Merely 48 hours later.
Only four cities with a sizable human population remained.
The Herrscher of Binding hated Honkai Beasts, but its hatred for humanity, especially for the Fusion Warriors, was no less intense.
Given its power, and with the Monarch not intervening, it would not have needed even half that time to achieve its goal of "nearly wiping out" humanity.
But... this creature was practicing a true scorched-earth policy.
Every "energy body" it sensed and captured, whether it was human, machine, newborn Honkai Beast, or Honkai Energy fissure, was "painstakingly" killed by the Herrscher of Binding without exception.
One should not underestimate the role of humans.
Just as depicted in The Matrix, humans, as "bio-batteries," were surprisingly efficient in their energy "input-to-output" ratio. When used as one-time fuel, they could significantly fill the void in the binding domain.
Many a little makes a mickle.
Dr. Mei had not done much, and it was precisely because she had done nothing that this hellish tableau became a possibility for victory.
The last four cities.
Humanity's remaining population was less than sixty million. In the 48 hours of the Herrscher of Binding's rampage, whether intentionally or coincidentally, the number of humans and Honkai Beasts who died at its hands had already exceeded 200 million. At the same time, to "ensure" that the Herrscher of Binding's path of advance did not deviate, thirty-one Fusion Warriors had been sacrificed as bait.
And now—
"We're gonna die, right? We're definitely gonna die this time!"
On the necessary path between the Herrscher of Binding and the next target city, a three-person team lay in ambush, joking around... no, they were making light of their grim situation.
Glancing at the nervous-faced Vera beside her, Jona, with a palm that could easily heft a two-handed battle-ax, clapped her teammate firmly on the shoulder.
"Don't worry."
"Aren't we all here with you?"
Her comrade's words injected Vera with renewed courage.
"Jona..."
But before she could finish, her trustworthy comrade immediately added the second half of her sentence:
"We'll all die together anyway."
"No need to worry about the one who survives having to endure the torment of offering incense for their comrades—"
"Jona!"
Mira cut Jona off, though her own attempt at comfort didn't seem much better.
"Don't worry, Vera."
"As eighteenth-rate Fusion Warriors..."
"The three of us have already lived long enough to make it worth it."
Mira wasn't wrong.
The earliest appearance of these three could be traced back to when the Monarch was still the Black Templar. As third-batch Fusion Warriors, although their combat power was not high (it took the three of them combined, plus fire support, to take down the weakest Emperor-class beast), in terms of survival time... aside from the Fusion Warriors directly under headquarters, the three of them were undisputed seniors.
"Mmmh—"
Seeing that Vera still hadn't adjusted, Mira poked her head out.
Although the designated location was a hilly area, there was no cover or concealment whatsoever. So the three of them had dug a rather deep pit in the ground and built a small bunker out of rocks.
After confirming there were no anomalies in the sky or on her sensors, she let go of the heavy two-handed weapon in her hands with a "thud." Not all Fusion Warriors could easily achieve "energy projection." Even if they could, doing so would consume a large amount of Honkai Energy. Fusion Warriors didn't have much to spare, and recklessly projecting it in battle was no different from suicide.
Therefore, when fighting large Honkai Beasts (from Chariot-class to Emperor-class), the vast majority of ordinary Fusion Warriors would use large weapons like the one in Mira's hands. A configuration of Soulium and special alloys gave the weapon good Honkai Energy conductivity, and its weight, tailored to a Fusion Warrior's feel, allowed them to exert maximum effect.
This was the most common practice among the lower-ranking Fusion Warriors.
"Besides..."
Mira gently took off her favorite jacket.
Such attire was certainly not suitable for the battlefield, but if she didn't wear it this time, it was hard to say if she would ever get another chance.
Underneath it was a tight-fitting combat suit, through which [Photon Blood] flowed.
Small "gems" at the center of her collarbone and on her limb joints cast a beautiful, dreamlike glow upon their dark and damp "temporary base."
"We still have Dr. Mei's secret weapon!"
It was shaped like a [Key of Blankness], but apart from the equally obvious side effects, it was an entirely different thing in essence.
Only a true Herrscher Core could communicate with Imaginary Space.
The Keys of Domination... they did indeed have a similar effect, but in the hands of someone not awakened through the "Super-Metamorphosis Experiment," they were even worse than early Soulium weapons, only slightly better in strength than the shell alloys used by Armed Automatons.
To bring out the effect of the Keys of Domination and to allow the Fusion Warriors to use Honkai Energy more "freely," this set of [Blank Armor], inlaid with five artificial pseudo-cores (already filled with Honkai Energy), was distributed to every Fusion Warrior participating in the operation. Perhaps not "every," as the products of this technology could only be classified as prototypes for now.
Seventy-five sets... that was all of them.
When this [Blank Armor] was distributed, Dr. Mei had also, without any concealment, explained the operating principles of the new equipment and the specific abilities of the Herrscher of Binding. Wearing the [Blank Armor] required one to resist the backlash with their lifespan, but without it, this was a battle of no return.
And the most important point: the necessity... and inevitability of sacrifice.
To reach this point, whether intentionally or not, humanity had already paid too high a price. The Fusion Warriors were the final piece of the puzzle to assemble a victory, and also... the last group to be sacrificed.
"..."
"It's here."
The silence was unbearable, but time would not stop for anyone. On the crystal-clear horizon, a faint golden hue had quietly appeared.
This distance was still safe.
After the Herrscher of Binding had "devoured" a large number of humans in a short period, its binding domain had shrunk by more than half to maintain optimal effectiveness. A 200-kilometer radius gave humanity more room to maneuver. Even if going all out would only increase their chances of victory by less than ten percent, it had to be done.
"WHOOSH!!"
Countless gray-white smoke trails streaked down from the sky.
This was the entirety of humanity's nuclear arsenal. Without need for discussion or suggestion, with the military structure and even national governments shattered, there was no difficulty in controlling these instruments of final order. Dr. Mei, through 'Prometheus,' had directly linked all computers and, when "humanity" needed it, launched them all in one fell swoop!