Chapter 73

"Is it the Herrscher of Domination?"

Hen asked.

"Yes, but it doesn't seem like it..."

Elysia frowned, as if struggling with how to describe it. "It's strange, this feeling is something I've never experienced before."

Soon, everyone saw the "unknown unit" described by Elysia.

It looked like a group of dolls, moving slowly with threads extending from their joints toward the sky before disappearing into the darkness.

Controlled by the silk threads, their movements are twisted and bizarre, and coupled with their human-like forms, they create a grotesque and terrifying feeling.

Elysia couldn't help but glance at Aponia: "Aponia, I'm starting to understand how you usually feel now."

Aponia simply shook her head. "It's not the same... Watch out, they're about to attack."

Before the words were even finished, the puppets suddenly changed their lazy way of moving and began to pounce on the group with strange movements and speed!

83

Chapter 83 Why does the effect of your domain sound so familiar?

Surprisingly, these puppets were not difficult to deal with.

It could even be said that they were excessively weak. Not to mention Cosmo and the others, even Vill-V was completely unskilled in combat, was able to wreak havoc among the puppets with her mechanical arm. They were truly worthless.

If even Vill-V is like this, then the others are even more so. Melee fighters are like monsters swimming in the sea, and ranged fighters are reaping huge rewards. It can be said that everyone is no less brave than Kevin.

"What's going on? These guys are ridiculously weak!"

Cosmo was the first to voice his doubts, "Since this is their territory, these people should be stronger than they were outside, right? But they seem much weaker than they were outside."

"As it stands, the gap between these people and the Herrscher of Domination is greater than the gap between ordinary people and Honkai Beast."

Vill-V analyzed the energy readings of the other party with the instrument in her hand, "However, the energy reaction on the other party... is very strange, it is not Honkai Energy."

"The feel is very strange."

Sakura frowned, "The feeling of cutting down on it was as if it weren't a real object."

"Is it possible that these puppets are actually just ordinary monsters?"

Desdrobia said, "After all, as you can see, there are definitely more than three thousand of them, so it's very likely that they were just sent by the Herrscher of Domination to wear us down, right?"

In fact, within the ten minutes that the Fused Warrior squad had just fought, they had destroyed at least five thousand puppets, but the enemy was still pouring out in droves without any sign of abating. Therefore, it can be judged that the enemy's size should be at least over ten thousand.

"It's not impossible."

Hen nodded. "Then let's switch tactics. I'll leave the handling of the puppets to you, Daisy."

Normally, the Fused Warrior squad needs to cross the vast Honkai Beast sea before facing the Herrscher. In order to conserve their strength as much as possible, ranged archers like Desdrobia and Elysia are usually responsible for clearing out the enemies during the crossing of the Honkai Beast sea, while Kevin and the others only need to maintain the lowest level of defense.

"Got it? Then I won't be polite!"

Elysia nodded upon hearing this. "But, should we stay put?"

"No, we must take the initiative."

Kevin said, "Staying put doesn't seem like a good idea, Aponia. It's up to you to decide which way to go."

Because they were suddenly pulled into an unfamiliar environment, Kevin and the others decided to wait and see before getting familiar with their surroundings. However, judging from the subsequent developments, if they cannot find the true forms of the Herrscher of Domination, they will only be dragged down to their deaths here. Therefore, they must seek change now.

"Simply move in the direction the puppets are attacking."

Aponia then calmly added, "Furthermore, according to my intuition, these puppets are actually the Herrscher of Domination themselves."

"Yes, this can be confirmed based on the analysis of mental wave frequencies."

Mobius spoke up at this moment, "These puppets themselves have consciousness, but what makes up their bodies is not stable matter, but energy."

"Is it the Herrscher of Domination?"

Kevin frowned. "Then what's with this number?"

"As you may have noticed, after the doll is destroyed, it does not leave any remains on the spot, but decomposes and disappears directly."

Aponia explained, "Their spirits and residual energy will return to their source through the special abilities of this space, and reappear in their complete form, which is why the dolls are endless."

"So it wasn't a large number of people, but rather a war of attrition."

Cosmo breathed a sigh of relief. "In that case, what if we don't use lethal force, but instead use special methods to trap them?"

Upon hearing this, Kevin immediately unleashed his power, and endless icy winds spread outwards from the blade of his sword, quickly freezing all the surrounding puppets in solid ice.

"That might work... No, that's not right."

Aponia was about to nod when she suddenly paused, then murmured, "I see, I didn't even notice this discordant feeling before..."

"Aponia, what's wrong?"

Elysia asked with concern, but then she realized something was wrong, "Wait, Kevin, is the ice you released something that melts so easily?"

The next second, not only Elysia, but everyone saw that the layer of ice that had frozen the many dolls was melting at a visible speed.

Moreover, it wasn't a phenomenon caused by melting due to high temperatures; rather, it seemed more like... the ice was absorbed by the doll inside.

"All the energy released here will be captured and absorbed by the Domination Domain, thus transforming into the power of the puppets,"

Aponia's speech quickened considerably. "In other words, the longer we fight in this field, the stronger the enemy becomes, and the weaker we will become. We can't stay any longer."

Before anyone else could react, a sudden voice entered everyone's ears.

"Hmph, as expected of a human whose mental strength is comparable to that of Herrscher. I thought this disguise could fool you."

A strange voice said this. At first glance, you would subconsciously think it was a woman speaking, but upon closer listening, it sounds like a man. Even the age is unclear and impossible to discern.

The only thing that can be confirmed is that this guy's tone was really Yin and Yang and made you want to punch him.

"The Herrscher of Domination?"

Kevin asked in a deep voice, "It seems that you only mustered up the courage to face us after returning to your own territory."

"Don't overestimate yourselves, humans!"

These words seemed to irritate the Herrscher of Domination. Its voice rose eight octaves, becoming sharper, but then calmed down. "Enough. There's no need to pay attention to the words of a bunch of dying people. Come, step forward and receive your death!"

As it spoke, all the puppets abruptly stopped what they were doing. They bowed awkwardly to Kevin and the others, then collapsed to the ground and vanished into specks of light.

"I have to say, this scene is a bit creepy."

Vill-V touched her arm. "Aponia, can you sense where those souls are?"

"It cannot yet be confirmed that this aggregate of spiritual energy is a soul,"

Mobius unexpectedly corrected him from the side, "However, the place where they converge should be the place we are looking for."

"Then, follow me, everyone."

Aponia floated at the front, saying, "The terrain here is a bit complicated, so be careful not to get lost."

84

Chapter 84: Spicy Balls!

Is this place really that big?

After navigating the winding, broken corridors, ascending the spiraling, floating staircase that was more than ten stories high, and crossing at least five or six floating islands with completely different styles and themes, someone finally couldn't help but ask this question.

"This place was probably even larger before,"

As the person with the deepest understanding of the powers of the Herrscher of Domination, Mobius explained at this moment, "The size of the Domination Domain is closely related to the number of Herrscher of Domination. The more Herrscher linked in the Domination Domain, the larger the size of that place will be."

"So, this place was originally three times larger than it is now?"

Desdrobia, who had asked the question earlier, widened her eyes in surprise. "That's a truly unimaginable scale..."

"I see. So the reason this place is so chaotic is because each different location represents a different Herrscher of Domination?"

Upon hearing this, Elysia immediately began to observe the surrounding environment. "Hmm~ The main color here is blue. It seems that its owner is a bit introverted."

"You can just say it's autism, there's no need to use nicer words."

Mobius glanced at her. "Anyway, all Herrscher of Domination have some flaws in their personalities, so this is already quite good."

"We're almost there."

At this moment, Aponia suddenly spoke up, interrupting the two's conversation, "I can feel a very strong mental fluctuation from ahead. It seems that must be the surprise that the Herrscher of Domination has prepared for us."

"All personnel on alert."

Kevin raised a hand, "Advance in defensive formation, be wary..."

"There's been a sneak attack!"

Before Kevin could finish speaking, Elysia warned him, and at the same time, she drew her bow and shot an arrow into the sky. The arrow didn't fly far before it hit something, causing a violent explosion.

Then, in the flash of the explosion, Kevin and the others could see that it was a giant doll hidden in the shadows.

Describing it as a doll seems inaccurate, because although it has the basic characteristics of a humanoid appearance, it is full of mechanical feel. In comparison, it is closer to the "Original Number One" that Vill-V had previously constructed.

"Vill-V,"

Upon seeing this, Mobius couldn't help but complain, "Your idea has been plagiarized."

"The Original Number One wasn't this fat!"

Vill-V immediately retorted, "This guy is way too bloated, so ugly!"

"Be careful, everyone,"

Kevin then spoke up to warn us, "It's coming!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the enormous figure began to fall and then crashed down in front of everyone.

Immediately afterwards, the "X" shaped pattern on the other person's abdomen cracked open, and a bunch of dolls poured out from the bloated belly.

"Is this the true form of the Herrscher of Domination?"

Elysia frowned and said, "Hmm, even I can't think of any words of praise to say now."

"I have a suggestion."

Hen suddenly spoke up, "How about we call this big guy 'the mob'?"

"A very good name, perfectly suited to the Herrscher of Domination."

Kevin couldn't help but smile. "Then it's settled."

Cosmo crouched down, assuming a fighting stance. "Captain, what are the orders?"

"Is there even a need to ask?"

Kevin raised his greatsword, pointing it straight at the towering enemy. "Elysia, say hello to our enemy."

The next second, an arrow slashed through the dark curtain and hurtled toward the embroidered pillow.

However, the arrow shattered abruptly before it even touched its target, as if an invisible blade had sliced it to pieces.

"Be careful, the threads of Herrscher of Domination are spread around the Herrscher of Domination,"

Aponia's voice entered everyone's minds, "I will share my senses and mark the location of those threads for you, so you don't get tangled up."

Just as she said, many dense threads gradually appeared in everyone's field of vision.

Some of them are linked between embroidered pillows and dolls, while others seem to hang down from the dark sky and pierce into the earth, and still others simply emerge abruptly from the air and disappear into the air on the other side, looking incredibly eerie.

Looking even further into the distance, one can see countless threads extending from various corners, as if trying to entangle the entire Domination Domain.

"These silk threads..."

Sakura frowned, then suddenly drew her sword and slashed. Countless blades of light flashed across the silk threads, but even if they were severed, they would regenerate. "This is a bit troublesome."

"That must be a manifestation of the power of the Herrscher of Domination."

Mobius also cautioned, "If you get entangled, your power will be taken away, and the worst-case scenario is that you might even be controlled by the other party."

"It is possible for one's power to be taken away."

Aponia said, "However, there's no need to worry about being controlled, because I'm here."

"Aponia, you're so well-rounded!"

Elysia couldn't help but laugh and say, "I really like you!"