Sheshe was pulled back.
The battle at The Flame-Chasers' base had progressed at an incredibly fast pace; at this moment, Sheshe and Wangxiang—both Honkai Beasts—were still locked in a back-and-forth fight with Griseo and Kosma.
Overload Metamorphosis had pushed Griseo and Kosma's strength to the peak Emperor-class level.
However, as they hadn't undergone Artificial Honkai Eruption yet, there was still a certain gap between them and the Judgement-class. Sheshe alone could handle one of them with a clear advantage, but unfortunately, its newly acquired subordinate, Wangxiang, was just dragging it down.
With both sides combined, they were truly evenly matched.
Just then.
A Space-Time Crystal, suddenly re-tasked by an external command, directly transformed into a spatial gate, pulling Sheshe and Wangxiang, who was nearby, away.
Next.
This was why Sheshe wore a completely bewildered expression.
The Emperor's speed was far greater than it had imagined. Sheshe hadn't even spent half the anticipated time on its task, yet its Boss had already returned, bringing back the enemy's 'crystal'—the Herrscher Core. Sheshe was all too familiar with the Herrscher Core emanating lightning fluctuations floating beside the Emperor.
On a side note.
Wangxiang, dangling in the air, was nearly scared to death at this moment: a colossal Honkai Beast that even its newly acknowledged big brother had to treat with extreme caution; a vast and mighty Honkai Beast legion, countless times stronger than its own ragtag army...
All of this made Wangxiang afraid to even breathe loudly.
Sharing the same feeling was Pontos, who had been dropped on the ground (this land tortoise was too heavy). Lu Xing's "recall" wasn't just used on Sheshe; it had also pulled back Cheche from the distant Atlantic Ocean, along with the only other Honkai Beast signature detected nearby Pontos.
Cheche was not in good condition.
The time was short, and it had only defended without attacking—despite such caution, the battle with Kevin had still inflicted extremely severe injuries on Cheche. Its most prominent lightning-bolt-shaped horn was even broken by a third.
Fortunately, as long as there was enough Honkai energy, these injuries could be healed.
Cheche was actually one of the luckier ones.
The Honkai Beasts that had launched the attack from the North Sea, aside from Pontos, the other two—Nereus and Thaumas—along with their three massive Honkai Beast legions, had all been wiped out by Kevin as if he were chopping melons and cutting vegetables.
Considering the losses in North America, South America, East Asia, and Africa...
Apart from Wangxiang and Pontos.
All other Emperor-class Honkai Beasts seemed to have been completely eliminated by the Fusion Warriors, in coordination with elite human forces.
The losses were not small.
But their sacrifices were worth it.
"Sheshe."
"Do you desire power, hmm?"
————
Sheshe definitely desired power.
However, the current Sheshe was very clear-headed:
All power comes with a corresponding price.
"The Herrscher of Thunder's Core?"
"That's right."
"...Perhaps more than just that."
Its cautious question received an affirmative answer.
A Herrscher Core was naturally a good thing. In terms of potency, it was definitely far more powerful than the Pseudo-Herrscher Core Sheshe had recently consumed.
But!
The nature of these two things was completely different!
A Pseudo-Herrscher Core not yet filled with Honkai energy was like candy; eating it could bring joy. A Herrscher Core, possessing the power of an Authority, was like a grand feast – delicious, but if you couldn't stomach it, it could kill you from overeating!
Cheche had indeed successfully absorbed a Herrscher Core, but its form was, after all, different from normal Honkai Beasts. Sheshe had no confidence it could absorb the core's power so easily.
Even without this method.
As long as it continued to follow the Emperor for a while longer, returning to the Judgement-class was a certainty, set in stone.
Moreover.
Although the possibility was small, what if this was a trial given by the Emperor...
"No, no, no."
"A Herrscher Core is too precious."
"This item, it should still be used by you, Emperor... I only need to share a tiny bit of your great power, like the Four War Temples."
"..."
"As you wish."
Sheshe's personality.
Compared to the great serpent that would start a fight at the slightest disagreement when they first met, who knew what kind of mental journey it had gone through to become so overly cautious now.
Sheshe was unwilling.
Lu Xing didn't force it.
After all, his initial idea was to let Sheshe, who possessed the [Infinity] ability, try to integrate a Herrscher Core into its body to see where the upper limit of this level lay.
Although he himself could do it.
But the Honkai energy consumed each time he revived was too much. Letting Sheshe experiment could save a large amount of Honkai energy.
As for now—
Swoosh.
The Core of the Herrscher of Void slowly flew to Lu Xing's side.
As it was the attribute he was most familiar with, and he had already mastered part of the Herrscher of Void's authority, Lu Xing felt that trying this core first should be the most suitable.
As for how to absorb it...
Crack!
The pitch-black crystals began to continuously open along straight fissures on his body.
One layer, two layers... behind nearly twenty layers of "armor," Lu Xing, for the first time without any reservation, revealed his own Honkai Crystal:
A golden, hexahedral crystal body, emitting the aura of four authorities and engraved with inscriptions.
Swoosh!
At the same time his Honkai Crystal was exposed, the Herrscher of Void's Core floating before Lu Xing slowly bloomed with a profound black radiance.
Simultaneously.
On one of the faces of his Honkai Crystal, on the red polyhedron interwoven with lines, an identical color began to flow.
The radiances attracted each other.
The Herrscher of Void's Core accelerated from slow to fast.
Until it transformed into a streak of light, like a young swallow returning to its nest, and shot straight into the Honkai Crystal, disappearing from sight!
Ding!
"Detected that the wielder is fusing with a 'Herrscher Core' for the first time."
"Based on the type of Herrscher Core, your skills [Teleport] and [Traverse] have merged and advanced to [Warp Drive]. Your skill [Space-Time Rend] has advanced to [Phase Shift]."
"Achievement 'Emperor's Authority' completed."
"You have unlocked a new ability: [Divine Key Transformation]."
"[Divine Key Transformation: Temporarily transforms an avatar / a subordinate sharing the main body's authority into a corresponding weapon form. Activating/maintaining this ability consumes a large amount of Honkai energy. Requirement: Achievement 'Monarch' activated; Requirement: Achievement 'Regicide' activated; Requirement: Achievement 'Hero of Salvation' activated.]"
————
His level did not increase.
His stats did not increase.
However, the two skills granted to Lu Xing by the authority, [Phase Shift] and [Warp Drive], were definitely Bug-level abilities:
"[Phase Shift: Deflect attacks, banish target]"
"[Warp Drive: Unrestricted spatial movement within perception range]"
At the same time.
After the Herrscher of Void's Core merged with his Honkai Crystal, Lu Xing could clearly feel that the channel to Imaginary Space established by [Imaginary Link] had become twice as wide as before!
In other words.
Even without relying on the Honkai energy rift, Lu Xing's own Honkai energy recovery speed had also reached a considerably high level.
And all of this, actually... he felt nothing amiss.
That's right.
Absorbing the Herrscher of Void's Core did not cause Lu Xing any discomfort.
He didn't know if it was an illusion, but even with the remaining three Herrscher Cores floating before his eyes... Lu Xing felt that he could devour all of them in one go, and it would seemingly be more than easy?
—
Swoosh!!