that Welt... our Sovereign has run into some trouble. For now, at least, we are unable to contact him."

"Ah... so that’s how it is. No wonder Cocolia’s influence managed to spread all the way to South America..."

Theresa slumped, weakly propping up her large head. Her returning confidence had been built on the support from Anti-Entropy, but more importantly, on the power of the First Herrscher.

While that power wasn’t enough to contend with all of Schicksal, it should have been more than enough for a blitz operation to rescue Kiana.

But now...

Einstein knew exactly what Theresa was thinking. Her tone, however, grew firm.

"Do not worry, Miss Theresa. Your assumption wasn’t entirely wrong. We were able to pass over Africa because a warrior even more powerful held Schicksal’s European Branch forces at bay."

"Her power might even exceed that of our Sovereign, and she will be arriving with Anti-Entropy’s second wave. That’s right. What Dr. Tesla and I brought are merely the ’vanguard.’ There are tens of thousands more mechs of various types on their way. A force like that should give even Schicksal HQ a headache, don’t you think?"

"You... Are you really planning to attack Schicksal?"

Hearing the number "tens of thousands," Theresa nearly choked on her own saliva. At this scale, was Anti-Entropy truly planning an all-out war with Schicksal?!

"Miss Theresa, I believe you know your grandfather better than we do. For him to make such a move, it’s hard to believe he hasn’t prepared for every eventuality. We must give this our all if we hope to find even a sliver of a chance for survival in his schemes."

"I understand..."

Theresa lowered her head in silence.

"However, the situation isn’t as bleak as you might imagine."

Einstein suddenly quickened her pace to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Theresa.

"Look. The person standing up ahead is the one your grandfather called ’the strongest human in the world.’"

Theresa looked up and saw that Fu Hua had left the bridge at some point and was now standing on the deck.

She held a broken, golden sword in her hand. Though she wasn’t far from them, she seemed completely oblivious to their presence. She simply raised the broken blade, facing it toward the blinding sun.

"Hua? She is..."

"It seems you were unaware, Miss Theresa."

Einstein walked up to Fu Hua and performed a peculiar bow.

"It has been a while, Azure Empyrea. What are you...?"

Fu Hua’s lips were pressed into a thin, straight line, her eyes wooden.

After what felt like a long time, she seemed to remember something. She softly recited the only words she could grasp from that memory—

"Raise the sword of rebellion to the heavens..."