Chapter 029 : Who Outsmarted Whom?

The main event had arrived!

Rita knew that this was Ling ke's true intention.

And she, compared to Kiana, Mei, Bronya, and the others, was undoubtedly much more mature.

So she didn't hesitate much...

"Manchester."

When she spoke the name of the city, Rita's expression remained unchanged.

She knew very well that, in her heart, this was the most important city among the ten listed by Ling ke.

Because it was not only her hometown but also... the place where she had met "that person," a place filled with special memories.

Ragna Lothbrok.

The former captain of the Schicksal Vanguard.

She was the sole reason why Rita had once wanted to become a Valkyrie.

She was also the guide of Rita's life.

So...

"Understood."

The black-haired young man not far away nodded, "Then, from this moment on, the remaining nine cities, excluding 'Manchester,' will be subjected to a full-scale attack by our side, until no signs of intelligent life activity can be detected within them."

"Huh?"

Rita was stunned.

She was surprised that Ling ke didn't deliberately "reverse" her choice, destroying the city she had chosen first.

And also...

Was the questioning... over?

Just two questions?

This...

"Wait!"

She couldn't sit still anymore.

Nine cities... and almost all of them were major cities.

Now, the Herrscher of Domination's side was about to launch a city-wide massacre?

Why so sudden?

One second ago, he was calmly asking questions, and the next, he declared that the current segment was over.

It was incredibly abrupt.

To be honest, at this moment, Rita, who had previously been somewhat confident in her understanding of psychology, was completely clueless about Ling ke's true intentions.

This eerie feeling was like...

Facing a mentally ill patient with an extremely erratic thought process!

As for Ling ke...

"Miss Rita, I have already obtained the answer I wanted and... a result."

He remotely controlled the "Domination Puppet: Ling ke" to stand up from the sofa, then smiled and gracefully performed a gentleman's bow.

Then...

"Thank you very much for your cooperation. Let's part ways here!"

He glanced at the door of the restroom, "After all, there are already outsiders coming to disturb us."

At this point...

Buzz~

A spatial portal directly connected to the Dominion Theater opened.

At the same time...

Bang!

The door to Rita's private restroom was violently kicked open from the outside.

At this moment, in the vision of the "Domination Puppet: Ling ke," he saw a golden streak of light flash and then rapidly enlarge.

Boom!

A fierce straight punch struck him right in the face.

Currently, because the "Domination Puppet: Ling ke" had subconsciously leaned to the side to dodge, this punch... due to the angle of force and impact, caused his head... to tilt along with his body, rotating nearly 180 degrees.

"!!!"

This bizarre scene shocked the intruder, who instantly retreated, shielding Rita.

Without a doubt, the person who had forcibly entered Rita's room at this moment was Durandal.

And she had directly activated the "Eternal Anchor" state, utilizing the anchored world bubble and the power of the "Holy Sword"... the strongest S-rank Valkyrie.

At this time, Durandal had not yet achieved "Tian Yuan," so this was the strongest power she possessed at this stage.

However...

Crack~

Facing her, the "Domination Puppet: Ling ke" acted as if nothing had happened, forcefully using his right hand to twist his head back into place.

This signature move was clearly an imitation of the clown brother, Izaya Orihara, from Durarara!!.

At this moment, he looked at the two people in the room besides himself...

His wandering gaze swept over Rita, who was visibly horrified, and finally settled on Durandal, who wore a grave expression.

"Tsk tsk, this is the strongest S-rank Valkyrie of all generations."

"So strong, like a monster, truly terrifying."

As soon as he finished speaking...

"Ling ke, surrender!"

Durandal, with her binary personality, had no intention of engaging in further conversation with him.

She bent her knees slightly, clearly preparing to launch a second wave of attacks.

Unfortunately...

"Is this really okay?"

The "Domination Puppet: Ling ke" pointed at the virtual globe still floating in mid-air beside him, "The war to massacre the cities has already begun..."

"If you want to save people... you don't have much time!"

"Enough talk."

Durandal responded in a deep voice, while simultaneously dashing forward again, "Other matters can wait until after we've captured you."

Almost the moment the last syllable fell, she had already charged up to the "Domination Puppet: Ling ke" once more.

Clearly, she had no intention of letting him leave.

Even though...

Even though Durandal already knew that the "Ling ke" before her was not the true body of the Herrscher of Domination.

Obviously, while Durandal's personality leaned towards being binary and rigid, she was not foolish.

Especially her combat intuition... it often compensated for her shortcomings in other areas.

At this moment, Durandal had made her judgment immediately.

"Since we can't capture Ling ke's true body, then... we also need a means of communication with the other side... a way to establish dialogue."

It was precisely because of this thought...

Boom!

This time, Durandal's approach was even more violent.

It could be seen that now, she completely disregarded whether the surrounding walls would be damaged, actually using one hand to grab the "Domination Puppet: Ling ke" by the neck, and then... smashed through numerous rooms in a straight line.

For a moment, dust rose all around.

The Schicksal Headquarters, this floating island, was in complete chaos.

Until...

"Huh?"

Durandal forcibly "pushed" the black-haired young man before her into a special room.

This place was a unique prison.

It...

It had a train engine parked in a compartment.

The Second Divine Key—Eternal Key·Thousand Realms.

"Space has been sealed!"

"And... by analyzing the combat data from Mei's previous battle on the Hyperion, they've figured out that the essence of my ability to steal Herrscher authorities is ultimately just a 'tug-of-war' process that relies on brute strength?"

"The surrounding devices... this bizarre design... it doesn't seem like a creation of this era alone."

"Are they borrowing the power of the Flame-Chaser's memories?"

At this moment, the instant he entered this special room, the "Domination Puppet: Ling ke" discerned and deduced the above facts.

Then...

"Speaking of which, in the original storyline, both Anti-Entropy and World Serpent found ways to detect and track 'spatial gates.'"

"It seems that during this time, Dr. Einstein and the others haven't been idle either!"

"Unfortunately..."

Inside the Dominion Theater, Ling ke's true body slowly opened his eyes, "The Dominion Theater is now bound to my system as a 'Rebirth Chamber.' Without my permission, no one can enter."

"This is 'absolute,' and it has been repeatedly tested."

"Moreover, I am no longer the Herrscher of Domination of 'a thousand,' but of 'ten thousand'... well, to adapt to local customs, should I say a 'transcended' version of the Herrscher?"

In any case, for the current Ling ke, even when facing a fully realized Herrscher... such as Raiden Mei, he could easily win in a "tug-of-war" and directly steal their authority.

Before today... back on the deck of the Hyperion, he had simply chosen not to do so on purpose.

Clearly, he had other plans.

So...

"Whether it's the living of the current civilization or the memories of the previous one, the limit of what you world-class scholars can achieve ends here."

At this moment, seeing that the "Domination Puppet: Ling ke" seemed to be completely trapped... he had opened a spatial gate in Rita's personal restroom earlier, pretending to return directly to the Dominion Theater, but was entangled by Durandal and couldn't cross over. Now, however...

"Let's go along with their wishes and pretend that under the interference of this special device centered around the 'Thousand Realms,' 'I' really can't open a spatial gate in that room."

"After all the effort I've put into delivering 'myself' to you, it wouldn't be right to waste it."

As his thoughts reached this point, a triumphant sneer appeared on the face of Lingke's true body, hidden behind the scenes.

It must be said:

The natives of this world clearly haven't watched The Avengers.