A terrifying pressure, like a mountain, descended from the sky. As the Sword of the Azure Sky was unsheathed, it instantly reduced a hundred Honkai Beasts to dust.
At this moment, Ryan didn't need to hide his tracks. He directly declared his arrival to the entire battlefield. The burning sky was like a raised flag.
He had arrived.
The Herrscher raised his head, tensing every muscle. This was precisely the target they had painstakingly sought to eliminate. This aura, even as a mortal enemy, he had to admit:
He deserved special attention!
The Supreme Commander has arrived!
Humans also looked up simultaneously. That fiery mass was reflected in their eyes, making their hearts burn and blood boil, incinerating all fear and hesitation, as if the dawn had broken into this endless night.
And with the impassioned female singing, their previously exhausted bodies also began to regain strength.
"Everyone, rally to the Supreme Commander!"
"Get up quickly! We're going to win! No doubting it! The Supreme Commander has never lost!"
Raising the flag, then Eden applied a super-wide-range buff.
Injecting strength into both will and body, as soon as Ryan entered the field, the tottering front line began to stabilize again, appearing like a miracle.
His mere appearance burned away humanity's fear. And this singing was problematic. Was it the ability of some MANTIS? Was its range that wide?
Calis also slightly froze. He saw the nearby, previously overwhelmed battlefield re-ignite. The gray-haired girl, carrying her comrades, one hand on a katana, the other on a double-bladed sword, charged like a mad tiger, actually pushing back the final attack.
Behind her, Dr. Mobius continuously threw dark green lightning bolts. Just a few minutes ago, she looked completely drained, unable to throw anything.
This made no sense. This was what they called a miracle.
He was very calm. As an indescribable pressure came from the air, Calis became even more sober, and quickly retreated.
That man, his very existence was a miracle!
Boom—
A meteor fell, splashing out tidal waves of fire, literally burning a blank space. Eliminating Ryan was clearly the top priority. All enemies capable of attacking him focused their gazes.
Ryan stepped on the carbonized ground, facing the surging enemies. They even disregarded Hua and the others' barrage from behind, only caring to swarm him entirely.
Whether it was a Judgment-class Honkai Beast larger than a mountain, with seven heads, or a mantis in a leather coat, riddled with tubes, Ryan simply twisted his sword hilt.
'Useless.'
The Divine Key turned crimson. With Ryan swinging right hand, a roaring pillar of fire was unleashed.
Burn!
Flames swept forward in a fan shape, obliterating everything in their path. The scorching heat made even the air incredibly dry. The flames abruptly stopped in front of Hua, then vanished instantly.
All living beings within this killing range turned charred black, dissipating with the wind in the girl's constricted pupils. She licked her parched lips, turned her head, and looked at the somewhat dumbfounded Mobius beside her.
"Looks like you won't be able to sell that favor."
A certain person's face twitched. She crashed directly to the ground with the shuttle, then rushed out furiously, draining her last bit of energy.
'There was still so much to do. Those two idiots hadn't even thanked her tearfully yet.'
In the blink of an eye, the figure wreathed in residual fire was already beside her. Mobius turned to look, finding herself somewhat awestruck.
"Come with me."
"Uh, okay."
Without many words, Ryan glanced at Mobius, then took another step, and his entire being vanished. Only hundreds of meters behind him, another towering pillar of fire erupted, and an Emperor-class Honkai Beast was annihilated within it.
Flash, swing sword, vanish again.
Ryan made no unnecessary movements. The Authorities of Ice and Fire combined with the Divine Key of Scorching Heaven Burnd everything in sight. The Authorities of Wind and Thunder combined, making his movements ghostly.
Eden ability put Ryan in a state of exhilaration, making him deeply understand a truth:
With my BGM, no one can defeat me. And what Eden is singing now is the Humanstick Divine Song.
Boom!
The greatsword struck the ground, creating a thousand-meter-long wave of fire. Several figures dodged to the sides. Their leather coats were burst by energy. Fists, ten times their normal size, heavily hammered the blazing shield.
The defense was impenetrable. Ryan swung his sword with a backhand, but saw the opponent crash into the ground, then looked up, seeing an incredibly fierce downward kick.
Circles of air waves exploded. The residual flames on Ryan body suddenly boiled, forming a flaming palm that slapped the opponent into the ground before they could strike.
"You're a bit weaker than high-tier MANTIS. Your only use is as human bombs." Ryan slightly tilted his head, seeing two bright lights blossoming to his left and right, then snapped his fingers again.
Dominate.
Invisible threads had long since connected to their bodies. Even if they couldn't turn them into puppets, it caused the rapidly surging Honkai energy to pause. Then Ryan stepped forward.
Two heads flew up. The uncontrolled bodies were annihilated.
'Useless. You've lost the element of surprise.'
Ryan continued forward, like a flaming chariot, crushing everything in his path, leaving a scorched trail. Hua, with dozens of still-capable warriors, followed behind, her eyes never leaving the flames ahead.
So easy, truly so easy.
Hua, who had just been fighting to the death, suddenly felt the battle become easy. All she had to do was lead her people in pursuit and execute the ignited monsters.
Just five minutes ago, these monsters had pushed her to the brink. If Mobius hadn't injected a stimulant, she would have been overwhelmed long ago.
Hua pondered for a moment, then handed the unconscious Sakura to Mobius, and quickened her pace.
"The rest of you, follow me! Today, let's purge Honkai completely!"
"Hey!" Mobius, holding the fox-eared girl, first froze, then looked up with a somewhat bewildered expression: "I'm your savior!"
Ryan could no longer hear these insignificant words. In his ears, only Eden song resonated, sweeping away his fatigue and making his blood boil.
A charred trail stretched forward, incinerating dense masses of monsters, flattening obstructive mountains, and then his eyes locked onto the blond man.
"Calis, have you had enough of being a keyboard warrior!?"
Not long ago, that scoundrel was disrupting his army's morale from behind a screen. Now, finally caught, there was a sense of ironic comeuppance.
Calis stood on the lake's surface, appearing unusually calm. He lowered his hands, shaking his head gently: "Dr. Ryan, you shouldn't have come. Since the Herrscher dared to..."
"You think I don't know they have a backup plan?"
Boom!
Flames evaporated the lake. A burning figure stood within the fire, skin and flesh dripping, appearing strikingly realistic.
Ryan frowned, immediately realizing this was a psychic ability, creating illusions for him. No wonder he dared to stay.
Buying time? Do you think I'm stupid?
"I know you're not reckless, but the Herrscher backup plan is more terrifying than you imagine." Calis voice echoed, yet it was incredibly clear amidst the noisy battlefield.
"So what's the point of saying all this? Do you want to come back?"
"You can't be accepted." His voice turned bitter, then sincere: "But I also don't want the Herrscher to win. That would be detrimental to my plan."
"Plan? Isn't it just to revive your daughter?" Ryan said with a hint of mockery. Mei had long since found out what Calis wanted to do. This was somewhat like a certain archbishop's obsession, wanting to use the Herrscher hand to twist life and death.
But unfortunately, Calis didn't have hundreds of years like Otto to prepare and slowly search for the truth. Moreover, due to his own relentless pressure, he had no choice but to take risks.
Only Authority could transcend science, and only Herrschers hold Authority. Perhaps he truly found some clues.
"I don't care about your plan, nor am I interested in your obsession, because—"
"What the hell does that have to do with me!"
Second Rated Output. Lotus of Fire.
The Divine Key of Scorching Heaven pierced into the ground beneath his feet. Crimson flames bloomed outwards in circles, like a slowly unfurling scarlet lotus.
The Seventh Divine Key had been specialized at Ryan request. First, it abandoned its dual-gun form, then its rated output was adjusted. This had an advantage: it was like a portable charger, only using the Divine Key's energy.
And the energy contained within the Divine Key of Scorching Heaven was colossal.
The earth was ignited. Flames swept out in all directions with no dead angles, even incinerating the Honkai energy in the air into nothingness. Without this medium, the so-called illusion naturally collapsed.
Over there!
Ryan captured the distant figure, lifted his greatsword, and swung it down with an unstoppable momentum, as if wielding a torch.
Wherever it passed, the air was twisted, and then, before touching the ground—
Bang!!
Circles of red light appeared. The flames dimmed, as if doused with cold water. In the center of the fire, a blood-red figure raised his left hand, blocking the torch, and even surged forth thick ice to parry it.
'Consuming and negating energy? So you've arrived.'
The flames instantly vanished. Ryan proactively withdrew his energy, narrowing his eyes, looking at the MANTIS once called Cixous, now the Tenth Herrscher. His expression grew even graver.
Authority and Honkai energy were always directly proportional, like the relationship between spells and mana bars. Now, this person's energy had exceeded 4000HW, actually being able to dispel and absorb flames.
Previously, it seemed a bit like a gimmick, but now, upon closer inspection, it had truly undergone a qualitative change.
"Ryan, this guy's really strange." Kevin landed beside him, his expression very peculiar.
He had been entangled with this Herrscher for a long time, feeling as if his punches were hitting cotton, unable to unleash his full strength. And as the fight went on, the opponent could even use ice, making him hesitant to act.
"I know he's strange. His Authority can absorb some Honkai energy, and then negate the rest."
"So how do we fight him?"
"You take Hua to help Elysia. Unleash your combat power as quickly as possible, get the snowball rolling, and be wary of the Herrscher trump card." Ryan looked at the Herrscher, who was skipping in place like a boxer, then suddenly spread his hand.
"As for him—"
'Sword, come.'
The katana entered his hand. Lightning and fire intertwined. Ryan held two Divine Keys.
"I'll kill him!"