The philosopher calmly recounted all of Luo Ling's achievements in the past period of time, as if he was just narrating something that had nothing to do with him. He did not show any resentment or anger, and even the faint smile on his face did not reveal any joy or sadness.
He paused and continued, "Or should I call you... Miss Luo Ling?"
“… … .”
Luo Ling was not surprised. It had come to this point. If the philosopher still couldn't see it, he would not be worthy of being called the leader of the "pioneers".
Including the educator, in fact, he had already noticed something before he died, and even suspected that the "White Witch" was the weirdness of the annihilation boundary, but the ever-changing battlefield did not give him too much time to think, and only left a brief doubt in his last fragment of memory.
"Mr. Philosopher, so you are planning to come to me to catch up?"
Luo Ling put away his guard, and even his posture seemed a little more relaxed.
"It's just... I just want to know more about my undertaker." The philosopher said lightly, "I have seen the end of my "destiny", my "moment of death".
"Ms. Luo Ling, you will personally send me into eternal 'death', but now is not the time."
Luo Ling couldn't agree more with what the philosopher said. She was sure that she would send the philosopher to his death. The reason she didn't take action now was not because she wanted to show mercy to him, but because she had more important things to do.
It's just that... it's still a little weird when the victim says it himself.
Not only Luo Ling, but also Fiona and Lina beside them had a subtle expression on their faces after hearing it.
But... considering that philosophers themselves are on the path to the "other shore" and control the power of "this life", it suddenly doesn't feel strange.
The Riddler is like this.
"Aren't you very interested in the 'Moment of Death'?" the philosopher said calmly. "As it happens, I have done some research on this before and have used it a few times, so I have some experience."
As the leader of the Pioneers, the philosopher had of course used the secret rituals that the Pioneers were most proud of, and had once stolen power from the hands of the Taboo.
"Fate" is one of the "taboo" powers most commonly used by philosophers.
Although this stolen authority is most likely incomplete, just like the incomplete "omniscience" obtained by the Chosen Ones of Naraku, it can still reveal some of the essence to a certain extent.
Without waiting for Luo Ling to answer, the philosopher continued chatting on his own.
“Fate is predetermined, yet destiny is elusive. The thread of destiny is constantly changing, but it is heading towards a predetermined future.
"The same is true of the 'fate' woven by 'Norren', but... when He makes His judgment, the inviolable 'fate' chooses the predetermined ending, which is the 'moment of death'.
"The moment of death is not unchangeable, but one must have enough power to push forward destiny - just like you, Miss Luo Ling."
The philosopher looked at Fiona, his eyes deepened and full of meaning.
What he was referring to was not only the "Moment of Death" that Fiona had been released at this moment, but more importantly... the "Destined Death" that Luo Ling had forcibly released with the ability of "Naraku" before.
Luo Ling possesses the power to change "fate".
At least among Victoria, there was only her, only her.
Luo Ling knew that the philosopher was revealing the details of the old man's abilities to her. Even until this point, the first person he wanted to stop was the old man, not Luo Ling, the "White Witch".
This is not out of personal hatred, but because the real misunderstanding lies between the philosopher and the old man.
—That's why, even though they vaguely sensed that there might be a third party in the fight between them, they still wanted to force the other party into a desperate situation and did not dare to take it lightly.
"...Thank you."
Luo Ling nodded slightly.
It was indeed a rare opportunity to be able to have a calm conversation with this "philosopher" who I had only met a few times but had already fought with countless times under such circumstances.
"polite."
The philosopher just smiled.
Luo Ling thought about it, but couldn't help but ask the question that had been in her mind.
"I'm curious, what is your relationship with the old man?"
They look so similar and are both one of the five founders of the "Company". What kind of complicated connections have led to the current situation
"... ... ... "
The philosopher was silent for a while, as if he was thinking about how to answer, or as if he was considering the wording of his answer.
After a moment, he looked up at Luo Ling and chuckled.
"I am his good-for-nothing older brother, and he is his good-for-nothing younger brother, that's all."
They are brothers, but they are unable to help each other and instead take completely different paths.
At this moment, the philosopher coughed heavily a few times, and his solid figure suddenly became a little blurry and seemed to have a darker color.
Before the promotion ceremony officially began, the philosopher had completely abandoned his empty body.
Today, he is nothing more than a collection of energy. It is not an exaggeration to call him a spirit that has undergone the "promotion ceremony".
"It seems that I don't have much time left."
The philosopher closed his eyes slightly, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he was feeling something, and actually enjoying it a little.
"Is this the feeling of the approaching moment of death? Ah, the breath of destiny..."
The ethereal old voice gradually faded away, until the dark snowflakes continued to float above the sky, and all the crazy things around continued to rage in Victoria, and the slowed down time finally recovered.
However, the figure of the octogenarian was no longer visible in front of the crowd, and there was not even a trace of him left on the thin snow. Everything that had just happened seemed as illusory as a dream.
But Luo Ling knew that this was not a dream. The philosopher did appear for a very brief moment, even less than the blink of an eye in the real world.
"This should be the manifestation of the power he controls, "Traveler", walking in the cracks of time..."
There are some brief descriptions of this in the educator's fragmented memories, but they are not detailed.
Luo Ling calmed down, looked at the two hesitant people beside him, and said softly,
"Don't worry, the philosopher should have left."
Luo Ling didn't know what price was paid to forcibly restrict the promotion ceremony in order to gain a short period of free time. What exactly the philosopher wanted to do, Luo Ling didn't know, but now was not the time to worry about this matter.
Luo Ling raised his head slightly and looked in the direction of the "company" headquarters.
In her perception, the inspiration fluctuations at the "company" headquarters gradually became chaotic and intense. It should be that the old man was trying to seize the forbidden power "destiny".
Maybe it has succeeded, maybe it hasn't failed yet.
"Let's get going," Luo Ling took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Hurry up."
... ... ...
This was a battle that all high-level awakeners would never forget. In the entire order-side forces, about one-third of the awakeners were trapped in the blood refining barrier forever, without even their bodies left behind, and some even defected.
The vast majority of awakened ones suffered quite serious injuries, with only a very few not suffering any injuries, or with minor injuries that could be recovered with a little treatment.
All the surviving awakened ones, except those who had defected, gathered at the headquarters of the "Company".
At the end of the last battle, they received an order from the old man that they must strictly guard the "company" headquarters during this period and absolutely not let any outsiders in.
In fact, many awakened people find this order nonsensical, as the Company’s most powerful opponent, the Pioneers, has already been defeated in this battle.
Even one of the leaders, an educator, was killed, and the remaining defeated remnants all fled in all directions. How could they have the energy to launch an attack on the "company" headquarters
At this time, Li Shaoheng was sitting in a small pavilion near the entrance of the "company" headquarters. He took out a whetstone and carefully and calmly polished his flying blade.
I tried to use this repetitive and boring work to empty my mind and suppress the confusion and helplessness that kept emerging in my heart in this unprecedented major change.
His injuries were not actually light. The woman did use the blood-refining barrier to give him some treatment, but with her poor control, this treatment could only barely prevent Li Shaoheng from becoming paralyzed.
However, as the only director who can currently hold up the "company", the woman who should have appeared at this time to stabilize the morale of the troops unexpectedly disappeared.
Perhaps it was because she had other more important things to do, but the result was that the "company" headquarters was leaderless.
In addition, everything that just happened was still fresh in their minds. Although most of the high-level awakeners received orders to return to defend the "company" headquarters, they only came back when they carried out the order. Most of them were taking the time to heal their wounds to avoid further accidents and deaths.
Because of this situation, Li Shaoheng, who was in charge of the command in this battle, was free when he arrived at the headquarters.
Although as a member of the few direct offices, Li Shaoheng was worried about the "company" gradually falling apart, but he could do nothing. Standing at the door of the "company" and sharpening his knife was already the limit of what he could do.
"Why... "
After a long sigh, Li Shaoheng put away the flying blade.
At this moment, he suddenly saw from the corner of his eye that there seemed to be several figures appearing at the door of the headquarters.
At first, Li Shaoheng didn't care. He took a quick glance and was about to persuade these visitors to leave. But when he saw the appearance of the visitors, his eyes widened instantly.
"...Enemy attack!"
"It seems that there is no need to report."
Luo Ling snapped his fingers, and darkness and blood spread.
It wasn't that she had to go through the front door, but the "company" was shrouded in a powerful mystical barrier, and the front door happened to be the weak point of the barrier, making it more convenient to break in.
The moment they heard the enemy attack, several figures appeared directly at the door, looking at the uninvited guests in front of them in silence and nervousness.
Among them, only three were office directors at the P9 level, including an old acquaintance of Luo Ling, Lu Manqing's mother Lu Fangling.
“… … .”
Surprisingly few people.
When Luo Ling saw this scene, she couldn't help but show a look of surprise. In her perception, the number of people in the headquarters should be several times more.
"The White Witch... and, Fiona, you are still alive."
Lu Fangling stared at Fiona standing next to Luo Ling, with a hint of disbelief flashing in her pupils.
You know, in the announcement released by the headquarters, Fiona had died at the hands of the "Pioneer", and it was confirmed by the board of directors themselves, so... it shouldn't be wrong, right
Could it be the body of someone who died after being controlled by the "White Witch"
She does have the ability.
Fiona had already seen what Lu Fangling was thinking. After all, they were comrades who had fought side by side for more than ten years and were very familiar with each other.
"I have never died, Lu." Fiona shook her head regretfully and said, "I have always been alive. Even until now, I have lived according to my own will."
"I really want to hear your story, Fiona, but unfortunately, the person standing next to you is not the right one." Lu Fangling sighed and continued, "In any case, if your goal is to get the directors in the headquarters, you must step over my dead body first."
Lu Fangling knew Fiona very well. Although she didn't know why the gentle Fiona would choose to stand beside a weirdo who had killed countless people, she knew that a few words were meaningless.
Fiona, who seems easy to talk to, is actually very stubborn. Once she makes a decision, she will never give up, just like she will never give up looking for her daughter, even though she already knows that her daughter has died a violent death.
Since Fiona chose to stand on the side of weirdness, she is already an enemy of humanity.
Several other office directors had roughly the same idea, but the one who was even more nervous was the seemingly inconspicuous little girl among the crowd. She had a dress with flowing white hair mixed with a hint of bright red, and it was obvious that she controlled a more powerful force than before.
Everyone present was familiar with this power.
... Because I just experienced such a battle not long ago.
It is the ability of an educator.
Considering that the "White Witch" had replaced the "Puppet Rumor", which was the 49th in the weird sequence in Jiangcheng County, the situation is now very clear, and the other existence replaced by him has appeared.
- "White Witch", who possesses the powers of both Puppet Rumor and Blood Lord.
Even if facing the barrier of the "company" headquarters, this kind of existence is already capable of fighting.
but...
With just this, it will still take a lot of time to break through the defense line.
But the prerequisite is that there must be enough combat power to hold back the opponent.
Apparently, right now... No.
The only ones standing here were the direct subordinates of the "company" headquarters and some members of the direct offices. There were only a dozen people in total, and the others were either seriously injured or sacrificed.
As for other offices and members of other order-side organizations, they didn't even show up.
They are unwilling to continue to face the terror of the "White Witch" and are hurriedly using the resources of the "company" headquarters to heal their wounds, so that they will have enough self-protection capabilities when the next disaster strikes.
Even Luo Ling hadn't expected the current situation. She thought she would have to deal with all the remaining people who would stop her at all costs, but... only these few came
This way, it would be much simpler.
"Auntie Fiona, Miss Lina, I leave everything to you."
Luo Ling said softly, and the two people beside him nodded, their expressions becoming a little more serious.
"Lina..."
Lu Fangling's expression showed a little surprise, and then she relaxed a little, "Fiona, it seems that you have found your daughter."
In this case, it seems... Fiona's behavior can be understood.