"Observation systems have been restored."
"Real-time image transmitting. Honkai energy reaction... coverage survival rate is less than 11.71%! No Emperor-class Honkai Beast detected in the core area!!"
"We succeeded!!!"
London.
Anti-Honkai Combat Command Center.
On the large display screen at the front of the conference room, the epicenter of the hydrogen bomb explosion was now empty, save for the tangible, visible Honkai energy.
Combined with the reconnaissance data from the radar... the decision to use the hydrogen bomb, made under immense pressure (presumably), was extremely correct.
The Emperor-class Honkai Beast that had been bearing down on the island of Great Britain, along with the legion it led, had been completely vaporized by this high-yield hydrogen bomb.
As for the one-tenth of the Honkai Beasts on the periphery of the explosion near the coastline, the army was fully capable of cleaning them up.
"Should we notify our neighbors?"
"If they need it, we can help them drop a couple."
Great Britain's stockpile of hydrogen bombs of this yield was far from single digits. The one just used had only eliminated one-third of the total Honkai Beast forces. The other two legions marching toward the Norwegian Sea and mainland Europe were not significantly affected... at least, their Emperor-class beasts and main forces were still intact.
Since the effect was so obvious, Great Britain naturally didn't mind dropping two more to completely erase the Honkai Beast threat in the North Sea.
A complete reversal of the earlier tense situation, the command center was now filled with cheers and laughter...
"What is that!?"
The commanding officers could discuss where to drink their evening tea, but the radar operators were still faithfully carrying out their duties, and then...
At the core of the explosion, accompanied by spatial ripples spreading like water, a giant space gate, encircled by sixteen Space-Time Crystals, slowly unfurled—
"Plop!!"
The Emperor-class Honkai Beast "Pontos," which should have been annihilated, stepped onto the waves completely unscathed!
Next to it, the "vaporized" Honkai Beasts appeared in large numbers.
Losses were naturally unavoidable, but even with the remaining numbers... the hydrogen bomb had, at most, eliminated 40% of the legion. The rest were still more than enough to trample the island of Great Britain flat!
What's more—
"THUD!!"
The waves froze, and a white mist spread.
An icy chill swept across the sea, and the entire world within view was frozen into beautiful, magnificent ice sculptures!
A type of Honkai Beast never seen before, towering over a hundred meters and even larger than "Pontos," landed forcefully on the ice!
"AWOOOO— -!!"
A sound wave, impossible to distinguish as a cry or a roar, erupted from its mouth.
The ambient Honkai energy, left lingering from the annihilation of so many beasts, rapidly converged toward the body of this unknown creature. On its massive, lightning-shaped horns, the surging golden energy grew ever more brilliant!
"Where are the Flame-Chasers!?"
"The stationed squad is ready and can be deployed at any time..."
"Are they all fucking blind!? Tell them to move now! Immediately! Stop that damned thing!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Zzz-ip."
A zipper made of super-alloy was pinched by slender fingers, traveling up over a flat abdomen, climbing over mountains and ridges, until it reached its destination above the collarbone.
The Flame-Chaser Special Operations Team, stationed in London.
The squad was composed of four Fusion Warriors. The capitals of all major powers basically had a small team dispatched by the Flame-Chasers specifically to deal with sudden incidents.
Previously, these roles were filled by ordinary people.
But after the Seventh Herrscher incident, with the launch of the Fusion Warrior project, most of these squad members became Fusion Warriors. The number of members, however, dropped from twelve to six, and then, after the Eighth Herrscher incident, was reduced again to four.
Their work was not top secret, but outside of the Flame-Chasers, it was rare for Fusion Warriors to interact with ordinary people.
Take the London team, for example.
After undergoing the fusion surgery, the team's captain, Eldridge, had grown a pair of thick, curved, dark-red horns on the sides of her head.
In a country that regards goats as symbols of the devil, this appearance, which shared many similarities with Deadmen, would become a focal point in every sense of the word.
Although she had tried to cut the horns off, they had become a part of Eldridge's body. She was fundamentally unable to do it (both psychologically and physically).
Coupled with the fact that her teammates all thought the horns were beautiful... even Elysia's greeting every time she saw her would be to "pet the horns," so Eldridge eventually gave up on the idea.
Her combat suit was on.
The suit, which fit her body perfectly, looked a bit risqué, but in reality, every element was a unique design tailored for combat needs.
"The order is in."
Eldridge looked at the wristband that was flashing with a pale blue light and spoke to her team members.
"Finally..."
"I thought those old fossils could hold out a little longer."
"No time for jokes. This time, our opponent... one of them looks tough enough, let alone fighting two at once."
"Move out!"
The chatter did not slow their movements.
The entire squad was already fully prepared and, upon receiving the order, immediately jumped into their landing pod. Launched by a hypersonic rocket to the target location to directly attack the Honkai Beasts—their method of battle was just that simple and unadorned.
"Swoosh!!"
The very next second after the Flame-Chaser team ascended in their rocket...
"Shhh—"
"BOOM!!!!"
[Honkai Roar Cannon]
A re-advanced version of the Chariot-class Honkai Beast's [Roar] skill. It was a long-distance strike method that condensed a beam of the purest Honkai energy, possessing both cutting power and explosive force.
This was Cheche's most powerful move.
At the same time the Flame-Chaser team was ascending, the repetitive "condense-compress" process had already been performed countless times.
Cheche was locating its target.
Although the Space-Time Crystals could be "distributed" for use by the Emperor, the level of understanding of this power varied greatly among different Honkai Beasts. Non-Variant Honkai Beasts below the Emperor-class couldn't even use the basic functions.
As for someone like Cheche, aside from the simplest "open door-close door," attacking a target beyond its perception via "spatial link" required sufficient patience. Although the [Honkai Roar Cannon] had a terrifying range, due to the curvature of the Earth, it had to be "deflection-calibrated" accordingly through the Space-Time Crystals.
After a full 120 seconds of charging...
"VOOM— —!"
A visible tide of energy converged in concentric rings in front of Cheche!
The kick from this thing... was even more stimulating than Sheshe's five thunder cannons combined!
"SHHH!!!"
From the North Sea in the east to London in the west, a dazzling celestial light melted everything in its path!
Before Cheche, the boundless seawater was unreservedly carved open, forming a bottomless chasm!
And then...
With a slight turn of Cheche's head—
"BOOM!!!!"
The capital of Great Britain was wiped off the map.