I am a hero of the former civilization.

Why is it him again?

The massive airship swayed slightly in the air currents, and Ryan's ears were filled with various mechanical noises. The corridors inside were also very narrow, only wide enough for two people to pass side by side.

As chief of staff, Kalis certainly had the authority to command the entire campaign. However, his cooperation with Ryan in Canghai City was not pleasant. This guy was not only cunning and ruthless, but his appearance also made people wary.

'Never mind, let's see how it goes first.'

The automatic doors opened, and Ryan followed the crowd to the battle bridge. He looked around and saw that the area of ​​over 100 square meters was quite lively.

Outside was a vast sea of ​​clouds. Below the bridge were three rows of seats where twenty or thirty communications soldiers were fiddling with computers, and staff officers were running around passing documents and marking the latest situation on an electronic map.

The walls on both sides have been transformed into giant screens, with electronic maps of different scales unfolding in sequence, and some videos playing images from the front lines, while real-time information scrolls above.

It's very advanced. From the whole of Europe down to the British Isles, there are all kinds of routes, signs, and Honkai energy reactions. Without some skill and experience, just looking at it will make you dizzy.

"Welcome, everyone."

Ryan turned his head following the sound and saw the blond man getting up from his seat. He was wearing a white military uniform in the style of a trench coat, with gold epaulets on his shoulders, and he was holding a military knife studded with jewels in his hand.

In his thirties or forties, with a handsome face and a crisp military uniform, he appeared composed and elegant.

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff."

The group of Punishment Swordsmen immediately stood at attention and saluted. They were elite troops directly under the Fire Chaser Council and had a strong sense of hierarchy.

Ryan and Sakura stood casually, neither of them holding any military rank or grade, and Ryan's gaze even carried a hint of doubt.

“Dr. Ryan, I know our last collaboration was somewhat unpleasant, but please believe me, there’s no need to do anything unnecessary this time.” Kalis wasn’t angry and extended his right hand.

"That depends on your performance. Let's get down to business." Ryan didn't mince words; he shook hands with him, then raised an eyebrow slightly: "You also underwent fusion surgery?"

“Yes, I happen to have that qualification. Even a commander needs the ability to defend himself,” Kalis replied with a smile.

That's true. Ryan didn't ask in detail. Kalis's file access is extremely high. Even May doesn't know about it. Asking would be pointless.

The two exchanged only a few words, but it gave Vinar and the others a completely different feeling. They suddenly realized that even though they were both fusion warriors, the gap between them was too great.

The higher-ups have an exceptionally high tolerance level and don't impose any orders or other forms of suppression, which is truly enviable.

“Then I’ll get straight to the point. Please take a look.” Kalis nodded to the person next to him, and immediately a female officer wearing a boat-shaped cap pressed the remote control.

The tactical map shifts, revealing the seas north of Britain.

“Yesterday, according to the Skynet detection results, a strong collapse source appeared at this coordinate, which disappeared after about 22 minutes. Subsequently, the detection buoy was dropped, but no collapse energy reaction was detected underwater. The energy spectrum search in the database also did not yield similar results, which proves that the collapse source is new.”

No matter how much they try to conceal it, Herrschers and Honkai Beasts cannot completely block Honkai energy. The Fire Moth has even established a Honkai energy spectrum database, which can confirm their identities.

"So this source of Honkai has moved and hidden its whereabouts?" Ryan asked, clearly not holding back.

"From the current situation, that's correct, but we have Dr. May's latest research on detectors that can capture residual energy. Dr. Ryan, please take a look."

Kalis nodded to the girl next to him, and some data and a winding dotted line appeared on the large screen.

This dotted line continues southward, disappearing abruptly just as it approaches Great Britain.

“The rate at which the dissipated energy disappears exceeds the rate at which the buoy is deployed, so the detection limit is 200 kilometers north of Great Britain,” Kalis explained, gesturing with his chin to Vinal as he raised his hand.

"The target could be heading east toward the Scandinavian Peninsula or west into the ocean."

“No, the First and Sixth Fleets arrived first, and their ships have detectors. It’s impossible for them to slip past right under our noses,” Ryan answered for Kalis. He noticed that the friendly forces markings on the big screen all had arrival times, so it wasn’t difficult to deduce them from the other side.

“Dr. Ryan is right. The probability of the target escaping is less than 5%, so it’s almost certain that they’ve set foot on the British Isles.” Carlisle smiled and nodded, then sighed. “But once they’re on land, we won’t be able to pinpoint their location.”

Honkai primarily occurs on land. For example, there are dozens of small to medium-sized Honkai sources on electronic maps, with their energy spectra mixed together, making them impossible to distinguish.

Conversely, the deep ocean is particularly 'pure,' making it harder for the fire-chasing moths to hide even after they've upgraded their equipment.

They made it ashore.

Ryan squinted, his gaze sweeping across the dense array of markers on the electronic map. Among them were the Honkai Source, the Firemoth's base, and even the rebels—a microcosm of the world at this moment.

Red, gray, and blue, interlocking like jigsaw puzzle pieces.

It's been almost a year since the Canghai Incident, and the world hasn't gotten better as the noodle stall owner had hoped. Instead, it's become increasingly chaotic, with humans and Honkai intertwined like prairie fires, seemingly impossible to eradicate.

Therefore, the two sides entered a stalemate.

The world is too big. Even with the Moth of Fire expanding several times over, it is still stretched thin. It can only concentrate its forces to protect the main areas. As for the areas outside the protected areas, you can refer to those post-apocalyptic movies.

One type is occupied territory, and the other is abandoned territory that was deliberately left behind.

From protecting the world, to guarding the continent, and then to focusing on key protected areas, the territory that humanity can completely control is shrinking, like a giant being constantly bled dry, growing weaker and weaker.

Ryan licked his lips. The map was clear at a glance. Coming out of the dark and gloomy research institute, he realized that the world had become strange and cruel.

"Northern Britain has already fallen. Ireland is now the main target for protecting the southern shipping lanes. Is that blue line the border?"

He pointed to the blue line running through the center of the British Isles, where there were countless friendly forces markings, and the army was estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands.

“Yes, the larger the area to be protected, the greater the troop losses. We have to divide the protected areas according to population size and importance.” Kalis forced a smile, his eyes tinged with sarcasm. “So, public opinion criticizes us for surrendering and committing crimes. What do you think?”

"A rational decision is to fight the Honkai head-on, as it's a dead end. Only by concentrating our forces and firepower can we resist." Ryan didn't blame him at all; he had experienced it firsthand in Japan.

At that time, the Honkai was not yet severe. Even if the Far East Branch called for reinforcements and worked themselves to the bone, they simply couldn't manage it. Even if he personally swept through the area, everything would return to normal after another month.

It's a tiring sense of despair, where you win a hundred times, a thousand times, ten thousand times, but you still can't see the light of victory.

But how quickly has humanity's territory shrunk?

Ryan turned to look at the global map, scanning the countless blue lines. In the past, apart from the native wastelands, humans controlled more than 95% of the Earth. Now, it's close to 70%. Millions of square kilometers of land and hundreds of millions of people have just disappeared inexplicably.

A roughly equal number of people were abandoned, living in disordered, desolate areas, unprotected by the Moths of Fire, just like in a certain planet where people had to draw lots to enter safe protected areas.

Ryan withdrew his gaze and silently shook his head:

"But have you considered that those abandoned areas are teeming with Honkai Beasts and zombies? They're growing like a snowball, and if they were under unified command, they would be a massive wave."

These words made the air temperature drop several degrees, and everyone's expression turned ugly.

“Dr. Ryan, according to the intelligence so far, there are no classes among the Honkai Beasts, nor are there any clear objectives. They only destroy the surrounding towns and rarely move long distances,” Vinal retorted.

"But what about the Fourth Herrscher? Didn't the Herrschers always stupidly charge into the defensive line before? And what about this Honkai Source? Which Honkai Beast learned to stealth as soon as it was born?"

The purple-haired youth opened his mouth, unable to find any reason, his lips twitched, and a hidden fear flashed across his face.

"The Honkai is an unknown and unpredictable thing for humanity. We don't even know when it will end, or who the mastermind is." Ryan looked at Kalis, making even this composed man's face turn ashen. "Of course, I don't mean to pursue responsibility. The world is too big, and the Moths of Fire simply can't protect it all. Shrinking is a good thing, just like drawing lots. The remaining resources can't supply the entire population."

He could understand this helplessness. Abandoning the land would not only bring public pressure, but the hunger and security problems alone would drive the administrators crazy. But what could they do?

This is a crisis of civilization's survival, not child's play; choices must be made every moment.

"Dr. Ryan, so you feel you can't find your target?" Kalis asked, forcing himself to stay alert.

"It's hard."

"Could the battle have been cancelled?"

"On the contrary, we must find it. In the face of human firepower, lower-rank Honkai Beasts are not a concern at all. If the Moth of Flame really wants to attack, it should focus on higher-rank Honkai Beasts and Herrschers, carry out targeted elimination, and not leave any hidden dangers."

Ryan's mind was clear. He pointed to the dense red dots on the map, but only a few of them could be identified as sources of high-level collapse.

"The global hunt has only been going on for a few months, and Honkai Beasts of Emperor level and above have been rarely seen. This also corroborates my earlier hypothesis that they have indeed hidden among their own kind, so Lieutenant Colonel Vinal."

The young man was suddenly called out. He looked up in confusion and saw Ryan with a blank expression but deep eyes.

"Honkai can have classes, clear goals, and operate in groups, as long as—"

"He thought."

Chapter 136 As If in Another World

The gyroplane skimmed across the sea, its turbulent airflow cutting through the dark surface.

The sky was moonless and pitch black, with only dim lighting inside the cabin. Ryan sat there with his legs spread wide, resting with his eyes closed.

Perhaps influenced by Mebius, he had little interest in meetings and immediately threw himself into the battle after offering his opinion, participating without hesitation.

Sakura nibbled on her rice ball, secretly glancing at the man sitting upright, thinking to herself that he had changed his demeanor again.

He became cold and hardened, more rational, like a killing machine, calculating what would happen every second.

Brave and resolute, with unparalleled combat prowess, he truly embodies the ideal of a warrior, just like the ones described in the book, giving people an immense sense of security.

"Sakura, do you have any questions?" Ryan opened his eyes a crack and saw the girl's surprised look.

"No, I just wanted to ask if the chief of staff understood?"

"Don't underestimate the higher-ups. They're all shrewd and calculating. The intelligence department already had a lot of ideas about what I said today." Ryan snorted. With the best agents and intelligence officers in the world, it was impossible that they hadn't seen through anything. He wasn't so arrogant as to think he was equal to the wisdom of all humanity.

"So the original operation plan was aimed at targets with high Honkai energy, but they just wanted me to say it out loud."

Sakura suddenly felt her brain wasn't working properly and hurriedly asked why.

"Because the Moths of Fire need to verify their hypothesis, it is impossible for them to deploy a large number of troops to support them. Once the hypothesis comes true, the defenses they have built will not be able to hold them back, let alone launch an attack."

The Honkai is not just about the Herrschers. As he told Mei, it is a game of chess where the world is the chessboard and every piece has a role to play.

"So this operation is just us and those few Punishment Sword squads?" Sakura glanced out the window; another gyroplane was turning.

Ryan remained silent, taking it as a tacit agreement. This assumption was extremely dangerous and left the Firemoth with no other choice.

If the global collapse could be coordinated, it would indeed be a frenzy. It takes humans twenty years to create a soldier, but the collapse only takes an instant.

'The Lawyer, still the Lawyer,'

He kept repeating to himself that this was a war, so the methods would never be monotonous, and no one could conquer the world. Just like the continent-level destructive power of the Seventh Herrscher and the Ninth Herrscher, it was not something that could be easily achieved.

To be honest, given enough time, the Fourth Herrscher could destroy a continent, so even a tiny Rush-class Honkai Beast has its value.

Ryan reorganized the clues he had gathered and muttered to himself.

"As the most perfect tool of destruction, the Herrscher has no emotions or human desires. She's been gone for so long, it's impossible that she's enjoying life now, especially with this newly emerged high-energy Honkai source..."

"I'm pretty sure the Fourth Herrscher is probably on the island of Britain."

"Hmm? She anticipated your arrival?" Sakura turned her head. In terms of combat, she was no novice either, and she knew that the Fourth Herrscher wanted to kill Ryan.

"I don't have that much influence. The main duty of a Herrscher is still to destroy civilizations. She has just learned to assess the situation. Because of my existence, she cannot fulfill this main duty. Oh, I see. Everything is like an ouroboros, influencing each other."

Ryan's eyes lit up. He had discovered another blind spot: he was not only an "outsider," but his actions had also messed up the timeline.

Even the Seventh Herrscher was born with a Divine Key. If the Honkai wants to destroy the world, it must innovate and find a new path.

Sakura sat quietly to the side, not wanting to disturb Ryan's thoughts. Several minutes later, when the man broke out of his reverie, she asked him in a low voice.

"So what do we do?"