Chapter 341
A mere Thousand-Man Herrscher actually managed to stop several of Herrscher!
How tragic! How lamentable!
Raiden Mei shook her head and sighed.
Who would have thought that I would be the one to make a grand entrance last?
Pardofelis: "Sister Mei is strong! Sister Mei will win! She'll take down the Thousand-Man Herrscher!"
Kiana: "Mei has arrived, the Thousand-Man Herrscher is finished."
Elysia: "Based on the four answers, it's clear that Raiden Mei has now joined World Serpent; otherwise, the people of World Serpent wouldn't have helped her."
Vill-V: "A fully awakened Herrscher of Thunder."
The Flame-Chasers were full of confidence in Raiden Mei.
Despite her reckless behavior and constant attempts to save her life in the Previous Era Elysian Realm, Raiden Mei endures harsh realities from society.
But she is already a fully awakened Herrscher of Thunder, wielding the Conquering Lightning and holding the power of Thunderclap.
Raven: "Congratulations, Lady Mei! Now it's your turn to steal the spotlight again."
Raiden Mei: "How can fighting the Honkai be called showing off? I just did what I was supposed to do. A mere Thousand-Man Herrscher are not worth mentioning."
Mei crossed her arms, her eyes filled with disdain.
Look at her former rivals: Chakravartin Apponia, Elysia, Mobius —weren't they all legendary figures?
Now she's actually going after Thousand-Man Herrscher; that's lowering her prestige!
Elysia: "Kevin, was it you who helped Mei find the location of the Thousand-Man Herrscher?"
Kevin: "No."
All four answers were from people associated with World Serpent; if it wasn't Kevin, then it was one of his underlings.
Jackal: "Hahaha, do I even need to think about this? The person in World Serpent who has studied Herrscher the most is, of course, me!"
[Correct answer.]
Kiana: "Tsk, it's you, you cunning strategist!"
Jackal: "I'll say it again, this is a wolf! Forget it, let's not argue with a brat. There are many capable people in the World Serpent, but their attention is almost entirely focused on the Stigmata Project."
Jackal: "While I'm also a staunch believer in the Stigmata Project, the wondrous bodies of the Herrscher are also within my research scope. Thousand-Man Herrscher, a thousand Herrscher Core... slurp... I can't resist taking them apart to take a look!"
[Jackal received the reward: Anti-Surveillance Barrier.]
[Description: After use, it can block all surveillance effects within a range of one kilometer, including special abilities.]
Wendy: "Am I being targeted?"
She has just awakened her Stigmata and is preparing to gradually master her abilities so she can show them off to everyone in the future.
So, items specifically designed to target her have appeared so quickly?
Bronya: "Bronya thinks Wendy's abilities are easy to counter. As long as there's no wind around, they can be blocked, right?"
The underground base needs to have a magnetic field and various methods to shield against wind.
Of course, this is on the premise that one never leaves home.
Jackal: "It's a bit of a gimmick, but oh well, I don't like being watched all the time anyway, I'll just wear it."
Suddenly, as if remembering something, the Jackal turned its head and looked at Durandal with a provocative expression.
Jackal: "Oh, right, the strongest Valkyrie of Schicksal, your killing intent is practically overflowing. But now your plan to kill me is ruined again, what a pity."
Durandal: "You escaped with your life again."
She did indeed have the idea of using Wendy's abilities to pinpoint the Jackal's location and then taking advantage of Kevin's absence to eliminate the Jackal.
Unfortunately, Jackal stayed in the base and never went out, so Wendy's abilities barely gave her any chance.
Now it's even harder to catch the Jackal by the tail!
[In the scene, Raiden Mei takes out three cube-shaped containers with gold trim and throws them onto the table.]
"These are three unique individuals among the Thousand-Man Herrscher, recorded in the World Serpent's Records. I imagine you're very interested in them."
"That's right."
Jackal nodded. "These guys are behaving abnormally, refusing to interact with other dolls and always acting alone. Their minds are mixed with impurities, possibly originating from their host or some other influence."
With a total of one thousand hosts chosen by the Herrscher of Domination, it's not surprising that a few strange exceptions would appear.
Raiden Mei pressed the three cores down in front of the Jackal: "Now they're yours."
"It's not free, is it?" the Jackal asked.
Her relationship with Raiden Mei was far from harmonious, and in an organization like World Serpent, even those with good relationships wouldn't be so generous as to give away favors for free.
"Three special individuals in exchange for your research findings on the Thousand-Man Herrscher," Raiden Mei stated her request.
The two then looked at each other and fell silent.
Chapter 554 A Half-baked Herrscher
After a long while, the Jackal still didn't react, and Raiden Mei was getting impatient.
"This is a deal. Accept or reject. Give me an answer."
"Such an enticing offer, I certainly have no reason to refuse." The Jackal accepted the three cores.
She turned the globe on the table, and the door behind them slowly closed, leaving only the two of them in the room.
The Jackal slowly spoke, "I think you already know that the ability of the Thousand-Man Herrscher is domination, the power to seize and control the Herrscher Core."
"They are numerous individually, and although each one is weak, they can form an organization, hide in the shadows, cooperate with each other, and wait for their opportunity to strike."
Raiden Mei frowned. "The Tenth Herrscher from the Previous Era did not possess this kind of dominating power."
"Obviously, there weren't Herrscher like you standing on Honkai opposite side of Honkai back then. They seemed to have been born to fight against you, preying on Herrscher, seizing and sealing their power for their own use, and constantly growing stronger." Jackal shrugged.
But there's still one thing I don't understand.
Tell me about it.
Raiden Mei asked, "If seizing the power of the Herrscher is their goal, then World Serpent should be the first target they target."
Besides Raiden Mei, World Serpent also possesses three Herrscher Core.
Moreover, in terms of the strength of her powers, the fully awakened Raiden Mei is far more powerful than Kiana and the others.
"I can answer your question," Jackal said. "First, because Herrscher of Domination seizes is the power of the core, not the core itself, a core with a container is more valuable to Thousand-Man Herrscher."
"Is it because the power exerted by the detached core is limited?" Raiden Mei guessed.
Jackal nodded. "That's right. While it's not entirely unusable, they would obviously be happier if someone could bear the cost of using their powers."
"In that case, I should have a greater significance to them."
Raiden Mei crossed her arms, looking very confident.
"But from beginning to end, the Thousand-Man Herrscher never intended to attack me. The time I voluntarily entered the theater, they only made a passive attempt."
"They cannot take your power away," the Jackal said confidently.
Seeing the puzzled look on Raiden Mei's face, she slowly began to explain.
"The process by which the Herrscher of Domination seize power is essentially nothing more than a contest between forces, where the strong survive and the weak perish, bringing the losers under their control."
"But if the target of their abilities is stronger, the attempt to seize them will be met with resistance, turning into a power struggle. And if the Thousand-Man Herrscher fail to win this duel..."
"What will happen?" Raiden Mei asked, raising an eyebrow.
Jackal shook his head. "I don't know either, but their actions have already hinted at the answer. The individual power of the puppets is far too weak, too weak for them to bear such a risk."
"They know very well that those half-baked Herrscher can't do it, but you, fully awakened, have the potential to defeat them. At least for now, they fear you."
This explains why the Herrscher of Domination fled without a fight when facing Raiden Mei last time.
Raiden Mei thought for a moment and said to the Jackal, "I can sense that the Herrscher of Domination hasn't disappeared yet."
The Herrscher of Thunder's authority granted Mei a strong sensory ability, even allowing her to sense that there was still some unknown corner in the theater where the Herrscher of Domination.
The puppets exchange information through an unknown force, helping them share senses, intelligence, and acquired power.
They are connected by invisible threads, forming a vast network that links all individuals, as well as the Theater of Domination.
"If my guess is correct, I should be able to use this network to proactively visit their theaters before they grow stronger." Raiden Mei crossed her arms and just looked at the Jackal.
The Jackal tilted its head back and laughed, "Raiden Mei, we might actually get along very well."
She led Raiden Mei to a laboratory where a huge magnetic field device stood in front of them, with a floating Thousand-Man Herrscher core at its center.
Raiden Mei touched the glass of the device, and an unusual current surged from her fingertips to her brain. "What is this?"
"What you want is a device to reverse-access the network of Thousand-Man Herrscher."
Jackal operated the equipment as he spoke.
"By slightly modifying the contact core and transmitting the signal through the recovered core, the gates to the Theater of Domination can be opened from the outside."
With a tearing sound, the air was scorched by the magnetic field, and after a slight distortion, it formed a tiny crack.
The Jackal's device could use the core of the Thousand-Man Herrscher reverse-engineer their network, Raiden Mei nodded to herself.
"With those three cores, is that enough?" Raiden Mei asked, pointing to the cores she had given to the Jackal.
The Jackal said arrogantly, "Give me two days, and I'll make sure everything goes perfectly!"
"It's been too long."
Raiden Mei shook her head.
Kiana and Bronya are only half-baked Herrscher and don't know the situation yet; she doesn't have two days to wait.
"You may not have a sense of time, but we have so much to do: pinpointing the location, timing, and size of the rift. These things require patience and cannot be accomplished overnight," the Jackal cautioned.
While it's not impossible to force it open, that would undoubtedly carry enormous risks.
Raiden Mei is a precious Herrscher body from the World Serpent, so we can't afford any accidents during her experiments.
Raiden Mei ignored her, her eyes fixed on the three Herrscher Core.
Jackal also noticed something was wrong. "Raiden Mei, don't you think this core is a bit smaller than when you gave it to me?"
The core is disappearing!
The experimental setup in the room is absorbing energy through a magnetic field, and the three cores in the Jackal's hand are firewood.
Just as the Jackal was about to seal the Herrscher Core, Raiden Mei was one step ahead, slamming it onto the experimental table.
"Are you crazy? Now is the worst time!" the Jackal roared.
Without turning her head, Raiden Mei pressed her hands on the core of the experimental platform and said coldly, "Activate the device immediately, now!"
Ultimately, Raiden Mei was stronger. Jackal had no choice but to activate the device. With the core disappearing, Raiden Mei's body passed right through the rift.
"Sigh, really. She has such a gentle face, yet she acts so aggressively. Or are all Herrscher like this in this era?"
"The world has changed."
The Jackal shook her head, leaving the laboratory with a helpless expression; she still had to report to the Lord.
Himeko Murata: "Mei, aren't you being a little too reckless?"
Teacher Himeko sighed, remembering Raiden Mei as one of the few well-behaved girls in the class. How could she... wait, it seems that Mei has completely changed since becoming Herrscher.
Chapter 555 Raiden Mei Unleashes Rampage Mode
She faced off against Chakravartin head-on, against Apponia, and clashed head-on with Mobius; even in the Previous Era Elysian Realm, Raiden Mei showed no fear.
Even Teacher Himeko is starting to wonder which one is Mei's true personality.
Or does becoming Herrscher affect one's personality?
Jackal: "The Herrscher of Thunder was a bit reckless. An experiment requires many measurements and tests. Especially the space teleportation experiment. If something goes wrong after you rashly start it, I won't be responsible."
Raiden Mei activated the device herself, so even if the Lord investigates, it has little to do with her.
The only downside is that if Raiden Mei doesn't return, the Jackal will lose a research subject.