Chapter 332
Although Artificial Stigmata have been modified multiple times to reduce risks, they still carry a high risk from a probabilistic standpoint.
Where there is risk, there will be people who are unwilling; where there is unwillingness, there will be opposition; and where there is opposition, there will naturally be forces that want to profit from it.
Not to mention that Anti-Entropy split off from Schicksal because it was dissatisfied with Valkyrie going to the front lines.
The situation with the World Serpent is unclear, but Schicksal wants to utilize a large amount of resources, they will definitely try to create obstacles for them.
The Stigmata Project desperately needs resources!
Tesla: "So it's our fault after all?"
The Stigmata technology of Schicksal is underdeveloped, and the Valkyrie on the front lines suffer heavy casualties. They did this because they wanted to change things, and the North American Branch rebelled because of their dissatisfaction.
Do you know how many precious lives are lost on the front lines every year?
Otto: "No, this is the inevitable price to pay for defeating the Honkai. The concept of Anti-Entropy is more correct, but it is also more difficult to put into practice. Your bankruptcy is not without reason."
It's important to understand that the current combat power system of Schicksal was developed by excavating the ruins of Previous Era.
However, the concept of Anti-Entropy is to replace Valkyrie with mechs. This concept is wonderful, but the Previous Era did not leave behind any automated mechs.
Rather, it's more accurate to say that the Previous Era focused on changing humanity in order to gain greater power.
Anti-Entropy may be on the right track, but no one has ever tried it before, and no trace of it can be found.
On the contrary, it would be much easier for Schicksal to develop by borrowing technologies from Previous Era.
Tesla: "Tsk, if only we were as rich as Schicksal."
Raiden Mei: "Stop dreaming, Dr. Tesla. Eden doesn't exist in every era."
Vill-V: "That's right, Eden, hurry up and approve the funding for the automated 3D armor, otherwise the industrial system to replace the Fusion Warrior will be stillborn."
Pardofelis: "Sister Eden...!"
No way! This is such a great plan, we can't give it up no matter what!
Pardo is hoping that one day she can use her automated 3D armor to go to the front lines and Honkai the Honkai head-on, so that she can help Sister Elysia and the others.
Eden: "Elysia, you handle it."
Elysia: "Yes, sir!"
At the Fire Moth base, Elysia stared at the documents and reports on the table.
--The construction of the three-dimensional automated armored system is expected to occupy two-tenths of the project area, and the first phase of the industrial system will be completed within one month.
Person in charge: Vill-V.
After much hesitation, Elysia stamped the document with a large red seal.
"Next, all I need to do is get the document approved and have someone deliver it to Vill-V... No, this is a serious matter, I should convene the Council of Thirteen myself... Never mind, I'll go directly there!"
With approvals layer by layer, it's uncertain how long it will take for this document to reach Vill-V's hands.
Elysia decided to go all out and kick down the door of the Spiral Workshop.
"Vill-V, your..."
Just as Elysia lifted her leg, a deafening alarm blared throughout the base.
The scattered Honkai Energy permeated the air, and Elysia could clearly feel the Honkai Energy concentration rising. She immediately realized something and cried out in alarm.
One minute later, all staff members went into a state of high alert.
Everything was ready, but the concentration of Honkai Energy was still soaring: 1000 HW, 10000 HW, 20000 HW...
The base of the Fire Moth was made of heat-insulating alloy steel, personally overseen by the Great Engineer Vill-V. It was resistant to high temperatures and extreme cold, but at this moment, the metal underneath was visibly red-hot.
When that towering pillar of fire pierced through the earth, there was no doubt what had happened.
The Flame Herrscher has awakened!
Chapter 539 Crimson Flames Piercing the Sky
The blazing flames reached the sky, and the overflowing Honkai Energy formed a pillar of fire that pierced through the clouds. The heat wave swept through the storm, melting steel into molten iron and forming scalding lava in the earth's veins.
The Fire Moth crew had all evacuated to the shelter, hiding behind insulated supermetal, where towering pillars of flame terrified everyone.
"This has really blown up."
Elysia stood in the blazing heat, looking up at the red-haired Herrscher in the center.
Like Elysia, Himiko is completely unaffected by the high temperatures; the raging flames are a manifestation of her power as the Flame Herrscher.
"Ah!!!"
Himiko her forehead, and as the Honkai Energy intensified, a heart-wrenching roar rang out.
Pain, despair, grief...
She still retains the most basic human emotions, but this incredibly powerful body is no longer under her control.
Elysia: "Everyone, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"
Pardofelis: "Has Sister Elysia brought us some good news again? I want to hear it carefully..."
Mobius: "Bad news!"
Mobius interrupted Pardofelis without hesitation, using his little trick of first hearing the good news to cheer him up, and then pouring cold water on him with the bad news.
She saw right through it.
Elysia: "The bad news is that the Flame Herrscher has awakened! Blazing flames shot into the sky, forming pillars of fire that stretch for miles. Even I'm terrified."
Mobius: "?!!"
It's already gotten this serious, and you still have the nerve to joke around?
She wants to hear what your so-called good news is!
Elysia: "As for the good news, although Himiko has awakened, Vill-V's engineering is very robust. The damage to the Fire Moth's base is expected to be kept below 30%. Isn't that excellent news?"
Mobius: "You're something else, Elysia."
Even though it's the Flame Herrscher awakening, the building base is destroyed, and the experimental equipment will be ruined in the flames, with an estimated damage of up to 30%.
Changing the wording made it sound like good news?
Pardofelis: "Sister Elysia, these are two pieces of bad news, aren't they?"
Elysia: "Luckily, at least I'm here now, so the entire base won't be destroyed. And Mobius, your lab was hardly affected."
Mobius: "Heh, who do you think I am? I've been waiting for this day."
From the day Elysia brought Himiko back to the Fire Moth and placed her under house arrest at her base, Mobius had already made preparations.
Her precious materials and experimental samples are all inside!
Otto: "Terrible, terrifying... Has the Flame Herrscher from the Previous Era awakened? Herrscher are indeed a terrifying calamity, like a natural disaster."
Pardofelis: "I didn't detect even the slightest bit of fear in you."
Otto: "It's just to maintain the image of a bishop. I'm actually quite afraid too. Durandal, how about we establish a rule in Schicksal that Valkyrie below S-Rank should prioritize survival when encountering Herrscher?"
Durandal: "Bishop Otto, the Valkyrie of Schicksal uphold their faith. I believe they were prepared for this the day they became Valkyrie!"
If the Valkyrie don't have the resolve to fight the Herrscher, then who will they rely on?
Anti-Entropy or the World Serpent?
Come on, one of those organizations was just asking to die, with even their leader nowhere to be found, and the other was an even more serious threat than the Herrscher.
It's better to rely on themselves than to depend on them.
Otto: "Durandal, I'm not seeking your opinion, I'm simply issuing an order."
He is the true Bishop of Schicksal; while there may be opposition to revising the Valkyrie combat rules, he can still achieve his goal.
Otto was merely seeking Durandal's opinion as a formality.
Durandal: "Bishop Otto, what's the point of you doing this?"
Otto: "It was just a spontaneous statement. Human life is precious. They can sacrifice themselves willingly, but running away when facing Herrscher should not be considered shameful."
Elysia: "Forced sacrifice is an evil act, I understand."
With just a glance at the crowd around her, Elysia understood the meaning behind Otto's words.
A meaningless sacrifice.
Most people are powerless against the Herrscher. Their sacrifices are still great, but they cannot increase their chances of victory.
Even knowing their sacrifice is meaningless, the sense of duty on their shoulders and their stance as human beings make them brave.
These people sacrificed themselves voluntarily, for their ideals.
But there is a type of person who doesn't want to sacrifice themselves. They fear the power of the Herrscher and the arrival of death, but their fragile hearts are swayed by morality.
Swept up by words like escape, cowardice, incompetence, and abandonment of responsibility, he instinctively felt a sense of guilt that he was guilty simply for running away.
This sacrifice was caused by an invisible hand.
"Sacrifice may come from the heart and be noble for the sake of ideals, but inadvertently, too many sacrifices originate from an involuntary heart; that is nothing more than an invisible form of murder."
"Humans are really interesting."
The metal melts at high temperatures, and the molten magma underground continues to rise.
Elysia stepped onto the molten iron, observing the people hiding in the shelter.
Some of them were researchers with no physical strength, some were training soldiers responsible for maintaining order, and some were just newcomers and apprentices.
Each person behaved differently, and Elysia could clearly see their eyes.
Fear, despair, trust, courage, determination...
Within five minutes of the Herrscher's birth, all sorts of emotions had already arisen in different people's hearts, like the twilight of the apocalypse.
If no one stops the Herrscher, the first human to break out of the safe zone and challenge the Herrscher will appear, followed by the second, and the third.
But none of that will happen.
"Proud titmouse, please carry my poem, my love, to her side!"
Elysia raised her bow and arrow high and drew back the string.
The arrow sliced through the heatwave and reached the Flame Herrscher in an instant, Himiko raised her hand just in time, and a stream of molten lava rose from the ground, blocking her path.
The arrow broke through the barrier of the molten lava, but its momentum was somewhat diminished by the scorching heat.
Himiko the arrow hard, sending it flying into the air, before looking down at Elysia, who was attacking her.
The girl stood in the raging fire, her dress swaying with the blast waves.
"You didn't succeed. I remember Mei saying that Herrscher need to absorb Honkai Energy to become stronger after awakening, but there's no more than 5000 HW of Honkai Energy in this base. How did you become so strong?" Elysia placed her hand on the arrow.
Chapter 540 Humanity's Victory
Given Himiko's combat prowess just now, easily catching Elysia's arrow, the Honkai Energy have reached a terrifying level.
Elysia was certain that the Honkai Energy stored in this base was not much; even if it were increased tenfold, it wouldn't allow Himiko reach the level of Flame-Chasers.
"So, did the excess Honkai Energy arise spontaneously at the moment Herrscher was born?"
This forces us to rethink the relationship between Honkai and civilization.
Elysia's hands moved swiftly; the moment her fingers released their grip, the arrow reached Himiko's face.
This arrow was even faster than the last one; the Flame Herrscher didn't even have time to summon molten lava to form a wall before the sharp arrowhead reached her.
Himiko swiftly grabbed the arrow and held it in her hand.
"Good reaction time."
Elysia clapped her hands and cheered, "But hasn't anyone told you? A gift that contains a beautiful girl's heart, once you accept it, she'll cling to you!"
Himiko instinctively turned her head.
The arrow she had previously swatted away traced an arc in the sky before flying back behind her.
Himiko to block, and in that instant, Elysia whistled, causing the arrow to change trajectory once again and collide with the arrow in Himiko's hand.
The two energies merged, unfolding into a magnificent crystal flower above Himiko's head.