Necromancer, but pre-collapse civilization

　If this world weren't part of the Tree Sea system, rather than some war-torn universe, it would probably be considered a sacred place blessed by the god Khorne.

　However, for Qianjie, this place was not much different from his hometown.

　When the Honkai energy surged due to the fifth Great Collapse, causing him to go berserk and destroy the village he considered his home, Qianjie's heart was filled with regret and pain.

　At this moment, the appearance of the Herrscher of Ice became the perfect target for him to vent his anger.

　"Hahahahahaha!!!!!!"

　Qianjie let out a wild, unrestrained laugh, his face gradually contorting into a mad and ferocious expression.

　"good very good!"

　He shouted through gritted teeth.

　"Let your anger out!"

　"Burn everything, fight to the death!"

　Under the almost frenzied attacks of Qian Jie, the Fifth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Ice, perished.

　Even until her death, she never understood why Qianjie possessed such great power.

　It all happened in an instant.

　Before the man could finish speaking, all the other members of the team, except for a thin young man, fled the area.

　He just smiled—even though, in reality, this small team, which had been temporarily formed due to special circumstances, no longer existed, and the mission had failed.

　"You should leave too, Kosmo. What's wrong, scared out of your wits?"

　"Is what you're saying true? This squad's purpose is just to send them to their deaths?"

　"You could say that. There are always people who feel that, when necessary, dying is meaningful."

　"I know, but it's pointless for you to go and die alone."

　The boy turned to look at the man who was leaving dejectedly, his reputation tarnished. In the past, he would often let out the same signature laugh when teasing Kevin.

　"Trace...is this what you mean by your job?"

　responsibility?"

　"It depends on how you interpret it."

　"But you told everything... You ruined the mission, and... you're about to ruin yourself."

　“Well said. But I don’t like lying, and no one should be burdened with responsibility for the world without knowing the truth. So, I showed them a way out.”

　"Otherwise... Kosmo? Can you find any other way for us?"

　"..."

　"The mission will not fail, and they will survive."

　"That's true. You may be able to do it, but there will always be a day when you can't. If that's what you've been holding onto, then don't forget it."

　"But I suggest you look at other people's choices today. There's nothing wrong with being a backstabber; at least they can see their families smiling again, right?"

　"Alright, I should get going. Remember not to tell Kevin about what I just said. That kid is as young as you, he can't accept making a decision like this. The Moth Chaser already has enough trouble, don't add to it."

　"You're wrong, Hen."

　“Those people…they were not cowards…they were heroes.”

　"However, the moment that will determine who they are is only now coming."

　"...?"

　Just then, the footsteps that had scattered not long ago gathered again from all directions, and the faces of the fleeing soldiers reappeared, with not a single one missing.

　The boy stood among them, a rare smug smile on his face.

　—In terms of ideological disputes, this was the first time he had gained the upper hand in front of this man.

　But the next moment, the expression on his face froze—the real reason why those people were willing to come back was being transmitted to his ears through the communication channel.

　"...This is Kevin. We have arrived at the location of the Fifth Herrscher and...we have found her body."

　"It has been confirmed that the Herrscher's death occurred before the Moth of Flames intervened. All teams must immediately evacuate the area; something even more terrifying seems to exist here. Judging from the energy reaction, that battle that defeated the Herrscher..."

　"...It all happened in an instant."

Chapter 253 The Fire-Chasing Moth and the Necromancer's Reaction

　With the most advanced Honkai energy detection system on this planet, the Fire Moth can always quickly pinpoint the exact location of the Herrscher's arrival after a Great Honkai eruption.

　However, even the well-informed members of the Firemoth Council did not expect that the information brought back by the special task force they sent to probe the true nature of the Herrscher's powers would be so astonishing.

　The Fifth Herrscher, the Herrscher of Ice, was annihilated by an unknown entity almost instantly.

　Yes, after finding the snow-covered mountain village, Moth of the Flame has come to understand the true nature of the power wielded by the Herrscher who has descended upon the world this time.

　Unfortunately, the fall of the Herrscher himself makes this understanding less important.

　After losing two research giants, Velvet and Mebius, the level of research on Herrschers by the Fire Moth is far lower than that of other worlds without necromancers.

　This is precisely why the Great Collapse in this world is progressing much slower than in the original world.

　Admittedly, "even the wisest can make a mistake, and even the most foolish can have a stroke of genius," but the contributions of brilliant minds like Vervier and Möbius to cutting-edge scientific research are unparalleled by any number of mediocre researchers.

　If it weren't for Dr. Mei holding the fort, the research system of the Fire Moth would probably be in an even more awkward situation.

　At that point, whether the research system of the "fire-chasing moth" can still exist is a big question mark.

　This is no longer the era after the Ninth Great Collapse; the power of the Fire-Chasing Moths is not yet sufficient to replace the United Nations.

　For today's moths drawn to flames, the United Nations' deterrent power remains undeniable.

　Getting back to the main point, after confirming the fall of the Herrscher of Ice, the first reaction of the Firemoth Council was that they had been beaten to it by the necromancer.

　This suspicion is not unfounded.

　In the eyes of the members of the Firemoth Council, the only beings on this planet capable of quickly defeating the Herrscher, besides themselves, are the necromancers.

　Since it wasn't the work of the Moths of Fire, they naturally turned their attention to the necromancer.

　However, when the report from Jakarta was solemnly placed on the table of the Moth of Fire Council, the councilors were all surprised to find that the powerful force that ended the Fifth Great Collapse did not seem to originate from the necromancers they had previously suspected.

　Despite the fact that the Firemoth withdrew its Southeast Asian branch in Manila after the Indonesian archipelago was placed under the sphere of influence of necromancers.

　But this does not mean they have given up all of their presence in this archipelago.

　Given the delicate relationship between necromancers and human society on this planet, how much wisdom must those in power at the top of human society have to make such a decision?

　Whether out of wariness of necromancers or for other strategic considerations, the Firemoths left their mark on this archipelago.

　There are numerous spies.

　According to these infiltrators, the necromancer was strolling around Jakarta with Alicia during the Fifth Great Collapse.

　There was simply no time to travel to the Mu Continent and annihilate the Herrscher of Ice.

　This astonishing discovery plunged the Firemoth Council into unprecedented confusion and anxiety.

　The members of the Firemoth Council once believed that necromancers were the only major threat to human society besides the Collapse.

　However, they now have to face a harsh reality—there are even more mysterious and powerful unknown forces on this planet.

　This power is even enough to destroy a Herrscher in an instant.

　"Investigate! We must thoroughly find out the truth!"

　Congressman Eugene slammed his fist on the table in a fit of emotion.

　How could he not be excited?

　This unknown and terrifying entity may still be lurking somewhere on the Mu Continent, ready to launch another attack at any time.

　"Finding out who killed the Herrscher of Ice is important, but perhaps we should consider how to win over this force."

　Stroking his beard, Councilor Wang made a suggestion.

　Looking around at the members of parliament present, he continued to explain.

　"Our Moths' shortcomings in advanced combat capabilities are already quite obvious. Not all problems can be solved simply and brutally with nuclear weapons."

　Upon hearing this, the members of parliament present nodded in agreement.

　Among them, Representative Vincent, who upholds the concept of "humanity first," gave strong support.

　In the eyes of this powerful senator, cooperating with this unknown force is a wiser choice than the "Fusion Warrior Project," which would "taint" the sanctity of human genes.

　The Fusion Warrior Project is a joint research achievement of Mebius and Dr. Mebius.

　Although Mebius has left the Firemoth, Dr. Mebius is still here.

　This young woman, who has become the chief scientist of the Fire Moth, is in charge of the ultimate achievement of the [Fusion Warrior Project]—the [Fusion Warrior Surgery].

　If it really comes to a last resort, Senator Vincent has no doubt that his colleagues will rely on Dr. May's [Fusion Warrior Surgery] to create super-powerful beings for the Firemoth.

　Therefore, out of his commitment to the purity of human genes, MP Vincent chose to agree with the suggestion of MP Wang, with whom he had long disagreed.

　As a consensus gradually forms within the Firemoth Council, this organization, which has shown signs of breaking away from UN control, begins to search with all its might for the mysterious power capable of completely annihilating the Herrschers.

　The necromancer was not entirely unaware of the movements of the Fire-Chasing Moths and the unusual termination of the Fifth Great Collapse.

　In order to help Möbius escape the Moth of Fire, Senator Harry is indeed no longer a member of the Moth of Fire Council.

　However, MP William remains firmly in his seat as a member of the Moth of Fire Parliament.

　In fact, the other members of the Moth of Fire Council were well aware of which entity Representative William served.

　However, since he was still a member of parliament, they could not hide his actions in some ways.

　It was thanks to Congressman William's detailed report that Morrow was able to accurately grasp the latest developments of the Fire-Chasing Moth.

　"is it?"

　After a moment of silence, the necromancer issued new instructions to Councilor William via the [Communication Badge].

　"Put the matter of Thousand Calamities aside for now. As my representative, you will negotiate with the Fire Moth and make sure to obtain a portion of the Herrscher of Ice's biological tissue from them."

　As for the Herrscher Core, Moros knew very well that even if the Flame Chaser didn't have the ability to create a miraculous artifact like the Divine Key, it wouldn't trade such a treasure to him.

　There was no other way; given the intricate relationships he had with human society on this planet, no force dared to engage in such a high-risk transaction with him.

　However, the necromancer did not give up the Herrscher Core of the Herrscher of Ice because of this.

　Whether from the perspective of research value or as a key material for creating the Divine Key, the Herrscher Core is an objective he cannot abandon.

　Since he couldn't obtain it through normal trading channels, Moros would naturally seek other methods.

Chapter 254 The Plan and Selection for Seizing the Herrscher Core

　Moros is a very orthodox necromancer of the Necropolis faction.

　His moral bottom line is flexible enough.

　When faced with a rare treasure like the Herrscher Core, his desire far outweighed his concerns about the Flame Chaser.

　On the core issues concerning the Herrschers, the Moth's will is utterly insignificant.

　After all, as a demigod-level spellcaster of Ashan, how could a mere fire-chasing moth possibly shake the power and authority of a necromancer?

　Let alone a moth drawn to a flame.

　Even if the entire human society on this planet united to fight against him, Moros would not be afraid.

　Since he couldn't acquire the Lawyer Core through commercial means, Morros stopped focusing on legal and compliant acquisition methods.

　Infiltrating, stealing, robbing...

　Moros has plenty of ways to get what he wants.

　In this era before the birth of fusion warriors, the necromancer possessed sufficient resources and a margin for error to implement his plans.

　However, before putting his plan to seize the Herrscher's core into practice, Moros needs to first determine the location of this priceless treasure.

　As the saying goes, "The person who knows you best is not your friend, but your enemy."

　The Moths of Fire, an organization whose mission since its inception has been to fight against necromancers, could hardly have been unaware that Moros would stop at nothing to pursue the core of the Herrscher.

　Even though the Fire Moths have undergone a strategic transformation, focusing their main efforts on the fight against the Honkai, their vigilance against necromancers has never diminished in the slightest.

　As for inquiring about the whereabouts of the Lawbringer Core through Representative William, a member of the Firemoth Council?

　The members of the Firemoth Council are still quite intelligent.