"Be gone, trash."
Purple eyes burned with a mixture of icy coldness and fury. Raiden Mei, her body now controlled by her Herrscher persona, glared at the gargantuan Honkai Beast and spat out those heartless words.
Once a Honkai Beast exceeded a hundred meters in size, only an A-rank Valkyrie could be dispatched to eliminate it. Yet, before the bolt of lightning summoned by Herrscher Mei, this massive creature which was nearly a hundred meters tall itself could not offer a single shred of decent resistance. In an instant, it was decomposed into countless tiny particles and vanished into ash.
Unlike the way other Honkai Beasts would naturally dissipate after being killed, this one was directly shredded by the violent lightning. The sheer difference in the speed and manner of its destruction was a testament to her terrifying power.
Murata Himeko, who had been on a mission elsewhere and was rushing back due to the massive Honkai outbreak in Nagazora, witnessed that bolt of lightning from the bridge of the Hyperion. In the pitch-black night, it was far too conspicuous to miss.
"Honkai energy levels are surging! All nearby Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers are converging on the Honkai Source. Major, there's still time to retreat."
Hearing her subordinate's report, Murata Himeko knit her brows tightly.
"It was already at 500 HW, and now it's surging again? Tsk, looks like we really hit the jackpot."
Himeko's expression turned fierce with fighting spirit.
"But the word 'retreat' has never been in my dictionary. All hands to Condition One. Begin the operation!"
High in the sky, the Hyperion accelerated toward the Honkai Source in Nagazora following Himeko's command.
On the ground, directly beneath the now-deserted ME Corp building, several deep blue large mecha burst through the earth. They smashed through the reinforced walls of the skyscraper and spilled onto the streets.
Their mechanical feet struck the pavement with a heavy metallic ring that sounded nothing like the footsteps of the giant Honkai Beasts. Though these massive machines looked cumbersome, they moved with unimaginable speed, sprinting toward the Honkai Source with the fluid gait of a running human.
Beyond them were waves of Deadwalkers and a few Honkai Beasts that had slipped through the initial net. Looking down from the sky above Nagazora, one would see dense clusters of black dots converging like a tide in a single direction, as if something there was drawing them in.
They were all targeting the Herrscher, seeking either to kill Raiden Mei or capture her.
Even as fellow members of the Honkai, the Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers felt no kinship with her. An Artificial Herrscher like Raiden Mei was no apostle of the Honkai, and they harbored no goodwill toward her.
Raiden Mei, the center of the storm brewing over Nagazora, turned her purple eyes toward the ruins of a nearby building.
"If you aren't dead, crawl out already. Humans really do have the stubborn vitality of cockroaches."
"Cough... I didn't expect your Herrscher persona to have a sharp-tongued attribute, Mei."
Hua Yi pushed aside several massive boulders. Aside from his clothes being a bit messy, he hadn't sustained any serious external injuries.
He felt that the previous gargantuan Honkai Beast had been truly absurd. Despite its size, it hadn't made a sound before attacking, and because the walls of the room had blocked his vision, he hadn't been able to dodge in time.
The attack from that massive Honkai Beast had been sudden and terrifying, but a Knight's Lance was ultimately not a weapon meant for slashing. By using his Nitrogen Crystal Sword to perform a series of parries to redirect the force, Hua Yi had avoided the full brunt of the Knight's Lance's power.
He hadn't actually suffered heavy injuries; he was simply exhausted for a moment. Otherwise, he would have charged out immediately, and Raiden Mei might not have transformed into a Herrscher due to the massive emotional distress.
Herrscher Mei did not respond to Hua Yi's words. She spared him a glance, and once she was certain his life wasn't in danger, her cold purple eyes turned back to the sky.
A truly massive aerial battleship had appeared there.
Mei's eyes turned sharp and cold at the sight of something looming over her head with obvious ill intent. Lightning began to flicker around her body; she was going to shoot the thing down.
"Stop, Mei. Leave the rest to me."
Hua Yi's words made Herrscher Mei look back at him.
"Leave it to you? In your current state, can you handle that battleship, the Honkai Beasts and Deadwalkers on the ground, and those robots? Hmm... according to the memories of that pathetic coward, they seem to be called Titans."
The "pathetic coward" she referred to seemed to be Raiden Mei's original personality. It appeared the two personas did not get along very well.
Hua Yi didn't have the time to worry about their internal drama. He glanced at the aerial battleship hovering silently in the sky, seemingly observing the situation, before shifting his gaze to the approaching army of Deadwalkers, Honkai Beasts, and Titans. He bared his teeth in a grin.
"If you can just stay here and take care of Kiana who you knocked out with that gust of wind when you awakened it won't be a problem."
Since this Herrscher Mei seemingly shared Mei's memories and didn't have a firm resolve to destroy everything in a mad frenzy, she wouldn't hurt Kiana. And as long as Raiden Mei stayed with Kiana, who was Theresa's niece, the current captain of the Hyperion likely Murata Himeko would never use any heavy weaponry against them. That was Hua Yi's plan.
The more dire the situation, the more one had to consider every detail.
Herrscher Mei took a step back and stood beside the unconscious Kiana.
"Don't lose too pathetically, human."
Taking that as a sign of concern, Hua Yi nodded. He hefted his Nitrogen Crystal Sword and charged directly into the approaching army.
The bulk of the army consisted of Deadwalkers, but they couldn't even manage a decent block against Hua Yi. With every swing of his greatsword, groups of Deadwalkers were sent flying, crashing into their own kind like living projectiles. They struggled on the ground for a moment before shattering into fragments and disappearing.
The few Honkai Beasts in this wave were nothing compared to the giant from before. At this point, they were mere obstacles that slowed Hua Yi down for a few seconds before they followed the Deadwalkers into oblivion.
The true strength of this army lay in the Titans, those robots that stood as tall as giant Honkai Beasts.
In reality, the Titans were not on the same side as the Deadwalkers and Honkai Beasts. As the army advanced, many Deadwalkers had tried to attack the Titans, only to be crushed under their feet like ants. Their combat power was evident.
Hua Yi looked at the Titans as he carved a literal vacuum into the center of the enemy horde, then cracked his neck.
"They say 'dismantle mecha with your bare hands, then princess carry the girl for the win.' Should I be holding the unconscious Kiana right now? Actually, forget it. Herrscher Mei might get jealous."
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