The silent jungle suddenly boiled over. Everyone's eyes widened, trying to find the leader of this ambush.
However, this was destined to be futile. Everything was like a rejection reaction when bacteria entered a human body; no one needed to command it, this land permeated with Honkai energy would attack on its own.
Honkai deeply hated groups like MANTIS. That's right, this thing, after being manipulated, never intended to destroy civilization.
Ryan recalled the 'Cocoon' he saw in his dream. This thing blocked the world's rupture, changing the nature of Honkai. Before achieving its goal, the world would be repeatedly ravaged and restarted until its desires were fulfilled.
Even if he wasn't a lore expert, he vaguely guessed it, and that guess only made him angrier.
"What do you think you are? Everyone has to obey your demands."
Ryan raised his chainsaw halberd. He could already see the ground breaking open, countless dust flying, and Honkai Beasts roaring out. These silicon-based lifeforms didn't need to breathe, eat, or excrete; they had been quietly hiding underground like fossils.
Hundreds, thousands, uncountable. When the tide surged, Hua eyes widened.
Fortunately, it was MANTIS who came. If tens of thousands of soldiers had been assigned, they would probably have been wiped out instantly. As Ryan said, this place could no longer be regarded as 'Earth.'
"Senior Brother, what do we do? Should we abort the mission?"
"You're the captain, you decide." Ryan offered no advice. He was just a warrior now, and similar skirmishes would only increase in the future. He couldn't lead every time.
Hua understood this principle, otherwise there would be no need to split everyone up into different teams. She pursed her lips.
"Start the battle! Resolve them quickly!"
Looking west from the small hill, there were hundreds of Honkai Beasts, interspersed with numerous Honkai Emperors, or mutated variants like the Fire Temple species. Fortunately, the warriors who came were not ordinary people either.
Just lower-level Honkai Beasts, who hasn't killed dozens of them?
The portable Honkai energy fission cannon was deployed, carried on the shoulders of several strong warriors. Ryan was looking on curiously when a strong beam of light made the sun in the sky dim.
Whoosh—
A crimson beam of light shot forth, splitting into dozens of strands in mid-air. Then, over a dozen three-story-tall Chariot-type Honkai Beasts were pierced through, their shells, which could resist artillery shells, melted into large holes.
The light cut through the jungle like tofu. Even the large shields of the Temple species couldn't withstand it. Just as they were advancing over corpses, another drill-like device was inserted into the ground, and then the warriors input Honkai energy into it.
Thump, thump, thump...
The ground vibrated rapidly. Just below the hill, a large area suddenly caved in, causing chaos. And in the midst of the confusion, crimson beams of light began to target specific points.
Honkai Energy Rifles, similar in principle to those used by Kevin and his group. Particles accelerated to light speed were indestructible, and the MANTIS's extremely fast reaction nerves allowed for precise sniping.
The Honkai Beasts were still advancing, but the Temple species and Honkai Emperors among them were being headshotted one by one. The high-tech electromagnetic rifles of the past were simply incomparable to this firepower. And just then, the Honkai Beasts' counterattack arrived.
Beams of light, fireballs, thrown spears, flew directly from several kilometers away. There were even Honkai Beasts thrown directly, but soon, a blue light curtain appeared, and these things landed on it, causing ripples.
Those Honkai Beasts kept falling, but they were either blown apart by a shot or harvested by warriors wielding monomolecular military sabers. It was like hunting, in groups of three, taking them down one by one.
Calm, efficient, and layered. Dozens of people unleashed the destructive power of thousands.
"Humans have grown stronger. Without Herrschers, Honkai Beasts alone cannot defeat them, just like now."
Ryan was very pleased, seeing another side of the world. Everyone was fighting bravely. History was originally created by thousands of soldiers, not something a few heroes fighting valiantly could accomplish.
A beam of light swept across Ryan vision. When the Honkai Beasts charged to the foot of the hill, Hua had already led two small teams in a counter-charge, while the three small teams remaining on the hill suppressed them with firepower under Freya's leadership.
Hua punched the Honkai Emperor's head, shattering it. Her whip kick even turned a sea urchin-like mutated species into a bowling ball, smashing a bloody path. Behind her, the warriors, with swords or guns, quickly cleared the surroundings, covering their flanks.
Hua was like the tip of a sword, and the warriors surrounding her were like the blade. Occasionally, someone would be hit and injured, and two people would immediately descend from the hill; one would fill the gap, and the other would drag the injured back for emergency treatment.
"They fight with great tactical sense. I could easily take down an ordinary MANTIS, but with the skilled coordination of several teams under Hua command, I have to take them seriously."
Ryan applied his own experience. Humans were inherently social creatures, and multi-layered cooperation could boost combat power several times over.
He watched the meat grinder constantly move forward, crushing hundreds of Honkai Beasts. Apart from a few injuries, there were no fatalities. He keenly discovered the value in this.
This was certainly a usable force. He couldn't always be the one leading a few Flame-Chasers to fight to the death while others cheered them on.
"However, here, the power of one team is still a bit too small." Ryan looked up into the distance. The dust in the forest seemed endless. He reached out his right hand and grasped the chainsaw halberd plunged into the ground.
"Freya, watch the sea. Don't let them flank us."
"Ah? Director-General, are you joining the battle too?" Freya was healing the wounded with Honkai energy. Her ability leaned towards the Herrscher of Death, capable of mobilizing cell vitality.
There was no reply. She only watched the steel-clad figure slowly descend the small hill, instantly forgetting the intellectual "Doctor" from her memory.
This was a warrior, humanity's strongest warrior, and he was marching!
"Endless. It's time to consider retreating. Let the fourth and fifth squads move up, then cover each other in turns." Hua stomped a Temple species into the ground, shaking her numb hand.
Her sharp sword was blunting. After all, MANTIS couldn't directly draw energy from Imaginary Space, nor were they tirelessly like Honkai Beasts.
"Full firepower, crush this wave, then we..."
Boom!
Before she finished speaking, a meteor fell in the center of the jungle, and the shockwave it created made her cover her face.
Towering trees were uprooted. Honkai Beasts around the epicenter were directly torn apart, like a large chunk had been erased. As this 'blank space' was quickly filled, a second meteor fell.
Boom!!!
This time, the shockwave was even more violent. Hua instinctively braced her legs into the ground and looked up. A black machine stood in the center of the beast tide, reaching out to grasp the giant halberd plunged into the ground. Around him were shattered corpses.
Senior Brother? He couldn't hold back?
Before she could think further, Ryan had already pulled out the giant halberd and, amidst the 'whirring' of the chainsaw, charged directly into the enemy formation.
His right hand danced, like a spinning windmill, turning everything it touched into fragments.
"Honkai Beasts, it's been years since I fought in such a 'low-tier match.'" Ryan advanced. His speed wasn't fast, but the four-meter-long giant halberd, enveloped in Honkai energy, shredded everything around him.
The ground broke open, arthropods wrapped around his legs. With a single stomp of his heel, a several-meter-wide pit crushed the hidden enemies underground into minced meat. His raised left hand blocked a teleporting Honkai Emperor. A headbutt crushed it like a rock into dust.
Unstoppable, not even breaking his stride, Ryan simply marched forward, crushing every Honkai Beast that came near him.
This power armor is good, at least it saves a lot of effort.
Ryan wasn't frenzied by the slaughter; instead, he was as calm as an engineer. He didn't even use his authorities; a slight energy replenishment was enough to run the power armor at full capacity.
This effectively disguised his identity. The Mirage system had been used many times; Herrschers weren't fools. Ryan could act in any way, but there was one thing he couldn't act: his unique authorities.
So I just don't use them.
Clang!
Hard bone blades crossed in front, finally blocking the ever-unstoppable giant halberd. The alien-like Emperor-class Honkai Beast opened its mouth and spat out a large amount of highly corrosive saliva.
The Honkai energy was directly corroded through, and the armor underneath emitted white smoke. Ryan didn't even look, directly thrusting his fist into the sharp-toothed mouth.
His brain was pierced through. Bone blades frantically struck the armor, sparking. Ryan pulled it close, and it was met with a knee strike.
Thud.
The Honkai Beast's entire skeletal structure shuddered, then it lightly leaped to dissipate the force.
This was clearly a type specializing in close-quarters combat.
It raised its scythe-like feet, intending to slice, but then a flash of light.
The Honkai energy cluster cannon under his arm armor pierced its abdomen at point-blank range. The body was blasted backward again, and before it could stabilize— Whirring.
The chainsaw halberd chopped down, evenly splitting it into two halves.
Its massive body was extremely agile, avoiding a pillar of fire that pierced through the ground. He reversed his grip on the halberd and slammed it into the ground, impaling another mutated Honkai Beast.
Then, the chainsaw rotated, actually tearing it into pieces in mid-air.
These iron-hard fragments fell, and were then swatted away, like shrapnel knocking down a large group of Honkai Beasts. Hua, who was about to go up for support, froze.
At this moment, Ryan was not unleashing his terrifying authorities, nor was he even using his exquisite Inch Punch.
Cold, efficient, unstoppable, transforming every part of his body into a killing machine.
The Emperor-class Honkai Beast died without even a chance to struggle.
The chainsaw halberd swept across, harvesting the beast horde that rushed forward. The Honkai Emperor's cutting beam couldn't penetrate his defense at all.
Ryan stepped forward, blasted half of its head with the cannon, and then reached out, actually tearing off the Honkai Beast's spine. Bang. He stomped the remaining body into dust.
Ryan didn't look back, his eyes only on the dust-filled jungle.
He thrust the long halberd forward, treading through a sea of corpses and blood. "Tenth Team, follow me, advance!"