I am a hero of the former civilization.

Devastated towns, burning villages, mountains of corpses, and rows of shrouds—he found he couldn't be numb like the veterans and completely forget these images.

Ryan could tell from his expression that the guy was overthinking things again. Kevin was too emotional and easily influenced.

“Don’t overthink it. This is a war with no room for negotiation. It’s either surrender and wait to die, or fight to the death. There’s no other way.” Ryan leaned forward and patted the young man’s shoulder. “At least the casualties this time were less than five hundred, and you even saved more than a hundred survivors. Oh, and that girl you saved looked so adoring. I have a picture of you holding her here…”

"Delete it, delete it right now, whatever you do, don't let Mei see it!" Kevin's suppressed emotions turned into panic, and seeing Ryan's teasing expression, he couldn't help but punch him.

Wow, this kid is really strong.

Ryan rubbed his chest and said, "You're feeling much better now, right? Don't keep focusing on those tragedies. Look more at the hope. There are still flowers blooming on the ruins."

Flowers on ruins?

Kevin paused for a moment, then finally broke into a bright smile: "Thanks, I didn't know you were so eloquent."

"Spend less time looking at women and more time on your brothers," Ryan complained. Just then, the helicopter dipped, and the violent turbulence woke the soldiers.

"We've arrived?" Himiko rubbed her eyes and looked at the information terminal. Sure enough, they were close to the source of Honkai.

After fighting side by side for several days, she also considered Ryan and the recruit as her own people, complaining, "The people above are really something, rushing around like this, treating people like cattle and horses."

"Major, if you hear people saying things that are detrimental to unity, you'll get your salary docked."

Himiko glanced at Ryan and immediately launched into a tirade of sarcastic remarks: "What's there to be afraid of? They can take as much of my overtime pay as they want these days. I just want to take a shower and have a few drinks."

"Hahaha, and then run naked around the base?"

"Nonsense, the captain would definitely wear a bra. How could he be so shameless?"

A group of roughnecks burst into laughter, but Himiko was not ashamed at all. She said fiercely, "If anyone laughs again, I'll make him the scout and lead the charge."

Immediately, no one laughed anymore, and the red-haired woman stood up with satisfaction.

"Check the equipment. We'll land outside the village and wait for air suppression. Then we'll split into two groups and walk in. Keep your eyes wide open; the monster might be hiding here."

"Yes!"

She delivered the order in a very fast voice, then glanced at Ryan discreetly; her previous complaints had already been answered.

This has nothing to do with the Far East branch's plans; it must stem from orders from higher command. They want to know:

Where exactly is this man's limit?

Chapter Thirty-Four: Breaking the Mountain!

A kilometer away, there was another village.

The forest and hills surround it in the center, with a two-way road leading to the outside world, and a quiet stream on the east side with dozens of two-story houses along its banks.

Most of the buildings are made of wood, with the village office in the middle being the tallest. It appears incredibly peaceful under the setting sun, like a secluded paradise.

Ryan scanned the area carefully with his binoculars and could see several figures loitering on the road. They were undoubtedly suicide soldiers, as frontline soldiers generally didn't trust Honkai energy detectors.

They would excitedly rush in upon noticing a low concentration, only to have the concentration spike and high-level Honkai Beasts emerge, wiping out their entire teams. They were more inclined to believe what they saw with their own eyes.

"It looks like a small-scale Honkai." Himiko also peered inside through her binoculars, where various numerical values ​​jumped around on the lens.

"Don't be careless, we encountered the same situation yesterday," Ryan said calmly.

Yesterday at noon, in the same small mountain village, after the team rushed in, a six-meter-tall temple-like creature suddenly emerged from the ground, killing several people on the spot. Rockets hitting them were completely useless.

Fortunately, Ryan rushed forward immediately and smashed its head open.

“I know these monsters are cunning. If they were stupid, we wouldn’t need to be involved; we could just bomb them with our air force.” Himiko licked her red lips and smiled. “I’m just glad these monsters appear in remote places; otherwise, cleaning up the mess would be a real hassle.”

This is also a characteristic, and even Ryan doesn't know why. Honkai rarely appears in downtown areas, but he quickly thought about what would happen in the future.

"That won't be the case for long. Let's deal with this quickly. There shouldn't be any survivors in a place like this."

"Alright, I'll use the most efficient method." Himiko's smile turned cruel as she pressed a button on her helmet. "Hive, homing bird call, requesting air support, coordinates..."

The group of twenty or thirty people hid behind the hillside. No one spoke, and Ryan was not in the mood for idle chatter. He just looked ahead with his binoculars. About half an hour later, a muffled roar came from the sky.

woo-

The sound was fleeting, and then several dark shapes fell down. Next, a dazzling fireball made him squint.

Boom! !

The dull thud shook the ground, and the surrounding trees rustled. When Ryan looked further ahead, the mountain village was shrouded in thick smoke. The town hall was gone, and the remaining houses were scattered and crooked.

The same sunset, in an instant, the idyllic paradise is filled with ruins and flames.

"Wow, two thousand pounds of aerial bombs are really powerful." Himiko whistled beside her, watching the assassins being swept away like pieces of paper. No one is stupid, and human weapons are not useless.

"Alright, it's our turn now. Xiluo, Qiu, you two go first, the rest of you go in two columns to clear out the enemy. If we're lucky, we can finish tonight."

With the clanging of guns and armor, the soldiers rose and silently made their way through the woods, while Ryan stayed behind to bring up the rear, patting Kevin on the back as he did so.

"Remember to keep up with me."

"Are you not feeling well?"

“No, but it’s always better to be careful.” Ryan didn’t explain, stroking the hilt of the alloy machete at his waist.

The Emperor-class Honkai Beast seemed to have vanished, but Ryan knew that these monsters loved to deliver surprises, so he dared not be careless.

The helicopter hovered overhead, its rotor blades swirling through the treetops. Soldiers descended the hillside, stepped onto the cement road, crossed the lake via a small bridge, and then saw the dilapidated buildings ahead. The village office had been reduced to a massive bomb crater.

The wood crackled and burned, everything was quiet, and several twisted, charred corpses lay by the roadside. Soldiers quickly moved in to finish them off.

As always, they were professional and efficient. Soon, the two leading men entered the village and searched the surrounding area with their guns in hand.

"Left-wing security."

"We have taken the high ground and have not spotted any enemies."

The report came through the earpiece, and Himiko breathed a sigh of relief. Theoretically speaking, Honkai Beasts have no endurance. She glanced at the few zombies who were only half-bodied but still crawling over, and pulled the trigger to relieve their pain.

"Use small teams to wipe them out, and then let the cleanup crew handle it. Everyone stay alert, don't be careless and leave a few scum behind so I get yelled at!"

Himiko roared, and her subordinates split into small groups of two or three and crawled into the ruins, intending to report the situation to their superiors.

"Scatter, everyone! It's coming!"

Ryan's voice suddenly rang out in the squad channel, and everyone was stunned for a moment until the built-in detector sounded an alarm and the image in the tactical goggles began to distort and turn white noise.

Honkai energy is surging.

"Get down." Ryan didn't care about anything else, grabbed Kevin's shoulder and pressed him to the ground, and then heard a whooshing shriek from above.

A magenta disc swept overhead, severing roadside utility poles and cutting down everything in its path.

Walls, buildings, human bodies, and even alloy armor were slashed in half, and soldiers who couldn't dodge were cut in half, their blood and internal organs spraying out like a fountain.

The disc didn't stop; it cleared away a huge pile of ruins and then flew into the air in a bright arc.

Boom——Boom——

Two muffled thuds followed one after another, and the armed helicopter, unable to dodge in time, exploded into a fireball, with various parts falling like raindrops.

Imaginary number crack?

Lying on the ground, Ryan turned around and saw a dark shadow with a rocky surface and six segmented limbs like arms. It suddenly appeared on the bridge. Behind it were some tiny cracks from which countless Honkai Beasts were struggling to break free.

Adiedo, so this is where it is.

The useless detector finally started beeping, its annoying beeping. Without thinking, Ryan pushed himself up with his arm and jumped up, staring intently behind him.

That thing just floated in mid-air, its six arms gathering six light blades, and with a gentle wave of its wrist.

boom! boom!

The incoming missile exploded in mid-air, and the shrapnel hitting my body felt like a tickle. Then, from a standstill, it instantly became a high-speed machine.

Faster than a missile, the moment the pilot pressed the control stick, the area outside the glass was filled with black objects. Staring at those four crimson eyes, his expression instantly froze.

Boom...

The fireball suddenly brightened the twilight, illuminating the monster in the sky, which terrified even the most battle-hardened soldiers.

Their speed was too fast to be tracked, and the light blades formed by Honkai energy were enough to cut through any metal. They were on a completely different level from the Honkai Beasts they had previously fought.

"What are you all standing there for? Find cover and hand it over to Ryan!" Himiko immediately snapped out of her daze, and her roar woke the others up as well.

This monster even has minions with it, and these Honkai Beasts are surging down the bridge. If the team gets scattered, these grunts alone could be deadly.

"Kevin, step back and cover me." Ryan turned his head. The fireball in the air was still there, and the Honkai Beast was about to rush in front of him. Kevin had long since shed his gore. He nodded solemnly and turned to run.

That's more or less.

Ryan gripped the hilt of his sword and faced the Honkai Beasts that were already several meters away. He pressed his lance almost against his forehead, but didn't even look at them.

Step forward with your left foot, bend down and draw your sword.

The flow was interrupted.

Clang——

With a dragon's roar, a crimson blade flashed across the bridge, and moments later, the knight in front of them was split in two, and the five- or six-meter-wide concrete bridge was instantly broken in two from the middle.

The Honkai Beasts, large and small, fell into the river like dumplings. Of course, they wouldn't drown, but their charging steps faltered. Ryan, however, ignored them and jumped to the side.

Swish.

The crimson halo instantly cleaved the spot where he had been standing, and Ryan rolled on the ground before realizing that the halo was actually a spinning lightsaber.

Quick, efficient, and even has built-in tracking?

As Ryan spun, he raised his longsword, clearly seeing Honkai energy rubbing and tangling. No wonder it could cut through iron like mud; without the energy envelope, ordinary metal was no different from tofu.

woo-

With a whooshing sound, the light blade was lifted into the air. Ryan lay half-lying on the ground, holding the blade in one hand, and then a dark 'meteorite' fell down.

boom!

The pebbles rose up, and the dust obscured its form, but its four red eyes shone brightly, like four electric lights.

Ryan retreated with all his might, watching as five light blades shattered the dust in front of him, becoming longer, thinner, and faster.

shhhhh......

The sword beams merged into one, extending forward from Adiedo, leaving countless ravines and gullies in the ground. The abandoned cars instantly turned into hundreds of pieces of iron, and Ryan felt as if he were enveloped by a storm of sword blades.

There was no way to stop it; skill was secondary, as the alloy longsword in his hand simply couldn't withstand the damage. There was also no way to retreat; this thing could not only fly, but its speed was also astonishing.