IW: Chapter 259 - War Breaks Out! Bai Ye: You want me to submit? Are you worthy?
"We were originally preparing to withdraw our forces entirely, but then we learned of your existence through Hexi."
The moment they sat down, Duke Hofman completely bypassed any polite formalities and went straight to the heart of the matter.
In truth, after his recent interactions with the palace, Hua Ye had left Hofman with a profound sense of unease. The Angel King was a man who said one thing to your face while weaving an entirely different net behind your back. Coupled with the volatile string of incidents involving Su Ma Li, Bai Ye, and Hexi, Hofman had achieved a grim realization: Hua Ye was terrifyingly adept at playing the patient predator. The only reason the tyrant was speaking so amiably right now was because the current military disparity between the royal court and the regional lords hadn't yet tipped entirely in his favor.
Before this clandestine meeting with Bai Ye, Hofman had actually met with Hexi on two separate occasions.
During their first secret encounter, Hexi had laid bare the true extent of Hua Ye's extreme, unhinged hedonism and his toxic obsessions. That revelation made it glaringly obvious to Hofman that the King would never willingly surrender his designs on Kaisha. More alarming, however, was the intelligence that the royal researchers were on the precipice of a massive technological breakthrough. If their genetic experiments stabilized, every feudal lord in the Angel Nebula would be in mortal peril. After all, Hua Ye's ultimate ambition had always been absolute, centralized unification.
During their second meeting, Hexi had acted as a direct messenger for Bai Ye. She informed Hofman that their faction had already successfully reverse-engineered and stabilized the Generation 0.5 Divine Body technology, alongside several other advanced genetic frameworks.
In short, they had the exact leverage needed to even the playing field.
It was the weight of those two covert meetings that ultimately convinced Hofman to agree to an alliance, though only after thoroughly consulting Kaisha. Although she was still young, Kaisha was already radiating a brilliant, formidable intellect. Because Hofman fully intended to groom her as his sole successor, he had made it a habit to run every major geopolitical decision by her first. Over the years, her tactical insights had proven so flawless that her father rarely acted without her counsel.
Kaisha's endorsement of the alliance was born from pure pragmatism: Hua Ye's regime was a rotting structure, and she refused to let her family be buried under its inevitable collapse.
"The honor is entirely mine. It is a true pleasure to finally meet you both, Duke Hofman, Lady Kaisha," Bai Ye said smoothly, offering a respectful nod.
His gaze lingered intentionally on Kaisha. Looking at her now, he found it fascinating to observe the future Holy Kaisa, the undisputed Queen of Angels. At this current point in the timeline, she lacked the razor-sharp, absolute majesty she would wield centuries later in the anime. The traumatic crucibles that would forge her into an unyielding arbiter of justice hadn't yet transpired. Instead, her formidable aura was softened by a touch of youthful gentleness and innocence.
Catching Bai Ye's analytical gaze, Kaisha didn't shrink back. She offered a composed, elegant nod of her own, signaling her baseline goodwill toward the mysterious foreign strategist.
Valoran Bai Ye: [Brothers, the Angel Nebula arc is officially moving! I've successfully linked up with Hofman and a young Kaisha. We are officially dropping Generation 0.5 Divine Body tech into the rebel faction to disrupt Hua Ye's timeline.]
Inuyasha Bai Ye: [Good timing. I'm currently staring down Seimei's Undead Legion in the middle of a darkened Heian-kyō. Multi-tasking across dimensions is going to be wild today. Keep your vanguard sharp!]
"How about we discuss serious matters?"
He Xi didn't want to see the two of them praising each other here; they still needed to go back later.
Although Bai Ye's previous spatial wormhole ability made it very convenient to come directly, even the angels monitoring outside didn't notice.
But this time, if they could confirm it, it would be best not to arouse any suspicion from the other party, even a little.
"Alright, in that case, I'll get straight to the point. Have you truly mastered the 0.5 Generation Divine Body technology?"
Hoffman also wanted to speak directly, but he wasn't very familiar with Bai Ye yet.
So, of course, he couldn't say it.
But since He Xi had spoken, Hoffman directly asked.
"Yes, I am currently a 0.5 Generation Divine Body. I provided the research data, and He Xi helped me with it. This technology is already perfect; as long as there is enough energy, it can be mass-produced."
"Can I try it?"
Hoffman wanted to try this Divine Body.
After all, this thing had always been just a concept and had never appeared before.
"You can. How do you want to test it?"
"I'll do it."
Hoffman was no longer in his prime.
Although Kaisha's strength wasn't particularly formidable, she could still give it a try.
"Is that alright?"
Since it was a casual spar, Hoffman was at ease. He glanced at Kaisha, and seeing that she had no problem, he turned back to Bai Ye and asked.
Can he?
"Of course, you can."
After Bai Ye agreed.
The two of them took their stances.
Although Kaisha was much weaker than him, Bai Ye still didn't let his guard down; this was also giving Kaisha the utmost respect.
"I'm coming."
After Kaisha finished speaking, she raised the longsword in her hand and charged towards Bai Ye.
Combat in this era was more like ancient soldiers fighting, because most people were essentially ordinary humans, without even Divine Bodies.
The fighting style was very primitive.
"Your strength is too weak."
Bai Ye drew his longsword to block Kaisha's attack, using some force in his hand, directly flicking the longsword out of Kaisha's hand, and her.
He didn't use any other abilities; the sheer physical strength of his body was enough to overwhelm Kaisha.
"Is this the power of a 0.5 Generation Divine Body?!"
A hint of shock flashed in Kaisha and Hoffman's eyes. In Hoffman's opinion, Kaisha was already very strong.
After all, she was trained by him since childhood.
But when facing Bai Ye, Kaisha was as weak as an infant facing an adult, completely unable to fight back.
"No, the 0.5 Generation Divine Body isn't that powerful. This is my own inherent strength."
"What do you want to do?!"
Hoffman's breathing was a little ragged; he had already witnessed Bai Ye's strength.
"Let's overthrow Hua Ye, directly drive these angels away, and then establish a new order."
"Then what do you want?!"
Hoffman didn't understand why Bai Ye wanted to do this.
Because no matter how you looked at it, Bai Ye had no reason to do so.
"I won't tell you any grand words. I want you to establish a technology research institute after overthrowing Hua Ye. This technology research institute will be directly under me, and you cannot govern it, including the resources I need and these things.
The personnel of this research institute will be chosen by me, and it's also possible that people will be selected from among your angels. As a benefit, I will selectively provide you with a portion of the technology from here."
Bai Ye did not want to portray himself as a saint.
This was what Bai Ye wanted most.
It's similar to the conditions Super God Academy proposed when they first came to Angel Nebula.
The goal was to take root here and conduct research.
He had already decided to take the path of technological godhood, so researching technology definitely required a stable environment.
If he kept hiding, he wouldn't be able to research anything at all.
Moreover, he himself didn't have much research capability.
The main thing was to bind He Xi and Liang Bing.
Anyway, Bai Ye would not let Karl and the Super God Academy people lead Liang Bing astray again.
Having He Xi and Liang Bing research for him together was what Bai Ye felt was best at the moment.
And Bai Ye's condition was even more excessive.
Because resources and such still needed to be provided by the angels, and this stuff would be given according to Bai Ye's mood.
Looking at it this way, the conditions Bai Ye proposed were actually quite terrifying. At least Super God Academy did their own research, but Bai Ye even wanted to use their people for research.
This was tantamount to an existence that transcended Angel civilization.
And it was only possible at this time.
If it were during Kaisha's era, Kaisha would absolutely not agree to this matter.
Once they agreed now, the angels' lifeline would essentially be completely seized by Bai Ye.
Because in this world, technology is the strongest; only by mastering core technology can you be the strongest.
Listening to Bai Ye's conditions, Hoffman, Kaisha, and He Xi were all stunned.
He Xi also didn't expect Bai Ye's condition to be this.
"So you chose to rebel because Hua Ye wouldn't give you these permissions?"
Kaisha looked at Bai Ye and asked a question.
She felt this condition was very excessive.
"No, I simply don't recognize him. Besides, he always thought we were cooperating, but we never were. I want a stable environment, and I don't want to see a tyrannical and mentally unstable guy hindering my research."
Bai Ye didn't want to work with Hua Ye. What research capability did Hua Ye have?!
The only ones who could research were He Xi and Liang Bing, right?!
If these two chose to cooperate with Hua Ye, they would ultimately gain nothing.
"But your demand is too much!"
"No, all these technologies are provided by me. I don't think I'm being excessive, after all, don't forget, once Hua Ye's side develops the First Generation Divine Body and new weapons, then all of you will become his prisoners, especially you, Kaisha, you won't have a good outcome if he captures you."
Kaisha was also very clear that if she were captured by Hua Ye, she would rather die than live.
But Bai Ye's demands were too exaggerated.
"But we can't defeat Hua Ye, at least if the strength difference isn't significant, we might not win if we fight, even with other feudal lords."
Hua Ye was the dominant power. Their combined strength used to be able to contend with Hua Ye.
But as Hua Ye's influence continued to expand, under this extreme hedonism, many angels had already followed Hua Ye.
This also turned the situation where their combined strength was originally superior to Hua Ye into one where their combined strength might even be slightly weaker than Hua Ye.
The reason Hua Ye didn't make a move was probably because he thought that if he did, he wouldn't gain much benefit in the end.
"No, I can help you once, as long as you agree to this condition of mine."
Bai Ye wasn't afraid of Kaisha going back on her word later.
At present, there was no such bond between He Xi and Kaisha.
Moreover, Kaisha had no opportunity to back out now.
Later, as long as he kept He Xi and Liang Bing under his control, Kaisha would always be at his mercy.
"Agreed."
Kaisha looked at Hoffman's eyes and directly agreed on his behalf.
Although Bai Ye's request was outrageous, Kaisha also understood at this moment that she had to agree first.
As long as Bai Ye agreed to help them overthrow Hua Ye first, Bai Ye's demands could be discussed later.
Hua Ye was the main enemy.
"We agree, so how do we proceed?!"
"You two shouldn't go back this time; just bring your personal guard and make your move directly."
"?"
Hoffman was stunned, looking at Bai Ye with some disbelief.
He wasn't as audacious as Bai Ye.
"You're not serious, are you?"
Hoffman's face was a little unpleasant; he thought Bai Ye was joking.
How few people were in his personal guard?
If they just made a move like this, even if Su Ma Li wasn't here, they wouldn't be able to deal with it, would they?
"You just need to put your heart at ease; the rest you can leave to me. If you're afraid, then don't make a move and just wait for me to take care of the other party."
If Hoffman was afraid, then he didn't have to act; even if it was just him alone, it would be enough to resolve it.
He could have acted originally, but it was because even if he defeated Hua Ye, he didn't seem to be able to contact other angels, and instead, it might cause resistance from the angels.
Now that they had a preliminary cooperation, Bai Ye naturally had fewer scruples. Instead, showing some strength might make Kaisha more wary of him.
"I'll go with you, but my father must leave here tonight."
"Kaisha!?"
"Father, please listen to me. After facing Hua Ye this time, I understand with absolute certainty that a war between us is completely inevitable. He will never let me go. If I fail and die here, you must use my death as a rallying cry to immediately unite the other feudal lords. Force a decisive battle to the death while Hua Ye's new technologies have not yet matured! If you don't act now, we will be forced into this exact slaughter in the future anyway, but we will be entirely defenseless."
Kaisha directly cut through Duke Hofman's protests. Her voice was terrifyingly rational, devoid of any youthful panic. This wasn't a reckless gamble born of whim or emotion; she was deliberately staking her life on the board.
If she fell in the crossfire, her martyrdom would give Hofman the ultimate political leverage to shatter the status quo and launch a unified campaign against the throne. If she survived and Bai Ye tore down the palace, she would do so as an active combatant on the frontlines—not a coddled noblewoman hiding in the shadows to claim spoils she hadn't bled for.
Kaisha was fiercely proud to her very core. She would never allow herself to be a passive bystander to her own destiny.
"I understand, Kaisha."
Staring into his daughter's unyielding, resolute eyes, Hofman felt a heavy weight settle in his chest. He knew that any further attempts at persuasion would be completely futile. She had drawn her line. He couldn't stop her, nor did he have the right to; Kaisha had always possessed an unshakeable moral compass.
The Duke could only play his part now. He would return to his territory and wait. The moment word arrived that Kaisha had fallen, he would instantly sound the war horns and mobilize the feudal coalition to crush the capital.
Hofman departed under the cover of darkness that very night.
The moment his transport cleared the sector, Bai Ye activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, warping Kaisha and Hexi directly into the dimensional pocket of his Kamui space to bypass the city's orbital surveillance. With the Duke safely away, the vanguard was completely cleared to make their move. Witnessing Bai Ye's effortless mastery over space-time tech only solidified Kaisha's conviction—she had absolutely not bet on the wrong man.
"Aren't we going to cut off the head of the snake first?" Hexi asked, her brow furrowing in slight confusion as they finalized the infiltration. "With your spatial manipulation, wouldn't it be far more efficient to simply assassinate Hua Ye in his bed and end this tonight?"
"No," Bai Ye replied, his expression hardening. "Killing the king changes nothing. We must systematically eradicate the entire military caste of male angels operating under this extreme hedonistic doctrine."
The rot ran too deep. The male legions had already fully integrated the toxic, parasitic privileges of the Heavenly Palace system into their genetic and psychological identity. They were fundamentally incapable of accepting a balanced social order. Even if Hua Ye became a corpse tonight, a dozen identical tyrants would fight to take his place. Bai Ye wasn't looking to stage a simple palace coup; he was here to tear the entire corrupt architecture out by its roots.
"He's right," Kaisha interjected, her tone dropping into a chilling, absolute register. "Those male angels must be put down. And we cannot spare the female angels who have willingly capitulated to the system and become active participants in their corruption, either."
Hearing her uncompromising declaration, Bai Ye paused, casting a highly surprised, analytical gaze over at the young angel.
Detecting his sudden scrutiny, Kaisha tilted her head, a trace of confusion breaking her stoic mask. "Is... something wrong?" She hadn't said anything illogical, had she?
"Nothing..." Bai Ye shook his head, a wry, profoundly fascinated smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He simply hadn't expected that the core framework of her future, unyielding Absolute Justice was already so thoroughly defined at this point in the timeline. It truly was ingrained directly into her bones. In the original history, this absolute, black-and-white morality only surfaced after she endured unimaginable trauma at the hands of the regime. But here, faced with the baseline philosophy of the conflict, her true nature was already manifest. He couldn't agree more with her assessment.
The Heavenly Palace
A roaring, majestic column of fire violently shattered the artificial peace of the imperial district.
The explosive chaotic din echoing through the grand corridors immediately drew the attention of the King. After the panicked reports flooded the throne room—confirming that Bai Ye, Kaisha, and the rogue researcher Hexi were leading the charge through the palace gates—Hua Ye's face contorted into a mask of pure, unadulterated fury.
"Why the hell are you rebelling?!" Hua Ye roared, stepping out onto the golden pavilion, his eyes glaring gloomily down at Bai Ye.
The tyrant was genuinely losing his mind with rage. He had offered this foreign powerhouse everything a warrior could dream of—unprecedented authority, wealth, and the highest status in the realm. He had even casually gifted him Hexi to secure his loyalty! Why on earth would someone throw all of that away for a group of insignificant rebels?
"Loyalty?" Bai Ye chuckled, his eyes spinning into a lethal crimson pattern as he drew his blade. "I have never been loyal to a pathetic creature like you for a single second. You actually expected me to bow my head and submit to your little playground? Look at yourself, Hua Ye... do you honestly think you're worthy?"