The young man's eyelashes hung low. He stood silently at the edge of the crowd, his brooding air so pervasive that he looked like a handsome but dispirited man.
Gu Yan was only watching him from the corner of his eye, but the young man still noticed. He raised his head and stared at Gu Yan without a word.
It was hard not to notice such an intensely oppressive gaze. Gu Yan stopped hiding it and smiled at the young man.
I can't see through his eyes at all. Gu Yan was secretly startled. The young man's emotionless, corpse-like expression made him extremely uncomfortable.
"What is it?"
Xu Muchi noticed that something was off with Gu Yan and asked. The others also turned their gazes toward the two of them.
"Xu Ying."
The young man extended his hand. There was no emotion in his voice; he wanted to convey nothing more than the two words "Xu Ying," without joy or sorrow.
"Gu Yan." Gu Yan clasped the young man's hand. Even the people around them could not help sucking in a breath.
He's so young. I've never seen him before. Which old monster is pretending to be young? Or has another incredible junior appeared? Wuchang took the initiative to befriend him, so this person must be extraordinary!
The other six went into a frenzy of speculation.
Xu Muchi's eyes lit up, and she was almost certain that Gu Yan was the Child of Destiny.
Xu Ying's ability was life conversion. As long as you still had a breath left and he did not want you to die, no injury—including a shortened lifespan—would be a problem.
Who would not want to befriend such an existence?
The person Xu Muchi had previously said could cure Honkai Sickness was precisely Xu Ying!
Gu Yan, however, knew nothing of this.
"First, we need to gather the other combat forces and prepare for the Herrscher. A scattered force will have trouble opposing it."
Xu Muchi broke the silence.
Based on the information available, the First Herrscher possessed the ability to create all kinds of weapon technology, including nuclear strikes. Although the many S-Class Ability Users were formidable, it was absolutely impossible for them to withstand a nuclear bomb head-on.
Therefore, they needed to gather their forces. The bigger the snowball, the better.
"She's pretty cautious. She didn't become arrogant just because there are more people. If they had attacked directly, not everyone here would necessarily have survived." Gu Yan secretly nodded, but his expression remained calm as he followed the main group.
It looks like I haven't given them their buffs yet. Never mind, there's no rush.
The sea stretched in every direction. Sunken warships and floating ice on the surface were strikingly visible, while those who had fallen into the water had been rescued onto the ice. At this latitude, such a phenomenon was clearly the work of an Ability User.
Come to think of it, did the Honkai have some special attachment to the sea?
"Are they people from Huaguo?"
"They came far too late! Our allied forces have already lost more than thirty warships!"
When the nine landed on the floating ice, the survivors either complained or expressed relief, and the scene descended into chaos.
Before their arrival, most people who had never directly experienced the Herrscher's terror had been eager to try their luck, dreaming of becoming famous in one battle and believing that the Herrscher was nothing special.
The countries with lax controls over Ability Users had grown accustomed to looking down on everyone. They had forgotten their own limits and had no idea how terrifying a Herrscher was.
The result of their arrogance was that more than a hundred A-Class Ability Users and seventeen S-Class Ability Users had been unable to break through the shield the Herrscher had placed around the fortress. Their so-called strength had become a joke.
From beginning to end, the Herrscher had not even appeared.
Arrogant as they were, after eighty percent of their forces had been killed or wounded, they withdrew here and survived. They were not foolish enough to fear death.
The good news was that, after two hours of waiting—by which point all the participating personnel had gathered—the number of people who had reached S-Class strength had exceeded thirty. Including the twelve who had died, the S-Class combat strength participating in the campaign against the Herrscher had reached half the global total.
With so many powerful people together, surely that Herrscher would have trouble resisting them!
"Well, well, Xu, little Xu Ying!"
Elfa swaggered out of the crowd, greeting people with his usual casual, flippant air.
When his back was turned to the others, he did not forget to signal Xu Muchi and Xu Ying.
There are so many people. Give me some face!
Today, the Black Dragon was taking the carefree and uninhibited route.
Gu Yan glanced at Elfa's tattered clothes, his expression turning intrigued.
"Black Dragon, how are you still alive?"
Xu Muchi did not reply. Instead, Xu Ying, who had been silent all this time, actually started talking trash.
"Little Xu Ying, are you really hoping I won't be well?" The Black Dragon's face stiffened, and he spoke in an aggrieved tone.
Gu Yan hurriedly turned his head away. Elfa was 1.9 meters tall and had the face of a domineering CEO, yet he was actually a delicate bottom. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
"Is now really the time to reminisce?"
Gu Yan wanted to say that, but he had no reputation. It might backfire if he did.
Perhaps he had not thought it through. They were already among the last to arrive. If they acted so self-righteously on top of that, they really would be a scattered force going into battle.
A little coordination would be worthwhile; sharpening the axe would not delay the chopping of wood.
"Is everyone here?"
Strange. Who was in such a hurry?
A cool, clear voice rang out overhead. A figure in a cloud-white holographic gown materialized, her deep-blue eyes filled with contempt. A long spear floated beside her, ready to shoot out at any moment.
The First Herrscher!
"Everyone's here? Then... are you all ready to die?"
Gu Yan's pupils shrank sharply, and he hurriedly bestowed buffs upon their forces.
With too many targets, Gu Yan applied his full set of buffs only to Xu Muchi, Elfa, and Xu Ying, whom he considered the three strongest combatants. Everyone else received only Dragon Form and Shadowless.
Everyone's strength surged, leaving them no time to be surprised, because the Herrscher had attacked.
Ji flicked her finger. A beam of light shot from the Floating Battleship. The Black Dragon transformed into his original form, and a mouthful of searing dragon breath collided with the beam. The brutal clash of energy erupted in a blinding flash, shattering the floating ice on the sea.
The Black Dragon held his head high, his golden vertical pupils fixed on Ji as he guarded against her attack.
But a Mechanical Dragon appeared out of thin air. Its body was nearly as large as the Black Dragon's, and it blocked the sky like a dark cloud. Its mouthful of sharp teeth bit down on the Black Dragon's neck. The pain made him stop contesting the laser, which struck his wing and baked his scales bright red.
That was right. After all that, it had merely scalded the Black Dragon. That was the value of being the number-one meat shield.
The Black Dragon's claw slammed into Morr's cheek. Morr's steel head dented slightly under the blow, and its sharp teeth scraped against its scales, sending sparks flying.
"That all you've got?"
The Black Dragon's tone was arrogant. The dragon's pride made him look down on Morr.
While the two dragons battled, Xu Muchi had already engaged Ji at close quarters, and numerous Ability Users had joined the fray.
Compared to before, Ji was even harder to deal with. Her spear seemed to have eyes as it entangled Xu Muchi, while miniature drones wove themselves into a net and attacked every target that approached Ji indiscriminately.
Buzz!
The ring of a sword resounded. Countless strands of Sword Qi transformed into streaks of light, destroying Ji's attacks and constructs. Xu Muchi's white hair fluttered in the wind, and the unique pressure of a cultivator locked onto the Herrscher. This time, she did not need to worry about anything else. She only had to swing her sword!
"Not bad, not bad. Now this is more like it!"
Ji and Xu Muchi exchanged glances. Their murderous gazes met, and the temperature around them plummeted.
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