Not even a moment was spent mourning Old Yang. The next one to arrive on the battlefield was Cecilia.
"What… happened here?" Cecilia reached Babylon Tower, but what met her eyes was Welt Yang's already ice-cold corpse, cut into two pieces.
As Schicksal's strongest S-rank Valkyrie, she recognized at a glance that the person before her, reduced to only half a body, was the Anti-Entropy Sovereign and the First Herrscher.
But it was precisely because she understood him that Cecilia knew just how powerful he was. In the past, she had been defeated by him with almost no ability to resist.
Such a powerful person had died so simply right before her eyes.
Cecilia weighed the Abyss Flower in her hand and confirmed that Welt Yang no longer had any signs of life.
A complicated emotion arose in her heart. Her fingers trembled slightly as she reached toward her ear and connected to the front-line command center's communication.
"Report. This is Cecilia. I have arrived near Babylon Tower. The First Herrscher, Anti-Entropy Sovereign, confirmed dead."
When the news of the First Herrscher's death reached the command center, everyone except Shun couldn't help but gasp in shock.
This was the First Herrscher — Schicksal's arch-nemesis for nearly half a century, a powerful enemy that Schicksal had always found extremely troublesome but could do nothing about. Yet he had died like a stray dog by the roadside near Babylon Tower?
They hadn't even had time to observe any battle fluctuations before the Second Herrscher had already killed the First Herrscher?
Shun was not particularly surprised. He simply sighed inwardly, "Old Yang died again…" Sure enough, on the path of fighting against Honkai, there were always people who offered their lives countless times.
"It seems we must raise the danger level of the Second Herrscher…" Someone mentioned it, and it received unanimous agreement from everyone.
"Sister Cecilia, is the First Herrscher's Herrscher Core still inside his body?" A child's voice that did not belong in the combat command center suddenly joined the communication.
Cecilia was stunned for a moment before recognizing the voice. "Little Shun? Why are you there?"
"Little Shun, didn't you promise me you wouldn't cause trouble?" Shigure Kira's slightly embarrassed voice came through.
"Later, Kira. Let little Shun continue speaking." At this moment, Cecilia couldn't be bothered to ask why Shun knew about Herrscher Cores or why he was in the combat command center.
"A Herrscher's Authority comes from the Herrscher Core. Cecilia, check the First Herrscher's corpse for a gem with a strong Honkai energy reaction. If there isn't one, that means it has been taken by the Second Herrscher."
Cecilia did know about Herrscher Cores, but she was mainly puzzled about how Shun knew this. Although it wasn't exactly top secret, how could a nine-year-old child know such things?
Cecilia felt that Shun was hiding many things from her, but there was no time to deal with that now. It wouldn't be too late to ask clearly after she returned.
Following Shun's instructions, Cecilia reached toward Welt Yang's chest and felt around. Unfortunately, on the corpse that had been dead for quite some time, there was no gem containing a large amount of Honkai energy as Shun had described.
"No Herrscher Core was found on the First Herrscher."
"Then please be extra careful when you encounter the Second Herrscher, Sister Cecilia. She may now be able to use the Authority of the Herrscher of Reason, or even more…"
Thinking of the six-core Sirin from the original plot, Shun was somewhat worried that Cecilia would immediately follow in Old Yang's footsteps. Fortunately, Old Yang had a tough life and wouldn't stay dead. Shun had seen him alive and kicking more than a decade later.
"Can the Second Herrscher use the First Herrscher's Authority?" Cecilia found it somewhat unbelievable. Because this civilization had never seen a multi-core Herrscher before, and even the Previous Era had not produced one, they had no concept of multi-core Herrschers at all.
"Actually, my suggestion is still for you to come back first, Sister Cecilia. It would be better for us to discuss this carefully."
Shun felt that since Sirin was currently at least a two-core Herrscher but was still staying obediently in Babylon Tower without causing trouble, it was very likely that the current Sirin did not have the idea of destroying all humanity like in the original plot. Since Sirin did not want to destroy humanity, communication was possible. Although she was a Herrscher, there was no need for everyone to fight to the death.
"But…" Cecilia was still somewhat conflicted. After all, she had gone through great difficulty to reach the location of the Herrscher of the Void, and now she was being asked to return?
The atmosphere in the combat command center fell into a stalemate. Suddenly, a Valkyrie responsible for monitoring the area near Babylon Tower raised her head and said, "I have intercepted a strange electromagnetic wave signal here. After analysis, it was found to be a message sent by the Second Herrscher."
"What is it?" Shun and Cecilia spoke at the same time.
"She said that since the Herrscher of Reason has declared war on her in the name of humanity, she will reciprocate and declare war on humanity in the name of Honkai."
The moment he heard this news, Shun's vision went black and he nearly collapsed onto the cold floor of the command center.
The Herrscher of Negotiation Breakdown — the title was truly well-deserved. Shun had no doubt that Sirin had definitely not had this idea at the very beginning, but Old Yang had probably gone and done something like "in the name of the world, representing all humanity" again…
Shun had been thinking that if Sirin did not have the intention of destroying the world, he could reveal his identity after Cecilia returned, disclose his relationship with Sirin, and try to establish contact with her.
Now that things had turned out this way and Sirin had declared war on humanity, if he revealed his identity at this moment, he was afraid he would be killed as a sacrifice to the flag in the next second.
Although Shigure Kira would most likely still protect him, it would undoubtedly push Shun toward Sirin's camp, and his personal freedom would definitely be restricted afterward.
"So, Sister Cecilia, please come back quickly. It's already very dangerous near Babylon Tower."
"Alright… After I return, you will explain to me how you know all this…" Cecilia said helplessly. At the same time, she had grown somewhat curious about Shun's identity.
After waiting for a long time with no new sound from the other side, Cecilia sensed that something was wrong. "Little Shun? Little Shun? Kira?…"
No matter how Cecilia called out, only chaotic static came from the earpiece. The communication had suddenly been cut off.
"What happened? Why did the communication suddenly cut off?" The combat command center instantly fell into chaos. No one knew why the originally fine communication had suddenly been disconnected.
"Lady Kira… It's… it's a meteorite!" A Valkyrie brought up the satellite monitoring image. At this moment, it was clear that directly above the combat command center, a meteorite approximately five hundred meters in diameter was hurtling toward them at high speed.
It was wrapped in raging flames and endless smoke and dust, falling with astonishing speed. The meteorite was pitch black all over, its surface covered with craters and cracks as if it had experienced countless violent collisions and friction. A layer of scorching heat waves surrounded it, igniting the air wherever it passed and forming streaks of dazzling firelight.
Everyone fell into a dazed state. No one knew how this meteorite had appeared above the front line, but struggling in the face of such god-like power was already meaningless.
Before long, the place was filled with desperate wails. Order had lost all meaning. Even the resolute Valkyries could not help but have mental breakdowns in the face of such a natural disaster-like scene.
"Kira Sister!" Shun searched for Shigure Kira's figure amid the chaotic crowd and finally spotted a blue shadow hiding under a table.
"Little Shun…" Shigure Kira, whose eyes had lost their light, subconsciously pulled Shun into her arms when she saw him.
"I'm sorry. I forgot about you just now. I'm sorry. Kira Sister won't be able to sing for you anymore."
Shun gazed at the Shigure Kira before him, a complex emotion surging in his heart. At this moment, she had completely lost her usual strong and resolute appearance, as if she had turned into a helpless little girl.
If she were on a battlefield filled with smoke and on the brink of life and death, Shigure Kira would definitely fight to the end without retreating until her last breath. However, this was not a battlefield. This was a relatively safe rear area. Caught completely off guard, a meteorite falling from the sky was like the Grim Reaper's declaration, mercilessly foretelling her impending death. Facing such sudden misfortune without sufficient mental preparation, the fear and panic in Shigure Kira's heart gradually took over, making it difficult for her to maintain her usual calm and composure.
Shun slowly reached out and gently placed his hand on Shigure Kira's fair, slender shoulder. His movements were gentle and careful as he spoke in the softest tone, "Don't worry, Kira Sister. The two of us will both survive."
With that, he took out a pink-purple square Honkai energy core and instantly refined it.