Lu Xing had been careless.
Although his disguise hadn't been seen through, the very existence of a "lone traveler heading from the wilderness to the city" would inherently attract a high degree of human attention.
And once noticed…
Living with Honkai Beasts for too long had made Lu Xing almost forget about surveillance cameras—if it were an ordinary Honkai Beast, the Honkai energy they released everywhere would definitely prevent tiny cameras from functioning normally.
It was precisely Lu Xing's overly precise control of Honkai energy.
That allowed him to be captured by the "spherical glass" hidden on the streets, originally intended to monitor humans—in "privacy"-conscious Australia, cameras wouldn't be blatantly displayed on the streets. These small devices, hidden between buildings, were completely concealed by the ubiquitous atmosphere of civilization in the city, preventing the relatively cautious Lu Xing from noticing their traces.
Before reaching the city center.
Lu Xing looked more like an ordinary refugee.
Until his movements began to accelerate—rushing from one camera's surveillance range to the next, covering 200 meters in just a few short seconds—an action entirely beyond human capability, allowing the military to prepare for action in advance.
Given the unrest caused by the "refugee massacre" incident, the military's deployment frequency had greatly increased recently. Lu Xing, initially somewhat suspicious, paid it no further mind after seeing many city residents accustomed to it.
Who would have thought—
"Five 'Apaches'… Aren't they underestimating me a bit too much?"
In the realm of conventional aircraft, the AH-64 was indeed an extremely outstanding rotary-wing helicopter combat platform; the only one that could compare in performance was probably the heavier Russian Mi-24 "Hind."
The former possessed superior avionics and fire control, while the latter boasted a large and satisfying armament payload.
But!
No matter how outstanding they were, they were, at best, in the "conventional" domain. Lu Xing, even in his "Big Universe" form, could take down fighter jets whose speeds surpassed theirs by an unknown multiple. Now, with all his attributes massively increased…
"Swish!"
Just as Lu Xing was about to draw his blade.
An intense sense of crisis suddenly emanated from the far end of the street!
At the absolute limit of his visual range, so far that the heavy friction sound of caterpillar tracks pressing zebra-like patterns into the asphalt road was almost inaudible.
The impact arrived faster than the fierce sound of tearing air!!
"Tssss—"
Scattering ice crystals, dancing flames!
"Boom!!"
Gunpowder smoke, accompanied by fierce flames, soared into the sky.
The mark of civilization—the building standing behind Lu Xing, which had just been playing Eden's song—was snapped in half by the terrifying explosion. The shockwave shattered all the glass curtain walls on its front.
Scattered "jade beads" poured down like a waterfall.
"Hoo!"
The strong wind kicked up by the artillery shell slowly subsided.
His twintails, disheveled by the airflow, gradually settled back into place amidst the chaos.
In Lu Xing's right hand, sharp ice crystals were re-condensing—the high temperature generated by the friction between the shell and the blade had momentarily melted the frost covering the sword.
And behind this dashing figure, holding a sword in one hand—
"Bang!!!"
The skyscraper collapsed.
————
A 120mm L/44 smoothbore cannon.
This was Lu Xing's judgment, made in a fleeting glimpse as he slashed the artillery shell with [Frost's Lament].
Undoubtedly.
This was the masterpiece fired by an M1A2 Main Battle Tank—Lu Xing wasn't a military enthusiast; the "flex" just now came from information obtained earlier from the tablet.
The Australian military's current main battle tank was the M1A2-SEP model, with a combat weight of 71 tons. Its accurate firing range exceeded 2 kilometers, making a surprise attack launched from non-open terrain difficult to detect in advance.
Moreover…
The shell just now was no ordinary one.
Even a "high-explosive shell" used against unarmored targets absolutely couldn't destroy a building of this scale in a single hit.
The Australian military clearly possessed technology beyond "conventional" means.
"Eliminate with priority."
Compared to the Apaches in the air, a surprise attack with a shell velocity exceeding Mach 4 posed a very significant threat to Lu Xing.
What's more.
The enemy showed complete disregard for casualties here.
Although, due to the spread of Honkai energy earlier, the collateral damage rate to personnel was basically "zero," the property damage caused… seemed like it could also be attributed to Lu Xing.
Then there was no problem.
But before that—
"Whirr!!"
The sound of a mechanical rotor spinning.
Became incredibly clear in the momentarily silent night.
The chain gun mounted beneath the Apache had already firmly locked onto Lu Xing, who stood motionless amidst the billowing dust and smoke.
The next second!
"Clack! Clack! Clack!" xN
Five M230 30mm chain guns, at a rate of 600 rounds per minute, frantically poured ammunition towards Lu Xing.
On the rubble-strewn, damaged ground, everything that still retained its shape was utterly torn to shreds by the chain guns within a few short seconds.
At the same time.
The "left and right arms" on the Apache's stub-wing hardpoints were not idle—8 Hellfire M-299 air-to-ground missiles, as well as a 38-tube Hydra-70 rocket launcher, also caused the flames, long absent from the city, to surge even more violently.
"Boom!!" xN
Gunsmoke, tail flames, an unending barrage of sound.
Within a few short seconds, the firepower unleashed by the Apaches, if converted into money, would be enough to sustain the city for several days.
"Target silenced."
Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut—this was the Apache pilot's true thought.
The kind of firepower just now, during his missions, was usually used to eliminate small clusters of Honkai Beasts or to provide fire suppression against large Honkai Beasts.
To use it against such a tiny, humanoid Honkai Beast (Deadman), was simply…
"Watch out!!"
A warning from his teammate suddenly blared through his headset. By the time the pilot attempted to reacquire the target…
"Clang!"
Lu Xing had already landed directly on top of the cockpit.
The transparent canopy unreservedly displayed the monster's form. The brilliant halo above its horns seemed to make the pilot see an angel welcoming his departure.
"Thud!"
Inverted, a direct thrust!
Bulletproof glass, flight control helmet, cranial pulp—the three, aligned in a straight line, were pierced by a single stab.
The reverse-gripped longsword swept lightly forward—
"Zing!"
Surging Honkai energy.
Transformed by [Frost's Lament], it became a deep blue crescent moon.
This was a [Spinning Slash] released with a single hand—after two weeks of accumulated combat experience, Lu Xing could now imbue his ordinary slashes with the sword gleam that normally required the "Whirlwind Strike" state.
The crescent moon revealed its true form in the sky.
A fleeting sword gleam, splitting the Apache in two from the center!
Piercing cold air permeated the entire airframe. The steel coffin, covered in white frost, had already turned into falling stone and plummeted towards the ground before it could explode.
"Thump!!"
Fragments of steel.
The rotor, "bolting" away, striking sparks.
Above the wreckage of civilization's creation, an arrogant figure stood suspended in mid-air.