Along the way, whether it was Assault-class Honkai Beasts or Imperator-class Honkai Beasts, they would all be controlled and commanded by Yae Sakura. A curious Ryn also tried to control these Honkai Beasts, but these mindless creatures charged straight at him and were slapped to death by Ryn with a single blow.
After many failed attempts, Ryn fell into self-doubt.
"Why can even a Pseudo-Herrscher like Yae Sakura command Honkai Beasts, while I, a full-fledged Herrscher, can't! Is my Herrscher status a fake?"
"I don't know either. Normally, I can't command them either, but these Honkai Beasts are quite obedient this time.
However, I can only command lower-tier Honkai Beasts, at most to the limit of lower-tier ones like the Imperator-class. Higher-tier Honkai Beasts don't completely obey my commands." After saying that, Yae Sakura commanded some nearby Honkai Beasts to advance towards Yae Village again.
"Bronya has detected that the Honkai energy reaction of these Honkai Beasts is somewhat similar in frequency to the energy fluctuations on the Herrscher of Corruption and Yae Sakura. Therefore, Bronya believes that because Yae Sakura is a Pseudo-Herrscher created through corruption by the Herrscher of Corruption, she has a certain degree of control over the Herrscher of Corruption's Honkai Beast servants."
Bronya explained, but then her tone shifted, and she looked at Ryn with disgust.
"Honkai Beasts have a strong sense of territory and will only obey the commands of the Herrscher who spawned them. Bronya is very curious, where are your Honkai Beasts, Ryn?"
Fu Hua walked over and joined the conversation.
"I'm also very curious about this question. Your Herrscher transformation, Ryn, is different from any Herrscher I've ever seen. And your transformation was too peaceful, it seems like you didn't even trigger a Great Eruption?"
"..."
Ryn fell silent. He couldn't possibly say that his Herrscher transformation was a result of snatching Mei's Herrscher energy as a catalyst, could he...
What's more, the Honkai energy from the Third Honkai War was moved to the Sea of Quanta, only to be disdainfully thrown out by the Sea...
Then, his Herrscher transformation process was completely taken over by the Tree and the Sea. Ryn simply took a nap and completed his transformation.
Ryn suddenly exclaimed, "Holy crap, now that I think about it... could my Honkai Beast be Seele?!"
"Project Bunny 19C!"
......
In the end, just like Yae Sakura, Ryn's face was also swollen.
"Sigh... I don't even know if we're here for a decisive battle with the Herrscher of Corruption or on a sightseeing trip in dataspace. A team like ours should just be disbanded..."
To prevent Ryn from causing any more trouble, Fu Hua had Judah tie him up and gag him. Otherwise, Fu Hua was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold it together before they even saw the Herrscher of Corruption.
Crossing the many small hills of Yae Village and following the forest path, the group soon arrived at the pavilion where the Herrscher of Corruption was located.
Looking at the characters carved on the pavilion, Fu Hua and Yae Sakura read out the name of the huge structure before them in unison.
"Tenshukaku..."
————————————
And as Ryn and the others entered the Tenshukaku, in the main world's operations room, the alarms blared.
"Urgent report! We've completely lost contact with Lord Ryn's team! We have no way of knowing what's happening in dataspace! According to the last intelligence from Bronya, they have entered the Tenshukaku!"
"Anomalous energy fluctuations detected underground in Nagazora City! According to a report from Lady Durandal, a village has emerged from underground in Nagazora City! It's the same village where Lord Ryn and his team last disappeared, it's Yae Village!"
"Two Honkai energy reactions have appeared in Nagazora City! According to database comparison, it's the Honkai energy fluctuation of the Third Herrscher—the Herrscher of Thunder—and the Honkai energy fluctuation of the Herrscher of Corruption!"
"Is that... the Tenshukaku?! A large amount of Honkai energy belonging to the Herrscher of Corruption has been detected in the Tenshukaku!"
"The Herrscher of Corruption is using the Tenshukaku as its center to continuously corrupt the Honkai energy in Nagazora City that should belong to the Herrscher of Thunder?!"
"We must stop her! Once she successfully usurps the Herrscher of Thunder's Honkai energy, she will be powerful enough to backlash against the Global Connection!"
"Have Kika and Welt stand by outside the Tenshukaku, Durandal and the others will attack the Tenshukaku directly!"
"Wait... Herrscher of Thunder's fluctuation detected! The Herrscher of Thunder has appeared!!"
—————————————
Mei gripped the wooden sword in her hand tightly, continuously practicing her suburi. Sweat dripped from her body, falling onto the floor of the empty training room.
Everyone was actively fighting. Whether it was Ryn and Bronya in the dataspace, Kiana who had gone to support various battlefields, or Kika who was on a mission in the main world to snipe the Herrscher of Corruption.
And Raiden Mei, who wasn't even a B-rank Valkyrie yet, could only stay at St. Freya High School, taking shelter with the other students or participating in logistical work.
*Crack—*
The wooden sword in Mei's hand was suddenly crushed by her inexplicably increased grip strength. The abruptly ended practice left the exhausted Mei paralyzed sitting on the floor.
"I can't even do a proper suburi anymore? As expected... I still can't do anything..."
Mei looked up at the ceiling with lifeless eyes, wondering if she was dragging everyone down.
*Zzzt—*
A bolt of lightning descended from the heavens, pierced through the building's defenses, and struck Mei.
In the flash of lightning, two small, crimson horns grew on Raiden Mei's head. The divine feathers on her back solidified, continuously emitting arcs of lightning.
The Herrscher of Thunder looked askance at herself in the mirror and sneered at the Raiden Mei in her heart:
"The relationship between Herrschers is not exactly amicable, especially when it comes to fighting over territory. Being robbed by Ryn once was enough, and now some fool who doesn't know their place dares to come and rob me... They call me 'Toothpick Mei' every day, do they really think the Queen of Thunder is a pushover?!
Raiden Mei, since you can't do anything... then let me handle this."
In the lake of her heart, Mei looked at this person who was identical to her in every way except for her eyes.
Mei: "Can you defeat the Herrscher of Corruption? Herrscher of Thunder..."
Herrscher of Thunder: "You weakling. You should be asking me if I can spare that Herrscher of Corruption's life."
Seeing the Herrscher of Thunder's confident look, Mei smiled.
"Then go. Go and protect everyone in my place..."
"What do you mean, Raiden Mei?!"
The Herrscher of Thunder suddenly became angry, but then gradually calmed down.
"Forget it... I'll tell you when you've truly made up your mind."
The Herrscher of Thunder transformed into a peal of thunder and streaked across the sky, leaving behind rumbling thunderclaps.
With the awakening of their master, the Honkai Beasts of Nagazora City began to converge on the Tenshukaku, clashing with the Honkai servants of the Herrscher of Corruption.