The Erosion of Honkai Begins!

A few minutes earlier, at Yueshan Pass, the southwestern border of the empire.

Most of the barbarian soldiers in the fortress were still indulging in leisure activities, while only a few unlucky patrol squads were on duty, having drawn the short straw. With the weather outside the pass shrouded in swirling yellow sand, they figured that the pampered imperial soldiers wouldn't dare attack in such conditions.

Even if the pass was left unguarded, the towering height of the fortress would take the empire's soldiers a considerable amount of time to scale. As a result, many of the barbarian soldiers had become complacent and were slacking off.

"Yawn... How was your haul the other day?" a southwestern barbarian soldier, his body covered in colorful tattoos and wearing a mask, asked his comrade while patrolling the pass.

"Don't even mention it. The chieftain ordered a retreat early, and I only managed to snatch a few livestock."

"Yeah, I heard the empire sent troops to encircle us again."

"Tch... Those spineless imperial soldiers? What's there to be afraid of?"

"Tell me, why do those cowardly imperials get to live on such fertile land while we're stuck in these godforsaken corners?"

"This land is a gift from the heavens. It should rightfully belong to our people."

"True, but... those imperial women sure are fine... Hahaha..."

At this, the two soldiers exchanged knowing smiles, the kind that seasoned men shared when talking about familiar vices.

Suddenly, the sound of horses neighing from outside the fortress caught the attention of a drowsy barbarian soldier. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he stood up and looked down.

What he saw sent shivers down his spine, causing his hair to stand on end. Through the sandstorm, he spotted a massive formation of imperial troops lined up in neat rows!

"How are they attacking in this kind of weather? Don't they know that the desert could whip up a massive sandstorm at any moment?" the barbarian soldier muttered in disbelief. He stood frozen for a few seconds before finally remembering to sound the alarm: "The imperial army is attacking! The imperial army is attacking!"

But just then, on the open ground before Yueshan Pass, amidst the swirling sand, tiny points of purple light began to flicker.

In an instant, purple lightning crackled across the sky, and an oppressive, invisible force gripped the hearts of all present, forcing them to hold their breath. Under the sky, now glowing with a sinister purple hue, the rolling thunder shook everyone's soul!

For the first time, the purple-red particles of Honkai energy burst forth from Selene's body without any suppression or transformation. A powerful wave of energy radiated from her, and the endless Honkai particles shot straight into the sky.

Even the flying sand and dust around her were blown away by this fierce storm. Outside Yueshan Pass, the endless ranks of imperial troops became clearly visible to the barbarian defenders.

But it wasn't just the army that struck fear into the hearts of the southwestern barbarians—the most terrifying thing was the silver-haired figure leading them.

"Could it be an Imperial Arm user?!" an older barbarian guard exclaimed in terror.

With the stronghold in their hands, the southwestern barbarians had been confident even against a large imperial force. But faced with an Imperial Arm user—an existence that had dominated the continent for a thousand years—they were filled with dread. As an elder, he had witnessed the terrifying power of Imperial Arms before, power far beyond what mere mortals could resist!

At that moment, the purple-red light illuminated the area, and the ground beneath Selene's feet began to rumble, waves of force rippling outward with a deafening roar.

The entire ground quaked violently, and cracks like a spider's web spread from beneath Selene's feet in all directions.

"Yes, this is the feeling, the pure, unrestrained release of Honkai energy..."

Glowing with a purple light, countless Honkai particles began to gather at Selene's fingertips. As she lightly tapped the space in front of her, the very atmosphere shattered unnaturally!

"Space Quake!"

An irresistible force enveloped the entire mountain range! Yueshan Pass fell into sudden stillness, and then, with Selene's fingertip as the center, spiderweb-like cracks rapidly spread forward.

A series of deafening explosions erupted as an invisible shockwave blasted everything away!

The ground instantly cracked, some parts jutting upwards, rocks flying, others sinking into deep chasms.

Even from dozens of miles away, people in other towns could hear the earth-shaking roar!

Boom!!!

"Retreat... Retreat! Everyone, evacuate the walls!! Retreat!!!" the barbarian commander on the wall screamed at the top of his lungs as the ground heaved like a giant dragon beneath them. But... it was already too late.

The terrifying tremors spread, and the entire fortress of Yueshan Pass, along with the surrounding mountains, began to shake uncontrollably. The unstoppable force caused buildings within the fortress to collapse, roads to crack and sink.

Within a radius of several miles, the ground felt as soft as down feathers, rising and falling, making it impossible to stand.

Boom!!!

Under Selene's precise control, the shockwave poured forward toward the fortress, leaving the Eighth Corps soldiers virtually unaffected.

In the eyes of the imperial soldiers, the terrifying tremor, carrying an endless stream of sand and rocks, rolled forward and swallowed the entire fortress.

Amidst the rolling, crushing earth, faint traces of crimson blood spewed forth.

Thud.

The local garrison officer who had previously advised Selene immediately dropped to his knees, overwhelmed by the terrifying scene before him. "G-Gener... General, you..."

Seeing the officer prostrate in shock, Gensa could only comment, This is nothing. The explosion in the southern part of the imperial capital was far more awe-inspiring!

"That's enough." Ignoring the stunned officer behind her, Selene admired her "masterpiece" for a moment before slamming her hand on the ground. "Disperse."

Having achieved her goal of annihilating the southwestern barbarians within Yueshan Pass, Selene saw no reason to continue the tremors.

This time, instead of reabsorbing the dispersed Honkai energy, she issued a command: Spread toward the Western Kingdom.

As Herrscher, Selene could naturally control the Honkai energy born from her own body.

After careful consideration, Selene decided not to spread the Honkai energy widely within the empire. Instead, she would experiment on the Western Kingdom first.

In a few years, when she applied to campaign against the Western Kingdom, she would see what kind of scene the naturally developing Honkai energy would create without her direct guidance.

The Honkai's corruption of this world had begun!

After issuing the directive to the Honkai particles—"Do not cross into the empire, but develop within the Western Kingdom and, if necessary, spread toward the southern border"—Selene slowly stood up, watching as the rumbling gradually ceased over the former "Yueshan Pass Fortress ruins."

As the dust clouds settled, what was once Yueshan Pass had been leveled to the ground, and the narrow canyon, originally only about a hundred meters wide, had been "expanded" to several kilometers, its width multiplied tenfold!

What was once an impenetrable fortress was now a broad, open passage!