Honkai: Strijder (Honkai Impact 3 Male MC)

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

The debate reached a stalemate at some point, with an immense amount of information being exchanged.

Neither side had defeated the other.

One stood from the perspective of reason and the pursuit of victory, while the other stood from the perspective of human morality and the future. Both sides were determined to fight against the Honkai and had their own established directions.

This was a debate where it was impossible to determine right from wrong.

But Sigurd won.

It wasn't because his debating skills were superior, but because from the very beginning, he stood on an unassailable position.

In reality, Schicksal was deeply connected to the upper echelons of human society and the Valkyries, and Archbishop Otto's fabricated ideology was highly recognized among the upper echelons of human society and among many Valkyries.

Anti-Entropy was different. Its foundation was shallow, its ideology vague, and coupled with Otto's sixty years of continuous slander, it wasn't just a lack of recognition, it was like a sewer rat's reputation.

In this debate, regardless of winning or losing, as long as Sigurd persists long enough and articulates enough ideas, the image of Anti-Entropy will undergo a transformation in the eyes of countless informed individuals. From a psychological perspective, once a transformation occurs, these individuals' impressions of Anti-Entropy are likely to become increasingly favorable.

In summary, the first level of this debate is about who wins and gains public favor. On the second level, for Anti-Entropy, winning is naturally the best outcome, but even in defeat, they will gain a significant boost in their reputation.

Thus, from the beginning, Sigurd is in an invincible position.

As long as Hera continues to debate with him, Anti-Entropy wins, and the only question is the extent of their victory.

"How cunning!"

Realizing this, Hera could only smile wryly and tease.

Does Anti-Entropy's victory mean Hera loses? Not necessarily.

From the start, she didn't care much about winning or losing. For her, if Anti-Entropy can take on the fight against Honkai, it would actually save her a lot of trouble, freeing up time for her to... ahem, conduct research.

So, if Sigurd wants to win some public favor, she might as well let him have it.

On the contrary, Hera hadn't encountered anyone in the past five hundred years who was qualified to debate with her on equal footing. This back-and-forth was a new and intriguing experience for her—so, no loss here!

Sigurd looked at her calmly and replied, "I only learned a bit from you, it's not worth mentioning."

"You–! Never mind. If I could persuade you, then Anti-Entropy wouldn't be able to stand in front of me in the first place; conversely, if you could persuade me, Schicksal would have been renamed Anti-Entropy long ago. Let's stop here. We each have our own beliefs, and further debate is meaningless."

Hera waved her hand lazily.

Amber glanced at her.

She knew Hera's character, preferences, and habits very well, and from Hera's smile, she saw satisfaction.

So, it was indeed time to end this.

"It seems the conversation between our two leaders has concluded. Following the verbal suggestions from your leader, we in Schicksal have drafted this alliance agreement. Lord Sigurd and Dr. Einstein, please review it."

Amber took out two documents and gently pushed them in front of Sigurd and Einstein.

Sigurd did not move.

Einstein, setting aside the tea she had been drinking, lifted a hand, and a round Eins robot appeared above, placing down two documents.

"Coincidentally, I also have two documents here, dictated face-to-face by our leader. Theoretically, my version is more suitable as the alliance document."

Einstein's version of the alliance document was pushed towards Hera and Amber.

Amber lowered her head, her eyes narrowing slightly under the golden eyepatch. "Are you questioning my professionalism?"

"Don't misunderstand, it's not aimed at you. I'm just questioning the entire upper echelon of Schicksal."

Einstein spoke calmly and indifferently.

Everyone present knew that the so-called upper echelon referred to Otto.

If Otto's drafted alliance document were to be signed, Einstein would quit tea for at least three days.

Then, silent sparks flew between Amber and Einstein as they stared at each other.

After a moment, Amber picked up Einstein's alliance document and said, "Forming an alliance is a process that requires discussion. Since we don't trust each other, let's review both documents and talk it over."

"Agreed," Einstein replied, opening Amber's alliance document.

The two began reading each other's documents, and for a while, only the faint sound of pages turning could be heard.

Sigurd and Hera did not touch the documents.

Sigurd didn't touch them because he wasn't interested. 

Ultimately, he wouldn't be the one signing the contract, and its binding force depended on his mood. The signing was more symbolic of reconciliation, meaningful but not critically important.

Hera didn't touch them simply because Amber was there, and it wasn't her business.

Then Hera, resting her chin in her hands, looked at Sigurd with a gentle smile and said, "Sigurd, have you really not considered returning to Schicksal? Staying with Anti-Entropy is a waste of your talent!"

"We are on different paths, and there is no mutual consultation... If you return Vera to me, I might consider it."

Sigurd rolled his eyes, showing that he had principles, but only a little.

Hera replied without batting an eye, "Oh, don't say that! Little Vera has always been at headquarters. You can see her anytime you want, no one will stop you!"

"I see."

Sigurd believed he could see Vera, but taking her away was another matter.

Initially, in Otto's eyes, Vera's value was just one of the many sacrifices for the Artificial Herrscher Project. Now, it was likely more to restrain Sigurd.

For Otto, as long as the Information-Origin Theory could be perfected and resurrection technology developed, not just the sacrifices, but the entire Artificial Herrscher Project would become worthless. However, Vera's value would not diminish. Whether the Artificial Herrscher Project or Sigurd's theory was more likely to bring about resurrection, Vera was a key piece.

This was a non-negotiable issue. To take Vera back, either Otto would have to willingly let go after achieving his goal, or Sigurd would have to forcibly seize her.

"Enough, let's talk about something else. After the battle with Chi You, besides personnel casualties, the global ocean current system has been affected to varying degrees, leading to large-scale climate anomalies and severe damage to marine ecosystems... Any countermeasures?"

"For the climate, just strengthen monitoring. It will pass eventually, just endure it. As for the ecosystem, we should implement some protective measures. After the alliance is signed, we can jointly lead the efforts. The main issue is the residual Honkai energy in the East Sea, which will spread to other seas with the currents. If we don't want Honkai beasts emerging from the ocean, we need to address it quickly."

"I've already deployed numerous drones in the East Sea to absorb the Honkai energy, but it's impossible to completely eliminate the subsequent effects; the area is too vast."

"Then we can only establish a global rapid response mechanism to clear out Honkai beasts wherever they appear—again, after the alliance is signed, we can lead this effort together."

Hera said this with an obviously disinterested expression.

She talked about joint leadership, but in reality, she just wanted to dump the responsibilities on Sigurd and Anti-Entropy, and at most assign some Valkyries to cooperate with Anti-Entropy's operations.

Not having to manage anything while still getting half the credit—Hera couldn't love this arrangement more.

<+>

Tn: If you want to see more chapter of this story, please go to my Ko-Fi1, just for $5 each month, you can read till the latest chapter.

Latest Chapter in Ko-Fi: Chapter 251: Transformation1

Link to the latest chapter: https://ko-fi.com/post/Chapter-251-Transformation-Z8Z41B2VD41

Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/hildegard1