A breeze swept by, blowing at a few weeds on the scorched earth. The land had become barren, and only some debris spoke of its past prosperity.
The continuous battles had completely changed the appearance of the South American continent. The last remaining survivors had all become materials. Coupled with the continuous battles, the dense rainforest had also become sparse.
Besides the land that had been corroded by Honkai energy, there was nothing here. Even the surface of the ground had been cut into several pieces.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fireball from the explosion illuminated the horizon. It was a regular clearing activity by the Fire Moth. Humans were manufacturing killing weapons at all costs. Even if a low-level Honkai beast was detected, they would launch a ballistic missile to bomb it.
Fortunately, Honkai beasts were all experts at digging pits, and the ground below had long been hollowed out.
The Herrscher of Binding landed silently and walked into the pitch-black tunnel. Even though she was called a wild dog running away with its tail between its legs by the Fire Moth, she felt no anger.
If she couldn't achieve her goal, she would immediately retreat. Why be bound by emotions? This was the foundation of being a Herrscher. Without even the concept of death, why would she care about insults?
Inside the cave, only the faint light from the Honkai energy crystals illuminated the rock walls and the black shadows that seemed to be sleeping on the ceiling of the cave, making humanity's arrogance seem so ridiculous.
What can she say? She was rampaging on human territory, and she had only gone out for a while, killing millions of people and destroying two fleets. Can this be considered running away?
Or did they think that Honkai was not that powerful and that they could always win with a small price under that person's protection?
The tunnel began to widen, gradually forming a cavern of tens of thousands of square meters. After Rio was completely destroyed, this dark underground became the main base. The Honkai beasts, who never seemed to get tired, had even hollowed out the entire continent. The scale was much larger than humanity's underground city.
"It seems my feint didn't work. Humans can be very cruel sometimes. They would abandon their own kind just to gather all their forces to besiege you."
A clear voice rang out. A pair of snow-white bare feet walked out from a dark corner.
"That has nothing to do with you. He's back." The Herrscher of Binding glanced at the Herrscher of Death and shook her head gently.
This was bad news, but the Herrscher of Death was only stunned for a moment. It was obviously within her expectations: "What about the two of them?"
"They have fallen. The authority has appeared on his body. Are you disappointed?"
"I just didn't expect it to be the worst possible outcome. No, from the moment he broke free from the binding and fell into the Sea of Quanta, this outcome was one of the possibilities." The girlish Herrscher played with her purplish-black short hair and grinned slightly: "We failed again. And I didn't expect that I, the Sixth Herrscher, could live for so long. It's a miracle."
She had indeed lived for a very long time and had witnessed the growth of the Fire Moth.
Miracle? For a program, there is no such thing as a miracle.
The Herrscher of Binding ignored her kind who had learned bad habits from humans. She walked to the end of the hall, where there was a row of chairs made of Honkai energy crystals, but they were all empty at the moment.
She casually found one, sat down, crossed her legs, and propped her head up, entering a state of thought.
That's right, one failure after another. Why is that?
Starting from the Fourth Herrscher, all her kind had changed. From a numbers game to targeting authorities, the methods were constantly changing, but the results were always the same.
Especially with her as the representative, with a high-level Fusion Warrior as her vessel, she had deliberately hidden her authority to maintain secrecy, and her plan was also very large. She had also recklessly wasted the power that she had accumulated for a long time.
But what could she do? Who would have thought that he would use the Sea of Quanta to escape? It was like a game of chess between two players. One was straightforward, and the other was full of clever moves.
Is it a gap in intelligence? A limitation of power? A disadvantage in numbers? Or is he a representation of an unknown, that no matter how much you plan, you'll always be a little short, and then he would use that little bit to create a so-called miracle?
The Herrscher of Binding didn't know the answer. She also felt that she had been deceived. Was she too fixated on him? But this time, she had put her focus on humanity, and she was still stopped by that group of Fusion Warriors.
It was unsolvable. Humanity and him were hard to distinguish from each other. They were stuck together, huddling for warmth.
"We have to find a solution, but we have no way to do it." The Herrscher of Binding tapped the armrest with her index finger while gently stroking her purple eyeshadow.
The ultimate plan had already failed, and the Tenth Herrscher had also fallen. She knew this was a huge hidden danger.
"If you ask me, there's no need to play those fancy tricks. Just calmly stall for time." The Herrscher of Death jumped onto a chair, counting on her fingers, "Excluding the three of us, the cards we have are beasts and humans. Both sides have suffered heavy losses, so how can we play any tricks?"
There were still many Honkai beasts, but this was not Venus after all. The strongest ones couldn't reach the Herrscher level, and their effectiveness in large-scale battles was limited. As for the humans, those traitors in Calis's hands were even worse. For every one they used, there would be one less.
She looked at her kind, who was playfully called the 'Herrscher of Cowardice' by humans, and asked lightly:
"Does that Damian have any new products?"
"He's still working on that human and beast combination thing. It's a little interesting, but it's far from enough to deal with him."
"Then send them out to deal with the humans. I discovered some interesting phenomena this time and also understood a truth: I must separate him from humanity, otherwise, I can't suppress such a huge amount of power."
She was learning from the battle. The binding was indiscriminate, and both sides had too many forces, so the burden was very heavy.
"Uh, you mean..."
"We'll ignore him. We'll kill the Fire Moth first. The area that humanity has to protect is too big. He can't protect it all by himself."
"Aren't you going to wait for the next Herrscher? That would be more stable." The Herrscher of Death raised her eyebrows. Although she didn't know what authority the next one of her kind would have, it would definitely be more terrifying.
"That's not a conflict. We can do it while we wait. Anyway, it won't be too long." The Herrscher of Binding turned her head and saw a blond woman coming from another tunnel. The Herrscher of Domination hadn't appeared for a long time. She was in charge of the operation of the entire base.
The Authority of Domination was like hundreds of bodies working at the same time, so the efficiency was naturally very high.
"I've already negotiated with Damian about the other one. He's preparing the best vessel for me, but that large number will take time." The Herrscher of Domination snapped her fingers, and a three-meter-tall giant followed behind her.
The body, which was wrapped in leather, was highly distorted. You could see a Honkai beast-like head. Crystal-like Honkai energy crystals pierced through his body, like a tattered doll that was kneaded randomly.
"Once it's activated, its lifespan is less than ten minutes, but it will have an extremely strong energy intensity."
"Ten minutes is too short. Are you planning to throw it over to self-destruct? And I helped, but that human's technology can only reach this level." The Herrscher of Death dangled her slender legs, staring at the monster with an appreciative look.
"There's no need to send it to the battlefield. I will split myself into many." The Herrscher of Domination gently shook her head, her eyes fixed on the Herrscher of Binding.
"And then gather all into one!"
'Gather all into one?' 'What new tactic is this?'
At the entrance, Calis was leaning against the rock wall, seemingly eavesdropping, but in reality, he knew that the Herrschers didn't care about his actions at all.
'Dr. Ryan is really amazing. He actually managed to turn the tables. I thought he was dead for sure.'
He was a little convinced. As an 'observer', Calis had witnessed the entire event. 'Ultimate plan' might be an exaggeration, but it was definitely a sure thing.
Hiding a Herrscher of Binding, finding a way out without any information, and then turning the tables in the end.
"It's a shame that what I want to do will eventually be interfered with by you."
"Are you still thinking of fighting Dr. Ryan?" Damian walked over, looking extremely excited. He was very 'esteemed' by the Herrschers.
"If I don't fight, can I be forgiven?"
"Hehe, then all my planning over the years would be for nothing?" Calis smiled a little bitterly, stroking the pendant on his chest, "What I want is not that grand, and not that hard to guess. Dr. Mei probably looks down on me, but these things are very important to me personally."
Damian didn't say a word. He knew what this man was after, which was why he chose to join during the Sixth Herrscher. To put it bluntly, this pursuit was too small and too ridiculous.
It was nothing more than a dead person. Couldn't he just make a clone? He had to pursue something unique.
"I also look down on you, but as you said, the value of a thing is determined by the person who pursues it. You just have to choose the most difficult path, and no one can stop you."
"Perhaps this is fate. In every timeline, there are some unreasonable people. If civilization restarts, maybe someone will walk my old path." Calis leaned against the wall a little tiredly, his tone full of emotion: "When I found that the Herrscher of Death was useless, I was also very dejected. Fortunately, I found a new path."
"What a shameless traitor."
"Hahaha, I can only say that I'm unlucky. If I had met a more gentle enemy, I might have hesitated. It's a shame that the Commander is too hardcore and has no interest in my beliefs at all."
Damian was silent, admitting that the other party was not wrong. Ryan was a hardcore and cruel opponent. As long as he was classified as an enemy, he would be crushed into powder and scattered to the wind.
Pursuit? Aspiration? Difficulties?
'I'm sorry, what does that have to do with me? At most, I'll give you three seconds of repentance before you die, for old times' sake.'
"We're both unlucky. Since he wants to be cruel to the end, then I'll just play along." Damian put away his smile and asked coldly: "Then are you ready to dedicate everything to Honkai?"
"You're a true friend, Dr. Damian. You didn't even ask what my backup plan is."
"I'm not on the side of Honkai. I just want to see what new paths of evolution humanity has. When the Herrscher's personality descends, how will you struggle?"
"Then please enjoy the show." Calis straightened his back and became calm.
"My final struggle!"
...
Pssh.
The tires touched the ground. The shuttle bounced slightly, the drag chute opened, and it glided for five to six hundred meters before coming to a stable stop at the end of the runway.
Mechanical arms immediately secured the shuttle in various places. The ground cracked, and the lift began to slowly move downwards.
"Kalpas's skills are getting better and better. He's not off by a single inch."
Ryan reluctantly flattered him. After obtaining the Authority of Stars, he was no longer afraid of this bastard's reckless driving. He could even actively increase the difficulty for him, and Kalpas drove very smoothly instead.
'He was deliberately seeking revenge. After he found that it had no effect on me, he started driving the plane obediently.'
He touched his smooth chin. Among the members of the Golden Courtyard, Kalpas had the most explosive temper. Ryan didn't dare to provoke him too much, so he put the file in his hand on the side.
This file was mainly the investigation report of Damian and Calis from the intelligence department. It used a large number of chapters to summarize all their actions, as well as their speculated reasons.
There was nothing new under the sun. Besides saying 'a cycle of perseverance', Ryan wasn't very interested. Not to mention these two people, even if he met that pure love archon in the future, he wouldn't have a good ending.
In the eyes of a bystander, it was a touching love story, but in the eyes of a participant, it was either to be enlightened or to be eliminated without mercy. For the sake of efficiency, Ryan usually chose the latter.
As for what kind of trouble this Calis would cause, he wasn't interested in guessing. Anyway, they were already enemies. No matter what his purpose was, wouldn't it be natural for him to cause more trouble?
He causes trouble, I solve trouble. It's that simple, and it has nothing to do with any kind of awareness.
"Yay, I'm finally home!" Elysia took off her eye mask and stretched beautifully. She then looked at the empty cabin, "Sigh, it's getting harder and harder to gather everyone now. But it's okay, everyone is working hard."
Kevin, Hua, Su, and Kosma, the four of them stayed behind with their respective teams to guard Sea Abyss City and protect the shipping lanes from being cut off. Mei also didn't come back for now. She had to arrange the final work for the 'Wandering Humanity' Plan.
Mobius was also left behind. She had to personally check whether the newly discovered world bubbles were suitable for human life and whether there were any hidden dangers.
There was no other way. She was not only a biological expert but had also met Vita. She was afraid that the humans they sent out would be directly sent to a farm.
Ryan glanced at the happy Elysia and said nothing. He just turned his head to look at Eden: "I've assigned Pardo to you as your vice-captain. Is that okay?"
"Is it because my [Gold] squad is the safest?" The girl's eyes flickered, carrying a hint of a smile.
"Yes. Your team has few people and they're all support-type Fusion Warriors. They usually stay behind the front line. I can't even imagine that cowardly cat fighting on the front line. But I'm not just being selfish. Pardo is very useful, and you'll know it later."
She had absolutely overflowing luck. It would be difficult to die with her around. This was more metaphysical than Aponia. Ryan had specifically arranged for Pardo to launch the 'Gelius device' last time to test it. The success of the plan might have been thanks to this little cowardly cat.
Eden tilted her head in confusion and didn't ask any more questions. She just poked Elysia next to her with her elbow: "By the way, how long has it been since you managed your [True Self] squad? Aren't you going to manage your team properly now that you're back?"
"Aiya, Himeko is a professional. I just need to be a cute mascot."
"But Himeko complained to me that she doesn't even have time to get drunk now."
"Drinking is bad for your health. I'm helping her quit drinking. And Eden, don't talk about me, you don't manage your team much either. The morale is entirely maintained by performance."
"Professional things are handled by professionals. I've always been like this." Eden didn't quite understand. She had set up a performance system. Overtime was five times the bonus. It was even higher than the salary of the Fire Moth. Various materials were also supplied openly. Her training level was also at the forefront of the thirteen squads.
Ryan listened to the two of them talking and didn't interrupt. Every hero had their own personality and methods. He and Mei would not interfere. This was also their original intention.
"So, assigning Himeko to me was just a small benefit, right, Ryan?"
"That was just an attempt to maximize their characteristics, not an excuse for you to slack off." Ryan gave her a look and stood up alone, putting on his black and gold uniform.
Bang.
With the sound of gears locking, the shuttle came to a complete stop. Ryan walked to the cabin door. When the iron door opened, the huge hangar was already filled with people, arranged in neat formations.
Every single person was looking at him. Then, more than a thousand people stood at attention and saluted at the same time. The sound of their military boots colliding was like thunder.
The aura of war rushed at him, but Ryan was very calm. He just straightened his hair and waved his hand gently.
"Yeah, I'm back."