Annal: Can You Give Me Some Reaction?

Inside the underground research institute of Mullstein.

Hen was crushed to the ground, unable to move, and the Armed Doll troops that had come in with him had all been annihilated by Annal.

"Cough cough..."

Hen coughed up a mouthful of blood. The power of the Ninth Herrscher was far greater than he had imagined. He also had to take care of the child behind him and protect her from Annal's harm. Annal's target was quite clear: the child behind him, or rather, the Herrscher Core within the child's body.

What does she want the Herrscher Core to do?

This was a question that had been lingering in Hen's mind, because there had never been a precedent for it before. However, this time, because Annal's direction was too obvious, Hen had to guess the significance of the First Herrscher 'Herrscher Core to Annal.

"Could it be... that Herrscher can unify their respective powers by merging their Herrscher Core?" A sinister but currently the most suitable reason popped into Hen's mind.

"It seems... you need the Herrscher of Reason core to fight against the entire Mu Continent ..." Hen gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand up on one knee, the ground beneath his feet being pressed into a deep pit by the super gravity.

"Heh..." A mocking smile crept onto Annal's lips. "No, what I must kill is the people of the people..."

Suddenly, Annal's expression changed. A loud bang came from above the Tianyan platform. Annal quickly dodged backward and distanced herself from Hen. Then, near the spot where she had just stood, a black and white woven lance was stuck into the ground.

"This is... Black Abyss White Flower?" Hen was pleasantly surprised, because he knew all too well who the owner of this Divine Key was. As one of the strongest Fusion Warrior of the Fire Moth, Zhu Yufeng's support was definitely timely.

But then, a strong sense of unease welled up in Hen's heart. Zhu Yufeng's arrival was timely, but also not timely, because the Fire Moth had already broken with the Mu Continent, and the Mu Continent had issued a stern statement refusing the Fire Moth's aid. At this time, his arrival could resolve the current crisis, but after that, he would face a threat from humanity.

As the dust settled, Zhu Yufeng pulled the Black Abyss White Flower from the ground, turned his head to look at Hen, and the little girl he was protecting behind him.

When his gaze met that of his former junior, Hen suddenly realized that the other person seemed to be acting a little strange.

He had never seen Zhu Yufeng like this before.

Zhu Yufeng's hair gradually turned silver-white from the roots to the tips, and his pupils, like the little girl behind him, also turned silver, gleaming with a cold light.

At that moment, Hen had a strange feeling that the person standing in front of him was a god, a Herrscher no different from Annal.

But he quickly dismissed this absurd idea. How could he think that? This was Feng, a genuine Fusion Warrior, how could he possibly be Herrscher? If he were Herrscher, why would he be helping him at this time?

"So you really came here..." Annal's expression finally changed from confidence to deep fear. "The Mu Continent and the Fire Moth have completely broken ties, and you still dare to come at this time... Or is it that you have too much trust in those humans? You despicable 'traitor'!"

A traitor?! The traitor the Herrscher speaks of is...

Hen's pupils contracted. He knew that Annal had tried to frame Zhu Yufeng as the Ninth Herrscher from the beginning, so... was Annal still trying to sow discord this time? He quickly checked the communication device he was carrying. The communication device had been damaged in the previous battle with Annal, but it could still maintain intermittent communication.

He unconditionally believes that Feng is human, but will others think the same way? Most of them will only think that Feng is Herrscher, only consider Feng an enemy, and ignore all of Feng's previous achievements...

It's no wonder that Hen thought so much, because there was an example right in front of him: Lionel.

Did Lionel not do well enough? Weren't his achievements dazzling enough for the Mu Continent? Yet he was still suspected.

Especially given the current tense relationship between the Mu Continent and the Fire Moth, even the most elaborate schemes of sowing discord will only cause humanity to fight amongst itself.

Are all Herrscher this filthy now?

Hen could only pray that the latter part of Annal's words hadn't been leaked.

Zhu Yufeng simply looked at Annal indifferently. He had never met Annal in his previous life, but this time Annal seemed to recognize him quite clearly, and it seemed that she had already seen through his current status as Herrscher.

But did she think he would be here?

"You're quite adept at sowing discord, Ninth Herrscher." Zhu Yufeng pointed the tip of his Black Abyss White Flower Spear at Annal. He didn't really want to waste words with Annal, but based on his experience in his previous life, Annal was a very self-aware Herrscher among Herrscher. It wasn't wrong to say that Mu Continent could kill Herrscher alone.

In terms of raw power, Mu Continent was indeed capable of defeating the Ninth Herrscher in one-on-one combat. However, Mu Continent ultimately lost because he did not anticipate that Annal would decisively and fully self-destruct to form Simulated Black Hole. Moreover, no one expected that the Ninth Herrscher's power was gravity and that releasing it to its extreme would produce Simulated Black Hole.

They were caught completely off guard, not even given time to understand the Ninth Herrscher Authority...

There was no situation where they were driven to the brink of despair. After discovering and locating Annal 'Herrscher, Annal immediately self-destructed to confront the Ninth Herrscher, annihilating the entire Mu Continent force. In less than an hour afterward, the Mu Continent completely sank.

There was nothing that could be done to retaliate; all that could be done was to rescue the ordinary people and experimental data of the Mu Continent. And the number of humans who were rescued was pitifully small.

Zhu Yufeng was unsure of what Annal was thinking. He could sense Annal's intense killing intent towards him, just like with Uriel. If Annal wanted to kill him, she might choose to self-destruct right there. The area enveloped by the Simulated Black Hole at that moment would be the entire Mullstein. He might be able to find a way to escape, but he might not be able to protect the scars behind him and his "daughter".

Or, there is another option: to preemptively kill Annal before Annal can self-destruct and create a massive Simulated Black Hole.

But this would prevent the Mu Continent from sinking, and a whole mess would follow...

So he hesitated.

The Mu Continent must be sacked. If it isn't, the Mu Continent Fire Moth will eventually wage civil war against the Mu Continent. At that point, the Rebel Army won't need to be suppressed anymore; instead, they'll be suppressing the Mu Continent... Moreover, the Mu Continent's military strength is on a completely different level from that of the Rebel Army, making suppression much more troublesome and causing an even more severe collapse of trust between people than in the previous life.

If Mu Continent could still provide some early assistance to the Fire Moth, then he would have killed the Ninth Herrscher immediately, but...

Mu Continent's situation has gone beyond just being a burden...

In the previous life, humanity suffered such a devastating defeat. The Americas were turned upside down by the Wind Herrscher, and Australia was burned to the ground by the Seventh Herrscher. Even with all that, during the Ninth Herrscher incident on the Mu Continent, I still felt I had the upper hand and could take on the Ninth Herrscher one-on-one. In this life...

The situation in the Americas is good, Australia is steadily rebuilding, and it would be a miracle if the Mu Continent didn't float away.

Although Mu Continent could say it had a chance of winning Herrscher any of the eight Herrschers preceding the Ninth Herrscher, it would be difficult to defeat Herrscher was so unreasonable as to self-destruct directly, no matter which continent it was.

The biggest impact of the Ninth Herrscher incident was the destruction of humanity's industrial chain; the resulting morale collapse on the Mu Continent was secondary.

Therefore, even though she revealed herself as soon as they met, in terms of value, Annal made a huge profit.

However, this time, Annal might not be so confident in self-destructing. This time Fire Moth has broken away from the Mu Continent and is acting alone. Even if Annal uses the same trick again and self-destructs to sink the Mu Continent, it will at most damage humanity's confidence. It will not have too much of a negative impact on humanity's subsequent fight against the Honkai. On the contrary, sinking the Mu Continent will help the Fire Moth further seize power...

Therefore, Zhu Yufeng judged that as long as he did not push Annal to the brink of despair, she would not self-destruct here. What he needed to do the Present was to temporarily force Annal back, at least to prevent her from self-destructing here.

"Trying to sow discord?" Annal said with a light laugh. "Whether it's true or not, you know it in your heart, and we all know it too, don't we?"

"Feng!" Hen called out, urging Zhu Yufeng to stop wasting time talking to the Ninth Herrscher. The more he encouraged her to speak, the more she would spread the false information, and then...

Humans are prone to turning against each other over the slightest suspicion, especially the Present the King is becoming increasingly suspicious. In the end, Zhu Yufeng will definitely be identified as Herrscher, or at least become one.

For Annal, she had only said a few words. Even if most people didn't believe them, as long as a small number of people did, the seeds of doubt and suspicion were deeply sown between people.

By then, Zhu Yufeng would have no way to prove his innocence. There would always be people who doubted him, forcing him to act like someone who was falsely accused of eating an extra bowl of noodles, and that he could only prove his innocence by cutting open his own abdomen and committing suicide.

What a wicked thought...

Zhu Yufeng remained unmoved, as if everything Annal had just said was utter nonsense.

Annal clicked her tongue lightly. She knew that if she continued to emphasize Zhu Yufeng's identity as Herrscher, the effect of her words would be greatly weakened, making her purpose seem too obvious and reducing the credibility of her words in the eyes of others.

Why isn't this guy in a hurry at all?

Originally Annal planned that when Zhu Yufeng rushed over to stop her from continuing, she would cleanly self-destruct upon landing, and everyone would perish together. In this way, even if he survived, he would be severely injured and would have to face suspicion from humans afterwards.

However the Present, Zhu Yufeng didn't react at all, looking at her like she was a clown, which made her feel awkward.

Could it be that he knows he can actually create Simulated Black Hole? That shouldn't be the case. Even I only recognized that guy as a traitor and was indoctrinated with the information that I must kill him. I know he is indeed a Herrscher, but I'm not really clear about what his powers are.

Annal pondered the Present situation. The fact that her opponent didn't intend to rush at her directly meant that they were indeed prepared for her trump card. Since she hadn't fully absorbed the Present Honkai Energy generated by this Honkai, she had no chance of winning without self-destructing. Originally, she wanted to absorb the power of the First Herrscher to increase her chances of winning, but with Zhu Yufeng standing there, she even had some doubts. If she took the initiative to rush over and self-destruct, was it possible that Zhu Yufeng would act faster and kill her before she could self-destruct?

So, besides further escalating the conflict between the Fire Moth and the Mu Continent, what role does it play? Moreover, as long as Leon remains, even if the conflict is escalated and the Mu Continent is in the wrong this time, the Fire Moth will likely relinquish ownership of its Herrscher Core, and the two sides will probably end up in a relatively peaceful state again.

Doesn't that make me look like a clown?

Annal stared intently at Zhu Yufeng, feeling that he didn't seem to take her seriously, which annoyed her. However... she couldn't be hasty; she still had to...

To make Leon truly focus on himself, instead of becoming a clown.

After a standoff, Annal the Present chose to retreat. Her chances of winning against Zhu Yufeng were slim, and the final result would not satisfy her. After weighing the pros and cons, she had no choice but to retreat temporarily.

After the crisis was temporarily averted, Zhu Yufeng looked at Hen and his "daughter." Before he could speak, the little girl emerged from behind Hen, looked up at him, and then called out in a clear voice, "Daddy."

Zhu Yufeng: "???"

How... how did she know that? And who did she learn that word from?

Mark. "???"

Is Feng the little girl's father? Isn't she an android? And the child looks so serious, and the two do look somewhat alike... Is she really Feng's daughter?

Zhu Yufeng almost lost his composure. He looked at Hen and said, "Take her away first, I'll go after the Ninth Herrscher."

"Hmm." Hen nodded. He knew that Annal had indeed been forced back by Zhu Yufeng. It seemed that both sides were wary of each other's hidden cards. The reason Feng didn't act directly was probably because he was worried about affecting the little girl beside him... if this child really was his daughter...

"Hen, you are a soldier of the Mu Continent, you don't need to worry about this container. Take out the Herrscher Core and then pursue Ninth..."

Before the king could finish giving his instructions, Lionel's voice forcefully interrupted the communication channel, "Bring back the experimental subject and the Herrscher Core first. This is the commander's order!"

Hen was taken aback. Was Lionel really going to go head-to-head with the King this time?

"Lionel! I am the king of this country!" The king's voice seemed to carry a hint of anger.

"But I am the commander of this campaign." Lionel's voice was quite calm.