A massive body, a colossal amount of Honkai energy, and a fusion of various abilities.
The combat power of this monster was truly terrifying, but without a Herrscher's Authority, it was relying entirely on the straightforward path of 'brute force prevails.'
"It's truly exaggerated. It's the kind of enemy I'm not good at dealing with," Elysia glanced to the side. Her petal-like shield had shattered into pieces. If Aponia hadn't used her illusion to distract the monster for a split second, that blast would have been enough to wound her.
"They are two extremes. The Herrscher of Binding's slaughter is silent and unseen, while this one directly tears everything in sight to shreds." Aponia's chest rose and fell rapidly. Although she still maintained her look of compassionate sorrow, a hint of exhaustion was unavoidable.
"It's weaker than the Herrscher of Binding, but not by much."
One was a bizarre, ultimate erasure; the other was a grand, wholesale destruction. Different styles, equally fatal.
"This must be what Ryan meant by maxing out both attack and defense," Elysia's smile calmed slightly. She saw Joshua, who was continuously throwing daggers, trapped in a carbonized cage. She drew her bow and fired a pink arrow, which slammed into the giant hand reaching down, managing to deflect it slightly.
Rumble—
The ground shook for a moment. The dust kicked up buried that area, and the priest quickly tumbled out.
"Aponia, please cover me."
"Are you sure you want to charge up again? It will be very difficult to exhaust its Honkai energy." The nun frowned slightly. The battle had been going on for quite a while, and the opponent's energy level hadn't dropped much.
"We don't necessarily have to exhaust it. At least, I can find some weaknesses for Ryan so he doesn't have such a headache."
As her voice faded, pink petals scattered in the air. The girl dashed forward like an elf. The moment she moved, the skeletal giant recaptured its target, immediately forgetting about the priest.
Barrage Scatter!
It was still an endless sweep of lasers crisscrossing the area. Elysia dodged erratically like a butterfly flitting among flowers. Scorching beams grazed her body as she simultaneously shot out arrows.
Whoosh—Boom!
The basin turned into a rift valley. A dozen arrows shot out within a second exploded all over the giant's body. As she drew closer, the pervasive light beams became even denser, and a new ability appeared.
Refraction.
The beams that grazed past Elysia seemed to hit an invisible mirror, reflecting from behind, instantly multiplying the beam density several times over.
Every inch of air was filled. At least in real space, evasion was impossible. The girl turned her head, her pupils shrinking slightly, and then she was simultaneously hit by beams wrapping around her from all directions.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The energy collisions blossomed into a dozen fireballs in the sky. The skeletal giant paused, seemingly assessing the result. A second later, it plunged its huge hand into the ground.
Azure light butterflies appeared, fluttering around Elysia. This was not a mental illusion but a higher level of deception. She had already silently bypassed the wall of light beams and appeared above the giant's head.
The giant light bow expanded. The diffused energy made her white dress spread like wings. A smile was on her face as she watched the skeletal giant fiercely yank its hands, which had been plunged into the earth, upwards.
Clatter—
Tens of thousands of tons of rocks surged toward her like a tsunami. These ordinary rocks clearly couldn't block the light arrow, so they instantly solidified mid-air, forming a hundred-meter-tall giant shield.
Completely carbonized, their hardness was comparable to diamonds. Nothing fancy, just the extreme of toughness.
"But you blocked the wrong thing." Elysia's smile grew brighter. She suddenly raised her hand and shot the arrow towards the sky.
"Please enjoy, the magnificent Flower Arrow."
The arrow exploded high in the air like a brilliant fireworks display. Then, a domain with a pink, petal-like top unfolded. Arrows rained down, seemingly maneuvering around the giant shield like elves, and mercilessly slammed into the opponent.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong...
The arrows fell like a shower of stars. Countless smoke plumes rose simultaneously, and countless light spheres erupted all over the skeletal giant.
Ten arrows, a hundred arrows, a thousand arrows. Each one was capable of destroying mountains and severing rivers. When so many descended in a short period, and the unending bursts of light spheres followed one after another, any defensive skill would be torn to shreds before it could fully materialize. Furthermore, the massive body had no chance of evasion.
The giant began to hunch over, shielding its head with its hands while spreading its crystal-adorned bony wings to their maximum extent.
The light flared, linking together. Four beams, dozens of meters thick, roared out, simultaneously striking Elysia's location.
BOOM!!!
The fireball generated by the energy collision was hundreds of meters in diameter. Everything within this range would be reduced to particles, but the rain of arrows did not stop. Within the intense light, the fleeting light butterflies were barely noticeable.
"Sorry, I quietly borrowed Aponia's ability."
Elysia appeared on the ground. The Authority of 'Link' wasn't just for team voice chat; a teammate's ability could also be borrowed.
Her fair hand spread open, and a pink longsword swung lightly. She ran straight to the giant's foot, raising her head, unable to see the mountaintop.
Then let's cover them while they climb.
The pink 'rain' was still falling, erupting fine, pale bone fragments, yet it seemed to have friendly-fire turned off, bypassing Elysia—no, bypassing everyone.
Joshua was close behind, watching the oncoming light arrows land beside him. The arrows didn't need to be remotely controlled by the girl in front; they automatically attacked the monster.
The power was immense, and the number was terrifying, surging in wave after wave.
It was as if a close-range defense system had been activated. Fine bone spurs appeared on the giant's surface, but before they could counterattack, they were preemptively eliminated by the pink light arrows. Furthermore, the pale white abscesses in front exploded, and the monsters that had just been born were instantly blown to pieces.
The visual effect was spectacular, but as a battle-hardened warrior, Joshua knew how terrifying this Authority was.
It was indeed not much weaker than the Herrscher of Binding, but without an Authority, they could not gain a decisive, overwhelming advantage.
They could win!
His steps became more forceful. Joshua led a dozen warriors upwards, climbing. From the skeletal giant's defensive posture, he already knew where its vital point was.
A specific spot on the neck. A full-power strike might be enough to slay this terrifying monster.
A shadow loomed. Finding that it couldn't stop the enemy charging up from below, the skeletal giant lowered one hand, shaking it downwards against its chest, as if to brush off the 'fleas' on its body.
Slowly but unstoppably, it descended like a mountain pressing down. There was no possibility of evasion; only retreat offered survival.
"Accelerate! Leave everything to Miss Elysia!!" Joshua roared, unleashing a soft white light to boost their speed to the extreme. He then noticed the arrow rain stop and his heart sank, but his eyes immediately widened again.
Thousands, tens of thousands of light arrows converged in front, quickly forming a hundred-meter-long pink greatsword that whistled down.
"A little slower, then jump to the left. That way, you'll reach your destination."
A gentle voice rang out in everyone's minds. In a thousandth of a second, their bodies reacted before their minds could even process the thought.
It looked somewhat similar to the Authority of Domination, but this was absolute trust; it was a link of the mind.
Swoosh—
The sword light sliced past barely touching their scalps, severing the giant hand at the wrist. It then exploded, mixing with bone fragments that scattered everywhere.
In a sense, these were all hidden weapons, yet they mysteriously bypassed the team, only shattering the surrounding abscesses and bone spurs, clearing the path ahead instead.
"How is this possible? Even if Prometheus calculated it, she couldn't compute the trajectory of every projectile in such a short time..."
The flying, flower-like fragments were reflected in his pupils. The fire of faith burned fiercely in every heart.
"This is the power of a miracle! This is the daughter of God! This is the apostle of the Kingdom of Heaven!"
The priest leaped high, aiming for the junction of the giant's head and neck. His right fist was filled with pure white light.
"Amen!!"
A punch in mid-air. The high-concentration Honkai energy formed a pale white beam that, along with a barrage of electromagnetic and disintegration cannons from behind, struck simultaneously.
Boom—
A fireball erupted, creating a ten-meter-wide cavity. Inside, one could glimpse multi-colored Honkai energy crystals, revealing that the skeletal giant was not hollow.
A chance.
Without any hesitation, he decisively led his team to charge in, and then he heard a voice in his mind.
"Come back, Father Joshua!"
Hmm?
His body reacted faster than his mind. Another scene unfolded in his pupils:
A man seemed to be fused into the Honkai energy crystal, with only a highly mutated face showing. Beside him, a blue-haired, barefoot girl tilted her head, looking troubled and surprised:
You actually made it this far.
"It's the Sixth Herrscher..."
There was an ambush within the ambush. The girl's purple pupils reflected a fog as black as ink. This was the materialization of the Authority of Death, possessing terrifying lethality against living creatures.
Over the years, Fire Moth had prepared much equipment and many tactics to deal with her, but this time they were mobilized to fight a Honkai Beast, so they hadn't made the corresponding preparations.
The black fog surged towards him, dispelling the pure white cloak, and was about to touch his bones. But at that moment, Joshua and the dozen others instantly vanished into thin air.
Link. Space Jump.
Elysia resolutely borrowed Kevin's ability, using all her strength to toss Joshua and the others far away. But this created a momentary gap.
Once the link was used, it couldn't be immediately used on the Herrscher of Death. The purple eyes looked at the young face. Without needing her Authority, the Herrscher felt profound malice.
"You are strong, but you are too kind. You should have let them die and used that chance to kill me."
Elysia's strength was somewhat unexpected. She had eaten through this feast specially prepared for her down to the last dish. But in a life-or-death moment, trying to save everyone meant her own death.
The torrent of black fog curved in the air, swooping toward her like a giant snake. At the same time, the sky darkened.
A rib grew out, forming a giant hand that whistled down from behind. With the light arrows gone, the skeletal giant could focus all its attention on her.
Facing the frantic counterattack and profound malice, the pink-haired girl responded with a smile.
"I have no intention of dying."
BOOM!!!
The giant hand froze overhead. The torrent of black fog seemed to be scattered by an invisible hand, and a large hole was melted into the impenetrable crimson membrane high in the sky.
There was no dazzling light, no mountain-like oppressive force. The black-haired, white-clad man merely extended his right hand, erasing all attacks around the girl.
"Take your filthy hands off Elysia."
Constraint.
The Authority gathered into an invisible blade, breaking through the indestructible barrier and accurately covering the area around Elysia, even if it caused the light arrows that had been shot out to dissipate as well.
Perish with Elysia? How dare you!
He gazed downwards without blinking. Seeing the giant hand grown from a rib halt just short of Elysia, he lightly exhaled.
Elysia was completely unharmed, and her combat power exceeded his estimation. This giant was even stronger than the Seventh Herrscher, yet it was still engaged in a back-and-forth battle with the two teams.
"But with the Herrscher of Death, it's enough to break the balance."
I will become the scorching sun.
A blazing sun rose in the sky, causing obvious ripples in the air. Aponia, who was desperately trying to rush over, suddenly stopped halfway and looked up at the dazzling sun.
Warmth, heat, and an infinite sense of security radiated, painting the sky scarlet.
"I told you you couldn't eat me, didn't I?" Elysia lifted her chin triumphantly, because just before the giant and the Herrscher launched a full-power attack on her—
The sun had fallen.
There was no sound, or perhaps the propulsion from gravity and the storm far exceeded the speed of sound propagation. The Honkai Beast also disregarded the nearby Elysia; this attack originating from the sky would annihilate it on the spot.
Woo—Whoosh—
Six beams of light blasted toward it, but the sun was stained with a layer of crimson. That was the Authority of Blood roaring out, splashing outwards like a column of water hitting a wall.
Energy Diffusion.
Pure Honkai energy was countered. The skeletal giant, which had remained motionless until now, finally moved. It lifted its legs, which had been buried deep in the earth, and like kicking a soccer ball, flung hundreds of thousands of tons of rock into the air.
The world was turned upside down, and then the rocks carbonized.
Invisible waves spread, solidifying the overwhelming rock surge mid-air, forming twelve thick, pitch-black walls. Then, as they watched, the crimson sun stretched, transforming into a massive long spear.
Embodying the lightning, transforming into the spear.
Penetration!
Bang, bang, bang...
The absolute physical defense was cleanly pierced through the center. The breach exhibited a lava-like texture, layer after layer. As the distance closed, the air itself began to burn.
A thousand meters, a hundred meters, ten meters.
The ribbed hands, which had transformed into six, clenched their palms tightly. They detached from the body like cannonballs and collided head-on with the red and blue giant spear, as if in a fierce rivalry.
The world went silent for a moment. The feeling of the air being instantly sucked out made Aponia purse her lips, and she instinctively closed her eyes.
RUMBLE!!!
Even though she was still several kilometers away, Aponia felt as if she had been hit by a giant beast. A terrifying shockwave slammed into her face, and her body was tossed away like a piece of paper.
Her butterfly wings served no aerodynamic purpose. She didn't know how far she flew, but a sharp pain in her back forced her to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"The apocalypse in the Book of Revelation could not be worse than this."
The nun sat in a huge crater, looking at the distant thunderclouds. She clearly saw the skeletal giant's chest explode, and its entire body hunched over.
There was no dust, or rather, no matter could survive in the epicenter of the explosion. Everything was utterly erased, just like the bone spurs and abscesses that had just covered the skeletal giant's surface.
"Ryan, weren't you afraid of sweeping me up in that?" Elysia blinked, raising her head slightly to see the man's sharp, defined profile.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't have acted if I wasn't sure," Ryan chuckled. He had transformed into the spear, but at the moment of contact, he had quantum-phased out and followed the mental link to Elysia, creating a small Constraint field around her.
He used several Authorities in sync, quickly pulling Elysia out. Now holding her in his arms, feeling her substantial weight, his heart finally settled.
Relieved as he was, Ryan still admonished, "You should have stalled for time."
"It anticipated that I would run away, so I did the opposite. Besides, I knew you would come."
"How did you know?"
Elysia didn't speak. She merely raised a finger and gently tapped his chest. After a brief pause, Ryan understood.
This chess game could jam global communications and disrupt the 'Sky Net' tracking, but it couldn't sever the mental link. Elysia was always very shrewd, and her acting skills were top-notch.
"Alright, I'll credit your cleverness. Take a moment to rest. I have a score to settle with it."
Ryan set Elysia down, his face grim. Apart from the girl beside him, he could only sense two other life forms. He didn't need to ask to know the losses were heavy.
"Oh, I threw Father Joshua and the others far away."
The man's footsteps paused slightly, and he gave an almost imperceptible nod, thinking to himself that no wonder the energy expenditure was huge—he had performed such a good deed.
"In both strength and intellect, I underestimated you."
"Uh, do I sound like an idiot??"
Ryan ignored Elysia, who had turned into a pouting mushroom, and narrowed his eyes to observe the distance carefully. Unlike the unique feeling each Herrscher brought, this thing was no different from the ones he had destroyed in Shenzhou. In essence, it was nearly identical to an Assault-class Honkai Beast.
The difference was only that it was a little bigger, a little stronger, and had a few more abilities.
I've met a fellow traveler on the 'brute force prevails' road, he thought. It plays the game very well.
Its Honkai energy intensity was above 20,000 HW. If this thing were given to the Herrscher of Binding, ten lives would be erased. The core issue was the efficiency of use. Authority and ability might sound similar, but in reality, they were worlds apart.
'It's safer to wait for everyone to regroup. I'll use my Authorities to wear it down first. After all, the Herrscher of Death hiding inside is quite dangerous.'
Caution prevailed. An Authority was a skill, after all. Abandoning his strengths to wrestle with a monster this size would be utterly idiotic.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
A tearing sound rang out. Before he could make a move, the skeletal giant preemptively shot its scorched, pale ribs at him.
"Let me slim you down first."
Ryan spread his palm, grasping a pure white longsword. The Authority of Flame, compressed to its absolute limit, showed no trace of fire. Compared to the rushing ribs, it was too small to even notice.
Remnant Flame Greatsword.
With a minimal swing, the blade touched the dozens-of-meters-long rib, and the latter instantly vanished into blue smoke, as if erased by an invisible rubber.
Ryan lifted his foot, walking forward on thin air. The dancing blade formed a kind of absolute domain. Three steps later, a dense barrage of light beams began to sweep. Unlike Elysia, who needed coordination, the man simply raised his left hand, gathering another scarlet long blade.
Cleaving.
The sweeping lasers were all deflected, and the dense black spikes turned into blue smoke. Ryan seemed impervious to both fire and water, advancing with calm, measured steps.
Let me see how many more abilities and how much more energy you have.
About seven steps later, he suddenly paused, shifting his gaze to the side.
Hmm?
The edge of the basin was shattering, and pale 'mountain ranges' were rising. Seen from the sky, they looked like a coiled tail. It was they who had just released the crimson force field that sealed the inside from the outside, and now they were surrounding him in the center.
Is it going to use its full power?
Ryan secretly mobilized his Honkai energy and Authorities, but his expression instantly changed a second later.
No, it's going to self-destruct.
BOOM!!!
A colossal beam of light erupted from the ground, punching a hole straight through the sky and into the vast expanse of space.
From the perspective of a high-orbit satellite, it was as if someone had stabbed the Earth with a giant sword. The energy wave that erupted instantly tore apart the 'Sky Net' system.
"High energy reading detected ahead."
"All hands, prepare for impact!"
A hundred kilometers away, the alarm on the Destiny ship blared. Before anyone could react, a terrifying shockwave slammed into the warship, causing the tens of thousands of tons of hull to sway like a falling leaf.
The view outside the window brightened suddenly. Their altitude was rapidly dropping. Various screams and cries of pain mingled together. Only the MANTIS were able to maintain their balance.
"What happened? What happened?" Hua was still bewildered. She had been sitting properly, caressing All Things Must Rest, gathering all her strength to go out and help.
But before she could even see Ryan, she was spinning in the air with the warship. She quickly froze her hand to the ceiling.
"I don't know, but something bad must have happened in theory. To feel the residual effects at this distance, the energy center must be incredibly terrifying," Sakura remained cool. She didn't hesitate any longer.
Clang—
Her thumb flicked her long sword out, piercing a large hole in the hull. With the howling cold wind rushing in, she flew out of the hangar. Looking ahead, she was stunned.
The sky was cloudless. A massive beam of light had yet to dissipate. The shockwave had just destroyed mountains, evaporated lakes, and left the land a complete mess.
Numerous towns were reduced to ruins. Small buildings had their roofs blown off. They were mixed with flying dirt, leaving a series of circular 'waves' on the ground.
"The Honkai Beast evolved to this level??" Hua happened to arrive beside her, looking at the scene with horror. This was already continental-level destruction, like a giant nuclear bomb had been detonated in Central Europe.
The earth trembled. Aftershocks shook everything within a thousand-kilometer radius into ruins.
"It shouldn't be, at least not yet," Sakura whispered, instinctively lowering her body and preparing to fly toward the epicenter, until a bloody color stained the light pillar, desperately compressing it towards the center.
Hua, who had rushed forward like a false start, also stopped ahead. She turned back and exchanged glances with the fox-eared girl. They both sighed in relief, but couldn't hide their astonishment.
He's okay after that!?
The explosion was beyond imagination, and Ryan's strength was even more so. Before the two could offer their praise, a female voice rang out in their minds.
"Ryan says to stop with the flattery and have someone hurry up and dig us out."