In the ensuing battle, Siegfried experienced frustration.

It wasn’t that he lacked strength or speed; to be frank, facing a single punch from either of the two clones would leave them in pieces.

But the rhythm of the battle was completely lost.

Siegfried felt like he wasn’t fighting, but rather acting as a marionette in a puppet show.

“Sigurd” was the performer, and Siegfried was the puppet.

Every time he took a step forward, he would stumble into a barrage of lasers.

When he stepped back, he found a deep pit under his foot, and when he tried to launch a powerful area attack, the formidable spear would appear as if teleporting, forcing him to stop and defend.

And then, he would be beaten up again.

Siegfried was left with a battered and bewildered expression.

In short, the damage wasn’t significant, but it felt utterly humiliating.

As time passed, Siegfried found himself unable to break through the two clones’ unyielding blockade.

His stamina was depleting rapidly, and his body was sending signals of unbearable pain. Siegfried grew more anxious and increasingly felt the sense of despair.

“So, I’m still as useless as before. After all this time, I can’t even enter the base?”

“But I can’t stop here!”

Shoo! Shoo! Shoo!

The lasers pierced through his body, but Siegfried stood firm, step by step, gradually closing in on “Sigurd.”

In the distance, the spear that transcended time arrived as expected, aimed at Siegfried’s heart.

Siegfried’s expression remained unchanged, and his footsteps didn’t falter.

“I’ll just take a gamble! I’ll bet that in this state, I can repair my heart fast enough before I kicked the bucket!”

Sizzle!

Without wasting any time to defend himself against the incoming attack, he raised his sword high up in the air, and at that moment, the spear effortlessly pierced through Siegfried’s chest and landed deep into the ground behind him.

Siegfried, with a gaping hole in his chest, swung his greatsword.

Whoosh!

The slash that was originally aimed at his neck only took off one of “Sigurd’s” arms.

“Sigurd” maintained a mechanical expression, allowing blood to spurt out as he silently retreated, surrounded by countless black spheres, resembling loyal guards protecting a king.

At the same time, “Sin Mal” in the distance ceased her attacks.

Siegfried gasped, blood oozing from his mouth, gripping the Judgement of Shamash as he knelt down on one knee.

He didn’t understand why Otto didn’t finish him off. Perhaps he didn’t want to lose this clone of “Sigurd,” or maybe he had some other sinister plan. Nevertheless, this granted Siegfried a chance to catch his breath.

This opportunity was precious. The hole in his chest was slowly healing, but his life was also ebbing away. At this moment, any attack could shatter the fragile balance and end his life.

“I can’t… give in…”

“I have to hold on…”

“I can’t die yet…”

Siegfried struggled with the Grim Reaper, facing deadly peril. However, he couldn’t stop; he hadn’t rescued Kiana, and it wasn’t time to meet Cecilia!

Just then, two petite figures gracefully descended from the sky.

“Yo-yo-yo, isn’t this Siegfried? The famous head of the Kaslana family and the husband of the Holy Maiden Cecilia. Why do you look so miserable?”

“You have more strength than needed, but unfortunately, you’re a traitor. A waste is always a waste. Cecilia was forced to marry and bear children with someone like you. If her spirit still lingers, she must regret it, right? Let us correct this mistake for her!”

The newcomers were two formidable Valkyries, both petite and exuding a cute yet dangerous smile. One wore white attire, while the other wore a black dress.

“Maria Schariac and Angelia Schariac!”

Indeed, sent by Otto to finish the job were the powerful Valkyries from the Schariac family, also Cecilia’s cousins.

It was said that they were also candidates for the role of Holy Maiden, possessing strength far beyond that of ordinary Valkyries.

Siegfried knew it was true. Both were A-rank Valkyries, but in reality, the difference between them and S-rank was negligible. They were only classified as A-rank because they lacked traits that caught Otto’s attention and their accumulated merits were insufficient.

Siegfried opened his mouth, briefly considering offering a defense in front of Cecilia’s relatives.

He wanted to say, “Cecilia willingly married me, and we are deeply in love!”

However, the rising blood blocked his words.

Meanwhile, he sadly realized that they were opponents he couldn’t afford to go all out against.

They were Cecilia’s cousins, and privately, Cecilia had expressed her care and affection for them.

For this reason alone, Siegfried dared not act harshly against them.

Bang!

Maria kicked and sent Siegfried, who was in the process of recovery, flying away.

Next came the merciless pummeling by the Schariac sisters, leaving Siegfried temporarily defenseless as they surrounded and battered him.

Time passed moment by moment.

Until, suddenly, Maria paused in her attack, as if receiving a command.

“That’s enough, just kill him.”

Maria said, and a white lance appeared in her hand, Angelia nodded, and a greatsword also appeared in her hand.

“Goodbye, traitor of Heaven’s Will. Apologize to Cecilia in another world… Oh, no, someone like you will go to hell, while Cecilia will undoubtedly go to heaven. Unfortunately, you won’t meet again. How regrettable!”

Maria grinned maliciously, aiming the lance at Siegfried’s head.

In the next second, gravity suddenly increased hundreds of times. The sudden pressure caused the Schariac sisters to collapse to the ground simultaneously.

Siegfried’s consciousness was gradually fading when he suddenly woke up.

“This power… Welt?”

Siegfried murmured, and he saw a meteor streak across the sky, a rocket-like object crashing into the ground a hundred meters away, turning into numerous debris.

In the dust, a figure patted his clothes and approached slowly.

“Welt? How did you…?”

“Sigh, I just couldn’t stand by and watch anymore…”

Welt lifted Siegfried up and injected a vial of medicine into his neck.

“Hiss! What is this?”

“It’s for repairing your body. The specific effects are unclear for now, but I hope it helps you… Otto, come out. I know you’re watching this. Manipulating people’s hearts and emotions, is it really that amusing?”

After a brief explanation, Welt ignored the Schariac sisters, who were unable to move due to the increased gravity, and looked up at the massive sky city.

Then, Otto responded.

“Not amusing, just killing time. Besides, how could I miss the opportunity to play some tricks if you didn’t show up, Welt.”

“So, all that you did was to lure me out?”

Welt’s face turned serious, filled with anger.

“I had no choice. After the Second Honkai Eruption, I lost track of you, but the Anti-Entropy headquarters acted like you were still alive… It troubled me a lot.”

Otto’s voice came from all directions, tinged with a faint sigh.

If it was just a bluff and Otto took it seriously, sending troops to besiege Anti-Entropy would be a waste of resources.

If it was true that the Anti-Entropy headquarters still existed, but Welt remained hidden and suspicious, Otto also didn’t want to miss the chance to get rid of this unstable factor.

So, he played a game with Siegfried, not only to pass the time but also to be certain that if Welt was still alive and able to fight, he would appear.

“As you wished, I’m here now. I’m going to take Siegfried and leave. Do you have any objections?”

“Why leave in such a hurry? I’ve prepared a treat for you on this sunny day… How about trying to defeat the First Herrscher? Isn’t that wonderful?”

“If you start a war, I assure you that your base will be the first to fall.”

“Oh, is that so?”

As the word “so” fell, the massive aerial city suddenly vanished from the sky, revealing a clear blue sky with nothing in sight.

“Why would you think that I know Siegfried is coming and that you might come as well and leave my base in the same place? Am I such a reckless person?”

The voice came from all directions, containing a hint of doubt and plenty of sarcasm.

Siegfried suddenly lowered his head, letting out a tired sigh.

“So, preventing me from entering the base wasn’t to undermine my confidence but to conceal the fact that the base isn’t there. From the beginning, was I just wasting my efforts?”

“Leave now; there will be other opportunities in the future.”

Welt comforted him, not finding the fact that the base wasn’t there too surprising. Otto was indeed capable of such a setup.

The most crucial thing now was that since the base wasn’t here, Otto could unleash any tactic to escape.

The difficult part was how to leave.

Welt knew that if he were in his best condition, he wouldn’t fear the Schicksal Formation. At the same time, Otto would also know his limitations and wouldn’t invest too much power in defeating him.

However, the problem was that Welt was currently quite weak without the base as his backup. From now on, he had no choice but to confront it head-on.

Valkyrie Corps, Mech Corps, long-range firepower… The military forces surrounded him densely, and the real war was just beginning.

Meanwhile, in an unknown distant location, Otto let out a breath.

“He’s still alive after all. I don’t know if I should be relieved or regretful. However, if I can get the core of the First Herrscher and combine it with the power of the Void Archives… Hmm, I can have some expectations.”