Ryan, as an expert in fighting Honkai, could be said to have grown with it.
Initially, Honkai Beasts were the main destructive force, appearing in isolated areas in groups of several or dozens, and after slaughtering a village, they would be killed by mobile units of the Fire Moth.
Back then, a Temple-class Honkai Beast was very rare, clumsy and uncoordinated. Ryan first pot of gold came from them.
Later, the presence of Honkai Beasts was replaced by Herrschers. After all, the Fire Moth no longer needed to pretend to be a secret organization, and often used carpet bombing, wiping out dozens of them in one wave.
Even later came the Battle of Britannia, where large numbers of Honkai Beasts formed herds, frantically impacting the defense lines, and with rudimentary coordination, they could even cover Herrschers.
It turned out that these inconspicuous monsters had been growing. In this grand war, even the weakest charging-type could be useful.
Ryan expression gradually grew serious. Even though ordinary Honkai Beasts now were no match for fusion warriors, with annihilation combat equipment, even slightly more elite warriors could take on a hundred. But in the context of the entire war, this force could not be ignored.
Herrschers were ultimately limited, while Honkai Beasts, especially lower-level ones, were infinite, and their cost was less than that of fifty brothers.
"Follow them and see what these monsters are doing."
"But in this situation..." Hua hesitated for a moment. Tracking them would make them easily discovered. No matter how powerful the mirage system was, it wasn't complete invisibility. Who knew what special abilities these Honkai Beasts had?
"Do you think it's too close to the Herrscher? It's fine, if we're exposed, we'll immediately break out. Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
That's a given. Hua immediately jumped onto Ryan back, and the air distorted as the two disappeared.
Ryan was genuinely curious. The deeper he went into this continent, the more curious he became. He completely blended into the wind, floating dozens of meters high, and from afar, he saw this 'flock' of Honkai Beasts.
Hundreds, even thousands, and indeed, no high-level Honkai Beasts were seen, and even mutated species were rare. They crushed trees, crossed rivers, and moved forward. After about several hours, they approached a valley and began to slow down.
One hundred and twenty kilometers from the Herrscher lair, could it be that they were coming to build an army? They shouldn't have any sense of ritual.
Ryan became increasingly confused because there were many flying charging-type Honkai Beasts in the air. To be safe, he landed on a treetop and looked intently at the valley ten kilometers away.
Such a strong Honkai energy reaction.
At Ryan level, he didn't even need to observe with his eyes. He immediately felt an energy spreading within the valley, and the detector also gave an accurate reading.
Around 2300 HW, already Herrscher-level, and covering a large area.
"Could it be that Hua guessed correctly? Honkai Beasts can really merge and synthesize, splicing lower-level species into stronger ones? It's a shame the Honkai energy here is too strong, and communication is completely blocked. Otherwise, I would have Mei launch a few nuclear bombs to clear it out."
Ryan muttered lowly. He could only see the Honkai Beasts queuing up and entering, then disappearing into that shadow.
"You wait here, I'll go take a look."
"Alright, I'll cover you." Hua didn't waste words. When it wasn't time to act strong, she absolutely wouldn't.
Ryan put her down, then added a layer of Wind Authority outside the Mirage System, doing his best to become completely invisible. Only then did he slowly creep forward.
He moved very slowly, almost at an ordinary person's walking speed, landing extremely lightly, leaving no footprints. The closest Honkai Beast was less than fifty meters away from him.
This was practically brushing past them. Ryan felt no tension, instead recalling a famous saying:
To walk past without stepping on an ant on the ground, that amount of force is difficult to control.
"But I'm not interested in eliminating you right now." Ryan slowed his steps, noticing that the soil and rocks on the ground had crystallized due to Honkai energy. This level of energy must have been maintained for a considerable amount of time.
Let me see what's going on.
His body floated slightly, his vision passing over strange plants and large piles of Honkai energy crystals, finally seeing the entrance to the canyon.
There, the Honkai energy appeared as a thick blood-red, causing him, a combat expert, to be even more suspicious.
Maintaining this level of Honkai energy for a long time was very difficult and unnecessary. When he fought, it was basically short bursts; he never maintained an attack for more than ten seconds.
"This can only mean it's not combat, but another application of technique." Ryan quietly approached, then suddenly stopped at the entrance, his grey eyes slightly contracted.
He saw a flat open space in front of the valley, about the size of several plazas. Honkai Beasts, queuing from other places, gathered here, packed together, a rather spectacular sight.
All were the most ordinary, lowest-level Honkai Beasts. He couldn't be bothered to count the number; a single area attack could instantly kill at least a thousand. What was even stranger was what lay ahead.
The Honkai Beasts were very orderly and civilized. They formed a torrent, entering the valley in an orderly fashion, and then, just as Hua had jokingly said:
A blood-red energy scythe sliced through, cutting them in half. The two severed body parts fell to the ground, dissolving completely as if sinking into quicksand.
Dissolution was a process, but the speed was absolutely visible to the naked eye. Before it was completely dissolved, the next Knight-type stepped over the corpse and was cut in half again.
Ryan hadn't felt a chill down his spine in a long time. It wasn't that he was shocked by the intensity, but that the scene before him was too bizarre. Honkai Beasts were being sent in like livestock on an assembly line, then killed, dismembered, and melted down. The entire process had no screams, not even sounds. These Imaginary creatures 'faced death bravely,' lining up one by one to be slaughtered.
What the hell! No, what's the point of doing this?
Even with Ryan extensive knowledge, he was a bit confused. He thought of 'sacrifice' in religion, and his mind started working.
"There must be a meaning. As absolutely rational beings, they can't be remotely related to religion. Wait a minute, this energy..."
He suddenly realized something was wrong. These Honkai Beasts were indeed being slaughtered, but their energy didn't dissipate as usual. It still existed, just integrated into this blood-red valley.
"This feels like a digestive system. This is a field that technology can't touch."
How to convert Imaginary creatures like Honkai Beasts into usable energy was also a topic for Mobius, and there had been no breakthrough so far because she lacked a crucial factor:
Absolute control over Honkai energy. And Ryan not only had this, he had a lot of it.
"It's an Authority, an Authority different from the Ninth Herrscher!"
Ryan understood in an instant. This was a 'stomach' formed by Authority. Judging from the phenomenon, it should be a concept of fusion or consumption. As for why it existed, he also had an idea.
The Ninth Herrscher had already reached the maximum strength the world could currently accommodate, but strength and Authority were separate. Honkai could absolutely descend multiple Herrschers, as long as the latter's Honkai energy was low enough.
But in that case, they must possess growth potential, otherwise they would just be serving themselves up.
Without energy support, even if Ryan had five Authorities, he wouldn't be able to use them. He suddenly understood.
Before he could think about how to deal with it, an extremely cold sensation crept into his heart.
Without thinking, Ryan immediately removed the Wind Authority and lowered his head.
Crimson light was reflecting off his armor, even tearing apart the energy shield formed by the Mirage System.
"Hua, retreat!" Without hesitation, Ryan revealed his body directly, ignoring the dense mass of monsters beneath his feet.
He raised his right palm, gathered a ball of pure energy, and threw it directly into the valley. Then he turned around and ran with all his might.
Boom!!!
A muffled explosion came from within the valley. The shockwave surged out of the entrance, slamming severed limbs onto Ryan.
But he ran extremely fast, with the auxiliary power activated. His legs blurred into afterimages, each step covering dozens of meters. He hold his chain scythe, completely shredding the reacting Honkai Beasts.
These lower-level Honkai Beasts were too fragile, so fragile that they couldn't stop Ryan steps at all. When another storm erupted in the forest, they dissolved even faster under the pincer attack.
Hua also acted. These Honkai Beasts were equally fragile to her; one punch could shatter them, and a whip kick could clear a dozen meters.
Inch Force raged in a small area, killing dozens. A long halberd came at her face. Hua ducked her head, grabbed it with both hands, and hung upside down on it like a monkey grabbing a branch.
Hua gripped the halberd tightly, seeing Ryan in his power armor rushing forward, and behind him, a scene like a boiling pot.
Thousands of Honkai Beasts were instinctively chasing them. It turned out there wasn't just the one group they saw; roars came from several directions as well. This place was like a pool where streams converged, full of enemies everywhere.
"Senior Brother, why aren't we flying?" she asked urgently. There were too many of them. Even if they stood still and let themselves be killed, they would be exhausted to death.
"That thing can decompose energy, so it can definitely identify Authorities. If we're identified at this time and place, it'll be troublesome." Ryan finished speaking in one second, which was why the first step earlier was to remove his Authority.
It might not be true, but he had to be prepared. The Herrscher lair was only a hundred kilometers away. Ryan wasn't arrogant enough to challenge the entire continent alone; he always made ample preparations before acting.
Hua was a bit confused.
Hadn't they been fine all this way?.
She blurted out
"Who can identify it?" Ryan didn't explain further, just pointed behind him:
"It."
It? Hua pupils contracted.
She knew what that title represented, and then her mouth slowly opened.
That mountain range was stained blood-red, and then this light converged towards the center at a visible speed.
In just a few seconds, a giant figure, still flashing red, formed.
The light continued to dim inwards, finally seeming to form the height of an ordinary human. She had faced that aura before, and Ryan didn't need to explain further.
This was a Herrscher, the Tenth Herrscher!