After a few drinks, Penglaiji Ryn couldn't hold her liquor. After two bottles, she fell asleep leaning against the deck.
"Shh—"
Ryn gestured for Himeko to be quiet, then gently picked up Penglaiji Ryn to take her back to her room to rest. It was windy and cold on the deck; she would definitely catch a cold sleeping here.
The empty beer bottles were scattered on the floor. Ryn kicked them all off the deck.
Honkai Beast A, a Tyrannosaurus-like creature covered in mechanical armor, was already tired and had given up chasing the Hyperion.
But the beer bottles Ryn kicked flew as if locked on, hitting it on the head one after another.
Honkai Beast A was stunned. It had never been so aggrieved in its entire life.
"ROAR—"
Honkai Beast A planted its legs deep into the ground, raised its proud head, and let out a kingly roar at the sky.
Then its body began to swell, growing to a size of several hundred meters, its body covered in crystalline, grayish-white armor-like scales.
Its once tiny arms began to grow, becoming larger and wider, transforming into wing-like claws.
The legs on its lower body degenerated and disappeared, while its tail grew longer and thicker.
With the upper body of a dragon and the lower body of a serpent, its entire form resembled the legendary "Feathered Serpent God"...
Likewise, its name after evolving was the same as the Feathered Serpent God's: "Kukulkan."
Kukulkan roared, beat its wings, ascended, and ascended, then hovered high in the sky. It aimed for the steel beast, the Hyperion, in the darkness and plunged, diving at high speed to ram it.
BOOM—
Ryn interrupted its dive with a blast of Heat Vision, sending it flying.
At first, Ryn thought he had had too much to drink and was seeing the legendary Feathered Serpent God...
If it weren't for Kukulkan's roar and the hurricane it stirred up, Ryn might have just ignored it...
Alcohol is a menace!
Himeko pinched herself, using the pain to sober up.
"Is that the dragon-type Neonate from the thunderstorm earlier? Is Raiden Mei nearby?"
"Not sure. Go wake the others..."
Before he could finish, Ryn saw a laser cannon beam several meters wide shoot towards them.
He quickly threw Penglaiji Ryn to Himeko, then immediately got behind the train and used a black hole to swallow the laser.
BOOM—
As Ryn retracted the black hole, Kukulkan, pulled in by the gravitational field created by the black hole, combined with its own accelerated flight, crashed headfirst into the Hyperion...
Devastated by the fall of the Fire Moth and the heavy casualties, Bronya was crouching alone in a corner of the warehouse, crying in self-reproach.
With a loud bang, a massive dragon head smashed through the Hyperion's armor and landed right next to Bronya.
Bronya was so startled by Kukulkan that her tears of grief were scared right out of her.
"Project Bunny!"
A battered Project Bunny appeared behind Bronya. At her command, Project Bunny punched Kukulkan in the head. Feeling the sting, Kukulkan pulled its head out of the Hyperion.
Project Bunny, already at its limit, sustained even more damage from that punch, its right arm completely shattering and falling off.
Bronya patted Project Bunny, then recalled it. She picked up her gun, which she had thrown far away, and charged out through the hole Kukulkan had made.
——————————————
Kukulkan, having pulled its head out, tilted it in confusion. It didn't know how its flight had suddenly accelerated, nor what had just hit it on the head.
But it knew one thing: it was time to roar.
A ball of light appeared in its mouth as countless streams of Honkai energy converged there.
"ROAR—"
A laser cannon blast once again shot from its mouth towards the Hyperion.
And then, there was nothing.
Ryn, a black hole in his left hand, the giant sword Star in his right, walked towards it step by step through the air.
The moment it saw Ryn clearly, Kukulkan knew it had messed with something it shouldn't have.
He who understands the times is a wise man. Kukulkan immediately knelt down in a very human-like manner and kowtowed frantically to Ryn.
Don't ask how a creature with the upper body of a dragon and the lower body of a serpent kowtows. In any case, both Ryn and Himeko could feel Kukulkan's immense remorse...
"This one is definitely not the one we encountered before, and it's certainly not one of Mei's Retinue..." Ryn said to Himeko, pointing at Kukulkan.
"Why? This Neonate is estimated to be over three hundred meters long. A creature of this size doesn't just appear out of nowhere..."
"Well, first, it begged me for mercy... and second, it begged me for mercy..."
"Huh? Isn't it normal to beg a Herrscher for mercy?" Himeko was puzzled.
"No, no, no. Every Herrscher has their own territory and their own Retinue. The Honkai Creatures in Nagazora City all belong to Mei's Retinue. I have a grudge with Mei, so it's impossible for them to obey my commands, let alone beg me for mercy.
Usually, it's a good day if they don't charge at me from eight hundred miles away. How could they possibly beg for mercy... Right?"
_Hearing Ryn ask it a question, Kukulkan wagged its tail like a dog, blinked its big, innocent eyes, and shook its head frantically, then nodded, then shook its head again._
"What's it saying?" Himeko couldn't understand Kukulkan and had to ask Ryn what it meant by shaking and nodding its head.
"Er... It says it was brought to Nagazora City by its cousin. It's never even seen Mei...
On the surface, it's part of Mei's Retinue, but in reality, it isn't, so it doesn't have much hostility towards me...
It managed to grow so big by relying on the fact that its cousin is one of Mei's direct subordinates, allowing it to lord over this area and act like a tyrant..."
Ryn scratched his head awkwardly. It was the first time he'd met a creature like this. How to put it... it has personality...
"Tsk, first time seeing a Honkai Creature like this... I'll leave it to you to handle. I'm going to check on the Hyperion..."
"Okay..."
Ryn walked up to Kukulkan. Kukulkan immediately lowered its head, even burying it in the dirt to maintain eye level with Ryn, then put on a kind and harmless expression.
Amazing, this dragon is such a suck-up...
Ryn pointed to the gash on the Hyperion that Kukulkan had made. The damaged area was quite large, and it might even affect the Hyperion's operation.
"See that? You did that! You're very intelligent and have good growth potential... interested in working for me?"
Kukulkan shook its head. It didn't want to follow some Herrscher it had never seen before. As long as Mei wasn't dead, it could eat, drink, and be merry in Nagazora City, getting whatever it wanted. Following Ryn, who also had a grudge against Mei... it feared that the moment it agreed, all the Honkai Creatures in Nagazora City would turn against it.
"Who said this was a multiple-choice question? You smashed my ship. If you don't pull it for me, I'll slaughter you and use your parts to fix it."
As soon as Ryn finished speaking, Kukulkan flew to the Hyperion's side and wrapped its serpentine tail around it.
"Roar, roar—" (Boss, what are you saying! My shaking my head meant don't be so polite with me! Whatever the boss says, goes!)