Heart and Soul / Crimson Rose

Ordinary weapons cannot damage the Herrscher Core. No, even the most advanced weapons humanity currently possesses cannot cause any damage to the Herrscher Core.

However, her body is still human in structure, and most of her weaknesses are the same as those of humans. For example, this wound is something that even Herrscher cannot avoid, as it will affect blood vessels, muscles, and organs. Even if Honkai Energy can accelerate the healing of wounds, it does not mean that these wounds are meaningless.

This forced her to use her powers to heal herself.

The Creation Authority, which is the opposite of the Death Authority that decomposes matter, is much more complicated to use. In the usual sense, she can use this power to create some Honkai creature, such as Honkai zombie, Honkai Beast, and that tree. This is the simplest use.

Of course, since it is related to "life", healing is inevitable. However, healing may be completely contrary to the nature of the same body's Death Authority, so there will be many limitations in its use. Even healing this small injury requires her to concentrate fully. The previous gunshot wound was similar.

Soon, under the influence of the world's rules, her wounds healed, and her crimson eyes shone again in the dark night sky, staring at the rapidly approaching azure flash.

"Bang!"

The Sixth Herrscher clashed head-on with Kevin, their daggers and scythes colliding and sparking fierce flames that ignited their faces.

They were all expressionless, as if they had both shed their humanity and become machines solely for killing each other.

The power was unleashed without reservation, and a life-devouring Black Mist emerged from the scythe and lunged at Kevin, but he had anticipated this and retreated, disappearing into thin air.

"!"

Phase Transfer Device!

Without a doubt, Kevin took the Phase Transfer Device that Lin had risked his life to obtain from her. At this moment, the Sixth Herrscher lost her mobility advantage and could only judge Kevin's location by sight.

To prevent Kevin from appearing nearby and ambushing her, the Sixth Herrscher's Black Mist enveloped her.

"Bang bang bang!"

The sound of three missiles being launched made the Sixth Herrscher instinctively want to defend with her shield, but in the next second, three penetrating bullets that were not completely destroyed slammed into her shield. The explosions that she could not block caused her to shudder and fall downwards.

Kevin retracted the missile pods from his legs, glanced at the three remaining penetrating missiles, and with a cold expression, charged towards the Herrscher.

The Black Mist doesn't erode inanimate matter so quickly that it destroys it instantly. Even if the Black Mist can absorb some of the kinetic and thermal energy of the penetrating bullet, it's impossible to completely block it at this distance without any defenses. It won't be like the splitting bullet launched by the Fifth Branch when it blocked the transport plane, which was completely disintegrated before it even hit the target and couldn't explode inside.

A glimmer of emerald green flashed in the eyes of the falling Sixth Herrscher, and her charred skin was restored to its original state in the blink of an eye.

Phase Transfer Device? That person really knows where the enemy's weakness lies. As long as she's deprived of her mobility, her threat level will drop significantly! That's why they didn't hesitate to use such a despicable trick to deceive her!

That despicable human!

Chapter 101 Soul

The Titans were so fast that they could travel from one city to another in less than ten minutes. In the blink of an eye, Prometheus had already returned to the skies above the city where the Fifth Branch was located, carrying Lin's body on the Titan.

The streets, filled with desolation and destruction, were teeming with monsters. The world seemed to consist only of these living dead still in motion and demons with sharp teeth and claws. All the Honkai creature in the city continued to rush towards the Fifth Branch, where the soldiers were still struggling to hold off the onslaught of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast.

Some flying Honkai Beast spotted the steel-cast enemy and immediately surrounded it. The Autonomous Titan automatically used their weapons to shoot down the approaching Honkai Beast without needing to control them.

But Prometheus no longer cared about any of this.

She seemed to have lost her function; her arms, with their ball joints, held Lin's cold body. The sophisticated monitor that once symbolized the pinnacle of human technology—her intricately designed eyes—had lost its original linear patterns.

When Lin led her into the Phase Shift space, she sensed Lin's consciousness through Neural Connection.

As a bionic robot without true consciousness, she should have been rendered unusable upon entering that space due to its unique nature, falling into a logical dead end from which she could not perform calculations. However, through Neural Connection, Lin conveyed a faint call to her.

So Prometheus saw Lin's face.

A face I've seen countless times, yet it still feels utterly unfamiliar.

He was smiling at himself.

"I want to see Lin's smile."

"If you can laugh on your own, then I'll show you."

The conversation from before echoed in his mind through Neural Connection. Prometheus instinctively reached out, but his hand passed right through Lin.

He vanished like a bubble, along with his smile.

Why, at the very end, is this person still fulfilling other people's wishes?

Even if that person is just an Artificial Intelligence that can't even be considered human.

"Haven't I even finished laughing yet, Lin..."

Her empty pupils reflected Lin Qibai's pale face without focusing.

"Cough cough cough..."

Himiko greatsword in hand, glared angrily at the porcupine, its face covered in dust, as it leisurely crushed the corpses of the Fire Moth soldiers beneath its feet into blood and gore. The porcupine even defiantly raised its forelegs, allowing all the soldiers to see the bloodstains, hair, and skin on its feet.

This Emperor-class Honkai Beast is more troublesome than anyone imagined. If the Judgment-class Honkai Beast Shesa is the most powerful Honkai Beast in history, then this unnamed porcupine-type Emperor-class Honkai Beast is definitely the most intelligent individual.

It never gets caught in the soldiers' encirclement, often using other Honkai creature as cannon fodder, and then it waits for the right moment to break down the human defenses bit by bit, maintaining its own strength while weakening the human side.

Furthermore, it is well aware that its eyes and abdomen are its weak points, so it never exposes these areas to the range of snipers and Titans with long-range attack capabilities.

In the gaps when defenses fail, the porcupine uses its stingers to make humans dodge with great difficulty, and then it takes the opportunity to attack the Titans. So far, nine Titans have been destroyed by its mouth.

After attacking, it will curl up into a ball to defend itself, its hard shell almost impossible for its weapons to penetrate.

Himiko as if she were not fighting Honkai Beast, but rather playing a game of chess with a cunning and treacherous human, a Honkai Beast that would even arrogantly try to break through their psychological defenses.

"What do we do, Captain Himiko? Can we really win? Are we going to die here?"

Himiko turned her head and saw a new recruit who had recently joined the team hiding behind the defensive line, trembling. He could barely hold his weapon, his pupils were contracting and dilating, and his heart rate was likely exceeding its limit.

Himiko was at a loss for words when she saw his expression.

She couldn't answer him.

Judging from the current situation, it is very likely only a matter of time before this Emperor-class Honkai Beast breaks through their defenses. At that time, they will not only be killed by the Honkai creature, but they may also be turned into toys by this Honkai Beast to attack the mentality of the Fifth Branch members.

But as the temporary team leader, she couldn't say that; she had to boost morale and give them hope.

But does she really have the qualifications and ability?

Himiko found her hands trembling, a fear she had never felt since she went to the battlefield.

It wasn't fear of the enemy, but fear of his own teammates, his comrades-in-arms.

She was once a member of the Squad Five. They died tragically in the Second Honkai War, their bodies unrecognizable. She couldn't even identify which part of their bodies belonged to which person. In the end, only their cold names were engraved in the cemetery.

The current members of the Squad Five are Lin, who is crippled and suffering from Honkai Sickness and could die at any time; Hun betrayed the Fire Moth, was defeated by himself, and transformed into the Sixth Herrscher, becoming a complete enemy of humanity; Dessidobia is seriously injured and unconscious, still in the emergency room at headquarters.

She realized that she had never been able to protect her teammates.

He only managed to injure and kill them time and time again, losing them again and again, leaving only himself, the incompetent captain, to eke out a living.

Only she remained, standing there, ready to give the order for her team members to die.

Himiko stopped breathing; she couldn't bring herself to tell this man to keep fighting. She didn't want to embolden the recruit any further.

Even if it happens here, they'll all be wiped out...

"Captain Himiko!"

A sharp shout Himiko, and she instinctively looked ahead, where a piercing gaze sent a shiver down her spine.

Hua threw the Honkai zombie in front of her aside, wiped the blood from her eyelids, and shouted, "Captain Himiko! When are we going to counterattack! Tell us!"

"Magnificent..."

"Tell me! You and the captain have always been guiding me, showing me the way forward! Isn't it the same now?" Hua gasped for breath, clenching her fists. "The captain told me, and you told me, that if I can't see the direction, I should use you as my guideposts!"

Himiko at Hana, the child she had watched grow into an outstanding soldier step by step.

"You are the captain's captain, and he told me that you set an example for him, so don't let the captain down, and don't let me down either, Captain Himiko! If you want to drink, I will definitely drink with you when I get back!"

"... and you actually taught me a lesson."

Himiko's trembling hands stopped. Her eyes sharpened, and she grabbed the greatsword and hurled it, cleaving the Honkai zombie behind Hua in two with a single blow.

"Don't worry, humanity will win. We've never lost before. Believe in yourself, and believe... no, just believe in yourself." She smiled and nodded at the recruit.

Then, she glared at the porcupine.

"Counterattack? You hold the line, I alone... will suffice."

Chapter 102 Crimson Rose

Only someone as fearless as Lin would ever dare to face Emperor-class Honkai Beast alone.

Records of Upper-class Honkai Beast exterminations are all filled with brutal and near-death experiences. Without the aid of Titans and advanced equipment, trying to defeat Emperor-class Honkai Beast with near- Herrscher- like power is undoubtedly an arrogant and reckless act.

However, continuing to drag things out will only make the disadvantage bigger and bigger. The only way to break the deadlock is for one person to step up and take a gamble. Surrounded by mountains of Honkai creature and seas of blood, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast must be defeated. Then, with the help of Titan, the other Honkai creature can be cleared out.

The current front is barely holding on; at most, only one person can attempt it. Even Titans have to assist in the defense. Otherwise, if it is breached, the Fifth Branch will be destroyed and the Far East will suffer a devastating blow.

Then there is only one candidate: Himiko is the most experienced, capable, and of the highest status among those present.

Himiko past Hua, grabbed the greatsword stuck in the body of the Honkai zombie, and strode forward with a charming smile, "Don't worry, even that kid Lin can single-handedly defeat Emperor-class and Judgment-class Honkai Beast, I am your captain's captain, how could I lose?"

Yes, no matter what, she shouldn't waver.

The past is gone and cannot be recovered, so we should cherish the present even more. If she stays in the same place after every failure, she will have no face to face her fallen comrades and teammates.

With a powerful stomp, Himiko her crimson greatsword horizontally with both hands, took a deep breath, and channeled all her strength from her waist throughout her body—

"Get out of my way!"

The blade burned with scorching flames, and the greatsword was swung with no skill whatsoever, causing the intense heat to engulf the battlefield in front of it.

The slightly less skilled Honkai zombie were sent flying by the attack. Himiko had cleared the area in front of her, did not hesitate. Holding the greatsword upside down with both hands, she charged forward, and the area she had cleared behind her was instantly filled again.

Every strike was delivered with full force, each strike unleashing a powerful sonic boom, the fiery heat burning fiercely in the darkness.

Among the soldiers of the Fire Moth, only a few use melee weapons, and even fewer use greatswords. Such weapons are a burden for soldiers who need to move flexibly and agilely on the battlefield. Swinging them will cause their stamina to drop rapidly, and they are slow, sluggish, and cumbersome. Sometimes their lethality is even less than that of ordinary weapons.

However, Himiko has always used heavy weapons from the very beginning. Her strength is unparalleled among the Moths of Flame. With the enhancement of her armor, she can defeat not only humans, but even Honkai Beast...

Two Temple-class Honkai Beast blocked her path. Himiko's eyes flashed with a cold light. Instead of taking a detour, she activated all her Powered Armor at the same time. She stomped her foot on the ground, and spiderweb-like cracks spread across the ground beneath her feet.

"Boom!"

Two Knight Lance slashed down at her simultaneously, but the red-haired woman stood firm, pressed the greatsword to her right side, and then, amidst the roar of the armor, she glared and swung the blade, facing the two Honkai Beasts that were even taller than Titans!

The three weapons clashed, but the stalemate lasted for less than half a second before the lances of the two Honkai Beasts were blasted away by the greatsword!

The overall imbalance caused by the force being bounced back is unavoidable for all Honkai Beast. The broken greatsword slammed into the ground and stood upright as if cutting tofu. Himiko did not pull it out again, but instead gripped the hilt with one hand, exerted her strength from the ground, and used the greatsword as support to kick the shield of one of the Temple-class Honkai Beast.

Incredibly, the massive Honkai Beast was also kicked away like Honkai zombie by this one kick, crashing into the group of Honkai zombie and crushing a large number of Honkai zombie into a paste.

Himiko landed with a whirlwind of movement, effortlessly drawing her greatsword and slashing it diagonally at the shield of the remaining Honkai Beast. Her terrifying strength instantly cleaved the Honkai Beast and its shield in two.

"Howl?"

When the porcupine saw a strange creature suddenly break into the wave of Honkai creature, its massive body trembled, and then it stared at Himiko was charging straight toward it with murderous intent.

With its intelligence, it is not difficult to see that this is the elite among humans, the leader of the soldiers who are still putting up a last-ditch resistance, and an existence of similar status to itself.

Once this person is killed, the remaining human resistance will collapse.

It has maintained this state in order to cope with the current situation.

"Roar--"

The roar of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast shattered the Honkai zombie in front of it into mincemeat. It condensed highly compressed Honkai Energy in its mouth. This move was extremely energy-consuming and could be blocked by the combined Titans' plasma shield. However, since this human had left the Titans' protective net, it could easily blast her into ashes at this distance.

Inky black rays shot out from the fang-filled mouth, turning Honkai zombie and Honkai Beast that touched them into ashes.

As Himiko ran, she saw a high-level Honkai Energy reaction on the system displayed through her Contact Lens. Her pupils contracted, and then a dark ray swept past her position without giving her any time to react.

That is an energy with properties similar to the Black Mist. This is a unique ability of the Upper-class Honkai Beast that are the servants of the Sixth Herrscher. If it and that tree are listed together as the servants of the Sixth Herrscher, then that tree possesses the Sixth Herrscher's Creation Authority, while it possesses the Withering Authority.

Living things cannot withstand this type of attack.

The porcupine let out a triumphant roar towards the spot where Himiko disappeared.

Using a portion of its energy to annihilate elites is, in its view, a worthwhile trade.

But the next second, a fierce wind howled overhead.

"You pig, even if you have intelligence, you're still a pig!"

The intelligent, human-like porcupine raised its head, only to be met with a powerful slash. Temporarily weakened and caught off guard, it was struck squarely in the right eye, the entire eye socket and jawline split open.

"Awooo—" A miserable howl burst from its mouth as it was smashed into the ground.

"Huff... Huff... Hehehe... Honkai Beast can scream? Then you really are far inferior to your brethren..."