Chapter 430

""For Her Majesty the Empress.""

The mechanical echo still trembled in the gun smoke, and Liuying's fingertip had already pressed that crimson button.

The next second, the sky was torn apart in an instant——

A brilliant pillar of light fell from the horizon, striking precisely at the coordinate's center.

That pillar of light was too bright—bright enough to illuminate the dark red sky, bright enough that the mother worm's thick carapace turned transparent, burned, and turned to ash within a thousandth of a second, not even having time to emit its dying buzz.

Then came silence.

An absolute, all-consuming silence.

The world turned white. The shock wave expanded spherically; Liuying's mecha was pulverized to dust the instant it touched that light, and when the light fully engulfed her, the mother worm's mountain‑sized body had already vanished, countless swarms burned like dry leaves, leaving not even ash.

Darkness swallowed her.

The swarm's severed limbs and shattered armor turned to dust, falling upon the stars, drifting down like a silent snowfall across the universe.

——

Teyvat.

Liuyun, that explosion just now……

Cough cough, don't ask. This immortal can't pull that off. Liuyun cleared his throat, "This explosion is dozens of times stronger than the blast that destroyed the Vortex Archon and set off the Jade Chamber…… no, maybe even a hundred times stronger; one strike could probably level all of Liyue."

One strike to level all of Liyue… I doubt even the Emperor could do that.

The True Monarch of Carving Moon and Building Yang smirked, fortunate that this blast can exterminate the mother worm; if even this couldn't wipe out the swarm, then one day when the insects overrun the Teyvat continent, they'd have no means of resistance.

Thinking of this, Carving Moon couldn't help but look at the woman across the table: "Liuyun, you said you could imitate that mecha, right? We're all waiting—what if the swarm attacks one day, Liyue might have to rely on you to save it."

Liuyun nearly spat out her tea: "You two old fogeys…… are you trying to push all the responsibility onto this immortal? Hmph… I'm not doing that."

——

Liuying opened her eyes in the dead silence.

The first to return was her sense of smell——the scent of burnt flesh, of worms and corpses, the pungent odor of melting metal.

Her vision gradually cleared; she shakily pushed herself up. Wherever she looked, the ground was littered with twisted wreckage. The swarm's carapaces lay scattered like broken pottery, and occasionally she could see half‑segments still burning, twitching.

"I… died?"

Gazing upon the lifeless battlefield, the girl's eyes held nothing but a dead‑gray emptiness.

"Who… died?"

In the vast white mist, a frail figure staggered forward, murmuring constantly: "Born to fight… is the glory of the Glamer Iron Knights……"

"For… Her Majesty the Empress……"

As if deprived of her last support, the girl collapsed powerlessly to her knees, head bowed, her voice fading like a thread.

She died.

……

In the transparent culture vat, she was immersed in cold artificial amniotic fluid, wrapped in a white egg.

The container swayed; she floated, using instinct to feel the cold, soft edge. She pressed herself against the wall, curled in the corner, as if that would let her body sense more warmth.

She heard a massive object crash, metal clanking, hurried footsteps echoing now and then, and the culture vat began to shake……

"Warriors, it's time to wake up……"

"For… Her Majesty the Empress……"

A pair of mechanical arms lifted her; blinding light tore the world apart. She forgot to cry.

——

Absolute Zone Zero.

They are replicas.

Looking at the countless identical faces in the culture tank, Anbi almost blurted out instinctively.

"Replicas? That's something only sci‑fi movies have, right?" Nike tilted her head, "Anbi, do you know much about replication?"

"Yeah." Anbi nodded, fiddling with the white braid by her cheek, "The unit I was in originally was all replicas, cloned from the prototype's DNA; our squad…… possibly the biggest trait is just a head of similar white hair."

Maoyou leaned in, sizing up Anbi's hair while gazing skyward: "Huh? You and Liuying both have white hair, Anbi—maybe you're from the same prototype!"

"Cut it out, Maoyou, Anbi doesn't have that fatal entropy syndrome." Nike paused, "Speaking of which, Anbi, why would they base everything on a single prototype? If that prototype had some fatal defect, wouldn't all its clones be doomed?"

"As long as the prototype is physically excellent, that's enough. The advantage of replicas lies in their stable physiques and huge numbers, making them convenient consumables on the battlefield. So we don't need to worry about later illnesses… most replicas don't live long enough to reach that point."

"Consumables?!" Nike's fur bristled at those words, "Hey! Replicas are lives too! Don't they resist or run away?"

"Running away……"

Anbi murmured the word repeatedly; if it weren't for Nicole picking her up, she might still not understand the meaning of these two words even now. Initially, within the Silver Army, they had only received "orders"—complete, advance, retreat, cover; even if ordered to kill herself on the spot, she would have obeyed, but there was never an "order to flee".

They were weapons; weapons don't need to think…… She also only gradually understood what the self is after meeting Nicole.

So, she could well understand Liuying; what she needs most right now is to know a Nicole of her own.

——

""Feeling honored about one's own birth...""

""For Her Majesty the Empress...""

Liuying opened her eyes, but could not see the person speaking.

She rose, passed through the thick curtains, and advanced deep into the palace. She walked past the desolate vast garden, went through the huge insect carcasses, passed through one incubation device after another… Finally, she entered the splendid council hall, where a woman with a blurred face sat on the throne, letting her hands droop wearily.

""Don't raise your head.""

Someone walked up to her and spoke softly. That person had a number plate on them reading AR-26702. As she was confused, she received her own number: AR-26710.

""Come… my child…""

A distant voice came from deep within her mind, and an inexplicable fervor overwhelmed the girl's emotions.

She walked up to the Empress, knelt, and kissed the Empress's fingertip.

The Empress's hand was as cold as ice, making her feel a brief sense of bewilderment amidst the frenzy.

"Burn wildly, for the future of Glamour..."

"For Her Majesty the Empress..."