After Durandal fell, Wendy immediately raised her hand, and a terrifying wind pressure pinned her tightly to the ground.
This scene meant that, in this mission, she had just made the biggest fool of herself since joining Schicksal as a Valkyrie.
But not a single person who witnessed this moment laughed, nor did anyone secretly gloat in their hearts. Because even without looking at the device data, just by observing the cracked ground around them, you could tell that under such pressure, an ordinary person would have been completely obliterated—without even a corpse left. The fact that Durandal simply couldn’t stand up only further proved that she was, without a doubt, a superhuman.
“Your Holiness, the analysis is complete. The results show that the invisible, barrier-like layer surrounding the Herrscher of Wind possesses all the characteristics of an ideal fluid.”
Otto took a deep breath, realizing that his understanding of the Herrscher of Wind was still far too shallow.
Although, based on the knowledge from the Void Archives, Otto knew that the Herrscher of Wind’s most formidable ability was creating ideal fluids.
But the problem was, this was something that normally only existed in theory. Before seeing it with one’s own eyes, anyone would have doubts. Not to mention that, from the Previous Era to the present, there had been three Herrschers of Wind, and only Wendy had actually managed to create an ideal fluid.
In the Previous Era, Kosma—who wasn’t even a MANTIS yet—had jumped into the eye of the storm with a bomb. With Kevin’s help, the Herrscher of Wind was severely wounded, and after devastating a small town, was finally eliminated by the Flame-Chasers. Kosma himself survived just fine.
In the current era, the Herrscher of Wind was gravely wounded by Cecilia’s shot and then finished off by the Herrscher of Corruption.
A person’s perception of someone or something comes from how much they know about it. Humanity’s only two recorded encounters with the Herrscher of Wind had led Otto to develop the false impression that “the Herrscher of Wind is weak.”
And now, if there was any good news, it was that Wendy hadn’t fully mastered the use of ideal fluids yet. She was only using them defensively, not offensively.
After all, when it comes to ideal fluids in physics, if they could exceed the speed of light, they could theoretically slice through a black hole. Even if the Herrscher of Wind couldn’t reach light speed, dozens of times the speed of sound would still be enough to cut through anything Schicksal’s technology could produce.
Currently, the only viable solution discussed among Schicksal’s higher-ups was this:
Do everything possible to stall the Herrscher of Wind until her Honkai energy runs out.
Unlike the Herrscher of the Void, the Herrscher of Wind theoretically has a limited amount of Honkai energy to use. And as long as a Herrscher uses their authority, they will inevitably consume Honkai energy.
The problem now was that the abnormal weather had already crossed the equator. Even if they could hold out until her energy ran out, the global atmospheric circulation would have long since descended into chaos. By then, the question wouldn’t be anything else—it would be how many habitable places would even remain.
“The only solution you all brainstormed and discussed can’t even be realized.”
A familiar, grating voice rang out. On the screens of every electronic device at Schicksal headquarters, a single red eyeball appeared.
Enoxia replied unhurriedly:
“Let me give you all some good news. The Wendy right now isn’t even the Herrscher of Wind’s strongest form. If you follow your brilliant reasoning just now, Wendy is only going to get stronger.”
“Right now, even going all out, she can only control global ocean currents and, in the Pacific Ocean, manually whip up dozens of typhoons that precisely avoid mountain ranges.”
“Once Wendy reaches the next level, the range and mass of fluids she controls will undergo a qualitative leap. Let me think… at that point, will she flood the Earth’s mantle with seawater, causing the planet to lose its magnetic field? Or will she channel airflow into outer space, reducing the atmosphere’s thickness to a fraction of what it is now? Either way, you all know the consequences far better than I do.”
“Hmm… let me make a prediction. Hearing my tone, many of you are probably silently criticizing me in your hearts, saying that I have the power to act, yet here I am, just talking sarcastically.”
Hearing this, quite a few people’s hearts skipped a beat, and they silently lowered their heads.
“Remember this: whenever you sincerely hope that a Herrscher will solve the problem of Honkai, it only proves one thing—that at this moment, Schicksal, from top to bottom, is filled with useless good-for-nothings.”
At these words, many gritted their teeth, struggling to suppress their rising anger.
“Not convinced? Eliminating Honkai and protecting humanity is Schicksal’s duty, not a Herrscher’s. If Schicksal’s duty requires a Herrscher to carry it out, what else would you call them if not useless?”
Otto, whose gaze had been fixed on the screen the entire time, finally spoke:
“What are your terms?”
He understood that if the Herrscher of Corruption really didn’t intend to eliminate Wendy, she wouldn’t be mocking Schicksal right now. She would simply mind her own business and stay aloof.
“It seems Schicksal’s Overseer is as clever as ever. But unfortunately, what I can’t obtain, Schicksal has no ability to obtain either. So you don’t even have the qualifications to negotiate terms with me.”
By this point, Otto had fully regained his usual composure:
“But you’re still going to eliminate her.”
“Correct. Because there are people in this world worth saving.”
The red eyeball vanished, and all the devices at Schicksal headquarters returned to normal.
World Serpent Headquarters.
“What were you doing just now?”
“Letting Schicksal know not to take my help for granted. Don’t worry. As agreed, if Kevin fails to gain an overwhelming advantage within three moves, I’ll step in. I haven’t forgotten.”
A portal opened at World Serpent headquarters. Enoxia knew that Sirin was ready.
Over New Zealand.
Sirin teleported behind Wendy and brought Enoxia out.
Flush with consecutive victories, Wendy dismissed her new opponent with contempt and charged straight at her.
“What a shame. An ideal fluid is the strongest shield on a physical level. That means it can only block physical damage.”
“Whether it’s me or the Herrscher of Sentience, when we harm someone, we don’t need direct contact at the molecular level.”
The moment Enoxia stepped out of the portal, she projected her own consciousness onto Wendy’s body.
“If what makes the Herrscher of Wind so terrifying is that she knows too much…”
“Then isn’t the problem solved if I turn her back into an idiot who doesn’t even know what an ideal fluid is?”
