"The Honkai Energy signature of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast is moving at high speed! MSA-079's signal is very close to the Emperor-class Honkai Beast's signature!"
"A large number of small Honkai Energy signatures are appearing in the city!"
"Massive death of plants and animals in the city! A global spike in Honkai Virus death cases!"
Bad news crashed wave after wave onto the faces of the command room personnel. Spaciel frowned deeply, watching Sakura's signal defending the branch, and another signal violently crashing through the city.
This time, the normally undervalued zombies had become the most difficult obstacle to overcome in this major Honkai outbreak. The number of spontaneously appearing zombies was several, even dozens of times greater than in past Honkai outbreaks, especially in high-Honkai-Energy areas. One turn of a corner was enough for a crowd of pale-skinned humanoids to surge out like cockroaches.
Moreover, the zombies seemed capable of tracking human locations. A continuous stream of zombies was attacking the building. If all exits hadn't been sealed, those moving corpses might have already rushed into the command room and devoured them alive.
But the defense of the Fifth Branch was limited. Their current means of attack were too singular. The Vulcan cannons were barely enough to clear the surrounding zombies, and this was without any Honkai Beasts participating in the assault. If large Honkai Beasts like the Chariot-class appeared, the defense would likely collapse instantly.
But there was no alternative. The Fifth Branch was disguised as a pharmaceutical company, and the armaments it could install were limited.
The only people left in the Fifth Branch were the researchers, unable to fight.
"Everyone, arm yourselves and prepare for the worst."
The grim expression of the one-armed man holding the gun made him look like a true warrior.
The others also drew their firearms, preparing for a desperate fight against the Honkai.
There was no fear on anyone's face. They had long been mentally prepared.
Spaciel asked Sakura, who was standing on the top floor: "Sakura, can you manage?"
"Do your own job." The blade roared violently in the air. She gazed at the massive creature spanning half the city in the darkness far away, a thoughtful look in her eyes, but she quickly retracted it as some small Assault-class Honkai Beasts arrived. She turned and cleaved the assaulting Honkai Beast in two with a jumping slash.
"Three Chariot-class Honkai Beasts are approaching!"
Sakura fiercely looked at the three Chariot-class Honkai Beasts rushing toward the building from different directions. The Fifth Branch's defenses were strong, but the building itself couldn't withstand the attacks of three Honkai Beasts. Even if the defense systems managed to block the heavy blows of the Chariot-class Honkai Beasts unscathed, the building would still collapse.
Thus, under the moonless night sky, Sakura's shadow floated down. Her two long blades cut two streaks of desolate light as she plunged them into the side of the building to buffer her descent.
After rapidly descending to the necessary position, Sakura's figure shot out like a cannonball. In mid-air, her blade flashed, and one Honkai Beast already lay dead.
Without a moment to catch her breath, she turned to face the second Honkai Beast.
…
On the other side of the city, another battle was raging.
"Boom!"
Perhaps this shouldn't be called a battle, because from start to finish, one side was unable to launch an effective counterattack.
Lin held onto the porcupine's tail. The quills in this area were fewer and shorter. He was dragged high into the air by its immense force, crashing into different buildings in the city at a speed exceeding that of a car. Rubble and wind pressure battered his increasingly cold face. The intense ringing in his ears shook his eardrums, and the discomfort within his body further deepened.
The nerve sensitivity of giant organisms is generally lower than that of smaller organisms. Even Honkai creatures adhere to this principle. The farther away from the core, the longer the reflex time. Thus, the porcupine could currently sense Lin clinging to its body but didn't know exactly where, only able to frantically thrash various parts of its body to dislodge Lin.
Lin, relying solely on his exceptional physical constitution, struggled to hold on. Unprotected by armor, his body was already bruised and bloody. Had he not been directly behind the porcupine, which shielded him from much of the debris, he might have already died, his body minced, lying in the ruins.
His hands, gripping the tail fur, were charred and cracked. The porcupine's power, which was close to the Decay Authority of the Sixth Herrscher, was affecting its entire body. For any organism touching it, this was no different from a fatal poison. If he continued, Lin might lose his hands as well.
Even in losing, there must be strategy and consideration. Therefore, Lin had no intention of wasting his hands for nothing.
He was waiting for an opportunity.
The only weapons he had were a handgun and a dagger. Lin had not brought the equipment of the Fifth Branch combat members, as no one had expected him to be the last soldier before this sudden event.
And with these two items, attempting to kill an Emperor-class Honkai Beast was nothing but a fool's dream.
Even while clinging to the porcupine's body, Lin was not pointlessly holding onto its tail. He was observing the actions of this Emperor-class Honkai Beast. If his estimation was correct, this Emperor-class Honkai Beast might have the highest intelligence of all time.
Even the Judgment-class Honkai Beast, Chariot, from the Third Honkai, was not necessarily smarter than this porcupine.
It exhibited some obvious human-like emotions, such as the satisfied, boastful demeanor when destroying the amusement park, the immediate furious yet efficient counterattack when its strike was dodged, and now…
Lin calculated the time. It was about right.
The outline of the amusement park appeared in his peripheral vision again.
Sure enough, the porcupine intended to kill him in front of the Sixth Herrscher.
The Sixth Herrscher's connection with Honkai creatures was undoubtedly the closest among the Herrschers. The porcupine appeared at a point when the Sixth Herrscher couldn't spare a hand to protect her zombies and attack Lin and Sakura simultaneously. This meant its purpose was to help the Sixth Herrscher eliminate them, the culprits who ruined her good mood.
And returning here signified that the porcupine had finally located Lin on its body.
As mentioned earlier, this porcupine was highly intelligent. Its rampage through the city was not an indication of its helplessness against Lin; it was likely searching for the remaining people in the city the entire time, while pretending to be unable to deal with Lin.
It had tested almost every position on its body, yet deliberately avoided making any moves toward its tail.
This was merely a small trick to confuse humans. Once all other positions were tested, the only remaining place would harbor the flea it was looking for.
And as the Sixth Herrscher, standing on the hillside, came into view once more, Lin released his grip and fell from the body of the Emperor-class Honkai Beast.
The very next second after he let go, the Emperor-class Honkai Beast violently swept its tail, striking the hillside with enormous force. The earth-shaking power caused the entire hill to crumble.
But Lin was no longer there. He had found the place he was looking for—the haunted house, which housed the equipment of the fallen Fifth Branch combat squads.
He hadn't had time to retrieve these weapons earlier, due to setting the ambush for the Emperor-class Honkai Beast. Now that the porcupine had largely destroyed the amusement park, the roof of the haunted house had been torn off, allowing him to jump in and grab the weapons.
The porcupine smugly turned around, preparing to admire the sight of Lin being turned into minced meat, but was greeted by an upward-flying grenade right in its face.
"Boom!"
Lin raised his gun, aiming at the porcupine's eyes, which were closed due to the explosion. At that very moment, the Sixth Herrscher's snarling face flashed behind him. A giant claw pierced his back and emerged from his chest.
"Clang!"
Lin coughed up a mouthful of blood, weakly looking at the claw in his chest. Then he turned his head and looked at the face of the person behind him.
That snarl vanished without a trace, but he was certain that in that brief moment, the expression on her face was a ferocious smile, uncannily similar to that of the Fourth Herrscher.
The bright moon behind the dark clouds was stained with foul blood.