On the outskirts of the vast battlefield, deep within the continent, a tiny figure floated in the air.
Drones plummeted like plumb bobs from ten kilometers away. No aircraft could penetrate this range. As an 'outsider', the Herrscher of Stars undoubtedly had the entire battlefield in full view.
Above and below, cannon shells streaked like meteors, missiles left dense white contrails, and even more dazzling were the colorful Honkai energy emissions.
Hundreds of abilities collided. The creations of civilization roared, and Honkai Apostles, with no concept of 'morale', met them head-on.
Squad battles, close-quarters combat, saturation bombardment, precision strikes, and the occasional dazzling flash of Divine Keys—every combat scenario humanity could imagine unfolded at this moment. From afar, it looked like a giant ball of yarn.
The intertwining battles layered upon layer, with occasional 'debris' falling, then disappearing like dust in an instant.
The Herrscher had no emotions and naturally wouldn't lament. He simply surveyed with a rational gaze, then slowly frowned.
Humans were surprisingly powerful, and the casualty ratio was very unfavorable.
If calculated statistically, a regular MANTIS equipped for annihilation combat was equivalent to the strength of twenty ordinary Temple-class Honkai Beasts. A slightly weaker high-tier MANTIS was only equivalent in power to two Pseudo-Herrschers and couldn't withstand the combined attack of five Judgment-class Honkai Beasts. Based on the forces committed, theoretically, they should have been overwhelmed long ago.
But in reality, humanity held the upper hand. Even with significant casualties, they tore apart various forces like a meat grinder. Ironically, it was the human traitors who fought the best, forcing Sakura to retreat twice when she attempted assassinations.
Emotionless killing machines being forced to retreat by humans who feared pain and felt fear—this didn't align with logic. After observing for a while, he deduced some reasons.
Firstly, the suppression of intelligence, which not only countered the electromagnetic suppression but also disrupted their plan with a massive explosion. Secondly, the tacit cooperation that pushed various weapons to their limits.
"Finally, there are these powerful humans."
The powerhouses led by Elysia were like bones, preventing the torso from shattering, maintaining battle lines with their strength, much like generals in human military textbooks.
"Only second to that person in danger, even without him, it would cause immense trouble."
The Herrscher of Stars watched for a long time, confirming this point, and also found that Honkai Beasts, Pseudo-Herrschers, traitors, and even his own life were worthless, while these humans were very precious.
Without them, Ryan would have a hundred ways to defeat them. Without Ryan, these united individuals still couldn't contend with a single Herrscher.
"Let's eliminate one while we have the chance."
The Herrscher instantly locked onto Sakura. This woman was too fierce, and her combat record was even more impressive. Using the lightning phantoms created by her Divine Key, she slew a Pseudo-Herrscher in three strikes.
"You're the one."
He raised his right foot, his eyes fixed on the woman, the gravity sling poised for launch.
Sakura, who was stealthily moving among the crowd, paused. Her stealth was unique; there was no hiding, but when others detected her, she either vanished from sight instantly or their vision was severed instantly, giving the impression of passing through a myriad of flowers without touching a single leaf.
Speed maximized, accuracy maximized, plus with the Third Divine Key, fully demonstrating what is called:
In an instant, two halves with one strike.
Whoosh—
The Seven Thunders of Retribution swept across the neck of a Temple-class Honkai Beast. This colossal creature drifted several meters by inertia before a crack appeared on its neck, and its head instantly fell to the ground.
Sakura didn't even look. She just gently shook her blade and raised her head, met the Ninth Herrscher calm gaze.
As if being stared at by a venomous snake, the hairs on her neck stood on end instantly. Her toes unconsciously lifted, and her mouth instinctively opened.
"Herrscher detected, all personnel..."
The alarm stopped abruptly, because the terrifying oppressive feeling disappeared, and the Herrscher also shifted his gaze. She was stunned for a moment, then looked back, another figure reflected in her eyes—a fiery red figure.
Above the warship, at the center of that 'ball of yarn', the sky was burning, presenting a crimson texture. Circles of fierce flames encircled him, connecting straight to the sky.
Falling twilight and a lone wild goose fly together, blazing flames and the firmament are of one color.
This magnificent light illuminated the entire battlefield, drawing human gazes and Honkai roars. It was as if it were a proudly waving flag, and the flag-bearer did nothing but slowly raise his right hand.
Ryan was raising the flag! Raising the flag on this chaotic battlefield!
In an instant, warriors, whether injured or exhausted, felt as if they had been injected with a powerful stimulant. A mere gesture brought infinite courage.
"The Supreme Commander is with us! Crush them!"
"Don't worry about your backs! With the Supreme Commander here, we can't lose this battle!"
The roars of the various squad leaders echoed, like activated nodes, transmitting this power to the nerve endings.
The war, which had fallen into a stalemate, was suddenly pushed forward. Humanity's firepower grew hotter, their counterattack sharper, actually forcing the Honkai Beasts attacking from the air to retreat and pushing the enemies on the sea surface back into the deep sea.
Sakura also turned her head, a faint smile still lingering on her lips. She no longer looked at the Herrscher. The Seven Thunders of Retribution reshaped in her hand, transforming into a twin-bladed long spear. Raging lightning enveloped her entire body.
Third Rated Power. Thunder Spear Form!
A bolt of lightning pierced through the dense Honkai Beasts, embedding itself in a hexagonal energy shield in front of a gray-haired middle-aged man. This rampaging Pseudo-Herrscher finally stopped, watching his twelve concentric rings being penetrated one by one by the long spear. He could only raise his hands.
Ding, ding, ding.
The lightning approached layer by layer, its light illuminating his face. This terrifying power finally stopped after penetrating the last layer, but before he could even exhale in relief, he saw that what had stopped half a meter in front of him wasn't a long spear at all.
It was a katana, a katana firmly gripped by the person who followed.
Sakura arrived with the lightning, emotionlessly twisting her blade and turning. As she shattered the last ring, she slid closer, her crouching body suddenly thrusting upwards, launching the unsuspecting Pseudo-Herrscher into mid-air. The blade enlarged in his eyes.
Puff.
A single strike through the head, the blade tip protruding from the back of his skull. The red and white color stung the Herrscher of Stars's eyes. Countless images replayed in his mind.
Human warriors advanced in squads. First, they used mechs to absorb attacks, with left and right flanks harassing and distracting. Then, the high-tier MANTIS suddenly charged out, instantly reaping the life of an Honkai Emperor, and then that high-tier MANTIS rushed to the very front, placing the Honkai energy disintegration cannon of the mech directly against its head and firing.
"Such a sharp blade. Is this relentless forward momentum due to the reliance behind it?"
If before he was merely executing his mission, at this moment he subjectively realized why Ryan had to be eliminated.
He had not killed a single Honkai Beast. He merely stood in the center of the battlefield, staring at himself, raising his flag, and then doing nothing. These human warriors surrounding the flag would tear everything apart.
Raising the flag, merely raising the flag, had such an effect. Don't forget, Ryan was inherently the strongest human, his combat power on par with the Herrschers.
"So that's it. You've fused individual combat power with human civilization, forming an unstoppable monster," the Herrscher of Stars muttered to himself. He also didn't forget that this was only a third of humanity's forces. Humanity had been tempered to such strength in such a short time.
Killing intent, absolute killing intent brewed. An inner voice told the Herrscher:
Charge forward, detonate all authorities and cores together, turning into a black hole to devour everything!
But reason held back this impulse. There was no sentimentality of heroes appreciating heroes. He merely made a rough calculation and found that the success rate of doing so was too low, because as soon as that man reached out, all the warriors on the entire battlefield would swarm over, sacrificing themselves to stand in front.
Even if they called upon a few more, the success rate would not exceed thirty percent.
The Herrscher stopped. Invisible mental waves swept across the entire battlefield. The Honkai Beasts still resisting retreated like a tide, without any hesitation or reluctance.
No drama, no communication needed. Some immediately stayed behind to cover the retreat, resisting the pursuing humans with their flesh and blood, while others turned and left. Their companions being hit by cannon shells caused no pause, and the wounded showed no resentment, 'voluntarily' staying to cover the retreat.
"They're retreating, and retreating fast. This is terrifying, these Honkai toys," Calis also noticed this anomaly. He had been fighting with the rebellious MANTIS on the fringes and would never recklessly charge forward.
However, the Honkai Beasts and Pseudo-Herrschers retreated too quickly and decisively, which instead made these 'slacking' individuals stand out. Hen immediately seized the opportunity, leading two squads to try and tie them down.
Rage and killing intent radiated from afar. Compared to the endlessly multiplying Honkai Beasts, these traitors seemed particularly rare, but Kalpas was not flustered.
"Let's retreat too. Let those brainless cannon fodder meet them. They don't have much durability left anyway."
He coldly gave the order. These forcibly modified MANTIS were originally residents left in the abandoned zones. Their bodies were highly mutated, and biological chips had turned them into some kind of dolls.
They would recklessly undergo excessive hyper-mutation, then charge like madmen, and upon getting close, self-destruct.
Columns of smoke rose, blurring the vision. Calis didn't look at his frantically retreating subordinates. His eyes remained fixed on the burning sky. That radiance stung his eyes.
From beginning to end, Dr. Ryan had not taken any offensive action. He merely stood there, overlooking the entire battlefield, yet he could prevent the several Herrschers lying in ambush from making a move, causing all their plans to die stillborn.
"It's like..." He too turned his head, disappearing into the shadows of the jungle, like a rat hiding in a sewer, never looking back again, as if unwilling to be stung by the light once more.
"A blazing sun!"