Besides the massive number of Mechs and MANTIS, the KY Project had also reared and controlled monsters—creatures that had mutated into Honkai Beasts due to the Project Soldier surgery. Consequently, even though the Ninth Honkai had only just begun, the area was already crawling with powerful monsters ranging between ordinary and high-ranking Honkai Beasts. Furthermore, after being stimulated by a massive amount of Honkai energy, many had not only lost control but also undergone evolution.
Even without a true high-ranking Honkai Beast, the city of Atra, already in the midst of a chaotic battle, was being further ravaged. By the time Lin arrived, more than half of the Honkai Beasts chasing Vil-V were those released by the high command.
After taking the suitcase from Vil-V, Lin gave it a single glance before deftly snapping it open and grabbing the item inside.
"Lin! Get down!"
Ato, jumping from the car, watched in horror as Lin stood still holding Vil-V, while the gaping, bloody maw of a Honkai Beast was already upon them, ready to swallow both in the next second.
Tear!
However, the expected scene of flying flesh did not occur.
Lin set Vil-V down, gently pushing her shoulder to move her out of harm's way.
Then, Lin tightened his grip on the "item" and slowly pulled it out from the jaw of the impaled Honkai Beast. Pinkish-purple, foul-smelling blood poured out like wine from a cask with the stopper pulled.
It was a pristine white lance covered in intricate patterns and spirals. At the end of its handle were black decorative textures. Even after being washed in blood, it maintained its pure appearance. From a distance, it looked like a piece of holy knightly armor.
Lin felt something within the weapon resonating with him, like a pulse full of life. The noise in his ears became deafeningly loud for a moment, yet his thoughts became even clearer.
"Lin, pull out the spear inside the Abyss Flower!"
Vil-V, who had run to a safe distance, waved to Lin and pointed at the lance in his hands.
Lin looked away from the lance and toward the roaring swarm of Honkai Beasts. He gripped the black end of the lance and separated the black and white parts.
Is this weapon called Abyss Flower?
Zheng!
The moment he completely separated the white lance and the black spear, Lin heard a powerful heartbeat. The eyes inside his helmet turned from black-green to a brilliant rainbow color. Certain "traits" from within his body transferred into the Abyss Flower.
Currently, there was no Herrscher Core inside the Abyss Flower. However, Vil-V had said that while the core was an issue, it wasn't a deal-breaker—because Lin had a Pseudo-Herrscher Core inside him.
The Pseudo-Herrscher Core resonated with the Abyss Flower. The traits of the Sixth Herrscher's core that he had once been tainted with could now be utilized through the Abyss Flower.
"That's pretty cool. Can I borrow it later?" Ato reached Lin side, drawing his weapon to stand with him.
Lin stabbed the white lance into the ground and reached into the weapon case on his back, gripping an object. The light of his rainbow pupils reflected inside the blood-colored helmet. "We'll talk about that later."
Boom!
The two vanished from their spots simultaneously. The Honkai Beast in front of Lin was instantly swiped away by Ato, while Lin thrust the jet-black spear into the core of another Honkai Beast with one hand and threw out a special weapon with the other.
Of all the weapons Vil-V had given Lin, this was the most unique. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a weapon.
It was a hundred-meter-long chain with a sharp piercing blade at the end.
Under his control, the chain acted like a flexible venomous snake, accurately wrapping around the head of the next Honkai Beast and piercing its vulnerable eyeball. The beast's roar and struggle yanked the chain, pulling Lin toward it. Lin took the opportunity to pull out the black spear.
He noticed that the end of the spear was enveloped in a barely perceptible black mist; he had just pierced through the Honkai Beast's hardest shell without any effort at all.
Does this weapon have the effect of eroding life?
Zheng!
Lin was pulled along by the Honkai Beast on the other end of the chain, sent flying through the air. After being swung to a high point, he grabbed the chain to stabilize himself, then a jet-black line descended from the sky, piercing straight into the beast's core.
"HOWL—"
He silently gripped the spear that had killed the beast, listening to its tragic cry.
These Honkai Beasts were once humans.
They were either deceived or had chosen to join the MANTIS project for the sake of humanity, only to be used to massacre their own kind.
Lin did not cover his ears in pity. He forced himself to hear every one of their wails and sobs.
He would remember every one of them, hear every one of their cries, and carry the weight of these lives he had taken.
Just like before.
Just like now.
Lin cleanly pulled out the spear tip, then waved his hand toward the white lance stuck in the ground. The ground where the white lance was embedded shook violently, and thick wooden spikes erupted from the earth!
The spikes accurately impaled the hind limbs of the Honkai Beast behind him. Amidst the cries echoing in the sky, he stood up silently, locking eyes with Ato, who had jumped down from a Honkai Beast in the distance.
For what they used to be.
For the meaning that was stripped from them.
Now... kill them!
A massive amount of debris crashed onto the Hephaestus. It swung its twin blunt swords, pulverizing the rubble, as fine dust and stone fragments fell from its steel body.
Prometheus seized the moment. She threw out her thin lines again, entangling the Hephaestus's arms and pulling herself toward it. Her lightweight anti-gravity device made her look as if she were flying at high speed. She drew her gunblade, adjusting its output mode to the Limit Mode. A brilliant, dazzling blade of light formed at the edge. As she crossed paths with the Hephaestus, she was like a silver butterfly flitting by.
Like her, the Hephaestus was entirely made of Soulium—a metal with ductility, toughness, hardness, and plasticity like something out of a fantasy, making it difficult to damage with ordinary attacks. Earlier, the head-on hit from the Hephaestus's blunt sword had been nothing more than an ordinary attack for Prometheus that didn't even scratch her.
But because they were made of the same material, Prometheus knew exactly which part was the weakest.
Zheng!
The Hephaestus's joint snapped, and one of its arms slammed heavily into the ground.
Prometheus did not stop. She charged again. The one-armed Hephaestus tried to fire a beam to stop her, but the moment the light brightened, Prometheus suddenly accelerated, slicing off the other arm.
Finally, in mid-air, she aimed at the Hephaestus's charging chest and accurately pulled the trigger.
Bang!