The horrifying Honkai energy condensed before everyone's eyes, and the black sphere suddenly expanded, engulfing them all.
The next moment, the "Herrscher of Sentience" clenched her fingers together, crushing the black energy ball in her hand. An invisible force accompanied her action, pressing down on everyone as if they were suddenly submerged in the depths of the ocean, with even the air compressing their bodies.
Kiana and Siegfried's faces flushed red as they staggered back a few steps, relying on their physical resilience to withstand the compression. However, Elysia and Sakura, with uncertain statuses, merely looked disheveled but continued their attacks without pause.
But Luo Lin was different. Her vision blurred, and she spat out a large clot of blood, causing everyone to gasp in alarm.
"Mom!?"
"Cecilia!"
"Luo Lin!"
Compared to Siegfried and Kiana, who had naturally tough physiques, and Elysia and Sakura, whose status was uncertain, her constitution was the weakest among everyone present.
After all, Luo Lin didn't have any bloodline bonuses or MANTIS enhancements. In the end, she was just an ordinary Valkyrie. With this lower base attribute, even with the blessing of Stigmata and Edge of Taixuan. Her defense could only be described as "paper-like," relying solely on her high recovery ability to sustain herself in battle.
If anyone could see Luo Lin's health bar during the previous fight, they would have noticed it fluctuating like an elevator, enough to make one's heart race.
The "Herrscher of Sentience's" ultimate almost depleted Luo Lin's health bar. At low health, the girl almost fainted. Fortunately, the passive recovery granted by the Stigmata slightly restored some health, pulling her consciousness back in time.
"...You stay behind and support us with Black Abyss White Flower. I'll engage her," Siegfried ran past Luo Lin, leaving her with a complicated glance, then wielded the Cleaver of Shamash to duel with the enemy.
I need to find a way to increase my constitution and raise my maximum health...
Luo Lin raised her Ranger Cannon again, spraying gunfire at the "Herrscher of Sentience." She triggered her recovery passive, pulling her health back into the safe zone. Then, she followed Siegfried's instructions and stationed herself in the rear, projecting the power of Creation onto others, healing their injuries, and dispelling fatigue.
Clang clang!
By now, the "Herrscher of Sentience" had transformed. A red-black semi-transparent cloak draped behind her, and the box originally used to store weapons was now wielded as a giant sword, swinging with tremendous force!
Siegfried gritted his teeth as he clashed with the grey-haired girl, noticing the formidable power behind her attacks. His arms tingled from the impact, and despite several rounds of direct clashes between his Cleaver of Shamash and her weapon box, there was no damage. The white-haired man had to abandon his idea of using the Divine Key to destroy her weapon, instead opting to retreat temporarily to ease the pressure on himself.
During Siegfried's retreat, Elysia rushed forward with her bow and arrows, taking over the role of suppression. Pink streaks of light bounced around, even tracing eerie arcs in the air, launching attacks at the enemy from extremely cunning angles.
However, this have little effect on the "Herrscher of Sentience." She simply lifted her giant sword, seemingly exerting all her strength to hack down viciously. The shockwaves from her weapon box shattered and blew away all the arrows.
Boom! Boom!
Continuing her relentless assault, the shockwaves flew towards the direction of her hacking, each one more powerful than the last. Even Siegfried, who had slightly eased the pressure, dared not confront her head-on at this moment. Everyone was dodging the shockwaves she generated, and the situation became extremely chaotic.
"Why do I feel like... that's me?"
'Fu Hua' turned her brain, trying to think hard. "Is it an illusion caused by the Herrscher of Sentience using Fenghuang Down? No, I often use the Divine Key and have developed a high resistance to mental attacks, so I shouldn't be unaware of mental attacks... Huh?!"
'Fu Hua' stared fixedly at the black figure laughing maniacally and hacking at the ground. The feathers swirling around her were bouncing like a boat navigating through turbulent waves, emitting a faint light.
Why isn't she using the Key of Sentience?
A strange feeling arose in 'Fu Hua' heart. She avoided another shockwave and watched the situation with the feathers closely. As an experienced driver of Fenghuang Down for many years, she was sure the opponent had no intention of using the Divine Key.
Is she unwilling to use it? Or... she can't?
'Fu Hua' became excited. She seized the opportunity, dashed forward, and bypassed Siegfried's crimson sword, as well as the barrage from Sakura and Elysia, using her fists to shatter the scattered winds.
In the astonished eyes of the "Herrscher of Sentience," she grabbed the Fenghuang Down.
"How dare you?!"
"Snap!"
The next moment, 'Fu Hua' was ruthlessly sent flying by the giant sword, rolling on the ground several times.
Luo Lin hurried over, scooping up Senti in her arms and awkwardly avoiding the incoming Honkai energy shockwaves. At the same time, she concentrated the power of Creation on Senti's outstretched hand, striving to heal this reckless person.
"Cough... Ha... Turns out she can't use it. She can't use the Fenghuang Down... Despite that, how dare she claim to be the Herrscher of Sentience..."
'Fu Hua' blinked, raising her fist. Bright light radiated from her fingertips, piercing through the space shrouded in black mist!
In that instant, 'Fu Hua' felt herself floating up again, re-entering that mysterious third-person perspective. Her gaze pierced through the space, even breaking through all illusions.
She emerged from Luo Lin's head and looked at the empty room, where Fu Hua lay on the bed, her face peaceful.
There, two feathers floated, one identical to the corroded Fenghuang Down in Senti's hand, and the other completely black, shimmering with a red light.
The fluctuations emanating from it were exactly the same as the one from the self-proclaimed Herrscher of Sentience!
"Aha, your power source is here!"
She reached out and grabbed the black feather.
Senti originally intended to destroy it directly, but unexpectedly, the black feather swooped into her body with a swish, spinning and frolicking inside her, as if returning home.
"What's going on?"
Immediately after, the consciousness of the Herrscher of Sentience returned to the battlefield, and the black feather also appeared in her body, continuously providing energy to her.
She blinked, hugged Luo Lin's neck, and sat up, glaring at the triumphant grey-haired girl as it realized she had established an invisible connection with that so-called Herrscher of Sentience.
So she lightly moved her wrist.
Siegfried watched as "The Herrscher of Sentience's" arm suddenly trembled, the giant sword "Sentience" struck with its shockwave deviated from its path, flying off somewhere unknown.
The "Herrscher of Sentience" furrowed her brow, her arm twitching again, and she glared angrily at 'Fu Hua', who was nestled in Luo Lin's embrace who was swinging her arms with interest.