"Sister."
The Monarch smilingly uttered a title that sent a chill down Elysia's spine.
There was no mistake—if both their powers stemmed from Origin, then Elysia, who was born into this world a step ahead of Lu Xing, should indeed be called "sister."
"You've lost."
Elysia was already exhausted.
Even maintaining her movement in the vacuum of space was beginning to become difficult—just like her state when the two of them had first arrived here.
In contrast, on the Monarch's side.
Due to acquiring his thirteenth Authority, not only did he feel no discomfort, but even the energy he had consumed using [Divine Flame Cannon] earlier had been restored to its peak in a short time, thanks to the level increase and the further expansion of his connection to Imaginary Space.
"However…"
A transparent butterfly wing materialized in the Monarch's hand.
The next moment, it streaked across the starry space like a shooting star and merged directly into Elysia's hand, quickly solidifying into a translucent crystal flower.
"Aponia, returned to you."
Just as Elysia was wondering if "Humanity" had somehow taken effect without her knowing—
"After all."
"Persuading the members of the Fire Moth will certainly not be a simple matter. At the very least, it's not something that can be resolved in a short amount of time."
This wager had been filled with schemes from the start.
Elysia had indeed said that she could persuade the other members of the Fire Moth, but she had never mentioned how much time it would take. Before that process was complete, it was possible that the Herrscher of Erosion, or even the Herrscher of Finality, would have already been dealt with.
"This small matter."
"I'm sure 'sister' has already thought of it."
"Therefore, the power of [Discipline] should be indispensable to you."
The Thirteen Flame-Chasing Heroes.
Every one of them was an existence worthy of the name hero.
The more mentally resilient such individuals were, the weaker the effect (and scope of execution) of [Discipline].
"I will pay a visit very soon."
"When that time comes… [Mind Steel Seal], [Mental Reshaping], [Root Assimilation]. With 'sister's' level of understanding, you should be able to guess one or two things about these three skills, even without my detailed description."
The Monarch calmly stated the terrifying facts.
"So then, see you later."
Vmm.
Before Elysia could reply, a dazzling golden ring had already appeared by her side. The next moment, it carried her away, and she vanished from the silent deep space.
He had acquired enough of the [Authority of Origin].
Based on the proportion of Authority held by both parties, the portion Elysia had left was likely less than thirty percent.
In other words.
Lu Xing had taken three-quarters of Elysia's Authority.
The burning of her Divine Ring had caused irreversible damage, and the portion fused by the Monarch could never return to Elysia.
As for the rest…
It offered no substantial improvement for Lu Xing, so there was no need to acquire it.
Furthermore, if she lost all her Authority, Elysia probably wouldn't live for long. The foundation that sustained a Herrscher's existence was their Authority, and the foundation that sustained her human body was also her Authority. Without it, Elysia would vanish completely from the world.
In that case.
He wouldn't be able to collect on any of the stakes from the battle just now.
"…"
That was a lie.
The wager itself was of no importance to the Monarch; after all, he had already obtained the most valuable part, the Authority.
Lu Xing had to admit.
Although Elysia's attack had not achieved its intended goal, it had indeed had a certain effect on him. The fact that he would call Elysia "sister," a form of address that sounded almost creepy coming from the Monarch's mouth, was in itself the greatest anomaly.
"Goodness and love…"
"Hmph."
The "Humanity" targeted at his own kind had made the Monarch see Elysia as an existence the same as himself. Although their paths were completely different, the "compassion" that had long since vanished from his heart in the struggle for survival had actually reappeared.
This was not a good sign. The effect of that arrow would gradually wear off over time and as his own understanding of the Authority deepened, but for now, it had indeed had a subtle influence on Lu Xing.
However.
The influence of this Authority was limited to just this.
Lu Xing's humanity had only had its scope broadened by Elysia. If it involved beings outside of his own kind…
"Root Assimilation."
One could tell just how terrifying this ability, which had mutated from the [Authority of Humanity], was from its description alone.
Lu Xing had not yet tried this skill.
However, according to his understanding, the conditions for transforming other races into Honkai Beasts were numerous. The greater the similarity between the assimilated race and Honkai Beasts, the less energy the skill would consume, and the higher the success rate would be.
The success rate here referred to the degree of similarity, as well as lifespan.
Take the Fusion Warriors for example.
Because they already possessed a very high adaptability to Honkai energy and a compatibility with Honkai Beast genes, the success rate of using [Root Assimilation] on them should be very high.
As for ordinary humans.
It was hard to say if they could withstand it. Even if it were successful, their lifespan would probably be measured in hours.
However.
"Sixty million people…"
As long as the base number was large enough, the number of successes would naturally rise proportionally.
Lu Xing was well aware.
As the foundation of a civilization, there were still too few truly sentient, awakened Honkai Beasts.
Although the vast majority of non-sentient Honkai Beasts could be slowly nurtured, that process would certainly not be short. To call the barely-over-500 sentient Honkai Beasts, including the "Machine Race," a "civilization" was indeed too thin.
Therefore—
"The Stigmata Project."
That's right, the first thing Lu Xing thought of was Dr. Mei's Stigmata Project.
Before Elysia had offered up her Authority, Lu Xing had only been thinking of using Mei's Stigmata Project to create a world full of "monsters"—if everyone was a monster, then there would be no monsters in the world.
But now, with the ability of [Root Assimilation], it seemed that the existence of this species could become even purer.
Vmm.
After a flash of light—
"So soon?"
The Monarch had just returned to the spot he had left from when Xiao Zi, who had been waiting there, spoke up. She didn't even ask Bai about the result, because there had been no suspense from the beginning.
"It was just a walk in the park."
Lu Xing replied nonchalantly.
"It looks like…"
"The harvest was quite bountiful?"
As a fused creation of civilization and Honkai, certain elven… ahem, certain fusion auras were still very obvious to Xiao Zi.
"It was alright."
"Tell Chenling she needs to pick up the pace."
As Lu Xing gave the order, he absentmindedly patted Xiao Zi's head—or more accurately, tapped it with his finger.
And then…
He casually said something that shocked Xiao Zi so much she could have stuffed a peach in her mouth:
"You've worked hard."