A giant hand opened behind the Fourth Herrscher, and six floating cannons aimed directly at the back of her green and white head.
"Boom!"
A massive amount of energy slammed into the Fourth Herrscher. After a direct hit, Lin reactivated Phase Shift and retreated backward.
A five-second countdown popped up on the screen after entering Phase Shift. That was the Titan's Phase Shift time limit. Exceeding this total time would cause the loss of consciousness he experienced last time.
Did Delta really install such a dangerous feature in the Titan? ...But it came in handy.
The Titan changed its flight direction and slid toward the sea level, while the Fourth Herrscher, after being attacked, turned and coldly watched the retreating Titan.
The Titan's firepower was strong against Honkai Beasts, but against a Herrscher, it couldn't even break her defense. He had just used the maximum power of the floating cannons to concentrate fire on the Fourth Herrscher's shield, but she remained completely unmoved.
He would need the Honkai Energy Conversion Cannon from last time to pierce her defense, but a weapon of that scale couldn't be installed on the mobility-specialized Titan.
What to do?
The secondary monitor showed the Fourth Herrscher was already pursuing the Titan from behind. The Titan spun 180 degrees, opened the missile bays on its shoulder armor, and fired cluster missiles. Instantly, the missiles flew out like scattered fireworks.
Cluster missiles were also installed on both sides of his thighs, but since his lower body was damaged and uncontrollable, the firepower couldn't be stronger. Fortunately, Lin hadn't intended to take her out with the cluster missiles anyway.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The missiles exploded against the Fourth Herrscher's shield. The smoke couldn't conceal the two high-speed flying figures, but all Lin needed was that momentary "disappearance."
The air currents parted the smoke. When the Fourth Herrscher's predatory gaze saw the Titan vanish after the smoke cleared, she immediately turned. A wind cannon shot out from her fingertips toward where Lin was. As expected, Lin appeared directly in its trajectory.
As expected... that trick again.
Perhaps not anticipating the Fourth Herrscher's reaction to be so quick, the Titan was sliced across its lower body by the wind cannon before it even had time to raise its gun. Sparks flashed as it plummeted downward, and the azure glow in its pupils gradually faded.
The Fourth Herrscher looked down impassively at the falling mechanical giant, without any sense of satisfaction. It was like casually swatting a mosquito—insignificant.
Well, this concludes...
"Shing—"
Two extraordinary sounds of energy friction in the air rang out from behind her. Before she could register a look of surprise, the tips of two entirely blue blades had already stabbed her shield.
Then, after pausing for less than half a second, the two blades smoothly pierced right through the shield and went in.
What—
"Sizzle!"
Blood couldn't leave a trace in the wind-pressure shield and vanished.
Lin's face under the helmet was expressionless. Both blades were completely plunged from tip to hilt through the Fourth Herrscher's chest and shoulder. The Raikiri radiated light, neutralizing the shield that was trying to keep him out.
Raikiri was a weapon manufactured based on the Third Herrscher's shield principle. In other words, the energy operation it utilized was exactly the same as the Herrscher's shield. Lin continuously attacked the Fourth Herrscher's shield, found the energy turnover frequency of her shield, and then merely needed to adjust Raikiri to the same frequency to briefly neutralize the shield.
With a common decoy tactic and one Phase Shift, Lin executed the most effective attack to date.
"Sizzle."
The harsh sound made Lin release the two blades. The touch-to-kill shield enveloped the Fourth Herrscher once more. He hadn't struck the Herrscher Core. This meant that even a severe injury was just a "minor wound" that required time to heal for a Herrscher.
And he barely dodged the Fourth Herrscher's ferocious retaliatory claw swipe.
He pressed a button, using Phase Shift to return to the still-falling Titan. The legs were gone, but the flight system attached to the backpack was unaffected. He pushed the control sticks, and all the floating cannons flew out again.
"Heh... heh..."
The Fourth Herrscher looked at the two blades in her chest with confusion. She couldn't feel pain, but she could feel something leaving her body with the blood.
A sense of "weakness," which she had never experienced since her birth, appeared in her.
And Lin wouldn't give her time to figure out what it was.
"Vroom!"
While she was clutching her chest, the surrounding floating cannons opened fire again, fiercely bombarding her shield. As the shield gradually weakened, a certain unnameable emotion began to surface in her largely dehumanized heart.
Don't come closer.
That feeling compelled her to turn and flee forward with all her might.
Despite the vast disparity in power, despite the difference in strength levels, despite her caution...
She dared not fight back. Even though she could still destroy the Titan with a single strike, she was afraid to turn around and attack the mechanical monster that was only half-intact.
It was a fear that lingered in her heart even after becoming a Herrscher.
Don't come closer.
The "human" sitting inside that monster was staring at her with an even more inhuman, cold gaze.
This had completely turned into a counter-chase.
Lin deployed a floating cannon to shoot the water surface along the Fourth Herrscher's path. The resulting splash made the Fourth Herrscher fearfully believe that the spark-flashing Titan would reappear behind it, forcing her to change direction and fly upwards.
Speed, output, and energy were all decreasing. He had to finish the fight quickly.
Being more human, more cunning, and more cautious than the previous Herrschers was the Fourth Herrscher's strength, and also her flaw.
This was the first instance of a Herrscher trying to flee.
But it wouldn't be the first instance of a successful escape.
"Bang!"
Two mechanical arms lunged from the sides. The remaining shield dissipated under the final bombardment of the floating cannons. The giant hands easily grabbed the Fourth Herrscher's shoulders and wings. Lin frantically pushed the control sticks, forcefully competing with the fiercely resisting Fourth Herrscher in arm output.
A storm was gathering.
The Fourth Herrscher, terrified, used her authority. This time, she no longer considered restricting its usage, unleashing all her power at once, expanding outward from her body as the epicenter.
"Hooong!!!"
The sea surface below, and the clouds in the sky, were swept clean in a circle by this city-destroying blow. It even pushed the sea surface downward, tearing apart the creatures hidden in the deep sea.
"Splash..." It took a long time for the sea surface to close up again.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
Her wings drooped dimly on her back. The Fourth Herrscher's eyes scanned the surroundings, searching for the giant shadow of her nightmare.
None.
The surroundings were empty. So, she had destroyed it?
She should have done that sooner...
"Thump!" Cold alloy pressed against her skin.
A familiar immense force came from her shoulder. This time, she couldn't even resist. Her wings and arms were...
Torn off by brute force.
Lin sat in the cockpit, silently watching the Fourth Herrscher plummet toward the sea.
The battle was over.