"Swoosh!"

Lu Xing appeared in the skies above the Atlantic Ocean.

The successful transfer of the Honkai Rift had given Lu Xing a new idea—there was still a considerable Honkai Beast legion in the Atlantic region, led by an Emperor-class Honkai Beast named "Eurybia."

The Emperor-class was just a bonus.

What Lu Xing had his sights on was the medium-sized Honkai Energy Rift located on the seabed.

For tactical reasons, the one on the Pacific seabed had already been destroyed by humans, but this one had not—although an already formed rift was much more troublesome to "transport" than a nascent one, this trip would definitely not be a loss.

However...

"Nothing?"

At the predetermined location, Lu Xing's diffused [Super Perception] did not detect any Honkai energy aura within a 30-nautical-mile radius.

Even with his senses extending deep underwater...

Forget about the rift, Lu Xing didn't even find a single ordinary aquatic Honkai Beast.

The location couldn't be wrong—the previous actions of these Honkai Beasts were all under the command of the Herrscher of Sentience; they all bore the Herrscher's "brand" to some extent. While Lu Xing was still executing his operational plan in the Eastern Pacific, he had already locked onto this current sea area.

"Wait!"

As the Honkai energy used to release [Super Perception] continuously increased, more and more details began to appear in Lu Xing's mind.

He hadn't found the wrong place.

Neither the Honkai Beasts nor the Honkai Energy Rift had vanished into thin air; rather, they had all been swept clean by an exceptionally immense power.

As for the attribute of this power...

"A Herrscher!?"

Something unbelievable had happened.

From the energy residue left by the destruction of the Honkai Energy Rift, so scarce it was almost impossible to detect, Lu Xing discovered an extremely inconspicuous Herrscher aura.

This was illogical.

The Herrscher of Sentience had just died; the birth of the Ninth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Rock, absolutely couldn't be this rapid. Moreover, if Lu Xing's memory served him right, the Ninth Herrscher's awakening place should be on the Mu Continent.

This aura was very strange.

If not for the sufficient number of authorities Lu Xing possessed, he absolutely wouldn't have detected the "Herrscher component" within it—Reason, Void, Thunder, Wind, Ice, Death, Flame, Sentience; this aura did not belong to any of the aforementioned Herrschers that had already appeared.

In other words.

This was not an aura left behind by a Key of God.

An unknown Herrscher had destroyed a Honkai Energy Rift... In the Previous Era of Honkai, were there Herrschers who betrayed Honkai?

"..."

"A bit troublesome."

Yes, although the timing wasn't quite right, during the fall of the Previous Era, there indeed was a Herrscher who betrayed Honkai.

"As expected of..."

No, perhaps it wasn't that the timing was wrong, but simply that the intelligence Lu Xing possessed lacked more detailed information about her before she "became" a Herrscher.

After all.

That was—

"...Miss Elf."

————

Flame-Chasers' base.

The remaining Fusion Soldiers regrouped here... The entire base was essentially left with only Fusion Soldiers. Ordinary people had either been directly invaded and killed by the [Nightmare], or, during the battle between the Herrscher of Sentience and Su, had been turned into vegetative individuals by the mental shockwaves generated by the aftermath of their clash.

The only two surviving "ordinary people" were Dr. Mei and Klein.

"Clack."

The gem Su subsequently tossed flew through the air in a beautiful arc before being unhurriedly caught by Mobius.

"Oh?"

Mobius carefully weighed the Herrscher Core in her hand, then casually passed it to Dr. Mei who was standing aside.

Evidently.

Compared to the Herrscher Core, which would definitely be made into a Key of God, Mobius was more interested in the girl Kevin was carrying on his shoulder—this was the first living "Herrscher body" the Flame-Chasers had obtained. In her hands, its research value was absolutely no less than that of a Herrscher Core.

The Herrscher of Sentience's body was covered in thick frost.

This was Kevin's "restraining" measure to prevent her escape—for the Herrscher of Sentience, who still had a certain amount of Honkai energy remaining in her body, such severe cold would only seal her movements and not endanger her life.

"This will be."

Dr. Mei pushed up the increasingly thick lenses resting on the bridge of her nose.

"An unprecedented Key of God."

"Analyzing this thing will allow us to achieve unprecedented breakthroughs in our research on the mental plane and brain domain development."

As soon as Dr. Mei's voice fell.

"In other words."

"Your 'Prometheus Project' can be initiated?"

Mobius picked up where Dr. Mei left off.

"Correct."

"Similarly, your long-planned 'consciousness transfer' can also make progress through this."

The Flame-Chasers had suffered disastrous losses.

Yet, this special Herrscher Core alone could bring enormous benefits... at least, for the two scientists, this was indeed the case.

"Aiya, don't whisper now~"

At this moment.

Miss Elf, with her blue eyes and pink hair, popped out from somewhere.

Powerful and reliable, enthusiastic and mischievous, for whom everything was "very simple"—one of the founders and leaders of the Flame-Chasers, the second of the Thirteen Flame-Chasers and their initiator—"Ego" Elysia.

"I also know this thing is very useful."

"But you two, your current undisguised 'excitement' is quite out of sync with the surrounding atmosphere, you know."

Elysia said slowly after glancing around at the "tragic state" of the surroundings.

With the birth of the Fusion Soldiers, the Flame-Chasers' influence within the United Nations, and even worldwide, had increased tremendously.

Dr. Mei's status had become even more unshakable.

But now...

The Fusion Soldiers, who performed exceptionally well on the frontal battlefield, appeared particularly vulnerable when facing mental attacks—don't just look at how they held out longer than ordinary people; one must know that the birth of any Fusion Soldier was the result of countless resources piled up (before the Herrscher of the Legion, Fusion Soldiers had not yet reached mass production levels).

The invasion incident by the Eighth Herrscher had caused the Flame-Chasers to suffer losses, both internal and external, for which someone needed to step up and take responsibility.

Elysia was undoubtedly the one with the biggest headache.

Most crucially.

The loss of Fusion Soldiers had led to a sharp decline in the Flame-Chasers' combat strength—coupled with the significant progress made in Dr. Mei's various plans, these ill-timed "good news" items made the manpower shortage the most critical factor affecting the Flame-Chasers.

"Sorry, Ely."

"Mah, no need for apologies, just promise me one tiny little request~"

"Hmm? A request?"

"That's right, if possible..."

Elysia's gaze swept past Su, who was tightly gripping Spaxi's flask and whispering something to Kevin, then looked towards Sakura, who stood not far away holding her blade.

"I want to borrow Sakura for a bit."

"During this time, I'll have to trouble Kevin to protect you."

Sakura, wielding the Seven Thunders of Retribution, was Dr. Mei's last line of defense; she was tantamount to Dr. Mei's life—under normal circumstances, Kevin would definitely not agree to transfer Sakura away.

Hence Elysia's earlier words.

"Borrow Sakura?"

"Yes."

"I need to trouble Sakura and me, hmm, and Aponia together..."

"To go to the 'Deepest Place' and bring someone out."