The Herrscher of Void flashed and instantly teleported in front of Chang Yuan.
After continuously dodging, Chang Yuan had also positioned himself directly opposite Airi.
Chang Yuan faced Airi, while the Herrscher of Void stood behind him.
"Now!"
Even without Chang Yuan saying it, Airi knew what he meant.
She drew her bow and loosed an arrow, all in less than a second.
Trusting Airi completely, Chang Yuan remained where he was, allowing the Herrscher of Void to attempt to assassinate him.
Whoosh—!
For any living creature, the eyes were the most vulnerable part, even for a Herrscher.
The arrow pierced straight through the Herrscher of Void's brain. Even if it had failed to pass all the way through, for any Herrscher other than the Herrscher of Death, this strike was fatal.
The Herrscher of Void could only blame herself for underestimating the tacit understanding between Chang Yuan and Airi.
The hand that had been about to pierce Chang Yuan's chest froze in midair.
As the Herrscher of Void fell, Airi immediately rushed over to Chang Yuan.
However, instead of a worried embrace after the battle, Chang Yuan was greeted by one of Airi's loving little fists slamming into his chest.
It nearly sent Chang Yuan staggering back two steps.
"Yuan! Do you know how dangerous that was?! You're just a slightly stronger ordinary person! What if you hadn't reacted in time?!"
Airi had been utterly unable to understand why Chang Yuan had provoked the Herrscher of Void in the first place.
But as Chang Yuan kept dodging and continuously led the attacks toward the space directly in front of her, Airi immediately understood what he was trying to do.
Understanding it was one thing, but it was still incredibly risky. She did not dare interfere either, afraid that her interference would cause Chang Yuan to make a mistake.
In the end, she could only wait for the opportunity Chang Yuan created for her.
Fortunately, everything had gone in a good direction.
But even though the outcome was satisfactory, Airi was still extremely unhappy with Chang Yuan's approach.
This kind of gamble, with his own life as the stake—she truly feared losing him.
"Hiss, Airi, I think this punch hurt more than all the injuries I got in that fight."
Chang Yuan stopped and rubbed his chest, baring his teeth in pain.
But in truth, he barely felt anything, which only further proved that Honkai had corroded him even more deeply.
My dear Master Velvie! Big V Teacher! Where are you? Hurry up and save me!
At present, Velvie was his only hope.
After all, she was a genius among geniuses, someone no less talented than Dr. Mei and even surpassing Dr. Mei in some respects.
And with the guidance he had given her several years ago, she should definitely have been able to create at least one anti-Honkai corrosion serum by now.
Just then, a nimble figure leaped down from a high-rise building. Just before hitting the ground, her descent gradually slowed, thanks to the flight pack on her back, though it was an especially rudimentary one.
"Hi, did you miss me?"
"!!!"
"Big V Teacher, have you finished the anti-Honkai corrosion serum? Save my skin!"
Seeing Big V Teacher descend, Chang Yuan looked as though he had seen a savior arrive, his eyes filled with hope.
And his Big V Teacher did not disappoint him. She immediately reached into the backpack behind her and rummaged around.
At last, she pulled out a syringe filled with azure-blue liquid.
"Here, anti-Honkai corrosion serum. Once you inject it, you'll gain resistance to Honkai. Based on my estimates, as long as it doesn't exceed 1,200 hw, it basically won't affect you at all.
"If it does exceed that, you'll still be fine as long as you leave quickly. But if you stay too long, afterward you'll need to go somewhere with low Honkai concentration and wait several months for it to heal and dissipate on its own."
Seeing the syringe Big V Teacher had produced, Chang Yuan trusted her completely.
He took the syringe and immediately drove it hard into his arm.
After the injection, the oppressive feeling he had initially felt instantly vanished, replaced by a sense of lightness throughout his body.
He then rolled up his sleeve and watched the dark-purple markings slowly fade until they disappeared entirely.
"Whew, I survived. I survived. Big V Teacher, you did great. I owe you my life."
Feeling Honkai's corrosion completely vanish from his body, Chang Yuan finally let out a long sigh of relief.
The thing he had once worried about no longer needed to concern him.
And now that he had Honkai resistance, he could wield more Honkai Energy and become even stronger.
Though he probably would not become absurdly powerful. He estimated that, at most, he would reach the level of an A-rank Valkyrie from the future.
But before Fusion Warriors appeared, that would place him in the first tier, second only to Airi.
After all, only with the emergence of Fusion Warriors—beings beyond S-rank Valkyries—had Airi barely become second.
Of course, not every Fusion Warrior was that strong. It depended on the rank of the Honkai Beast whose genes had been fused.
If it was only the genes of an Assault-class Honkai Beast, then one would at most reach around the level of a C-rank Valkyrie, perhaps not even that.
Only Fusion Warriors who had fused the genes of Emperor-class or higher Honkai Beasts could reliably match, or even surpass, an S-rank Valkyrie.
But just then, Airi stepped forward with a stern expression and grabbed the hand Chang Yuan had used to roll up his sleeve.
"Chang Yuan, those purple markings from before were Honkai corrosion. Why didn't you tell me? Why did you still come with me to a place with such a high Honkai concentration? You could have died, do you understand?"
The fact that Airi rarely called Chang Yuan by his full name after growing up showed just how angry she truly was this time.
She was not angry because Chang Yuan had hidden it from her. She was angry because he had not cherished his own life.
If Velvie had not arrived in time this time, she did not dare imagine what Chang Yuan would have become afterward. He might have died, or he might have turned directly into a zombie, forcing her to kill him with her own hands.
Neither outcome was something she wanted to see.
"I... I'm sorry."
Chang Yuan had originally wanted to explain. He feared that his presence would create some butterfly effect and get Airi killed.
But seeing the anger on Airi's face, he ultimately gave up on explaining and lowered his head to apologize.
"There won't be a next time. If I catch you doing this a second time, then no matter what I do in the future, I won't take you with me."
"...Mm. It won't happen again."
Only after hearing Chang Yuan's promise did Airi's anger ease somewhat.
Once Chang Yuan saw that Airi was no longer angry, he immediately pointed at the Herrscher of Void and said to Velvie, "Big V Teacher, hurry and take the Herrscher of Void's core. If Flame-Chasing Moth gets here later, you won't be able to get it."
Before you continue