I am a hero of the former civilization.

The man finally breathed a sigh of relief, and was also wondering who it could be, but the world was too big, and even with the Poison Chrysalis's intelligence network, it was impossible to monitor every 'Superman'.

The world is drawn to the collapse, and in the process of resolving the disaster, there is no shortage of help from 'superheroes'. Of course, these heroes are different from those in the movies; they are only slightly stronger than ordinary people. Many times, they have to turn around and save the fire-chasing moths, only to end up in prison.

"Then let's chase after them. Let's get the 'Scepter of God' ready. If possible, once we find the target, we'll eliminate it directly."

"But this desert is very strange. Last month, three investigation teams entered and all of them disappeared without a trace. The Fire Moth team hasn't come to find out who did it yet."

Intense Honkai interference, and an unknown enemy.

“Strange? The cost of using the ‘Scepter of God’ is very high, so this is a good excuse to cover it up.” The man turned around and looked at the assassins standing solemnly below the small building.

Every hand is stained with blood, and every one of them is an elite handpicked from thousands, many of whom possess special abilities.

"Leave a small squad here to guard the area. The rest of you prepare to board the plane. We're equipped with top-tier annihilation weaponry. The operational plan is a cleansing operation to sweep through this scorching wasteland."

Not only must the target be killed, but the natives must also be exterminated along the way, though no one cares whether the latter live or die.

The gyroplane began its descent. The Phantoms, who were supposed to be infiltrating and assassinating, were all equipped with heavy gear: electromagnetic rifles, thermobaric bombs, and super-alloy armor, truly embodying the highest principles of assassination.

Poisoning or backstabbing is too troublesome; it's better to just blow up the whole building.

"Come with me. I'll be leading the team myself this time. I hope everything goes smoothly."

The poisonous pupa looked deeply at the indifferent man, then bowed slightly to offer its respect.

"Yes, sir."

Chapter Eighty-Six: A Thousand Tribulations

Do you think that 'Owl' will come?

The desert was filled with bare red stones, with the occasional cactus. Ryan and Sakura were carrying a load of supplies and trekking between the hills.

As expected of a poor and desolate place, this godforsaken place is completely devoid of any trace of civilization.

Sakura's black bodysuit was covered in dust, but it still couldn't hide her ridiculously good figure. She lowered her head and thought for a moment.

"Probably. He's the leader of the Poison Chrysalis, so he can't possibly stay out of it. Are you wary of him?"

"No, it's more like we've known each other for a long time." Ryan licked his lips. He used to be wary, of course, but now he's no longer a human being.

Even the fiercest tyrant is still human; otherwise, he wouldn't need to obey certain people's orders. Wouldn't it be better to be the boss himself?

Sakura immediately fell silent. In terms of combat strength and achievements, Owl was far superior to her. Ryan's tone revealed a hint of pity, but when she thought of that 'railgun,' she felt it was only natural. After a long silence, she finally managed to utter a few words:

"Bloody Hand and Owl are both legends, at least in our world, the targets and role models of countless assassins."

"Haha, want to know why I washed my hands and stopped doing it?"

"Because we need to concentrate our efforts on dealing with the Honkai?"

"No, it's just that this assassin world is too damn cringeworthy, it's so cringeworthy I can't stand it."

Ryan chuckled dryly a few times, quickened his pace, and ran ahead, memories flashing through his mind.

Organizations, leaderboards, blood pacts—despite possessing advanced technology, they still rely on typewriters and telephones, revealing the elegance and rules of the dark world in every aspect.

They operate in the shadows of the world, fighting each other and vying for territory, while the poisonous pupa, which has latched onto the Fire-Chasing Moth, seems to have a growing tendency to unify that world.

If it weren't for the Honkai, he would have been happy to buy a dog to play a killer game and create a legend of an urban king of soldiers. Unfortunately, the Honkai destroyed these very rules.

Sakura paused for a moment, then followed, feeling somewhat annoyed. She disliked this world, and even more so, she disliked Ryan's denial of her past.

[Forget-Me-Not] is the fourth-ranked assassin, even though the third-ranked [Black Mask] was crushed to death by this man in a single encounter.

However, he seemed a little nervous after entering the desert.

The two climbed the hill, and Ryan stood on a large rock, gazing around with a blank expression.

Sakura guessed right. Ryan was indeed a little uneasy, but this unease had nothing to do with the poisonous pupa. There were too few clues, which made him suspicious.

'Could a Herrscher have been born here? That's impossible; the Flame Chaser isn't blind. But some Herrschers are very secretive and not so easy to detect.'

He has altered far too many timelines, and now every step he takes is unknown. Not to mention the distant future, even Sakura shouldn't have been captured by him, not to mention the entire Poison Chrysalis's pursuit.

The order of the Lawgivers, even their authority, could change, and past experience is of little use anymore...

This is so exciting!

Ryan grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth. Ever since he came to Chiyu Academy, he had felt increasingly happy, as if something in the dark was giving him a reward.

"The ruins of the indigenous village look like they were destroyed by Honkai Beasts, and then the Honkai Beasts were torn to pieces?"

He saw the ruins of a village in the distant valley, his eyes twitched slightly, and he pointed: "Sakura, let's go take a look over there."

Over there? What's so interesting about a village destroyed by Honkai Beasts?

Sakura didn't quite understand, but she guessed that Ryan's motives were impure. He didn't seem to care about the poisonous pupa, but she still followed him.

The village was located in a valley. If Ryan hadn't been standing on high ground, it would have been difficult to spot the village. Only when he got closer did he realize that the natives weren't as primitive as he had imagined.

Several wells were deep, with iron buckets swaying in the wind above them. The thatched roofs were thick and professionally tied. The houses were arranged in a circle below the valley, with a wooden platform in the center.

What is this stuff?

Ryan walked up, his footsteps making the wooden planks creak. Even though one side of the platform had collapsed, the craftsmanship was still very high, much more refined than those houses.

In the center was a cross-shaped pillar, in front of which were some earthenware jars, long since dried out. Ryan picked one up, smelled it, and frowned.

The smell of blood... Is this an altar?

He was a little puzzled, but then he thought it was normal for the natives to use living people as sacrifices. Just then, Sakura, who had been searching around, returned.

"I've discovered something strange."

"what?"

"There were only torn Honkai Beasts in the village, no human corpses."

Ok?

Ryan turned around, raising an eyebrow, implying that there were still survivors, and that the strangest thing about the place was the corpses of the Honkai Beasts.

He jumped off the platform and carefully examined the corpses, becoming increasingly confused.

Knight-class, Chariot-class, and Honkai Emperor...

Even without complete corpses, Ryan's experience allowed him to estimate that there were twenty or thirty of them, a number that would reach the level of a medium-sized collapse. He crouched down and picked up a broken spear.

The wood was of good quality, but the obsidian at the spearhead was broken.

"With weapons like these, even a Breakthrough-level character could become a Demon King. They're not even worthy of a tickle." Ryan scratched his head. Compared to the Fire Moth's alloy machete, powered exoskeleton, and electromagnetic rifle used to deal with Honkai Beasts, these weapons were extremely primitive.

Unless this is a village where Superman lives in seclusion, and everyone here is a freak like Kevin, and judging from the wounds on the bodies, they don't seem to have been killed by weapons.

Ryan picked up an arm of the Honkai Emperor. Its surface was as hard as rock, and the break was not smooth.

"It looks like it was torn off?" Sakura also squatted down, her hair falling onto Ryan's shoulder.

“Very crude combat skills, crushing everything with brute force.” Ryan narrowed his eyes, suddenly noticing a certain pattern among the corpses.

They stretched deeper into the valley, being bombarded, torn apart, and snapped.

"How about we leave this place? I don't feel well," Sakura suddenly suggested. The valley ahead was pitch black, as if some demon lived there, making one's hair stand on end.

Theoretically, they should retreat, since the poisonous pupae were still chasing them from behind. However, Ryan could no longer suppress his curiosity and was eager to solve his hypothetical problem.

"Let's go take a look. Anyway, we won't be able to find the poisonous pupae anytime soon."

Ryan dusted off his pants and silently walked toward the valley. Sakura stood there for a moment, then gritted her teeth and followed.

Woohoo——

The wind swept through the valley, carrying a sound like a ghostly wail. It was dusk, and visibility was poor, but the number of Honkai Beast corpses on the ground was increasing. Their wounds were similar to those before, all torn apart by brute force.

They hadn't gone far when the valley, which had been extremely narrow, opened up again. It was an open space filled with mounds of graves of all sizes. Now Ryan and Sakura finally knew where the villagers' bodies had gone.

“Someone collected the body and buried it neatly,” Sakura said, gripping the hilt of her sword and glancing around warily.

The valley is over a hundred meters high, and the rock walls are full of caves, but there is no sign of people.

"This proves that the Honkai Beasts were not killed by the villagers; they died at the hands of someone." Ryan took a deep breath, already guessing who it was.

Falling from the sky, landing outside the reach of civilization, an altar, blood, and a frenzied attack—all the clues point to a certain hot-tempered old man.

How could Qian Jie be here?

Ryan tensed his muscles. He couldn't figure it out, and he didn't want to think about it anymore, because no one knew where Qianjie had fallen. His brain began to recall things at lightning speed.

He seemed to live in some village until the Honkai Beasts wiped it out. Yes, there aren't many ignorant natives who live outside of civilization. At first, I thought he was in Southeast Asia or Australia, but it couldn't be a densely populated place like Europe or China.

That's not important; what matters is his power—

He single-handedly defeated the Herrscher of Ice from all over the world, then was seriously injured and picked up by a nun. It wasn't until Sakura discovered him that he embarked on his heroic journey.

Sakura? Is fate really that mysterious?

He looked at the girl beside him, leaving her bewildered. Sakura even sensed a hint of resentment.

What does this have to do with me?

Of course, Ryan couldn't say that the two of you were old enemies. Putting aside the fantasy elements, even without Sakura, he would have run into this desert. It's just that Sakura's presence made everything seem unusually strange.

Forget it, it's not important anymore.

buzzing...

The sound of propellers came from the sky. The two looked up and could see a gyroplane approaching from a distance. Because of the Honkai energy interference here, detection methods such as thermal imaging were unavailable, and they could only rely on visual observation.

"He'll find us in a minute. What do we do now?" Sakura's voice became urgent. She realized that due to some unexpected event, her choice was not a good one.

"Change of plans, this time we've encountered a surprise." Ryan exhaled a breath of stale air and looked up at the cave in the rock wall.

There was a tall, slender figure staring at him from the cave entrance. The figure's messy white hair fluttered in the wind, and he wore a mask that obscured his expression. Only his light brown eyes were real.

It was the extreme annoyance of being disturbed from my afternoon nap, followed by a startling murderous intent.

that person......

Sakura's pupils contracted sharply, stemming from her killer instincts, causing all her muscles to tense up. Just as Ryan had said, their meeting had a sense of destiny, but there was one thing that was fundamentally different.

Sakura hadn't undergone the fusion warrior surgery yet, while Qianjie was born powerful. He met Qianjie when he had lost his 'homeland' and was in the worst mood. So, what nonsense could that hot-tempered guy possibly have?

Ryan decisively took a half-step to the side, shielding Sakura behind him and taking the brunt of the gaze himself.

"Leave this person to me. You take care of yourself. Your leisurely journey is over."