Chapter 020 : Declaration! A Total War of No Retreat

As mentioned before, Ling Ke now viewed everything in the Honkai Impact 3rd world as a game.

So, with the mindset of a "player"...

Back when he played certain hack-and-slash games at home, like the once highly popular but now declining Dynasty Warriors series...

Would he feel guilty for the number of nameless soldiers he killed on screen?

Or when he played real-time strategy games like Warcraft and Starcraft...

Would he hesitate to annihilate the enemy's faction?

Obviously, no!

He would only feel excitement, a sense of accomplishment.

This is the state Ling Ke is in now.

He is no longer a transmigrator who loves this world.

He has become: an extraterrestrial demon.

"Thanks to the gifts of the 'Honkai' and the 'System,' I now have the chance to command an army of ten thousand."

In the Theater of Dominance, Ling Ke chuckled softly. "However, just over ten thousand troops aren't enough."

"Even if they can be infinitely resurrected, more is always better."

"Otherwise, the efficiency is too low."

"And the intimidation factor is insufficient."

"After all, the game character templates I've drawn so far aren't top-tier in terms of combat power."

"Let alone planet-busting, even Kevin-level... or even Herrscher-level combatants are nowhere to be found."

"So, since qualitative improvement depends on luck and can't be relied on for now, we'll have to make up for it with quantity."

To translate the above: Keep killing, and kill on a massive scale.

So...

"To everyone in Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and World Serpent, as well as any passersby who might accidentally see this video, good morning, good afternoon, and good evening!"

On this day, a video message was simultaneously sent to all high-ranking officials and core members of the three organizations, across different time zones.

In an instant...

"To those who don't know me, let me introduce myself."

"My name is Ling Ke."

"I am the 10th Herrscher of this era—the Herrscher of Dominance."

"Here, I can clearly tell you an established fact, to prevent you from holding onto any unrealistic fantasies in the future..."

In the video, the black-haired young man in formal attire was elegant in posture, but his smile was icy.

His words were even more...

"Although I don't have a so-called 'Herrscher persona' within me, and my judgment isn't influenced by such things, I will absolutely never become a Herrscher who stands on the side of humanity."

"From now on, I will take a series of actions to destroy all humans on this planet."

"Yes, from the perspective of humanity, I am the villain, the criminal, the evil in your eyes."

"But history is always written by the victors."

"You..."

Ling Ke smiled as he leaned closer to the camera. "Are you ready for war?"

"I am fully prepared."

"This war will be a fight to the death."

The video ended here.

"..."

This video was seen by Otto, Welt, and Kevin.

Their subordinates and comrades also saw it.

Even within World Serpent...

The memories of the dozen or so Flame-Chasers existing in the "Elysian Realm" were also informed of the relevant details.

"Sigh~"

A certain girl as dazzling as a flower, who was born to love all, let out a helpless sigh.

(TL/N: damn author. don't drag my wife here!)

"Why is the world always so cruel?"

"Because that's the nature of humanity."

In the Elysian Realm's grand hall, a petite green figure sneered. "This era is no different from ours."

She looked at the image of Ling Ke on the screen before her, her emerald serpentine eyes narrowing with intense interest. "Another monster born from malice."

"Hmph~"

Not far away, a tall figure wearing a mask turned and left.

It was clear that this hot-tempered man was in a foul mood.

Because Ling Ke's experiences reminded him of a certain little girl from the past...

The same kindness that no longer existed, the same severing of civilization's hope.

The only difference was that the latter was already a fact of history.

While the former... was steadily marching toward that future.

"Sigh~"

Another sigh echoed through the hall.

It came from an elegant, mature woman with a voluptuous figure and long wine-red hair.

In her past life, she was the undisputed world's top superstar of the previous civilization.

But now...

"War!"

She sighed softly. "I wonder how many more will perish."

During the same period in the previous civilization, the war between humanity and the 10th Herrscher resulted in billions of casualties.

And in this era...

Although there hasn't been a catastrophe on the scale of the "Sinking of the Mu Continent," the abilities displayed by this Herrscher of Dominance are clearly far more formidable.

"Humanity will definitely overcome the Honkai."

Suddenly, a cool male voice rang out.

It was a white-haired man.

He was one of the rare few Flame-Chasers whose true self still existed in the world.

Hearing his declaration...

"Yes, humanity will definitely overcome the Honkai."

Someone repeated. "After all..."

"There's no other path to take."

(TL/N: what define humanity? The MC already told them that he has no Herrscher personality within him which mean he is full human with Herrscher power. So.. can you still call him with the terms "Honkai"?)

******

After Ling Ke released his declaration of war, that evening—well, evening in the North American time zone—Schicksal, Anti-Entropy, and World Serpent urgently convened a joint remote virtual meeting.

The content of this meeting was no longer just idle chatter.

Instead, they began to fully deploy their respective war zones.

There was no other choice, as Ling Ke's offensive was growing increasingly fierce.

Today's video was less of a declaration of war and more of a belated formal notice.

It was under these circumstances that...

"Currently, based on the real-time monitoring data we've deployed worldwide, we can confirm that the combat units controlled by the Herrscher of Dominance, Ling Ke, far exceed one thousand."

"Their numbers are immense and continue to grow."

"At this stage, the total has already surpassed ten thousand."

"The Far East, North America, Europe, Africa, Australia... every corner of the world is under indiscriminate attack."

"According to the analysis provided by our intelligence department, they are not employing traditional warfare tactics and have no intention of occupying any territory."

"They are simply using their spatial teleportation abilities to carry out highly efficient killing operations."

"Every day, tens of thousands of people die."

(TL/N: damn! it's like everyday he got 10k primogems 😭)

"And this number continues to rise."

In the virtual meeting room, Amber, the secretary of Schicksal's Overseer, was sharing intelligence under Otto's orders.

And every piece of news was a harbinger of doom.

Among those present, the one who appeared the most composed was the leader of World Serpent—Kevin Kaslana.

Because in his distant memories... the Herrschers of the previous civilization were exactly like this.

Except for "her."

As for the others...

To be honest, even Otto was struggling to maintain his usual infuriatingly smug expression.

Because the Domination Puppets rampaging across the world were still using the "Sixth Serenade" template.

Those faces identical to "Kallen Kaslana," even if only for a moment, showing a sinister sneer, cut Otto to the core.

"We must end this farce as soon as possible."

Otto's hands clenched unconsciously.

Recently, his moments of losing composure had surpassed the total of the past five hundred years.

This showed...

Ling Ke had indeed precisely grasped the only weakness of this most selfish schemer.

Now, compared to killing...

He clearly preferred "breaking hearts."