"As you can see."
A hemispherical image materialized directly above the heads of the Fire Moth members.
"This is merely a precursor to Finality."
"As for the arrival of the main event... given Haxxor Bunny's current state, we should be able to delay it for about a week. I can extend that to half a month. It's not that I can't make it longer, but doing so would risk Finality's strength once again exceeding our predictions."
Above the Fire Moth base, everyone who had just been in the conference room was brought to the surface by a portal of space-time, greeted by a desolate, hot wind.
The interior space of the underground fortress was clearly insufficient to accommodate the Monarch's true form.
As for the matter of the Monarch having "abducted" Prometheus, Lu Xing, of course, did not mention a word of it. Anything that had passed through the hands of the Herrscher of Domination could only be classified as "confiscated spoils of war" once it reached him. Naturally, there was no question of returning it to its original owner.
Besides, the entirety of Fire Moth now belonged to the Monarch.
To help subordinates retrieve their lost important items... not pursuing their responsibility for losing it in the first place was already the greatest act of mercy.
So said the Monarch.
"About fourteen days."
"Defeat the Herrscher of Finality, and civilization will be preserved. The boundless starry sky will be within your reach."
"But if you fail..."
"It's either direct annihilation or sinking into the Quantum Sea."
"The probability of the latter is low. After all, the 'meaning' of this final, major question is fundamentally different from the previous ones."
The Monarch slowly and precisely articulated the scene this civilization was about to face.
"Twenty million people is not a large number."
"But they can still play a significant role. I have no need for revelers on the brink of death. Compared to ceaseless internal strife, never giving up hope is the most important glimmer of light."
Lu Xing's gaze swept over the fourteen individuals one by one.
"Dr. Mei, the Thirteen Flame-Chasing Heroes."
"...The same should be expected of you."
---o---
After a brief pause, the Monarch continued:
"I have accelerated the birth of the Herrscher of Finality."
Regardless of anything else, Lu Xing's actions against the Twelfth Herrscher of Erosion had indeed hastened the birth of the Herrscher of Finality. This was evident from the network of Honkai energy fissures enveloping the entire planet; Finality was clearly eager to make its debut.
The birth of Herrschers should have intervals, allowing civilization time to breathe and digest the "knowledge from the Herrschers."
This pace would quicken over time, but not to the insane degree it had reached now. From the moment the Monarch returned from the Quantum Sea to the appearance of Finality's harbingers, the Herrschers had appeared as if they were lining up.
All of this...
Was within the Monarch's plan.
"At the same time, I have also locked the 'upper limit' of the Herrscher of Finality."
"It will absolutely be stronger than the combined strength of humanity and the Honkai Beasts right now. It's hard to say to what degree, but the disparity will definitely not exceed double digits. If it did, there would be no need for Finality to appear as an examiner. A gentle puff of Imaginary energy from the Imaginary Space would be enough to annihilate this civilization."
The Monarch's words didn't sound like he was trying to encourage them.
After all, the only one who could consider an "enemy-to-us power gap of less than ten-to-one" as good news was probably the Monarch himself.
"Its power will continue to grow over this half-month."
"But even if its energy reserves experience explosive growth, a leap in its fundamental energy level is now absolutely impossible."
As Lu Xing explained to the members of Fire Moth, he silently added a sentence in his mind:
"Its level is most likely locked at the upper limit of Lv.90."
"Members of Fire Moth."
"The meaning of your existence is to lead your remaining kin to fulfill their mission, at any cost—"
There were things that only humans could accomplish, another chip to add to the wager for victory.
"In the long process of evolution, humanity..."
"Gradually abandoned its fangs and claws."
"The price for this was not to learn how to tear each other apart, but to gain the wisdom to be inclusive and to continuously strengthen your civilization."
"Wisdom is humanity's greatest value and weapon."
Integrating the remaining humans into his civilization was a decision with many considerations. The most important among them was the "wisdom" that Honkai Beasts sorely lacked—to be more precise, it should be called: scientific research capability.
Knowledge transformed into power.
For humans, this required a rather lengthy process.
But for the Monarch, who wielded thirteen Authorities... knowledge could become the most direct form of power without such a troublesome process. Before this knowledge was truly "cashed in," it couldn't even be counted as part of the civilization's "combat strength."
This was also why the Monarch had not yet allowed the eight clones, who were undergoing accelerated learning, to return to his main body.
In any field of study, the initial introductory phase is when one's ability grows the fastest. The foundational parts could be mastered through accelerated learning, but the advanced parts would rely on the power of humanity for further strengthening.
"Well then..."
The Monarch's gaze shifted to Rin, who was mixed in with the Fire Moth members.
"Next up is the prepaid reward."
---o---
[Root Assimilation]
Imaginary energy, accompanied by the [Authority of Origin], surged forth from the divine ring behind the Monarch's head.
Sakura's body was the first to be affected, the first to change. As an Armed Automaton driven by Honkai energy, her body's strength was enhanced, but she had unfortunately lost her keen senses and the ability to enter a Collapsed State.
All of the above would be changed under the Monarch's power. Through the birth of Haxxor Bunny, Lu Xing had already gained some experience in creating a [Machine Species]. Modifying Sakura, who was already halfway to being a Machine Species, was a piece of cake for him.
Enveloped by the swirling Imaginary energy, Sakura's body gradually transformed from purely mechanical modules into a "mechanical-Honkai energy" hybrid structure. Flowing Honkai energy continuously solidified, combining and reshaping with the mechanical parts, gradually forming the internal structure of a human body. The iconic symbol that had vanished—the "fox ears of the spirit"—sprouted once more from the top of Sakura's head.
Soon, the Monarch fulfilled the promise he had once made to Rin.
An advanced individual of the [Machine Species] possessing the power of a [Primordial Species], a half-machine, half-Honkai beast hybrid, appeared before everyone.
Sakura instantly adapted to her large fox state and quickly reverted to her human form—due to the Monarch's excessive Honkai energy, she had gone directly into her Collapsed State. Sakura's Collapsed State appearance was almost identical to Rin's main form, Higokumaru. The only difference was that this large fox, whose fur was a lighter shade of white compared to Higokumaru, had only one, even fluffier-looking tail.
And the name that flashed through the [Analysis], was somewhat unexpected for the Monarch:
[Primordial Species · Higokumaru]