"I'm fine, don't worry about me!"
To prevent Elysia from being distracted by his condition, Chang Yuan endured the pain and shouted.
After confirming that Chang Yuan was okay, Elysia breathed a sigh of relief.
She then focused all her attention on fighting the 9th Herrscher.
Meanwhile, Chang Yuan waited below for his injuries to heal.
As a MANTIS warrior, these injuries would heal in about ten minutes.
The only problem was his broken bones, which needed to be reset manually before they could heal. It was excruciatingly painful.
Facing the 9th Herrscher's constant meteor strikes and occasional pseudo black holes,
Chang Yuan finally understood just how terrifying a Herrscher on par with civilization truly was.
In the past, the Cocoon of Finality hadn't reacted in time, so they had only faced weakened versions.
But now, the 9th Herrscher was fully aligned with the current version of the Honkai. There was no way they could win.
"What do we do? He's staying at range and refusing to engage us up close."
Hua was also at a loss. Although she could attack the 9th Herrscher from a distance, her attacks were weakened and didn't deal much damage.
"I don't know either. But if we can force him to come closer, we might have a chance. The question is, how?"
Frowning, Elysia began strategizing how to lure the 9th Herrscher into close combat.
If the Herrscher dared to get close, they were confident they could kill him.
At this moment, Vill-V, observing from a satellite, saw their struggle.
"Hmm, need to force him into close combat? Leave it to me. I've been working on these orbital cannons for a while, and they've never been used. But they won't last long, so you'd better seize the opportunity."
Using her authority, Vill-V, the 'Expert,' aimed all the orbital cannons in space at the Mu Continent.
Then, she pressed the launch button.
As the attacks rained down from the sky, the 9th Herrscher felt an inexplicable sense of danger.
Looking up, he saw countless missiles descending toward him.
"!!!"
Faced with this pincer attack, the 9th Herrscher immediately enveloped himself in a gravitational field.
In an instant, all the missiles exploded against the black shell.
The 9th Herrscher was forced down onto the shield of the 4th Divine Key.
By this time, Chang Yuan had mostly recovered.
Seizing the opportunity, he quickly approached the 9th Herrscher.
As soon as the Herrscher dropped his gravitational field, Chang Yuan locked him in a grapple.
"Let me go! If you want to die, I'll grant your wish. Ten-thousandfold Gravity!"
Seeing himself restrained, the 9th Herrscher immediately unleashed ten-thousandfold gravity on himself.
While he could use his gravity to counteract the effect, Chang Yuan couldn't.
His recently healed body began to crack and bleed under the immense pressure.
"3rd Divine Key, Lightning Prison Mode!"
This mode had been added by Vill-V, the 'Expert,' at Chang Yuan's request.
It was meant to restrict Herrschers who were skilled at escaping, like the Herrscher of Domination.
But who would have thought it would come in handy against the 9th Herrscher?
However, it also trapped Chang Yuan inside.
"You humans are incomprehensible. Shouldn't you be groveling for survival? Do you not care if you die?"
Looking at the crimson lightning, the 9th Herrscher was visibly annoyed.
He felt like this man was insane. Even if he could withstand the lightning, the man himself would be injured or killed.
"So what? As long as you die, it's worth it. And I believe Elysia will protect me."
Knowing about Elysia's pink crystal shield ability, Chang Yuan dared to be so reckless.
He was betting that Elysia's ability could rival the Herrscher's authority.
"Fine, fine. Let's see who dies first. Twenty-thousandfold Gravity! Even light will dim under this pressure!"
As soon as the 9th Herrscher spoke, Chang Yuan felt an overwhelming pressure.
He couldn't even lift his eyelids. He could feel his flesh and blood being compressed.
If not for his MANTIS body constantly healing and resisting, he would have died already.
But even a MANTIS body couldn't hold out for long.
"Fist of Shattering Heaven!"
"2nd Divine Key, Zero-Power Mode!"
In an instant, the surrounding space froze, though the 9th Herrscher could still move slightly.
His authority over gravity allowed him to distort space, but even he was severely restricted.
"Die!"
Elysia aimed her arrow at the 9th Herrscher's head, the one spot that wouldn't harm Chang Yuan.
This time, Elysia was genuinely angry.
As space resumed its normal flow, the arrow and the punch struck simultaneously.
Unable to defend himself, the 9th Herrscher's head was pierced, and his body was sent flying by the punch.
At the same moment, Chang Yuan released the 3rd Divine Key's restraint.
As he was sent flying, Chang Yuan felt pink crystals forming around his body.
He had gambled correctly. Otherwise, he would have collided with the lightning prison and been severely injured, if not killed.
But thanks to Elysia's pink crystals, he had a chance to react.
Crashing into the shield again, this time his injuries were far less severe than when the 9th Herrscher had attacked him.
Lying on the shield, Chang Yuan let go.
The headless body of the 9th Herrscher slid down the curve of the shield.
Chang Yuan also began to slide, but unlike the Herrscher, he didn't get far before being caught by someone.
"Elysia, a princess carry is a bit much. It's embarrassing for a grown man to be carried like this."
Although his body ached too much to move, Chang Yuan couldn't help but complain.
Couldn't she just help him walk? Did she have to carry him like this?
"Hmph~?, Yuan, you took such a risk again. If I hadn't used the pink crystals to cushion your fall, you would have hit those electric nets. Really."
Elysia was a little upset with Chang Yuan's reckless behavior.
While it had created an opportunity to kill the 9th Herrscher, failure would have had severe consequences.
"But I won the bet, didn't I? And these injuries? Just a fatal wound, no big deal."
Feeling his injuries slowly healing, Chang Yuan grinned foolishly.
As the 9th Herrscher fell into the water, no one paid him any attention.
He would float up eventually, or they could use satellites to track his location.
He wasn't worth their concern.
9th Herrscher: So?