Zepplin’s eyes lit up as he looked at the blueprints. “If we can build these, we’ll be invincible.”
Xiao Xun had Aries practice spatial barrier magic. He then turned to Zepplin. “I have something to tell you.”
“Your Highness, please speak.”
“Secretly set up an underground factory to produce the Tri-phase Bombs. Produce as many as you can, in whatever quantities you can manage.”
Zepplin readily agreed. “No problem.”
He then asked, “Why the secrecy?”
“As a precaution. Send reliable people—and I mean truly reliable, trustworthy—to bury these Tri-phase Bombs near volcanoes and in the highlands of the Atlantis continent. If Nero destroys this world, then we all go down together. If Nero arrives but doesn’t destroy the world, then you detonate these Tri-phase Bombs simultaneously.”
Zepplin stood up in shock. “Why would we do that?”
“It’s called ‘better to be shattered jade than intact tile.’ Ideally, we can take Nero down with us.”
Zepplin’s eyes darted. “I understand, Your Highness. I’ll begin preparations as quickly as possible.”
Xiao Xun nodded, preparing to leave.
Zepplin asked coldly, “Does His Majesty know about this?”
“His Majesty doesn’t even know you developed the Tri-phase Bombs. If she knew, the underground pit would likely be the fate of your people.”
Xiao Xun’s voice was gentle, but it struck Zepplin like a thunderclap. “Yes.”
Zepplin respectfully agreed and began to organize the blueprints.
Xiao Xun handed the blueprints for the underground world to Bortu. “This will be a great effort for you. I hope you and your people can complete it as soon as possible.”
Bortu waved his hand. “It’s nothing. I never thought I’d see the sunlight again, breathe fresh air, or eat delicious food. It’s all thanks to you!”
“No thanks are necessary. Your work is the most arduous, and the deadline is the most pressing. If Nero arrives and no one can stop him, the underground world will be our last refuge.”
“Alright, I understand.”
After finishing these matters, Xiao Xun had Aries bring him, the remaining eleven Star Envoys, and Tiesaihou back to the plaza of the Twelve Palaces of Time.
Tiesaihou looked around with great curiosity.
Xiao Xun asked everyone, “When I first came here, you said I could call you all by name. That the Divine Emperor could do so, according to your teacher.”
The twelve responded in unison, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Xiao Xun nodded. “What were your teacher’s exact words?”
Aries told Xiao Xun, “Teacher said the Oracle told him this world would face an unstoppable disaster, and only the Divine Emperor could save all beings. The Divine Emperor would appear after his death, and he could accurately call out everyone’s name.”
Seeing Aries had no more to say, Xiao Xun asked, “Is that all?”
The crowd nodded simultaneously. “Yes.”
Xiao Xun sighed. “We’ve been together for so long, and you’ve always worn robes and masks. I haven’t seen what you all look like. Today, could you all remove your masks? The end of the world is coming. Whether you’re ugly or belong to another race, let’s all show our true faces, shall we?”
At Xiao Xun’s words, everyone uniformly pulled down their masks, revealing their true appearances.
They were all handsome men and beautiful women. Xiao Xun had seen Aries’s face, but he hadn’t expected Scorpio and Virgo to be even more beautiful.
Pisces, Aquarius, and Capricorn were women. The rest were men.
Xiao Xun nodded. “This isn’t bad at all!”
The twelve looked at Xiao Xun with expressionless faces.
“Perhaps we cannot overcome this catastrophe. No matter how we fight, we have no advantage. But I refuse to wait for death. If technology cannot solve our current problems, can we perhaps rely on divine power?”
Seeing that no one else spoke, Tiesaihou asked Xiao Xun, “Your Highness, what should we do now?”
“As you all know, I am a Chaos Mage. But right now, besides absorbing your abilities and reflecting them, I have no other methods. I want to know, how can I gain the ability to cast magic at will, like you all?”
Everyone exchanged glances. Tiesaihou also shook his head. “Since magic first existed, everyone has comprehended it through talent or their inherent attributes. There’s no known method for someone to learn magic on their own. Otherwise, I’d be using telekinesis along with fire magic, wouldn’t that be cool?”
Xiao Xun took a deep breath. “Let’s put this matter aside for now. Everyone return to the capital. Let’s see if there’s anything else we can do.”
Aries nodded and used spatial magic to take everyone back to the capital of Saint Roman.
Xiao Xun went to the Fire Shield Divine King’s Palace. Selerpese wasn’t there, nor was she in the castle.
Selerpese’s captain of the guard told Xiao Xun, “Your Highness, His Majesty might be at the Elemental Temple.”
Xiao Xun had Aries take him to the Elemental Temple. It was his second time there.
Looking at the solemn statues of the Seven Archmages, Selerpese was praying devoutly. Hearing the movement, she turned to look.
“Why are you here?”
Xiao Xun smiled. “I came to see my new wife. I looked everywhere and couldn’t find you. I missed you terribly. After all, it’s our first day of marriage, and you’ve left me to come here alone. Isn’t that inappropriate!”
Selerpese looked up at the massive statues. “I didn’t expect the Saint Door Dynasty to fall after only two generations. It seems this is destiny.”
“Who says so? With you here, ten thousand generations will not fall.”
“Nero’s army is almost here. Stop speaking such empty words.”
Xiao Xun encouraged her. “How can this be empty words? Just as you said, if he comes, we’ll fight him. We’ll fight wherever there’s a place to fight.”
“That’s impossible. Be realistic. With our current strength, we can’t possibly build effective resistance weapons in a short time. Even if we did, personnel training and equipment wouldn’t be ready in time.”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I don’t believe that we, on the side of justice, cannot defeat evil.”
“Justice defeats evil? Those are fairy tales. Since the dawn of civilization, how many planets has Nero destroyed? Were those planets more evil than Nero?”
Xiao Xun frowned. “At worst, we’ll fight to the bitter end. I refuse to believe otherwise.”
Leaving the Elemental Temple, Xiao Xun and Selerpese returned to the castle. After dinner, they went to the bedroom.
Xiao Xun gently held Mu Jiahe. Mu Jiahe blinked and looked at him very seriously. “Are you regretting being with me?”
“I don’t regret it. In fact, I feel very fortunate. Without you, I’d be a useless shut-in, with no such amazing encounters.”
“But in your original world, you could have lived a peaceful life, an carefree ordinary person. Yet you followed me, your hair has turned quite white, and you’ve sustained many injuries.”
“What of it? I’m happy to.”
Mu Jiahe flipped over and straddled Xiao Xun. “I hope you’ll always remember me.”
Xiao Xun frowned. “What are you saying? We’re going to spend our lives together, forever. Even if the world is destroyed tomorrow, I hope you are the only one by my side.”