"That fast?"
Acheron furrowed her brow, listening as Elysia relayed the intel about a Herrscher appearing on the Mu Continent. She couldn't help but feel a bit startled.
"Yeah, I'm a little surprised too," Elysia nodded beside her. "There's usually a long gap between each Herrscher's appearance, often a year or two. But this time it's different. These Herrschers are popping up one after another, like dumplings dropping into a pot."
Even with a Herrscher emerging, not a trace of panic showed on Elysia's face.
Herrschers were terrifying, but with Mei around, there was nothing to fear.
That was probably what Elysia was thinking right now.
But she wasn't the only one who felt that way. In fact, the vast majority of Fire Moth shared the same sentiment.
Even Kevin was no exception.
The 6th Herrscher appeared? Acheron obliterated it in seconds.
The 7th Herrscher appeared? Acheron obliterated it in seconds.
The 8th Herrscher appeared? Still obliterated by Acheron in seconds.
'Kevin, oh Kevin,' he thought, 'the Honkai is not something to be taken so lightly. You can't pin all your hopes on Acheron alone.'
Then, ten Emperor-class Honkai Beasts swarmed a single city. They fought with all their might but couldn't hold them off. Acheron obliterated them in seconds.
'Fine, I'll just go with the flow,' Kevin resigned himself. 'I won't slack on my own training, but I'll wait for Acheron to make her move.'
At first, Kevin hadn't been too willing to accept this.
They were all young, after all. Kevin didn't think he was worse than anyone else. But faced with such overwhelming strength, he had to accept reality.
If even Kevin was like this, the other soldiers were even more so.
The current Fire Moth could be described as thriving, even though, objectively speaking, the Honkai disasters were far more intense than before.
After all, Emperor-class Honkai Beasts in the past didn't show up every other day like tour groups.
But then again, with the widespread use of the MANTIS technology, even Emperor-class Honkai Beasts were no longer undefeatable for Fire Moth soldiers.
Of course, the average MANTIS soldier wasn't nearly as fearsomely strong as Kevin and the others.
But they made up for it in numbers, and these MANTIS soldiers were all excellent talents carefully selected by Dr. Mei.
Their minds and wills were top-tier; they would absolutely never bully the weak just because they had gained great power.
"It seems there was a specific turning point when the Honkai started appearing on a large scale," Dr. Mei said, walking over as Elysia and Acheron were talking.
After a recent internal purge, Dr. Mei now held sole authority within Fire Moth. Dealing with Honkai disasters had become much more efficient compared to before.
After all, now she could just issue orders directly, whereas previously it required upper-level approval and coordination.
Let's just say the vertical management efficiency in Fire Moth was much higher now than it used to be.
"A specific turning point..." Elysia mused, instinctively glancing at Acheron beside her.
It seemed the Honkai's active period started right around when Acheron appeared.
If the Honkai used to be like slowly boiling a frog to extinguish human civilization, the current intensity of Honkai disasters was more like tossing a bowl of cold water into a hot wok—sudden and violent.
Yet, despite this level of intensity, the actual losses to humanity were much lighter now than during the less intense periods.
This was also related to the overall increase in humanity's strength.
In the past, dealing with a single Emperor-class Honkai Beast required multiple squads working together, often letting the beast rampage through a city for half a day or even a full day before it could be resolved.
Now, when an Emperor-class Honkai Beast appears, Fire Moth can often wrap things up—from deployment to mission completion—in just an hour.
Furthermore, thanks to the work of the never-met genius, Ms. Vill-V, Fire Moth's detection of Honkai energy concentration had become increasingly sophisticated.
A Honkai Beast doesn't just appear out of nowhere. It requires the local Honkai energy density to rise to a certain level before a beast of that caliber can be born.
Under the Honkai energy monitoring systems developed by Vill-V, an alarm would sound the instant the Honkai energy concentration rose anywhere. Fire Moth would then swiftly mobilize.
By the time the Honkai Beast was mostly formed, the Fire Moth squads were usually already in position.
Lately, many an Emperor-class Honkai Beast had suffered the misfortune of Kevin camping their spawn point.
They'd barely left their 'newbie village' before Kevin cut them down with a single stroke.
A tragic fate in a way.
Honkai Beast: 'Just emerged from the womb, ran into a Fire Moth cadre. Fought with all my might, but couldn't win!'
"Sis Elysia, Sis Mei, do your best! I'll be waiting for you to come back~" Before departure, standing in front of the aircraft, Pardo looked at Elysia and Acheron with a cheerful smile.
Before Acheron's team set off, squads led by Ato and Kevin had already departed.
"Mhm, don't worry, it won't take long. Wait for us, Pardo, I'll bring you back some local specialties. And besides, Pardo is doing a wonderful job in her own role."
Looking at the cat-eared Pardofelis behind her, Elysia reached out and affectionately ruffled the other girl's furry head.
Pardofelis obediently nuzzled into Elysia's hand.
"Hehe, don't worry! I'll handle the logistics while you're away! After all... I don't have the incredible power like Sis Mei, Sis Elysia, or Boss Kevin. You're all risking your lives on the front lines, shedding blood and sweat, while I can only do these little things in the rear."
Pardofelis blushed a little from Elysia's petting, speaking somewhat sheepishly.
"Now, now, don't say that, Pardo. No need to put yourself down. Both the front line and the rear support are vital parts of the whole."
"Without excellent logistics, the frontline fighters wouldn't be able to fight with peace of mind, would they? If Fire Moth were a precision instrument, then every single one of us is a crucial cog. Missing anyone would make the machine stutter and become inefficient."
Elysia looked at Pardo with a gentle smile. "So, be proud of yourself, Pardo. You're also working hard, shining with your own light and heat, throwing yourself into this great cause called 'Fire Moth'."
"Mhm! I understand!"
Hearing Elysia's words, Pardofelis immediately nodded excitedly, a sense of pride welling up from deep inside.
So... even an insignificant Cat Thief like me is part of this great undertaking...
To be honest, when she first joined Fire Moth, Pardo had felt somewhat inferior.
Compared to Aponia, with her powerful spiritual abilities and compassionate heart, or Kalpas, with his immense combat strength rivaling Kevin's, Pardofelis felt utterly insignificant.
She felt like a lucky stray who had somehow stumbled into Fire Moth, and it wasn't a good feeling.
'Just a petty thief, am I really worthy of this life?'
Later, recommended by Elysia and Acheron, she underwent the MANTIS surgery performed by Dr. Mei and Dr. Mobius, becoming a MANTIS soldier.
She thought that becoming a MANTIS would make her somewhat useful, but unexpectedly, aside from the cat ears on her head and the tail behind her, the MANTIS procedure didn't grant her any great power.
She thought things might change, but in the end, Pardo found she was still just as useless as before.
So, she became part of Fire Moth's logistics personnel.
She had hidden it well all along, not letting those around her notice her state of mind.
Until just now, an unintentional, genuine slip had let Elysia sense something, leading to their earlier conversation.
"Wait for us to return safely."
Acheron looked at Pardo, whose spirits had lifted considerably, and said with a light laugh.
Elysia had already said what needed to be said; there was no need for her to add anything.
To be honest, what Elysia just said sounded a bit like 'famous last words'. But then, with Acheron around, any such 'flags' would be mercilessly cut down.
By the time Acheron and Elysia arrived at the Honkai outbreak site, Kevin, Ato, and the other Fire Moth squads had already cleared out the zombies and Honkai Beasts there.
Although the Herrscher hadn't been born yet, plenty of Honkai Beasts had emerged.
Even with Vill-V's monitoring system, the Herrscher's emergence caused such a massive Honkai fluctuation that people simply didn't have time to evacuate before being corrupted by the high concentration of Honkai energy, transforming into zombies.
While Fire Moth could now minimize the damage, in the face of a Herrscher-level Honkai disaster, humanity still inevitably suffered losses.
Now, this city had almost become a city of the dead. Under the erosion of the intense Honkai energy, these people had no resistance and turned into monsters.
"Sorry we're late. Found the Herrscher?" Looking at the surrounding battlefield, Acheron said apologetically.
"Found it. If we're not mistaken, it's inside." Several squads had the area surrounded. Before them stood a massive structure.
This used to be the city's most bustling district, and right in front of them was its largest shopping mall.
The source of this Honkai outbreak originated here.
"This is the epicenter of this Honkai outbreak. The Honkai energy reaction is intense, even stronger than during the previous Herrscher of Flame incident," Kevin said, his expression grave.
The Honkai Eruption caused by the Herrscher of Flame had inflicted significant losses on humanity, even with Acheron present. This time, the Honkai energy intensity surpassed even that.
"As the city's largest mall, the interior is a complex maze. Charging in recklessly would likely leave us open to a Herrscher's ambush," Ato remarked calmly.
In such a confined, dim environment, even Acheron could potentially be defeated if ambushed by the Herrscher.
Well, that was Ato's thought, anyway.
"This is tricky..." Kevin couldn't help but mutter, looking up at the hundred-meter-tall skyscraper.
For a building of this scale, having a floor plan would be one thing. Without one, just finding your way around would be a nightmare.
Especially since everyone knew about Acheron's severe sense of direction.
That time she and Elysia were shopping, they got separated for just a moment, and next thing you know, Acheron had somehow wandered right into the spot where Kevin and Dr. Mei were having their date.
Most awkwardly, Kevin had been holding Dr. Mei, about to get close in that secluded corner of the bustling city.
Who would have thought a massive third wheel would barge in, nearly making both Kevin and Dr. Mei blush on the spot.
Their hard-earned day off was completely ruined by Acheron's interruption.
Elysia had to come and retrieve Acheron later.
A mall this huge? If they really let Acheron go in, who knows where she'd end up getting lost?
She mustn't go in! No matter what, they couldn't let Acheron enter!
Everyone who knew of Acheron's past 'glorious' deed thought this in unison.
"Ato and I will go in first, lure the Herrscher out. Once we have a precise location, Mei can move in for the kill. How's that?" Kevin immediately started formulating a plan.
"No. There's another way." After a moment of contemplation, Acheron spoke.
"What?" Kevin looked at her, curious.
"Just cut it down."
"?"
Before anyone could process what she meant...
They saw Acheron, who had already, at some point, drawn her long sword slightly from its scabbard. Then, she slowly sheathed it again.
Click...
With the crisp sound of the tsuba meeting the scabbard, a pale, stark blade light materialized before everyone's eyes.
Then, under their stunned gazes, the skyscraper was diagonally sliced apart by that single arc of light.
And then, it began to slowly slide apart.
The cut surface was impossibly smooth.
"So that's the method?" At this moment, Ato, the seasoned veteran of Fire Moth, looked like a rookie who hadn't even joined the Knights of Favonius yet, still whacking training dummies on street corners.
Neither Ato nor Kevin had considered this approach.
To be fair, as MANTIS soldiers, demolishing a building like this wasn't difficult for them, even if it was constructed from the highest quality materials.
"As expected of Mei, not bound by conventional thinking. So impressive," Elysia beside her didn't hold back her praise.
"That's... certainly a simple and direct approach," Kevin couldn't help but wryly smile at the sight.
He also began to reflect on himself.
Had he been getting slack lately?
Even though Kevin hadn't neglected his training, with Acheron's overwhelming combat power around, his mind had perhaps grown somewhat complacent.
Upon confirming the Herrscher's location, their first instinct had been to wait for Acheron's arrival, rather than thinking of a way to handle it themselves.
It was precisely this mindset that made Kevin and the others forget that there was this simple, brute-force method to flush the Herrscher out.
And it was this very moment of lazy thinking that allowed the Herrscher hiding within the structure to gather her most powerful attack.
"Perish... and be buried with this continent!"
In the hands of the 9th Herrscher, the Herrscher of Stars (Rock), a pitch-black sphere took form.
And in that instant, it seemed as if the very light in the air was being distorted.
Under its authority, a black hole was created!
While the Herrscher of Stars' power couldn't create a true, celestial-body-devouring black hole, even a super-gravitational substance similar to a black hole could cause immense damage to this world.
The world was far more fragile than some imagined.
Under such tremendous power, the planet itself was fragile, let alone the humans living on it.
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.