"Thump."
He gave a light pat to a support pillar.
The not-so-sturdy planks fell off in sheets, and accompanied by flying dust and debris, the entire wooden building completely collapsed into ruins.
The place Lu Xing had teleported to was some abandoned village.
There were no signs of Honkai erosion here. The reason for its abandonment... was likely that, apart from the few remaining cities on the east coast and a scarce number of gathering points, all small villages and towns across Australia had already lost any trace of human presence.
They had all fled.
"This won't do..."
Lu Xing wanted to find a slightly higher spot.
He had initially set his sights on the village's watchtower—its purpose wasn't to defend against external enemies, but rather to provide an unobstructed view of the sheep pens.
The undulating terrain affected visibility.
A watchtower, about three or four stories high, was quite necessary.
But its increasingly decaying structure was clearly unable to meet Lu Xing's needs—the "Constitution" entry in his attribute panel was closely related to weight.
As his constitution continuously strengthened.
Lu Xing's own weight had become increasingly exaggerated.
Although still considered lightweight compared to other Honkai Beasts, he was easily several times heavier than an ordinary human.
"A church."
Lu Xing fixed his gaze on the church in the middle of the village.
The old architectural style was steeped in a sense of history. Although this building wasn't as tall as the watchtower, and its age predated the creaking tower, it was, at least, a stone structure.
At the very least, its not-so-imposing bell tower could help Lu Xing see further.
"Boom!"
The heavy main doors were slowly pushed open.
Lu Xing walked slowly into the church's interior—thick dust had accumulated on the plain wooden pews, their worm-eaten surfaces indicating their rustic origins.
"Pff."
His palm brushed across a surface.
The patina, built up over many long years, had a smooth, lustrous feel.
The cotton fibers and grit composing the dust were gently swept to the ground by Lu Xing.
And in contrast to this "simplicity," the golden cross at the front, illuminated by sunlight filtering through the stained-glass window, exuded an incomparably sacred aura.
It was as if...
...to conceal the blood and sin of this place.
Lu Xing seemed to recall hearing that on the lands of Australia and North America, the number of skeletons buried beneath crosses far exceeded the number of severed fingers buried beneath the great cherry blossom trees on that Far Eastern island.
However.
None of this had anything to do with him.
————
A spiral staircase led up to the bell tower.
At the top of the cross, which also served as a lightning rod—so-called "believers" actually worried about being struck by divine punishment—Lu Xing gazed far into the distance, surveying the environment beyond the abandoned village.
He could actually jump to this height directly, but in order not to be too conspicuous—humans had already taken notice of "its" existence, so it was best to be as low-key as possible this time—Lu Xing decided to disguise himself as an ordinary person where unnecessary.
"To the east is the city."
"As for the west... the numbers look quite substantial."
The portal's drop-off point was remarkably precise, situated exactly between the defensive perimeter deployed by the army and the city closest to the central region.
Further west.
Another Honkai Beast legion, confronting the human army, was tying down the enemy's effective strength to the greatest extent possible.
If the Great Honkai Eruption were to occur here and advance eastward... Lu Xing mentally calculated the marching speed of his "colleagues." At their current efficiency, even if the Herrscher of Flame didn't appear, they would be able to raze all remaining cities on this continent within two weeks.
But things were clearly not going to be that simple.
The Fire Moth would not turn a blind eye to the occurrence of a Great Honkai Eruption. Given that six Herrschers had already died at human hands, the legion's advance might be smooth at first, but it would undoubtedly encounter obstacles thereafter.
Until...
Lu Xing tightened the cloak around him.
The hood, pulled down as low as possible, made his horns less conspicuous.
He needed to cover this distance of just over ten kilometers before the setting sun splashed its twilight hues into the city.
————
Lu Xing's caution was somewhat excessive.
The peripheral areas near the city lacked the expected sentry posts—in his original deduction, there should have been a considerable number of troops around the city to block the influx of refugees.
Otherwise.
The existence of those human gathering points in the deserts and wilderness would be inexplicable.
Lu Xing's speculation itself wasn't flawed; the current situation was due to the girl he had let go.
Ange, having narrowly escaped death, had fled back.
The Desert Humvee she drove, bearing a special mission execution license plate, successfully entered the city without any obstruction or questioning.
The girl didn't go looking for her parents.
Instead, she selectively sold the big news she had captured—intelligence about the army "exterminating" refugee assembly points—to a certain underground newspaper.
It was difficult for people to obtain useful information from official media. Conversely, these underground newspapers, still using paper media to publish news, could always procure a lot of unexpected information.
The fame and profit this brought made many willing to take risks—their profession was, by its nature, a fight for a narrow sense of "justice."
And so.
After a week of meticulous planning.
The underground newspaper named "Pravda"—heaven knows how they dared to use such a name—within a mere three days, spread the news of "the army and government conspiring to massacre refugees" throughout Australia, even making it a topic of conversation for many families on other continents after tea and meals.
Forced by immense public pressure.
The government and army had no choice but to lift the restrictions on refugees entering the cities.
Although few refugees managed to obtain this information, and its implementation faced strong opposition from local city residents, the policy was, at least, carried out—if they didn't do so, it would be difficult for the government to receive aid from the United Nations... at least, not overtly.
This was the reason Lu Xing was able to enter the city so easily.
As for Lu Xing's somewhat plain attire...
Dubbo.
An eastern Australian city, located northwest of Sydney, it was the most important railway and highway intersection in the eastern urban agglomeration.
The city's original population was less than 50,000.
When the refugee tide had just begun—at that time, the army and government had not yet prohibited the influx of people from the west—it became the most important barrier for Sydney and Canberra... a barrier against refugees.
Thus, its population once surged to over 200,000.
The crowds fleeing from the already impoverished central and western regions, dragging their families along, naturally wouldn't have many surplus possessions. Their clothing might not even compare to the [Ravenwing] cloak Lu Xing wore—a blue-quality item, its texture looked like high-grade goods.
Dubbo's average winter temperature of 16 degrees Celsius.
Ensured that various styles of dress wouldn't appear out of place.
The experience of living under another's roof made it difficult for the former refugees to hold their heads high in Dubbo—walking hastily with lowered hat brims became the standard for these outsiders.
Lu Xing's current attire...
Coincidentally matched.
————