Thousand-Person Ruler's Personal Opinion

The personnel in the main control room became busy, with anxious and expectant gazes directed at the experimental pod in the sealed laboratory.

Further out, the leadership was intently focused on the live broadcast.

Wendy also clenched her fists tightly.

Please, you have to succeed!

Wendy unconsciously bit her lips until they turned white, so nervous she almost forgot to breathe.

This thought was shared by almost everyone present, the difference being that Wendy cared about Delta, while others cared about the experiment itself.

Delta closed her eyes, seemingly enduring the impact of maintaining energy, but in reality, she was effortlessly sharing her current experience with the other Anqis.

A new authority, so close yet I had to wait until today. It's finally mine! I can feel it, incredible energy. Is this what it's like to be close to a Herrscher?

It's coming! It's coming!

Just as we predicted, the authority and energy we plundered are being shared through the Authority of Domination!

But the Gem is just an inanimate object, after all. Delta, as the host, is the primary beneficiary of the enhancement. But I'm getting stronger too, we're all getting stronger!

Calm down, hold steady, there's still a big show to put on! Especially you, Delta, guard your sanity. Otto is not someone to be trifled with!

I know.

Delta responded to the excited yet restrained other Anqis.

Then, she slowly opened her eyes, a brilliant golden hue swirling within them.

"BOOM!!!"

A pillar of green energy shot up into the sky, the resulting gust of wind shattering the incredibly strong laboratory walls. In an instant, it was as if the heavens and earth were collapsing. The massive laboratory bunker began to crack from the inside out.

"She's lost control!"

"The building is going to collapse!"

"Don't panic, this is also within the expected parameters. Everyone evacuate the laboratory! The Valkyries should be handling things from here!"

In the experimental bunker, which had already been cleared of excess personnel, researchers scrambled towards the emergency evacuation routes. Meanwhile, high-ranking officials waiting outside the laboratory, within the bunker, dared not retreat due to Otto's unmoving stance.

"Lord Otto, we..."

"Don't panic. At such a crucial moment, as the initiator and controller of the experiment, how can you retreat to the rear? Isn't that right, Branch Leader?"

"Your subordinate would not dare! You are correct, Lord Otto."

The Oceania Branch Leader gritted his teeth, giving his subordinates a reassuring glance before standing calmly beside the headquarters' trio. However, in his flustered state, he failed to notice the identical, cold glares from Rita and Durandal as they glanced his way.

At this moment, the fully armed elite Valkyrie forces of Oceania had already converged. Some quickly secured the area where the high-ranking officials were, shielding them from flying debris and falling concrete. Others surrounded the central laboratory, which was spewing terrifying Honkai Energy.

"Rumble!"

The central pillar of green light continuously erupted with intense energy and shockwaves. The spherical experimental bunker, covering an area of 189 square kilometers, finally shattered and collapsed completely. The hurricane generated by the energy pillar whipped up the flying dust, carrying it like a sky-obscuring sandstorm in all directions, plunging the entire Oceania Branch into darkness.

A Herrscher is a natural disaster!

At this moment, the Oceania Branch finally deeply understood this concept.

"We..."

"What kind of demon have we created?"

Among the researchers who barely managed to escape, a more emotional one knelt on the ground, staring dumbfounded at the "sandstorm," trembling with fear.

But this was not a true sandstorm. The dust from the collapsed bunker was eventually carried away by the strong winds. Under the now clear sky, the green pillar of light, which seemed to pierce through heaven and earth, also dimmed.

From the ruins of the devastated central laboratory, the girl with green hair, slowly straightened up from a curled position. She floated in the air, her golden eyes vacant as she stared forward, seemingly not focusing on anything.

"Delta, are you..."

The Branch Leader spoke amidst the tense stalemate.

But a strange phenomenon occurred.

He moved his mouth as if everything were normal, but the words he uttered rapidly weakened, soon becoming completely inaudible to anyone else.

The high-ranking officials of the Oceania Branch all changed color, also opening their mouths to speak. But similarly, their voices could not be transmitted at all.

The bizarre scene sent a chill down everyone's spines, a premonition of ill omen.

As expected, under everyone's gaze, including the Branch Leader, the high-ranking officials' faces soon changed drastically. A strange flush appeared on their heads, and they instinctively clutched their necks, as if struggling to breathe but unable to draw air.

Then, these high-ranking officials began to collapse one after another, struggling, writhing, their bloodshot eyes bulging, even losing control of their bodily functions.

In the brief moment before anyone could even think or react, the once high and mighty officials, with expressions of utter terror contorted on their faces, their bodies like balloons, exploded one after another with copious amounts of blood, and then fell into puddles of it, never to move again.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Faced with the explosive and brutal scene, the onlookers felt a strong sense of déjà vu, as if they should be hearing these explosive sounds. But in reality, they couldn't hear a single sound.

Only the splashing blood seemed to encounter some barrier in the air, being intercepted and then smoothly sliding down to the ground, vaguely outlining the existence of a magical invisible spherical barrier.

Then, all eyes shifted to Delta, who was floating within the encirclement, finding the true culprit.

"Haa~~"

Delta yawned lazily, as if nothing had happened, and flashed a cute yet unsettling, eerie smile in the direction of Wendy and Otto.

Now, with no witnesses, it's done.

Chapter 70: Like a Myth

"Valkyrie Delta, in light of your recent actions, I must now ask you—are you still yourself?"

Durandal strode across the encirclement formed around Delta, her exquisite, beautiful white lance, which looked more like a work of art than a weapon, thrust firmly into the ground at her feet. She asked with an air of solemnity.

She knew, of course, that those people deserved to die. Kidnapping retired and active Valkyries to serve as breeding tools, secretly cultivating armed forces without headquarters' permission, and injecting personal motives into crucial Gem of Desire experiments—these actions were capital offenses, even setting aside the question of humanity, purely from a rules-based perspective.

What Durandal cared about was not the deaths of the branch chief and his cronies, but the reason Delta had acted. Whether she was acting purely out of revenge or had been controlled by the Honkai, her sanity compromised, that was the most crucial question of the day.

"A marvelous feeling..."

"I've never experienced power like this before."

"And voices, human voices, natural voices, and voices I don't know what they are... Am I... Ahhh!"

Delta clutched her head with both hands, throwing her head back and letting out an incredibly painful, sharp scream.

Surging Honkai Energy spread unstably from her, forming a powerful shockwave that forced the Valkyries maintaining the encirclement to shield their eyes and retreat. Only Durandal remained unmoved, standing in place, her pretty face grave as she raised her long lance.

"Delta!"

Wendy, flustered by her friend's scream, couldn't spare a thought for the fate of her former superiors and instinctively moved to charge forward.

But a fair, white arm extended, blocking her path.

"Miss Wendy, please calm down. It's not advisable for you to directly participate in the current conflict."

Rita said with understanding and gentleness, holding Wendy's small body securely in her arms before standing behind Otto.

Durandal perhaps didn't fully grasp the upper limits of Rita's abilities. In fact, it was difficult for Durandal to perceive the power gap between others, as the vast majority of people were opponents she could defeat with a single punch, and she couldn't sense any difference.

However, Otto and Rita themselves were well aware of this.

With great power comes great responsibility; only Durandal was qualified to face the current Delta. As for Rita, it was enough to "protect" Otto by her side.

At this moment, Durandal had no mind for anything else. Facing Delta, she made a retreat gesture to the Oceania Valkyries forming the encirclement behind her—the Oceania branch had no more than a handful of S-rank Valkyries in total, and two of them were involved in this experiment, which showed the average level of this unit.

With Durandal present, there was no need to waste their lives needlessly.

After a brief hesitation, the Oceania Valkyries accepted the command from the higher-ups at headquarters.

"All units, retreat and guard the Archbishop!"

The encirclement dispersed, but it wasn't a complete retreat. Instead, they joined the forces guarding Otto, strengthening the security for this most important individual.

Then, with no further concerns, Durandal slowly walked towards Delta, who was painfully clutching her head, seemingly struggling against some form of emotional corruption.

"Delta, are you still Valkyrie Delta? Are you lucid? Answer my question directly, and I will decide what measures to take based on your response!"

"Don't bother me!!!"

Delta seemed to have her balance disrupted by Durandal's questioning, and she waved her hand, unleashing layers upon layers of invisible attacks.

"Screech!"

The air between the two emitted a piercing, sharp wail, and deep, crisscrossing gashes appeared on the ground where the attacks had landed near Durandal.

Durandal's pupils contracted. Before anyone else could see, she clearly felt the imminent threat of death.

"Queen!"

With a sharp cry, a massive mecha appeared in the sky. Its golden, intricately engraved, ornate body was like a noble and elegant empress, raising a colossal shield, as tall as a building, in front of Durandal.

"Whoosh!"

In an instant, the attack passed through from behind Durandal, the crisscrossing cutting marks extending to a distance that was impossible for the naked eye to discern.

However, there was no deafening collision; only a faint cutting sound seemed to occur, almost imperceptible. Then, that colossal shield turned into a pile of incredibly smoothly cut fragments before everyone's eyes.

Queen's hands were now empty of the shield, and her figure slowly faded into the sky.

Behind the shield, Durandal maintained a greatly leaned-back dodging posture. Although there were no visible wounds, a few strands of severed golden hair slowly floated down through the air.

"Is this the ability of the Herrscher of Wind? Such sharpness makes defense almost impossible—so, is this your answer, Delta?"

Durandal straightened up, gripping her lance, bending her knees. Her perfectly curved, beautiful form exuded a latent, explosive power.

"Ugh... Ugh..."

Delta, however, just held her head tightly, her body swaying in the air as if she were struggling with all her might.

Durandal, even in the late stages of the story when combat power inflates, she remains Otto's most invincible trump card!

Taking advantage of this opportunity...

Let me experience your level!

Delta, who had a plan, suddenly stopped wavering. She lowered her head, her golden eyes filled with infinite Honkai Energy looking at Durandal with utter coldness.

"Whoosh!"

Ideal fluid was stretched into threads, forming irresistible invisible blades. With a thought from Delta, the spot where Durandal stood was instantly cut with countless extremely deep gashes.

But Durandal had already vanished.

No one could track her speed; even the current Delta could only sense the opponent charging with pure instinct. Immediately, the sharp tip of the lance directly impacted Delta's abdomen.

"Bang!!!"

As a Divine Key, Black Abyss White Flower possessed absolutely trustworthy hardness and sharpness. Unfortunately, it collided with a shield formed from ideal fluid, a defense with infinite physical limits. The lance couldn't break through the defense; it could only transfer Durandal's terrifying power, sending Delta flying high into the sky.

But Durandal's goal was also achieved. She wanted to drag the battlefield into the sky to minimize further damage to the Oceania branch.

"Boom!"

Durandal's figure shot upwards like a rocket, pursuing the airborne Delta.

Delta gradually dissipated the impact force. Within the impenetrable shield, she waved her small hand, and terrifying air pressure descended upon Durandal like a collapsing sky. Countless fine threads of ideal fluid intertwined within, transforming into a terrifying attack that crushed everything.

"Bang!!!"

In an instant, the layered clouds in the sky shattered. The unimaginable shockwave spread to the ground, forming gusts of wind strong enough to blow people away.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Mythical, terrifying powers continuously clashed in the air. Those on the ground could only vaguely see a rapidly moving golden silhouette; otherwise, they could only struggle to hold their ground against the strong winds.

At times, they could even see distant mountains affected by Delta's attacks, abruptly crumbling into fragments.

"Is this the level of a Herrscher and an S-rank Valkyrie?"

"Then what was the point of all our efforts?"

"So, Delta was right before; this experiment will truly change history!"

The Oceania Valkyries were deeply shaken, looking up at this mythical battle with tears or laughter. It was like a frog finally leaping out of a well and seeing the real sky for the first time.

Amidst the gusts of wind, Otto stood calmly with his hands behind his back and spoke with composure:

"Rita, what do you think?"

"To be able to stalemate with Lord Durandal for so long, such power is extremely rare. The artificial Herrscher experiment is indeed of great significance, worthy of the Bishop and Lord Durandal traveling from afar."