Bang!
The sound of the gunshot echoed, and the suddenness of it sent the church into instant silence.
Ryan didn't bother looking at the reactions of the congregation; his focus remained on the priest who had just been shot in the head.
The priest flew backward, his hood lifted to reveal the face of an ordinary middle-aged man. His eyes were frozen, still showing the shock of the moment. Then, with a loud crash, he slammed into the pulpit.
He... died?
Ryan widened his eyes in disbelief, yet there was no explosive retaliation, nor did anything strange occur. The priest, just like an ordinary human, took the bullet and died instantly.
Ding, ding.
The smoking bullet casings hit the ground, their clear, crisp sounds breaking the silence, and soon, a flood of malevolent thoughts erupted from all directions.
"What have you done?!"
"You killed the priest!"
In an instant, men, women, and children charged at him, some drawing guns, others raising their fists, their faces twisted with rage.
Bang, bang, bang.
Ryan raised his hand and fired. Two shots struck bodies, one hitting the torso, the other the head. Then, he expanded his mental energy outward.
"Quiet!"
The power originating from his Mocha ability worked wonders on ordinary people. The enraged crowd immediately froze, some losing consciousness, while others glared at Ryan with murderous intent, their eyes burning with a desire to tear him apart.
Ryan ignored the fury, stepping forward slowly. He gazed at the body in the blood pool with a sense of realization.
If this was a Herrscher, it was incredibly weak—a single bullet took it down?
No, that feeling… it's still here. He didn't die?
Ryan steps faltered as he watched the priest's body—struck in the forehead—suddenly jerk back to life. The movement was stiff, like a puppet being pulled by invisible strings.
It was rigid and unnatural, but it was quick.
In the blink of an eye, the priest, who had been five or six meters away, was now right in front of Ryan. The priest swiftly grabbed a sharp candlestick and aimed it directly at Ryan chest.
Far beyond human speed, but still not enough to challenge me.
Ryan instinctively rolled backward, feeling the candlestick swish past him. He raised his hand and squeezed the trigger.
Bang, bang, bang...
The bullets hit precisely—one taking off half of the priest's head, another piercing through his elbow and heart. However, the priest reacted like a lifeless corpse—still charging toward Ryan, ready to kick him in the chest.
Ryan shifted his body sideways, grabbing the foot that swept past him. With a powerful twist of his waist, he sent the priest soaring into the dome of the church, bouncing back from the ceiling like a gecko.
Stronger than a Death Trooper, but still too weak. I didn't even need to use my authority.
In an instant, Ryan made his decision. He watched the candlestick hit the floor, creating a shallow dent in the ground, then took another step forward, kicking the priest hard in the chest.
Bang—Boom!
A row of benches shattered into splinters, and the wall was dented with a large hole, making the dim church considerably brighter. Ryan switched to a fresh magazine and looked at the dust rising from the chaos.
The priest, now like a hound, lay on the ground, his head twisted at a 90-degree angle in a grotesque position.
A youthful version of the Herrscher of Death? No, it seemed like he had no signs of body regeneration.
Ryan wasn't panicked. There was no such thing as an immortal monster. If there were, it simply meant the force exerted wasn't strong enough. If he used his authority to break him down at the atomic level or slice him into meat paste, would he still retain any fighting ability?
But Ryan chose not to do that. It wasn't time to reveal everything yet.
They exchanged brief glances, and the priest lunged again. His limbs moved so fast they left afterimages, and he leaped left and right as though his broken bones had no effect.
Ryan slightly bent his knees, then swiftly took half a step back, narrowly avoiding the priest's manic assault. He pulled a grenade from his waist.
Ding.
The pin was pulled, and Ryan quickly stuffed it into the priest's mouth, delivering a powerful kick to his chest before narrowing his pupils.
Whoosh—Boom!!
A black blade sliced through the air in front of him, followed by an explosion that created a fireball in the distance. Shrapnel and blood splattered everywhere, but Ryan lowered his head.
A deep gash appeared on his chest. His bulletproof vest cracked in the center, falling to the ground. The long, narrow scar was one Ryan recognized well.
It was like a knife—no, a very sharp blade—that had cut through the material. The Kevlar fibers, bulletproof inserts, and even the spare magazines were all sliced into two along that cut. If Ryan hadn't reacted quickly, he might have been sliced in half along with his body.
What was that? It felt like a laser knife. Not only did it cut through materials, but it also sliced through my Honkai energy.
Ryan blinked, realizing that while the Honkai energy he released wasn't a lot, it wasn't something easily broken. At least it could resist a direct hit from a machine gun.
At that moment, a swarm of armed figures charged in, and the sound of rifle bolts being pulled back echoed. Yet, Ryan didn't even glance at them—he continued walking forward.
The wall had been blasted open, and dismembered body parts were scattered everywhere. The priest finally stopped getting up to attack, and the Herrscher's aura had vanished.
He fled. This body wasn't his.
Ryan wasn't an idiot. Of course, he knew that a single grenade couldn't kill a Herrscher. Thinking about it, he found something strange about this authority.
No, the previous Herrschers still followed some physical principles, but the later ones were fundamentally unscientific. They were purely in the realm of theology.
He thought of the Herrscher of Knowledge, the Herrscher of Constraint, and others, whose authorities couldn't be explained by science. He couldn't help but spit in disdain.
I hate mysticism.
Ryan turned around, coldly staring at the barrels of guns and the man approaching him—exactly the same man he had encountered in the town the day before.
The burly man swallowed, recognizing the man in the mask. The chaotic church now seemed utterly incomprehensible to him.
A section of the wall had been blown apart, and grotesque blood and flesh lay scattered everywhere. Yet, dozens of madmen stood expressionless, like spectators at a show.
These were the humanoid monsters of the Fire Moth, secretly sneaking around to investigate something!
Realization struck, and the burly man knew Ryan identity. His muscles instinctively tensed. He was no stranger to these monsters—he had seen several people run into them before, only to be crushed like a hundred-man army in a circus act.
"You..."
"His nonsense was getting on my nerves, so I shot him. Looks like my luck isn't great; this thing isn't even human." Ryan tilted his head slightly, responding with simple bluntness.
In this world, if you're annoyed, just shoot someone. A coincidence had led to a major event.
"He doesn't look like a The Afflicted or a Honkai Beast. Do you know what this thing is?"
"Uh, no idea." The burly man quickly shook his head. He figured that was strange and immediately forced a smile. "Do you need me to do anything for you?"
"The signal here is terrible. I can only use a satellite phone. Do you know where I can directly contact New York? I need to send images and data back. Don't worry, this will benefit you. If the Fire Moth takes control, some of you may get residency rights."
But I don't want to be a dog for them. And New York? He's from the Fire Moth's headquarters?
The burly man was shocked but didn't dare show it. In the abandoned zone, there were no rules. The Fire Moth was the same—they didn't need to be bound by morality or law.
If they wanted, they could flatten this place at any time.
"The satellite room is controlled by Boss Waxi. Generally speaking…"
"Take me to him." Ryan interrupted, demonstrating the Fire Moth's ruthlessness to perfection.
He didn't even need to investigate. According to the Fire Moth's operations, they could directly call for cruise missiles to conduct an airstrike. As for collateral damage—who cared?
Snow Prison Town had no way of refusing. The man had no choice but to take him to the satellite room. In this place, the rule was "the stronger fist wins," and this masked man's fist was no longer human-sized.
Ryan glanced at the blood and flesh scattered all over the place. There was a cruel visual impact under the sunlight, but he still noticed something unusual.
No shadow?
The satellite room, as the name suggested, was affected by the Honkai energy. Without sufficient power, long-distance communication was impossible. Some military-grade equipment could make calls, but transmitting images or videos was very difficult.
Ryan phone had been modified by Vil-V, so it didn't need a base station to send messages to M-Continent. However, he wanted to test it out, and the results were highly satisfactory.
"You say it's broken?"
"I'm terribly sorry. The snowstorm last night damaged the antenna. I've already sent people to Gothenburg to find a replacement."
In the small room sat a square-faced, bearded man holding a cigar, apologizing with a courteous smile. He was the largest boss in Snow Prison Town, controlling the most precious resources.
What a coincidence.
Ryan smiled mockingly. He almost wanted to control the man with his mental powers, but first, Mocha's ability wasn't strong enough to affect a cautious person, and second, it wasn't necessary.
Since he had already raised a red flag, he might as well raise it higher. At least he now knew these people were covering for the Herrscher, keeping the outside world unaware of what was happening here.
It was odd. If it weren't for that laser-like cut earlier, he might have suspected the enemy was the Herrscher of Knowledge. But if the enemy was under mental control, how could they be allied with the Herrscher? Waxi didn't look like someone seeking death.
"How many days until it's fixed?"
"At the soonest, three days... no, two days will do!" The man quickly corrected himself, forcing out a smile. "Please enjoy your stay here for the next two days. All expenses are on me. Don't worry. Snow Prison Town will offer you services you won't find in the protected areas."
"I've already seen enough." Ryan lowered his gaze. He could feel something scanning his pupils. In this high-tech era, a mask was simply self-deception.
Unfortunately, the invisible electromagnetic waves passed by, rendering all detection devices useless. Even if there were an insider, they wouldn't be able to identify him in a short time.
"You're with the Fire Moth?"
"To be precise, I'm an outsider, responsible for passing on intelligence in exchange for supplies."
"No wonder you understand the rules so well, not asking for my name or code."
"If you want to live, you shouldn't know too much, especially when it comes to secrets." Waxi placed a glass of whiskey in front of Ryan, resting his hands on his stomach. "Besides, something like that appearing on my turf is dangerous. Getting involved with it is a fast track to dying."
You know that, but if I wasn't a Fused Warrior, I'd already have a bullet in my head.
Ryan felt a strange curiosity to keep watching him perform. Apart from the possible Herrscher, everything else was quite simple.
The Fire Moth had people stirring things up, and this guy was just a pawn beneath them. The claim of needing two days to fix things was obviously just an excuse to figure out his identity and prepare an ambush.
Figuring out the truth wasn't hard. After all, Britain wasn't far from here, and Ryan didn't have any illusions to hide his identity.
"You're clever, yet foolish. I'll be back at noon in two days." Ryan didn't waste words. He stood up and left, walking past the nervous bodyguards and returning to the inn.
He took a shower, changed into a fresh set of clothes, knowing that the snowstorm would return that night. His phone vibrated, pulling him from his thoughts.
It was a message from Mei. She had found some leads.
A biotechnology company had sent equipment to Northern Europe. She was now looking into the company's details. After hearing about Ryan experience today, she was quite curious.
A possible Herrscher, with ties to humanity. It sounded like key experimental data, perhaps shedding light on some mysteries.
"What's the next step? Should I help hide your whereabouts?"
"Can you do that?"
"I can. I'll use a special base station to send false data, making it look like you and Sakura are together. We can hide you for a few days."
"Good. Since I already told them, I'll relax and go fishing."
"Fishing for whom?"
Ryan straightened up, gazing out the window at the swirling snow, his eyes deep.
"The Herrscher and the madmen."