The Battle Had Only Just Begun

Because of the appearance of the Herrscher, Cecilia had arrived here at the first opportunity. At this moment, Siegfried and the others believed she had come to block their way, and they all drew their weapons.

"Meeting again. Can you tell me why?"

"Sigh, finally, someone who can actually talk. The area ahead is plagued by ultra-low temperatures and abnormal gravity. With your level of strength, you'll probably die on the way before even seeing the Herrscher of Frost. You don't actually think that having enough people will lead to a qualitative change when facing a Herrscher, do you?"

"But protecting humanity and eliminating the Honkai are Schicksal's responsibilities. Even knowing it's dangerous, we won't retreat." A Valkyrie spoke firmly.

"From the Ural Mountains to the Kamchatka Peninsula, survivors are still fleeing for their lives, yet you're preparing to line up and deliver yourselves to the Herrscher. Is this how you protect ordinary people?"

"This... But that Herrscher is the root cause of all these disasters. Unless the Herrscher is eliminated, this Honkai won't stop..." Cecilia and the others began arguing with Enoshia. Just as the atmosphere grew more heated, countless missiles came screaming from the horizon, and the area ahead instantly became a sea of flames once more. Unlike the intelligence had indicated, however, the missiles were unaffected by the abnormal gravity and struck their targets with precision.

"If I hadn't stopped you just now, how many of you would have been injured or even killed by missiles launched by your own side?" Enoshia knew that Schicksal's Valkyries had always preferred compromise. If she blocked their path and refused to let them pass, they would risk their lives just to find out why. But if she told them to return from wherever they had come, they would be willing to stay and talk with her.

Several dozen minutes later, the smoke cleared. The Honkai Beasts around the Herrscher of Frost had been reduced to almost none, and only then did they understand her true intentions.

"The moment gravity returned to normal, they fired missiles without caring about their own people. I think you understand better than I do who would do something like that," Enoshia said coldly.

For selfish reasons, among the seven famous figures from the original story standing before her, Cheng Lixue and Cecilia were the ones Enoshia most wanted to survive. As for the rest... Enoshia's gaze lingered on Shigure Kira for several seconds. As the only member of the Snow Wolf Squad in the original story to survive until the end, she was ironically the one Enoshia least wanted to save.

"Let's go." Enoshia indicated for the Emperor-class Honkai Beast to lead the way. The Valkyries behind her immediately followed. Whenever they encountered an obstacle, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast would simply send it flying.

Since there had been little fighting, the group soon arrived less than a kilometer from the Herrscher of Frost. The closer they got to the Herrscher, the fewer Honkai Beasts there were.

"Strange. Weren't we told that the Herrscher could alter gravity? Why did it suddenly return to normal?" The unexpected ease of their progress left Siegfried puzzled. The others also noticed that the Herrscher of Frost had changed positions. It had originally been in the center of the huge crater, but it had now moved four or five kilometers outside it.

"You think the years are peaceful because someone is carrying the burden for you. Of course, it wasn't because the Herrscher of Frost suddenly grew merciful and made gravity normal." Enoshia pointed toward a figure fighting the Herrscher of Frost.

The moment she finished speaking, the figure was sent flying and landed in front of them. Siegfried looked down, then his eyes widened.

"Welt?!"

The disheveled man lying in the snow was none other than Welt, who had cooperated with Schicksal just a few days earlier. He had been the one to fight the Herrscher of Frost immediately after Schicksal's bombardment ended, preventing it from running amok. He had also been the one to use the Star of Eden to restore the surrounding gravitational environment to normal. However, for a Herrscher of Reason to maintain normal gravity while fighting a Dual-Core Herrscher and preventing the missiles from Schicksal HQ from hitting him was truly asking too much.

"He volunteered to hold this thing back and let me bring reinforcements in. We also turned enemies into allies. Good thing we weren't too late." Enoshia fired an arrow at the Herrscher of Frost, shattering the icicle it had shot toward Old Yang.

"Turned enemies into allies?" The others were confused.

"Yes. For example, this Emperor-class Honkai Beast, as well as quite a few Honkai Beasts that were fighting other Honkai Beasts earlier. They were all originally born in Siberia because of it. But now they listen to me."

Honkai Energy gathered inside a Herrscher to form a Herrscher Core, granting the Herrscher the authority to create and command Honkai Beasts and Zombies. At the highest level, it could even produce Judgment-class Honkai Beasts.

The relationship between a Herrscher and Honkai Beasts was actually more like that between a queen bee and worker bees. The birth of a Herrscher would cause the number of Honkai Beasts in its region to increase, just as a queen bee produced more worker bees to protect its hive. These Honkai Beasts were as loyal to the Herrscher commanding them as soldiers were to their king. Thus, even if two Herrschers appeared in the same region, neither could control the other's Honkai Beasts.

Of course, the above was merely the general situation. As the Herrscher of Corruption, who could even corrupt other Herrschers, Enoshia could naturally alter the data of other Honkai Beasts. Through a method equivalent to forced brainwashing, she had turned soldiers that were originally utterly loyal to the Herrscher of Frost into her own subordinates.

At this point, the Herrscher of Frost no longer resembled a flower bud waiting to bloom. Its five petals had spread out in five directions, and each petal was edged with an ice hairpin as sharp as a blade. Two Frost Lanterns floated on either side. Up to this point, its appearance was nearly identical to the Herrscher of Frost she had once seen in the Abyss and on the battlefield.

But the figure standing in the center of the flower was worlds apart from the white-haired girl formed after Anna Schariac's transformation into a Herrscher. Its entire body was pitch-black. Only after careful observation could one barely make out a humanoid shape, and strange black smoke radiated outward from it.

Watching Old Yang charge forward again, Cecilia immediately ordered all Valkyries below Rank A to retreat several kilometers away. They were to maintain communications, treat any wounded who appeared, and deal with any low-level Honkai Beasts that might emerge at any moment. Cecilia herself charged forward with the Black Abyss White Flower.

"Everyone, cover me."

Cheng Lixue, Shub, and Salome immediately rushed out, each drawing the attack of one ice hairpin. Theresa drew the attacks of the remaining two. Siegfried and Shigure Kira, the two gun users, provided ranged support, shattering the ice spikes aimed at the others. Meanwhile, Welt maintained normal gravity while constructing a large number of Titan Mechs to suppress it with firepower.

With everyone performing their respective roles, Cecilia quickly found an opening. She leaped into the air, stepped on the Frost Lantern flying toward her, and jumped above the Herrscher of Frost before throwing the Black Abyss White Flower. It pierced straight through the creature's body with pinpoint accuracy.

With several gunshots, the ice spikes that had originally been aimed at her were all shattered by Siegfried and Shigure Kira, allowing Cecilia to return safely to the ground.

Watching its body disintegrate chaotically under the power of the Black Abyss, Enoshia felt that something was wrong. Its arrival in the world had caused such a tremendous disturbance, so how had it ended with thunder and little rain, being destroyed by a single attack?

Just as she was puzzled, an unbelievable scene appeared before everyone's eyes. Although it had stopped attacking, the wound caused by the Black Abyss White Flower began healing at a visible speed and vanished completely after only a few seconds. Meanwhile, the Black Abyss White Flower lying on the ground released a wisp of black smoke.

Then, centered on it, a powerful shock wave spread in all directions. The earth was thrown into the air, all the Titan Mechs constructed by Welt vanished, and several Valkyries charging at the front were sent flying.

The battle had only just begun.