"Too slow, too slow. Your forehand is sloppy, your backhand has no strength. How do you expect to fight like this? If I were you, I'd bury my head in the ground so I wouldn't embarrass myself!"
Holding the sword in one hand and steadily closing the distance, the Herrscher of Sentience continued unleashing verbal attacks.
Whether she used any actual psychic techniques didn't matter, the steadily reddening face of the Herrscher of Ice said everything.
"You're going too far!"
Gravity and freezing winds arrived together. Facing the assault of both powers, the Herrscher of Sentience only gave a contemptuous smile. Heat surged around her body; the sword became a spear, and she spun it around her like a storm.
Not a single opening.
"Too pathetic!"
With a swoosh, the spear changed into chains, leaping like a serpent, impossible to predict.
For someone who just fused with the Herrscher core and hasn't even developed the power of gravity yet…
The Herrscher of Sentience felt she could handle her with one hand.
This was the complete Fu Hua.
Facing the relentless assaults, the Herrscher of Ice looked extremely frustrated.
If she were in peak condition, she wouldn't be suppressed like this.
Who could have predicted that her supposed reinforcement would suddenly switch sides, after taking one hit head-on and losing in close combat, the situation became unfavorable.
But after that exchange, the Herrscher of Ice had figured something out.
This person, deep down, really is Fu Hua!
What kind of Herrscher mistakes herself for someone else?
Both of them possessed massive Honkai energy, the Herrscher of Ice even had two cores, having fused with the Herrscher of Rock's core. Even if she didn't have time to develop the Rock authority, the power stacking alone shouldn't be underestimated.
Normally, she should already be able to stand above everyone.
But there are always exceptions.
The Herrscher of Sentience also possessed massive Honkai energy, and fueled by Honkai energy Fu Hua's body was fully healed. She inherited Fu Hua's combat experience, that battle-honed body, skill, arts, and instincts. With all that together, she simply crushed the enemy.
After a fierce beating, the Herrscher of Ice finally accepted reality.
"Ridiculous." Her biggest advantage was undoubtedly her unique dual authorities.
Fine control was impossible in her current condition, so she only had one choice left: brute force creates miracles.
Her gaze deepened. She raised her power quietly.
....
"Herrscher of Sentience." Su spoke softly, his eyes falling on the radiant Herrscher of Sentience.
"Just now during the fight, she used authority to influence the Herrscher of Ice, only lightly guiding her." But that was already enough for them to identify her.
The Thirteen Flame-chasers fought Herrschers head-on, they accumulated plenty of experience.
Especially since… in Fu Hua's Fenghuang Down rests the core of the previous generation's Herrscher of Sentience.
"So? Confident?"
Hearing the name Herrscher of Sentience, Theresa felt her heart sink instantly.
She had witnessed the Fenghuang Down's power herself, and that was from the previous civilization, unenhanced, and with a core lacking consciousness.
The opponent now was a complete Herrscher of Sentience plus Fu Hua's fully intact body. Combined, the difficulty shot straight up.
"A bit troublesome, but there's hope." Su's voice was soft, but steady.
Su was gentle, yes, but he was still one of the Thirteen Flame-chasers. He wasn't delusional about his own strength.
Gaining an advantage against her in direct combat was basically impossible.
Not that he was confident enough to defeat a Herrscher of Sentience in the realm of consciousness.
"The Herrscher of Sentience just awakened, and is influenced by Fu Hua's memories. Her control over her authority is still rough. This is the best timing."
This was not blind guessing, he had observed her ability usage.
The Herrscher of Sentience had used her authority three times in total, while Fu Hua's martial arts were used... the entire time.
A simple comparison.
In Su's eyes, rather than calling her the Herrscher of Sentience, she might as well be Fu Hua, the Martial Arts Herrscher.
At least among both civilizations, with the old and new together, she was the one with the best hand-to-hand combat Su had ever seen.
...
Bang!
Bang!
One chases, the other flees.
Two figures darted across an island thirty kilometres wide. The once-beautiful scenery froze into ice sculptures, then shattered under elegant punches. Immediately after, blazing heat melted the fragments, forming a perfectly flat foundation.
Like two runaway huskies, the two Herrschers tore apart the island. In moments, a quarter of the area had been forcibly levelled. From above, it looked like a smooth foundation.
"Is running all you're good at?!" The Herrscher of Sentience threw a punch, the shockwave flattening the forest below.
Her expression was full of irritation.
She swore she was being careful, but the other one acted like she had a radar in her brain. The moment she dismantled an obstacle, her opponent vanished again.
"As a Herrscher, you're this timid? Where's your dignity? Your majesty? With a face like that, you're not even worthy to polish my shoes!"
Fu Hua could swear that line was not in her vocabulary.
As expected from the Herrscher of Sentience, she mastered trash talk naturally.
No matter how she mocked, the Herrscher of Ice stayed far away, as if the insults weren't aimed at her at all.
The air was filled with a strange tension.
The Herrscher of Sentience could clearly sense it.
But she didn't care.
Because, long live the Herrscher of Sentience!
"Hm?" While leisurely chasing the Herrscher of Ice, she paused.
Her gaze fixed on the icy figure standing on a mountaintop.
"Not running anymore?" She raised an eyebrow. Obviously a trap, but... the Herrscher of Sentience feared nothing!
The moment she stepped within range, a sudden force crushed down on her, gravity.
"Do you have no originality? I know you're barely literate, but at least try something new."
The Herrscher of Ice's face darkened at the jab.
Her A-rank Valkyrie rating came more from achievements and strength.
And even S-rank Valkyries couldn't excel in every field. Who could predict she'd end up using gravity manipulation?
But Anna felt grateful, falling asleep in class back then was useful after all!
If she had listened carefully, loved studying, she might have mastered the Gravity authority the moment she obtained it.
"You won't be arrogant for long!" Furious, she increased the gravitational force. The pressure on the Herrscher of Sentience's shoulders suddenly doubled.
The Herrscher of Sentience clicked her tongue.
Too much talking. Then she threw a punch.
BOOM!!
A mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke rose into the sky, a brand-new little mushroom, absurdly cute.
Excitement gleamed in the Herrscher of Sentience's eyes.
The Herrscher of Ice had been avoiding her until now. Finally catching her, she could thoroughly vent!
The Herrscher of Ice focused on defense.
Her ultra-low temperature was great against weaker opponents, but against someone of the same level, it didn't work as well.
And when that opponent was another Herrscher? Even worse.
Watching the massive Honkai energy condensing around the Herrscher of Sentience, the Herrscher of Ice grew furious.
Using Honkai energy to cancel her domain, too unfair!
Their battle surged wildly. Thanks to this body, the Herrscher of Sentience only grew stronger as she fought.
Meanwhile, for some unknown reason, the Herrscher of Ice began weakening even before this.
Just as the battle reached its peak...
A shout came from above.
"Flame Spear, CHARGE!"
Bang!
Swept up in scorching flames, the kinetic energy combined with raw strength, together they created the scene unfolding now.
The ground began to quake, the ice started to melt, a gale swept through, and leaves swirled everywhere.
"Durandal?"
The two of them stopped at the same time, watching the figure who had just dropped onto the battlefield.
"Fu Hua, are you all right?"
Gently pulling the spear tip out of the earth, Durandal glanced over and asked with concern.
"Huh? Haha, I'm fine, I'm fine. That guy hasn't even let me get warmed up."
Waving a hand casually, the Herrscher of Sentience slightly raised their head, eyes calm.
'Hmm?' Durandal paused.
She hadn't seen Fu Hua for a short while, had Fu Hua changed that much in such a little time?
Not only had Fu Hua's clothing style changed, but even the way she spoke was different.
Durandal's impression of Fu Hua had been of a calm, quiet person. This new manner wasn't unpleasant, just unfamiliar.
...
"Crap!" Theresa widened her eyes and cried out, panic on her face.
"Durandal still doesn't know what's happening here! We have to tell her!"
Because of Kevin and Otto, Durandal already knew Fu Hua was a warrior from the Pre-Civilization; her words carried respect.
And because of Kevin, she had never doubted Fu Hua's combat ability against Herrschers, yet now, the consciousness inside Fu Hua's body was a Herrscher!
If the Herrscher of Sentience got any bad ideas...
"We-"
"Go to the back. Dealing with this sort of thing is my job."
Just as Durandal was about to suggest teaming up, the Herrscher of Sentience waved a hand and urged her to fall back.
Durandal looked stunned.
She knew Fu Hua, like Kevin, came from the Pre-Civilization, but the other person was a Herrscher, was it really appropriate to be this cocky?
"Foolish human, can't you tell she's a Herrscher?!"
While Durandal hesitated, the Herrscher of Ice spoke, and her words made Durandal's nerves instinctively tighten.
Her pupils contracted; her gaze locked onto the Herrscher of Sentience.
At that look, Durandal realized something was off.
At first she hadn't suspected because of Fu Hua's aura, but after the Herrscher of Ice spoke, Durandal immediately sensed something wrong.
"Hah, everyone says Durandal is the best of her generation; I think she's just average." The Herrscher of Sentience sneered at the alert Durandal and casually said, "Don't bother me while I'm working. I'll check the real situation later."
Durandal, who rushed forward to question her, grew dizzy with confusion.
What, what's really going on here?
Just then,
"Durandal, come over here." Theresa and the others had somehow moved closer and waved anxiously at Durandal.
The Herrscher of Sentience raised an eyebrow; his expression relaxed a little as he spoke.
"Yo, long time no see. I thought you'd died off in some corner, how've you been?"
"Hey, hey, those two over there, Mei and Yuno, wait up. Let me finish with this guy and I'll come find you."
Seeing Fu Hua smile like that sent a small tick through Su's chest.
A strange urge to press down on it came over him.
He'd never seen Fu Hua wear that expression before, whether in the Pre-Civilization or now.
Back during the Fire Moth missions, Fu Hua had always shown that flat, ordinary face in daily life and on missions; some members had even privately wondered if she was expressionless.
Su had been curious about what Fu Hua looked like when genuinely happy, but there was no need to get so exuberant all at once, gradual was better.
Fu Hua's consciousness, in its current form, looked at the Herrscher of Sentience who occupied her body with a complex expression.
She had never imagined this: her body becoming the condition for a Herrscher's birth.
And this Herrscher had been born already so powerful.
She had watched the earlier fight in full.
The Herrscher of Ice had avoided clashing directly with the Herrscher of Sentience, partly because of battle experience, but also because of her body's nature.
Her fused Honkai-gene originated from Garuda, granting extreme near-immortality. That was precisely why she had been chosen to participate in Dr. Mei's plan.
Sit back and watch the tides rise and fall.
The Herrscher of Sentience's touch could cause the Herrscher of Ice pain for a long time; when an ice spike pierced her body, she would recover not long after.
Her endurance was incredible.
"What on earth is happening?" Durandal asked, expression grave, trying to make sense of the bizarre situation.
...
Anna's consciousness space.
Inside vast ice, a faint trace of a girl's color glowed.
Up until Owl learned the truth back then, Anna had been trying to persuade the Herrscher of Ice to surrender and turn to the light.
But now she herself was listless and distraught, even the will to hide from the Herrscher of Sentience had been worn down.
The Herrscher of Ice glanced at Anna and ignored her, Anna was not her target.
Watching the core in front of her slowly radiate light, the Herrscher of Ice felt reassured.
"Heh, everyone's here, good!"
...
The current situation:
The Herrscher of Sentience dominated one side, Saint Freya and the others remained on guard, and the Herrscher of Ice was plotting something unknown.
After a brief explanation, Durandal roughly pieced together what was happening.
She put aside the matter of the Herrscher of Sentience for now, what she found most concerning was that the Herrscher of Ice had merged with a new Herrscher core.
"Primary target: Herrscher of Ice."
Durandal lifted her spear tip slightly, expression serious, determination firm.
"Hey, hey, hey, she's my prey. What are you doing? Want to fight?!"
The Herrscher of Sentience denounced Durandal harshly for trying to snatch a target, her gaze sharp as if he might strike at any moment.
Su's eyes flickered; his brain raced.
At first he had planned to wait for the Herrscher of Sentience and Herrscher of Ices to fight to mutual ruin and then act, but with Durandal joining in, the timing could be adjusted...
"Hoo, "
At the moment when everyone's intentions diverged, the Herrscher of Ice quietly breathed out as if setting down a heavy burden.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"It's time."
"Huh?!"
Her soft whisper made everyone alert.
"You really want to get beaten now?" Fist met palm.
The Herrscher of Sentience was blunt.
Faced with his provocation, the Herrscher of Ice tilted her head slightly, disdain written across her face.
"Brutes are brutes; see how I teach you."
"???" The Herrscher of Sentience's expression wasn't anger so much as confusion.
'Oh no, did I mess something up?!'
'Wait, I'm the one trying to defeat her.'
Realizing this, the Herrscher of Sentience exhaled.
"Whether human or you, they're all the sort to get cocky after a little success, can't even see through a mere trick."
Shaking his head slightly, the Herrscher of Ice seemed almost to pity them.
Yae Sakura's ears twitched; they were usually decorative, but in battle they could be useful, like now.
"There's something above."
At that, everyone looked up by instinct.
With their sight, they could barely make out a small dark dot high in the sky, slowly getting larger.
Slowly enlarging...
"A meteor!!"
Theresa, who had seen a similar scene before, shouted instantly!
The second collapse was vivid in her mind.
After a brief thought, she quickly reached a conclusion.
The Herrscher of Ice sneered at them.
"Ready? Enjoy the gift I've prepared for you!"
At this moment the Herrscher of Ice felt exhilaration.
All the earlier humiliation had been swept away.
Now she felt unprecedented ease!
Those bitter experiences were gone forever, now she held the power of life and death on Earth, she held the fate of these humans!
This was the Herrscher of Ice's way of dealing with it.
Since she couldn't master gravity well in a short time, she'd just use brute force, powerful flying bricks!