The Honkai Beasts tore down the wall, revealing their savage, ferocious faces as they roared loudly at Azure Empyrea.
Although they had full confidence in the Immortal, seeing the girl's seemingly fragile body about to be crushed beneath those steel-like giants still made the not-yet-distant members of the Treasure-Stealing Gang break into cold sweat.
Azure Empyrea stood there calmly. Her fingers rapidly wove a strange formation in the air.
The sphere in her hand was also under her precise control, its surface shimmering with soft, mysterious light patterns.
"Above and below, the radiance of blazing flame." Azure Empyrea formed a hand seal and softly spoke the incantation.
The moment the Immortal made her move, the Treasure-Stealing Gang members secretly watching from afar were stunned.
Gravitational Collapse Sphere—as the name suggests, it was a weakened version of an artificial black hole. Though heavily downgraded beyond recognition, the visual impact it displayed was no less than that of a real black hole.
The black sphere rose into the air, and the surrounding air seemed to be completely stripped away, forming a vacuum.
Countless tiny particles, dust, rubble, and even collapsed walls were all sucked into it.
Those Honkai Beasts, as massive as hills and with skin as hard as steel, appeared as fragile as paper before this force.
They roared and struggled, but were unable to resist the immense gravitational pull of the black sphere. They were mercilessly dragged into the abyss, disappearing into the darkness.
This temporary black hole lasted only a few seconds before vanishing like a bubble, with bricks and sand pouring down like rain.
After all, it was only a weakened version. Its energy and duration could only sustain a few seconds.
Yet even those few seconds left the Treasure-Stealing Gang members who witnessed the exaggerated scene filled with shock and disbelief. After all, it was their first time seeing a black hole in reality.
"My god, did you see that? That's the power of Azure Empyrea! My grandma's grandma once witnessed it!"
"I thought this kind of power only existed in legends."
Some who had originally doubted Azure Empyrea were finally convinced.
Although they still didn't know her true origins, it didn't stop them from treating Hua as their boss.
The underworld rule—strength reigns supreme.
As their discussions spread, the name of Azure Empyrea circulated among the crowd. Every face was filled with newfound awe and respect.
Standing atop a radiant flying sword, Azure Empyrea's blade automatically flew out of its scabbard. A sharp sword aura burst forth from its tip like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky.
"Edge of Taixuan!"
After clearing out several zombies that had followed into the emergency evacuation passage, the Immortal vanished from sight.
"Look, the Immortal disappeared!"
"As expected of an Immortal! I'm joining the Taixu Gang right now!"
"It's spatial ability!"
"Damn it, say 'ability' again and I'll kill you and trade you at Heliopolis Life Sciences for one, believe it or not!"
...
The war was far from over. That single Gravitational Collapse Sphere had only temporarily dealt with a small portion of the surrounding Honkai Beasts. The Honkai Beasts and zombies of the Seven-Day Tide truly surged like a tide... endless and unceasing!
Disguised as "Azure Empyrea," Hua stood steadily atop the Fifth-Generation Sword-Flying Performance Prop—Combat Type, floating above another high wall. Her sense of balance allowed her to perform acrobatic movements effortlessly while standing on the sword.
As for Vill-V, that kind of athletic disaster probably couldn't even stand steadily on it, let alone move.
The Honkai Beasts noticed Hua and immediately abandoned the "turtle shell" in front of them, shifting their focus to this lone, unconventional human.
"Instant Dust!"
With a guiding gesture of her sword fingers, the blade opened the way. Hua slashed across the compound eyes of a Templar-class Honkai Beast that was slaughtering the Treasure-Stealing Gang.
Without the Gravitational Collapse Sphere, Hua could only rely on this sword to fight the Honkai Beasts.
And the sword Vill-V had crafted for Hua was naturally no ordinary weapon.
The sword wound quickly began to tremble, transforming into countless blue fluorescent nano-particles that started to erode the Honkai Beast's body.
The Honkai Beast spewed out black mist, blocking Hua's vision. However, Hua had already equipped the radiographic imager Vill-V gave her. She didn't need to rely on her eyes—every movement of the Honkai Beasts and zombies was crystal clear to her.
The Honkai Beast swung its three tails toward Hua, each lined with barbed hooks. Even the slightest contact would mean certain death.
Hua sensed the deadly danger. She flipped on the flying sword, hooking her body upside down in a hanging position, narrowly evading the triple-tail assault.
With a light kick to the sword hilt, the flying sword obediently changed direction. Hua turned back and delivered another strike toward the Honkai Beast's head.
The Templar-class Honkai Beast's shell was extremely thick, leaving no weak spots.
Hua struck four or five times in succession. It took a full minute of nano-particle erosion before a breach finally appeared in the head shell.
Hua drove her sword into the exposed opening, piercing straight through the Honkai Beast's head in one decisive blow.
The nano-particles then gathered back onto the blade.
Hua's expression remained grave. It was already this difficult just to kill a single Templar-class Honkai Beast. Clearing all of them—who knew how long that would take?
Everywhere her eyes could see was filled with Honkai Beasts and zombies. With only herself and Vill-V acting from the shadows, it was impossible to hold the entire defensive line.
To resist the tide of Honkai Beasts, it would require the combined effort of everyone.
But given the current chaos within the Treasure-Stealing Gang, it was clearly impossible to regroup.
Hua activated her communicator and contacted Vill-V: "Is the defensive strategy organized by the Treasure-Stealing Gang just sending people to their deaths? At this rate, the defensive line will be completely overrun within an hour."
Once the line was breached, dozens of districts behind them would be engulfed by the tide of Honkai Beasts.
And those districts were inhabited!
Even though they were strangers she had never met, Hua still worried about their safety.
Beep—Vill-V's confident voice came through the communicator: "Dear assistant, don't worry. The stage has already been set by the nemesis of the rising tide—your genius Magician Vill-V.
"All you need to do is keep being amazed... are you ready to witness Azure Empyrea's immortal arts?"
Hua didn't know what Vill-V was planning and couldn't help but feel curious.
There were simply too many Honkai Beasts in front of her. Only something like a nuclear strike could...
"Wait, Vill-V, you're not planning to drop a nuclear bomb, are you? If one is deployed at the edge of the city, the consequences would be unimaginable."
"Oh, Hua, do you really think I'm that kind of person?"
Hua thought that if it were Magician, she absolutely would be capable of such a thing. And for the city's residents... that would certainly count as a "surprise."...
Magician's voice continued in her ear: "Dropping a nuclear bomb is far too cliché. That wouldn't create any surprise. A true surprise needs an atmosphere that fits the scene!"
A snapping sound came through the earpiece.
As if in response.
Boom! A deep, drum-like rumble, as if struck by a massive stone, rose from beneath the ground.
Before Hua's eyes, the surrounding land underwent a dramatic transformation.