Awakening (Continued)

Not only that.

Originally, Herrscher of Thunder seemed to possess a bit of strategic thinking.

Yet once Lin Yu devised a battle plan for her, Herrscher of Thunder suddenly began to lose her confidence.

Heh, given the personality of Herrscher of Thunder, she certainly would not have acted like this originally.

It was only after clashing with me and realizing that a human could threaten her that she grew much more cautious.

Instead, however, this prompted her to fall right into Lin Yu's trap.

The plan Lin Yu fed her was indeed a high-win-rate battle plan, yet Lin Yu exploited the specific trait of 'me shattering Herrscher of Thunder's barrier and causing her to become cautious' to steer Herrscher of Thunder away from the correct answer.

Not only that, but I am finally certain now.

Lin Yu was attempting to crush Herrscher of Thunder with sheer aura.

Ever since a moment ago, Lin Yu had been closing in on Herrscher of Thunder step by step, using the slowest of paces.

Judging by the physical fitness and reaction speed Lin Yu displayed during our previous bout, his movement speed ought to be far quicker than this.

Yet moving at maximum speed does not always yield the best results.

He closed in on the enemy step by step.

Then, using the simplest of methods, he neutralized the enemy's attack, causing the flaws within the enemy's heart to grow increasingly severe.

Next, if Lin Yu possessed a finishing move...

No, that punch he used to injure me earlier was undoubtedly a finishing move.

If he simply blasted her with that finishing move the very instant Herrscher of Thunder exposed a flaw, there was a genuine chance Herrscher of Thunder would fall by his hand.

Siegfried's analysis was, by and large, not terribly incorrect.

Yet he and Herrscher of Thunder shared the same treatment regarding one particular matter: Siegfried had no idea what Lin Yu's trump card actually was either.

In the eyes of Herrscher of Thunder and Siegfried right now, Lin Yu had effortlessly neutralized the enemy's attack and closed in on her step by step with absolute ease.

Only Lin Yu himself knew the truth of his current state...

He was about to explode.

This was not a figure of speech; literally speaking, Lin Yu was genuinely about to explode.

Ever since his initial encounter with Herrscher of Thunder, Lin Yu had utilized a combination of Royal Guard and Mirror Mind to parry Herrscher of Thunder's strikes, absorbing a portion of her power and storing it within his body.

Yet the reason he appeared calm and collected, as if nothing at all was the matter, was because Lin Yu, while in the Mirror Mind state, could maintain an unchanging expression so long as he did not encounter situations that heavily violated his core principles or triggered extreme emotional agitation.

Yet an unchanging expression did not mean changes failed to occur within his body.

Herrscher of Thunder had expended a portion of her power due to her clash with Siegfried's Flame-Chaser's Judgment finishing move, even driving herself to the point of exhaustion.

Even so, a Herrscher was, when all was said and done, still a Herrscher.

Even a weakened true Herrscher could undoubtedly annihilate the vast majority of living beings in this world with a serious strike.

Not to mention that among the Authorities of Herrscher of Thunder was the capability to release electromagnetic pulses capable of destroying the chemical bonds within molecular structures.

Had Lin Yu not injected himself with HSN Serum beforehand to drastically raise his body's resistance to Honkai Energy—coupled with the fact that the power absorbed by Royal Guard was not excessively massive—even if he managed to parry Herrscher of Thunder's attack, his body would have been gradually destroyed by her inherent Authority.

Even now, though he had alleviated his symptoms relying on HSN Serum, Lin Yu knew very well that the HSN Serum could only relieve these symptoms a few more times at most.

If a few more attacks of this caliber were to follow, Lin Yu figured that Herrscher of Thunder and Siegfried would probably witness Lin Yu suddenly drop dead before their eyes without ever figuring out what happened.

Therefore, Lin Yu had no choice right now except to rely on this scheme of feigning the aura of an apex expert to cow the Herrscher of Thunder before him.

The probability of success was not entirely nonexistent.

And since the probability existed, then...!

Suppressing the ceaselessly churning power within his body, Lin Yu took a massive step forward.

"I'm done playing, Herrscher."

"You've been given more than enough chances. If you still can't manage to entertain me, then...!"

Royal Guard, Power Release!

At that moment, channeling his explosive power into his feet, Lin Yu sprang directly up from the ground, charging on the spot toward the high altitude where Herrscher of Thunder resided.

"You can just die right here!"

"You bastard...!"

Gazing at the enemy before her, Herrscher of Thunder felt a sensation grip her heart—she actually harbored a trace of fear toward Lin Yu?

Almost immediately, this trace of fear transformed into extreme fury.

Ever since a moment ago, Herrscher of Thunder had been suppressed by Lin Yu's aura.

Yet at this very moment, confronting the enemy head-on, Herrscher of Thunder realized how terribly mistaken she had been just now.

On the battlefield, she was the one holding the advantage.

The mighty being who ought to be tormenting her foe should have steadied her mindset and taught the weak the cruel reality of slaughter.

Yet she... had actually been frightened by mere caution?!

Unforgivable.

Herrscher of Thunder could not forgive Lin Yu for overwhelming her with his aura, nor could she forgive herself for being easily startled by an enemy.

Thus, at this moment, lightning bursting from her eyes, Herrscher of Thunder grew completely serious.

This time, Herrscher of Thunder did not use the tachi in her hand to slash at the enemy.

At such close range, the enemy's fist would strike her body before she could swing the blade.

Therefore...

"Die right here!"

At that instant, Herrscher of Thunder erupted with a terrifying aura, leveraging her own Authority to guide the lightning in the air and strike directly down at Lin Yu's body.

As the lightning bolt struck Lin Yu's body, Siegfried, who had previously felt certain of victory, saw his expression abruptly turn exceedingly grim.

The moment the lightning struck Lin Yu, Siegfried could see that Lin Yu failed to execute a parry in time, instead allowing the lightning to impact his body directly.

Damn it, why didn't he parry?!

He was clearly capable of doing so, yet why!

"Ha..."

Executing her all-out attack, Herrscher of Thunder let out a breath of pure relaxation after striking the enemy.

It was over.

No matter how one looked at it, with the enemy failing to parry and taking her lightning strike directly to the body this time, he should have been more or less heavily wounded.

Before long, however, Herrscher of Thunder and Siegfried abruptly sensed it—a terrifying wave of power erupted from within Lin Yu's body.

"Just as I calculated."

Ever since he leaped up by relying on the power accumulated and unleashed through Royal Guard, Lin Yu had surmised one thing.

Normally speaking, a person in midair was unable to alter their trajectory unless they possessed special means.

In such scenarios, an airborne target incapable of evasion often served as the ultimate target for an enemy capable of ranged attacks.

Lin Yu made this move fully aware of this fact.

Naturally, this meant that Lin Yu, who had been constantly striving to carve a path to survival out of a desperate situation, was already fully prepared.

The very instant he jumped, he had already activated the skill Cosmic Phantom.

And when he leaped, as Herrscher of Thunder brought her lightning crashing down upon him, while others thought he failed to block, Lin Yu had actually successfully completed the block and power absorption by relying on the traits of Cosmic Phantom.

"Game's over, Herrscher. This battle..."

Channeling his power into his right fist, the expression of utter apathy Lin Yu had maintained finally broke into a sneer.

"I win."

Drawing agonizingly close to Lin Yu, Herrscher of Thunder, who had just relaxed, felt a wave of terror as she sensed a terrifying power begin to surge within Lin Yu's right fist.

Th-This is impossible!

The destructive power of this strike...!

At such close range, Herrscher of Thunder not only repaired her electromagnetic barrier at maximum speed, but she also draped Honkai Energy over herself, forming multiple layers of highly defensive electromagnetic gauze.

Yet...

"Galaxy Phantom!"

--Before Lin Yu's punch, all of her defensive measures were utterly blasted to pieces by a single blow from Lin Yu's fist.

The power of Cosmic Phantom was largely neutralized by the barrier and gauze, but the remaining fraction of that power was more than enough to blast Herrscher of Thunder down from the sky the moment it struck her.

Just like that, the once-arrogant Miss Herrscher of Thunder, mere moments after her awakening, was knocked straight out of the sky and into the ground by a human who, in her eyes, didn't even know how to properly utilize Honkai Energy, all within a single minute of meeting.

How... how could this be...

I... actually... lost to a human!

"Ah, combat over."

Observing the battered and disheveled Herrscher of Thunder, Lin Yu produced an HSN Serum and drove it without a word directly into Herrscher of Thunder's body.

"Good night, Mei. Go ahead and take a nice long sleep."

Pierced by the serum, Herrscher of Thunder instantly began to struggle frantically.

No!

This thing...!

Damn it!

Why is my power being suppressed!

My consciousness...

Lin Yu... I'll remember you...

Next time we meet... I'll definitely... definitely...!

Yet at present, regardless of whatever thoughts ran through Herrscher of Thunder's mind, she was no longer capable of manipulating her body to execute a single movement.

"Ah, job done."

Watching Lin Yu administer a certain concoction to Raiden Mei, Siegfried viewed him practically as a god of war.

He subdued a Herrscher in under a minute, and even prepared a trump card to suppress her beforehand...

Sigh, why did this kid have to be Otto's man?

No, I should look on the bright side.

At least he wasn't Cocolia's man.

Otto tended to put on a bit of a facade ordinarily, but if Cocolia possessed a terrifying subordinate like this, Siegfried wouldn't even dare to imagine what kind of outrageous stunts she might pull.

Then, just as Siegfried was pondering how to talk Lin Yu out of beating him up, he witnessed a sight that was entirely unexpected yet entirely within reason.

Before Siegfried's eyes, Lin Yu, having deactivated Mirror Mind, suddenly slumped and collapsed onto the ground, sitting there as he panted heavily, sucking in great mouthfuls of air.

"Ha... ha... ha... ha..."

Panting heavily, you discover at this moment that a Herrscher is indeed not much to look at in your presence.

Under a minute! You easily defeated Herrscher of Thunder! You can firmly believe that even at Schicksal Headquarters, you are a formidable warrior right now.

Lolicon maid, five-hundred-year-old body pillow, high-altitude crash immortal, senile old lady, green-haired Metal Gear turtle--all shall fall by your hand!

Go forth, Host, and once you've rested up, storm Schicksal directly to seize their rightful throne!

Ah, give me a break.

Though hearing your voice lets me relax quite a bit by confirming there are no enemies nearby...

Why must you hype me up so much...

No, wait a minute, are you messing with me and acting sarcastic?

Heh heh heh, take a guess.