The noise above and below ground was deafening. Ryan charged forward, clearing all obstacles in his path. His unstoppable momentum tore through heavy armor and pierced straight into the hearts of every councillor.
It dawned on them—they had been deceived. The strength of Ryan simulated by the supercomputer was worthless.
Hadn't he claimed that, as a fusion warrior, he was only good at using lightning, with his strength mainly focused on Honkai?
Then what about the wind and ice?
The plans of most of the councillors had been simple, devoid of malice. They just wanted to lock Ryan in the deepest prison for now, regain control of the Fire Moth, and then release him. If they had any grievances, they could take them to the newly elected General Head.
After all, they could offer him honor, wealth, and power. After venting their frustrations, they could do whatever they wanted because Honkai never tolerated traitors.
Not only the congressmen, but even Carius was a bit surprised. His plan had also been simple and full of "good intentions." He had wanted to shift the blame onto the other congressmen, stepping out to cooperate as the "good guy."
With Ryan's rationality, of course, he'd think that democracy held no value in this era. In terms of reputation and ability, Ryan was the best collaborator.
All Carius had to do was deal with a few rebellious congressmen, regain control of the Fire Moth, and support Ryan's plan.
People who want to be saviors, don't they care about a name?
No matter how both parties planned, there was one premise: Ryan had to be placed in the deepest prison, Longchang, for "enlightenment," a symbolic act of suppressing his power.
But the situation was spiraling out of control. Ryan launched his counterattack, as expected, and crushed everything beyond their imagination.
"Everyone, it seems Dr. Ryan has exceeded our expectations," Carius spoke amidst the chaos, only to attract more furious questions and accusations in response.
"What do we do?"
"We cannot let this monster reach the headquarters, or the consequences will be disastrous."
"This is no longer just a Herrscher; it's like several Herrschers combined into one!"
The voices were in chaos. Everyone present, intelligent as they were, knew that power had to be kept at a distance. If a monster from an enemy nation rushed in front of them, it was clear who had the most powerful weapon—the butcher's knife.
"I understand, please be patient," the General Manager almost broke the gavel in frustration, shouting to his stunned deputy. "Kallis, activate the final plan and expel him at all costs!"
As a formal organization, of course, there were contingency plans for such situations. This order was direct.
All their cards had to be played, even if it exposed the General Manager's position. The situation had clearly spiraled out of his control.
Incredible. With just his strength, Ryan had made dozens of the most powerful people in humanity panic. Without the Herrscher, he might have become the emperor of the human race.
Carius didn't dare waste any more time. He glanced at one of the tombstones, quickly exited the conference room, and pulled out his communicator, speaking rapidly.
"Intelligence Department, immediately detain Dr. Mei and bring her to me. Be careful and gentle."
"Dr. Damian, you're cleared to invest in the 'Dark Cocoon.' Yes, now is not the time to worry about post-war reconstruction. We must go all out." His voice lowered as he added, "Just listen to this one thing—prepare the research materials and retreat from the secret location I mentioned last time."
"Are you really going?" A cold voice came from the other side of the communicator.
"Yes, Dr. Ryan is too strong for me to be sure I can stop him. If he succeeds, you and those congressmen will die. You're on your own."
Carius didn't wait for a reply and hung up the communicator. His adjutant hurried over.
"Mr. Chief of Staff, the battle command center has detected a new Honkai reaction approaching rapidly." The adjutant handed over a document, sweating. "We believe it's the Herrscher!"
The Herrscher? Sure enough, this drama just keeps getting more interesting.
"I know, prepare the 'Minerva.' I'll personally command it later."
Kallis glanced at the adjutant. According to regulations, such important information should go directly to the General Manager, but he accepted the document.
Dong—
A deep sound echoed from above, making the adjutant's face change. Immediately, he stopped worrying about regulations.
"Yes!"
Watching his subordinates run off in panic, Kallis conjured a purple-black flame in his palm, turning the document into ash before brushing the dust from his hair.
A bitter smile appeared on his face. The General Manager and the councillors were panicking.
And me? Am I not the same?
Boom—
An earth-shattering explosion echoed through the morning light, as a frozen building fell into the river like a meteorite, sending shockwaves tens of meters high.
The fierce battle had lasted most of the night, with more troops rushing in and retreating, trying desperately to delay the enemy's actions.
Though Ryan hadn't held back, he froze ordinary soldiers when he could. After all, fusion warriors were hard to kill, and he didn't need to waste energy on them. These were his future comrades.
The inertia of his power was immense.
The ice fog and dust blended together, and the whole city felt trapped in clouds. Ryan hid within the fog, took a deep breath, and glanced down at the giant ice sculpture beneath his feet.
A muscular, cross-dressing man was frozen inside, his shocked expression carved into the ice. It was Vil-V.
"Why did you do this? You came all the way from Australia to trouble me." Ryan sighed, admiring the Fire Moth's fighting spirit. The straight-line distance from the dock to the headquarters was only about 20 to 30 kilometers, but it took him an entire night to defeat hundreds of fusion warriors and force Coleman and the others to retreat. Just when they were about to reach their destination, this madman suddenly jumped out and talked about how he admired Ryan.
I'm not gay.
Ryan turned his gaze away and continued hiding in the ice fog. There were still three kilometers to go, and the last line of defense had already fallen. But he wasn't planning to move forward just yet. He had been waiting for this moment.
Click. Click. Click.
At that moment, Ryan heard the sound of gears turning. He hesitated briefly, then clapped his hands.
Wall of Ice!
A massive ice wall, over ten meters thick, appeared before him. Then, there was the sound of "whoosh," as a thick beam of light blasted into it, refracting into the sky. Wherever it passed, it erased everything in its path.
Honkai Energy Array Cannon.
Ryan's eyes twitched. He saw energy arcs in the air and watched as the headquarters of the Fire Moth disappeared.
The building split like a flower, and a satellite-like structure "grew" in the center. The superconducting alloy glowed red from overheating.
Vil-V's big toy? No, there's an even bigger one.
Just above the array cannon, a giant battleship floated in the air. It was bigger than the "Raven" Ryan had seen. About 400-500 meters long, its black hull reflected the morning light, and countless turrets lined its surface.
The air battleship was complete? It's a shame you managed to hold out until now.
A completely different feeling washed over him. While the previous battle had been fierce, the fusion warriors had hesitated, not knowing why they were attacking Ryan. It had been more of a self-defense response.
But now, it was different. Ryan could clearly sense the murderous intent.
"If you step out at this time, you'll only have murderous intent. But I'm sorry, I'm waiting for you."
Ryan raised his hand, and his halberd transformed into a sickle. He saw the front of the warship disintegrate before him as he turned and ran.
Swish—
Another weaker array of artillery fired, like a sword from the sky, cutting through the city without hesitation. The skyscrapers were sliced in half, and the river evaporated on the spot. Dust was instantly cleared, but that wasn't the end.
The surface modules opened one after another, revealing black electromagnetic turrets and vertical missile silos.
Swish, swish, swish...
In the blink of an eye, missiles and artillery shells filled the sky. The covering fire was deflected by the wind, or interfered with by thunder, flying off in every direction.
Boom!
An office building on Financial Street was struck. Its beautiful glass exterior shattered, the stairs burned, and reinforced concrete was torn apart with a hiss.
Too many missiles were incoming. Even so, dozens of missiles pursued the blue figure, and when they got closer, they disintegrated, releasing hundreds of smaller missiles.
Boom boom boom!
The dense explosions lit up the sky within half a kilometer. It was dawn, but the fireballs were as bright as midday.
"The air carrier 'Minerva' lives up to its name as a weapon designed to reclaim occupied areas." Vinal, who had been fighting Ryan all night, raised his head, staring at the terrifying firepower coverage. His tired face held a mix of confusion.
"But why? Why do they have no scruples?"
As a front-line commander, he could see that Ryan hadn't held back, yet like him, Ryan had some hesitations and didn't want to cause too much damage to the city.
For instance, Ryan had thrown the massive ice tower into the river just now. His previous combat had been mostly close-range. It could be that he was conserving energy, but the fact was, the damage from the previous battles was nothing compared to the firepower of Minerva.
"Lieutenant Colonel, look." Kosma, who had been lying low in the ruins, shouted. He didn't want to fight his savior, always staying at the edge of the action.
The exhausted fusion warriors saw dozens of black shadows flying out of Minerva. They landed on flying-disc-like vehicles, rushing toward the fire coverage area.
"It's the 'Cocoon.' Why are they out now? Shouldn't they be tasked with cleansing operations?" The muttered comment reached Werner's ears, and he too was puzzled. If these troops had been deployed earlier, Ryan wouldn't have made it this far.
Are we just feeding Ryan cannon fodder?
Werner's pupils narrowed slightly. Seeing the Coocon troops charging forward like hounds, he knew exactly what the enemy wanted to do.
"Kosma, go find Her Excellency Anna and the others. No one is allowed to fire without orders—" The man forced himself to rise, his tired body protesting. He saw the ice flowers blooming in the sky.
"Let's go see what's happening up there."