Moisture from all directions condensed into ice, turning into a dense rain of icicles.
Falling normally, rising against gravity, sweeping horizontally and vertically, left, right, up, and down, the boundless sky was overrun and eroded by icy blue.
In this moment the sky became a vast sheet of ice; on closer look, it was a terrifying canopy woven from countless blocks of solid ice.
Facing this airtight offensive, the Herrscher of Sentience curled her lip in disdain.
"Too weak!"
"Inch Force · Wild Thunder!"
Her arms spread. Her hands blurred into afterimages, meeting all comers; ice harder than steel was smashed to powder with every punch and kick, shattered and scattered.
At arm's length, nothing could get close!
"Amazing!" Many present were experts in blade and sword.
By analogy, it wasn't hard to sense the power at play.
Such exquisitely brilliant moves, hard to believe a newly born consciousness could achieve it.
Could this Herrscher's authority be related to this?
Fu Hua watched the Herrscher of Sentience closely. Every punch and kick felt so... familiar.
After that brief exchange just now, many memories began to well up.
"This are my moves." She stared, slightly shocked, at how the Herrscher of Sentience was moving.
"What?!" Hearing this, Theresa's face showed pure bewilderment.
Fu Hua continued, "And this state… it's very likely Honkai repaired my body to its peak. Her movements now is no different from mine at my prime."
Confronted with something she'd never seen before, Fu Hua, surprised as she was, was also intensely curious, watching that Herrscher use her own body to perform so many familiar moves.
Ever since her body developed problems, it had been a long time since she'd felt this.
And seeing her own techniques from this angle, this was a first. Utterly fresh.
Theresa nodded, thoughtful.
Put that way, Honkai had, for once, done something good. After they took Fu Hua's body back… wait!!
Theresa snapped her head up, eyes widening on instinct.
"You mean you were this strong at your peak?!!"
This was already beyond an S-rank Valkyrie!
Theresa was dumbstruck.
In her impression, Fu Hua's strength was upper-mid among S-rank Valkyries, still human.
And most of the time she was best at fighting humanoid targets, not great against large-scale ones.
But now…
Watching the Herrscher of Sentience wipe out every attack thrown at her with a flick of the fist, Theresa felt the weight of the coming campaign sink even heavier.
Suddenly, the Herrscher of Sentience's movements hit a snag, her body lurched backward out of control.
With superb bodily skill, she reacted at once, forearms crossing before her, giving a small shake that vented and shed the sudden strike completely!
"Ha~~ Gravity?"
Once she had retreated past a certain range, the Herrscher of Sentience steadied herself and arched a brow at the distant figure still radiating raw fury.
"Don't bring out party tricks like that unless you want people to die laughing!"
As soon as she spoke, several chains gleaming black-red appeared out of thin air and lunged for the Herrscher of Ice. The Herrscher of Sentience followed right after, feet stepping on the chains as she blurred forward, rapidly closing the distance.
"Bang!" Before it even properly began, the fight between Herrschers had already erupted.
The Herrscher of Ice thrust out both hands, forcing herself to calm down and drive the authority she had just gained.
Gravity field!
The sudden increase in gravity made the Herrscher of Sentience's body pause, but only that. She still shot toward the Herrscher of Ice like a barbed arrow!!
....
World Serpent.
The battle exploding over the sea was captured and relayed to Kevin and Su.
"This is… gravitational manipulation." Su's eyes grew slightly solemn.
Gravity control made him think of the previous era's Herrscher of Rock.
It's feat of sinking an entire continent.
But the Herrscher of Ice's gravity control was still crude, far inferior to the last era's Herrscher of Rock; that's why the Herrscher of Sentience slipped through it with ease.
"Hua's body was flooded with Honkai energy and birthed a new consciousness. This fighting style is identical to Hua's, it seems to have inherited her combat technique."
From the very beginning the two had been watching every move of the Herrscher of Sentience.
A Herrscher born and immediately fighting another Herrscher, this was a first for them as well.
And this time, there was no human meddling in the Herrscher's birth.
An unconscious body seized by an awareness born of Honkai, this awareness then proactively sought out a Herrscher to fight.
It was eye-popping, to say the least.
"Fifty thousand years of experience is enough to burst a newly born consciousness," Kevin said flatly.
Letting a fresh Herrscher's mind clash head-on with Fu Hua's fifty thousand years of memories,
That was more than bullying. That Honkai's will could do this was truly beyond Kevin's expectations.
"I'll go help," Su said suddenly.
"Hua will definitely want her body back. I can help a bit with that."
Kevin nodded slightly.
Su is a psyche-perception type fusion warrior. Compared to the others present, he could help Fu Hua more.
....
At this moment, the Herrscher of Ice was still tangled up with the Herrscher of Sentience.
"Are you an idiot?! You don't even know who the enemy is?!" the Herrscher of Ice shouted, on the verge of a breakdown.
Her mind was in chaos. She never expected a backstab.
If it were one of the other Herrschers who stood with humanity, she could accept that.
But a just-born Herrscher taking the human side, how is that reasonable?
"Heh, the one who can't see the situation is you! I will eradicate all Honkai and restore peace to the world!"
The Herrscher of Sentience finished, and the air boomed.
Fierce fist-winds hammered the high clouds into thick rings that stung the face.
Hearing that, the Herrscher of Ice's face went dark.
Pure idiot.
A Herrscher, the bringer of civilization's ruin, claiming to defend peace. If anyone else had said it, she'd be laughing.
But this one… She means it!
"Damn it. I thought a helper showed up, turns out it's a fool." Gritting her teeth, the Herrscher of Ice felt her blood surge, an urge to beat the Herrscher of Sentience to death.
"If that's how it is, then die!"
If they couldn't be allies, then she'd make that core her own power!
All that said, the Herrscher of Ice didn't dare get too close. She kept her distance and wore her down.
In close combat, the Herrscher of Sentience suppressed her the whole time.
Only at range could she gain a bit of an edge, but even then, it never lasted long before the Herrscher of Sentience dissolved her attacks with that mysterious techniques from who-knew-where.
It left her with the hollow frustration of having nowhere to put her strength.
"Are we really just going to watch?"
Elsewhere, looking up at the raging fight above, Kiana asked timidly.
"For now, let that Herrscher burn some fuel. We still don't know her true goal. Caution above all."
Truth be told, Theresa most wanted to snatch Fu Hua's body back right now.
But not knowing that Herrscher's authority, charging in would only cause needless losses.
....
"This island sits at the junction of the two oceans. The climate is pleasant, the scenery beautiful, and there have been no major natural disasters to date. Tornadoes and tsunamis have never occurred. If you decide to acquire an island, this one is undoubtedly the most suitable choice."
Islands can be bought and sold.
Private islands lie scattered across the seas, unknown to outsiders.
But Raven wasn't concerned with the rest.
"It is indeed nice." She took in the surroundings carefully and couldn't help but nod.
Since coming ashore, the views had truly been excellent.
She had checked the information before coming. Aside from the surge in sea level caused by the Chiyou incident, this island had never faced other trials of nature.
Close to the continent, with convenient supply runs.
Raven was very tempted.
Owning a small island, building a large villa on it, and giving the children a carefree environment to live in, that has always been her goal.
Thanks to Kevin who returned from the Quantum Sea, she gained new funding opportunities.
That Lord was undoubtedly the type who believed in "you give, you receive." Compared to that gray snake with a mechanical head, he was countless times more generous.
As long as she did well, the money in her hands was enough to realize the goal she dreamed of.
"Here…" Just as she was about to speak, Raven suddenly froze. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked ahead.
"Did this island enter winter this early?"
"Winter?"
The attendant responsible for receiving Raven blinked and instinctively shook his head.
"This island's winter is still three months away. There's absolutely no way it should be snowing…"
As he spoke, his voice gradually weakened.
Looking at the ground in the distance, at the frost hanging from the treetops, for the first time he began to doubt his own professional competence.
A wave of cold swept through the air.
Both of them shivered at the same time.
"This feeling." Raven's gaze sharpened.
From that cold wave, she sensed a familiar aura.
Just like what she encountered not long ago on Coral Island… Coral Island??!
Still thinking, Raven's eyes caught a familiar figure.
"Mr. Su?"
"Miss Raven?"
The two stared at each other.
After a moment, Su broke the silence.
"Miss Raven, are you on a mission?"
"Just some personal business."
Raven answered. Toward Su, she held a rather favorable opinion. Compared to her own cold, emotionally distant Kevin, Su was calm and wise, and much more humane.
Su gave a small nod. His eyes shifted toward the attendant beside them who had fallen into an illusion.
"This island is no longer safe. If possible, leave as soon as you can."
Hearing that, Raven's pupils shrank. Without asking questions, she immediately turned to run.
Bang!
Plans never keep up with change.
Tomorrow or accidents, you never know which comes first.
A shadow fell from the sky, crashing down hard. The entire island trembled.
Raven was uncontrollably lifted two centimeters off the ground by the shock.
As for Su… he didn't even touch the ground.
"Hahahahaha!! This is the complete Fu Hua, the complete me!"
Wild, arrogant laughter reached Raven, full of overwhelming confidence.
Birds and beasts scattered in panic.
Luckily, there was no one else on the island.
As for the attendant… before the shockwave came, Su had already placed him into a deeper illusion. There was no need to worry about him waking up.
So arrogant.
That was Raven's first reaction.
So absurd.
That was her second reaction.
Just from that collision alone, the entire island trembled, but she could still laugh like nothing happened. Even with Raven's experience, she couldn't imagine what kind of creature that was.
"She's coming." Su murmured, expression tightening.
A violent gale swept out. A tyrannical aura engulfed the entire island. The smaller creatures froze, the sea churned, almost as if celebrating the true owner's return.
"Pathetic, too pathetic. How are you supposed to represent Honkai like this? If every Herrscher was at your level, I'd go bash my head with a brick myself!"
The Herrscher of Sentience sighed exaggeratedly, waving her index finger back and forth, almost as if feeling sorry for the Herrscher of Ice.
That victorious posture only made the Herrscher of Ice angrier.
Her heart sank. A hundred emotions surged.
That brief exchange was enough to make her understand, there was absolutely no way she could gain the upper hand in close combat.
Her combat skills and experience… were on an entirely different level. Endless.
Clearly, she was just newly born as a Herrscher, yet in this fight she was completely unreasonable.
"All your fault! You don't train enough!" The Herrscher of Ice finally shifted the blame to Anna.
A dignified A-rank Valkyrie.
Schicksal's true pillar of strength, yet she lost so completely in combat technique. They started on the same line, how could she drag so much?!
In the consciousness space, Anna no longer wanted to speak.
Even hearing the Herrscher's accusations, she didn't care.
If possible, she just wanted to disappear.
She was so arrogant earlier, acting like she was the strongest under heaven…
Yet now, she was being beaten senseless by a newly born Herrscher.
…
"No. I need to use both authorities if I want to fight her."
Thinking that, the Herrscher of Ice temporarily stopped attacking.
But the Herrscher of Sentience didn't care.
"Hah? Why aren't you coming? Afraid? If you won't come, then I'll come instead!" The next moment, her figure vanished from sight, charging straight from the front.
The Herrscher of Ice widened her eyes and retreated.
Ice thorns rose in rows, blocking the path and obstructing vision.
But to the Herrscher of Sentience, they weren't even obstacles. One punch shattered everything, whether walls or razor-sharp ice.
From a mountain peak in the distance, Raven swallowed hard.
"Is she… always that strong?"
At St. Freya, Raven had interacted with Fu Hua.
At World Serpent, she had heard Kevin and Su talk about her.
Even during the Coral Island incident, Raven had personally witnessed Fu Hua's power.
Back then, Fu Hua's combat ability was no weaker than her own. Their battle techniques were evenly matched.
Raven knew, unless the contract price was extraordinarily high, she would never fight Fu Hua.
But… that was still within human limits!
But now... she felt her worldview turn upside down.
"You're here for her, aren't you?" Raven looked at Su carefully, afraid that if he nodded, she would be forced to go fill the front lines.
"This place is dangerous. If you can, retreat farther back." Hearing that, Raven exhaled in relief. She grabbed the attendant and turned decisively.
"Be careful. I'll take him somewhere safe." World Serpent definitely didn't pay her enough for this.
Watching Raven leave, Su slowly opened his eyes.
"Su."
Once Raven was gone, Theresa jumped down from Benare's back. A voice echoed, coming from a feather.
It was Fu Hua.
"You're here?"
"No serious problem. It's just… my body."
Even Fu Hua didn't know what to say at this point.
Her body had become a Herrscher. With her personality, she should have destroyed it and taken the core back.
A mere physical vessel meant nothing to her.
But the situation was different. Because of her jumbled memories, the newly born consciousness misunderstood everything.
It wanted to eliminate Honkai and bring peace to Earth.
The contradictions were so ridiculous that even Fu Hua didn't know where to begin complaining.
After a moment of silence, Su spoke.
"That's why I'm here. I'll influence her consciousness. You seize the chance to reclaim control of the body. A newly born Herrscher consciousness isn't strong mentally, it has no defense against this."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Theresa looked worried.
Fu Hua reassured her.
"Don't worry, Theresa. Su is a spiritual-type fusion warrior. With the Divine Key Fenghuang Down and my familiarity with my body, taking back control from a newly born Herrscher isn't impossible."
Risky, but her body must be taken back. And with Su and Fenghuang Down assisting her, Fu Hua believed they could do it.
"The first priority now is to figure out what her authority is."