With the colossal Honkai Beast's fall, the battle's outcome was decided. This was a mid-sized Honkai event; even the Chiba Academy incident paled in comparison.
Without the powerful individual, the ordinary Honkai Beasts were no match for Fire Moth. Their only chance was for the Chariot-Class to break through the ranks, but Ryan had eliminated it at the outset.
Ryan listened to the relentless gunfire and cannon fire, watching soldiers charge in to finish off the remaining creatures. He didn't bother claiming credit, tossing his melted alloy rifle to the ground.
He'd used Honkai energy to enhance the weapon's lethality; however, only special alloys could withstand the energy's corrosive effects.
'I wonder when Soulium will be ready. Changing weapons after every battle is a hassle.' Ryan shook his head, noticing the silence.
"All units form three-person squads. Clear the battlefield, eliminate any stragglers, and report back once it's secure."
Victory? Not entirely.
Ryan looked up. Before him lay a ruined town, hundreds of bodies piled up, blood flowing down the slopes, buildings toppled, walls riddled with bullet holes.
Dozens of Honkai Beasts had been eliminated, but humanity had paid the price of a town.
"Well, that's done. It's been a long time since I had such a satisfying fight." Himiko hugged her helmet, stretching. Seeing Ryan finally smile faintly, she said, "Thank you. I didn't expect a giant Chariot-Class to be here. Without you, the casualties wouldn't have been limited to two or three."
That was a frank assessment. If that Chariot-Class had broken through, no one could have stopped it; they could only retreat, waiting for air support to drop heavy ordnance, possibly even needing soldiers to perform suicide attacks to contain it.
"You forgot one squadron of armed helicopters, and this town." Ryan pointed out, noticing a cut on Himiko's side; her combat suit was stained crimson. "And you're injured."
"Took a blow for a kid. Don't worry; my Honkai energy adaptation is excellent. As for the other losses… that's unavoidable." The woman seemed not to notice the burning town. She laughed openly, then became expressionless. "If you overthink it, all we have left is despair."
Overthinking was forbidden when fighting Honkai; this was ingrained during recruit training because every battle was a potential defeat.
What was Honkai? How many monsters were there? How many soldiers and towns could humanity afford to lose?
These questions, if pondered too deeply, could break even the strongest soldiers. Even with Ryan's full effort, they'd won today, but at the cost of a town and nearly a thousand lives.
Ryan moved his lips, unsure how to comfort her. Himiko, her face still impassive, suddenly became cheerful.
"Don't worry. We'll eventually eliminate these monsters. If only there were more strong individuals like you."
Himiko clearly remembered the Honkai energy spike on the helmet's detectors—over 100HW, exceeding all Low-Rank Honkai Beasts. If they had ten thousand, no, even a thousand, such strong individuals stationed strategically, humanity could secure a continent.
And he hadn't used his full strength.
Ryan clearly saw that yearning, but he didn't respond; Honkai also possessed high-level combatants; for instance, they still hadn't found the Emperor-Class Honkai Beast.
"Adieto isn't here. What's the plan?"
"A short rest, then we continue clearing. You know, too much Honkai energy in one area creates a convergence effect."
Ryan nodded, pulling out his data terminal and displaying a miniature map showing numerous red dots within a 200km radius. Based on Fire Moth's experience, if these radiation sources converged, it would create even more terrifying Honkai Beasts.
I seem to have fallen for Edwin's trick.
He was using me as a workhorse. Even without finding Adieto, he could use me to clear out the lesser threats. With Ryan there, casualties would be minimal.
And I want to settle the score with these Honkai Beasts.
He looked at Kevin patrolling the rooftops and silently turned. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's move to the next location."
This time, Himiko was taken aback. She hadn't expected Ryan to be so agreeable. Looking at his back, she saw not just fighting spirit, but—
An intense yearning.
...
Whirring…
The helicopter rotors spun; the dense forest blurred beneath. Ryan remained by the hatch, inhaling the thick smell of cigarettes and sweat, using the last rays of sunlight to observe the others.
Half the passengers were gone; the rest dozed, their armor showing wear and tear; they were exhausted.
Three days of clearing Honkai energy sources within a 200km radius. They'd only returned to base for supplies, otherwise, they were either traveling or fighting; even the aircraft had been changed several times.
Their gazes towards Ryan had shifted from alienation to shock, then to numbness, and finally, fear.
This man was a born warrior, fighting relentlessly without rest. Those heroic combat records paled in comparison; it made one wonder:
Killing those monsters, is he truly tireless and unburdened?
'Of course not. Each battle gives me feedback; each kill pushes me a step closer.'
Ryan sat straight, his eyes filled with yearning and excitement. This Fire Moth operation surpassed his previous years of hunting.
First, Honkai incidents were frequent, providing ample combat opportunities. Second, Fire Moth's intelligence network and helicopters increased efficiency tenfold. Third, with numerous support units and air strikes, he no longer risked being overwhelmed; he could focus on hunting powerful individuals.
"Twenty Chariot-Class, five Templar-Class, two Honkai Emperors. I wouldn't encounter that many Honkai Beasts in a year before; and even if I did, I wouldn't engage."
Ryan smirked. Honkai was a region; these monsters had thousands of zombies and hundreds of ordinary Honkai Beasts as minions. Even if they lined up for him to kill, he wouldn't be tired.
But this was different. With Fire Moth's support, he could pick high-level targets.
He clenched his fist, estimating his Honkai energy control at nearly 300HW. The problem was that these Honkai Beasts were either low-level or lacked mutated individuals, preventing him from gaining new abilities. Expanding the Path's capacity diminished with repeated use of the same materials.
"For similar Honkai Beasts, efficiency dropped from 0.8 to 0.4. Chariot-Class is nearing a plateau; it's becoming useless. I'm almost envious of 'the Hunt'."
The Path could achieve qualitative changes through quantitative increases, becoming more efficient and agile. If so, Ryan could hunt globally, from dawn till dusk, from the Mu Continent to Africa, accumulating control over tens of thousands of Honkai energy units.
Overwhelming force. Even without powers or special abilities, he could grind down the third Herrscher.
"Calculating… repeating the same thing gets boring." Ryan chuckled self-deprecatingly, assessing his trump card, then heard a familiar voice.
"Ryan, why are you whispering?" Kevin rubbed his eyes; his handsome face was etched with fatigue and numbness.
His original A-squad had been sent to rest; Kevin had insisted on staying and was integrated into this squad.
"Doing some post-battle analysis. Hey, don't look at the monsters like that. I'm tired too."
You're tired? Yeah right!
Kevin twitched his lips, suppressing his urge to swear. He looked at the murmuring passengers, scratching his messy hair. "Why didn't I notice you were so energetic before? Wait… no, you often write novels late into the night and work until dawn."
He suddenly realized something—Ryan only slept two or three hours a day, already showing a significant difference from normal people. He rubbed his head harder, realizing he'd been foolish not to notice sooner.
"Speaking of which, are you still writing that novel?"
"No time. I don't want Mobius getting her hands on it."
"Your readers aren't complaining?"
"I told her I was saving the world; she stopped bothering me."
Ryan shrugged. He was saving the world, believe it or not. Seeing Kevin about to continue, he quickly raised a hand to stop him.
"Okay, don't set any 'after this battle, I'll go back and update' flags. We're still fighting. Besides, aren't you curious why I can fight continuously?"
"I am, will you tell me?"
"Nothing to hide." Ryan pondered for a moment, smiling. "It's probably the thrill of victory."
They'd been relentless; the Far East Branch hadn't had such a satisfying fight in a long time. With excellent support, they'd pushed relentlessly; only two or three Honkai energy sources remained.
But Kevin couldn't smile. Numbness set in; images flooded his mind—each similar to the last.
Destroyed towns, burning villages, mountains of corpses, rows of shrouded bodies. He realized he couldn't become desensitized like the veterans; he couldn't forget these images.
Ryan saw his expression and knew the young man was overthinking. Kevin was sensitive and easily affected.
"Don't overthink it. This is a war with no negotiation; either surrender and die or fight to the death. There's no other path." Ryan leaned forward, patting the young man's shoulder. "At least the casualties were under five hundred; we saved over a hundred survivors. Ah, that girl you saved was quite smitten. I have a photo of you hugging her…"
"Delete it! Delete it immediately! Don't let Mei see it!" Kevin went from subdued to flustered. Seeing Ryan's teasing expression, he punched him.
Ouch, this kid's strong.
Ryan rubbed his chest. "It's much better now. Stop focusing on the tragedies; look at the hope. Even in the ruins, flowers still bloom."
Flowers in the ruins?
Kevin paused, finally offering a bright smile. "Thanks. I didn't know you were so good at comforting people."
"Watch less romance and care more about your brothers." Ryan grumbled. The helicopter descended; the jarring motion jolted the soldiers awake.
"Here?" Himiko rubbed her eyes, checking her terminal; they were approaching a Honkai energy source.
Fighting side-by-side for days, she considered Ryan and the recruit her own. She grumbled. "Those higher-ups are terrible; they treat us like workhorses."
"Lieutenant, complaining about the lack of camaraderie will get you a pay cut."
Himiko glared at Ryan, then let out a string of curses. "Screw that! I've earned so much overtime these past few days, and I desperately need a bath and some alcohol."
"Haha, then you'll run naked through the base?"
"Don't be absurd! The Commander always wears underwear; she's not that shameless."
The boisterous soldiers erupted in laughter, but Himiko didn't blush. She snarled, "Anyone who laughs again will be assigned to the vanguard scouting unit."
The laughter immediately ceased; the red-haired woman was satisfied.
"Check your equipment. We'll land outside the village. After air support suppression, we'll split into two squads and advance on foot. Keep your eyes peeled; the monster might be hiding here."
"Yes, ma'am!"
She barked the orders, then glanced discreetly at Ryan. Her earlier complaints now made sense.
This wasn't just the Far East Branch's plan; it was a higher-level order. They wanted to know:
This man's limits.