My days as a Simulation Herrscher since the Honkai Impact

However, that wasn't the end of it. Mei didn't give Kiana a chance to react at all. In the blink of an eye, just like lightning, she sheathed the Seven Thunders of Purification and once again assumed a sword-wielding stance.

"See the truth!"

The power of the Herrscher of Thunder was unleashed to its limit by the Seven Thunders of Purification. In an unimaginably vast electric field, all the surrounding air turned into an ionized gas cloud, and like a detonated bomb, it blasted a huge crater in the soil below.

Another strike at extreme speed. Kiana's desperate attempt to create a spatial stack in front of her only served as a momentary obstacle. Mei had anticipated this move. The powerful electromagnetic repulsion field on the hilt of the Seven Thunders of Purification, which slammed down towards Kiana's abdomen, countered the spatial stability parameters. In the subsequent confrontation of Honkai energy, Mei won.

The immense force slammed Kiana into the ground, her body arching at a right angle in mid-air like a ripped burlap sack. Thanks to the Herrscher's physical prowess and the protective Honkai energy within her, any Valkyrie other than the currently overpowered Durandal from Schicksal would likely have been killed if they had taken that attack head-on.

This is the conclusion Mei came to after thinking it over. She simply doesn't have time to learn so many things in a short period of time, nor does she have time to learn the theories related to electric and magnetic fields. However, she is the successor of the Hokushin Ittō-ryū style, and her greatest skill is to strike first and kill with a single blow, condensing all her power into a single strike. As long as Kiana is unwilling to engage in a war of attrition with her and is forced to get close to her, she can end the battle in a second.

The Herrscher of the Void is indeed powerful, but also incredibly difficult to master. The required theoretical knowledge is obscure and hard to understand, and while there's no upper limit to her power, the lower limit is also very low. In terms of instantaneous output, given the same level of education, the Herrscher of Thunder is much faster and stronger than the Herrscher of the Void.

Moreover, Mei now possesses the Seven Thunders of Purification.

Bai Chen stood outside their battleground, frowning involuntarily. He had originally thought that with Kiana's current strength, she definitely couldn't overwhelm Mei, but at least she should be able to put up a fight, or even have the home-field advantage and ultimately win.

But Mei's battle plan was simpler, more brutal, and more effective than he had imagined. She spread out in a circle, wearing down Kiana from a distance, forcing her to use high-cost abilities for a quick victory. Then, she concealed her Seven Thunders of Purification, seizing the opportunity when Kiana lacked combat experience. In just a few blinks of an eye, she unleashed a high-output burst, bringing Kiana to the brink of death.

The mage insisted on fighting the warrior at close range. I must give Kiana extra training when we get back this time.

"The title of 'Civil War God of Illusion' is well-deserved. He even managed to get the Seven Thunders of Purification from Sakura. I really hope that when we fight the Will of Collapse in the future, you can show the same aura as the 'Civil War God of Illusion' you are now," Bai Chen muttered.

Of course, even if things had turned out the way they are now, he didn't think Kiana would lose.

After all, just like Mei obtained the Seven Lightning Blades of Purification, Kiana also has a small card in her hand.

Mei stopped attacking, certain that her entire attack had landed squarely on Kiana. The fight should be considered over now; continuing would simply be a one-sided torture.

"Kiana, I know you're still conscious. Just give up. Before I came, I asked Cecilia to come and heal you as soon as our battle is over." With a pang of reluctance and heartache, Mei looked down at Kiana, who was covered in blood, slumped on the ground, motionless and seemingly about to faint. She spoke loudly.

However, Kiana didn't respond and seemed to have truly fainted. Mei panicked now. Although she was certain she hadn't dealt full damage, it wasn't impossible that Kiana was more fragile than she had anticipated, and a crisis could still be imminent.

She hurriedly descended from the sky to Kiana's side, intending to use a weak electric current to stimulate Kiana's heart and wake her up, and then immediately call Cecilia to treat her.

But the moment she placed her hand on Kiana's chest, Kiana, who was on the verge of death, suddenly became blurry, like a pencil drawing smeared by an eraser, and then instantly became perfectly fine again!

She grabbed Mei's hand tightly: "I won, Mei!"

Chapter 72 The Zero Hour

Bai Chen didn't leave Kiana anything intentionally, but during an experiment a few days ago, when he had Kiana cooperate with him in a time-related ability experiment, an unexpected result was created.

The Divine Key is a powerful weapon created using the Herrscher Core. Therefore, Herrschers can certainly create pseudo-Divine Keys that suit their own needs.

After obtaining hundreds of experimental data, Bai Chen also began to experiment with creating his own pseudo-divine key. If it were just random creation without a goal, it wouldn't be too difficult, but Bai Chen had a very strong purpose: to create a divine key that could interfere with time.

There's no need to tamper with the imaginary tree; all that's needed is to access the user's data in terms of time, enabling a critical save/load maneuver.

The final experiment was undoubtedly a failure. Bai Chen's exposure to Honkai energy was still too short. Even with sufficient theoretical basis and understanding, he was still greatly limited by experience in actual operation.

Even in failure, there were still gains. The failed experiment, or rather, the unfinished product—a pocket watch that couldn't be turned or have its hands moved—ultimately ended up in Kiana's hands.

This is a discarded Divine Key that only the Herrscher of the Void can use. At the cost of a broken pocket watch, it allows one to rewind to two seconds earlier and maintain the continuity of consciousness and thought while in a state of time reversal.

Zero Hour o Fourth Update o Missing o Herrscher of the Void Limited Mode.

This thing was of no value to Bai Chen. It had no practical value and was not even of much reference value for research. Considering the future battles, he casually threw it to Kiana.

And it played an unexpected role today.

Kiana grasped Mei's arm, finally turning the tide of the battle. Although the Zero Hour was not yet complete, its first battle brought unimaginable success.

The opportunity was fleeting, and Kiana's fighting spirit increased exponentially. A black spatial string spread from her hand toward Mei, and the fractured space became the world's strongest blade, slicing Mei's entire abdomen in two through a powerful magnetic field.

"Ahem—Mei, here's a piece of advice from your mentor: don't let your strong magnetic field stay at one frequency forever... Once your opponent learns to calculate and adapt to your data, it's as if it doesn't exist."

The String of Space and Zero Hour essentially drained all of Kiana's remaining Honkai energy. Barely supporting her body, she punched Mei in the chin, knocking the heavily injured Mei to the ground, and then straddled her chest.

“It’s not over yet…”

The wounds caused by the spatial displacement were enormous and difficult to heal. Mei still tried to sit up, but even stimulating the wound with lightning could not stop the bleeding and restore it.

She tried to push Kiana off her, but Kiana clung tightly to her collar. Neither of them continued to use Honkai energy. Instead, they lay in the pit and wrestled and struggled like ordinary girls fighting.

"What a disgrace! It's utterly shameful. The reputation of the Herrschers has been completely ruined." Bai Chen couldn't help but sigh.

Sakura, who appeared beside him at some unknown time, her fox ears twitching gently in the wind, holding a box of roasted dumplings, offered a completely different opinion: "This is what is befitting their status... If it were one of my former comrades, she would definitely say that this is how beautiful young women express their love."

The fight quickly came to a conclusion. When it came to street brawls, thug fights, and old-timer brawls, Kiana, who had received Siegfried's unorthodox teachings, was indeed stronger.

As the two of them rolled out of the ditch, panting, and lay on the grass, gazing at the stars in the sky, Bai Chen's task progress bar had already moved forward another notch.

"Sakura, aren't you planning to fight Kiana?" Bai Chen glanced at the fox lady beside him.

"It's pointless. She's still on humanity's side, and I see hope for this era to overcome the Honkai in her. If possible, I just want to observe her closely," Miss Fox said softly, devoid of any fighting spirit.

If in the previous era there had been Herrschers who stood on the side of humanity, the final outcome might have been completely different. The human civilization they once cherished could still be flourishing on the ground today.

Unaware that she had inadvertently avoided a huge problem, Kiana sat up and said triumphantly to Mei, "I won."

"Alright, Kiana, you really won."

"So, as agreed, Mei, you have to listen to me from now on."

"Are you going to take my Herrscher Core again?"

Mei puffed out her chest at Kiana, indicating that she could do as she pleased.

But Kiana shook her head: "No, I've changed my mind, Mei. You can continue being your Herrscher of Thunder, but you have to stay with me."

Although she didn't say it aloud, Kiana had already discovered that Bai Chen's help had dramatically increased the speed at which they improved their abilities. It was a completely new model, entirely different from the training and guidance they had received before. It was built upon the science that humans had mastered, and it provided a deeper and more comprehensive analysis and dissection of the Herrscher powers.

Kiana didn't just study math and physics; Bai Chen generously granted her access to Destiny's records about world history and all the relics left over from the previous generation.

Kiana also knew that humanity would inevitably face the judgment of Honkai, and with the appearance of one Herrscher after another, that day would draw ever closer.

Just as Himeko-sensei said, even if this world is not beautiful, they will personally transform it into the world they desire.

"You have to do practice problems with me, study those courses with me, take exams together, stay up all night with me, and sweep up the hair that has fallen on the floor with me..."

Recalling her experiences during this period, and the immense pain that her identity as a Herrscher had brought her, even now, as she pressed her temples, she could feel mathematical characters and coordinate systems exploding from her mind.

Kiana's expression was gloomy, her eyes filled with resentment as she stared at Mei and the short horns on her head, and she spoke without hesitation.

"...Is it really that scary? Never mind, since I promised you, I will definitely do it."

"Speaking of which, he also invited me to join that Starry Sky Club, and said that he wanted to devour the Honkai Will and become a new god. I don't know whether to call it arrogance or confidence."

Under the star- and moonlit night sky, Mei felt a long-lost sense of anticipation for the future.

Chapter Seventy-Three: The Book of Simulated Akasha Records

The love-hate relationship between the two best friends has come to an end.

The injured Mei was taken away by Cecilia who arrived at the scene, while Kiana, exhausted, returned to the inn with Bai Chen to catch up on sleep, and the rest of the night passed uneventfully.

Before going back to her room to rest and fall asleep, Kiana found Bai Chen and thoughtfully booked Mei's upcoming study plan and class schedule. After seeing the plan Bai Chen had prepared for Mei, Kiana, feeling satisfied, seemed to have stopped feeling any pain.

It can only be said that even Kiana wouldn't hesitate to trick people at a time like this. But she never considered that if Mei hadn't come, she would have been the student with the best learning progress and the highest academic ability among all of Bai Chen's students. And the direct consequence of Mei, whose learning ability already surpassed hers, joining this class was the foreseeable involution of competition.

Unfortunately, Kiana, unaware of all this, still had a sweet dream tonight.

Bai Chen continued his research while they slept. Since becoming a Herrscher, his energy seemed inexhaustible. As long as he maintained a small amount of sleep each day, he could have more time to conduct research on the Honkai world.

All the information he had obtained from Schicksal, whether it was about the creation of Honkai Beasts, the research on Fusion Warriors, or the research on Stigmata, was laid out before him, allowing him to take whatever he wanted.

Time passed quickly, and the next morning arrived.

Under Bai Chen's arrangement, Kiana woke up early in the morning and went to challenge Raven and Gretchen, as well as Kallen, who was not carrying the Key of Binding and wanted to have a fight with her.

Gretchen's combat abilities were weak, and her method of summoning monsters from the painting was precisely countered by Kiana, so she quickly surrendered and even received a few pieces of chocolate from Kiana.

As for Kallen, Kiana once suspected that after throwing away the Key of Binding, her combat power not only did not decrease but actually increased slightly. Kiana's baseball fist was no match for her. If Otto hadn't reminded her in time to let Kallen go, Kiana, who was beaten black and blue, would have been no match for her at all.

Despite various unexpected events, Bai Chen still managed to lead Kiana to final victory.

Just after Karen announced her defeat, Bai Chen received a notification from the system that the mission was completed.

"Side Quest: The War of Seven in the Collapsed World, Completed."

"Quest Reward: The Book of Simulated Akasha's Records"

【The Book of the Simulated Akasha Records: This is a counterfeit among counterfeits. The so-called Book of the Akasha Records is nothing more than the final work of a great scholar who was driven mad by his longing for his daughter and died in despair.

This book has six pages and can record the names of six famous figures who have left their mark on history, or someone who will influence the world in the future. None of the six can appear simultaneously; a maximum of two can be present next to the summoner at a time.

Please remember, mediocre and incompetent individuals, like the daughter of a great scholar, will not appear on the list.

"This is truly an unexpected yet reasonable reward." Bai Chen looked at the yellowed book that had appeared in his system space without any surprise.

The summoning without a time limit is definitely a good item, worth the tedious side quest, but its current effectiveness is limited. The book already lists six slots, which are the six Servants besides Kiana. Among them, apart from Kallen being used to appease Otto, only Fischl from Teyvat can serve as a guide.

Fortunately, the slots are not irreplaceable. If there is an opportunity in the future, Bai Chen plans to have Kevin try to summon Mei, or Möbius, or Vervière. All three of them have brains that Bai Chen is looking forward to, and he hopes that they can give suggestions on shortening the time required for Bai Chen's experiments in their respective fields of expertise.

One of the book's spots was given by Bai Chen to Karen, who immediately felt that her state was different from before. The sense of rejection from the world that had been faintly present before had now completely disappeared, as if she had always been a resident of this time and space.

“The time limit is gone,” Karen told Otto.

Bai Chen nodded in agreement: "The experiment was a success, very smoothly. However, due to the amount of Honkai energy that can be maintained, I can only support a maximum of two people."

"This is truly a terrifying power. Herrschers, do humans really have a way to defeat them?" This was the first time Kallen had such a direct understanding of the Herrschers' terror, and she couldn't help but frown.

"It's still different. Look at Kiana and Raiden Mei. They can't even fight against our Moon Throne. Just one successful shot can cripple them."

Otto was overjoyed, a smile spreading across his face. This success exceeded his expectations and far surpassed his original plans. He had made countless preparations to revive Kallen, and now, although none of those preparations had been put to use, his Kallen had returned.

Some people, however, feel empty and lonely after suddenly achieving their life's goal, and can't find their way forward. Otto is different. Although Bai Chen's method of reviving Kallen was ingenious, it was ultimately still subject to the Herrscher's control.

Otto is no longer satisfied with his original plan. What he wants to do is to use his own power to reverse the Imaginary Tree, overcome the barriers of time and space, save Kallen, and create a world where Kallen will not be harmed.

He wanted to live happily with Karen in such a world, to fulfill and make up for the regrets he had left behind. He hadn't dared to make so many demands before, fearing that he would ask for too much, exceeding the limits that the Tree of Imaginary Numbers could tolerate, and thus failing to achieve his goal. But now, Bai Chen had done something even more outrageous, and Otto no longer had those concerns.

Otto, a mad scientist with ever-growing ambitions and the strongest archbishop in the history of Destiny, is about to have his true nature completely unleashed due to Bai Chen's interference.

“Perhaps we should research some more powerful weapons. If we’re not stingy with materials, we can even use the Herrscher cores as cannonballs and burn them up…” A new plan emerged in Otto’s mind. The Herrschers were getting stronger and stronger, and it was time for Schicksal’s weapons to be upgraded and replaced.

Bai Chen was unaware that Otto's thinking had changed and that he was gradually embarking on a path that Bai Chen liked. He was taking out his phone and found a number that he had saved for several days.

This number came from Lilia and Rosalia, and on the other end was Cocolia, the research director of Anti-Entropy.

He planned to take everyone down into the sea while they were still there, to retrieve the Herrscher core and Seele from the Quantum Sea.

And now, it's time to fire Cocolia, the gatekeeper.