Looking down from thousands of meters in the sky, the sea appeared curved, and the clustered tornadoes seemed smaller. The remaining wind created massive waves that looked like pieces of white debris.
But the two Herrschers weren't in the mood to appreciate the scenery. The Herrscher of Wind slightly widened her eyes as she saw the man charging toward her. In terms of appearance, he was undoubtedly more terrifying.
Fortunately, the Herrscher had no fear.
Bang!
The air exploded between them, and Feng Lu was forced to retreat. Her brain calculated the situation like a computer, quickly coming to a conclusion: He was courting death. Even in close combat, the remaining energy wouldn't be enough to defeat him. So, the illogical question arose—why was he still rushing in?
There was no need to overthink it. As a soldier, her instincts kicked in, and the Herrscher of Wind spun backward, spreading her wings, sending hundreds of wind blades slicing down at her opponent.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
Invisible blades filled every inch of space in front of Ryan, but he didn't retreat. Instead, he focused on wielding Chi Xiao.
Ding, ding, ding.
The straight sword was like an impenetrable wall. Sparks flew off the blade as it clashed with the wind blades. All his energy went into the defense. The dense sword light shielded his vital points, while the forceful airflow cut through him, like being caught in a blender.
Despite the pain coursing through his body, Ryan's expression didn't change. He pushed forward, closing the gap, and stabbed toward the Herrscher.
Squeak—
There was resistance at his wrist, and the sword stopped just before touching her chest. At that moment, accumulated energy shot out in the form of a purple beam.
The beam pierced through her, forcing the Herrscher of Wind to dodge sideways. She couldn't retreat any further, so she raised her left hand, preparing for a whip kick coming toward her.
Bang!
The force was enough to make her struggle to maintain balance. She turned her head to see the man ready to attack. His sword, legs, and fists were like a thunderstorm.
No need for sophisticated techniques—Ryan turned every inch of his body into a weapon. With each thunderous strike, he relentlessly bombarded the Herrscher in front of him.
Bang, bang, bang...
Countless afterimages appeared, making it impossible to track the blows. The storm continued for several seconds, relentlessly consuming both of their energies and leaving the Herrscher's defense more and more chaotic.
Quick chops, whip kicks, knee strikes, back kicks, and front stabs—the two figures flashed and intertwined in the air. It was impossible to tell who was who. Ryan silently counted to ten seconds in his head.
Suddenly, the storm paused. Ryan's eyes locked onto the Herrscher, who was leaning back. He too fell backward, the edge of his sword crackling with purple lightning.
They had reached the spiritual world point. This was it—the lightning would break through the defense. Time seemed to slow down in their eyes. The Herrscher of Wind looked at the charged attack, meeting Ryan's violent intent, and took a deep breath.
"You can't break it, it's useless to struggle."
The storm is surrounding!
The blue energy of collapse erupted from her, centered around her body. This energy far exceeded all previous attacks and could be described as a wall of sighs.
The energy was no longer invisible. Ryan saw the green vortex beginning to rotate, wrapping the Herrscher tightly before rapidly expanding, forming a giant tornado from the sky to the sea.
Is this the true authority being revealed?
He watched as the remaining lightning was directly annihilated by the green tornado. The raised sword looked insignificant in front of the swirling storm. The tornado kept growing, and Ryan knew the outcome.
He would either be torn to pieces by this thing, or be forced to retreat and then be finished off by the Herrscher of Wind. There was no doubt that he no longer had the ability to use Purple Lightning Flash again.
A sure-kill game? You've gained a warrior's experience and her knowledge, but you've forgotten one thing:
Lieutenant Rose, there is a world of difference between you and me!
The green airflow was already upon him. With no other choice, Ryan immediately retreated, which only made the Herrscher of Wind more contemptuous.
No matter how passionate you are, or how good your tactics are, even if you seize power, you will still die.
Storm, tear him apart!
The tornado expanded with incredible speed. Even if Ryan retreated with all his might, he might not be able to escape. Even if he tried to dodge, the Herrscher of Wind would launch a fatal attack. But at that moment—
Um?!
The Herrscher raised her head, her eyes piercing through the atmosphere, and saw several dark, man-made objects above her.
"Target locked, no signs of movement."
"Optical signals are invisible, so the Houkai energy detectors are aimed with computer assistance."
The Fire Moth had noticed the battle earlier, but the mixed energies created by the storm had made it difficult to detect. The large area covered by the storm prevented the detectors from getting close. Furthermore, the speed was too fast for the computers to calculate the coordinates.
But now it was different. The Herrscher had flown high enough and had slowed down, so even if the Fire Moth couldn't distinguish between friend and foe, they couldn't hesitate in such a rare attack window.
"'Scepter of God', 'Annihilation Star', fire at full energy! We can't let that thing reach land!"
Edwin, having received authorization, immediately gave the order. He didn't know what was fighting, but he knew there was no time to differentiate between friends and foes. All he had to do was destroy them all.
"Emission!"
At that moment, a shadow fell from outer space, piercing through the center of the tornado, rapidly approaching the Herrscher of Wind.
Is he waiting for the Fire Moth?
In an instant, she understood everything. The man's reckless behavior had been a trap, baiting her to release all her power and create this devastating storm, while the counterattack came from these tiny mortals.
Can you still fight like this?
The Herrscher seemed to understand and quickly dodged to the side. An afterimage passed by, tearing through her left wing before she fell into the sea, causing massive waves.
It was a minor injury, but just the beginning.
The Herrscher swung her right hand, and the blue storm shifted sideways. She raised her head again and saw six "stars" falling from outer space. They looked like giant barrels. When they collided with the storm, they suddenly exploded.
Boom!
Six N1 bombs detonated in the air, creating massive fireballs that tore holes in the gloomy sky. The light was blinding, breaking up the tornado and causing it to grow wildly.
"The research of the pure-blood school is still useful." Ryan, now close to the sea surface, could feel the heat even though he was thousands of meters away. The six light orbs dispersed, with the energy converging where the Herrscher was.
The computer-assisted detonation ensured the energy was concentrated.
Ryan chuckled. These weapons of mass destruction weren't useless. The Fire Moth's method of use, however, was flawed. If they had just thrown them at the Herrscher, it wouldn't have hurt her.
Under normal circumstances, the Herrscher of Wind would have blown them away before they got close. But this time, her full attention was on Ryan, and her authority wasn't easy to use.
She could throw them, but she couldn't decompose them like Lei Lu or use electromagnetic interference to disable them.
"So there are no useless weapons, only stupid tactics."
This power was enough to bring Feng Lu down. As the storm subsided, the fleets and aircraft on the periphery began firing, exerting fire suppression.
Ryan had no intention of flying up and getting bombed with her. He glanced at his battered body, then swung his sword.
"I'll take this opportunity to finish this."
Swish—
The sword cut through the air, splitting the sea in two to reveal a pitch-black snake. It was Śeṣa. It was smaller now and seemed confused when Ryan stared at it.
It was the most pitiful of tools—first it lures, then explodes to consume itself. Now, it lurked on the seabed, waiting to ambush Ryan. However, an accident occurred:
Ryan had been forced back to the sea's surface, but instead of panicking, he didn't give Śeṣa a chance to attack. The Herrscher had instead been dragged into the air.
Fortunately, the Honkai beast wasn't afraid. After a brief moment of confusion, green light and lightning appeared on its chest.
Too late!
Ryan lowered his head and charged forward. His long sword slashed down, releasing a ray of lightning. The two lightning bolts collided, creating an electric net.
There was no time to waste—Ryan charged straight through the net, as if wearing an electric suit. He took the attack and rushed toward Śeṣa, stabbing his sword into its forehead without hesitation.
"Let's take a bath together!"
Crash.
The man and the snake plunged into the sea, bubbles surging around them. Ryan's hand stabbed into Śeṣa's back like an eagle's claw, and he raised his fist high. The giant snake beneath him crackled with brilliant electric light, its tail lashing at him.
Though Ryan struggled desperately, he had no intention of letting go. He had little time and energy left, and all he had was pure desire:
Beat you to death!
Pop.
Lightning disintegrated his skin. The giant tail slapped his back, and the sea turned bright red. Ryan, riding the Honkai beast, became a focused craftsman, raising his fist and smashing it down with all his might.
Punch after punch, breaking through the shell, tearing into the body, and sinking deeper into the deep sea.
As the man and the snake sank, the sea calmed down, but the sky above, still ten thousand meters high, remained scorching hot.
As the light from the N1 bomb faded, missiles, shells, and light beams soared toward the sky. With the two sources of Honkai completely separated, Edwin no longer had to worry about distinguishing between enemies or allies. He could fire at will.
The hurricane scattered the missiles, and the air wall deflected the shells, but the Herrscher of Wind was struggling. Every defense consumed massive amounts of energy, and there was no shelter on the sea.
"Humans are hiding hundreds of kilometers away and attacking me?"
She could cover that distance in minutes and tear apart the fleet, but the enemies had already disappeared. What was the point of destroying the humans?
The logical contradiction prevented her from making a judgment. The "wind" was her tentacle. Even if Ryan hid hundreds of kilometers away, she would still be locked on. But the sea formed a barrier.
Woo woo woo...
A swarm of stars approached again. The Fire Moths launched their attacks without hesitation. If the hurricane hadn't blown the bombers off course, they would have already surrounded and engaged.
The Scepter of God and the Star of Annihilation adjusted their trajectories, and the second round of ammunition was ready.
The Herrscher of Wind's eyes twitched. At this moment, she felt the annihilation of Śeṣa. It was as if a pair of eyes were watching her from the surging sea.
She understood immediately.
The man from the outer world had never thought of escaping. From the beginning, he had been using the Fire Moths to help him.
Counterattack!