I am a hero of the former civilization.

There was no one there, only a crimson cloud, as if it had been set ablaze.

Chapter 271 Prey and Hunter Combined

The sea surged with pale white waves, and in the blink of an eye, the once raging battlefield became quiet.

The frisbee spewed flames, and the black-armored warrior, holding a rather cool-looking rifle, stared at the sea for a good ten seconds before pressing the button on his neck.

Wow.

The mask came off, revealing a rather youthful face. She looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, with light blue hair, purple eyeshadow, and purple lipstick that made her look somewhat eerie.

His slightly chubby face was expressionless, like a cold, lifeless doll.

"The Divine Key hits, the target is silenced, there is no Honkai energy or life reaction."

His voice was very flat, and if it weren't for the sweat sticking his bangs to his forehead, one would think he hadn't been in a fierce battle.

"Floya, are you sure?" Kalis's voice came through the communicator, sounding very serious.

He witnessed the entire battle, and his only impression was that Ryan was ridiculously strong. He was basically fighting against more than 60% of the Fire Moth's strength by himself, and he almost had to take action himself.

If Alicia and the others were to participate, no, even if only two of them came, it could potentially change the world.

"uncertain."

The girl's answer made his heart leap into his throat, and he blurted out, "Then let's find a way to confirm."

“Wayne has already taken his men.” Flora watched as a group of her companions jumped into the sea, then slowly raised her head. “But they’re here, and I haven’t had time to confirm.”

On the horizon, the fiery clouds were becoming more and more prominent, and an even more terrifying Herrscher was approaching, but there was no hatred or fear in the girl's eyes. She only felt that it was too coincidental that the Herrscher had arrived right after she died, without even a chance to check.

She remained suspended in the air, saying nothing, simply waiting for orders.

In fact, she didn't even need to say it; a terrifying shadow had already appeared on the large screen on the Minerva's bridge. Under the surveillance of 'Skynet,' a vortex cloud was approaching, looking like the eye of a storm.

The Herrscher not only arrived, but also arrived at the perfect time. After a night of fighting, one-fifth of the city was reduced to ruins, and the assembled Fusion Warriors were all exhausted, making people wonder if Ryan had made some kind of deal with the Herrscher and truly become a traitor.

But just as this thought crossed my mind, two friendly force identification signals appeared on the screen.

"This is... Captain Kevin and Miss Alicia!"

When CIC's excited tone reached Kalis's ears, it only elicited a knowing smile from him.

How could that man possibly make a deal with a Herrscher? To guard against potential threats, he actually kept those two people on the perimeter.

With them participating, they could have stormed the underground last night; with them there, no one could have stopped them.

Thinking of this, he frowned, feeling that it was too grand and illogical, but he couldn't find an answer no matter how much he thought about it.

'Truly admirable, possessing a spirit of sacrifice and a strong sense of mission. It's a pity those selfish people won't consider your plight.'

His smile turned mocking as he pressed the communication button: "End the search, come back with Wayne, and don't get involved in the battle."

"Your Excellency, now is the time to gather our forces and fight alongside Miss Alicia!"

As soon as Kalis finished speaking, the adjutant raised his voice in protest. The voice was so loud that everyone on the bridge turned around, their faces filled with incomprehension.

That doesn't make sense. We haven't reached the point of desperation yet, so why sit back and watch the tigers fight?

Despite being questioned by everyone, Kalis remained calm and explained, "The Herrscher's arrival was too timely. Who knows if those two were putting on an act? If they were in cahoots with the Herrscher, wouldn't we all be wiped out instantly?"

"Miss Alicia would never betray..."

"Yes! Look at the ruins under our feet. This wasn't done by a Herrscher. Even if there's a misunderstanding, we can't act rashly until we've thoroughly investigated it."

"But......"

“Execute orders. Our mission is to ensure the safety of the council. And think about it: if the poisonous pupae and the remaining fusion warriors are all wiped out, the remaining ones will be powerless to resist. Do you want human civilization to end today?!”

At this point, there's no need to say anything more. No one can bear this responsibility; even the most passionate person needs to calm down.

"But we can't explain this to the soldiers."

Opposition persists, but it has become weak and feeble.

Kalis smiled knowingly: "They'll understand. If all else fails, I'll explain it to them myself. Besides, we're not running away, we're just regrouping. Once it's confirmed that the Herrscher has nothing to do with Dr. Ryan, they'll come to our aid immediately. This is the most rational choice."

His words were perfectly worded, and seeing that there were no more dissenting voices, he glanced at the vast ocean, a hint of worry flashing across his face, which he then forced to cover up with a smile.

"Notify all units to concentrate on this ship, retreat steadily, and first hold the core area!"

The Lawbringer doesn't listen to people, and he's not part of the plan. What can I do?

"What? An order to retreat?"

Vinar received the order with an incredulous look on his face. The Herrscher was right there, and it seemed that Miss Alicia had already gone up to fight. How could they retreat?

Not only him, but all the fusion warriors looked at each other in bewilderment. They had fought for so long without knowing why they were fighting; they were just mechanically following orders.

Moreover, even if some people believe that Dr. Ryan betrayed them, it would be difficult to question Miss Alicia.

How could that person possibly team up with a Herrscher? And what are they up to? Why save such a powerful force for last? If it had come out a few hours earlier, Ryan wouldn't have been able to reach the city center at all.

Rather than a defender, the poisonous pupa is more like a reaper.

"Captain, what do we do now?" Kosmo asked grimly, not believing that Ryan had been driven away so easily.

"We're no longer capable of fighting, and besides, today's battle was inexplicable. I have no interest in fighting to the death. Let's retreat and see what's going on."

Kosmo's lips moved, but seeing his exhausted companions, he could only remain silent.

Was this battle due to Dr. Ryan's aggressive tactics or the unreasonable behavior of the Fire Chaser Council? And how did the Herrscher arrive at the perfect time?

Similar questions lingered in everyone's mind, and just when everyone was feeling uneasy, a flippant voice rang out.

"We won't go to the Minerva; we'll go directly to ground headquarters to await orders."

The soldiers in the ruins turned their heads and saw a tired-looking blond youth.

Coleman arrived, his handsome and flamboyant purple suit crumpled and looking quite disheveled. He had disappeared halfway through the fight last night, but the other three high-ranking fusion warriors were frozen into ice sculptures. His words carried considerable weight.

"The command is..."

"Forget about that. Don't forget I'm the commander-in-chief. And with the Herrscher appearing, recovering our strength as quickly as possible and preparing for a defensive battle is the top priority." Coleman was very serious, no longer the jovial person he usually was.

Still no one took action, and everyone was at a loss. Just then, Werner stepped forward.

"I agree with the major's opinion. Kosmo, take some men and move the ice sculptures of the three gentlemen away."

The commander and deputy commander reached a consensus, and no one said anything after that. Anyway, they were all orders, so it didn't matter whose order they followed.

As the crowd dispersed, Coleman and Werner exchanged a glance. Having worked in different departments, the two had never crossed paths before, but now they saw the recognition in each other's eyes.

In the midst of the chaos, Coleman suddenly waved his hand, then turned and left. Werner remained motionless for a long time, his pupils contracting in a mixture of shock and relief.

With the eyesight of a fusion warrior, he could already see an ice-blue stone in the other's palm, emitting an energy fluctuation similar to that of the ice from last night.

That is the core of the Herrscher!

......

"Hmph, Sakura and the others have already made their move, haven't they?"

After the crew took refuge, the tanker drifted aimlessly like a ghost. On the deck, Alicia walked briskly with her hands behind her back, and even played with the valves with great interest.

The white-haired youth glanced at her, gazing at the approaching fiery clouds in the sky: "According to Dr. Mebius, Major Andevich should take action. According to the plan, he should contact Major Coleman and use their friendship and the Herrscher's corpse to do ideological work."

"Plus, Ryan will be focusing his attention on the other fusion warriors, which will allow an important force to remain neutral. Hey, are you even listening?"

Kevin's lips were dry from talking, but when he saw Alicia dodge backward in fright at the gushing oil, he was furious.

"I'm listening, I'm listening. What a brilliant plan. No wonder they came up with it." The girl nodded perfunctorily, then flashed in front of Kevin and carefully examined him with her hands behind her back.

"what are you doing?"

"Kevin, are you a little nervous?"

The young man's eye twitched. The unprecedentedly powerful Seventh Herrscher and Sixth Herrscher were right in front of him. It would be strange if he wasn't nervous. So he took a half step back.

“There’s one thing I’m more worried about: May. She’s inside headquarters, and she doesn’t have the ability to protect herself.” Kevin clenched his fists, his whole body trembling slightly. If Ryan hadn’t stopped him, he would have gone to the meeting alone long ago.

They can run away at any time if they can't win, but Mei is the most dangerous. If those people are related to the Herrschers and have betrayed humanity, they will definitely kill her.

The thought of not being by his side, and of Mei covered in blood, filled Kevin with murderous intent.

Alicia could sense the concern, and patted Kevin on the shoulder in a mature manner: "Don't worry, Ryan planned the whole thing. Didn't he guarantee that May wouldn't get into trouble?"

"But this level of difficulty..."

"Don't you believe him?"

Kevin stared at Alicia, who looked completely relaxed, for a long time before nodding as if he had made up his mind.

"letter."

"That's settled then. Trust him and we'll get our work done. Hmm, it's been a while since I fought a Herrscher." Alicia skipped away lightly, doing chest-expanding exercises. "What are you waiting for? I don't want to wait until Hua and the others arrive before we can resolve this."

The entire plan unfolded the moment the battle began, just as Kevin didn't know how many steps the plan involved, but as Alicia said—

Roaring flames fell from above, as if to engulf the entire sea, and the white-haired youth, standing like a javelin, raised his fist.

Trust Ryan and do your job well.

..............

It finally started.

At the same moment, deep underground, a mirror reflected the data on a screen.

It was noisy outside, but Mei was still summarizing the observation data of the imaginary space, as if she had nothing to do with anything else.

She didn't need to inquire about the situation; the rollercoaster-like collapse reaction had already given her a general idea, and combined with the intelligence she had overheard, she could even summarize the plan:

The first step is to wage war with an aggressive attitude. The council's orders can be carried out by the Fusion Warriors, but the reasons are not sufficient.

The second step is to launch a surprise attack with the strongest forces, but the speed must not be too fast, so as to force those people to reveal their trump cards.

Third, if the Herrscher comes, try to escape and let Alicia stop him, because the Herrscher is their master, and these people will never attack with all their might. They are more likely to find an excuse to sit back and watch.

The fourth step involves taking advantage of the Fusion Warriors' confusion by having Andevich appear with the Herrscher's corpse, keeping them neutral and laying the groundwork for controlling the entire Moth of Flames later.

Step 5...

Thinking of this, Mei slowly took off her glasses. She didn't know what to do next, but at least she got to this point smoothly, which was quite remarkable.

This has nothing to do with IQ, but rather with the control over human nature.