Completely recovering all the remnants of Śeṣa would take some time. During this period, the warriors dispatched by the Fire Moth would remain on standby near Changkong City.
After all, without retrieving the core of Śeṣa's collapse beast—and considering Śeṣa is currently the only collapse beast whose power level surpasses the Emperor class—Fire Moth had to be extremely cautious.
At the training ground of the Fire Moth's Far East Division, Kevin was struggling to dodge the assaults of several simulated Seraph-class Honkai beasts. Then, with a backhand, he crushed a Templar-Class Honkai beast, kicked away a Death Soldier, and after catching his breath a little, looked toward the observation platform and said, "Elysia, are you sure the training intensity you set is appropriate?"
Although Kevin had slackened on his physical training for a while after traveling through time and becoming a student, was the training intensity Elysia arranged really okay?
"Aah, I think it's fine?" Elysia's laid-back voice sounded. "The strongest so far are just Templar-Class Honkai beasts. Kevin, you're not telling me you can't handle even one Templar-Class now, are you?"
Kevin was silent for a moment. Templar-Class beasts were no problem, but… was the number of enemies correct?
"Alright, Elysia, he's already excellent. The training intensity you've assigned — even some official Fire Moth warriors might not be able to pass it." Ato's voice sounded from nearby.
After smashing another Seraph-class Honkai beast, Kevin began to think about what meaning lay behind Elysia's arrangement.
Then Ato continued, "From a rookie's perspective, this training intensity is probably something only Silas can rival. This kid… has been training his life off since joining the Fire Moth."
Kevin pondered briefly, and then it dawned on him.
So that's how it is, Elysia — you don't want Silas to bear all the burden alone anymore, so you gave me such tough training, right?
But even so, I still support Lilith!
Feeling reassured, Kevin thought he could take on ten Templar-Class beasts with ease.
Ato on the observation platform looked stunned as Kevin suddenly seemed pumped up: "This… was he really just a middle schooler before? Only played basketball?"
Elysia calmly raised the difficulty: "I told you, Silas really values him; they got along from the start."
Ato gave Elysia a strange look. Seriously? Getting jealous over a guy? Hmm, he remembered Kevin seemed to have followed Silas directly into battle, for which Silas had to write a 10,000-word self-criticism report…
Wait, what am I thinking? Kevin has a girlfriend.
Sigh, so this is how girls in love behave? Ato knew Elysia really liked Silas, so, good luck Elysia!
By the way, wasn't Silas practicing dual combat with Sakura? Elysia, aren't you worried?
Ato felt he should remind the cute junior: "Elysia, Silas went with Sakura to exterminate Honkai Beasts on the outskirts of Changkong City today. Don't you want to check on them?"
Elysia pondered. She just wanted to get a little revenge on Kevin—he didn't stand on her side and had openly encouraged Silas to find Lilith right in front of her. Good thing it was her; if it were Vill-V or Mobius, Kevin might already be in pieces.
Besides, Mobius and Vill-V were already en route.
She only wanted Kevin to be tired—so tired he wouldn't have the energy to egg Silas on to find Lilith. Now that her goal was almost reached, there was no need to watch further.
Although Sakura got a head start but hadn't found her own track, she still needed to check on her. Speaking of exterminating Honkai Beasts… she also wanted to fight alongside Silas. Kevin was to blame! Hmph!
"Well then, Ato, I'm counting on you to watch Kevin. I'm off to find Silas~" Elysia got up, ready to look for Silas.
"Leave it to me!" Ato said confidently, patting his chest.
Meanwhile, on the other side…
Silas and Sakura stood back-to-back, their eyes scanning the barren ground around them with caution. Suddenly, they split apart as the ground beneath them cracked open. A Crustacean leapt out, executing a Crab Rising Fist.
Before it could land, its underbelly exposed and unprotected, Silas drove his spear into the thinner plating there and slammed the beast to the ground. However, his strike lacked the power to pierce its core, and the Honkai Beast clamped down on the weapon with its body, trapping it.
At that moment, a Jellyfish-class Honkai Beast spun downward in a rapid dive toward him. Silas narrowed his eyes. Instead of yanking his spear free, he shifted his body just slightly, using the enemy's momentum against it, and then delivered a sharp kick that sent it flying in another direction. Sakura seized the opportunity, leaping forward to slice the beast down.
With his hands free, Silas lifted his spear—still lodged in the Crustacean and smashed both into the ground. Using the added force, the spear finally pierced the creature's core.
"You alright, Silas?" Sakura asked, approaching with concern.
"I think my leg's about to break…" Silas replied between breaths, forcing a wry smile. Sure, it had been a momentum-based counter, but Honkai Beast shells were no joke. To send that Jellyfish-class beast flying toward Sakura for the finishing blow, he'd nearly overstrained his leg.
Tidal-class and Jellyfish-class Honkai Beasts were considered oddities among their kind. They weren't as massive or as heavily armored as Templar-class, but they were still far stronger than Chariot-class or Seraph-class.
Especially that Jellyfish-class—it hovered above constantly, and with both Silas and Sakura occupied by the Tidal-class on the ground, they couldn't spare attention for it. The creature would wait for the perfect chance to swoop down suddenly, and if it missed, it would immediately shoot back into the air.
Just as Sakura was about to ask if they should go check their surroundings, Silas lifted his right hand with a grin.
"This area's clear. Nice teamwork—high five?"
Sakura blinked. "Ah… o-okay…" She reached out and lightly tapped her hand against his.
Her heartbeat seemed to quicken again.
Silas didn't think much of it. Right now, his mind was on a certain comrade in training. Elysia probably wouldn't harm Kevin, but getting worn out to exhaustion from high-intensity drills? That was pretty much a given.
Suddenly, his communicator crackled to life:
"Report! Someone is attempting to force their way into the restricted zone at Sector B5! We might not be able to subdue him—requesting backup! Requesting backup!"
Silas and Sakura exchanged glances. They were in Sector B4, the closest to B5, so he immediately responded,
"Don't take any rash action for now. We're on our way to support you!"
Sector B5.
"Listen up! If you don't stop this dangerous behavior immediately, we won't hesitate to use force! Stop and identify yourself!" a soldier shouted at a masked man.
"Hmph… won't hesitate to use force? Then come at me if you can!" the man's voice was hoarse yet filled with power. Several Flame-Chaser soldiers instinctively took a step back.
After all—they had just seen this man tear apart a Catapult-class Honkai Beast with his bare hands.
Tearing apart with bare hands—what kind of concept was that? That meant this madman could likely rip them apart just as easily.
Seeing their hesitation, the masked man scoffed. "So this is the courage of MOTH's warriors? Pathetic!"
The squad leader gritted his teeth. As an underground organization, MOTH couldn't openly fire on civilians—especially one who'd just dismantled a Honkai beast barehanded.
"You guys go handle Honkai Beast cleanup in the other sectors. We'll take care of things here."
A somewhat youthful voice spoke up. The squad leader turned to look at the boy—yes, boy, because he wasn't even of age yet.
But he was still a soldier they could count on.
Within the Fire Moth, there was hardly anyone who hadn't heard of him. Despite only a few months of training, he had already surpassed most soldiers, and he was notorious for pushing himself far harder than anyone else. He had even played a role in the mission to eliminate the Third Herrscher. In terms of fame within the Fire Moth, he was second only to Elysia.
"Be careful, Silas," the squad leader warned, eyeing the masked figure warily. "He's... unreasonable."
"Relax. I know what I'm doing." Silas had originally wanted to address the soldier by name, but then realized—he didn't even know who that was.
Once the soldiers withdrew, Silas shifted his gaze to the masked man. "It's been a while, Kalpas."
Kalpas crossed his arms. "Tch. Didn't expect you'd join MOTH so quickly this time." He gave a cold snort. "Forget it. That's not important. Back in the battle against Finality—you dared to just leave on your own, to do those pointless things alone… Tell me—are you ready to face my wrath?!"
"Kalpas!" Sakura's voice was sharp, her hand moving to the hilt of her blade. She could feel the killing intent radiating from him. If he so much as made a move, she would draw immediately.
"Heh, Sakura… do you really think you can protect him?" Kalpas cracked his knuckles. "Back then, you could only watch him walk away. And now—you still can't do a damn thing."
Sakura bit her lip. The first time she fought Kalpas, she had the upper hand only because she had ambushed him and he lacked a proper fighting style. But ever since then—even after becoming a MANTIS—defeating Kalpas had been extremely difficult. And now? She wasn't even in her MANTIS body, and both she and Silas had just come out of a fight.
Right now, the only person who could stop him would probably be Elysia.
Silas studied Kalpas. Yes, the killing intent and rage were real—but… not much of it was truly aimed at him. Getting roughed up a bit was inevitable, but Kalpas definitely wouldn't go all out.
So maybe… he'd just let Kalpas land a few hits?
"Aww, come on, Kalpas! When old comrades meet after a long time, you don't have to be so hot-tempered. You'll just ruin the mood for everyone~"
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