I am a hero of the former civilization.

Ryan stood on the dilapidated wooden pier, gazing at the dark, heavy clouds in the sky, and checked the time on his information terminal.

At seven o'clock in the morning, the dawn was still blocked. This storm was also strange; it had lasted for too long and didn't seem like the work of Shesa.

'Since you're determined to kill me, even with the advantage of terrain, two Honkai Beasts wouldn't be enough. What surprise have you prepared for me?'

Just then, a rusty ferry pulled up, and Sakura poked her head out from the bridge: "Let's go, the remaining fuel should last us until Lion City."

Ryan jumped onto the boat and asked hurriedly, "Is everything done?"

“I just finished my business while repairing the engine. I’ve already sent the information to the Fire Moth. With the news from Shesa, they’ll be here soon.” Sakura gripped the rudder and tossed the notebook to Ryan. “Also, I found the fleet roster in the database. Excluding those confirmed dead, these are all missing. I’ve filtered out those with high Honkai adaptability, and their numbers are very small.”

The ferry started moving at less than ten knots. Ryan scrolled through the photos on his computer. The fleet that had been caught up in the fifth observation belonged to the Far East Branch. This group was extremely unlucky; they were all wiped out before communications were restored.

All members of the Firemoon were tested for Honkai energy adaptability upon joining the organization, which was used to assign them missions. However, the Navy does not have many members with high adaptability, so he skipped those below Rank B.

This is?

Ryan paused as he moved the mouse, his narrowed eyes fixed on the lone photo in the center of the screen, where he saw a familiar face.

Her gray-gold bangs covered her right eye, and she looked somewhat young. The Fire Moth's result for her Honkai energy adaptability was "S-rank," and it was noted in the data that her body must be found.

Ryan stared at the somewhat familiar face and took a deep breath.

"Lieutenant Rose."

Chapter 109 The Herrscher of Wind

Lieutenant Rose, Major Himiko's adjutant, was also a semi-acquaintance of Ryan's. They had met back in Chiba Academy, and Ryan remembered that they had just dealt with a small-scale Honkai attack that night.

According to the information, this special countermeasures team was drawn from the Shenzhou battlefield and was specifically responsible for sweeping up the Pacific islands, since these Honkai Beasts threatened the safety of transport routes.

The mission went smoothly, and it even felt like a disguised vacation. These elite soldiers only needed to locate the Honkai Beasts and call in ranged firepower to strike them.

Then they were all wiped out.

Ryan sighed. Honkai was indeed beyond the comprehension of common sense; an otherwise pleasant sweeping mission had taken an unexpected turn.

"Your friend?" Sakura turned her head and saw the girl's photo as well. "Her chances of surviving are less than one in ten thousand. Please accept my condolences."

Uh, aren't you being a little too direct?

“He’s not really a friend, just a soldier I knew. We crossed paths back in Changkong City.” Ryan wasn’t sad. He’d known too many people to die, and he was used to it.

"Then what's the point of investigating her?" Sakura was immediately confused; she thought Ryan wanted to avenge his friend.

As soon as she asked the question, she saw the man look up and give her a strange smile that sent chills down her spine.

"She's not exactly a friend, but she could become an enemy if the Honkai Impact 3rd surprises us big enough."

Has Lieutenant Rose defected to the Honkai? Wait, human, enemy, high Honkai adaptor...?

"You're not going to say that again!"

How is that possible? If the other party really became a Herrscher, that would have happened several days ago. It's impossible that the Fire Moths didn't notice it after such a long time. Even if all the Fire Moths recently have fallen asleep, a Herrscher wouldn't be sleeping soundly, would they? Wouldn't they destroy all the surrounding cities?

Sakura didn't believe it at all; it was beyond her common sense. But before she could even open her mouth to refute it, she felt the ferry bobbing up and down.

The waves suddenly surged, and with the addition of thick, dark clouds, it looked as if a storm was gathering.

The lightning had disappeared, but the howling wind made the anemometer on the ferry mast spin rapidly.

Is a typhoon coming?

Sakura raised her head. In just a short while, she felt the wind and waves increase more than tenfold, and even the rudder in her hand became uncontrollable.

The ferry was tossed about by the wind and waves, its bow plunging into the sea, rising and falling like a roller coaster. Sakura had no time to ask any more questions; she gritted her teeth and did her best to control the ferry.

The debris inside the bridge was thrown everywhere, and Ryan looked as if he were glued to the ground, his expression as unpredictable as the storm.

"We were tricked and made an error of empiricism."

Wow!

A wave crashed through the window and rushed into the cabin, instantly soaking Sakura, who couldn't help but raise her voice.

"What did you say??"

"I said, thankfully I wasn't too arrogant, and I always remembered one thing."

"What's up!?"

Another wave crashed over—no, it was a tsunami. The wave, several meters high, was like a wall, threatening to completely engulf the small boat. Sakura had already let go of the rudder and was preparing to jump into the sea.

Fortunately, at that moment, a bolt of purple lightning struck down from the sky, cutting the wave in half. She looked up and saw Ryan floating above the deck, the overflowing electricity evaporating the seawater.

Within the range of the remaining electricity, the raging sea finally calmed down, allowing Sakura to barely steer the boat.

boom--

Another flash of lightning illuminated Ryan's expressionless face. He tilted his head and said calmly, "Honkai cannot be deduced by common sense. If necessary, it can overturn all experience."

Sakura couldn't speak, but she secretly agreed with Ryan's guess.

Shesa set a trap, and what awaited them was far more than just Honkai Beasts. If she had chosen to hunt them down earlier, she didn't know what would have happened to Ryan, but she herself was doomed.

Is a Herrscher hiding behind Shesa, suppressing their destructive instincts just to kill him? Is this man that important?

But that's the truth, even though Ryan himself hasn't been able to process it.

'How did He know I would appear here and seek another opportunity?'

Ryan was somewhat confused, but fortunately, he was a very cautious person. Ever since he killed the Third Herrscher, he had been on guard and immediately activated his Rune when he sensed something was wrong.

The fears have become a reality; every gust of wind whispers of murderous intent, and the reasons are no longer important.

Well, let them come. Luckily, I retreated in time and used the time to replenish my energy. Otherwise, if I had rushed in right after Shesha's self-destruction, I would have had no chance of survival.

Ryan didn't know how he ran into this mess while looking for material, but what's that old saying again?

The line between prey and hunter is very thin.

"Sakura, go full speed ahead, rush out and protect this box. I'll take whatever big gift the Honkai brings."

"Okay, be careful." Without the slightest hesitation, Sakura immediately increased her speed and traversed the waves through the gaps in the lightning.

Whether it's a Herrscher or a Judgment-class Honkai Beast, this level of combat is beyond her current capabilities. Staying far away is the greatest help she can offer.

Without any melodrama, Ryan was able to focus entirely on his thoughts. He wasn't surprised that he was being excluded as a thorn in his side.

Even without a destiny, Honkai can still discern who poses the greatest threat. Just like Mei in the original timeline, who was targeted by the Herrscher of Domination. He was simply surprised by her intelligence and endurance.

Looks like I caused quite a stir...

Ryan gently adjusted his glasses, watching the massive waves crashing down on him, hurtling northward like arrows released from a bow.

Lightning flashed across the sea, and waves crashed down from all directions like a cage. Thousands of tons of seawater were extremely destructive. Ryan was like a small boat sailing through the storm, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

They're trying to slow down my escape.

Ryan remained extremely calm, choosing to bypass the giant wave. Directly piercing through it would require a huge amount of energy, and the success rate would be even lower if he were exhausted.

"The Fire Moths are on high alert, and the fleet is converging on this side." He glanced at the information terminal in his hand. The Fire Moths throughout the Western Pacific were like they had been stung by bees, angrily setting out.

The detection satellite has detected the massive Honkai source, and all contingency plans have been activated. The center of the Honkai source is none other than Ryan.

He moved rapidly northward, and the energy he released at full power, combined with the wind and waves, undoubtedly reached the level of a Herrscher. He was moving in an almost straight line, and his trajectory was easy to calculate.

China, Taiwan.

"Come and attack me all you want. The Herrscher has already alerted them and won't just stand by and watch me leave."

Ryan's brain was working at supersonic speed, incorporating the Herrscher and the Flame Chaser as variables into his plan.

I also have authority, but as long as I don't restrain myself too much, the difference in Honkai energy means I can't beat the Herrscher. At the same time, I can't reveal my identity in front of the Flame Chaser, otherwise many things will be unclear. I'm already at a disadvantage, so how can I break through these constraints?

It's difficult; it's just a test of the limits of wisdom.

He stopped abruptly. A tornado about a hundred meters thick was rising from the sea and reaching the sky.

Ryan's pupils contracted sharply when his path was blocked.

More than just a tornado, nine giant pillars rose from the gray sea, roaring and destroying everything around them as they converged from all directions.

Nine dragons drawing water?!

This thing is like a blender; it can even tear apart steel. Ryan glanced at it.

The wide-area AOE attack had no chance of being dodged, leaving him with no choice but to resort to the most violent method.

Rush over!

Transforming into lightning, Ryan charged straight at the tornado ahead, immediately feeling the high-speed airflow rubbing against the electromagnetic field, producing a 'whooshing' sound.

It couldn't break through the defense, but the damage was huge. The lightning pierced through the tornado in an instant, and Ryan's eye twitched wildly again.

On the gray sea, there were countless tornadoes, more than dozens at a glance, like moving walls blocking his way. Apart from that, he could not see any enemy.

'The Honkai energy is too concentrated; I can't find her true form. She's a mage-type Herrscher.'

With the howling of the storm filling his ears, he made the calmest judgment: based on different fighting styles, Herrschers can of course be further subdivided into different classes.

The Herrscher of the Void is more like an assassin, using ghostly movement to quickly enter and exit; the Herrscher of Thunder is more like a warrior, unstoppable in the face of purple lightning; and the Herrscher of Reason and this one are like mages.

Hide in the distance and unleash a wide-range attack to crush everything.

"What do we do?" Ryan changed direction repeatedly, the lightning snaking along the sea surface, but the tornadoes were boundless, covering almost tens of square kilometers of sea surface.

The tornadoes appeared to move slowly, but they had no need to chase Ryan. They simply kept compressing the space for dodging, layer upon layer, squeezing towards the center.

Just like cutting flesh with a dull knife, if the Honkai energy is exhausted, Ryan will be turned into minced meat on the spot.

No, this won't do. My Honkai energy will be drained before the Moths of Fire arrive.

Having instantly moved thousands of meters, Ryan immediately realized that the sea was more than a hundred times more turbulent than before, and looking into the distance, all he could see was a raging storm.

We have to force her to come out!

Ryan paused briefly on the sea, drew his sword, Crimson Sky, and raging purple lightning flickered on the blade, concentrating all the Honkai energy in front of him.

Thunder breaks at dawn.

Rumbling--

A thunderous roar was heard, and a bolt of lightning swept across the sea, heading straight towards the northeast, where the tornadoes were least likely to occur.

Swish, swish, swish...