Chapter 389: Élisée’s Declaration of War
After hearing the message coming from ahead, Xiaoquan was utterly dumbfounded.
No way — why on earth was Élisée appearing here?
She must have seen wrong, surely she had seen wrong.
Élisée of all people should be over there dealing with the Rebirth Empire, so how could she be coming after her?
Xiaoquan double‑, even triple‑checked, even sent people forward to verify, and every returned report confirmed that the ambusher was Élisée.
In that instant, she felt as though someone had stripped her naked in mid‑winter and thrown her into an ice pit — her whole being went cold right there and then.
A person’s name, just like the cast of a tree’s shadow.
Élisée was the one said to have eliminated the Supreme God’s disciples and even caused Emperor Ignaz a headache.
And now she was barreling towards them…
Xiaoquan’s fear of Élisée went deeper still.
She had fought Élisée once; at that time Élisée had just achieved Transcendent rank, and yet Xiaoquan was still beaten so badly she left with psychological scars.
Even though many years had passed, even though she now served as the President of Titan Industries, the moment the name Élisée was mentioned, she instinctively trembled.
How cruel!
Xiaoquan’s mind collapsed.
A perfectly fine opportunity for her to rise, how could it turn out like this?
It was Élisée’s fault — all of it Élisée’s fault. Right. And this world too, why did it have to pick on her!
Xiaoquan cursed everything inside her heart.
Seeing her hesitate, Thunder Blade and the others next to her couldn’t help asking.
“President, what shall we do next?”
Do what?
Of course, we fight that twisted pervert Élisée to the death!
Xiaoquan opened her mouth, but ultimately couldn’t bring herself to say it — because she couldn’t think of any way she could win against Élisée.
“We’ll ask the Original Pact for assistance… Right, urge the Original Pact to come help us, ask Emperor Ignaz to rescue us!”
Suddenly Xiaoquan thought of a counter‑move.
But fate did not comply.
By the time word of the Rebirth Empire’s attack spread, Emperor Ignaz had already turned towards the Rebirth Empire — he simply had no time left to rescue Titan Industries.
“I’ll dispatch the Child of Prophecy there immediately, but even at best it’ll still take a few hours. You all must hold on during these hours.”
Hold on?!
Who the hell could hold on under Élisée’s unrelenting assault for several hours?
“What do you all think?”
Xiaoquan anxiously looked toward the others on the bridge.
One person said, “I don’t necessarily think Élisée is here to trouble us. Perhaps we should first ask…”
“Something’s wrong — the vanguard has already been crushed by Élisée, and now she’s leading the Undying straight toward the flagship!”
The President’s assistant’s sudden interruption silenced the one who’d spoken.
If this wasn’t coming for trouble, what else was it?
Oh well.
Better run away fast.
Forget about the Sixth Great Cathedral of the Apostolic Holy City — Xiaoquan no longer even craved it.
She immediately ordered the flagship to turn around.
“I’ll notify the others right away…”
The President’s assistant’s voice was cut off mid‑sentence by Xiaoquan.
“No need to notify the others — let them keep moving forward.”
“?”
In an instant, a sea of question‑marks appeared on the bridge of the flagship.
Everyone there wasn’t a fool — of course they understood what Xiaoquan really meant.
This woman was clearly planning to leave them behind, hold everyone else off, to buy herself time to flee!
Damn — she was really not human.
She’d done this kind of thing even before becoming President. And now that she was President, she was still doing such despicable things!
So much for loudly proclaiming to uncover Élisée’s hiding place — now that Élisée appeared, she wasn’t happy.
Thunder Blade and the others were so furious their hair nearly stood on end.
Especially Thunder Blade — he was already planning to secretly send Élisée a message, urging her to come deal with Xiaoquan once and for all — even if Élisée took him too, or Emperor Ignaz punished him later, he didn’t care.
But just before he could act, the flagship’s emergency alarms blared.
“Warning! Alert! The ship has been infiltrated! Warning! Alert!…”
“Élisée! She is requesting communication!”
The mechanic on the ship turned his head, looking at Xiaoquan with an anxious expression.
Xiaoquan’s body trembled violently.
A communication?
If she had her choice, of course she’d rather not speak with Élisée — she didn’t even want to look at her.
Yet now there was no choice — Élisée had come knocking, meaning her plan to flee had been seen right through.
So…
Xiaoquan’s face turned pale, her lips trembled, and she cast a pleading glance toward Thunder Blade and the others.
She hoped they’d step forward, go intercept, but at this moment no one met her eye.
With the alarms growing ever louder, and the chaos ahead of the fleet mounting, Xiaoquan could only grit her teeth and give a solution she’d just thought up.
“How about… we surrender?”
This time, still no one in the ship spoke.
But someone — no one knew who — manipulated the system, allowing Élisée to connect directly into the ship’s comm system.
And thus.
Swish!
Élisée’s figure appeared out of thin air before Xiaoquan.
“Ah!”
Even Transcendent‑rank Xiaoquan nearly collapsed to the ground from fright.
“I heard you want to surrender to me?”
Élisée looked at Xiaoquan with a smile.
“I…”
It took Xiaoquan a long moment to finally recover. She quickly nodded toward Élisée.
“Yes, yes, Élisée Saintess, that’s right. We are indeed now standing on Emperor Ignaz’s side, and in recent times we did help him a lot. We even came into conflict with you, but — we were forced into it!”
Credit to Xiaoquan: her acting was pretty decent.
Though not up to Élisée’s level, it could still be considered gold‑award grade.
She said the words with a bitter‑helmed expression of helplessness that was definitely well performed.
“Emperor Ignaz’s strength is so overwhelming, and he also had the Original Pact and the Rebirth Empire alongside him. If we had chosen to resist to the end, by now we’d all probably be dead, and Titan Industries would have already been wiped out by the Rebirth Empire. Considering the larger picture, I had no choice but to give the order to surrender. In fact, from the start we wanted to contact you, but we simply didn’t know where you were, so… sigh.”
As Xiaoquan spoke, she sighed, and her eyes kept stealing glances at the others’ reactions.
But the men standing before her all had acting chops — from their expressions alone, Xiaoquan couldn’t tell what they were thinking.
What were they thinking?
Of course they were cursing!
No one believed Xiaoquan’s performance.
Really — lady, where’s your face?
Many in Titan Industries were forced into siding with Emperor Ignaz, but you?
You're clearly the fastest to jump ship.
Your grandfather died, and immediately you emerged high‑profile to join Emperor Ignaz. And you dare to say you were forced?
Cut the illusions — your family died off leaving only you alone.
If you didn’t want to join, you could’ve just run to Élisée earlier.
Couldn’t contact Élisée? You couldn’t contact one of Élisée’s Undying either?
Starborn indeed — you even had the nerve to point at Élisée for not being present. If she had been in Titan Industries, she might’ve been sold out by you to Emperor Ignaz as your own stepping‑stone.
Xiaoquan remained wholly unaware of what those around her were truly thinking. She kept up the performance.
“Élisée Saintess, I’m not saying this to clear myself of any guilt. No matter what, I am the one to blame. I’m just an incapable new President of Titan Industries. If I had strength like yours or Ignaz’s, how could I have let Titan Industries fall to this point?”
Xiaoquan’s voice had started to choke.
“Sorry… I brought up my grandfather, who died unjustly. He treated me well when he was alive, but I didn’t know how to cherish it back then. Only after he passed did I realize how foolish I was. If he were still alive, with his wisdom, with his relationship with you, things would never have gotten this bad.”
“Élisée Saintess, I dare not ask for your forgiveness. Do what you will with me. But please… spare the others. They are innocent. I am the President — they were only following my orders.”
Xiaoquan looked passionately at the virtual projection of Élisée before her.
At this moment, she had completely immersed herself in the role — as if her story were the truth, as if she were really a devoted heir to her grandfather’s will, someone who had sacrificed her dignity for the sake of Titan Industries.
To those who didn’t know the truth, they might really be swayed by her and choose to forgive.
No.
She must not be allowed to succeed!
Thunder Blade’s forehead veins throbbed with fury.
If Xiaoquan had made up some other excuse, maybe he could tolerate it. But dragging in Drano, trying to use Drano’s relationship with Élisée to win mercy — that was something he couldn’t accept.
Drano’s death was far too suspicious.
The only one who could’ve known his movements and led the killer to him had to be someone close.
To Thunder Blade, the biggest suspect was Xiaoquan.
After all, she was the one who stood to gain the most from the whole incident.
Unfortunately, he had no proof. All the evidence vanished with the deaths of Drano and his companions.
“Élisée Saintess.”
Thunder Blade stepped forward, calling out to Élisée.
He had already thought of how to expose Xiaoquan’s false façade.
All he needed was a single opening — wasn’t there a recent wave of online claims accusing Élisée of being a “false saintess, true scoundrel”? Most of those rumors had been spread by Xiaoquan’s subordinates on her orders.
What are you trying to do?!
Xiaoquan’s face turned pale in an instant.
Thunder Blade hadn’t spoken up until now, and now suddenly he was stepping out? It was obvious he wanted to ruin her game.
If looks could kill a Transcendent, Thunder Blade would’ve been riddled with holes by now.
But to Xiaoquan’s great relief, Élisée unexpectedly interrupted him.
“Whatever you have to say, save it. I want to talk with Xiaoquan first.”
Xiaoquan smiled.
Thunder Blade’s face darkened.
Wait — what?
“What I have to say is very impor—”
“I know. That’s why it can wait.”
Élisée completely ignored Thunder Blade.
Cold sweat poured down Thunder Blade’s forehead. Xiaoquan peeked at him from the corner of her eye.
Hah.
Once this crisis is over, you’re done for.
Then, Xiaoquan raised her head and looked at Élisée. “Élisée Saintess, do what you must.”
Élisée replied, “Looks like you’ve made peace with dying.”
Xiaoquan responded with righteous valor: “That’s right.”
Élisée sighed. “Honestly, I didn’t want things to come to this. But since you’ve said so much… how could I deny your wish? Xiaoquan, go reunite with your family in peace.”
As soon as the words fell, everyone on the bridge was stunned.
“Huh?”
Wait… this wasn’t the direction things were supposed to go.
No one reacted more strongly than Xiaoquan. She opened her mouth to protest, but Élisée gave her no chance.
Countless shadowy hands emerged from the surrounding space and instantly bound Xiaoquan. One of the hands even covered her mouth, giving her no chance to scream.
The next second, spatial rifts tore open before and behind her.
A torrent of Ethereal Realm Particles surged from the front, enhanced with the effects of True Adjudication, and slammed heavily into Xiaoquan’s abdomen, then burst out through the rift behind her.
Xiaoquan was an illusionist — in terms of fragility, she was on par with a Psionic Prayer-user. There was no way she could withstand a charged attack from Élisée, whose normal Inspiration alone exceeded sixty thousand.
Swoosh——
In almost an instant, Xiaoquan’s torso was consumed by the Ethereal Realm Particles.
By the time those nearby recovered from their shock, Xiaoquan had already lost all signs of life.
The remains of her body fell to the floor, like discarded scraps of cloth.
Élisée looked down at her coldly.
Tch.
Who were you trying to fool? I’m Élisée — I’m running with hacks. You think you could deceive me?
Favorability score minus eighty-something, and you’re still pretending? Please.
“You you you you…”
A few of Xiaoquan’s close aides in the bridge raised their fingers at Élisée but couldn’t utter a complete sentence.
They wanted to say “Aren’t you a Saintess? How could you strike so decisively?” — but none of them dared to say it aloud. What if Élisée decided to send them to accompany Xiaoquan?
The first to step up and stabilize the situation was Thunder Blade.
He threw himself over Xiaoquan’s corpse. “President… ah, President, how could you be so foolish!”
He shouted with exaggerated grief — but inwardly, he was already overjoyed.
Élisée looked down at Thunder Blade for a moment but made no move.
After all, the only person she came here to kill was Xiaoquan. Once she saw that Thunder Blade and the others held a positive favorability toward her, she had no reason to act.
Of course, she had no intention of bringing Thunder Blade and the others to the Silent Alliance either.
First, she feared there might be a spy among them.
Just because someone had positive favorability didn’t mean they couldn’t be a mole.
Second, leaving Thunder Blade and the others on Ignaz’s side might actually be a good thing. If Élisée gained the upper hand, they might defect on their own to turn against Ignaz.
That would be far more effective than her accepting them now and sending them out again.
Just as Élisée was considering her next move, the interior of the ship suddenly began to flicker.
In the next moment, a familiar figure emerged inside the ship.
It was a three-dimensional projection of the Child of Prophecy.
“Élisée!”
Élisée couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a step too late.”
The Child of Prophecy’s chest heaved violently.
This time… Élisée had really outplayed them.
He’d used every method he could think of, yet still couldn’t figure out how Élisée had managed to send the Undying to the Empire’s capital planet.
Élisée was like a mist — completely inscrutable.
Élisée continued, “Rather than waste time arguing with me, you’d best figure out how to rescue the Empire’s capital star. Once it falls, I’d love to see how Ignaz will save face.”
The Child of Prophecy gritted his teeth. “That’s none of your concern. The Empire’s capital star will not fall. But you — though you’re hiding well now, your death is near. Even the Cosmic Treasure that protects your soul won’t save you.”
Élisée was silent for a while. Then she said:
“Truth is, we didn’t have to come to this. Both I and your Original Pact wanted to break the destiny this universe was forced into. I never struck you first — it was you who insisted on targeting me, claiming my existence threatened the world.”
“You all speak so nobly, so self-righteously. But is that really true? You — do you have no selfish motives? And even if you don’t, what about the Fate-Weaver? And even if he doesn’t — what about Ignaz?”
“Ignaz wants to build a new order. Is it really for all the civilizations he knows — and doesn’t know? Or is it just so he can become the Lord of Order and reign eternally above all?”
“You know very well, even if Ignaz succeeds in creating this new order, he can’t guarantee no one of my power will emerge again.”
“This universe is vast, limitless — the dimensional realms it contains are countless. Ignaz’s so-called new order could never truly rule the entire cosmos. From the start, his path was never the right one.”
The Child of Prophecy narrowed his eyes. “Are you saying all this because you want peace?”
“Peace? Of course not. I’m formally declaring war on you. Our paths are different — and we can never accept each other’s. So let’s settle this with strength. You have your road, I have mine. And the road I choose is — if I must die, then let it be in the flames of that road.”
Élisée smiled, raised her right hand, and extended three fingers.
“Three hundred sunsets from now — I will personally bring you death!”
She left those words behind and vanished.
In the bridge of Titan Industries’ flagship, silence fell — one could hear a pin drop.
The Child of Prophecy wanted to say something, but in the end, just like Élisée, he disappeared in silence.
He had to bring Élisée’s declaration of war back — to the Fate-Weaver and to Ignaz.