I am a hero of the former civilization.

The airport was still busy. The ground trembled as transport planes landed, and trucks drove over to unload long, thick missiles. Soldiers carrying packs were assembling, and several helicopters towing light artillery whizzed overhead.

The Far East branch was reinforced, and the Moths of Fire were not fools. Based on the experience of the previous two Honkai, they determined that the third Honkai would occur in East Asia, and then they fell into a long period of torment.

When will the other shoe finally drop? And what powers will the enemy possess this time?

'The Third Herrscher, I think it's the Herrscher of Thunder.'

As Ryan walked, he pondered. This Herrscher's power was to control electromagnetic force; lightning was merely a facade. He wondered how much power the Herrscher could actually unleash, but he was extremely envious of this power.

I have perfect control over this stage of my abilities. While helping Mebius with his experiments, my control over energy has also improved. Next, I should kill more Honkai Beasts to further increase the amount of Honkai energy.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the helicopters filling the sky and thought that there would be no shortage of 'food'. Then he saw a white-haired young man on the hangar at the other end.

Kevin sat on the edge, staring blankly at the busy scene before him. Some helicopters had just landed, and military medics swarmed up to carry out wounded soldiers who were missing limbs.

Blood soaked through the stretchers, leaving long trails of blood on the ground. Some people died before being put into the ambulance and were put into body bags and left aside.

The young man's expression changed slightly, a hint of fear flashing across his face. In fact, he had already carried out several missions in the past month, and half of the new recruits in his cohort had already been killed in action.

Death, ruins, screams—this is the truth of the world. Less than two months have passed, and the time at the academy feels so distant that I can hardly remember it.

"Instead of contemplating life, go to sleep. If you really can't stand it, you can choose to quit."

The voice behind him startled Kevin slightly. He turned around and it took him several seconds to process what he was seeing before he finally smiled and said, "Ryan, what brings you here?"

"Let's come out and change our mood after we've finished our work." Ryan also walked to the edge of the hangar, and he saw the fear and loneliness in Kevin's eyes.

There was no way around it; his life was so different now than before, and there was no one around to comfort him. Both Mei and he himself had more important things to do.

"How many new friends have you made at the Firemoth? Traditionally, they'll throw a ball for the newlyweds, right?"

“Three of them, but they’re all dead. One of them was smashed into the ground by a tank right in front of me, and we couldn’t even find a complete body. I finally understand why those veterans ignored me.”

Ryan was taken aback and looked at the downcast young man. He had known Kevin for so long, but this was the first time he had ever seen Kevin looking so depressed.

"Now you know how naive your choice was back then. If you want to give up, just say so, and I'll transfer you to an office position."

"Yeah, it was the first time I saw someone die in front of me. I felt like a child who hadn't grown up. I was happy to do something for Mei." Kevin looked at the dozens of body bags and the wounded who were crying because of the Honkai invasion, and slowly clenched his fist.

“But I won’t run away, you know, Ryan. I’ve realized something these days: I shouldn’t follow May around like a shadow, but rather stand in front of her, shield her from the wind and rain, and protect her from being killed by monsters.”

Oh?

Ryan finally saw Kevin raise his head. His handsome face was full of seriousness. Fear and loneliness had made him even more determined to fight. He was willing to give everything for what he loved.

Death and fear transformed a student into a warrior, and a youth into a man.

"Ryan, teach me some fighting skills. I'm too weak right now, I can't do anything."

As expected of Kevin, his mental fortitude is even stronger than mine. It took me a long time to figure out what I wanted to do back then. Just don't overdo it.

Ryan had no doubts, he simply squatted down and asked, "What do you want to learn?"

"Uh, what do you know?"

Ryan thought for a moment, squinted, and extended his right hand, his index finger and thumb an inch apart.

"I know a little bit about everything."

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Ryan's Amazing Training

Ryan always believed that there are no born protagonists; only those with the potential to become heroes can become protagonists.

So he wasn't surprised by Kevin's growth, but he was worried that the guy had grown too much. Although his determination was enough to overcome all despair, injecting too much despair could also lead to obsession.

The huge training room was empty. Kevin, dressed in a tight-fitting combat suit, stood in the distance holding a large alloy sword, his face full of confusion.

"Ryan, I asked you to teach me how to fight Honkai Beasts, why are you making me spar with you??"

Ryan glanced at the surrounding surveillance cameras and said in a deep voice, "Because the most powerful Honkai Beasts are humanoid."

"You mean the Herrscher? I was blasted to ashes before I even got close, didn't I? Why do I feel like you're trying to take this opportunity to beat me up?"

“Nonsense, the form isn’t the key.” Ryan took a deep breath and slowly raised his fist. “The key is that you have to experience the despair that comes from overwhelming power, and then adapt to that despair so that you can exert your normal combat power. This is an experience that no virtual reality can provide.”

Let me also see just how fast that legendary Kevin is growing.

Kevin didn't quite understand, or rather, this refined-looking guy didn't seem like the kind of person who could bring despair. He was about to tell Ryan to stop teasing him when his mouth froze.

The murderous intent and Honkai energy roared, and his instincts instantly tensed every muscle in his body, as if an invisible hand was choking him, making it difficult to breathe.

This feeling...

Its aura surpassed that of any Honkai Beast he had ever seen; at least these monsters didn't have any murderous intent. The combination of these two factors left only one thought in his mind.

I will die!

Boom! !

The explosion echoed in his ears, and Kevin instinctively held his greatsword to his chest, only to feel himself being hit by a dump truck.

Bang—thump!

Two muffled thuds followed one after another. Kevin suddenly felt himself being thrown into the air and crashing heavily into the wall. His head was buzzing. He barely opened his eyes and saw the man standing where he had just been standing, taking a lunge forward, white smoke rising from his fist.

He...he really wanted to kill me?

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he heard the air whistling as he sprinted forward. Kevin instinctively rolled to the side, then heard a muffled thud behind him as the shockwave hit his back, sending him tumbling several times.

The high split kick slammed a large crater into the metal floor. Ryan pulled out his right leg and slowly turned around: "Kevin, you have to face your fears and not have any pity, otherwise it will cause a disaster sooner or later. Think about it, what would you do if I became a Herrscher?"

Kevin didn't answer, he just licked his dry lips and looked at the man in front of him as a complete stranger.

This was practically a humanoid Honkai Beast; its stomp could crush even a tank. He gripped his trembling hand, slowly got up, and quietly pulled out his gun from behind.

It's not bad.

Da da da......

The gunshot had barely rang out when Ryan vanished. The live bullet left a trail of sparks on the ground, and a blurry figure lunged from the side before stopping and twisting its waist.

Whip kick.

The wind pressure swept through, turning the guns into parts. Ryan's eyes shifted downwards, and he saw Kevin's white hair fluttering. He then jumped up, stepping on his left foot.

Swah——

The alloy greatsword swept across the ground, clearly delivered with full force, leaving a long sword mark on the alloy floor.

With a single, sweeping strike, Kevin rolled forward while pulling a pistol from under his arm and firing it at the top of his head.

'His physique far surpasses that of ordinary people, his marksmanship is close to master level, and he possesses extremely strong combat instincts. Has this guy really only been training for a month??'

Ryan looked at the pointed pistol, his Honkai energy gathering into a membrane. He watched as several bullets were deflected, then gathered the energy into a blade, and with a flick of his arm, he swung his arm back.

call out--

A crimson crescent moon streaked across the training room and disappeared into the distant wall, splitting the steel beam blocking its path in two.

Kevin stared at the sword marks that swept past his feet and at the broken pistol in his hand, utterly bewildered. Most of the Honkai Beasts he had killed fought with their bare hands; he had only heard from veterans that Honkai Emperors and above would unleash lasers or something.

"Is Ryan... a monster?!"

The wind pressure made it impossible for him to think. The violent attack was already behind him, ready to tear him to shreds at any moment, but Kevin did not beg for mercy or panic. He just instinctively twisted his waist and swung the alloy greatsword behind him.

Swish.

The sword swept past his chest, creating a gap in the Honkai energy gathered by Ryan. Then Kevin abandoned his defense and swung the sword down with both hands.

Such fighting instincts are nothing short of miraculous.

Ryan didn't think about the underlying principles; his right arm glowed red as he charged towards the greatsword.

Extreme strength. Two-dimensional elbow.

Ding--

With a crisp sound, a dark object spun and flew into the distance, then exploded on the wall with a 'boom'.

Kevin stood there, stunned, staring at the half-broken alloy greatsword in his hand. He looked blankly at the man in front of him, then raised his hand to touch his face, feeling a bit of warmth. He had actually been cut and was bleeding.

"How does it feel to have experienced life and death?" Ryan looked at the white-haired youth. Of course, he didn't use his full strength, but he also showed no arrogance.

He spent ten years on his journey to get to this point. If he couldn't even beat Kevin, he might as well just kill himself. Through sparring, he also gained some data.

This guy's adaptability to Honkai energy is abnormal. No wonder he killed a Herrscher before becoming a Fusion Warrior. It's just that he can't figure out the principle behind this cheat.

"Well, it seems like I've gained some results." Kevin plopped back down on the ground, his face full of bitterness. "But you're too strong. I simply can't fight you."

“Take your time. You’ve only been with the Firemoth for a short time. Not counting those high-tech equipment, there aren’t many people in the organization stronger than me.” Ryan reached out and pulled him up.

Kevin felt much better now. He thought about how his friend was acting so mysteriously, he must be some kind of senior agent. It was still nice to get his approval. But as he relaxed, he remembered something else.

"Ryan, I heard from May that you found a girlfriend? That Dr. Möbius is quite pretty. You have good taste. Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Kevin stood there, watching as Ryan walked away as if he hadn't heard him, and was puzzled when he saw the man return.

Ryan dragged another alloy greatsword back, tossed it into the dazed Kevin's hands, and gave him an extremely kind smile.

"Come on, it's still early, let's continue."

"What...what did I do to offend you?"

The man stood ten meters away, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, still smiling broadly.

"you guess."

The practice room was shaking violently, and through the monitor, the high-ranking members of the Far East branch looked at each other in disbelief. They could see Kevin being slammed into the air by a palm strike, then grabbed by the ankle and thrown out like a shot put.

"Aren't these two friends? Why are they beating each other to death?" Himiko showed a pained expression as she watched Kevin smash dents into the wall and lie on the ground unable to stand up, but when she looked at the life monitor, she felt that he was alright.

It looked scary, but the attacker was careful and didn't hit any vital organs.

“Some broken bones are inevitable. Have the medical team prepare to deploy them to the bio-repair chamber.” The branch leader, who looked like a farmer, raised his hand to stop his subordinates’ opinions. “That Ryan has a lot of authority. We need him to handle our troubles. Let’s give him face for now.”

Everyone fell silent. Looking at Kevin, who was gritting his teeth and fighting back, they felt that investing more in training such talent was not a bad idea.

The high-speed camera recorded every heavy blow, making the viewers swallow hard. Rose, who had seen Ryan three times before, couldn't hold back any longer.

Just how strong is this Ryan?

"I don't know, at least no one has seen his limit, but it should be below that of Alicia," Edwin said in a deep voice, a hint of longing appearing on his face. "If everyone had this kind of power, the Honkai would be nothing to fear!"

"That depends on Dr. Mebius's research. You've all heard the rumors, right? I suspect that this Ryan is one of her experimental subjects."

"Then why hasn't it been widely adopted?"