Vmm!
A ripple spread through space.
A Space-Time Gate opened above the Great Rift.
A near-endless torrent of Honkai energy surged rapidly toward the figure that stepped out from within!
As the pitch-black figure slowly approached the core of the Great Rift, its size and presence began to swell explosively!
In just half a minute, by the time Lu Xing returned to the Great Rift, he had already recovered his Imaginary Emperor form.
This recovery was not without its price. For a considerable time to come, the level of Honkai energy this Great Rift could provide would likely be comparable only to that of a medium-sized rift.
But compared to the gains from this venture, such a price was utterly insignificant.
Kevin was tied down. The damage he had sustained was not fatal, but even with the help of the Black Abyss White Flower, he would need at least several days to recover. To fully return to his peak, the time required would be measured in weeks. Even if Kevin's recovery speed exceeded expectations, would he now dare to leave Dr. Mei's side?
Elysia was tied down. Lu Xing had not killed a single Fusion Warrior, not only because they posed no threat to him, but also to stall Elysia. Using the power of creation to heal her Fusion Warrior comrades would consume an amount of Honkai energy that was by no means small. Like Kevin, Elysia had, for the short term, completely lost the ability to threaten Lu Xing.
Humanity's strongest combatants were all bogged down.
As for Qianjie... he was strong, but as he was not yet a Fusion Warrior, if he was truly only on par with Sakura, then he was no longer a concern for Lu Xing. Even if Qianjie became a Fusion Warrior ahead of schedule and completely unleashed his power, the Emperor he would be facing was no longer the same one as before.
With this, "Plan Five: Pin down the Flame-Chasers' potential high-end support," had perfectly achieved its intended objective.
"Loli Demon God."
His spiritual power spread out silently, coordinating with another newly opened Space-Time Gate. The Loli Demon God, who had been waiting on the continent, was unceremoniously plucked from her location and brought before him.
"!?"
Under the Loli Demon God's bewildered gaze—
"Control humanity's mouthpieces. Can you do it?"
"The media?"
"It should be... no, absolutely no problem!"
The biggest difference between Deadmen and Honkai Beasts was that they could integrate into human society with relative ease, especially in the chaotic and dilapidated fringe territories. This was even more true for Variant Deadmen.
The mouthpieces Lu Xing referred to were not, of course, human organs, but rather media outlets with a certain degree of influence. In the current era of disrupted global connectivity, this was a somewhat troublesome task.
The Loli Demon God agreed without the slightest complaint.
Although his aura hadn't changed, standing before the Emperor... she found it increasingly impossible to defy his commands.
Ting.
A black crystal chip detached from Lu Xing's body.
"In the shortest possible time."
"Spread them."
Inside the chip Lu Xing handed to the Loli Demon God was footage of Su and Mobius's Artificial Honkai Eruptions. Lu Xing didn't care if she could find a way to "translate" it. The task had been assigned. If she completed it, it was a bonus. If she failed... Lu Xing would have to reconsider the value of these underlings.
During the recent confrontation, Lu Xing had obtained more intelligence on Artificial Honkai Eruption.
Moreover, he had not interfered with Su and Mobius's transformations. This would lull the Fusion Warriors into a false sense of security, making them believe that Artificial Honkai Eruption could not be exploited by the Honkai's side, which in turn would encourage more of them to voluntarily step into that state during battle.
The intelligence he had just handed to the Loli Demon God, this bonus, would amplify humanity's ostracization of the Flame-Chasers and the Fusion Warriors. For beings that had completely lost their human form, the innate fear and disgust they inspired was the greatest and most terrifying weapon against the Fusion Warriors.
With this, "Plan Three: Artificial Honkai Eruption" had completed half its objective, and the remaining part seemed to be progressing quite smoothly.
"Plan Two: Kill Dr. Mei" had not succeeded.
However, its subordinate plan, destroying the Flame-Chasers' experimental base, had been executed to perfection.
With the successful implementation of "Plan Three," the Flame-Chasers' already dire financial situation would only worsen. Rebuilding the destroyed laboratories of Mei, Vill-V, and Mobius would be exceedingly difficult. Even the most brilliant scientists of humanity would be like clever housewives unable to cook without rice if they lacked laboratories that matched their specifications.
It wasn't hard to guess that, let alone new experimental projects, even the progress of performing more Fusion Warrior surgeries would become incredibly slow. The base surely had backups, yes, but in terms of specification and scale, they were likely incomparable to the one that was destroyed.
In other words, for the short term, humanity could not supplement its forces with new Fusion Warriors.
This meant... all obstacles that could possibly obstruct the execution of "Plan One" had been eliminated by Lu Xing.
To put it bluntly, the final objective that involved this entire series of plans—the destruction of the Mu Continent—had finally reached the stage of official implementation!
But before that...
Vmm!
From the torn spatial rift, four slightly damaged Keys of God floated beside the Emperor.
"Plan Four: Seize the Keys of God" could also be considered a perfect conclusion.
The Keys of God. They were not only a significant combat force in the hands of the Flame-Chasers, but also the key to the very survival of their civilization. Without "Space," it would "only" mean that Lu Xing's movements could no longer be tracked. But without "Wind" and "Ice"... the satellites for improving Earth's environment and the hibernation pods that sustained the "Forerunners" would both cease to exist.
In other words, even if Lu Xing did nothing, Finality would be the end.
And if the Emperor wanted to hurry things along, Finality might not even have a chance to appear.
Crack!
An immense force slowly pressed down.
On the surface of the already damaged Keys of God, the Soul Steel bodies were instantly covered in cracks, and then—
CRACK!!
The Soul Steel shattered into a pile of debris. Soul Steel and Honkai energy were complementary. Without the support of Honkai energy, the strength of Soul Steel was not much higher than that of "ordinary" metal.
The Herrscher Cores.
Their existence represented the authority of four Herrschers.
The "Space" and "Lightning" that Lu Xing already commanded would be massively amplified, and he would also gain the abilities of "Wind" and "Ice," which he had not possessed before.
The only problem was that the Herrscher authorities Lu Xing previously held were all incomplete. The only relatively complete one was the Core of Sentience, which was fused with Cheche.
If he were to integrate all four cores into himself at once, he didn't know if the body of a "Honkai Emperor" could withstand such intensity.
Therefore...
Vmm!
The Space-Time Ring was activated once more.
The spatial gate that opened this time was countless times larger than before. Grabbing Sheshe by her black, serpentine tail, Lu Xing fished a completely bewildered Shesha back from afar.
"Sheshe."
"Do you desire power?"