Make Do

"Himiko... Captain?"

Hua stared blankly at the female warrior in front of him. This scene was like a replay of yesterday's nightmare. The surrounding area was still engulfed in flames, and the familiar face stood before him once again in a different guise.

But... why? Hasn't the Seventh Herrscher already appeared? Why did Captain Himiko still become the Seventh Herrscher?

Why... even though everyone tried so hard, why couldn't they save Captain Himiko in the end?

"Feng! Are you alright?! Cheer up!" Kevin stepped in front of Zhu Yufeng, staring intently at Himiko. "I'll try to see if I can hold Himiko off. You use Black Abyss Healing Technique first!"

Zhu Yufeng silently stared at the Black Abyss Blade in his hand. He had endured Uriel's final self-destruction, and so had the Black Abyss Blade. The Black Abyss Blade's outer shell was nearly completely destroyed, rendering its healing abilities extremely limited. If he used his powers, he could completely heal his injuries, but clearly...

He glanced at the other soldiers around him who were still able to fight. Like Kevin, they had all chosen to rush forward and fight Himiko, while others whose injuries were not too serious were trying to carry their more seriously wounded comrades away from the battlefield.

"Elysia, you take Maple and retreat from the battlefield too. We'll buy you some time!" someone shouted.

Elysia glanced at Zhu Yufeng's injuries and understood Uriel's intentions. Her goal was not only to transform Himiko into the Seventh Herrscher... or rather, her real goal was to kill Feng or force Feng to reveal his Herrscher identity!

She exploited humanity's trust, destroying the bond between humans and Herrscher. Then, she severely injured Feng through close-range self-destruction, simultaneously destroying or severely damaging the Black Abyss, preventing Feng from using it to heal his injuries. This leaves Feng with no choice but to either do nothing or...

He used his powers to repair himself after everyone witnessed the destruction of the Black Abyss.

"If that's all there is to it, then you're underestimating me..." Zhu Yufeng said in a low voice. So what if half of his body is severely burned? As long as he still has a breath left, he can hold on for a while. Mobius will always find a way to heal him, or at least let him hold on until Vill-V repairs Hei Yuan Yu.

As for his the Present physical condition, well, it's not very optimistic. At least 60% of his body is burned. I don't think any Herrscher is in a worse state than him the Present. After all, he hasn't even unlocked his Herrscher form yet, and he's basically just using his human body to withstand the self-destruction of the Seventh Herrscher.

However... at least I can use my powers to stabilize my injuries and ensure that I don't die. If I have to explain it later, I can say that it was the same as the last treatment Hei Yuan Yu received before he was crippled.

"All personnel, those with minor injuries, along with the seriously wounded, evacuate the battlefield. Do not linger in combat," Lionel's voice rang out through the communicator. "The rest of you, do your best to hold Himiko back. If there is no other way, you are permitted to abandon the on-site resistance!"

Zhu Yufeng then looked at the location where Xila was. To put it simply, Xila was very close to him at the time. When Uriel self-destructed, Xila also tried to rush forward and kill Uriel immediately, but everything happened too fast, Xila also took the hit of Uriel's self-destruction at close range.

Then...

The Present Xila engaged in a Himiko, who is experiencing a collapse.

"You're still worried about Xila? Having merged with Shesha, she's like Mobius; she's practically immortal unless she's reverted to the embryonic stage," Lilith said irritably. "The Present things have come to this, let's retreat!"

"Himiko is indeed stronger Uriel... Or is it that Uriel didn't actually absorb the Honkai Energy of the Seventh Great Honkai, and was just waiting for Himiko to awaken so that Himiko could absorb it?" Zhu Yufeng said with a wry smile. "By the way, Elysia, could you please help me carry the Black Abyss? My hands are too weak the Present."

Elysia took the Black Abyss Blade, intending to use its power to help Zhu Yufeng heal, but she also discovered that the Black Abyss the Present could only help Zhu Yufeng prevent his injuries from worsening.

At least for now, Zhu Yufeng is unable to join the battle.

On the other side.

"Lord Lionel, do you intend to escalate this further? We must stop Himiko here! Moreover..."

Before the congressman could finish speaking, a bullet grazed his face and struck his chair. The other congressmen on the screen, who were participating in the negotiations remotely via video, all chose to remain silent.

Lionel placed the pistol on the table expressionlessly. "Sir Patrick, do you really think your judgment is more in line with the current situation than mine?"

"We cannot stand Himiko..."

"Guess if I'll aim for your head next time," Lionel said impatiently. "Himiko's sudden transformation into Herrscher, coupled with Uriel's sudden self-destruction, has rendered half of our warriors incapable of fighting. Maple and Black Abyss are clearly severely injured. Moreover, we've already gained the upper hand and been caught off guard. In the Present environment, continuing to fight will only deplete our fighting strength even further!"

After finishing his speech, Lionel ignored Patrick's grim expression and turned his attention to the video feed from the scene. He then walked out of the conference room; he was going to Australia to go to the front lines and understand the situation.

Judging from the footage, Himiko's power far surpasses that of Uriel before. What exactly is going on?

He suddenly felt that the council of the Fire Moth was somewhat flawed, letting a group of councilors who had never fought Honkai directly get involved in the war against the Honkai? Even theoretical discussions were better than this. At least those who only knew how to fight knew how to fight, but they couldn't adapt to the situation. Lionel the Present seriously doubted whether most of the Fire Moth council members even knew the most basic knowledge.

No, they weren't unaware; they simply... wanted to expand their power.

Those who reach the position of parliament member are certainly not fools; they know when it is best to do what, but they will prioritize their own interests.

Caught off guard, they lost most of their elite forces to intercept Himiko, and there was even a considerable possibility of defeat. However, the probability of success also existed. This was a gamble. For them, as long as the situation did not escalate, the accountability measures taken against them would be much less severe.

In addition, there is the internal strife between the various factions within the Fire Moth...

Lionel also had his own considerations. He wanted to escalate the situation so that he could advance the Fusion Warrior Project... He could see clearly that Xila, as Fusion Warrior, had also been hit by Uriel's self-destruction at close range, but her situation was much better than Feng's. Therefore, given that the Herrscher would only become stronger in the future, the sooner the Fusion Warrior Project was launched, the better.

Mobius also stood up. She had to go to Australia. Others might not know the situation, but she did. She quickly understood Uriel's intention: she had to go there to rescue someone.

The situation did not escalate further. Although Himiko was stronger Himiko Uriel, and her powers were incompatible with Xila's current characteristics, putting Xila at a disadvantage, Xila's combat ability was still stronger than Himiko was left only with fighting instincts. Therefore, through trading blows and with Kevin and others assisting her, she was eventually forced to retreat from Himiko.

As for leaving her behind? Come on, everyone's condition is not good, and the surrounding area is still a burning forest. It's simply not realistic to fight for a long time. The scorching air has caused some damage to everyone on the scene.

Lionel and the others arrived in Australia at top speed. At this time, although Himiko was severely injured, she absorbed a large amount of Honkai Energy released from the Seventh Great Honkai, easily burning down a city and remaining in the city to further absorb more Honkai Energy. Meanwhile, due to the power of the Seventh Herrscher, the entire Australia was engulfed in flames.

"We can't wait any longer, Dr. Mobius. We must immediately advance the Fusion Warrior Project." Lionel glanced at Zhu Yufeng, who was covered in tubes. "I know you're very concerned about Feng's safety, but time doesn't allow us to linger like this. Right now, only Hathaway can directly confront a Herrscher, but her characteristics are incompatible with Herrscher. We need more combat power!"

Mobius glanced at Lionel, then turned his gaze to Zhu Yufeng and said, "The success rate of the surgery required for the Fusion Warrior Project is not 100%, and may even be very low."

"How low?" Lionel asked.

"With current technology, it's close to zero," Mei, who had come along, said, adjusting her glasses. "If it weren't for the success story of Hathaway, my calculations would be zero."

Lionel remained silent.

Zhu Yufeng listened quietly to the argument around him. He had already noticed his injuries before Mobius arrived; his own healing ability was already quite extraordinary, though not as good as Fusion Warrior, but...

It could be said that if Mobius had arrived a day later, he might have fully recovered by now.

Fortunately, Mobius arrived quickly enough to cover things up...

The current recovery speed is based on the premise that he does not actively use Honkai Energy to repair himself. If he were to use Honkai Energy to repair himself, he wouldn't even need to wait for Mobius to arrive... But again, his current human identity does not support him doing so.

While receiving temporary treatment, Zhu Yufeng overheard other soldiers saying that they should have listened to him earlier and shouldn't have believed the Herrscher's nonsense.

This time, many of the warriors who participated in the battle sacrificed their lives. Those who survived, already prejudiced, and further fueled by Uriel's repeated emphasis on his distrust of the Herrscher, harbored an even higher level of hatred towards Herrscher.

Although this also earned him more trust from the other warriors, his identity as a Herrscher was something he obviously couldn't reveal.

Imagine that someone who "doesn't believe in Herrscher" is actually Herrscher himself. It's hard not to suspect that he and Uriel are colluding to stage a play, with the goal of gaining the trust of humans and then betraying them at the right time.

This Herrscher's intelligence is comparable to that of the later Thousandth Herrscher...

"I'm willing to undergo surgery if I can recruit volunteers," Zhu Yufeng said.

Lionel looked at Zhu Yufeng, then took a deep breath. "That's the only way. I'll sign up too."

Zhu Yufeng & Mobius: "?"

No, why are you getting involved?

"There are qualifications required to perform Fusion Warrior surgery," Mobius explained to Lionel. "Not just anyone is qualified to undergo the surgery."

"It requires a high degree of Honkai Energy compatibility, right?" Lionel seemed thoughtful. He wasn't surprised by this. Before coming to Australia, he had asked Mobius and May about the general details of the Fusion Warrior Project. It involved implanting a Hypervariable Factor into the human body, and since the Hypervariable Factor originated from Honkai Beast, it was normal for the recipient to have a high degree of Honkai Energy compatibility.

"Don't worry, my Honkai Energy adaptability is excellent enough, otherwise I wouldn't have been appointed as the front-line commander by His Majesty the King," Lionel said. "No problem, believe me, as the commander, I will lead by example and play a positive guiding role for others. As long as there are enough people, even if we only succeed in one more case, it will be a spark of hope for humanity."

Zhu Yufeng: "..."

The problem is, if you're eliminated, who will be able to keep those pigs in the council in check? Relying solely on Beifengge to debate with everyone isn't enough; he needs to do the talking.

But Lionel didn't give him a chance to persuade him, and said, "It's settled then. I'll explain the current situation to His Majesty the King. Dr. Mobius, I'll trouble you to tell the other researchers about this plan later."

Watching Lionel leave, Zhu Yufeng and Mobius exchanged a glance. This guy... well, he might be a bit stubborn, but at least he's not a bad teammate. Let's just put up with him for now. We didn't even have to put up with him in our past lives... Anyway, we'll have plenty of reasons to get rid of him later.

For example, by selecting the best among the best, one can then trick this guy into leaving.

Currently, the only designated recipients of the initial Fusion Warrior surgery are Kevin and Zhu Yufeng themselves. No one else is needed, as time is of the essence. The Fusion Warrior surgery on Xila lasted for almost a week.

"So you still want Agni this time?" Mobius asked, looking at Zhu Yufeng.

"Let's change it to Maheshvara," Zhu Yufeng said. "Or Ugar -Tsurugi would also be fine."

At Mobius's Hypervariable Factor, Zhu Yufeng still let Ugar find a way to scrape some biological tissue off his body and give it to Mobius for research. When the matter is discovered, it will be said that Ugar dropped it when he was fighting with Yanluo.

"Then let's go with Ugar," Mobius said.

The Maheshvara? Isn't that thing linked to Elysia? Anyway, as Herrscher, whether or not there's Hypervariable Factor doesn't matter much to them, but it's different for others. She doesn't want the two successful cases of Maheshvara fusion, Zhu Yufeng and Elysia, to end up listening to other people gossip about these two people every day in the Fire Moth.

That won't do; it has to be Ugar.