The bullet aimed at her forehead was stopped by the Honkai energy controlled by the Law-Ruler, then, like a lump of putty being kneaded and played with, it was flicked away. The pistol said to be capable of bringing down a mammoth in one shot could not harm the Law-Ruler in the slightest. Even after Kevin fired several rounds in succession, he could not leave so much as a mark on her smooth skin. Expressionless, he flung the pistol to the ground, where it struck with a crisp clatter.
"Many people say that a person won't stumble in the same place twice." Kevin's expression remained unchanged. He had only thirty seconds left.
"But I think Law-Rulers have already gone beyond the bounds of humanity." Kevin shrugged, as though mocking her.
The Space-based Weapon had fired more than one projectile. Sending Kevin alone to kill the Law-Ruler had never been a wise choice; the true deciding force was someone else. In Dr. Mei and Qin Su's plan, killing the Twelfth Law-Ruler was no simple matter, especially given how extraordinarily dangerous her ability appeared to be.
Thus, the plan was detailed and complex.
Life could not be measured in terms of value, but for a dangerous anomalous Law-Ruler like the Twelfth Law-Ruler, life truly possessed a measurable "value." The upper limit of her ability was like a fixed, level bucket with no weak-link effect. Each time her ability was applied to a life, water was added to the bucket. Once that life died, the water belonging to it was poured out.
Applying her ability to a swarm of ants consumed the same amount of water—that was, the same "value"—as applying it to one person. Applying her ability to tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of people consumed the same "value" as applying it to a Fusion Warrior.
If the water in the bucket overflowed, then naturally, her ability would go out of control. Therefore, she had to apply her ability precisely to dangerous lives. And while the blessing Honkai had granted her was indeed exceedingly dangerous, its flaw was just as enormous—a barrier with a radius of one hundred kilometers made it almost impossible to apply her ability precisely to individuals.
So could all the Fusion Warriors solve her together? That idea was not feasible. The Law-Ruler was not an idiot. If she thought she could not win, she could flee, while the Fusion Warriors previously affected by her ability would need to overcome their physical discomfort. Do not forget that the Herrscher of Binding's ability could kill Fusion Warriors within sixty seconds; it would throw their bodily functions into extreme disorder.
The Law-Ruler would cast those lagging Fusion Warriors out of her barrier, then deal with the Fusion Warriors who had not been affected by her ability. This was guerrilla warfare: one person waging guerrilla warfare against a group.
Therefore, the Fusion Warriors needed to find a decisive method that could kill the Herrscher of Binding in a single blow. The Space-based Weapon was merely a means of misleading the Law-Ruler. The one who could truly bring victory to humanity was Fu Hua. Not because Fu Hua herself was especially powerful, but because of the Eighth Divine Key in her hands.
The Eighth Divine Key was a method that had to be used first and had to win in one strike. To make the Law-Ruler take this move head-on, they could only first divert her attention and fill the "bucket" with "water."
From afar, the sight in the sky looked incomparably romantic. Specks of starlight gathered together, and a meteor shower dragged brilliant, dazzling tails of flame behind it. Perhaps ignorant youths who witnessed this scene would make a great many wishes.
The meteor shower fell in unison behind the hills not far from the Law-Ruler, kicking up a massive wave of earth. Once the swirling dust and soil dispersed, many familiar warriors appeared before her eyes, while the pain caused by her disrupted Authority continued to intensify.
"We're here!" they said in unison.
Dozens of Fusion Warriors charged forward together. Though they had now lost their strange and varied abilities, their powerful bodies still gave them the strength to make the Law-Ruler fear them.
Gritting her teeth against the agonizing pain of her unbalanced Authority and rapidly healing body, the Twelfth Law-Ruler decisively manipulated the Honkai energy field to lift herself into the air.
With even a little thought, one could tell what the Law-Ruler intended to do—not flee, but make a planned withdrawal. Escape and retreat were not the same concept. Escape was for survival; retreat was to better achieve one's objective. The Fusion Warriors would not let her get away so easily.
"Don't even think about running!" The Fusion Warriors armed with bows drew their weapons with all their strength, storing them with potential energy as they focused and took aim.
Whoosh!
The long arrows tore through the Honkai energy barrier and shot straight for the Law-Ruler's heart. If she tried to use the Honkai energy field to knock away the arrows fired by these Fusion Warriors, it would be no different from suicide.
The arrows fired by Fusion Warriors were not comparable to bullets from ordinary weapons. Even within the Herrscher of Binding's barrier, where the bows had lost their original special effects, their immense force could still grievously wound the Law-Ruler.
She wanted to quickly throw these Fusion Warriors beyond her ability's range, yet she had no choice but to spend a great deal of energy and time evading the arrows.
The Law-Ruler made a fatal decision. If she could have endured the pain of countless arrows piercing her heart, she might still have had a sliver of hope. Now, everything had been decided, because the direction of her flight was no longer determined by her own will.
If the Fusion Warriors' landing points were plotted on a two-dimensional map, they formed a crescent shape. The Law-Ruler was surrounded by that crescent. Naturally, she fled backward, and Fu Hua's landing point lay directly along her escape route. The disruption of her Authority not only caused the Law-Ruler pain, but also weakened her perception. She did not notice at all that someone was above her head.
Concentrating inside a rapidly spinning, falling projectile was no easy task, but Fu Hua could use the Eighth Divine Key to force herself to remain tense and enter a state of focus.
Beneath the gaze of the stars of the cosmos, a crimson mystical bird spread wings made of flame high in the sky, tearing through the dark, heavy clouds. Its shrill cry announced her arrival. Fu Hua kept her eyes tightly shut. The projectile's high-speed dive created violent vibrations as it rubbed against the air, but they did not affect Fu Hua in the slightest. She focused and activated the Eighth Divine Key. Countless white points and a solitary red point appeared in her mind.
"Zero Rated Output—" she murmured, then forged and honed her mental strength. She turned her consciousness into a blazing white longsword and thrust it toward the red point—
The Law-Ruler flying through the night stumbled and crashed to the ground, rolling across it like a stone skipping over water. In embarrassment, she used the Honkai energy field to shake off the dirt covering her body, only to find a figure already standing before her.
Kevin looked calmly at the disheveled Law-Ruler before him, even as blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. Enduring the agonizing pain her ability inflicted upon him, he drove his body, which was on the verge of collapse, and led the companions charging forward alongside him.
"It's over."
The warriors watched as Kevin raised the Heavenly Fire Greatsword over his head. Scorching blood-red flames burst from the blade, its edge aimed straight at the Herrscher of Binding's heart. She tried to forcibly activate her ability, but all it gave back to her was an indescribable pain and muddled sensations.
The greatsword pierced through her body. Golden blood flowed down the blade. The silver-haired Law-Ruler felt neither regret nor pain over her death; she merely sighed softly. "Finally..."
After doing all this, Kevin nearly dropped to one knee. His chest heaved violently as he gulped down fresh air. He raised the greatsword and tried to stand, intending to proclaim humanity's victory like a standard-bearer from history.
But his body would not allow it. In his daze, he heard several words, as if someone were calling out something.
"????, the ??? output"
What was that?
Before you continue