The Siberian wind was cold.
A cold that pierced the heart and soul.
However, Li Zihan soon ceased to feel the chill of the deep winter, as it was replaced by a killing intent that was even colder than the arctic wind.
Li Zihan looked up at the man who was staring at him like a ferocious beast and spoke, completely unconcerned by the killing intent washing over him.
"Looks like you don't plan to continue our pleasant chat."
If the Yellowstone volcano were to be detonated, humanity would face utter annihilation.
That was something Welt Yang, the inheritor of Welt Joyce's will, could not tolerate.
Welt was now intent on murder.
"I shouldn't have held such high hopes for Herrschers just because of Joyce."
The man who revered the First Herrscher spoke slowly, his voice carrying a bone-chilling cold that seemed capable of freezing space itself.
Welt was a good man at heart; not many things could truly anger him.
But—
Detonating the Yellowstone volcano was clearly one of them.
He would absolutely not forgive any existence that sought to harm this world.
As if the world itself were deforming, a terrifying black and red energy vented out fiercely in all directions like a bursting floodgate.
The ground collapsed in widening circles, shattering irregularly. Countless rocks were launched into the air, imbued with immense kinetic energy that gave the ordinary stones the power to tear through steel.
It was Gravity Suppression.
Using his Herrscher power to activate the "Mimic Star of Eden," Welt formed a gravity field, applying immense gravitational force to all life within its range—up to ten thousand times normal gravity!
Even an S-rank Valkyrie (with the exception of Dull Goose) would be helplessly crushed into a bloody pulp within this domain!
But—
For a fellow Herrscher, such an attack was truly a bit feeble.
An unknown barrier rose at the edge of the Herrscher of the Void.
As if the entire area had been sealed off, a light blue, diamond-shaped screen of light completely blocked Welt's surprise attack.
"So, you're going to make an enemy of me?"
The boy, whose power was far superior to Welt's, nodded with great interest at the resolute man, stating the obvious.
And then—
The next moment, a fist wrapped in a terrifying torrent of black and red energy and filled with killing intent hammered toward him like a giant battering ram.
If struck by that unbelievably fearsome fist, even Siegfried, who could contend with an Emperor-class Honkai Beast, would have been killed instantly.
Clearly, Welt had no intention of talking any further.
Right, this is how it should normally play out, Li Zihan thought.
With a slight sidestep, precise to the millimeter, the punch shot past his cheek, the terrifying jab producing a piercing shriek. Before Welt's Honkai energy, channeled into his arm, could even erupt, Li Zihan's left hand had already shot up.
Like a bolt of lightning, he caught Welt's punching right arm. Simultaneously, his right hand, carrying immense force, struck his opponent's stomach.
Immense force generated unparalleled speed. He had probably instinctively simulated the Authority of the Herrscher of Wind, as his fist met no resistance at all, easily surpassing the speed of sound.
So fast!
Completely unable to keep up with the Second Herrscher's speed, Welt's pupils contracted violently as he could barely catch a glimpse of the fist's afterimage.
He wanted to dodge the punch, but his body couldn't keep up with his thoughts at all.
Damn it!
Like a meteor slamming into the earth, the small fist, wreathed in Honkai energy, struck the Anti-Entropy Sovereign's abdomen.
And then—
BOOM—!!
The air in front of him was instantly torn into countless fragments, exploding outward in a destructive storm. Countless gashes opened in the ground below, kicking up the accumulated snow. Everything not firmly anchored was swept forward by the gale.
The shockwave rolled forward with devastating force. An area a thousand meters ahead seemed to have had a chunk bitten out of it by an invisible monster, vanishing completely.
Even a Soulium body would not have escaped unscathed from such an attack.
The horrific scene was a terrifying demonstration of what true horror meant.
Li Zihan's base stats were simply too high.
Even though he had intentionally limited himself to using only the power of the Herrscher of Reason, he still displayed a combat prowess that utterly crushed Welt.
"Are you okay, old man?"
Like a cheerful high school student chatting with a neighbor, he cordially greeted the spot where the Anti-Entropy Sovereign had been sent flying in an instant.
"Cough—"
A series of violent coughs echoed from a deep crater in the distance.
Then, a man with blood at the corner of his mouth, surrounded by a shattered, diamond-shaped red shield, stood up.
When that straight punch had come at him, unable to dodge, he had used his Herrscher power to activate the "Mimic Star of Eden" and create an energy shield, allowing him to escape the fate of being pulverized in a single blow.
However, a shield that could merely withstand an attack from a normal Herrscher had not completely blocked the entire attack.
He was injured.
In the very first exchange.
All of this caused the faces of the distant Anti-Entropy members to change drastically.
Welt was never one to act alone.
He knew full well that, as he wasn't a genuine Herrscher, he couldn't fully unleash a Herrscher's power. If he fought one-on-one, he could easily be cut down by other Herrschers.
So, he had brought other members of Anti-Entropy with him.
—Einstein and Tesla, the developers of the silver bullet.
"Th-that's a true Herrscher?!"
As if seeing something utterly terrifying, Tesla, nicknamed Lobster Head, squeezed out a trembling, fearful voice through her teeth.
To injure Joachim, the inheritor of the First Herrscher's power, in a single instant…
"You've got to be kidding me. Joyce never showed this level of power."
Having been a teammate of the genuine Herrscher of Reason long ago, she stared at the terrifying Second Herrscher, her teeth clenched tightly.
"But this is the reality."
"The Second Herrscher's combat power is far greater than the First's."
Einstein, also a former teammate of Welt Joyce, watched the distant scene through a monitoring device, her voice calm.
However, upon closer inspection, one could see that her body was also trembling slightly.
"Prepare to fire the silver bullet."
Without any hesitation, the woman named Einstein, acting leader of Anti-Entropy's conservative faction, spoke to her friend.
The silver bullet was the ultimate weapon they had prepared.
The power gap between Welt and the Second Herrscher was already painfully obvious.
Barring any unforeseen variables, his defeat was only a matter of time.
And that time would not be long.
This was a terrifying prospect.
They had to provide support for Welt.
Otherwise, Welt would surely die!
PS: I feel like the protagonist's villainous vibe is getting stronger and stronger.