Collapse, Kiana's Cross-Dressing Strategy

The Herrscher's power, especially its fluid authority, further enhanced Bai Yan's swordplay.

The Wind Barrier concealed his form, and the Wind Authority amplified his power; this also perfectly confirmed Bai Yan's suspicions.

The Wind Authority might be a good fit for him.

The Herrscher of the Void was filled with rage, yet utterly helpless against Bai Yan, possessing only the ability to defend herself and no means to counterattack.

If only she had prioritized creating distance from the start!

"As expected of a split personality, she doesn't even know Kiana's signature brute force martial arts!"

Bai Yan taunted as he unleashed his attacks, aiming to disrupt her mental state.

"You bastard! If you hadn't gotten my Gem, would you have this kind of power?!" the Herrscher of the Void retorted angrily.

"What 'your'? This is mine. Stop looking for external factors and find your own reasons.

'Did you review your mistakes properly? Did you train diligently?

'Do you think you can become the strongest Valkyrie like this?'"

The Herrscher of the Void was furious, her aura suddenly surging.

She was going for broke!

Volume 1: Chapter 56: The Pufferfish, Oh the Pufferfish

Seeing this, Bai Yan also focused his mind, ready to meet the Herrscher of the Void's counterattack.

The Herrscher of the Void was burning with rage, Honkai energy gathering terrifyingly with her anger.

Bai Yan swung his short sword, his attacks becoming increasingly fierce, determined to suppress her.

A skilled fighter doesn't seek glory, but rather prevents their opponent from unleashing their ultimate move, which is more important than countering it.

Feeling the increased pressure, the Herrscher of the Void felt a surge of frustration.

In her memory, wasn't this Bai Yan supposed to be so weak? Wasn't she always suppressed by Kiana's sheer strength?

Even when she'd occasionally employed minor tricks or cunning schemes, they often crumbled before absolute power.

Completely showy.

But the current display completely exceeded the Herrscher of the Void's expectations.

Even setting aside the enhancements from the authority, Bai Yan's swordplay itself was difficult for her to comprehend.

She couldn't understand it.

Why could a person's seemingly empty sword swings make her very soul ache faintly?

The ultimate, graceful sword dance possessed a chilling killing intent.

Moreover, from the moment before until now, the pressure on the Herrscher of the Void had been steadily increasing, and the feeling of defeat was drawing closer.

Had she been holding back all along in the past?!

Had she known this day would come long ago?

But why?

If she had known all along, then why...

The Herrscher of the Void shook her head, took several deep breaths, and regained her composure.

Ants will always be ants; even if they obtain power for a time, they are merely larger ants.

Once she reclaims her power, humanity, civilization, or even the planet will be nothing more than toys for her to destroy for her own amusement!

The Herrscher of the Void controlled the Void Lance, moving alongside her as she charged towards Bai Yan.

Seeing this, Bai Yan was somewhat surprised. This posture of hers gave him a sense of mutual destruction.

In his memory, the Herrscher of the Void was extremely arrogant, almost disdainful of engaging in desperate struggles with others, always preferring to rely on her authority and absolute firepower for a crushing victory.

But now, she looked as if she were about to fight him to the death.

A trap!

Bai Yan made his judgment, summoning a fierce wind and flying backward, his movements as graceful as a falling leaf, untouched.

The Void Lance struck first. Bai Yan smoothly connected two sword strikes, blocking it perfectly.

In the eyes of the Herrscher of the Void, this scene made it seem as though Bai Yan disdained her current hysterical state, fueling her rage further.

"Humans are truly foolish creatures!"

She abruptly halted her charge, a slender arm raised high.

Snap!

A crisp snap of her fingers echoed, and the surrounding space seemed to freeze for an instant.

At that moment, Bai Yan understood his opponent's intention.

Time-Space Tremor!

A golden sphere materialized abruptly like a black hole, its explosion subtly distorting everything within its range.

The Herrscher of the Void's lips curved into a triumphant smile, as if she could already see the dawn of victory.

Terrifying energy was about to erupt around him, and Bai Yan felt his scalp tingle.

This was his first high-intensity confrontation, and he lacked experience in breaking through enemy defenses. He knew in his heart that theory alone wouldn't suffice.

But if he had a choice, who would want to risk their life in a desperate battle?

The power of the spatial tremor was enough to heavily wound him, even push him into the abyss of death.

He still had two chances to save himself, but he didn't want to use another one so soon.

So, he gathered all the power granted by the Gem of Desire and drove its authority to the extreme with simple, brute force.

A sonic boom suddenly exploded, a result of the energy being compressed to its limit.

The spatial distortion immediately slowed, like adding too much flour to water in a blender; the viscous substance hindered the machine's rotation.

The two authorities clashed directly for the first time, like an arm-wrestling match across a distance, a contest of pure brute force.

"Overestimating yourself!"

The Herrscher of the Void noticed this, her gaze sharpened, and she immediately reached out again.

Snap!

The second spatial tremor was released, and Bai Yan's pressure increased sharply.

"This is bad!"

Although the current Herrscher of the Void wasn't strong, her compatibility with the core and her familiarity with authority were both superior to Bai Yan's.

In a contest of authority, Bai Yan was at a disadvantage.

But he had no choice; he could only grit his teeth and follow suit, increasing his own output of authority.

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Strange electrical sparks even appeared in mid-air, and even space itself seemed to grow frantic.

Bronya on the ground also saw the critical situation and quickly began operating the Heavy Cannon Rabbit.

"Little Yan sister..."

She understood Kiana's condition at a glance.

"Mei sister is a Herrscher, Kiana is a Herrscher, and even Little Yan sister seems to be..."

Why were there so many Herrschers?

Bronya didn't have time to ponder this question; all she wanted now was to support Bai Yan's fight.

Only by winning this battle could she have a future to consider this issue.

"Kiana's current state is very wrong; even Mei sister wasn't like this."

Although the Herrscher of Thunder's personality was wild, it didn't have world-ending tendencies.

Compared to the Herrscher of the Void, who wanted to kill upon appearance, the Herrscher of Thunder's personality was practically a well-behaved child.

Bronya's hands didn't stop, and soon the Heavy Cannon Rabbit switched to attack mode, its energy cannon ready.

Aim.

Fire!

The next moment, a beam of light pierced the night sky.

The Herrscher of the Void was immediately distracted and focused on defense.

"Damn it, I forgot about that guy!"

This battle was never a one-on-one fight!

Could a battle forced upon someone follow rules? It wasn't a competition!

The light cannon was swallowed by the Void Lance and then deflected away.

However, in that brief moment of opportunity, Bai Yan seized the chance.

He accelerated with all his might, abandoning immediate defense, and exerted all his effort to close in on the Herrscher of the Void.

All his strength was poured into acceleration, which was exchanged for terrifying speed.

In the blink of an eye, Bai Yan closed in on the Herrscher of the Void.

The latter immediately defended herself.

Bai Yan drew his sword.

One Sword Startling Swan!

Visual, auditory, and tactile senses were completely stripped away, and at this moment, the Herrscher of the Void fell into a daze.

Her hand slightly opened and closed, then opened and closed again; her brain received no signals.

She couldn't even feel the existence of her hand!

All around was deathly silence.

Unlike the quiet early morning, this dead silence held no white noise, only awakening a creature's primal alertness.

When the chirping of insects ceased, whispers died down, and even the breeze and flowing water echoed no more, fear would slowly creep up on you from the depths of your genes.

Absolute dead silence was the predator's optimal moment to strike.

The Herrscher of the Void gasped desperately, realizing she could still smell the faint fragrance of flowers and grass!

Yes, she still existed, still in this world.

Her body and soul had not yet separated!

She tried to take a deep breath, like a drowning person in the deep sea finally grabbing an oxygen tank.

But soon, she discovered the fragrance of flowers and grass had turned into the smell of soil.

Lick.

It felt a little… earthy?

Licking again, it really did seem like dirt?

Gradually, she found her confusion fading, her eyes regained focus, and the subtle white noise reached her ears.

Pain!

Her left shoulder and both legs suddenly throbbed with pain.

"Ugh, ahhh!"

The sudden, inexplicable agony made her cry out involuntarily.

She realized she was face down on the ground, the soil by her mouth wet, and there was dirt in her mouth.

Bai Yan stepped on her back, holding his sword to her neck, and said with a hint of amusement.

"Eating dirt isn't what good children do."