Regarding the question of whether one thousand lives are enough to beat Honkai Impact 3rd.

The villagers around gradually regained consciousness. They mechanically got up from the ground. Whether they were old people, children, women, teenagers or adult men, they all stood silently in place.

Sato Yuno's poison was neutralized by the intense fog released by the living doll, which awakened all the villagers who should have been relegated to the background, restoring their mobility.

No. Fog itself does not have the ability to neutralize toxins.

It simply makes them less human than before, thus naturally eliminating the toxins formulated for humans.

Su Qing'an's discovery of the anomaly that day was correct. Living in such an environment with strange Honkai energy for a long time, the villagers had already shown subtle signs of becoming zombies, and they had become puppets in the hands of living dolls.

And the more this kind of environment subtly influences you over time, the harder it is to break free from it.

The current situation should be something that normal people can hardly understand, but everyone remained eerily silent, breathing in the blackish-red mist, their eyes filled with a pale purple hue.

"The gods have been blasphemed, by those two despicable outsiders." Daigo straightened his priest's robes, brushed off the dust and dirt, and said slowly and deliberately:

"They will face the wrath of the gods, and to appease the gods' wrath, we must offer a true sacrifice, Shinbara Yu."

Daigo paused here, his numb expression suddenly transforming into a powerfully fervent fervor. He glanced around at the crowd, raised his hands, and shouted:

"Present this to the gods, begging for forgiveness!"

The man's actions were like those of a saint leading lost sheep, his faith devout and filled with compassion. His words were so sincere and persuasive that they easily ignited the passion in the villagers who had been watching with blank expressions.

"Present this to the gods, begging for forgiveness!" they cried out, raising their hands as if grasping at something unshakeable.

"Presented before the gods, begging for forgiveness!" It was a mechanical, irrational, judgmentless cry filled with intense emotion.

The billowing fog obscured all sound and sight.

The villagers waved their pale arms as they walked toward the ancestral home of Shinbara.

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Kanhara ancestral home.

Kitahara Shin and the others stood at the gate, fully equipped, each holding a fully automatic rifle.

The house was surrounded by a two-meter-high barbed wire fence, with a high-voltage power grid of over 1 volts installed on it without controlling the current output—a weapon that could easily kill.

This is only the first line of defense; the next few steps behind the barbed wire are landmines buried in the soil.

The American BLU-43B Dragon Tooth is a cruel and insidious non-lethal landmine that requires only 5 kilograms of pressure to detonate. It is specifically designed to injure the feet of those struck by the mine, rendering them unable to move.

While it's described as an blast injury, in reality, if you actually stepped on this landmine, the outcome would be at least a lifelong disability.

Clearly, Shuichi Kanbara was prepared to kill and bear the consequences of his actions in order to protect his daughter.

The third line of defense consisted of Shuichi Kanbara's dozens of well-trained subordinates armed with modern weapons.

Each of them is a qualified soldier trained by the best mercenary companies, and some of them are veterans who have served on the battlefield and then retired.

Even Kitahara Shin, a close confidant of Kanbara Shuichi, never chose to stay comfortably by Kanbara Shuichi's side because of this relationship. During these ten years, he had a long period of time away from the Kanbara ancestral home.

During this period, he managed to climb from a level where he couldn't even beat a few thugs to the normal level of these soldiers.

Before seeing him off that day, Shuichi Kanbara tapped his head on the head just like when they first met, calling him an idiot. He said, "Are you out of your mind? You might not come back. I'll have to take care of your parents. If you die, I'll just loosen the soil at your grave occasionally."

Kitahara Shin simply smiled and said, "Kamihara-sama, it's been a long time since you've scolded me like that. I feel a little nostalgic."

Just like an idiot.

He returned alive, and today, Kitahara Shin stands solemnly on this defensive line, staring intently ahead as if to prove that all his efforts were not in vain.

Dusk has arrived, and the sun will soon set completely. If those two fail, they will be the first to face the living puppet.

Previously, a huge light and a booming sound shone from the direction of the shrine, and the sound lingered for a long time.

Kitahara Shin secretly admired the other party's professionalism. It had only been a short time and she had already caused such a commotion. The girl named Sato Yuno was probably some kind of magician from the other world, and the kind who was particularly good at manipulating plants.

When Kitahara Shin saw Sato Yuno conjure up glowing stars with her bare hands to amuse Kanbara Yu, he had a guess. Combined with the previous changes in the forest and the towering ancient trees around the shrine, what else could this be but a magician?

Perhaps she even has the blood of a forest witch flowing through her veins, making her naturally suited to manipulating plants, while that poker-faced guy is definitely a magician.

Although he spends all his free time polishing his sword, the idea that mages can fight in melee combat is so common in light novels these days that it's hardly surprising anymore. Maybe he was the one who caused that huge explosion earlier.

As expected, such monsters cannot be dealt with by normal people; magicians are the experts in dealing with them.

Kitahara Shin had watched a lot of anime and light novels before, so it's normal for him to see the two as magicians given his limited understanding of Honkai. Schicksal is probably an ancient and mysterious magical organization in his eyes, and if he knew about St. Freya Academy, he would naturally regard it as a magic academy as well.

Even though the two were almost completely out of sync, in a sense, some of his guesses were surprisingly accurate.

The afterglow of the setting sun illuminates the earth.

Amidst the fluttering cherry blossoms, an eerie mist, carrying malevolent power, surged and engulfed the ancestral home of Shinbara at an astonishing speed.

The three lines of defense did not hinder the intrusion of the fog, which is natural, as it would be difficult to consider preventing this situation using normal thinking.

Shuichi Kanbara's defenses were designed for tangible things, but if the fog were to invade, all defenses would crumble on their own.

Their brains trembled. Even veterans who had endured incredible trials on the battlefield could not control their emotions. Unparalleled fear overwhelmed everything. They collapsed to the ground, howling in agony, their will destroyed by the infinitely magnified fear.

A certain power mixed in with the mist was exactly the same as the way the living doll looked at Kitahara Shin ten years ago.

Equally irresistible, equally arrogant, equally domineering.

It's the same; it's humiliating.

33. Trust science.

Kitahara Shin collapsed.

My head was throbbing with pain, and my remaining willpower barely allowed me to retain the ability to think.

His eyes were bloodshot as he tried to roar, but the words that came out of his throat were incoherent, shattering the man's usually cold and stern face.

Fear, dread, trembling.

Out-of-control emotions were uncontrollably and frantically kneading my will.

It's as if he's been doing useless work for the past ten years. The living puppet isn't even present; its power, which remains in the mist, is enough to rout them.

Even though he believed he had undergone enough trials and transformations, Kitahara Shin, as an ordinary human, was still so weak and powerless in the face of such power.

It was like an attack from another level and dimension; the rules of the game were different between the two.

But... But... But...

He gritted his teeth and suppressed his last shred of reason.

But we must not give up like this.

We can't let that man fight alone again.

We cannot let Lord Kanbara face that despair alone again.

Kitahara Shin struggled to pull the pistol from his pocket.

Judging by its appearance alone, it looks like a toy, and is quite small.

This is a pocket-sized pistol with its power deliberately reduced; it was custom-made for him.

Having experienced the same humiliation ten years ago, Kitahara Shin naturally understood that simply tempering one's will and body was not enough to resist a living doll, so he came up with a method.

But just like Shuichi Kanbara said, he's an idiot.

A fool can only think of foolish methods.

Kitahara Shin's hand, gripping the gun, trembled uncontrollably. He barely aimed before pulling the trigger without hesitation.

Using pain to break free from the emotional control of the living doll was the only method he could think of.

It cannot attack the torso outside of the limbs. Its internal secretions are acidic or alkaline, and if they are directly absorbed into the bloodstream, it will quickly lead to death from poisoning.

If the liver is hit, the person will die from blood loss.

If the stomach is hit, the person will die from acidosis.

Of the four limbs, the hands are needed to use weapons to maintain combat effectiveness, so sacrificing the legs that maintain mobility is the best choice.

You must not hit a major artery, or you will bleed to death.

You can't just attack the flesh directly, otherwise the pain will be numb for a period of time.

To hit the bone, the nerves are most sensitive, and the bone is the most painful part to be attacked.

Whether he would be in so much pain that he couldn't fight was no longer a consideration for him.

The deafening roar nearly ripped off eardrums, and with a large amount of crimson blood splattering out, Kitahara Shin successfully avoided the carotid artery, and the bullet struck the leg bone without him even aiming. It was as if the gods were making way for this man's determination.

But only Kitahara Shin himself understood that this was the result of countless hours of practice he had done in front of mannequins, just like an idiot.

The excruciating pain that exploded in my nerves was so penetrating that it tore apart all my emotions.

Because it is a specially designed pistol, its power is just enough to cause a bone fracture.

The bullet successfully embedded itself in the flesh and bone.

Kitahara Shin's mind went blank for a moment. When he came to his senses, the fog could no longer affect his emotions. The man was stunned, and then the corners of his lips curled into an upward arc. His expression, twisted with pain, made the smile look particularly ferocious and terrifying.

"Ha...hahaha..." He laughed loudly, an unpleasant laugh that came out with difficulty from his hoarse throat, yet he was genuinely happy.

"Humans aren't things that can be easily controlled, you damn puppet."

The man, who had just risked his life to overcome what seemed like an insurmountable obstacle ten years ago, muttered to himself as he climbed over to the side and picked up his rifle again.

Since this method worked for him, there was no reason why it wouldn't work for others. He endured the pain, held down his colleague who was rolling around beside him, and pulled the trigger of his pistol at his leg.

"You idiot, stop sleeping!" Kitahara Shin gasped and gritted his teeth, pressing down on the other man's leg and pulling at the wound, causing intense pain that made him pale.

"Damn it!" These were the first words the man uttered after regaining his senses.

It must be said that although it was an unreliable and reckless act, it was surprisingly effective, and the other party did indeed successfully break free from the control of the living puppet.

Take another pistol from his pocket and shove it into his hand, as Kitahara Shin shared his experience with him: "The pistol is specially made. Crawl over there and shoot each of the other people in the leg, but be careful not to hit the major artery. It's best to hit the bone and crack it, that way it will be enough to provoke them and get rid of that bastard doll."

The man took the pistol dumbly. He glanced at the blood gushing from his thigh and felt the bullet lodged in his bone. For a moment, he couldn't help but admire the other man's marksmanship.

But in the blink of an eye, he was bewildered by the enormous amount of information in front of him.

"Mr. Kitahara, is this considered a supernatural event?"

He patted the man's still somewhat dazed head forcefully and explained impatiently:

"Shut up and do as I say. You've been a mercenary for so many years, you should be well-informed. This situation is clearly caused by someone releasing some strange nerve gas. Don't assume everything is a supernatural event. Are you a chuunibyou? Show some action worthy of this salary!"

"Yes!" Overwhelmed by the other party's powerful aura, Kitahara Shin overlooked the fact that he had let slip about the living doll, and his mind was not yet fully clear. After responding subconsciously, the man chose to carry out Kitahara Shin's order.