The Third Herrscher's Premature Appearance

"Um... Miss Yae, could you do me a favor?" Even though being friend-zoned felt awful, Feng Chen was strangely happy after realizing the low chance of actually getting together with Yae Sakura.

"Go ahead, as long as it's not helping Honkai. And call me Sakura."

??? What kind of plot development is this?

"System, what's going on?"

"Because Yae Sakura went through events 500 years ago, she trusts very few people. For you to gain her trust, even a friend-zone can lead to further development. Plus, your actions of not pressing her earlier and giving her water have already increased her favorability quite a bit."

"Right, where are my onigiri?"

"I don't know how to make them, so you can't ask me. Ask Yae Sakura."

This System is too irresponsible. How can it tell me to get the quest reward from the quest target...

"Oh, I made some onigiri here too. Here, take them, Chen-kun." Just as Feng Chen was about to complain to the System, Yae Sakura had already handed him three onigiri the size of human faces.

"Th... Thank you." Holding three onigiri the size of human faces was difficult, especially for this weak (probably) young man who was a shut-in before transmigrating. He put all three onigiri into his storage space, since Sakura already knew about his 'ability'.

"Alright, what was it you needed?" Sakura's smile had become rare after 500 years. Although she still looked like a fairy from a painting, there was a lack of naturalness, as if she was forcing it, making it stiff.

This only made Feng Chen want to understand the girl in front of him even more (probably, considering Sakura was quite young compared to Honkai). According to the System, Sakura's past seemed to be shrouded in darkness.

"Kallen Kaslana..." Feng Chen murmured.

Sakura seemed to have vaguely heard something and asked, "What?"

"No, it's nothing. I wanted to ask you, no, I should say, please, please accompany me to defeat the Third Herrscher. I'm afraid I don't stand much of a chance going alone."

Sakura didn't know why Feng Chen wanted to defeat the Third Herrscher. It couldn't be for her Herrscher Core. Although she and Feng Chen had only met twice in one day, she had a very keen intuition that Feng Chen was definitely not that kind of person.

"Okay."

Feng Chen hadn't expected Yae Sakura to agree, which was somewhat surprising. Herrschers rarely fought each other unless their paths diverged. Yae Sakura was a Simulated Herrscher, but her combat power was definitely among the top one-core Herrschers, so there was no reason for her to agree. She hadn't chosen humanity, nor had she chosen Honkai; her choice lay with Kallen.

Whichever faction Kallen Kaslana chose, she would follow.

Even killing Honkai Beasts and Mortals was because of Kallen. Sakura's choice was not humanity, but Kallen.

However, since Kallen and Honkai were enemies, even as a Simulated Herrscher, she had to fight against Honkai.

"Is this love... System, I'm a little jealous of that Kallen."

"You're already smitten? It's only the first day. I'm worried about you. Did I find a fickle guy?"

"Fickle? Maybe. I had a lot of paper wives before I transmigrated. But smitten... probably not. I just envy their love."

"Then why aren't you working harder?"

"How can I work harder? If I'm not mistaken, the white-haired girl likes Yae, and the twin-tailed loli also likes Yae. None of the girls I've met so far are obtainable."

"Sirin, with me around, she won't be able to kill you. You just need to pursue her."

"Sirin... Why would I pursue a dead person? Besides, the awakened Sirin isn't the original Sirin, is she?"

"What if I told you I have a way to send you back fourteen years?"

"Fourteen years ago? That was...?"

"The Second Honkai War, the appearance of the Second Herrscher, and also the 'confirmed death' of the Second Herrscher."

"How can I go back?"

"I'll let you go back once you truly understand Sirin. But there's only one chance. If you can't save Sirin, it will be useless."

Only one chance... The one who could kill Sirin must have a strength no less than a Six-Core Herrscher. The System said I would become a One-Core Herrscher within two years, but... would that really be enough?

"I probably can't save her. Sirin is a Six-Core Herrscher, so the one who killed her must also have Six-Core Herrscher strength."

"That was Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie, Cecilia Schariac. Her weapon was the Sixth Divine Key - Black Abyss White Flower, made from the Herrscher Core of the Sixth Herrscher - the Herrscher of Death - from the previous civilization era."

"Death...?"

"But don't worry, Host. Once your strength becomes great enough, your abilities will be even more powerful than Black Abyss White Flower. (Why did I compare it to Black Abyss White Flower? Why don't you guys guess?)"

To conserve stamina, Feng Chen and Yae Sakura chose to walk towards the trio's location.

There were still two days before the Third Herrscher came out to cause trouble, so walking slowly was fine.

Along the way, many Honkai Beasts and Mortals voluntarily came to deliver experience points, which made Feng Chen extremely happy. With Yae Sakura by his side, let alone Emperor Honkai, even if a few Emperor Honkai appeared, he wouldn't be afraid.

"Disappear."

Several Temple-class Honkai Beasts instantly turned into Honkai Energy, which Yae Sakura absorbed. Since Yae Sakura was doing most of the work, Feng Chen felt too embarrassed to snatch her Honkai Energy; he wasn't that shameless.

However, Yae Sakura only needed to absorb Honkai Energy to level up, while Feng Chen needed Herrscher Experience. He wouldn't be polite about those golden-yellow fragments.

"System, how much more do I need to level up?"

"Host has currently obtained 92% of Herrscher Experience, with 8% remaining to level up."

Feng Chen didn't blame the System anymore because he found that his strength was increasing with the accumulation of Herrscher Experience. For example, Feng Chen's previous move "Death Force Breaks the Sea" could blow up a Honkai Crush. Now, Feng Chen only needed to use 60% of his strength to throw a punch, and a Honkai Crush would be half-dead.

"System, let's discuss something. Can you increase the experience for each of my future level-ups by a hundred, no, ten thousand times? That way, I'll have more motivation!"

"Don't think I can't see what you're thinking. Stop dreaming. This is already the highest growth potential. Any higher, and you'll be able to tear the Earth apart with your bare hands once you reach One-Core Herrscher."

"Chen-kun, look ahead!" Yae Sakura suddenly called out to Feng Chen, who was talking to the System, and rushed forward.

Feng Chen saw the figure with purple hair and purple lightning flickering around her, playing with Kiana and Bronya.

What's going on? Is Changkong City this small? The mission is almost done after just one day?

"Such low-class taste, playing with little girls."

Yae Sakura drew one katana from her waist, and the other katana was slightly unsheathed.

"Swish!"

The Third Herrscher felt threatened for the first time. In Changkong City, there was actually someone who could threaten her?