Bohai Sea.
With two slices of bread clenched between his teeth, Gu Yan walked onto the deck, looking languid.
"You don't even need to eat?"
Xu Muchi leaned against the railing, gazing at the ocean as though lost in thought while the breeze scattered her white hair.
"Do you need to eat?"
"Of course. I'm just an ordinary person. If I don't eat, I'll starve to death!"
"Heh. Then I definitely won't miss your funeral feast."
"..."
She had arrived at the Bohai Sea two days after the Great One had been eliminated. Since there was still plenty of follow-up work to do, it took another six days to more or less deal with the disaster within the country.
The threat in the Bohai Sea was the greatest, so they had not dared withdraw their troops lightly even after the Great One. The forces assigned to subjugate the Herrscher had simply decided to gather here as well.
Oh, right. So far, there had been no news of any Herrscher. Countries around the world were busy dealing with the disasters caused by the Honkai, and the casualties had already reached a horrifying figure.
Naturally, dealing with the source of so many problems would not involve only one or two countries. The Herrscher of Reason had truly become the enemy of the entire world.
Over these eight days, Gu Yan had found time... Though he had been idle the whole time, he had still made time to contact his sister. He was genuinely afraid that Mother Gu would have a death certificate issued for him.
"You weren't like this before. Back then, you offered me all sorts of benefits to trick me into joining the Ability Department. Now you think about attending my funeral every day."
Gu Yan gnawed on his bread while constantly shooting Xu Muchi reproachful looks.
"But I'm sorry to disappoint you. I have no plans to die just yet." The more he thought about Xu Muchi's actions, the more she seemed like a cult leader.
As long as Zhao Qi was absent, Gu Yan was the biggest idiot around.
Xu Muchi did not speak again. She simply continued gazing at the sea, trying to clear her mind.
The two of them had spent the past few days together like this. Gu Yan would occasionally run his mouth, while Xu Muchi quietly admired the scenery and occasionally responded to him.
"We found it!"
Xu Muchi's tone suddenly turned serious. The sea breeze around them was shattered by a fierce sword intent.
"Found what...?"
"The First Herrscher appeared at the Madagascar Military Base in the eastern Atlantic three minutes ago. All S-rank units in the Bohai Sea, deploy immediately!"
Qin Hong'an's order came through the communications device, answering Gu Yan's question.
Seven figures flew into the air from various warships and shot westward. There were not many combatants, but every one of them was a top-tier fighter. Any one of them could sweep through a small or medium-sized country. Moreover, due to the target's special nature, they could all fly at speeds exceeding Mach 8 when going all out.
Gu Yan exchanged a glance with Xu Muchi, and the two of them disappeared from the warship as well.
We're going to clash with a Herrscher again.
Tap, tap, tap...
The artillery fire had already ceased. The Madagascar garrison had been wiped out, and a mechanical dragon lay sprawled on the ground.
Footsteps rang out. Ji walked slowly among the rubble and ruins, the sound of her steps exceptionally clear in the silence.
She stopped before the shadow of a building.
It was clearly nothing more than an ordinary shadow formed by blocked sunlight, yet it seemed as though some beast lurked within it. Its violent, frigid aura made people extremely uncomfortable.
Ji sat down elegantly. A crystal chair as magnificent as a throne appeared behind her at precisely the right moment.
"You want me to kill someone?"
Ji sneered disdainfully and met the gaze of the unknown presence in the shadows.
"A freak like you thinks you're worthy?"
"..."
"Tsk. Fine, fine. For the sake of the Honkai."
She had not carelessly exposed her position. Rather, she was waiting for a certain "butterfly"—something insignificant, yet capable of raising a tornado.
To her, this was no more than casually swatting one fly while killing another. It was a trivial matter.
But...
A cerulean spear thrust out from beside her. The rampant Honkai Energy forced the shadow back, and a trace of fear emerged within its frigid aura.
"Don't think I don't know what you're plotting. You want to use me as a weapon?"
Ji's voice was cold and dangerous, and the temperature around her seemed to plummet as a result.
The shadow flickered twice. Ji's gaze remained unyielding until she caught the message begging for mercy.
"Heh heh. Trying to be clever!"
Her finger moved slightly, and the spear flew back into Ji's hand. The presence that had never revealed itself also left the area.
Only Ji and Morr remained in Madagascar, but Ji knew that this place would soon become lively.
That was right. A large group of ants who did not know their own limits was about to arrive, and then "surround and kill" her.
Patterns emerged in Ji's blue eyes. She felt a strange excitement in her heart as she rose to her feet and activated her Authority.
Nearby debris turned into specks of light and dissipated. Drones and mechs appeared one after another around her—armor, fighter jets, artillery...
Even Floating Battleships and other technological weapons that did not exist in this world appeared one after another under Ji's construction. They needed no operators and no supplies. With only herself, she could lead these weapons in shaking the entire world.
As the Herrscher of Reason, she alone embodied the present and future of technology. Every movement of her hands could summon a steel torrent. With a single thought, attacks capable of destroying any nation in the modern world could pour forth. As long as she remained alive, it would never cease.
The only thing capable of restraining her was herself. Nuclear weapons or Ability Users were nothing more than the methods of ants!
Because she was the Herrscher of Reason. What she believed in was not truth, but war! At this moment, she herself was war!
Within firing range, truth was everywhere.
Morr let out a low growl, informing its master of the "visitors'" arrival.
"Then I'll set off some fireworks to welcome them!"
Lasers, artillery fire, and missiles blasted toward a certain direction without restraint, regardless of whether they could hit their target.
The construction had not stopped. Walls and shields continued to appear.
By the time Gu Yan and the other Huaguo Ability Users arrived, two hours had already passed.
"This...?"
Madagascar was an island in the eastern Atlantic that had long been occupied by the Beautiful Country as a naval base. Now, however, the entire island had been transformed into a fortress, shrouded by a translucent Energy Shield.
Above the fortress, Floating Battleships bombarded the sea. The naval vessels of other countries that had come to subjugate the Herrscher were sunk and destroyed like toys.
Gu Yan was less surprised than the others. Only the corners of his eyes twitched when he saw the Floating Battleships.
Who stole the Hyperion?!
"Senior Xu!"
"What should we do now?"
They had hurried all the way here, only to find an unexpected situation upon arrival. But the distance was too great, and the thought network could no longer communicate normally. Unable to receive orders, everyone turned to Xu Muchi for guidance.
These people all possessed superior abilities and status, yet they voluntarily lowered their stance before Xu Muchi and were willing to follow her command.
Seeing this, Gu Yan raised his brows. It seemed her power and reputation were truly extraordinary.
However, six of the nine people had expressed their position. Aside from him, only another young man had made no move.
Not only did these people show no reaction to the young man's silence, they instead seemed quite... reverent?
Before you continue