Chapter 74

"If possible, I really hope you can stay in the combat ranks permanently,"

Kevin sincerely added, "However, let's focus on the present moment—combat orders, leave no one behind!"

As if enraged by the relaxed and carefree atmosphere of the Fused Warrior, the mob roared deafeningly. Then, the puppets it controlled unleashed their power: flames, frost, lightning, storms, poisonous fog... all sorts of powers rose from their hands and swept over the Fused Warrior like a terrifying tsunami engulfing a lone boat.

However, they were not facing small boats helpless in the storm.

Facing his final enemy, Kevin no longer needed to worry about conserving his energy. He raised his greatsword and unleashed the strongest strike of the day.

Subsequently, extremely cold glaciers rose from the ground, carrying irresistible gales, freezing the tsunami along with the ocean.

With a single sword strike, more than a third of the puppets were destroyed by the unstoppable force. Even the unharmed mob took a step back as if they were in fear.

However, this was only the prelude to the battle.

Following Kevin's actions, the others also sprang into action. Cosmo and Hen soared into the sky on the glacier, while Desdrobia directly channeled her telekinesis into the two of them, hurling them toward the mob. Countless puppets along the way tried to intercept them, but before they could make a move, they were pinned to the ground by the incoming arrows and rendered immobile.

Sakura did not charge head-on, because that was not her fighting style. As an assassin, the fox-eared girl moved along the edge of the battlefield, like the most deadly hunter. Whenever the rabble showed a weakness, she would unleash a blade aimed straight at the vital points.

Mobius once again unleashed her Bio-Armor, transforming into a giant snake-man that rampaged through the group of puppets. She knew very well that, like Vill-V, she was not good at fighting, so she only needed to clear obstacles for the others, and the most troublesome guy would naturally be dealt with by someone else.

Even Vill-V kept pulling out all sorts of self-defense weapons from her waist bag, from various types of explosives to automatic machine gun turrets that could automatically search for and attack targets. She even pulled out a bunch of random materials and conjured up a magnetic levitation vehicle for herself on the spot.

Once they realize that the enemy before them is the final boss, no one will hold back their power anymore. Everything, along with their anger towards the Honkai, is thrown at them.

Faced with the all-out offensive of the Fused Warrior, even the Herrscher of Domination, with its more than three thousand brains, was momentarily overwhelmed. However, being a being with numerous powers and on its own territory, it managed to redeploy everything in less than half a minute.

It's just... why do I feel like I've forgotten something?

A sudden thought flashed through its mind, causing the Herrscher of Domination to awaken as if from a dream, breaking free from its hazy constraints. It looked at the motionless figure in the distance with resentful eyes, clearly aware that this was the influence caused by that individual with ridiculously strong mental power.

But it's too late to worry about her now, because—

The figure wielding a greatsword had somehow slipped through the encirclement of puppets and was now standing right at his feet.

85

Chapter 85 Hmph, trying to escape? (5,000-word chapter)

The battle seemed to end in an instant.

When Kevin, with the help of his teammates' cover and Aponia's mental interference, successfully reached the mob, the outcome was already decided.

Kevin raised his greatsword high, and boundless, extreme cold power climbed up the blade, eventually transforming into a massive ice crystal blade, taller than the rabble itself, as unstoppable as an iceberg.

The next second, the iceberg collapsed towards the rabble.

The enormous roar drowned out all other sounds on the battlefield, and everyone's eyes were drawn to the source of the roar, but the area was shrouded in white mist, making it impossible to see anything for a moment.

Is it over?

Desdrobia couldn't help but ask.

"You can't say things like that!"

Cosmo was instantly horrified. "Saying things like that will never end this!"

"Mobius, I was just about to ask that,"

Elysia looked at her with a questioning expression. "Where did you get this theory from?"

"Don't let your guard down."

At this moment, Vill-V's expression turned serious. "The energy reaction hasn't disappeared; on the contrary, it's intensifying... Cosmo is telling the truth!"

"No way?"

Even Hen couldn't help but show a strange expression. "Can't you even get rid of it?"

His response was a loud bang.

The intense flames erupted within the still-lingering white mist, directly dispersing it, and only then could people see what had happened.

The mob had indeed fallen; it was torn apart and looked as if it had been defeated.

However, flames ignited on its body, not from its original power, but from... the Seventh Herrscher.

Kevin was still trying his best to suppress his opponent. The terrifyingly low temperature had frozen the ground around him, causing cracks, but he could not get close to the opponent's already broken body. Instead, in this standoff, he was being forced further and further away by the flames on the rabble.

"Something's wrong!"

Sakura's long ears twitched. "That attack was blocked, and the enemy's power is still increasing!"

"Kevin, come back quickly!"

Hen immediately realized that something unexpected had happened. "Elysia, provide cover fire!"

Without hesitation, Elysia immediately fired a giant crystal arrow. The arrow exploded as it flew over the mob, turning into a rain of arrows that enveloped them.

Although such shooting could not effectively kill the mob, the sudden appearance of a third force in the standoff between ice and fire was enough to give Kevin an opening to extricate himself.

Almost at the last second before the rain of arrows descended, Kevin suddenly pulled away and retreated, simultaneously conjuring frost to completely envelop himself in armor.

The next second, the flames on the mob finally erupted uncontrollably, emitting a terrifying roar that almost shattered the entire floating island, spreading the high temperature and shockwaves in all directions without restraint.

Under such terrifying destructive power, the floating island finally succumbed and was blown to pieces. Fortunately, Desdrobia had just realized the danger, used her telekinesis to control everyone and fly away from the area affected by the explosion, arriving at another floating island.

"What happened?"

Hen steadied the swaying Kevin and asked anxiously, "Why did the rabble suddenly become stronger?"

"Let me answer your questions."

The strange voice they had heard before rang out once more, and the figures of the rabble gradually emerged from the smoke and dust that shrouded the shattered floating island, landing before them once more.

Look at its belly!

Elysia was the first to notice something was wrong. "There shouldn't have been that red crystal before, right?"

All eyes were focused on the other person's bloated abdomen. Above the conspicuous "X" pattern, a narrow, diamond-shaped crystal appeared, glowing a fiery red, clearly related to the flames the other person had suddenly mastered.

"It stole the power of the Seventh Herrscher Core."

Kevin readjusted his stance before speaking in a low voice, "I don't know what method it used, but since it was able to seize the power of the Seventh Herrscher Core, it means..."

"It can also steal the power of other Herrscher Core, right?"

Cosmo took over the conversation, his expression turning serious. "This is really getting complicated..."

Before the others could speak, they saw the other's abdomen light up again: purple for the Herrscher of Thunder, gold for the Herrscher of Void, blue for the Herrscher of Reason, gray for the Herrscher of Death... Seven lights lit up in succession. Except for the Eighth Herrscher Core, which was not held by the Fused Warrior squad, the power of all the Herrscher appeared on the mob.

"It's unexpected, surprising, and unbelievable, isn't it?"

Seeing that their plan had succeeded, the mob finally burst into unrestrained laughter, as if to make up for their silence earlier. "Why do you think I would risk dragging you into the Domination Domain? Once you're inside, the core will be practically inside my belly, understand?"

"I see."

It was only then that Vill-V realized, "No wonder you were so quiet earlier. I thought you were pretending to be an expert, but it turns out you were just sneaking around!"

"How dare you! Who are you calling a petty thief!"

Enraged by such a description, the mob blazed with the yellow light representing the Herrscher of Rock, and the next second, a terrifying gravity pressed everyone to the ground, rendering them immobile. "Without the power of the Herrscher, you ants can forget about stirring up any more trouble!"

"What do we do now?"

Hen couldn't help but ask, "If the other party really possesses the power of eight Herrscher, then things are probably..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already clear. Just as the mob had said, the other side had gathered the power of eight Herrscher, making it easy for them to deal with them.

This desperate situation was unprecedented, and even a battle-hardened warrior like Hen was at a loss for what to do for a moment.

"We can't give up!"

Cosmo struggled against gravity, thinking, "As long as I don't give up, there's always a chance!"

Kevin could only turn his attention to the two scholars. "Mobius, Vill-V, what are your thoughts?"

"The mob's control over the Herrscher's power is not absolute,"

At this point, Vill-V said, "Or rather, its use of Herrscher authority is very superficial. I think there might still be a chance."

"Don't be intimidated by it,"

Although Mobius obediently lay on the ground, he still sneered, "The power of eight Herrscher is not so easy to control. They're a bunch of worthless bastards. They'll be overwhelmed at best. It definitely can't maintain this state."

Elysia couldn't help but exclaim, "Mobius, you're starting to sound more and more like Ai Yue now."

"However, Ms. Mobius is right."

At this moment, Aponia said, "I can feel that the other party's spiritual power is constantly being drained. That may be the price it has to pay for forcibly controlling the power of other Herrscher."

"In short, the current number of Herrscher of Domination is no longer sufficient to control such a massive power,"

Mobius continued, "I seriously suspect that every time it uses its power, it overdraws its mental energy. Even if it still has more than three thousand individuals supporting it, how long can it last?"

"So, you mean we're going to wage a war of attrition against it?"

Sakura asked, "Luckily we have armor, otherwise we might not have enough resources."

The armor not only made up for the lack of defense for the group, but also had an internal life support system that could meet all the needs for long-term endurance.

"So I was right, wasn't I!"

Cosmo suddenly said, "As long as we don't give up, there's always a chance!"

"I don't know why you're so confident,"

Kevin couldn't help but smile slightly. "But since that's the case, let's struggle on."

As he spoke, he struggled against gravity and stubbornly stood up from the ground.

"Still trying to struggle, human!"

Seeing this, the mob couldn't help but fly into a rage, shouting, "Then die!"

As he spoke, a purple light shone from the abdomen of the mob, followed by a huge bolt of lightning that struck Kevin.

It had said so much just now in an attempt to break down Kevin and the others' mental defenses, so that they would give up struggling and it would save it some effort. But it didn't expect that these humans would be so stubborn and still try to struggle in the face of such a huge power difference.

The mob had no idea that Kevin and the others hadn't heard what it said at all; otherwise, they would probably have been even more furious.

As the mob unleashed their lightning, the gravity that had been pressing on Kevin and the others was released, and everyone immediately stood up, dodging the attack.

"Its control over power is indeed problematic!"

"I suspect it can only use one Herrscher power at a time, otherwise there's no reason for it to be able to interact with gravity!" Vill-V shouted.

"Shut up, you damned human!"

Upon hearing Vill-V's words, the mob flew into a rage, which also confirmed Vill-V's deduction. "I will tear you to pieces!"

The next second, countless ice spikes emerged from in front of the rabble, sweeping towards the Fused Warrior.

Desdrobia didn't speak, but instead released her telekinesis, causing the ice spikes to deflect and collide with each other, giving the Fused Warrior a huge space to dodge.

"Spread out and attack, don't stand together!"

Kevin made a decision immediately and charged straight at the mob, "I'll distract them!"

Seeing Kevin attack again, the mob immediately abandoned their attacks on the others and spewed flames from their abdomens in an attempt to force him back.

However, the overwhelming iceberg had left it with considerable psychological trauma. If it hadn't already completed its domination of the other Herrscher Core at the crucial moment, it probably would have really died from that attack.

"The crystals in the abdomen are just a disguise; its true power does not gather there."

Aponia added later, "Focus on its head."

Cosmo ran through the shadows, then leaped from the wreckage of the broken floating island, attacking its head from a corner undetected by the mob.

However, at the critical moment, the attack was detected by the enemy, and the mob was forced to use the power of the Herrscher of Void to teleport to the other side, narrowly avoiding the attack of the Cosmo.

However, this time it was met with another flash of snow-white light.

Having already figured out the fighting habits of the mob in the previous battle, Sakura had anticipated all possible responses from them. Now, the moment its form reappeared, Sakura transformed into a white blade of light and slashed at it!

This time, the mob tried to use the same trick again, but Sakura's speed was faster than its spatial movement. In desperation, the mob condensed a thick ice armor on its head, which finally managed to barely block the attack.

Elysia immediately re-locked the position of the rabble and was about to fire when she suddenly heard Aponia's voice in her mind. "Elysia, don't attract its attention yet."

Elysia turned her head and saw Aponia, Mobius, and Vill-V gathered together, as if discussing something.

After she walked over, she heard Mobius speak, "You should have heard that the mob just said that it was risky to drag us into the Domination Domain, right?"

"That does seem to be true."

Elysia then remembered that the other party had indeed unintentionally said something like that, "So, the Domination Domain have fatal weaknesses?"