Chapter 80: The Battle Isn't Over Yet
Sometimes, a numerical advantage means nothing at all. The swarm of players had certainly reacted, but against Rovel—who at this stage of the game was a walking, breathing battlefield meat grinder—they had absolutely no way to fight back.
Even when a lucky strike managed to land, a pathetic red "-17" would flash above his head. But the brilliant green "+1000" that pulsed from his body a mere second later was enough to leave them all frozen in stunned disbelief.
"Is he fucking hacking?!" someone finally roared, unable to contain their outrage.
Just then, the Thunder Mechs swiveled to face the chaos. With cold, mechanical indifference, they unleashed a baptism of artillery fire, completely disregarding the tens of thousands of players swarming around their target.
Though Rovel had an Ultimate Healing Potion coursing through his veins, he still felt the sting of the explosions. The damage was instantly negated, but the surrounding players weren't so fortunate. In a series of deafening blasts, a large, empty crater was cleared around him, instantly removing more than half the obstacles between him and his mechanical targets.
"Inch Force: Heaven Opening!"
Rovel took a single, heavy step, and the very ground beneath him seemed to shudder. He launched himself into the air, a human cannonball arcing towards the nearest mech, and smashed his fist directly into its chassis.
The Thunder Mech was a level 50 machine, but its defenses were a full tier below those of a Titan. When Rovel's fist connected, the sound was a sickening shriek of tortured metal. A crimson "-571" blazed against its hull before a violent, internal explosion ripped it apart, reducing it to a heap of smoldering scrap.
[Thunder Mech (Level 50) destroyed. Experience Gained: 32,000!]
Without a moment's pause, Rovel was already sprinting toward the next one.
Watching him move like a god of slaughter, the Descenders—most of whom had barely scraped their way to level 6—felt a cold, primal emotion begin to spread through their ranks. It was a feeling called fear.
Losing twenty percent of their experience with every death, or an entire level if the penalty exceeded their current progress, was a brutal mechanic. In a place like this, a player could be killed all the way back to level 1 in a single day.
The grim reality of the situation settled over them like a shroud: this World Instance was not something ordinary people could interfere with. No... even the world's top-ranked players were nothing more than cannon fodder here.
Many of those who had surrounded the area were now just hoping to huddle behind the mechs for protection, praying they could wait out the event timer and simply leave.
Suddenly, a system notification chimed in the minds of every player in the opposing faction.
[Faction 1 Mission Objective Updated: Guard the Thunder Mechs. Prevent their destruction by the mysterious Descender. Successfully kill the mysterious Descender to gain the usage rights to one Titan Mech and be granted direct entry into Anti-Entropy!]
The message was like a shot of pure adrenaline injected directly into their hearts.
A Titan Mech! A level 50 Titan Mech! They had all witnessed their power firsthand; these machines could go toe-to-toe with Chariot-class Honkai Beasts. If they could really obtain one, it would be worth being killed back to level 1 ten times over.
'What if I'm the lucky one?'
The thought ignited a fire in every player's mind. At this stage of the game, possessing a Titan Mech would make you the most sought-after player in the world. It was a ticket to instantly cross social classes, to become someone who stood far above the masses.
The opportunity for a meteoric rise, something they had only ever dreamed of, felt tantalizingly close.
In that instant, they went mad.
Fear vanished from their eyes, replaced by a burning, all-consuming desire. A tidal wave of bodies, a sea of desperate players, surged toward Rovel.
He calmly picked up his katana. Faced with the aggressive, frenzied charge of the Descenders, there wasn't a hint of fear in his eyes. Every clean, silver arc of his blade reaped the lives of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of players at a time, their bodies dissolving into particles of light.
But they kept coming, a relentless tide of fanatics. They threw themselves at him like madmen, their sheer numbers forcing him to give ground, pushing him away from the remaining Thunder Mechs.
BOOM!
Several more missiles slammed into the thickest part of the player horde, blasting gaping holes in their formation.
"Damn it! Do these mechs attack their own people?!" a Descender screamed, his voice filled with disbelief and betrayal.
They had seen it just moments ago. The mechs' missiles couldn't kill Rovel, but they were devastatingly effective at thinning their own ranks. This time, the mechs hadn't even bothered to aim at their supposed target; they had fired directly into the crowd, and Rovel hadn't taken a single point of damage.
The ugly suspicion that there was a traitor among them began to fester.
"No, you idiots! These missiles are aimed at us!"
Another volley of rockets rained down, clearing out most of the Descenders who were blocking Rovel's path.
Seeing the perfectly timed, surgically precise strikes, Rovel immediately understood. Bronya must have hacked one or two of the mechs.
Taking full advantage of the chaos and confusion among the players, he surged forward, destroying two more Thunder Mechs in quick succession.
"Are these Descenders all complete trash?!"
From her remote command center, a flash of pure anger crossed Cocolia's face. She wasn't on the battlefield and couldn't get a clear picture of the situation, leaving her helpless against the flawless tactical cooperation between Rovel and Bronya.
"Manipulate Bronya's cerebral chip," she ordered the technician beside her, her voice dangerously low. "Have her deal with that Rovel Suou."
"...Ma'am, Bronya is currently inside a strong magnetic field. We cannot access her cerebral chip."
Cocolia's brow furrowed even deeper.
"Bronya... why?" she whispered to herself.
She didn't understand. Ever since the girl had met Rovel, she had begun to disobey, to resist. That boy, Rovel Suou, must have said something to her, filled her head with poisonous lies to bewitch her.
On the battlefield, the two worked in perfect sync. Bronya provided precision fire support, clearing a path for Rovel, while he focused solely on dismantling the Thunder Mechs. Their teamwork was a brutally efficient engine of destruction. Within minutes, the twelve hostile mechs were reduced to scrap, while the remaining three now fought on their side, controlled by Bronya.
[Faction 1 phased mission has failed. Please evacuate this area immediately.]
Seeing the notification, the remaining Descenders could only turn and slink away, their dreams of glory shattered.
With the immediate threat gone, Rovel sat down on a piece of wreckage to catch his breath.
"Can you still hold on?" Bronya's voice was calm as she floated over to his side.
"Don't worry," Rovel said, offering her a reassuring look. "I won't fall until we're out of this place."
He took a moment to check his status panel.
[Level: 21]
[Level Cap: 30 (Requires mission completion to break through)]
[Experience: 7,000 / 120,000]
[Race: Human]
[HP: 850 / 850]
[Honkai Energy Infection Progress: 1.71%]
[Physique: 85]
[Strength: 85+20]
[Agility: 85+40]
[Intelligence: 100]
[Free Attribute Points: 24]
[Honkai Energy Resistance: 1300HW]
[Equipment: Elysia's Crystal Flower (Special Accessory), Three-Year Sakura (Accessory), Prototype Pulse Katana (Blue)]
[Inventory: Ultimate Healing Potion x6, Chiba Academy Student ID, Special Communicator, Mobius's Scalpel (Purple), Houtarou, Haxxor Bunny Heavenly King...]
[Hokushin Ittō-ryū: Minor Accomplishment: 54,321 / 100,000]
[Cun Xin Fist Style: Inch Force: 91,000 / 100,000]
[Cun Xin Fist Style: Hua Jin: 62,000 / 100,000]
The single battle had propelled him to level 21 and increased his Hokushin Ittō-ryū proficiency by tens of thousands of points. More, through the intense combat, he had comprehended a new Sword Intent.
[Lightning Sword Intent: As fast as thunder, sharp and piercing. It embodies the ultimate aesthetic of the one-hit kill.]
[Effect: When using Lightning Sword Intent, Agility +20%, Strength +10% based on base attributes.]
The new insight had also boosted his Basic Kendo proficiency to 85,000. It wouldn't be long now before the skill reached the rank of Great Accomplishment.
Rovel allowed himself only five short minutes of rest. Then, he rose to his feet, his gaze turning back toward the ravaged streets of the city. Alongside Bronya, he began to walk back into the heart of Changkong.
This battle was not over yet.
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