In principle, it wasn't impossible for a Pathstrider to walk multiple Paths
Reality was never so black and white. Just as the Faction of Memory had the Annihilators who leaned towards Destruction, and the Faction of Abundance had the Denizens of Abundance like the Wingweavers
But dipping one's toes into a Path was one thing; delving deep into it was another.
On the scale of most lifeforms in the universe, the majority struggled to go deep into even a single Path. For individuals with long lifespans, the path of a Pathstrider itself became narrower and more arduous the deeper they went, making it difficult to venture into other Paths.
The Lord of Silence, Genius Society #4. In the vast timescale of her long life, the number 4 was proof enough of the immense age Polka Kakamond had lived through.
But even so, if someone in the past had told her that a person possessed the power of double-digit Paths simultaneously, with each power reaching the level of an Emanator, even Polka Kakamond would have scoffed.
Never mind the fact that the Aeons were not on good terms, making it impossible for a "man-made" entity like an Emanator to serve multiple masters. The sheer number of Paths, and the vast, opposing powers they represented, would have been enough to make the wielder understand the meaning of "physical explosion."
However, on this day, the day she was supposed to correct the errors of the universe's future, she instead witnessed something theoretically impossible in the new successor Marshal of the Xianzhou—and even more incredibly, this new Marshal was just a young girl not even a hundred years old.
"...You."
Struggling on the ground, a far cry from her former composure and the pride of a genius, there was only a desire for answers and confusion in the face of the unknown. Blood trickled from the corner of Polka Kakamond's mouth as she looked up at the young woman in green robes not far away.
"It's really annoying, but unfortunately, this body of mine has already been played into his shape by a certain bastard."
"Honestly, even now, I don't understand much of what I got from him. It's obviously very simple, but it's completely different from the knowledge I learned in the Xianzhou academy, which I could easily grasp. Well... in short, it was a very unwise choice to send your spirit into my body, Miss Genius."
Qingque rested a hand on her waist, looking down at the famous Lord of Silence.
To be honest, Polka Kakamond's pride was by no means baseless.
At the very least, having already forged a throne on a single Path and achieved the status of a Perfect Scholar, she had indeed gone further and was more powerful than most of the "mass-produced products" granted power by the Aeons.
Even Qingque, with her multiple Paths, would probably have a hard time gaining any advantage in a head-on battle against this genius.
But... Polka Kakamond chose the one path she absolutely should not have chosen—to enter her body.
Just as Polka Kakamond could, to a limited extent, know one's actions by calling their name, that kind of omniscient power was merely a matter of whether a certain someone was willing to do it or not.
For various reasons, he chose not to do so. But any object that came into contact with him, especially a body he had inhabited, would be naturally marked with his trace, even if neither party intended it.
Any attempt to enter a body that the man surnamed Jiang had used, if done without malicious intent, might be judged and shown mercy. But if you came with malice... then such people would directly experience his unrestrained violence.
Not to mention, it was very unfortunate that Miss Qingque's body still contained some captured "spoils of war." Although these spoils were ordinary from a material perspective, the very fact that they came from Jiang Qiao was their greatest specialty.
They were practically a direct extension of the man himself.
"Looks like they helped you."
"Pah!"
Seeing his arrival, Qingque's cheeks flushed red as she choked out a sound.
Who needed this kind of help?
If it hadn't been for the rush, getting caught red-handed by little Gui, she would have expelled all of this stuff long ago!
I haven't even settled the score with you yet! You knocked me out and just ran off! And I even got discovered by little Gui... Damn you!
Remembering how she had been bent over on the bed, babbling incoherently, Qingque felt a surge of shame and indignation.
But she quickly calmed down.
"What should we do with this person?"
"Let Firefly decide."
Jiang Qiao said so.
He didn't have many thoughts about Polka Kakamond. After all, if one set aside the fact that she was an enemy of Glamoth, although the Lord of Silence had killed many geniuses, it was just as she insisted—if knowledge exceeded its boundaries, it would lead to an unpredictable outcome.
Therefore, she had always acted as one facet of Nous, of "Erudition," in the universe, walking the Path she believed in.
In terms of ending the anti-organic war, Polka Kakamond was a hero. To Glamoth, she was an enemy. Of course, these identities probably meant little to Polka. For someone like her, neither "hero" nor "villain" was enough to summarize everything she had done.
Everything was for the sake of her beliefs and her path, just like the Aeons, who were difficult to judge by good or evil.
Her target was Glamoth, so it was only reasonable that her fate be decided by Glamoth.
"Right...!"
Qingque suddenly remembered something. Although Polka's invasion of her body had been brief, she had managed to glimpse the entirety of her plan.
Attacking the Xianzhou with the revived Ambrosial Arbor and Firmament Pine to divert the Alliance's attention was, as Polka had stated, just a small gift. Her real trump card, besides herself with the Omniscience Domain, was the Lord Ravager, Iron Tomb!
After the fall of Nanook, the Aeon of Destruction, the Antimatter Legion had become a scattered mess. The remaining Lord Ravagers had gone their separate ways, with only occasional sightings of Destruction's followers and supporters.
In this plot against Glamoth, Polka had deliberately schemed with Iron Tomb, and her intention was clear.
To use Iron Tomb to briefly revive the Anti-Organic Equation.
Although the Anti-Organic Equation had disappeared after the fall of Emperor Rupert, with part of it inherited by Emperor Rupert II, Screwllum, another part had fallen into the hands of Iron Tomb, and the Xianzhou's Aurumaton Gatekeepers... Iron Tomb possessed only a small fragment of the Anti-Organic Equation.
But who was Polka? She was the Perfect Scholar, a being who surpassed the Aeons, and she had even killed the Mechanical Emperor with her own hands.
With her deliberate assistance, she could completely help Iron Tomb revive the Anti-Organic Equation.
It could serve as both a bait and a bargaining chip to incite the latter to attack Glamoth. With the Anti-Organic Equation, the machine lifeforms, one of Glamoth's two pillars, would be manipulated and become a living force against Glamoth.
She had even secretly seized control of the Emperor Scepter system scattered throughout the universe.
She could incite a machine rebellion within Glamoth through Iron Tomb, while also holding the Scepter, a superweapon capable of destroying a large part of a star system in an instant. Plus, she herself was the Perfect Scholar, a being who surpassed Emanators... It could be said that under normal circumstances, if the Xianzhou Alliance had faced Polka alone, they would probably be preparing for their funeral by now.
"No matter, there's someone most suitable to deal with him."
As they spoke.
On the high platform of the Interstellar Arts Center.
"Screwllum, I didn't expect you to come too."
Herta, holding a parasol, looked at the machine lifeform dressed like a gentleman standing before her, somewhat surprised.
"I thought you wouldn't come to this kind of event."
"The Glamoth Empire and the machine lifeforms have a deep friendship. I personally hold a favorable view of it. After clearing up some misunderstandings, Screwllum and Glamoth also have a very close cooperative relationship. For such a grand occasion, it is natural to come."
"On the contrary, with your personality, you should be the type who dislikes this kind of excitement."
"Well, I was just accompanying Ruan Mei, but then I saw an interesting man. I'm very interested."
"Understood."
"By the way, you and Ruan Mei both started collaborating with Glamoth without saying a word? I had no idea."
"Correction: It's not just me and Ruan Mei. There's also Stephen. And it's said that Glamoth also has contact with Yu Qingtu."
"Huh?"
Herta's eyes widened.
If you excluded the ones who were rarely seen, and the one currently fighting Glamoth in the arena, didn't that mean Glamoth had contact with most of the living members of the Genius Society?
What about me?
Although she wasn't the type to care about empty fame, as a renowned genius, she was the type to be sought after for collaboration. But... the thought that almost all the other Genius Society members, including her own partners, had ties with Glamoth, while she was the only one left in the dark, Herta suddenly felt a sense of imbalance, like being excluded from an exclusive party.
"Glamoth once had an intention to cooperate with you, but you didn't reply, so Glamoth gave up the idea."
"I guess it's because you leave all these things to that station director, so you never ask about them, right?"
"..."
Herta's expression froze, then she coughed a couple of times. "Ahem... is that so? I think I remember something like that. You all came, hmm... it seems there's still value in cooperation. I'll give it some thought."
"Ugh... anyway, need a hand? Screwllum."
"Unfortunately, he already has a helper." A young girl's voice sounded beside her, and then a silver-gray-haired girl in a cool, form-fitting outfit walked out, chewing on bubblegum, and calmly refused for Screwllum.
Without a doubt, it was Miss Silver Wolf.
As the commander of Glamoth's Iron Cavalry, although she had many complaints about the job, she couldn't drop the ball at a critical moment.
She glanced at Herta with a slightly provocative look.
"Alright, Miss Herta of the Herta Space Station, please don't interfere with our work. Otherwise, even a genius can be arrested for obstructing official business."
Herta gritted her teeth.
What was this feeling?
As a genius, she shouldn't be angry with a little brat like this, but for some reason, the moment she saw her, a nameless fire ignited, and she couldn't control her mouth.
She subconsciously wanted to unleash her venomous tongue, but with Ruan Mei and Screwllum present, for the sake of her image, Miss Herta ultimately swallowed her pride and sat down in a nearby seat, drinking tea. Just then, Ruan Mei took out a plate of pastries from her portable spatial container. The moment she saw the pastries, the angry Miss Herta's mood instantly improved.
You're the best, my dear sister!
She happily reached out for them, but... her hand met empty air.
"?"
As Herta watched in confusion, Ruan Mei walked away with the pastries towards a certain direction. Looking closely—yes, it was that damn man.
"Would you like to try some pastries I made?"
Standing beside him, Ruan Mei held out the plate of pastries, her expression still cool, but her tone held a gentle inquiry, like a good wife.
"Hmm?" After dealing with the matter of Polka Kakamond, Jiang Qiao, who was about to check on Silver Wolf's side, was a bit surprised by the pastries offered by the classical beauty before him. He took one and tasted it, politely saying,
"Thank you."
"It's delicious."
It wasn't laced with anything, unlike the one she gave a certain little gray-haired girl.
This was probably because she knew that adding such things would be useless, right?
So, she just needed to get closer!
Miss Ruan Mei was relentless in her pursuit of her experimental material.
And Herta... who's Herta?
At the side...
Watching her favorite pastries being carried away by her best friend to feed a certain someone, the once gratified Miss Herta sat there, stunned, her pointed hat still on her head.