"I thought you would just park the destroyer directly in Nagazora. Why stop out here in the outskirts?"
Just as Theresa had said, the destroyer was fast and reached its destination in no time. Hua Yi jumped down from the vessel and scanned their surroundings, posing the question as he looked back at her.
"The Department of Science sent over a concentration map of Honkai Energy in Nagazora. The levels are lowest here, which means the number of Zombies and Honkai Beasts will be at their minimum.
After we land, we just need to activate the destroyer's Optical Camouflage. If we were inside Nagazora, the commotion of the landing might attract too much attention, and we'd be forced into endless combat."
"As expected of Principal Theresa, your considerations are quite thorough."
Facing Hua Yi's praise, Theresa put her hands on her hips and tilted her head up smugly.
"That's only natural. By the way, since your injuries haven't fully healed yet, just stay behind me. It's the perfect chance to let you witness the power of the [Oath of Judah]. That way, you'll stop being so disrespectful to your Principal you even dared to threaten me before."
I'm sorry, but if it's necessary, I'll dare to do it again.
Hua Yi grumbled a retort in his mind but was happy to take it easy. Carrying the Nitrogen Crystal Sword on his back, he followed behind Theresa, watching as she used the [Oath of Judah] in the most brutal manner possible.
The original intention of the Pre-Civilization when they created the [Oath of Judah] was likely for successors to use it as a gun-like ranged weapon. Hidden within that giant cross were several spears connected by chains, capable of generating a Honkai Energy barrier that created a wide and powerful interference field.
Whether used for direct attacks or for binding Honkai Beasts, it was an excellent choice. The spears connected by chains also allowed the user to switch between long-range and close-quarters combat at will.
Theresa, however, was currently engaged in melee. She wasn't using the spears inside the [Oath of Judah] at all; instead, she was swinging the giant cross like a massive blunt instrument to smash anything in her path.
Thanks to the consistent sturdiness of the [Oath of Judah], the Zombies who were roughly the size of normal humans were utterly defenseless before the giant cross. They were shattered into pieces in an instant. Theresa made no attempt to restrain her strength,
letting the [Oath of Judah] crash down repeatedly, leaving the hardened ground riddled with craters. Before long, the path Theresa had walked looked as miserable as if it had been subjected to a missile saturation strike.
Without a doubt, Theresa's strength was not to be underestimated. She was also a total agent of violence.
Didn't she just say landing outside the city was to avoid attracting the attention of Zombies and Honkai Beasts? What's with this blatant display of total destruction now?
Watching the Zombies swarm forward only to be reduced to ash under Theresa's swinging cross, Hua Yi suddenly felt a sense of tragic irony, like moths flying into a flame.
"So, where is this Pseudo-Herrscher?"
"Pseudo-Herrscher" was the term used for high-level beings that possessed abilities similar to a Herrscher but were inferior in rank. If left to develop, a Pseudo-Herrscher had the potential to grow into a true Herrscher.
Hearing Hua Yi's question, Theresa glanced at the real-time Honkai Energy map updating on her electronic device.
"...At Chiba Academy."
Hua Yi raised an eyebrow at the name of the location.
"There shouldn't be any survivors at Chiba Academy. In fact, there shouldn't be any in all of Nagazora. Everyone is supposed to have been evacuated."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. That's why this Pseudo-Herrscher is so suspicious. Perhaps the residual Honkai Energy selected a specific Zombie and transformed it. If that's the case, we must eliminate it without mercy."
Theresa's subtext was clear: if the one who became the Pseudo-Herrscher wasn't a Zombie completely eroded by the Honkai driven only by thoughts of destruction but a normal human instead, they had to find a way to save them.
Currently, three Herrschers had appeared in the world. While the Second Herrscher had caused a terrible disaster with far-reaching consequences, the First Herrscher and the Third Herrscher had both sided with humanity.
When calculated carefully, more than half of the Herrschers had "defected." This fact had caused Theresa to change her original plan of eliminating any Herrscher on sight; she now hoped to make Herrschers part of the force fighting against the Honkai.
Theresa's shift in perspective was largely due to the critical role Hua Yi had played.
"I know."
Hua Yi nodded.
By now, the majority of the large Honkai Beasts in Nagazora had already been wiped out by Hua Yi. The residual Zombies, transformed from the elderly or the infirm, were weak. According to Theresa,
truly powerful Zombies possessed various special abilities high-speed movement, summoning, parrying, and so on but the Zombies in Nagazora were only capable of the most basic attacks, and thus posed no real obstacle.
The two of them soon arrived at Chiba Academy.
Once, this place had been filled with youthful and lovely students, but after the Honkai outbreak, it had rapidly become a hollow complex of buildings. Because the evacuation effort in Nagazora had been handled relatively well,
the number of Zombies in Chiba Academy was actually much lower than in other parts of the city. Back when Raiden Mei escaped from here, she hadn't encountered much difficulty.
But now, Chiba Academy had undergone a massive change.
"How did it become like this?"
Looking at the scene before her, Theresa's face was filled with shock and suspicion.
Chiba Academy had turned into a dense forest. The buildings within were covered in thick vines. It was hard to imagine such a scene appearing in just a few days or even hours; it looked more like an ancient ruin that had been forgotten by humanity for centuries.
"When things are this abnormal, there's bound to be a demon afoot. The Pseudo-Herrscher's ability might be related to these plants. Be careful."
Hua Yi had already gripped the greatsword that was previously on his back, his expression one of extreme vigilance.
Originally, Theresa wanted to tell Hua Yi to relax. She had fought against fully matured Herrschers, after all; facing a mere Pseudo-Herrscher shouldn't pose much of a risk. But remembering that too many unexpected things had already happened during this Third Impact, Theresa held her tongue. She took a deep breath and stepped inside with Hua Yi.
Almost the very moment they entered the grounds of Chiba Academy.
The forest revolted.
🚨 Note: Consider supporting this story on Patreon.com/Flokixy to access 400+ advance chapters and 2 new chapters daily! (Full story bundles also available without a subscription).