The Slight Difference Between Me and the Big Shots

"Sure." Yu Luo forced a bitter smile. Fortunately, the System was willing to step in, and he finally felt a sense of peace. "If I can't even afford to lose my life, what price can't I pay!"

At the same time, a craving for power surged within Yu Luo. Just as the System had said, as long as he transformed, there would be no Honkai Beasts or Deaths he couldn't handle. Even when facing the Third Herrscher for the first time, he could at least escape if he couldn't win.

Perhaps it was because things had been going too smoothly, but Yu Luo was actually a little complacent with his current strength. It wasn't until the Third Herrscher, who had completely taken over Mei Raiden's body, delivered a heavy blow that he truly realized his own weakness.

"Link start!" Accompanied by the System's excited and chuunibyou voice, Yu Luo found himself losing control of his body. He could only sit in his mind, like watching a movie, sharing what his body saw and heard.

The moment the System gained control of Yu Luo's body, it canceled Arash's transformation. The armor on his body and the bow in his hand dissipated into particles, revealing his heavily injured body.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Severe internal injuries, all muscles ruptured, nearly a third of his blood lost, three or four ribs broken." The System marveled as it assessed Yu Luo's physical condition. "Never mind, as part of the deal, I'll fix some of your fatal wounds. This body won't be able to beat up the opposing carry."

The System closed its eyes, and an invisible wave enveloped Yu Luo's entire body. Yu Luo immediately felt all his pain disappear, replaced by an unprecedented lightness and strength. He felt explosive power within his body, capable of collapsing a building with a single punch.

"What is this?!" Yu Luo looked up and asked the System controlling his body. The System pouted and said, "I've converted your body into materialized Magic. Just think of it as your current body being the same as a Heroic Spirit."

"Don't ask me why I didn't offer this service before. First, it wasn't within my sales scope. Second, I'm just a System, I can't directly give you power. That's against System Law!"

Yu Luo rolled his eyes. There were too many loopholes in this System Law, he didn't know where to begin. Meanwhile, the Third Herrscher, floating in mid-air, vibrated her lightning wings and looked at "Yu Luo," who had deactivated his transformation. She taunted, "What, have you recognized the gap between us and are ready to give up?"

"Yu Luo," controlling the body that had transformed into materialized Magic, floated into the air. His face showed an eager excitement. With a twist of his right hand, a golden card appeared between his fingers. He held it with the back facing the Third Herrscher and said flippantly, "Come on, round two. Take a good look at how the real bosses play!" The last sentence was directed at Yu Luo in his mind.

"Oh?" The Third Herrscher looked at "Yu Luo" with great interest, scanning him repeatedly as if trying to see through him completely. "Interesting. Is this your trump card?"

"Yu Luo" smiled, raised the golden Heroic Spirit Card, and struck a ridiculously chuunibyou pose. Yu Luo in his mind slapped his own face, unable to watch.

"Henshin!"

A golden pillar of light pierced the heavens and earth like a torrent, its aura on par with the lightning pillar previously created by the Third Herrscher. The entire Changkong City could see it clearly.

"What's going on?! Has a new Herrscher been born?!"

On the Hyperion, a petite child rushed into the command center, frantically asking the adjutant beside her, "Has Himeko sent back any news?!"

The adjutant, facing the child before him as if he were facing a superior officer, replied respectfully, "Headmaster Theresa, the electromagnetic field outside is too strong. Our monitoring and communication systems are all paralyzed. We can't get any news from the outside right now."

"Open the gate. I want to go to the bridge to observe the situation," Theresa ordered calmly. The adjutant hesitated, "The situation outside is too dangerous, Headmaster, you..."

"I order you to open the ship's gate in my capacity as an S-rank Valkyrie and the head of the Far East Branch!" A powerful aura emanated from Theresa's child-like body. The adjutant could only swallow his unfinished words and obediently opened the door to the bridge.

As soon as Theresa stepped out of the ship's gate, the sight before her astonished her. "This is..."

In mid-air, a man and a woman were confronting each other. The woman was the Third Herrscher they had observed on the battleship earlier, but the man also flying in mid-air was what truly surprised Theresa.

"He seems to be a Stigmata holder," Himeko said, leaning on her greatsword and arriving before Theresa with injuries similar to Yu Luo's earlier. She explained the current situation, "Although theoretically, males cannot possess Stigmata, he has indeed displayed power similar to Stigmata, and not just one."

Theresa looked at the man confronting the Third Herrscher. He had short silver hair, wore a black tight-fitting suit, a red cape fluttered in the strong wind, and he held two short swords, one black and one white. His aura was on par with the Third Herrscher's.

"This is your reliance? Let me see what you're made of!" The Third Herrscher looked at the stern-faced "Yu Luo," gathering lightning from the void in her palms. With a wave of her hand, a lightning pillar tore through the sky, crackling with thunder, and shot directly at "Yu Luo."

"Yu Luo's" expression remained unchanged. He swung his black and white swords, and the lightning pillar, which could have easily knocked Yu Luo out of his transformation state, was effortlessly sliced apart and dissipated into fine sparks in the void.

"Not bad. Then how about this?!" The Third Herrscher sneered, gathering lightning in the void again. It condensed behind her lightning wings, forming terrifying spherical lightning bolts.

"Too slow!"

"Yu Luo" said coldly. He pushed off the void with his feet, leaving a red afterimage in mid-air. In the blink of an eye, he appeared beside the Third Herrscher. He swung his black and white swords, aiming a tricky slash at the Third Herrscher's lightning wings.

"How could this be..." The Third Herrscher's eyes still held a trace of red, and she hadn't reacted at all. However, her body sensed danger and moved on its own. She forcefully kicked "Yu Luo's" wrist with a strength that was not humanly possible, causing "Yu Luo's" stance to falter. Her lightning wings vibrated repeatedly, and several half-formed spherical lightning bolts were detonated by her.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." Explosions echoed endlessly, and dense lightning snakes filled the air, completely burying "Yu Luo's" figure within them. The Third Herrscher seized this opportunity to quickly create distance, looking at "Yu Luo's" position with a grave expression.

"Rho Aias!" As "Yu Luo's" voice fell, a semi-virtual barrier with seven petals appeared before Yu Luo. This was the legendary shield Athena gave to Perseus, with each petal possessing the defensive capability of an ancient city wall.

Countless lightning snakes coiled upon it, yet they couldn't even break a single petal of the divine shield and could only weakly dissipate into the void. The semi-virtual barrier also vanished, revealing "Yu Luo" within, who looked coldly at the Third Herrscher who had created distance and sneered, "You think creating distance will help?"

His hands hung at his sides, the black and white swords in his hands disappeared, and a great bow suddenly appeared in his empty palms. "Yu Luo" calmly drew the bowstring, aiming at the Third Herrscher in the distance.

"Damn it!" A sudden bad premonition surged through the Third Herrscher's heart. She forcefully flapped her lightning wings behind her and simultaneously lowered her altitude, darting between the high-rise buildings of Changkong City, attempting to disrupt "Yu Luo's" line of sight.

"Trace on!"

"Yu Luo" pulled back the bowstring with his right hand, drawing the great bow into a full moon. Sparks of electricity flashed between the bowstring, and a strangely shaped crimson sword appeared on the bowstring. "Yu Luo" closed his eyes, activating his B-rank Eagle Eye. A bird's-eye view of the entire city appeared in his mind. The Third Herrscher, who was weaving through the skyscrapers, naturally appeared within his sight.

"Go!" With a cold shout, "Yu Luo" released the bowstring. Hrunting, carrying a whistling wind, shot straight towards the fleeing Third Herrscher. "Swish..." Hrunting was like a meteor in the sky, unstoppable as it pierced through building after building, closing in on the Third Herrscher's back.