Hualalalal——
Ryan stuck his head out of the cabin, feeling the wind and snow hit his face. The cold was slightly painful, but it helped clear his mind.
If the Herrscher was truly that reckless, she would have gone straight to Hawaii instead of circling around. Or was she attempting a feint to the east, preparing to attack Mei first?
Impossible. I've seen the Herrscher of Wind before. She has intelligence, but it's incomplete. She can't even be called human. Besides, Mei is no fool. She must have woken up and evacuated everyone. If the Herrscher goes there, she'll find nothing.
Everyone on my side is highly intelligent. Even Vil-V, despite her personality issues, has an impeccable IQ.
"They must be trying to break free and completely escape the Fire Moths' encirclement."
He believed this was the most likely scenario. As for what the Herrscher of Wind planned after her escape, Ryan didn't worry about it, nor did he need to.
We're all developing together. When the time comes, we'll naturally fight.
In terms of timing, I have the advantage. I have too many cards up my sleeve. Even if Sakura successfully transforms into a Mantis, she can handle a weaker opponent like the Fourth Herrscher. Not to mention Kevin. Of course, if possible, I hope to inject gradually to minimize side effects.
"If that's the case, then everyone will be satisfied." Ryan sighed. Being in the spotlight made him feel restricted; he couldn't use his full strength.
He had already discussed this limitation with Mobius, and the solution was simple: fake a fusion operation.
A gene from an Emperor-level Honkai beast would be implanted into his body, and then it would mutate during the experiment, allowing Ryan to learn how to use "lightning."
As for the nature of this lightning and why it mutated, the senior executives might not be able to convince Mobius.
"The technical department is full of my people. How can they fight against me?"
Ryan, who had the final say, smiled sinisterly, then heard Elysia complain.
"Ryan, could you please close the door? It's cold."
Miss Fairy was still in a dress, curled up in a chair. Meanwhile, the pilots seemed calm, their minds clouded by mental interference, only focusing on flying the plane.
"You've eaten so much, how are you afraid of the cold..." Ryan didn't finish his words before being poked several times in the face and quickly shutting up.
"Really? I've told you so many times that I'm not fat at all." Elysia pouted and glanced at the pilots: "I think they're quite pitiful, Ryan. You should be gentler."
"Sorry, I don't have as good a temper as you. It's a miracle I didn't throw these two intelligence agents to the fish." Ryan chuckled. He had never been a gentle person. Glancing at the mission briefing, he snorted unhappily: "Let's wait in the air. Some people still want to know the truth about Śeṣa. If the Herrscher of Wind comes directly, it proves I'm not innocent."
"Will she come? I want to talk to her too."
"She probably won't come if we're together. And I advise you to give up on that idea. A Herrscher might have consciousness, but she definitely lacks a personality. It's impossible for her to turn over a new leaf."
The psychological warfare department had recently been very hopeful. They believed that since the Herrscher was afraid, she could be captured and reformed.
"Am I that stupid?" Elysia pouted even more, hugging her knees. "I just wanted to chat with her."
"What would you ask her?"
"I don't know. Maybe, why do you want to kill so many flower-like lives and destroy this splendid civilization?"
Ryan became more serious. Why did Honkai want to destroy human civilization? It was a mystery, and even he didn't know the exact answer.
All paths led to destruction. It took the efforts of two civilizations just to barely survive this era, and the key point was the girl sitting in front of him.
Without Elysia, there would be no Herrscher of Men. Even Mei plan would have only resulted in a miserable victory. Humans would become something else, and the price would be Elysia's life.
"What's wrong, Ryan? I suddenly feel that your eyes look a little sad. Did the cold wind just now affect you?" Elysia suddenly held his face and leaned forward.
Their foreheads touched, and she felt it carefully. Ryan didn't hide it, letting her beautiful face come right up to his.
The warmth of her breath and the redness of her lips, with a hint of doubt in her purple eyes, made Ryan pause.
"Hey, you're not sick?"
"Of course, I won't get sick." Ryan distanced himself, feeling the lingering warmth on his forehead, expressionless. "Elysia, do you know the meaning and mission of your existence?"
"Why are you asking this all of a sudden? I see, you've found the direction and now you want to test me?"
"I've always had a clear direction." Ryan raised his hand, clenching it into a fist in front of his chest. "Survive and keep moving forward. No matter how the Honkai changes, it's meaningless."
Is the so-called targeting really important? It doesn't matter at all. Ryan had long been categorized as "human," and there was no possibility of peace between them.
"As expected, you're a determined man." Elysia smiled gently, holding her chin. "I am searching for the two things you mentioned. Though I don't have the answer yet, I feel that one day, I will contribute to this beautiful world?"
It's more than a contribution. It's the last mercy of the collapse.
Ryan smiled bitterly, his eyes sharp. "What if the price is your life?"
"Then I will end it with the most beautiful party, like the most beautiful flower petals fluttering in the wind. Ryan, you must participate~" Elysia clapped her hands, her face full of longing.
Ryan was stunned by this scene. He truly felt the enthusiasm, without any fear or hesitation.
"You… are really open-minded. I can't do that."
"Ah, it's rare to find a girl as pretty and passionate as me. If this is fate, then just accept it calmly."
"No, if it were me, I would choose the best of both worlds. Fate and the like are just shackles." Ryan clenched his fists until they cracked and growled coldly, "It must be eradicated completely."
His reaction was so intense that Elysia raised her eyebrows. His roar against fate was so sincere, it almost seemed like he included her in it.
Her eyes softened, and she gently touched Ryan head. "Okay, okay, I admit that you're handsome, but don't put too much pressure on yourself."
Ryan felt the touch on his head, and for some reason, his emotions surged. After thinking about it, the reason was simple:
I don't want Elysia to die.
It was almost impossible, so Ryan just thought about it and didn't make any plans. He stood up, looked at the front seat, and grabbed the data terminal from the wooden pilot.
Alright, let's take care of things at hand first.
He noticed a moving source of collapse 500 kilometers to the south. The name "Varuna" was marked on it. The Fire Moth fleet was tracking it but had no intention of acting.
"They're waiting for the Fourth Herrscher."
"Can we wait?" Elysia tilted her head. She wasn't very good at planning or anything like that.
"It's highly likely we won't be able to wait that long, but the unmanned submarine has already passed, and results will come soon." Ryan sat back, still not believing that the Herrscher would be so foolish.
If she were truly stubborn, she would have fought me in the Western Pacific. Why would she "escape"?
"Let's wait a little longer and see what happens."
The information terminal kept flashing images. The unmanned submarine had penetrated the source of the destruction, and no images were transmitted back.
Fake? This Honkai Source is fake?
Ryan was stunned, and like many others, he quickly realized this wasn't the power of a Herrscher.
Is this the ability of this Honkai beast? It mobilized a large number of troops—what's it preparing for?
Elysia was already confused. She saw Ryan expression changing rapidly before he blurted out.
"They're making a feint to the east and attacking in the west. The Fourth Herrscher has already fled to the periphery."
As if to confirm his theory, the information terminal updated. A more violent source of destruction appeared on the west coast of Mu Continent, just outside San Diego.
"That's her! Full speed, hurry over there!"
No mental hints were needed anymore. The pilot suddenly pressed the joystick. Ryan didn't want to miss this chance, so he grabbed Elysia.
"Don't worry, even if you go there now, you won't catch up."
"So what does the Herrscher want to do?"
Ryan looked at the large number of friendly army signs outside the San Diego Naval Base and said indifferently:
"She wants to declare war on humans."
The situation was completely different from that of the Third Herrscher. During the Canghai incident, humans didn't know about the Herrscher existence. According to the Fire Moths' unified statement, they were ambushed shamelessly.
But now, the situation was chaotic. The entire Pacific Ocean was boiling. Fleets and fighter jets were conducting a dragnet search, and the fuel consumption was astronomical. Humans hoped that the Fire Moths would win the first battle and stabilize the situation at the cost of the enemy's lives.
As the Third Fleet was sailing out of the naval port at full speed, a strange sight in the sky made them look up.
A hole appeared in the snowstorm, and a giant vortex cloud was slowly rotating. The magnificent power made the observers' hands tremble.
What is that?
Inside the bridge, the shrill alarm chilled all the officers' bodies. On the tactical map, Honkai energy surged.
"High energy reaction detected."
"The strength is over 2000 HW. It's definitely a Herrscher."
The radar operator instinctively reported the numbers. As he spoke, the vortex cloud spun faster, sucking in countless sea waters and forming an indescribable giant tornado.
Its diameter was tens of thousands of meters, and the waves it created made the giant steel ship rise and fall. In the center of the tornado that stretched from sky to earth, there was a ray of green light. The fleet commander stood up as if electrocuted.
"All fleets, disperse and retreat!!"
Looking at the ships spreading out like cosmos flowers on the water, and various shells and missiles falling like raindrops, the Herrscher of Wind remained expressionless, just pushing with both hands, sending this indescribable "dragon" rushing forward.
Struggle, escape, and then——
Destroy it!