It didn't take Chen Luo long to pilot the small unmanned warship to the airspace above ME Corp.
Once above ME Corp, Chen Luo stored the flying unmanned warship and began falling towards the ME Corp below.
Just before hitting the ground, the Flight spell instantly halted Chen Luo's descent, allowing him to land safely.
Chen Luo's arrival was extremely sudden and somewhat flamboyant, as if he had no intention of hiding at all.
Through the Herrscher of Corruption's authority, Chen Luo had accessed Anti-Entropy's internal network and thus learned that the entire ME Corp indeed had no researchers left anymore.
After all, anyone with a shred of sanity, seeing so many Herrschers congregating in Nagazora City, wouldn't want to stay here, right?
The good news, however, was that as Chen Luo had thought, the Honkai energy reactor at ME Corp had not been dismantled and removed. This was because the reactor was truly massive, and its installation and disassembly required extremely precise technology.
In other words, Chen Luo could continue to leave his Vision here.
Or, he could extract all the Honkai energy from the reactor to create Honkai Crystals.
Chen Luo personally leaned more towards the latter option. Because before a qualitative change occurred, no matter how much Honkai energy this Vision absorbed, it wouldn't rank up.
If only he had known earlier, he wouldn't have let the Vision absorb so much Honkai energy; it was a pure waste.
But now, getting the Vision to spit that Honkai energy back out was impossible.
Actually, Chen Luo was currently pondering a problem: after the massive scavenging by his Vision, the Herrscher of Thunder, the Herrscher of Domination, and himself, the remaining Honkai energy in the entire Nagazora City was only at 2/5 of its original concentration.
If that was the case, then it would be somewhat troublesome for Raiden Mei to fully awaken as the Herrscher of Thunder.
After all, even Herrschers need to absorb sufficient Honkai energy.
So, Chen Luo was considering whether to blow up the Honkai reactor at ME Corp to fill the Honkai energy gap.
Otherwise, for Raiden Mei to awaken as a true Herrscher again, it would require triggering another Honkai eruption, which would be particularly troublesome.
The idea was roughly: detonate the massive Honkai energy reactor at ME Corp, which would then draw a feedback of Honkai energy from the Imaginary Space into reality, replenishing the Honkai energy.
For this kind of action resembling triggering a major Honkai eruption, Chen Luo felt no psychological burden at all. Because even with Nagazora City's Honkai energy concentration at only 2/5 of its original level, let alone ordinary people, even average Valkyries couldn't stay in Nagazora's environment for long.
So, the difference between an uninhabited zone and a more severely uninhabited zone was completely negligible.
Furthermore, since this area had already experienced one Honkai eruption, even if a minor eruption occurred again, it would at most restore the Honkai concentration that Nagazora City should have had originally.
But saying that is one thing; the Honkai energy reactor at ME Corp isn't something you can just detonate whenever you want, because...
"Hahahaha! I never thought, never thought we'd meet again, Chen Luo!" A voice full of gritted teeth sounded, followed by several throwing daggers shooting towards Chen Luo. Simultaneously, a subtle sense of distortion affected Chen Luo's perception.
Chen Luo, enduring the bizarre distortion, took a step forward, narrowly avoiding the daggers.
"Your invincible Miss Sin is back! You tied me up tightly and threw me into a cold, damp, dark secret room for several hours, even hung a real remote-controlled bomb around my neck. I still remember this 'favor' clearly."
"And this time, you don't have Durandal by your side." Accompanied by that strange temporal distortion, appearing not far from Chen Luo was Miss Sin, a sinister smile playing on her lips.
It was the same familiar corridor, the same familiar indoor setting, the same familiar arrogant Miss Sin.
The only difference was that Durandal was no longer with Chen Luo.
The researchers at ME Corp had been evacuated due to the re-emergence of Herrscher reactions in Nagazora City, but some non-research personnel remained.
Moreover, because Herrscher reactions had erupted twice in the same location, especially after Raiden Mei had already disappeared from Nagazora, this made Cocolia even more curious about the situation there. Not only had she not withdrawn combat personnel, but she had even added some forces.
After all, this situation was truly unheard of: two Herrschers appearing in the same major Honkai eruption.
Incredible, simply incredible.
"Er, well, if I said it was all a misunderstanding, would you believe me?" Chen Luo said weakly.
As he spoke, he also took out his Elfin Bow.
"Using a bow? Using a bow in a confined space isn't a wise choice. As for believing you... Believe you? Why wouldn't I? I'll believe you as long as you let me tie you up, put a bomb on you, and leave you in a dark secret room for three days." Looking at the bow in Chen Luo's hand, Sin showed a disdainful expression.
Using a bow in such a narrow place was a very foolish move, whereas in such cramped quarters, her advantage was undoubtedly greatest.
And now, that person no longer had Durandal by his side.
Important things must be said three times!
"Of course, if you're unwilling to surrender quietly, I don't mind helping you. But by then, I can't guarantee whether a few of your bones might break." A look of extreme malice appeared on Sin's face.
Although Cocolia had repeatedly emphasized trying to ensure Chen Luo's survival if they encountered him, breaking a few ribs could be considered an unavoidable accident, right?
"Can't we have a proper, normal conversation? If you have any wish, I, a traveler from another world, might not be unwilling to consider helping you fulfill it," Chen Luo sighed.
Chen Luo genuinely disliked this kind of fight-and-kill atmosphere. After all, harmony breeds wealth.
"Of course I have a wish: that's for me to break a few of your ribs to wash away the previous humiliation."
[Ding! You have a new commission!]
"..."
"Let's be reasonable. The one who defeated you was Durandal, not me. If you have the ability, go find Durandal. What's the point of bullying a weak man like me?"
"I admit I can't beat Durandal. Losing to someone stronger than me is a disgrace, but it's not a humiliation. But being tied up like a caterpillar, thrown into a secret room, strapped with a bomb for hours, and even used as a bargaining chip... that's humiliation." Sin still looked at Chen Luo with unfriendly eyes.
In Sin's view, Chen Luo was even more detestable than Durandal.
"You just don't recognize a good person, do you? If it weren't for me, you might have been stabbed to death by Durandal. So, how about we don't fight? Can you change your wish?" Chen Luo tried to negotiate.
"No!" As she spoke, several daggers instantly appeared in Sin's hands.
"Ah..."
Chen Luo really didn't want to fight Sin. After all, to be honest, Sin's combat power was indeed quite strong.
* * *
"Sigh, I say, Invincible Miss Sin, could you just let me go?" Chen Luo said helplessly.
"Chen Luo, you bastard! If you have any skill, let me go, and we'll fight again! And are you insulting me?!" Sin, who was being sat on by Chen Luo, shouted at him in a tone that suggested she wanted to bite him.
The phrase "Invincible Miss Sin" could be considered an honorific after she defeated Chen Luo, but now, coming from Chen Luo's mouth, it was undoubtedly a great insult.
But Sin still didn't understand how she had lost.
Do things like sword energy really exist in reality?
Thinking back on her fight with Chen Luo now, it felt somewhat unbelievable.
At the very least, during the close-quarters combat just now, Chen Luo hadn't displayed anything too outrageous. He had only relied on a seemingly ordinary sword in his hand to block all the throwing daggers she launched from any angle.
And after fighting for a few minutes, he predicted her next appearance spot with an almost clairvoyant ability, then punched her.
And then she was down.
What happened?
What happened?
If there were truly martial arts masters in the world, it would be no more than this.
"What kind of martial art was that?" Sin asked.
Sin couldn't accept losing so inexplicably.
"What martial art... Edge of Taixuan, a cultivation method taught to me by an A-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal," Chen Luo said casually.
"How is that possible? A mere A-rank Valkyrie..." Sin immediately retorted.
Although her strength couldn't match that S-rank Durandal, losing to someone taught by a Schicksal A-rank Valkyrie was unacceptable to Sin.
"Don't believe me? Fine." Chen Luo knocked on Sin's head.
Speaking of which, this was Chen Luo's first time using the complete version of Edge of Taixuan against an opponent, and the effect was surprisingly good.
Although Chen Luo's current physical fitness certainly couldn't compare to Fu Hua's, thanks to continuously completing commissions and the enhancements from his Herrscher body, his physical strength had already surpassed that of an ordinary Schicksal B-rank Valkyrie.
And Chen Luo's Edge of Taixuan was the complete version, purchased with Primogems.
In fact, if he weren't afraid of killing Sin with one strike, Chen Luo could have ended the fight with Eminence.
After purchasing Edge of Taixuan, Chen Luo's close-combat ability was maxed out. As his physical fitness grew stronger in the future, his close-combat prowess would become even more powerful.
Of course, if it weren't for the Crystal shortage, buying both Close Combat Master and Cold Weapon Master would have made his close-combat strength even greater.
This Edge of Taixuan was definitely a good purchase.
Chen Luo's future attack methods would likely focus on support, and with A Thrilling Tale of Dragon Slayers, Chen Luo could indeed play a secondary damage role.
Moreover, both the Herrscher of Domination and the Herrscher of Corruption lean in this direction.
He could send a bunch of puppets to fight others. When those people couldn't defeat the puppets and tried to take out Chen Luo, the controller, he could hit them with a close-range Eminence to give them a "taste."
You think I'm good at ranged attacks? No, I'm even better at close combat.
"Alright, the one who's been hiding should come out now. What kind of hero hides their head and conceals their ears?" While boredly tapping Sin's head with his sword hilt, Chen Luo shouted towards the depths of the far corridor.
"Oh? You actually detected me? Not bad." A voice tinged with a hint of arrogance sounded.
Following the sound of heels hitting the floor, a figure gradually emerged from around the corner at the end of the corridor.
It was a handsome blue-haired young man. Handsome as he was, the large gold chain and his hairstyle gave Chen Luo a feeling of Shinji Matou.
Maybe I've watched too much Fate.
"Who are you?" Chen Luo asked instinctively.
But he regretted it as soon as he asked.
Because Chen Luo remembered who this guy was.
"Me? Listen well. I am the Anti-Entropy Sovereign, the First Herrscher, the Herrscher of Reason, Welt. Originally, I came on Cocolia's advice to meet a fellow Herrscher and see if I could snatch a Herrscher core. I just didn't expect to encounter an entertaining interlude." The young man who called himself Welt curled his lips into a wanton smile.
"Welt, were you here all along, just watching from the side?" Sin, still pinned under Chen Luo, said displeased.
"Call me Sovereign. If it weren't for Cocolia's sake, your impudence just now would be enough for you to be punished." Welt looked disdainfully at Sin, who had been so easily defeated by Chen Luo.
"Hmm? Traveler from another world, what's that expression on your face?" Welt, seeing the look on Chen Luo's face, suddenly paused, followed by displeasure.
Although the expression on Chen Luo's face looked complex, it certainly contained no respect, admiration, fear, or shock.
"...I'm thinking about whether I should just leave now." Chen Luo's tone carried a trace of disdain that was hard to detect.
"Leave? You still want to leave? Although meeting that Herrscher was the main objective, that Herrscher hasn't been found after a day of searching. Returning empty-handed isn't a good habit, so catching an otherworldly traveler in passing isn't a bad alternative." Welt said with a sinister smile.
"Hmm, you just said you're the First Herrscher, right?" Chen Luo said after a moment of thought.
"Naturally." Welt nodded proudly.
"Then, do you feel a certain great existence watching this place?" Chen Luo subtly tried to gain some favor.
"Great existence? What foolishness are you talking about? Did you lose your mind hearing my renowned name?"
"You... I... Forget it, why waste words with you." Chen Luo rubbed his temples headacheily, then knocked out Sin, whom he was still sitting on, with a single strike of the sword hilt, and stood up.
"Hmm, although that traitor, the First Herrscher, is indeed hateful, a mere clone, claiming the authority of God, is still enough to sentence you to death." Chen Luo looked coldly at the fellow before him who called himself Welt.
That's right, the Welt before him was a clone, cloned from the first Herrscher of Reason.
The first Herrscher of Reason was truly a formidable figure.
Unlike Welt Yang, who must understand the structure of something to replicate it, the first Herrscher of Reason could truly replicate anything he touched.
It was almost comparable to the "Power of 'I Reckon'": I reckon I can replicate this, and he really could. That was the true Herrscher of Reason.
Even Void Archive before its upgrade wasn't as outrageous as him. After all, he was the natural Herrscher of Reason.
It's still quite normal for a Herrscher to be stronger than a Divine Key.