I am the former civilized hero.

The warriors, who were facing a formidable enemy, floated in the air and looked around, staring directly at the destruction they had created with their own hands. At least within their field of vision, it was a doomsday scene. It was hard to imagine what the scene would be like underground.

The earthquake slowly subsided, leaving only rocks being pulled to the ground by gravity. The soldiers looked around carefully again, then relaxed their alert with a slightly depressed look.

There was no frightened Honkai beast rushing out to seek death, it was like he was fighting wits and courage with the air.

"Ryan, it seems that these monsters have decided to be cowards. We can't even shit on their heads." Kevin reported sullenly, and nodded to the warriors who had been re-energized, "How about trying another place?"

"It's too slow, and this device can't affect the deep crust. The Honkai beasts can continue to hide downwards. I'm curious where these monsters have gone." Ryan was holding up the tablet. When Kevin was sabotaging it just now, he was carefully observing the movement of the Honkai.

What's strange is that there is almost no change, which is somewhat counterintuitive.

"The Honkai beasts below didn't show any intention of dodging. Could it be that they were being crushed into meat patties just by standing there? Or are there no Honkai beasts below at all?"

Kevin and the others looked at each other in bewilderment. It was very likely that they would die standing there, after all, Honkai beasts had no brains. But there were definitely Honkai beasts below, as the monitor had concluded.

The intensity of the underground Honkai energy is far greater than that on the surface. It is impossible that there is a huge crystal underneath.

"Maybe it's hidden deep down?"

"That's possible. God knows what these monsters are thinking." Ryan threw the tablet to Ying, put his hands in his pockets, paced back and forth in the air, and after a few seconds, he simply raised his right hand.

Dark clouds gathered overhead, and the midday sky suddenly turned into night. Coupled with the ruins on the ground, it really looked like the end of the world. Just as everyone's heartbeats quickened instinctively, a strong light illuminated the sky and the earth.

Boom——

A red thunderbolt with a diameter of one hundred meters fell and hit the earth. The power of thunder was fully manifested, shattering all objects at the molecular level.

When the soldiers came to their senses, they saw a smooth round pit with a golden ratio on the ground, which was bottomless.

Ah this... A casual attack is more powerful than the Honkai energy array cannon. Is this still a human?

Everyone's faces became dull as they looked at the man in the center of the circular pit as if they were looking at a monster. This was no longer something that could be achieved by human power. They even suspected that if the commander-in-chief was more serious, he could even punch a hole through the earth.

In an instant, there was nothing to fear in this dead silent continent. Even a Judgment-level Honkai beast would be broken down into atoms by this thunder.

"Strange, is it really empty down there?" Ryan raised his eyebrows. He actually used two kinds of authority. If there was something down there, even if it was a breakthrough-level Honkai beast, the authority of blood would receive feedback.

But he only hit a ball of air, nothing.

"I still have to go in and take a look. Honkai is not planning to surprise me again." Ryan first muttered to himself, then raised his hand to stop Hua who was following him, "I can go in alone, you guys go back to the Hyperion."

"But......"

"Follow my orders. If we are in danger, I will use the restraining authority. This thing does not distinguish between friend and foe. If there are too many people, it will be useless."

Ryan explained briefly, and Hua tactfully stopped and watched him gradually fall from the center of the round pit, as if falling into an abyss, and soon disappeared from his sight.

"Collect, collect. Hua, stop looking. No matter what conspiracy Honkai has, it will be difficult to kill Ryan." Ying patted the girl's shoulder and dragged her away.

It is difficult to say how strong Ryan is now, but in terms of life-saving skills, there is no doubt that they are maxed out.

Chapter 6 Beast (5K)

The air flow was scorching hot, and lightning flashed in the air. Ryan fell into the hole, observing his surroundings with interest.

As a cautious person, he generally would not take risks as long as there was a choice, just like the last time he came to this continent, he opened fire on the spot after discovering the Herrscher of Blood, without hesitating for a second.

But now that he has revisited the place and gone deep into the nest, Ryan seems unusually calm, and the reason is very simple.

"I have maxed out my survival skills. It's possible to stop me, but it's extremely difficult to kill me."

In terms of speed, he has the authority of wind and thunder. To deal with physical attacks, he has the authority of ice, fire, and rock. Pure energy attacks can be broken down by the authority of blood, or he can simply control his clones to act as bait.

Even if there is some metaphysical targeting, I can directly restrain it. If worst comes to worst, I can still use quantum stealth.

Ryan basically knew himself, and going deep into the nest meant knowing the enemy. Looking back at that series of victories, the most core advantage was not how smart or brave he was, but the intelligence he had.

"Those two near-misses were due to a lack of intelligence."

Unconsciously, he had gone a thousand meters underground and was almost at the bottom of the circular pit. All he could see were densely packed caves, some big enough to accommodate a warship, and some small enough for just one person to pass through.

There were countless of them, enough to make people suffer from trypophobia. Ryan didn't even need to go in to check. The whistling air currents penetrated into every cave with almost no dead ends, bringing back thousands of pieces of data.

The caves are all identical, with extremely complex structures and almost no end, but each cave shows no signs of life.

The soles of his feet touched the hard rock. Ryan raised his head and could only see a faint light from the cave entrance. This time he drilled through the ground completely randomly. Even if the Honkai Beast escaped immediately, it would not be able to escape the detection range of the Power of Wind.

Could it be that the Herrscher has been playing the empty city trick with me? ?

Ryan had this absurd idea in mind, and then shook his head. These densely packed caves were evidence, at least proving that there were once tens of thousands of monsters lurking underground.

"They wouldn't commit mass suicide just to save my life." Ryan touched his chin and thought this hypothesis had some value. He slowly closed his eyes and waved his fingers in front of his lips.

Woohoo——

The sound of the wind became sharper, and Ryan began to concentrate his power, turning the previously aimless scattering into several condensed air currents, like invisible tentacles reaching out into the distance, specifically choosing to drill into the larger caves.

After concentrating, the authority began to transmit details back, and gradually, images began to emerge in Ryan's mind.

The diameter is 20 meters. This is something that only an emperor-level Honkai beast can dig out. There are countless holes on the rock wall, which are connected to each other like ant nests. Oh, there are also many hall-like structures. Is this a bag of nutrient solution? It should be food for those traitors.

There was so much data to process that Ryan felt his brows swelling and his expression became more and more solemn.

We had made assumptions when we were on the ground, but now after a deeper inspection, we know that this is a super underground fortress, a huge project that is hard for humans to imagine.

There are tens of thousands of tunnels interconnected. Even if the Fire Moths in their heyday were filled in, it would be just a drop in the ocean. That's fine. The most terrifying thing is that such a great project is abandoned without even firing a single shot?

"He's even more of a spendthrift than Mei. At least New York is of some use." Ryan couldn't help but complain about someone. After slowly opening his eyes, he felt his heart speeding up.

It would be fine if Honkai relied on this underground fortress to fight with him in a real fight, but this eerie silence made me feel uneasy.

The smell of conspiracy is too strong, and why didn't Calis react at all? I guess I was slapped in the face.

A man went deep into the nest. Didn't he regain his humanity? How come he forgot his sense of shame after being a Herrscher for a while? Come out and fight him in a one-on-one fight if you have the guts.

With a mocking smile on his face, Ryan turned and walked into a large cave, running his fingers across the rock wall, as if he could imagine how many Honkai beasts had been lurking here.

You did one thing right. You should run away with your tails between your legs, otherwise you will all become steps for me to step on.

Relying on the feedback from the power of wind, Ryan has discovered that there are man-made objects in front of the cave. The silent corridor is echoing with footsteps. Occasionally, groundwater drips from above his head, and then before it touches him, it has turned into water vapor and disappeared without a trace.

Ryan strolled in the enemy's nest, seemingly at a leisurely pace, but the energy he gathered was enough to turn over the thousand-meter-deep underground. He walked recklessly for ten minutes, and finally saw a different scenery in front of him.

This is a huge cave, covering an area of ​​at least tens of thousands of square meters. A row of stone pillars several meters thick supports the dome, and the rock walls are covered with colorful crystals, giving it a rough artistic feel.

Then hundreds of machines and glassware were placed on both sides, flashing dense electronic lights, obviously still in operation.

"I thought you guys moved."

Ryan finally showed a somewhat relaxed expression. This was the traitors' laboratory, and it was also one of the targets he needed to destroy.

That Damian had caused him a lot of trouble. For example, the sudden explosion of the Ruler of Constraint was caused by the involvement of this madman, who took advantage of the population in the occupied and abandoned areas and killed at least tens of millions of people.

Hey.

Ryan stopped in the middle of the equipment and looked at the giant screen on the wall in front of him. His expression gradually became sarcastic: "Can you face me directly? It's so rude to always look at me through the screen."

"I'm sorry, my IQ is pretty normal. What's the difference between you facing it and committing suicide?"

The screen flickered, and it was another familiar face. Calis was sitting on a crystal chair, supporting his head with his right hand, and saying the most cowardly words in a comfortable posture.

Ryan raised his eyebrows. This guy was really cunning. He used high-level collapse energy to create interference, making it impossible for Prometheus to track back.

The white smoke lingered and condensed into a high-back chair. Ryan sat down and crossed his legs. He also looked at the man on the screen with a relaxed expression: "Well, that's pretty smart, but I'm curious how long you can hide."

"The earth is very big. If you use it to play hide-and-seek, it will be difficult for you to find me."

"That's true. Even I would have to spend a lot of time to track down someone who is determined to hide." Ryan nodded calmly and asked again: "But I'm curious about the meaning of doing this. You shouldn't be afraid of death, right?"

"No, or I've been dead for a long time." Calis smiled and spread his hands, appearing calm.

"Then tell me your purpose. I don't want to waste my time talking nonsense with you."

"Haven't you guessed my purpose long ago? It's a waste of time to repeat it." Calis still maintained his elegance and slowed down his tone: "Dr. Ryan, even if we are not friends, we are at least acquaintances. Can't we just chat?"

"I'm not interested. I hate chatting with people through a screen. Don't act so elegant and calm, because if you were in front of me, you would be kneeling on the ground with my head stepped on, begging for mercy."

Ryan was as cold and hard as steel. The ring of fire that spread out turned the surrounding instruments into smoke, leaving no molten iron behind, as if he was telling the other party with his actual actions:

You are not qualified to communicate with me on an equal footing!

Even with Calis's cultivation, a hint of anger flashed across his face, but he had to admit that his authority could not affect Ryan, and he had almost no ability to resist.

"Great! Knowing that I have regained my humanity, they resorted to psychological tactics." He forced himself to calm down and clapped his hands softly. "But I have been the chief of staff after all, and I have been responsible for the psychological warfare against the Herrscher before. Well, I won't waste my time. I actually want to make a deal with His Excellency the General Manager."

Ryan was not surprised, for he had known that Calis would not be idle enough to show off in front of him. Without the strength to back him up, he would only look stupid.

"Do you want to know how to touch the tree of imaginary numbers and change the course of history?"

Calis was stunned for a moment, obviously not expecting that Ryan could see through him. A hint of excitement flashed in his eyes: "I didn't expect that you have also conducted research in this area. Do you know how to bring a person back intact from the hands of death?"

"You have in-depth research on cloning technology, and the Herrscher of Death is in your hands. If there is a way, there is no need to go to this step. Combined with the authority after becoming the Herrscher, you should have the answer vaguely." Ryan smiled sinisterly. He was just testing it and was very satisfied with the result.

Otto got the answer after meeting the 'God of Honkai'. Calis obviously doesn't have this ability, but the power of fate is directly linked to the Cocoon of the End, and he can get some feedback by intuition.

But feedback is not a direct answer after all, let alone a basis for formulating follow-up plans.

"Only the Imaginary Number Tree can fulfill your wish, and you should understand now that the rank of the tree is far from being comparable to that of your boss. It is at least countless orders of magnitude stronger. But now there is no turning back. You can only grit your teeth and go to the end." There was a hint of sadness in Ryan's eyes, but he didn't want to think from the other person's perspective. He just wanted to use the other person.

"Yes, I can't even observe the Tree of Imaginary Numbers, let alone have time to study it slowly. A special existence like you might know the answer." Calis was honest and he was not blind. Among all the Fire Moths, Alyssia and Ryan were the most special, and the latter knew much more than the Ruler of Man.

"Will you believe what I say?"

"At least it can be used as a reference."

"Then why should I tell you?"

"Since it's a deal, I have my own bargaining chips."

The two asked and answered quickly. Ryan thought for a while and roughly guessed what bargaining chips he had. Not to mention the distant ones, at least he could tell him where the Honkai Beast had gone.

But I forgot how Otto did it, and it seems unnecessary to make up a story for him on the spot. It would be nice to get some information.

Ryan shook his head, slowly stood up, and showed a cruel smile: "The answer is simple, you must at least surpass ordinary Herrschers and possess greater energy. In other words, kill me first."

Ryan was incredibly honest, and it seemed as if he was offering the answers for free as a special opening offer.

He couldn't remember many things, but he remembered that Otto seemed to have become some kind of "false god". To put it bluntly, it was power, extremely powerful power.

"If you can't even beat me, you have no right to touch the Tree of Imaginary Numbers. In the vast and infinite 'starry sky', Herrschers are not even scum. You have to know that fighting hard also requires capital."

"Kalis, do you have the power to transcend the shackles of time and space and pass through the cocoon of the end to get close to the tree? Perhaps you will be crushed the moment you see the tree, and your authority will hardly be of any use."

"At least that's all I know. If you want to find another way, you might as well ask your immediate superior."

Ryan's words were cruel and sounded a little harsh, but Calis was serious and he could even tell that Ryan had seen the tree with his own eyes.

If this kind of words were said to someone else, it would be like a fairy tale, but the person in front of him had come here stepping on the corpse of the Herrscher, so there was no need for him to lie to himself.