Chapter 85: Now is the Moment to Protect Those Who Matter Most at the Cost of One's Life!
"What the hell is with this NPC's damage?!" a player shrieked into his comms. "Not a single hit is landing for less than three hundred! One slash from her and my health bar is in the negatives!"
"System, are you sure this Herrscher of Thunder is supposed to be 'weakened'?" another complained, desperately backpedaling. "I can't even track her movements! How are we supposed to fight this?"
"And that mysterious Descender! Is he a player like us? Why is he so damn strong? This makes no sense!"
"I put a full clip from my pistol into that white-haired girl, and she only lost three HP! Is she even human?"
"Don't even get me started! The one with the twin-drill hair has a shield we can't even scratch! It doesn't lose a single point of durability when we hit it!"
The tide of players crashed against their small, defiant island. Kiana served as the vanguard, a whirlwind of kicks and punches clearing a path directly ahead. Rovel and Mei flanked her, their blades weaving a deadly dance that cut down anyone who tried to swarm them from the sides. Bronya anchored the rear, Project Bunny 19C's cannons and her impenetrable shield repelling any attacks from behind.
The five of them pushed forward like an unstoppable bulldozer, grinding through the seemingly endless horde of Descenders.
But human stamina is a finite resource. Even with their practiced efficiency and careful conservation of energy, after fifteen kilometers of relentless combat, their pace began to falter. The first signs of exhaustion were setting in.
Sensing their quarry was tiring, the players' attacks grew even more frantic, a wave of desperation fueling their assault. They saw an opening.
"Mei, are you alright?" Rovel asked, his arm moving to support her. He could feel a fine tremor running through the hand that gripped her katana, a proof of her waning strength.
"Yes... I can still keep going." Mei offered a faint, weary smile. She pushed herself upright, squared her shoulders, and charged back into the fray, her blade flashing.
Kiana no longer had the energy for her usual boisterous battle cries. Her pistols had long since clicked empty, forcing her to rely solely on her Kaslana gun-kata techniques, turning her body into a weapon.
Behind them, Bronya's defensive field was flickering violently, the hexagonal patterns wavering in and out of existence. It was on the verge of shattering.
"Damn it," Kiana gasped, rubbing her aching calves. "If this keeps up, they're going to wear us down to nothing." She had lost count of how many Descenders she had sent flying with a well-placed kick.
"I'm sorry," Rovel said, a pang of guilt in his voice. "I was too impatient. I should have prepared more before we made our move."
"Don't say that," Kiana shot back, her voice strained but firm. "We made this decision together, didn't we? We're going to make it out of here. All of us."
"She's right," Mei added, her voice a beacon of encouragement. "We will definitely make it out!"
"...Place Yae Sakura on Project Bunny," Bronya stated, her tone as flat as ever, though the words themselves were a significant concession. "These are extraordinary circumstances. The Bronya will make an exception, just this once."
"Got it." Rovel carefully lifted the unconscious Yae Sakura and settled her onto the floating chassis of Project Bunny. "Kiana, fall back and rest. I'll take the vanguard."
"Alright," she conceded, retreating to a less demanding position.
In that moment, amidst the chaos and exhaustion, the bond between them deepened, forged in the crucible of shared struggle.
They carved out another five kilometers before the first of them fell. Mei's body, pushed far beyond its limits, finally gave out. She stumbled, her katana clattering against the ground as she collapsed.
Now only three remained, forced into a tight triangular formation to protect their fallen friends.
Three kilometers later, Kiana joined Mei in unconsciousness, her body slumping to the ground from sheer exhaustion.
Only Rovel and Bronya were left to hold the line.
Rovel's own body was screaming in protest. Every muscle fiber trembled with strain, and each step felt as though he were dragging a mountain behind him. His vision was starting to swim at the edges.
"Warning... the shield's integrity is critical," Bronya announced, her voice tight. She stared at the spiderweb of cracks spreading across her protective field, a flicker of despair finally breaking through her stoic facade.
There were three unconscious people relying on that shield. If it shattered, they would all become helpless targets.
"Bronya, follow my lead," Rovel said suddenly, his voice raspy.
"?" Bronya tilted her head, not understanding his intent.
Rovel glanced at his status panel. The proficiency bars for 'Cun Xin Fist Style'and'Hua Jin' had been maxed out kilometers ago, around the seventeen-kilometer mark. Yet, the final, ultimate technique—'Dead Force'—had remained locked, just beyond his grasp.
He hadn't understood. Not until this very moment. As his body approached its absolute breaking point, as his muscles screamed and his consciousness frayed, he finally felt it: the last, deepest reserve of strength coiled within him.
It was just a trace, a final ember in a dying fire, but it possessed a density that neither Inch Force nor Hua Jin could ever hope to match.
The Cun Xin Fist Style was a martial art of precision and structure. Every stance, every strike, followed a set form, which had been perfect for him as a beginner. But now, with his body at its limit, all structure had been burned away. He was forced to abandon the shackles of 'form,' to condense his will, his life, and his entire understanding of combat into a single strike that transcended technique.
This wasn't a collapse of structure. It was an implosion, a return to the most primitive and pure power of 'formlessness.'The strength hidden within that finality was...'Dead Force'.
It wasn't a specific technique for exerting power; it was the manifestation of the very first wisp of strength that erupted after all form returned to nothingness.
[You have comprehended: Cun Xin Fist Style · Dead Force.]
[Cun Xin Fist Style has been upgraded to Legendary (Red) quality!]
[New skills learned: Dead Force · Sea Breaking, Dead Force · Sky Rending, Dead Force · Waning Moon!]
In the next instant, the utterly exhausted Rovel unleashed the final dregs of power his body possessed.
"Dead Force... Sea Breaking!"
He thrust his palm forward. The force he unleashed was no longer invisible; it was a tangible, crushing wave that turned to substance. In a heartbeat, every Descender within a hundred-meter radius in front of him was annihilated, their health bars vanishing instantly.
The dense sea of players was cleaved in two, a massive gap torn through their ranks, perfectly mirroring the name of the strike.
"Dead Force... Sky Rending!"
Countless phantom fists erupted from his position, a storm of pure force that shredded everything in his line of sight.
"Dead Force... Waning Moon!"
Rovel launched himself high into the air, then brought his fist down in a devastating arc. The resulting shockwave was a physical explosion, blasting away every enemy within dozens of meters.
Fueled by this desperate power, Rovel carried Bronya and the others forward for another five kilometers.
Only two kilometers remained... just two.
Rovel no longer knew what was holding him up. Willpower? Instinct? A promise? Everything in his vision had dissolved into an indistinct blur.
The power of Dead Force was absolute, but the cost was staggering.
[Level: 5]
[Level Cap: 30 (Quest required for breakthrough)]
[EXP: 200 / 1600]
[Race: Human]
[HP: 200 / 700]
[Honkai Energy Infection: 1.71%]
[Constitution: 70]
[Strength: 70+20]
[Agility: 70+40]
[Intelligence: 78]
[Honkai Resistance: 1300 HW]
[Equipment: Elysia's Crystal Flower (Special), Three-Year Sakura, Prototype Pulse Katana (Blue)]
[Inventory: Ultimate Healing Potion (1), Chiba Academy Student ID, Special Communicator, Mobius's Scalpel (Purple), Houtarou, Haxxor Bunny Heavenly King...]
Dead Force burned his very experience as fuel. He had plummeted from level 21 all the way down to level 5.
And the EXP he had left wasn't enough to sustain him any longer.
Two kilometers... The remaining distance felt as vast and unreachable as the space between stars.
Before long, a new group of players slowly materialized in the distance. Seeing Rovel's disheveled, stumbling form, they couldn't help but sneer.
"See? Waiting until the end always pays off."
"As expected of Lord Apollo. Truly far-sighted."
"Alright, they're all out of gas. Now we just need to kill the Herrscher of Thunder and collect that massive reward."
A smug smile curled Apollo's lips. He began to walk slowly toward Project Bunny, but Rovel's body, moving on pure instinct, shuffled to block his path.
Even with his consciousness almost completely gone, his body was still fighting.
"Kill him," Apollo ordered with a dismissive wave.
Dozens of bullets tore through the air, riddling Rovel's body. The health bar above his head instantly bottomed out, leaving only a single, flickering digit. One more hit, and it would be over.
"Don't... don't go near them," Rovel's voice was a faint whisper, barely louder than the wind. "I will... protect them..."
Apollo ignored him completely, continuing his unhurried advance toward Project Bunny.
"Lord Apollo, watch out!" one of his underlings suddenly shouted in alarm.
Apollo turned his head, his eyes wide with disbelief, just in time to see Rovel swing a punch that connected squarely with his chest.
The death he anticipated never came. A painless, almost insulting "-1" popped up above Apollo's head.
"Heh... hehe... HAHAHA! You scared the hell out of me!" Apollo wiped a bead of cold sweat from his brow. For a split second, he'd felt as if he'd been targeted by some terrifying, primeval beast.
But it was just a bluff. Rovel was spent. He had absolutely no strength left.
His legs finally gave out, and he collapsed. The cold, hard ground against his cheek began to leech the last of the warmth from him, his brain slowly shutting down.
'It would be so easy to just pass out,'a voice whispered in his mind.'It would all be over. It doesn't have to be this exhausting... This is just a game. Why risk everything? Why try so hard?''No...'
He remembered his promise. He had promised Mei, promised Kiana, promised all of them that he would get them out of here. He had to...
A flicker of memory sparked in the fog of his mind. He still had one move left.
Only one.
That skill in his bar, the one that was pulsing with a faint golden light...
Now is the moment to protect those who matter most at the cost of one's life!
But it seemed someone else was one step ahead of him.
[Stigmata Slot 1 has been filled with Stigmata: Yae Sakura!]
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