Lu Xing had already tried.
[Mimic Black Hole] could absorb almost all energy released towards it. Unless one could completely overwhelm the opponent in terms of magnitude, any attack would only slow the formation of this [Mimic Black Hole].
However.
Behind this "hybrid Herrscher," there were two power sources supplying it simultaneously: the quantum tunnel and the Honkai energy rift. Relying on his own Honkai energy recovery speed, it was simply impossible to suppress the opponent.
Furthermore, the energy suffusing the Herrscher's body was already nearing the point of detonation.
The only way forward.
The best method Lu Xing could think of was to use the Authority he had just acquired to create a massive, though not necessarily sturdy, "white hole." He would envelop the Herrscher and the giant black hole it was creating, and before the black hole's energy could fully erupt, he would shove it directly into the Quantum Sea through the quantum tunnel!
Unlike before.
This plan by the Emperor had a considerable number of flaws:
His own black hole might not be able to hold out for that long. Even if it could, there was no guarantee the black hole's effect on the outside world would be as he wished. Crucially, he himself, being closest to the battlefield, would most likely be caught in the aftershocks of the black hole.
There were far too many uncertainties.
But...
VMMMM!!
A pitch-black singularity was born between his palms.
Hesitation would only lead to defeat. Although "strategy" had helped Lu Xing overcome many "overpowered freaks" he shouldn't have been able to beat, Lu Xing was not only about strategy.
When the time came.
Courage would never desert him.
Of the emotions inherited from the old Emperor, the greater part was not hatred for humanity, but the "insistence" on protecting his own kin.
Now.
Lu Xing chose to stand before his legion.
Just as the old Emperor had once stood before him.
The singularity began to expand madly. The sky and the earth simultaneously collapsed and dissipated! This wasn't just an illusion; the scene before him was a true apocalypse!
Swoosh!
A second pair of hands began to close in on the singularity.
The expansion speed of the [Mimic Black Hole] in the Emperor's hands instantly more than doubled!
At the same time, sixty-four [Subspace Lances] appeared beside him, instantly pulling the [Radiance] and the [Big Universe] that had separated from the Emperor's body into them. The core annihilation zone of a black hole was far too dangerous. Lu Xing wasn't certain if Cheche could withstand such power, so he teleported him directly to a place of absolute safety: outer space.
As for the separated Big Universe...
He had indeed left many backup plans, even leaving dormant clones in spacetime rifts, but he had neglected to send any to outer space. Fortunately, it was not too late to remedy this "oversight."
He had to fight for his life, but prudence was also indispensable.
Although it seemed to lack a great deal of passion, life and death... when it could be controlled, even if only a tiny bit, one must absolutely never entrust it to passion and impulse.
That was not just being irresponsible to oneself.
Now.
All his worries were gone—
WHOOSH!!!
Six arms came together, and the black hole expanded!
The pitch-black "bubble" grew at an unprecedented speed. In the blink of an eye, it had already expanded to a scale large enough to cover the entire Mu Continent!
Contraction!
Friction!
Subsidence!
And then...
BOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!!
A deep well.
It had appeared in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
Endless seawater poured into it from all directions.
As for the Mu Continent that should have been there... not a single trace of its existence could be found.
And right on the outer edge of this spectacle of cascading seawater, this "great maelstrom" that had nearly swallowed the world, the remaining forces of the legion were rapidly assembling.
Their numbers were less than a quarter of their peak strength.
If the war with the Mu Continent had caused a quarter of their losses, then the black hole explosion just now had taken away half of the legion's total forces.
Although they had received the Emperor's order to retreat quickly in advance, the only ones who had managed a full withdrawal were the fastest, the "Crimson Cherry" Legion.
Next was the Frozen Legion...
Thanks to the Soviet Union's stubborn blockade, they were still quite far from the Eye of the Abyss before the meteor shower fell. Although not known for their speed as a whole, the vast majority of the legion's members still managed to escape the black hole's range in time.
The Frozen Legion lost "only" a third of its number. The reason "only" was used was in comparison to the eastern and northern legions:
The sixteen [Frozen Emperors] and [Magma Emperors] sent to support Shesha were all annihilated in the black hole's explosion. If Lu Xing hadn't pulled Shesha and the Great Crab out at the last moment, the best outcome for them would have been to fall into the sea and swim for who knows how long... Sheshe wouldn't die so easily, but the Great Crab would have truly met its doom.
The northern theater was the most tragic.
The Cruise-class battle line had pushed too far forward. Aside from the Great Whale, which was the fastest flyer and had the sharpest mind—it had flown upwards when the Emperor ordered the retreat—less than a tenth of the Cruise-class survived. The aquatic Honkai Beasts led by Pontos, which had been advancing in coordination from the northwest to support the "Frozen" Legion, were completely annihilated in the black hole's explosion due to their slow speed.
Except for Pontos.
The Emperor could have saved more Honkai Beasts, but because Pontos's size and weight were so exaggerated, and he was heavily affected by the gravitational field, Lu Xing had to use a full twenty-four Subspace Lances just to get him out of the danger zone.
The same number...
If that fellow had been a little lighter, the Honkai Emperors of the eastern theater might have been saved.
However.
At this point, saying more was useless.
"The Emperor's command."
Space was shattered and broken.
Large cracks and gaps appeared between heaven and earth, like wounds on the planet, refusing to heal.
The Four War Temples were the first to gather here.
"Lead the remaining legions. All are to retreat to Antarctica."
"Antarctica?"
The one bringing the "oral message" was the Famine Temple, which prompted the question from the Death Temple.
"Yes."
"The rifts on the Australian continent have all vanished. The Honkai energy concentration will continue to fall. This place is no longer suitable for the legion's survival."
"Although the humans have suffered a heavy blow, they have not lost the potential to fight us to the death. To prevent them from 'losing their minds,' I have left a medium-sized rift in Antarctica as a path of retreat."
"At the same time, the clone there is about to awaken."
"Quietly hibernate, and await my return—"
The Famine Temple relayed the Emperor's command word for word.
"That is all."
"That is the entirety of the message left by the Emperor."