Starlight gathered into a gossamer veil.
The light of a star condensed into a longbow.
Honkai energy, with a power level comparable to Imaginary Energy but colored in the most "primordial" shade of pinkish-purple, swirled quietly around Elysia.
Pink and white.
The most girlish of colors, coalescing behind Elysia into a crystal mirror, which then continued to arrange itself into a ring.
[Divine Ring]
Unlike the Monarch's, which was condensed from twelve Authorities.
Elysia, relying solely on the Authority of "Origin," manifested a Divine Ring on the same energy level. Although its form was slightly different, Lu Xing saw through its nature with a single glance: this was an existence on par with, or even superior to, the [Death Shroud]. This power was enough to annihilate a civilization… or lead one to the stars.
Furthermore.
After transforming into her Herrscher form, her level had risen once again: Lv.83. Lu Xing had originally thought that after reaching the Lv.80 tier, the original progression of a new major tier every 10 levels would still apply.
But that did not seem to be the case.
Although her displayed level was only two basic numbers higher than Lv.81, the aura Elysia now exuded was on a completely different level compared to before.
Simply put.
She could now injure him. That's right, Elysia's "Herrscher State" still did not exceed Lu Xing's predictions. As Elysia, appearing in the form of the "Herrscher of Human," she no longer possessed the ability to communicate with Imaginary Space. In other words, Elysia's own reserves of Honkai energy had a limit… This was also why she would not act unless absolutely necessary.
Elysia's maximum Honkai energy reserves were on the same level as his own, or perhaps slightly weaker. But aside from the "Origin Space" he had already witnessed, she lacked the necessary means for self-preservation and energy replenishment.
A battle between Herrschers.
Unless one could annihilate the other in a single blow, it was a competition of "consumption-versus-recovery" rates…
The faint starlight was not enough to illuminate the dim expanse of space.
But even from such a great distance, Lu Xing could still see Elysia's eyes clearly. In the center of irises as deep blue as the sea, a crystal flower bud had taken root. All her human emotions were hidden deep within these eyes, which were now filled with "divinity":
Clearly visible, yet forever out of reach.
And this…
Was precisely the power Lu Xing wanted to witness.
"Bai."
A clear and pleasant voice traveled from the depths of the starry sky into the Monarch's mind.
Swoosh!!
[Realm of the True Self: Flawless]
The weapon in Elysia's hands changed once more.
The brilliance that shone from it now surpassed even the highest intensity of [Aura].
The bowstring was drawn.
The crystalline Divine Ring floated up from behind her.
Surrounding the longbow, the crystals transformed the weapon into a giant crossbow, taller than a person. The Honkai energy enveloping her body flowed into the Divine Ring-turned-crossbow, and in the next moment, it had bloomed into a radiant flower.
"Try this arrow—"
"Hope."
"Lingering Affection."
"Brilliance."
Of the six crystalline Authorities that had separated from the Divine Ring to form the flower-cluster crossbow bolt, three of them had merged into the body of the arrow!
"Benevolence."
"Warmth."
"Purity."
It wasn't just three!
The Monarch had misjudged its nature. The creation before Elysia was no crossbow; it was, in itself, an arrowhead composed of pure Authority!
"Falling Petals' Instant,"
SWOOSH—!!!
"Fleeting Light and Shadow!"
"Finally, this is more like it."
"If you couldn't even reach this level…"
Watching Elysia standing high above the starry sky, the Monarch, for the first time since his ascension, finally felt what a "threat" was.
But just condensing the arrow in her hand had caused Elysia's newly risen aura to drop significantly.
This single blow would likely consume nearly thirty percent of her energy.
Without a doubt.
For Elysia, who could not replenish her energy in the vacuum of space, this was practically an all-out attack.
The power of this attack was in no way inferior to a shot from the [Weapon God] of the [Divine Machine · Avalon]…
Using it to simply scour the ground would be a waste.
DENG!!
The [Divine Ring] behind the Monarch had already turned the surface of Mars into an ocean of light the moment Elysia entered her Herrscher state.
The beauty of humanity.
It could become the source of power for Elysia's Authority.
Then, correspondingly—
CRACK!!!
Red, cyan, blue, purple.
The Authorities symbolizing the elements rose high.
Without physical form and gracefully ethereal, they simultaneously converged at the four cardinal points of the Divine Ring, forming completely solidified, sharp cones.
The cross of suffering.
The halo of heavenly punishment.
Upon the Divine Ring behind the Monarch's head, dazzling golden flames soared into the void!
"Then—"
"That would be far too boring."
VMMMM—!!!
[Divine Flame Cannon]
This was a destructive attack that gathered the power of four Authorities, with no additional effects—a golden flame condensed into a pillar of light, incinerating all matter in its path.
In terms of single-target power.
The [Divine Flame Cannon] was already his most powerful skill aside from the [Star-Annihilating Cannon], and also his most reliable "conventional" move.
A brilliant pillar of light.
A magnificent arrow.
When the two converged in the low orbit of Mars…
Ding.
All energy converged upon a single point.
Then, infinite light was born from the void—
BOOM!!!!
Evenly matched?
Not at all.
Although the power of their skills had completely canceled each other out, their respective consumption could not be compared. While the [Divine Flame Cannon] used four Authorities to fire, for the Monarch, it consumed just a little over 10% of his Honkai energy.
Compared to Elysia's side…
If they were to exchange blows like this two more times, she wouldn't even need to continue fighting; Elysia could declare her defeat in advance.
Moreover.
What kind of impact the giant firework blooming in space would have on the surrounding celestial bodies, or even the galaxy, Lu Xing did not know.
But this would not hinder the pace of his attack.
The greater the consumption of a move, the longer the preparation and recovery time needed. Since Elysia could not fire in rapid succession, her condition was obviously not at its peak.
Tch!
Illusory lights of Authority surged from behind him.
Intertwining together, they rapidly solidified from illusion into reality, condensing into twelve full arms. The Monarch was naturally very familiar with his former body. Aided by the power of the Authority of Reason, he could very easily replicate this move with his power:
A specialty skill for sneak attacks—
Ultimate Sixth Man · God Fist Pulverizer x12!
Herrschers, after all, fought using a human body. After expending a large amount of Honkai energy on an attack, their defensive capabilities would drop significantly for a short period.
Such an opportunity.
The Monarch would naturally not let it go to waste…
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