Honkai, Survive

The words, echoing in the clamor, weren't fierce, but that inexplicable hostility...

Frankly, Fang Jie didn't quite understand.

What had happened now?

It shouldn't have been the fox first, a fox wandering through Chang Kong City!

Then, about two months later, you would have successfully developed, defeating Theresa twice and forcing her to retreat.

This was only one day!

Faced with an assault of this magnitude, Fang Jie could only evade the brunt of it. He didn't even want to directly test the bombardment; this... forget it.

Retreat, retreat, retreat! He retreated back into Chiyu Academy, changing direction...

Then the second building, followed by the third, the fourth—

Modern buildings one after another were pulverized, leveling Chiyu Academy while forming a massive circular arena on the surface!

Layer upon layer of vines were the materials that formed the arena, along with scattered building debris, tossed upwards, and eventually falling, creating a rugged, spectacular sight.

Enduring such impactful scenes, not just once, Fang Jie was already done for.

Amidst the explosions, he no longer fled outwards. Dodging and weaving within the arena, he watched as the giant vines, rising imposingly from the ground, began to form a vast, green, doomsday-style jungle, using the original buildings as a skeleton, incomplete and scattered, supporting them from collapsing, and extending themselves to extreme heights.

These were all ammunition ready to strike if he dared to run!

The entire Chiyu Academy, in the face of the suddenly erupting Pseudo-Herrscher, had transformed into the 'Tree Realm'.

What happened to the Herrscher of Poison?

The vines shouldn't... well, before using poison, Sato Yuno could hold her own against Theresa with vines until her poison took effect. That was fusion warrior-level resistance to poison, so these vines, capable of prolonging the fight, were certainly not weak.

Such a her, laughing maniacally:

"Hahahaha, you can't escape, you can't escape—you have nowhere left to run! You should draw that sword, come!!"

When did this battle-crazed tone appear?

She was so gentle and weak before, looking like she'd cry for a long time if punched.

Should one be wary of the harmlessness of the weak? They merely lack the power to trample the strong.

Fang Jie took a deep breath:

"You've left me no choice."

Prioritizing evasion for victory, he still drew his blade, even speaking. His continuous flight had already shattered the ice armor on his body, making it difficult to avoid contact with the outside.

In that case, he wouldn't evade. He trusted the poison resistance enhanced by his Trailblaze divine power.

"Slash!"

The vines, strengthened by Honkai energy, felt like Honkai Beasts when cut without absorbing the Honkai energy, but they were still no match for Fang Jie, who possessed a three-star weapon.

—Slash!

Where the blade pointed, all things were cleaved in two.

The roaring sounds of impact ceased, falling, and then continuing their relentless advance.

Continuous slashes!

Six slashes per second was not Fang Jie's limit, but it also didn't reach Sato Yuno's limit.

For every vine he severed, two more grew.

Even the severed ends could reconnect and heal after Fang Jie passed, retracting back beneath the earth.

It didn't take long before more vines emerged from underground, overwhelming him.

This situation was not looking good. Even without a connection to the Imaginary Space, the previous river of blood indicated that her Honkai energy likely wouldn't be depleted easily.

She was even continuing to grow stronger! To evolve!

He could only choose to end this quickly?

Gazing at Sato Yuno, hidden behind layers of vines, Fang Jie circled, constantly slashing to clear a path, maintaining his distance.

The only weakness of these vines was likely their lack of speed; they were only truly threatening when breaking through the soil. Fang Jie tried his best to avoid the ground, performing aerial acrobatics on the vines themselves.

Fortunately, he had honed his footwork in the snow earlier, and his tendency to slip was mostly overcome.

Fang Jie, 'wasting time' like this, observed Sato Yuno closely.

Unable to leave Chiyu Academy, a mid-to-long-range attrition battle was disadvantageous, and he also had to worry about poisoning. Could he engage in close combat?

'As if!'

Fang Jie reactivated the slash of his Composite Blade: Willow Leaf. The crescent-shaped sword energy broke through Sato Yuno's accumulating wave-like attacks. He weaved through them like lightning, never getting close to her.

She was a Herrscher!

What did that mean? Even Death Troopers, corrupted by Honkai, had physical abilities far exceeding humans, even surpassing the main force of Valkyries, the B-Rank Valkyries.

Once they could actively utilize Honkai energy, the latter would need to rely on equipment, intelligence, and other advantages to defeat them.

If they evolved into advanced Death Troopers, possessing powers akin to Herrschers, A-Rank Valkyries would be able to handle them.

Of course, the above judgment is based on an ideal battlefield one-on-one. Actual situations are complex and varied. For example, Valkyries usually fight in squads, and Honkai Beasts also tend to move in packs.

Like Honkai Beasts, Death Troopers also bathe in Honkai energy and continuously evolve. Thus, a Rush-class might not be weaker than a Temple-class, with the ceiling being a Pseudo-Herrscher, possessing power close to that of a Herrscher.

In other words, that seemingly weak human form is actually more powerful than any giant Honkai Beast.

Even if naturally occurring Pseudo-Herrschers do not immediately become Death Troopers but rather powerful beings directly, without experiencing such thorough evolution…

Fang Jie did not want to take the risk.

He had an initial impression of Pseudo-Herrschers that was almost like admiration. After all, before this, within the Honkai domain, it was the closest power he could obtain besides Herrscher Cores and God Keys.

After all, without any way to contact World Serpent and undergo the safe and powerful Fusion Warrior surgery, Fang Jie's efforts to explore the possibilities of Honkai naturally referenced Pseudo-Herrschers.

It's just a pity that to become a Herrscher, even a Pseudo-Herrscher, you either have to be 'chosen' or rely on talent.

You need to have the talent of a Herrscher's substrate from the start, like Yae Sakura, or like Sato Yuno standing before him.

Or, artificial implantation of a Pseudo-Herrscher Core. This method allows Honkai Beasts to also become Pseudo-Herrschers, like Sirin creating companions with her own hands.

'If I kill her, I might get a core.'

Thinking this, Fang Jie had no intention of approaching Sato Yuno.

"Why can't I hit you, why aren't you coming closer? I'll kill you, kill you, kill you..."

Sato Yuno, almost venting, unleashed her power. The explosive destruction and reshaping of vegetation in Chiyu Academy were all submerged in layers upon layers of vines that sprang from the ground. The river of blood from before had long since disappeared.

This time, there probably wouldn't be any leftovers; she had plowed through everything.

Even if Honkai Beasts were caught in this battlefield, they would be torn to shreds in minutes.

Fang Jie did not quietly disintegrate.

After enduring the initial ferocity and unfamiliarity, vegetation was still vegetation. No matter how lifelike it seemed, its attack methods were limited to a few types. Not to mention, they were just insufficiently thick vines; one cut and they snapped, enough for him to maneuver.

Furthermore, Fang Jie did not detect any 'poison.' Let alone the Honkai energy in the air being toxic, even the unavoidable contact with the vines did not show any signs of poisoning.

This grand display of an attack...

Frankly speaking, with a stable mind, it wasn't a bitter fight.

Therefore, "You won't let me leave, yet you keep holding back—are you seeking death?"

His voice carried a hint of surprise.

Gazing at Sato Yuno, Fang Jie couldn't help but judge if she was the same type as Raiden Mei.

Looks like she wants to jump off a building.

Fang Jie's words caused the surrounding giant pythons to pause, as if they had heard something incredibly shocking... or perhaps mocking?

The next second, they erupted again!

Even though Sato Yuno's Honkai energy intensity was extremely high, her instantaneous burst power was not outstanding. She broke through her limits with full momentum, evolving to become stronger.

Emotion fueled her power.

It wasn't holding back.

"I'll kill you!!"

Still as grand in scale, but with vegetation piling on vegetation, and vegetation blocking vegetation, even though the enemy outnumbered him, Fang Jie only had to face a portion whose intensity was comparable to a Honkai Beast.

Even absorbing the Honkai energy from them, this small portion was no different from rotten wood.

Pseudo-Herrschers wouldn't be this weak. She was so earth-shattering before; she must be seeking death!

"You don't need to blame yourself for a disaster that isn't your responsibility. This is not your fault; don't torment yourself. You might think that you have no right to live in your current state, but you're wrong—life is precious."

Fang Jie didn't really want a life-or-death struggle; he preferred diplomacy before force. "Sato Yuno, stop. If you keep fighting, I'll get an—angry. Pfft, I mean, you're still young. You absolutely cannot go down the path of crime—if you keep being so aggressive, I'll have to make you see reason."

"I'll kill you..."

She's still pretending, trying to provoke me into killing her.

So there's no need to listen. As if enraged to the point of losing her mind, communication is no longer necessary. No matter what she's thinking, Fang Jie believes he's right.

Preparing the Friendship Punch to the Face—

Fang Jie, facing the vines coming from all directions, no longer just mixed Honkai Killer into his slashes.

Who cares about a little poison!

You're underdeveloped.

He dared to leave the Domain Anchor to search for Belobog against mere Honkai energy corrosion. His internal Honkai energy resistance had long been stacked to the point where he could physically withstand Honkai energy concentrations exceeding 1000 HW for two hours.

If he activated Imaginary Kill again, Honkai energy would pose almost no threat to him.

Question: Why is Judah, like Cecilia, recognized as Rank S?

Superiority outweighs everything; Holy Blood on the divine day.

"Let me be the one to awaken you from your fantasy."

All of you with ninja-like dynamic vision have surely seen the entire battle unfold. Fang Jie's move is complete, and this round ends.

'To face a Herrscher at an age when I haven't even dealt with an Emperor-class Honkai Beast… is this the pressure I'm supposed to bear?'

Thinking this, he couldn't pursue further. He looked ahead at Sato Yuno, her chest caved in, flesh and bone shattered and visible. Within the cavity, a radiant glow of Honkai energy shone—her core.

Clearly, she had suffered a severe blow, her radiance significantly dimmed.

But, "I didn't manage to rip out your heart in one strike."

Fang Jie, exploding into motion, turned back, launching a surprise attack, Honkai Killer—all in one fluid motion. But in the end… he didn't deliver the killing blow. Otherwise, decapitation would have been the sure kill.

Furthermore, facing an energy level like the Pseudo-Herrscher core, his current energy absorption wasn't enough.

"It hurts, it hurts so much, liar, liar, liar, liar—die!"

Severely wounded and in agony, Sato Yuno unleashed a counterattack. Her incoherent arms flailed, causing the ground to tremble once more as countless twisted serpents erupted from the earth.

And, the cavity in her chest was rapidly being filled with flesh and blood.

This is… cellular regeneration?!

Fang Jie's pupils constricted. How was he supposed to fight a boss with built-in healing? It was worthy of being the lower authority of the Herrscher of Death. Without time for further thought, he unleashed a sword strike, sweeping across the rampaging tide.

Chiyu Academy was utterly unrecognizable. The surface had transformed into a twisted jungle with a bizarre art style.

Two 'people' were suspended within it.

Sato Yuno was supported in mid-air by structures resembling limbs, the wound on her chest completely healed.

Not far from her, but certainly not close, Fang Jie, a hundred meters away, was also suspended in mid-air like a roasted duck.

It was clear that against the rampaging Sato Yuno, the pressure to block her onslaught was increasing. The vines, specialized for speed, prevented him from charging or shaking them off.

He looked like an insect trapped in a Venus flytrap.