Volume 4, Chapter 28: Exploring Future Paths

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At this moment, Durandal was in the training room.

Durandal possessed a distinct virtue; regardless of her position, she never abandoned her beliefs and duties as a warrior.

This included rigorous training.

Even though current missions were unsuitable for Durandal to undertake personally, she maintained high standards for her physical conditioning. Moreover, although nominally the leader, her involvement in decision-making remained limited.

The operations of Schicksal today largely followed Otto's original designs, akin to adhering to established precedents in Shenzhou terms. Despite past turmoil that required her collaboration with Rita to purge certain individuals, the fundamental functioning of Schicksal did not undergo significant changes.

If there was one alteration attributed solely to her, it might be advocating for cooperation with Anti-Entropy.

Durandal's intention wasn't specifically to collaborate with Anti-Entropy; she sought cooperation between Schicksal and the entire world. Otto had meticulously planned to conceal Schicksal behind the scenes, while she aimed for Schicksal to step forward openly, assuming its role as a global leader.

However, even Durandal herself hesitated about positioning Schicksal at the forefront. As Amber pointed out, if Schicksal directly emerged onto the world stage, it would face relentless attacks, internal corruption among lower-level personnel, and trust issues between nations—all potentially crippling challenges.

Being the world's leading force is no easy task, unless she was willing to revert Schicksal back to its Medieval-era structure.

Thus, not even Durandal would impulsively reveal Schicksal's true nature without careful consideration.

"Lady Durandal."

Rita entered the training room, noticing Durandal wiping her sweat, and smiled slightly. "Xia Chen has returned, having perfectly resolved the issue with the Herrscher of Sentience. He claims to have obtained information about Stigmata from World Serpent, hoping you'll be informed."

"Ah, Xia Chen. Understood, I also need to discuss something with him." Suppressing her thoughts, Durandal left the training ground.

After Otto's departure from Schicksal, out of respect, Durandal refrained from using his bishop office and instead assisted with administrative tasks at Amber's secretary office. Even brief meetings were held there.

This clearly indicated that Durandal was not yet prepared to assume leadership of Schicksal. In fact, she still felt as though Otto had merely taken a temporary leave and would return someday.

Upon arriving, Durandal saw Xia Chen holding a thick stack of documents, and guests from Anti-Entropy present as well.

"It's been a while," she greeted them, adding, "Thank you for your hard work during this time."

"Not really anything strenuous," Xia Chen responded. Initially intending some small talk, he noticed the others' presence and quickly stated, "The news I bring is straightforward - it pertains to the legacy of the previous civilization era."

Durandal immediately grew serious.

Having reviewed most of the Schicksal Files, she naturally understood what the previous civilization era entailed. According to records, it was a dazzling golden age, leaving behind numerous legacies for Schicksal.

Many of Schicksal's proudest technologies today have origins from the previous civilization era. Even now, Schicksal remains heavily reliant on advancements from that time.

Xia Chen paused briefly before continuing, "I'm unsure if Schicksal has received any information about this yet, but currently, World Serpent is implementing Project Stigma. Its objective is to awaken innate Stigmata hidden within human genes, aiming for coexistence with Honkai. Coincidentally, the experimental approach of this plan mirrors the Babylon Tower experiment."

"Babylon Tower?" Raiden Mei couldn't help but furrow her brow, as the term was still unfamiliar to her.

"Babylon Tower." Amber's expression turned grim, and she couldn't resist asking, "Wasn't that experiment deemed an utter failure?"

As a firsthand witness to the Second Honkai Eruption, she was well aware of the Babylon Tower experiment's history.

In truth, the Babylon Tower experiment wasn't entirely without significance. At least, it allowed Schicksal to develop artificial Stigmata technology based on its data, subsequently applied to Valkyries.

However, compared to the losses incurred, the value of this success was immense.

"Yes, but World Serpent is repeating the Babylon experiment across the entire world," Xia Chen swiftly exposed their intentions.

Allowing Jackal to conduct Stigmata experiments in Tianqiong City would undoubtedly lead to disaster.

"However, that's not my main point." Xia Chen paused and turned his gaze towards Seele, "I'm curious, how much power can you currently access from the Holy Mark within you?"

"Eh, me...me?" Seele hesitantly responded, feeling somewhat uneasy as she wasn't very familiar with Xia Chen.

Xia Chen nodded, "I don't fully understand the underlying principles, but in a sense, the bearer of a Holy Mark could be considered an alternative form of Herrscher. The Holy Mark consciousness corresponds to the Herrscher consciousness. Within World Serpent, they possess complete methods for harnessing the power of Stigmata."

"Except for Miss Rita and Secretary Amber, everyone here likely has fully manifested Stigmata. Therefore, I believe Schicksal and World Serpent should collaborate entirely on Stigmata research, developing their full potential. This cooperation might yield unexpected surprises."

Xia Chen knew well that Jackal represented his own interests, while World Serpent had its distinct approach.

The Jackal's crude experiments merely reflected their limited understanding of Stigmata, while the World Serpent... especially those within the Elysian Realm, possessed far greater knowledge about them.

Xia Chen even suspected that the Elysian Realm itself might be a unique Holy Mark. Otherwise, how could it exhibit such clear memories and formidable combat capabilities?

"Of course, there is one point I must emphasize. Although the previous civilization era was once glorious, its ultimate outcome indicates that civilization failed." Xia Chen paused before continuing, "Therefore, collaboration is indeed necessary, but we also need to seek an alternative path to defeat Honkai."

Currently, the greatest flaw of the present civilization lies in the absence of a practical strategy to overcome Honkai.

Despite Schicksal's immense power, seemingly reaching the pinnacle of modern civilization, this peak only represents halfway up the mountain compared to the achievements of the previous era.

The information hastily brought by Xia Chen pinpointed the challenge everyone now faced: the limitations of their understanding of civilization.

As the current spokesperson for Schicksal, Durandal wasted no time and responded directly, "Schicksal has never ceased research on Stigmata, and collaborating with the World Serpent is not entirely unacceptable. However, as you mentioned, based on the outcomes, the World Serpent has already failed."

"Thus, this won't become Schicksal's primary focus."

Xia Chen sighed with relief.

As long as Schicksal didn't arrogantly dismiss everything else, he was satisfied.