"Bang!"
After the deafening collision, two figures were sent flying simultaneously.
Lu Xing's final [Shield Bash] successfully struck the Knight Captain's head. Fusing the power of [Power Strike] and [Hold Shield] on top of [Dash], this all-out blow directly shattered half of the puppet-like figure on the Knight-class's back.
The porcelain-doll-like shell, riddled with cracks, continuously leaked its dwindling Honkai energy. The force that pierced through it started from the nape of the beast-form horse's neck, directly gouging out a wound so deep its core was visible.
For the body, blasted more than ten meters away, even struggling to stand was an extravagant hope.
Similarly.
Lu Xing's condition wasn't much better.
That seemingly plain and unadorned slash was the last ounce of power the Knight Captain had mustered.
Although he used [Space-Time Rend] to avoid the vast majority of the damage from this sword strike, Lu Xing's remaining Honkai energy capacity wasn't much, after all. [Space-Time Rend] only lasted for a little over 0.3 seconds—when Lu Xing burst out of the space-time rift, he couldn't completely evade the final, less than a quarter, of the blade's edge.
Even as a crippled attack, with the Knight Captain's strength, it still left a gash a full 40 centimeters long on Lu Xing's shell. Intense cold qi continuously spread through his body along this "scar."
His speed and agility were dulled by far more than just a notch.
Both Honkai Beasts lay heavily injured on the ground.
And both were simultaneously struggling to get up.
Whoever stood up first—be it the Knight Captain reassembling its puppet, picking up the hilt of its Knight Lance deeply embedded in the ground to strike Lu Xing; or Lu Xing dispelling the cold qi first, to stab at the Knight Captain's exposed core.
No one could say for sure.
However, at this moment, on the "wasteland" where only the sound of wind remained, soon to be deserted, a human voice, though weak, yet confident of victory, suddenly sounded out—
"Looks like."
"The fight over here was even more spectacular than we imagined."
————
Being an opportunist wasn't easy.
The Honkai Beasts' counterattack was beyond expectations.
The execution of this plan had cost the "Cyclops" Special Operations Regiment a tremendous price.
To ensure their operation wouldn't be disturbed, they had effectively eliminated almost all Honkai Beasts in the city, aside from the Knight Captain.
For this, the entire regiment suffered a full 40% loss in operational strength.
Although there were more wounded than dead, the vast majority of the injured were severe cases—the "Cyclops" regiment might have to pay a hefty sum in pensions for this, which was also why some were willing to fight desperately—they clearly couldn't participate in the final "celebration."
Yet, the elite unit that had first completed the "cleanup" mission met with a devastating disaster by arriving early—they wore specialized anti-Honkai shielding equipment and had ambushed the area where the Great Universe and the Knight Captain clashed. However, due to misjudging the full power爆发 of both sides, they were directly taken out by the shockwaves, flames, and sharp wind blades, losing more than three-quarters of their number.
This time, truly everyone was wounded or disabled.
In the end.
Only a mere dozen or so successfully arrived to "scavenge" the scene—among them, the only one who truly knew the objective of the operation was Commander Kuklops, piloting the [Prototype Divine Machine Mistilteinn].
Honkai Beasts wouldn't care about human identity when fighting.
The stronger one was, the more they would be focus-fired and swarmed by Honkai Beasts.
The regimental command, already down to two-thirds of its strength before the plan began, lost another three members to a Paladin-class squad led by a "Heavy Cavalry Leader" during the operation.
Among the entire Cyclops regiment, those still capable of fighting...
Almost all of them were here.
————
The Mistilteinn wasn't necessarily that strong.
But it was clearly sufficient to clean up the mess here—just one hit each on the fallen Lu Xing and Knight Captain, and this life-or-death struggle would end due to third-party intervention.
"Clank."
"Clank."
Equally scarred, but at least still retaining combat capability, the [Prototype Divine Machine Mistilteinn], kept as the final trump card, walked step by step towards Lu Xing.
Ice crystals and rubble turned to dust beneath its feet.
The Mistilteinn had clearly lost its flight capability.
The engine nozzles on its back were sputtering with explosive electrical sparks and flames.
If not for this.
The act of this machine rushing up to deliver a blow to him definitely wouldn't have felt so ceremonial—of course, this could also be the余裕 of the final victor.
Moreover... whether Honkai Beasts had communication abilities or not, the Mistilteinn's pilot had no intention of wasting words on them.
On a battlefield where even the species were different, there was absolutely no need for talk-no-jutsu.
20 meters, 10 meters... 5 meters.
The Mistilteinn drew closer and closer to Lu Xing.
Lu Xing still couldn't move. He couldn't think of any way to survive this certain-kill situation, even though the system prompts in his mind hadn't stopped for a moment—these would be greatly useful in the future, but they couldn't help Lu Xing escape death under the current circumstances.
Your level has increased to Lv.30.
Your Mission (Branch Two: Withstand the onslaught of a Honkai Beast stronger than yourself (Knight-class or above) until exhaustion) has been completed. Your level has increased to Lv.31.
You have unlocked the new skill [Crystal Wall].
Your Mission (Branch Three: Control a Honkai Beast stronger than yourself (Knight-class or above), rendering it immobile until its exhaustion) has been completed. Your level has increased to Lv.32.
You have unlocked the new skill [Strike].
Leveling up, acquiring new skills—two things that should have brought joy, combined... yet because of the almost certain-death situation, Lu Xing felt no such thing.
Unexpectedly, yet reasonably, after completing two branch missions simultaneously—Lu Xing had used [Shield Bash] at the last moment precisely to attempt this—a new mission surfaced in Lu Xing's mind.
————
Mission: Ranger-class - Finale: Kill a Honkai Beast form stronger than yourself, which the wielder desires to evolve into (Limited Races: Knight-class / Rotor-class / Ballista-class).
Reward: Evolution, All Attributes +3, Level +3.
————
Seeing this information.
It only made Lu Xing feel more profoundly the beauty of the future and the cruelty of reality—leveling up did indeed bring attribute increases, but it couldn't heal the injuries Lu Xing had sustained.
He was still bleeding profusely.
His usable Honkai energy reserves were only enough for half a [Honkai Lance Projection].
How could he possibly...
"?"
The orange-red energy blade of the Mistilteinn, already raised, the guillotine hanging over Lu Xing's head, didn't chop down immediately.
Instead, with a somewhat jarring sound of grinding gears, it took two steps back, turned around, and faced the Knight Captain's direction in a "vigilant" stance.
On the other side.
An incredible scene unfolded—the Knight Captain's beast-form body rapidly disintegrated. The Honkai energy composing its body, including its Honkai Core, surged rapidly towards the "puppet" lying on the ground with only half its body remaining.
In almost the blink of an eye.
The "Knight Captain," originally critically injured and on the verge of death, propped itself up with that slender, sharp one-handed sword, and stood up once more!
"No..."
It, which had been on the brink of death, was truly going to die this time.
This unheard-of scene was but a flash in the pan. Although the "puppet's" body was recast, it no longer had the support of a Honkai Core—this scarred puppet was merely pieced together by the lingering obsession for battle. Its body, striped like a zebra crossing, completely lacked the defensive power a Honkai Beast should possess.
The only thing that could explain this scene.
Was probably the [Appraisal] Lu Xing had thrown out as if by divine intervention—
Race: Leader Variant Absolute Zero Knight Captain
Level: 37
Remaining: Unknown
————