From several thousand meters above, the ocean curved. The swirling vortexes of wind became tiny, the lingering ripples appearing as scattered white fragments.
But the two 'Herrschers' had no time for such grandeur. The Herrscher of the Wind widened her eyes, looking at the man hurtling towards her. Superficially, he was undoubtedly terrifying.
Fortunately, Herrschers didn't feel fear.
Bang!
An airburst exploded between them. The Herrscher of Wind recoiled, her brain calculating the situation:
He was courting death. Even at close range, his remaining energy wouldn't be a match for her. The illogical question was—
Knowing he'd die, why did he charge?
Without further thought, instinct guided the Herrscher of Wind to spin and retreat, deploying her wings. Hundreds of wind blades sliced through the air, a devastating attack.
Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…
Invisible blades filled every inch of space in front of her, yet Ryan didn't retreat. He plunged forward, swinging Crimson Blaze.
Clang… clang… clang…
The straight sword was an impenetrable wall against the wind; sparks erupted from the blade. All his energy was focused on the attack; dense sword light relentlessly targeted vital points. The explosive air currents sliced through his body as if he'd been tossed into a cement mixer.
Despite the agonizing torment, Ryan's expression remained unchanged. He pressed forward, thrusting his sword towards the Herrscher.
Screech—
A clear resistance met his wrist; the sword tip stopped just short of her chest. Then, the accumulated energy unleashed a violet beam.
It pierced through, forcing the Herrscher of Wind to lean aside. Unable to retreat, she raised her left hand to deflect an incoming rock.
Bang!
The impact, immensely powerful, destabilized her. She glanced aside to see the man charging again, his sword, feet, and fists a storm of blows.
No fancy techniques; Ryan transformed every inch of his body into a killing machine, unleashing a furious assault on the Herrscher.
Bang… bang… bang…
Countless afterimages, impossible to track. This frenzied assault lasted several seconds, a furious exchange that rapidly depleted their energy, leaving the Herrscher increasingly desperate.
Swift slashes, rocks, knees, back kicks, forward thrusts—the two figures flashed across the sky, intertwined, indistinguishable. Ryan silently counted to ten.
The storm abruptly ceased. His eyes locked onto the recoiling Herrscher, mirroring her backward lean, his sword tip crackling with violet electricity.
The moment of truth had arrived. A lightning-fast strike was about to break through her defenses. Time slowed for both of them. The Herrscher of Wind saw the accumulating power, the raw killing intent in Ryan's eyes, and took a deep breath.
"Futile struggle. You can't break through."
Whirlwind Barrier!
Azure Honkai energy erupted around her, exceeding the power of all previous attacks, a formidable wall.
No longer invisible, Ryan watched as the azure energy began to spin, tightly encircling the Herrscher. Then, in an instant, it expanded, elongated, forming a colossal, sky-to-sea vortex.
He saw the remaining electricity swallowed by the azure vortex. His raised longsword seemed tiny before this maelstrom. The expanding vortex left no room for doubt.
Either he'd be torn apart or forced to retreat, then finished off by the Herrscher of Wind. He definitely couldn't use another strong attack.
Dead end? You gained combat experience, learned from her, yet overlooked one fact:
Lieutenant Rose and I are worlds apart!
The azure airstream pressed forward. Ryan retreated, earning the Herrscher of Wind's contempt.
No matter how fervent his spirit or skilled his tactics, even if he'd seized power, he couldn't escape death.
Windstorm, tear him apart!
The vortex's expansion accelerated several times. Even at full retreat, Ryan couldn't guarantee escape. Even if he narrowly evaded the initial attack, the Herrscher of Wind would deliver a fatal blow. But then—
Huh?!
The Herrscher looked up, her gaze piercing the atmosphere, spotting several jet-black artificial objects above.
"Target locked. No movement detected."
"Optical signals unreadable. Using computer-assisted Honkai energy detectors for targeting."
Fire Moth had been monitoring the battle. The combined energy signatures were untraceable; the vortex's range was too large, preventing detectors from approaching. The speed was too high for the computers to calculate coordinates.
But now it was different. The Herrscher was high enough, and stationary. Even without identifying friend or foe, such a valuable opportunity couldn't be missed.
"'God's Rod,' 'Star of Annihilation,' full power release. We absolutely cannot allow that thing to reach land!"
Edwin, already authorized, gave the order. He didn't know what was fighting, but he understood there was no time to distinguish friend from foe; complete annihilation was the goal!
"Launch!"
In an instant, a streak of light fell from space, piercing the vortex, enlarging in the Herrscher of Wind's eyes.
Was he waiting for Fire Moth?
In a flash, she understood everything. The man's frenzied assault was a decoy, luring her into unleashing her full power, creating this terrifying storm, only to be counterattacked by these insignificant mortals.
They could fight like that?
The Herrscher, as if learning something, quickly dodged, only to see a streak of light pass by, tearing through her left wing before plunging into the ocean, creating a massive splash.
It was only a minor injury, but merely the beginning.
The Herrscher swiped her right hand, the azure storm sweeping across, only to look up and see six 'stars' falling from space. They were like giant barrels, suddenly exploding upon contact with the storm.
BOOM—
Six N1 warheads detonated in the sky. Giant fireballs tore gaping holes in the dark sky. The blinding light shattered and violently expanded the vortex.
"The Pureblood faction's research wasn't useless after all." Ryan clung to the ocean surface, feeling the intense heat from thousands of meters away. The six light orbs were dispersing energy, converging on the Herrscher.
Computer-assisted detonation; ensuring she absorbs all the energy.
Ryan chuckled. These large-scale weapons weren't useless; Fire Moth simply used them incorrectly. Blindly throwing them couldn't harm a Herrscher.
Normally, they wouldn't even approach before being blown away by the Herrscher of Wind, but now it was different. The Herrscher's full attention was on him, and the Herrscher of Wind couldn't use her powers efficiently.
She could only deflect, unlike the Herrscher of Thunder, who could disperse or use electromagnetic interference to disrupt the attack.
"There are no useless weapons, only foolish tactics."
The blast was powerful enough to stun the Herrscher of Wind. As the storm subsided, the waiting air and naval fleets opened fire, suppressing her with concentrated firepower.
Ryan had no intention of joining the explosion. Looking at his battered body, he shook his sword.
"Taking advantage of this opportunity, I'll make you my first victim."
Swish—
His sword sliced through the water, splitting it in two, revealing a jet-black serpent—Śeṣa. Slightly smaller than before, it seemed dazed as Ryan fixed it with his gaze.
It was the ultimate expendable tool—first luring the enemy, then self-destructing to wear them down. It then hid beneath the ocean, planning an ambush as Ryan retreated, but its plan hit a snag:
Ryan was forced to the ocean surface, but he didn't give it a chance to ambush him; the Herrscher was held aloft.
Fortunately, Honkai Beasts didn't fear. After a brief moment of surprise, green lightning crackled from its chest.
Slow!
Ryan charged, his longsword unleashing a bolt of lightning as the two energy blasts collided, creating an electrical grid.
Time was short. Ryan passed through the grid, seemingly cloaked in electricity, enduring the attack to lunge at Śeṣa, cleanly plunging his sword into its forehead.
"Come, let's take a bath together!"
Splash.
Man and serpent plunged into the sea, surrounded by churning bubbles. Ryan's hand, like a hawk's claw, pierced Śeṣa's back. He raised his fist high, the giant serpent erupting with brilliant lightning, its tail lashing out.
Though seemingly a desperate struggle, Ryan didn't relent. He had little time and energy; he cast aside all thought, his desire pure and simple:
Kill you!
Thwack.
Lightning arced across his skin; the massive tail struck his back. The seawater turned crimson. Ryan, mounted on the Honkai Beast, became a focused killing machine, his fists raining down.
One punch after another, shattering its outer shell, tearing into its flesh, sinking into the ocean depths.
As man and serpent sank deeper, the churning waters gradually calmed, though the sky remained ablaze thousands of meters above.
As the N1 warhead's light faded, countless missiles, shells, and beams arrived. With the two Honkai entities now separated, Edwin no longer needed to distinguish friend from foe; unleashing full firepower on the aerial target was the correct course of action.
The vortex deflected missiles; the energy barrier repelled shells, but the Herrscher of Wind wasn't unscathed. Each defensive maneuver drained significant energy, and the vast ocean offered little cover.
"Humanity is attacking me from over a hundred kilometers away?"
She could cover that distance in minutes, shredding the fleet, but the extraterrestrial was gone. What was the point of destroying humanity?
This logical contradiction prevented her from making a decision. The 'wind' was her extension; even if Ryan fled hundreds of kilometers, he'd still be targeted, but the ocean created an obstacle.
Whoosh… whoosh…
Dense points of light arrived from afar. Fire Moth seemed to be expending ammunition without restraint. If the vortex hadn't deflected the bombers, they would have surrounded the battle zone.
God's Rod and Star of Annihilation were repositioning; second salvos were being loaded.
The Herrscher of Wind's eye twitched. She sensed Śeṣa's destruction; the churning waves seemed to hold a gaze fixed on her. She suddenly understood.
The extraterrestrial hadn't intended to escape; he was using Fire Moth's hand—
A counterattack!